"D-Don't you dare mock me! You think you've won just because you gained a little ground? I can still fight! There is no way I, a Superior Species who has achieved evolution, could ever lose to the likes of you!"
Stifling the terror welling up inside her with a surge of fury, Rielle let out a roar as she struggled to her feet.
However, the composure she had displayed until moments ago was absent from her voice and expression. It was painfully clear she had been driven into a corner.
Even so, staking her pride as an evolved being and bracing herself with the conviction that she could not lose to a mere human like Ryuga, Rielle forced her shattered twin swords to regenerate. She leveled them at him and screamed.
"How do you like that? You seemed so smug after breaking my weapons, but I can remake them as many times as I want! I won't fall for the same trick twice! This time, I’ll carve you into—!"
Her shout never reached its conclusion.
In the middle of her threat, the twin swords she had just restored were cleaved apart yet again.
Losing her words in shock, Rielle could only stare in utter bewilderment. She didn't understand what Ryuga had done or how he had struck her blades down. Sensing nothing, understanding nothing, she let the broken hilts slip from her fingers as her entire body began to tremble violently.
"A-Ah... a-aaaaah...!"
"It seems you finally understand the gulf between us. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say your spirit has broken."
The fear she had tried to mask with anger exploded the moment she was confronted with the overwhelming reality of their difference in strength. Faced with the fact that she stood no chance against him—despite supposedly transcending humanity and achieving a higher state of evolution—Rielle could harbor nothing but pure terror.
"What's the matter? Aren't you coming, Superior Species? Summoning every ounce of courage to face someone stronger than yourself... even the human child you look down upon was capable of that, you know?"
(What is this guy? This uniform... it means he's a student from the same academy as that group of five I fought earlier, right? Then why is he this strong? I don't understand! I don't understand!)
Even though she had been fighting alongside her Elder Brother Trill, she had unilaterally crushed Cyan and the others—students of that very same Luminous Academy—only a short while ago.
Unlike then, this was a one-on-one duel... and yet, the strength that had effortlessly overwhelmed Cyan’s group meant nothing to Ryuga.
Her instincts screamed that she could not win. She finally realized that this was an opponent she should never have engaged.
The young man standing before her was a being that existed on a higher tier of the hierarchy of power. The moment she accepted this, Rielle turned and fled from the battlefield, abandoning every shred of pride and dignity.
"Nooooooooooooo!"
"Right... there was one thing I forgot to mention. You seem quite confident in your speed. But I'm faster than you."
Ryuga, who had already returned Ryuo-ga to its scabbard, whispered the words as he allowed his magic power to surge.
Sensing the magic power erupting like a flash of lightning behind her, Rielle squeezed out every last drop of her strength. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, her voice nearly tearing her throat.
"Help me! Elder Brother!"
"Storm Dragon Swordsmanship, Lightning Form—"
Catching sight of Rielle’s back as she fled at full speed, Ryuga exhaled and took a single step forward.
In the next instant, he overtook her as if he had teleported. Ryuga whispered quietly as he sheathed his beloved katana.
"—Spring Thunder."
"A-ga... ah...!"
Following the sharp click of the sword guard meeting the scabbard, the slash finally registered on Rielle.
As he passed by her limp, collapsing form, Ryuga spoke.
"You might have been fast. But that's all. My partner is faster, stronger, and far more unpredictable than you. Compared to that, someone who relies solely on speed isn't scary in the slightest."
"Ga... ah... aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Golden lightning coursed through Rielle’s body.
Struck by a slash faster than the eye could follow, she finally felt the full weight of its destructive power. Letting out a final, agonizing shriek, she was swallowed by a massive explosion.
"So ends your fate as a Superior Species. It was a fleeting story."
Confirming that Rielle had reverted from a Magic Armor Beast back to a human—now charred black but still breathing—Ryuga used his blade to pierce a Kuwagata horn-like object that had fallen nearby.
With that finished, he headed toward the girls and spoke to Fee, who was still protecting Yui.
"Fee-kun, are you alright? I'm taking you to a doctor immediately, so please, hang on just a little longer."
"Thank you... I knew it. You really are strong, Ryuga-san!"
"I only won against an opponent I was capable of beating. You, who stood your ground against someone stronger than yourself and refused to give up... you are the truly strong one."
Picking Fee up and beginning to walk with Yui, Ryuga offered the highest possible praise to his sister's savior.
Fee was struck with awe at Ryuga’s power; the swordsman had evidently cleared the entire building of monsters before even reaching them. Suddenly coming to his senses, Fee looked up at him.
"T-That's right! What about Big Brother? What is he doing right now?"
"Don't worry. This is Yugo we're talking about. He's likely fighting to protect people even as we speak."
Though communication was still down, Ryuga had no doubt that Yugo would prevail against any enemy he himself could defeat. He spoke firmly to reassure the boy.
Determined that his priority as an older brother was to treat the wounds of the hero who had saved his sister, Ryuga hurried toward the Safe Zone with Yui and Fee in tow.