From his perch high on the wall, Albedo bent his knees, his blue gaze locked on the sleek, black-glass like obsidian. Elemental golem below.

Then....

FWOOOSH!

He launched himself downward while springing his fist in an instant with the fire blazing meteor like attack as he clutched.

The golem's eyes flared an intense blue, mana surging through its glass-like veins. With a mechanical roar, it crouched down and then sprang upward, fist forward, meeting Albedo head-on in mid-air.

The arena shook with the sheer force of his descent fist and the golems ascend fist. As they clash there fists, the air pressure snapping like a whip.

---

BOOOOMM!!!

The impact was cataclysmic.

Dark lightning crackled in jagged veins through the collision point, rippling outward in arcs that scorched the arena walls. A violent shockwave burst in all directions, sending debris skittering across the floor like dry leaves in a hurricane.

On the ground, Dila braced herself.

The force of their clash struck her like a heavy gust, pushing her back several steps before she dropped to one knee to stabilize. Her boots screeched against the stone floor as she skidded, her hair whipping wildly around her face.

With a deep breath, she rose again—eyes narrowed, refusing to look away from the battle raging above.

---

In the air, Albedo suddenly shifted—his body curling in mid-spin like a predator recoiling for the next strike. He tumbled backward through the air, twisting like a black shadow before landing on the arena floor without so much as a stumble. He straightened calmly, as if gravity itself bowed to his presence.

The golem, however, didn't come away unscathed.

It was flung several meters back, landing hard on both feet with a metallic screech as sparks burst from under its heels. Its balance wavered, its slick frame threatening to tilt—but then the blue glow in its eyes flared brighter.

With deliberate precision, it shifted its stance and recomposed its body, regaining a perfect fighting posture as if nothing had happened.

---

Albedo smirked, a faint, almost mocking laugh in his tone.

"Ohh… hohoho… nice toy you've built my daughter," he said, his voice deep and laced with amusement. "Now I can finally take my training to a whole new level."

The words dripped with mockery, but his eyes—just for a flicker—held a trace of genuine interest.

---

Dila, still catching her breath, clenched her fists.

(I hope this golem of mine can withstand Father's attacks for longer…) she thought, a note of worry threading through her determination.

Nari's voice echoed smoothly in her mind.

☆Don't worry, Master. The black-glass golem can handle it.☆

Dila bit her lip slightly. (But it already lost its balance just now…)

☆Everything will be okay, Master," Nari reassured softly. "Trust it.☆

The wind between clashes still whirled dust around her ankles, and the air smelled faintly of burnt mana.

The fight… had still just begun.

The black-glass elemental golem suddenly surged forward—its slick, obsidian-like body gleaming under the dim arena light. The blue glow in its eyes sharpened to a razor's edge, and its right arm drew back in perfect, mechanical precision.

FWIP!

It sliced the air with a karate chop so fast the air itself seemed to scream.

The sound was a sharp, whistling cut through the chaos.

Albedo's eyes narrowed just slightly.

Then... almost lazily... he shifted his body to the left, the movement smooth and effortless, like a door swinging open on well-oiled hinges.

The golem's hand missed him by a hair's breadth.

CRRRAAACK!!!

The strike slammed into the arena floor.

Stone shattered under the impact, jagged shards of rock exploding outward in every direction. Deep cracks spiderwebbed across the ground, racing out from the point of impact as if the earth itself had been struck by a miniature earthquake.

Dust billowed upward in a choking cloud, the air tasting of iron and grit. The sound of the blow still rang in the ears a deep, reverberating thud that rattled the pillars around them.

Albedo tilted his head slightly, amusement glinting in his blue eyes. He let out a low, slow whistle—whew—his lips curling into a sly grin.

"If a regular elf had been on the receiving end of that," he said, voice calm but tinged with mock admiration, "they'd be split clean in half."

He chuckled under his breath, a predator's laugh, and his gaze lingered on the golem—not with fear, but with the curiosity of someone toying with a weapon they found interesting, not dangerous.

The golem's blue eyes burned brighter through the swirling dust, its stance shifting again—ready for the next strike.

The ground still trembled faintly beneath them.

The black-glass elemental golem's eyes flashed brighter, and in a blur of motion, it pivoted on its heel—its entire body twisting with lethal precision.

FWSSHHH!

Its right foot shot out sideways, moving so fast it became a streak, a black blur slicing through the dust-filled air. The sheer speed compressed the air around it, creating a sharp snap before the strike even landed.

Albedo didn't flinch.

He simply lifted his right hand—slowly, almost lazily, as if swatting away a leaf in the wind. His palm met the golem's strike.

THUUUUD!!!

The sound was deafening, like a war drum echoing across the arena. A shockwave rippled outward, scattering loose debris, rattling the cracked pillars, and sending a fresh cloud of dust swirling like a storm.

Where Albedo's bare skin met the obsidian-like foot of the golem, the mana pressure spiked. In an instant, thin cracks spiderwebbed across the golem's foot, glowing faintly blue along the fractures.

But it didn't shatter.

The force of the block sent the golem skidding back, its slick body sliding across the stone floor in a shower of sparks. Halfway back, it tucked into a controlled back tumble mid-air before landing solidly, crouched low, its glowing eyes locked on Albedo.

From deep inside its mechanical core, a voice emerged—cold, metallic, and strained:

"Master… this man… is very powerful. I can't even put a dent in him now."

Dila's fists clenched at her sides as she stood amidst the drifting haze of dust, her hair whipping around her face from the lingering shockwave. Her heart pounded not from fear, but from the oppressive reminder of her father's overwhelming strength.

Albedo just stood there, arm still lowered, his blue eyes fixed on the golem with a calm, dangerous interest.

The arena floor groaned under the strain of the last impact, faint pebbles still tumbling from the cracked edges of the nearest pillar.

Without warning—without even the whisper of displaced air—Albedo vanished.

The arena fell silent for the briefest heartbeat.

The black-glass elemental golem froze mid-stance, its senses scanning—but then time itself seemed to fracture. The golem's perception slowed into a surreal, stretched moment. Its vision caught the faintest distortion in the air—then there he was, Albedo, already in motion, his right arm drawn back, wreathed in a fierce energy that seemed to bend the very air around it.

His eyes... once calm.... now burned with a fierce, electric-blue glow, like twin stars tearing through the shadows.

The golem's instincts screamed. Its head whipped around just in time—

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!!!

Albedo's arm blurred, striking in a relentless barrage, each blow like a warhammer wrapped in lightning. The black-glass golem blocked, its own arms moving in a blur, the speed so great they left shimmering afterimages.

Each impact erupted into a shower of white-gold sparks, the sound like a thousand swords colliding in rapid succession. Clang-clang-clang!

They moved faster than mortal eyes could track—blinking from one side of the arena to the other. Stone floors cracked under their feet, each clash releasing a burst of wind that sent pebbles and debris rolling away.

In the blink of an eye, they weren't on the ground anymore—they were airborne.

The two blurs twisted and clashed in mid-air, trading kicks and punches with such speed that their limbs were little more than flickering shadows against the arena lights.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Each strike cracked the air like a thunderclap.

Albedo laughed—deep, loud, wild.

"Hahahahaha! Yes! Yes! More! More!"

The golem's eyes flared an intense blue, its internal core overheating from the sheer strain of matching Albedo's speed. Wisps of mana-smoke escaped through the thin seams of its armor-like shell.

Still, it matched him blow for blow—until small fractures began to creep across its form.

A jagged crack ran down its left forearm.

Another webbed across its lower leg.

Yet another splintered the plating on its shoulder.

Albedo grinned, his strikes never slowing.

"How long will you sustain this entertainmen, little toy? Hahahahahaha!"

The golem answered... not with words, but with sheer defiance mimicking Albedo's movements perfectly, unleashing its own rain of strikes in perfect counter. Each blow mirrored his, their attacks clashing in a storm of light, steel, and sound so intense it felt as if the entire arena might collapse around them.

The elemental golem's movements began to falter—subtle at first. A fraction slower on the block, a fraction later on the counter. The mirrored precision it had maintained against Albedo's onslaught was fraying, its overheated core struggling to keep pace.

Albedo's grin sharpened like a blade.

"Got you."

In a blur, his right hand shot forward, fingers digging into the slick, black-glass surface of the golem's face. The elemental's eyes flared blue in resistance, but his grip was absolute unyielding, like iron forged in the heart of a star.

With a roar of exertion and dominance, Albedo wrenched the golem upward, his body coiling like a predator before the kill. Then....

BOOOOOM!

He hurled it down with the force of a meteor strike.

The impact ripped through the arena like a quake, stone tiles fracturing outward in a spiderweb pattern. Rubble and Dust exploded upward in a choking wave, swallowing the black-glass figure as it slammed into the ground.

A harsh, mechanical cry escaped the golem—

"OHHHHH—!"

its voice distorted, metallic, and almost pained.

From across the battlefield, Dila froze mid-breath.

Her heart lurched in her chest, the pounding in her ears louder than the quake that had just ripped through the arena. Her pupils constricted, reflecting the swirling dust cloud and the still-falling debris.

Then....

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Her voice tore through the chaos, raw and unrestrained, echoing off the fractured pillars. Mana stirred wildly around her like an unchained storm, reacting to the surge of her emotions. Her knuckles whitened, her teeth clenched so tight they threatened to crack.

Through the haze, she could just make out the battered shape of her creation sprawled in the crater.... motionless, glowing faintly in defiance.