"Chī--!"
The knife sliced through the air with a sharp crack, slicing through space like a blinding arc of light, slashing toward Arcueid.
"Pū Chī--!"
A faint tearing sound followed as the sharp blade sliced across Arcueid's hand, which was gripping Roa's neck, leaving a wound and spraying some blood into the air.
"...!"
Feeling the pain in her hand, a flash of murderous intent appeared in Arcueid's eyes. The hand she had just raised now slashed out like a sharp claw cutting through steel.
"Pū Chī--!"
Another ripping sound echoed in the empty surroundings.
This time it was the sound of Arcueid's claws ripping through Roa's chest, severing his body from the chest down and spraying a large amount of blood.
"Ugh... Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh--!"
Roa's agonized scream echoed through the empty space.
"Boom--!"
In the next moment, Roa's entire body was sent flying backward with a crushing sound, and it was as if his body was hit by an invisible shockwave. He crashed through several pillars, sending debris flying in all directions, and finally slammed heavily into a pile of ruins, causing the half-destroyed skyscraper to shake.
"Cough...!"
Lying in the rubble, Roa coughed up large amounts of blood, his body in tatters, with only the upper part of his torso remaining. It was a gruesome sight.
But Arcueid was not finished with Roa.
"Shuā Shuā Shuā Shuā Shuā--!"
As the sound of powerful air echoed, Arcueid slashed several times in Roa's direction, sending out claw-like blows that turned into scythe-like slashes that sliced through the distance like cold blades.
"Pū Chī- Pū Chī- Pū Chī-!"
With the sharp sound of blades piercing flesh, the claw strikes tore through Roa's chest, severing his organs and slicing through the debris, cutting him into several pieces. The rubble exploded again, burying Roa, who was now reduced to a head.
Normally, in such a condition, it would be impossible to survive.
But Arcueid knew very well that with the current Roa, she couldn't really kill him unless she destroyed him completely.
So Arcueid raised her hand again, gathering a terrifying amount of power in her claws.
"Ugh...!"
At that moment, Arcueid suddenly let out a groan.
The hand she had raised suddenly dropped, and she felt as if her hand had lost all power.
In fact, Arcueid realized that she could no longer gather power in that hand.
No, to be more precise, the hand felt as if it had died - its blood circulation had stopped, its temperature had dropped, and it felt as if it had been severed. She couldn't feel anything from it.
"This is..."
Arcueid's expression showed a hint of surprise seeing this scene.
Until a cold, sinister laugh echoed through the room.
"Even you can't do anything now, can you?"
Amidst the laughter, a body emerged from the rubble.
Like ashes that had been burned away and then reassembled, Roa's body gradually regenerated. He pushed away the debris and stood up shakily.
By the time Roa had fully risen, his body was completely restored, without a single wound.
"If it had been the old you, that level of attack wouldn't have hit you, would it?" Roa sneered. "Unfortunately, although your current strength far exceeds my expectations, your injuries still haven't healed. Your body's reaction is a bit slower, so you ended up getting hit by my attack."
"And since you were hit by me, your hand won't be usable for a while." Roa smiled arrogantly at Arcueid and said, "If you hadn't been killed, I wouldn't have been able to see your 'Line', would I? What a pity!"
This remark finally elicited a reaction from Arcueid.
"You just mentioned 'Line', didn't you?" Arcueid stared at Roa intently and spoke. "Have you acquired the Mystic Eyes of Life?"
"You've finally decided to speak, Princess?" Roa was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Why do you assume it's the Mystic Eyes of Life? Perhaps I have acquired the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?"
"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?" Arcueid replied without hesitation, "That's impossible."
Her firm statement caused Roa's eyebrows to twitch slightly.
In this tense moment, Arcueid continued.
"Do you know why I died once?"
Arcueid fixed her gaze on Roa, speaking each word with precision.
"If it's those Mystic Eyes, being stared at by them is like having your body heat drained, your organs pierced, and even your soul frozen. In a fraction of a second, an overwhelming sense of dread, unlike anything you've ever experienced in your life, will wash over you, making you feel as if death itself is standing right in front of you".
"Once you've felt it, you'll never forget it for the rest of your life. Especially since I was first torn into 17 pieces by a person with those Mystic Eyes, and then stabbed by another, even more terrifying individual, who killed parts of me I never imagined could be killed."
"But as I stand before you, I feel none of that."
"So your Mystic Eyes cannot possibly be the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. You could never possess those eyes."
Arcueid's words made Roa's expression gradually darken until it became somber.
And yet Roa couldn't disagree with her.
For the feeling Arcueid described was one that Roa had actually experienced not too long ago.
It was in the presence of Fang Li.
As Arcueid said, once you've felt it, you'll never forget it.
"Thanks to you reminding me of it, I was able to free myself from my obsession and hatred for you, and I refrained from killing you."
Arcueid, holding her limp arm, declared sharply as if to pierce Roa with her gaze.
"Next, I'll beat you half to death, weaken your power, and then wait for Fang Li to arrive and deliver the final blow."
"In front of these eyes, you will be completely killed this time, with no chance of reincarnation."
Having said this, Arcueid raised the only hand she could still move.
At that moment, Roa suddenly laughed.
His smile was twisted and sinister.
"It can't be helped. Although I didn't want to use this, now I have no choice."
Hearing these words, a bad premonition suddenly arose in Arcueid's heart.
However, it was too late to react.
"Pā——!"
The sound of something shattering echoed through the air.
In an instant, a thick wave of blood energy surged around Arcueid's body.
The pungent smell of blood began to permeate the air, causing Arcueid's expression to change.
"This... this is...!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Arcueid was enveloped by the blood energy.
"Ah... Aaaaaaahhhhhhh——!"
A cry of agony echoed through the space.
...