Chapter 263: A Brutal Brawl

“Gorilla, really?”

“It’s the best description I have for you.”

Vivianne rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed, but Kevin wasn’t exactly wrong either; she was probably one of the strongest women he had ever met. And it was all thanks to some sadistic master’s training…

“So, do I just fight this thing?”

Vivianne circled around it, its figure standing as still as a statue. And while everything else about it was an anomaly, one thing was clear: magic was definitely the reason it could move.

Blue lines etched across its skin, the magic within them looking stable, almost as if it wasn’t flowing at all. But the moment Vivianne got too close, she could already sense it.

The slightest fluctuation in the stream.

CREAK!

The guardian moved, its spear swinging down at her, but Vivianne wasn’t slow enough to get caught by an attack that basic.

She grabbed the spear’s handle before it could crash down on her and, just as quickly, placed her palm against the guardian’s chest, planning to blast a hole straight through where its heart should have been.

But…

[Wind Manipulation]

Her magic formed, then vanished just as quickly, as if the air itself had swallowed it whole before she could even release it as a physical spell.

“W-What!?”

The guardian used that moment of hesitation to counterattack, letting go of its spear and driving a heavy blow toward Vivianne’s head. But once again, she moved, releasing the spear just as quickly and blocking with both hands.

BANG!

The impact sent her skidding backward until she crashed into Kevin’s front.

“Our magic…”

Vivianne muttered.

“I saw it… we can’t use it.” Kevin clicked his tongue. “Can you still fight?”

“One blow won’t be enough to take me down…”

“Good, because I can’t exactly help you out here.”

“I can tell…”

Vivianne sighed, grabbing Kevin’s shoulder for support as she regained her balance, rubbing the forearm that had taken the worst of the damage.

“That’s gonna hurt…”

“I’ll heal you once we’re out of here,” Kevin said.

“Thanks. For now, maybe act as my eyes when I’m caught off guard. I’m sure you can do that.”

“You make it sound like you aren’t even sure I can handle a task that simple…”

“Well, you’d be right…”

Vivianne chuckled, sticking her tongue out at Kevin before turning back to the guardian, her expression hardening. This was definitely going to be a new experience. Even with all her training in close-range combat, this would still be her first time fighting without magic.

“I’m not gonna like this…”

The guardian took a single step forward, and the ground trembled.

No magic. No enhancement. Just raw mass and momentum, muscles—or whatever passed for muscles beneath that bark-like flesh—coiling and releasing like a spring.

Vivianne didn’t wait for it to close the distance.

She moved low, sliding beneath its first swing, and came up behind it with a kick aimed at the back of its knee. The guardian’s leg buckled slightly, but didn’t break. It twisted with surprising speed, one massive hand swatting toward her like she was nothing more than an insect.

She ducked under the hand and drove her elbow into its ribs.

CRACK.

A piece of its bark-like flesh splintered off, falling to the ground in chunks, but the guardian didn’t even flinch. Instead, its other hand shot out, catching her by the shoulder and hurling her across the clearing.

Vivianne hit the ground hard, rolling twice before she stopped herself with her heels.

“Crap…” she coughed.

“You okay!?” Kevin yelled from the edge of the clearing, his eyes darting between Vivianne and the guardian, cataloging every movement, every opening, every weakness.

The guardian didn’t pursue immediately. It stood in the center of the clearing, head tilted slightly, as if it were studying her. Evaluating. Deciding.

Then it raised its hand, and the spear that had been lying on the ground flew back to its grip.

Of course. Even if they couldn’t use magic, the guardian could.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to last long, wood against human skin isn’t exactly the best combo…”

“Then don’t let it hit you.”

Kevin’s voice was calm, steadier than he felt. His hands were clenched at his sides, fingernails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. He couldn’t fight. Couldn’t cast. Couldn’t do anything but watch and talk.

So he talked.

“It’s slower on its right side. You saw it when you hit the ribs—it didn’t turn as fast after that.”

“You noticed that?” Vivianne circled left, keeping her distance, testing the guardian’s reaction. It tracked her with those glowing crack-eyes, spear held low and loose.

“I’m not useless.”

“Debatable.”

She lunged.

Not at the guardian’s chest or head—at the spear. Her hands wrapped around the shaft just below the blade, and she used her momentum to twist, wrenching the weapon sideways and pulling the guardian off balance.

It staggered.

One step. Two.

Then it planted its feet and yanked back, lifting Vivianne off the ground entirely.

She held on.

“Kevin!”

“Let go!”

“What!?”

“Just do it!”

Vivianne bit her lower lip and obeyed.

The sudden release sent the guardian stumbling backward, exactly as Kevin had hoped. Its weight shifted onto its back foot, the knee she’d already damaged buckling under the strain.

Vivianne dropped low and swept her leg across its ankle.

CRACK.

The guardian fell.

Not gracefully. Not quietly. It crashed onto its side like a falling tree, the impact shaking the clearing and sending cracks spiderwebbing across the packed earth. Its spear clattered from its grip, skidding to a stop near the wall of roots.

“Don’t let it get up!” Kevin shouted.

Vivianne was already moving.

She scrambled onto the guardian’s chest, pinning it down with her weight, and drove her fist into its face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Bark splintered, and blue light flickered with every blow.

The guardian’s hands came up, clawing at her front, ripping apart the fabric of her clothes, but its movements were sluggish now, uncoordinated.

“Stay down!” she snarled.

Fourth punch.

Fifth.

BANG!

The blue light in its eyes guttered and died.

The guardian went still.

Vivianne sat on its chest for a long moment, breathing hard, her knuckles bloody and raw. Then she climbed off, stepped back, and watched as the guardian’s body began to sink into the earth, swallowed by the same packed dirt it had risen from.

The blue symbols on the ground faded.

The walls of roots began to recede.

“I hate this place,” she said.

Kevin walked over to her, his hands already swirling with [Penumbra Recovery].

“Your hand.”

“I know.”

She held it out, wincing as he covered it with his own, violet magic spilling through the small gaps between his fingers.

“Thanks…”

“Least I could do…”

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