That strike was quite amazing. Even I couldn't see the movement of the man in black clearly. In a blink of an eye, he had already rushed to Nicola's front.

"Damn, how did he move so fast?"

Nicola was unable to dodge in time. Her arm was slashed, leaving behind a long gash. Cursing, she flew up into the sky to evade.

"What's going on? Why is the drug effect so weak? She drank so much, and it's nighttime now. She should at least be asleep until dawn!"

Only then did Blanche react, looking up at Nicola in the sky with surprise.

"Girl, angels have much higher drug resistance compared to ordinary humans. Looks like you still don't know enough about this!"

Kurnel replied without turning his head back. His eyes were fixed intently on my every move, making me feel nervous as well. Don't tell me he's going to suddenly pounce on me?

"Nicola, we're at a disadvantage. Let's just retreat for now!"

I suggested loudly during this lull in the fighting. Our original purpose in chasing her was to rescue Nicola. Now that she's awake and out of their control, there's no need to completely wipe them out.

Especially since that man in black looks quite skilled, seemingly even more difficult to deal with than Kurnel. If this drags on, it'll be hard to predict the outcome.

"What's there to be afraid of? I just let my guard down earlier!"

But Nicola completely ignored my advice, pausing in midair for a few seconds to recover. Seeing that the man in black was unable to touch her, she began fighting him again from high.

"If you're not going, then I'll go first!"

Seeing Kurnel hesitating to make a move, Blanche circled around him and pounced at me instead. Kurnel followed right after, immediately joining the fray as well.

"Why must we fight to the death?"

I casually threw two spheres of Purification at the lizardman, then suddenly set off a Flash spell, slashing out with my sword...

Unfortunately, that flying dragon in the sky intervened again, disrupting my attack. Otherwise, with that sword strike, Blanche would have likely been dead or injured.

"Go die!"

I was finally provoked to anger, throwing four consecutive Purification spheres at the dragon as it flew over my head. Using Purification six times in a row instantly drained my body. I felt much weaker all of a sudden.

But this risky gamble was quite effective. No matter how much the dragon breathed fire in the sky, it was futile. It only intercepted two of the Purification spheres. The remaining two struck it directly, making it cry out as it fell from the sky.

"Let me handle this!"

On Kurnel's side, he had also dealt with the two pursuing Purification spheres. Dragging the newly blinded Blanche behind him, he raised his axe and chopped at me.

But unexpectedly, his movement was suddenly interrupted. Because at that moment, something happened on Nicola's side.

The black-clad man's weapon collided with Nicola's Condensation Sword. It had no resistance at all and was sliced into two halves. Seizing the chance while her opponent was stunned, Nicola kicked him flying. The man tumbled through the air for several seconds before crashing into Kurnel.

"Strange..."

Still in the kicking pose, Nicola looked curiously at her own leg, seemingly very surprised by how that kick felt.

As for Kurnel, he had no time to dodge now. He could only stop and deal with the man in black, blocking him in front.

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Then another sudden change occurred. Seeing this, Blanche not only didn't help, but directly kicked Kurnel in the back! The man in black was immediately crushed under Kurnel's huge body.

"Huh?"

I was shocked speechless by this scene. What was happening? But I saw Blanche turn and flee in the opposite direction after kicking Kurnel down.

"She's trying to escape?"

I yelled out, suddenly realizing what was going on!

The man pinned under Kurnel abruptly erupted with incredible strength. He flung the lizardman aside without care, rushing straight at Blanche.

In a flash, the man caught up to Blanche with unbelievable speed and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up.

"Let me go! Keeping me brings you no benefit!"

Blanche struggled fiercely while shouting.

"I've already brought the two angels Nicola and Feliciana to you, why won't you let me leave!"

"I don't have authority to do that! According to records, you voluntarily offered to bring the two angels to the Dark Continent. My duty is only to monitor your every action."

The man in black responded very mechanically, sounding extremely rigid.

"Release her! That woman is my prey. Don't think you can snatch her away!"

Seeing this, Nicola didn't care whether they were infighting or not. She flew straight up from the ground, raising her sword to chop at the man's hand.

"Stop playing around! This guy is very strong!"

Seeing the situation, I anxiously yelled out. We're in such dire straits, yet Nicola still only thinks about revenge. Didn't she see the man in black's amazing feats earlier?

Flipping Kurnel, instantly catching up to Blanche from behind, done in one smooth motion! His skills are definitely extraordinary. Isn't letting them fight each other the best choice? Moreover, there's still the lizardman Kurnel eyeing us greedily nearby!

"This woman drugged me. I must kill her with my own hands!"

Seeing Condensation Sword killing over, the man in black knew its power as he has already suffered once. With Blanche struggling nonstop in his hand, he could only temporarily withdraw.

Seizing the opening, Nicola immediately turned and swung her sword at the retreating Blanche.

I recognized this move. It was the killer move she had just developed during Edenmere's tournament. What was it called again? Some really over-the-top name...

"Ahhh!"

Blanche was unable to dodge at all. Struck squarely in the chest, blood sprayed everywhere! Just as I thought she might be cut in two, I was shocked to see her entire body suddenly vanish. Only a pool of crimson blood remained.

"This is..."

Everyone present was dumbfounded, not just me. Even Kurnel who had just climbed up had a silly, confused look as he stared at the spot where Blanche disappeared.

"Did she escape using a teleportation item?"

Given Aria's prior example, I could only uncertainly ask Nicola.

"I don't know. That sword strike gave me a strange feeling. Could it be time..."

Nicola now stared at her own hands incredulously, seemingly indicating the truth wasn't so simple based on her expression.

"..."

The man in black also froze and silently gazed at where Blanche had vanished for a few seconds. Then another longsword suddenly appeared in his hand. Taking advantage of Nicola's distraction, he attacked her again.

"Shing!"

This time it was the right shoulder. Nicola was unable to evade at all and took a direct hit! Tiny white sparks and blood splatter flashed through the air as she reflexively flew back up to avoid further attacks.

This wound was much more serious than before. Although she covered her shoulder with her left hand, blood still trickled out steadily through her fingers.

Having succeeded in one strike, the man in black glanced up briefly at Nicola hovering overhead. Without hesitation, he abandoned chasing her and suddenly turned to rush at me instead.

Crap! He's coming for me now!

Having already witnessed his formidable skills, I knew I was no match for him in direct combat. I could only ready my weapon in front of my chest.

The man reached me first. In an instant he slashed his sword at my own.

Such great force! Although my longsword wasn't broken, the tremendous pushback knocked me over, not even giving me a chance to fly up.

I'm in six-winged form right now. His power is easily on par with an eight-winged angel.

"I'll help you!"

Seeing his side gain the advantage, Kurnel behind the man hurriedly joined in, raising his weapon as well. His axe strike was fast and fierce, though it seemed a bit off-target, not actually chopping at me.

"Clang!"

A huge metallic collision sounded out. Kurnel's axe smashed the man's back from behind, knocking him to the ground. Continuous sparks spewed from the wound.

"Huh? What is this..."

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, staring at the fallen man. Various hints exposed from his back wound after hitting the ground indicated that what was concealed under the black cloak was actually a machine!

"What the hell, a robot?"

"This thing isn't human, demon, or any living being for that matter!"

Having succeeded in his sneak attack, Kurnel finally relaxed, walking to the still struggling machine on the ground and chopping its head off with another axe strike.

Finally, the tightly wrapped cloak loosened, revealing the metallic head hidden underneath.

"Now you understand why I agreed to cooperate with you so readily, right?"

After the decapitation, the "man in black's" body finally stopped moving. The scene reminded me of a certain sci-fi blockbuster I had watched before...

"Just what exactly is going on here?"

Seeing this, even Nicola in the sky had a dumbfounded look on her face. She quickly flew over, hovering above us to gaze at the robot wreckage on the ground.

"Is this thing something you guys created in the Dark Continent?"

Now she also realized this lizardman Kurnel was actually on our side. His prior hostile actions had all been an act.