"Three to go!"

Kiro slashed downwards, impaling an Elder with Rain and shifting to the side to avoid a barrage of incoming attacks. The man's screams died down as Seira landed beside him, and he flicked the blood off the blade with a frown. They were almost done, and while he had certainly exerted himself in the fight, the amount he had progressed from last time astounded him.

The two remaining Elders backed up, preparing defensive techniques on shaky legs. "T-traitorous scum! You will not live to see the sun rise! The matriarch will make sure of —"

He spat at them. "Get their souls."

Seira flashed forwards, and suddenly both of their souls released into the air, their reactions not fast enough to even register her attack.

He threw a concoction, letting a cloud of fire mana trap the escaping wisps as he worked to contain them. These were nascent souls — the mark of a mystic that was supposedly many times stronger than him. However, because of Hong Ma's tampering, their power was severely crippled, becoming less than that of even his own core. He shuddered, circulating his mana on instinct.

Seira appeared back beside him, and he accepted the runed bottle. "Rynn?"

She shook her head. "Elder Fang must have taken him in the chaos."

He covered the glass, ignoring the former man's screams as he attempted to pass through the imbued material. "Well then. I think that this traitorous scum has an offer for you..."

The Elder whimpered.

***

Aer studied the other Saint, hope rising up inside her heart. Maybe this was enough. He was a younger Saint, after all. What if he wasn't confident in his combat abilities? True mana was notoriously difficult to manipulate with broader aspects, and doubly so when it reacted differently from its natural counterparts.

She spread her arms wide, looking as if she welcomed any assault he would bring her. And, for just a moment, he hesitated. She smirked. All her cards were laid, and now she just had to play by ear.

Rythian Marlowe bowed to her, once more showing his flawless white teeth. "Ah, honored Saint of lightning, your offer is very generous. However, as a businessman and a leader, I must take all factors into account. And while your promise of spirit jades is generous indeed, you seem to be missing a very key thing here — opportunity cost."

His aura flared, and he brandished a gleaming crystal warhammer.

"You see, fellow Saint, it doesn't matter which route I choose — I will be getting the spirit jades no matter what. However, what I would not be getting with your compromise is the host of other treasures you're bound to be carrying on your person!"

He waved a hand, and the very earth beneath them ruptured, giving way to a massive river of flowing magma. "And it costs me near nothing to kill you, dear Saint."

Aer gritted her teeth, flaring her aura to counter his. Her disciples were near enough to be affected by this battle, and even a whiff of this man's aura might be enough to injure them. "Well then, Sir Marlowe, it looks as if we have reached a disagreement."

Her killing intent heightened, and a blade of air so dense it looked solid sped towards the rival Saint. A towering wall of molten rock rose to meet it, and the resulting steam shrouded the entire valley in mist. She brandished her glowing staff once more, manipulating the mist around it to form a thousand tiny shards of ice.

Rythian Marlowe emerged with a roar, and the staff descended like a heavenly ray, piercing the fog and striking the man point-blank in the chest. His flesh dissolved upon meeting the force of the blow, but his spirit flared, and he instantly reformed it.

She circled him in the air, true lightning crackling in her palms. "It seems as if you have underestimated the cost of killing me, Rythian. Though you may have power, you simply don't have the skill to defeat me. And you clearly cannot use true magma, or else you would have tried by now."

He laughed, conjuring a hailstorm of obsidian. "No, wind Saint. For I know your fatal weakness."

She swept the shards away with a gale, but the ground beneath them trembled, shooting a plume of hyper condensed smoke.

"You see, while it is true that I am not as skilled, nor as powerful, I do not need to be."

She dispersed the smoke in an instant, only to be met with an all-encompassing jet of glowing red magma.

"You will not kill me."

She surrounded herself with a cocoon of air, and the warhammer pounded down on it with the force of a mountain.

"It is the job of a successful businessman to be perceptive, and I have observed all your actions. From you intentionally pulling your aura away from a specific area, to the fact that despite all your show, you haven't used true lightning on me a single time yet. I know your entire story, and I know that you would sooner die than kill."

Her channels strained with the effort of enforcing the barrier, and an onslaught of attacks pushed them to the point of tearing. "And I know that you're protecting a trio of apprentices, courtesy of the lovely Hong Ma. So while I may not have been able to hit you by myself, I don't need to."

He stepped away, and she watched in slow motion as true earth started to form in his palms. "Just like anything in this world, all I needed to do was provide sufficient motivation."

The gray mass of Saintly mana coalesced, and he pointed it to her immortal's cave, smirking. "Apologies for the agonizing experience you're about to receive, but that's just the cost of doing business."