“That’s rude,” Nigō murmured, her voice low and nguid, as if the near-death attack had been nothing more than a minor invenience.

  Reika’s frown deepehe faint smirk on Nigō’s face stoking her irritation further. “Why aren’t you helping them?” she demanded, gesturing sharply toward the remnants of the Cerberus Children and the ongoing battle involving Ichigō and Sangō. Her voice was firm, edged with a challenge meant to provoke.

  Nigō tilted her head slightly, her emerald eyes drifting zily toward Reika. “I don’t like fighting,” she replied, her tone devoid of any urgency or . “It’s messy.”

  Reika ched her fists, crimson energy flickering faintly around her as she fought the urge to sh out. Instead, her lips curled into a taunting smirk. “Then why are you even here?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. “You’ve recovered their bodies already, so run along now, little girl.”

  Her words were deliberate, a calcuted attempt to prod at Nigō’s pride. Beh Reika’s posed demeanor was the fiery spirit of a devil, much like Rias Gremory’s—a force that thrived on challenges and pushing her enemies into a. She wasn’t about to let this enigmatian remain a passive spectator.

  Nigō, however, seemed unfazed by the jab. She straightened slightly, brushing an invisible speck of dust from her sleeve, her expression calm aached. “I’m here to observe,” she said finally, her tone as cryptic as ever. “Orders are orders, after all.”

  Reika’s frown deepened further. The woman’s cryptic response was maddening, her aloof demeanor a stark trast to the chaos surrounding them. Reika could feel the tension in the air, her instincts screaming that Nigō was far more dangerous tha on.

  Before Reika could press further, the ground trembled beh her feet. A fresh wave of meical wolves surged forward, their glowing red eyes locked onto her. Their snarls filled the air, their cws tearing through the earth as they lunged.

  With a flick of her wrist, Reika summoned another volley of red spheres, their ominous glow casting long shadows across the battlefield. The spheres shot forward with lethal precision, slig through the wolves like a scythe through grass. Explosioed in quick succession, the air filling with smoke and the acrid st of scorched metal.

  When the dust settled, the remnants of the meical beasts y in shattered heaps, their once-menag forms reduced to lifeless debris. Reika’s gaze snapped back to Nigō, her crimson spheres still h around her, ready to strike.

  But Nigō didn’t budge. She stayed by the tree, her expression unging, as if none of it ed her. “Impressive,” she murmured, a hint of real admiration in her voice. “But I wonder… how long you keep this up? We summohings endlessly. lenty more… these ‘children,’ as we call them, who perceive the entire world—nd and sea.”

  Reika bristled at the insinuation, her sharp eyes log onto Nigō with renewed iy. The woman’s calm, cryptic demeanor was as infuriating as it was unnerving. She knew Nigō was baiting her, but the question lingered in the air, a silent challehat refused to be ignored.

  Oher side of the battlefield, Kuro squared off against Saibogu Ichigō once more. The tensioween them alpable, the air charged with unspoken challenge. Ichigō’s newly enhanced meical suit gleamed ominously uhe fractured light filtering through the forest opy. The sleek design of his armor hi cutting-edge teology, every joint and surfaized for both offense and defense.

  Ichigō’s movements were precise and calcuted, his body a symphony of meical efficy. Yet, Kuro met him strike for strike, his Jeet Kune Do an artful blend of fluidity and explosive power. Every dodge, ter, and attack flowed seamlessly, his movements almost hypnoti their rhythm.

  Ichigō lunged forward with lethal i, his arm shifting mid-strike into a double-edged bde that sliced through the air with a high-pitched whihe bde’s edge shimmered faintly, charged with energy that could shear through steel with ease.

  Kuro’s response was effortless. He sidestepped with a motion so swift it appeared as if he had vanished for a fra of a sed. The bde missed by a hair’s breadth, carving a deep gouge into the ground where he had stood. With a sharp pivot, Kuro shifted his weight and drove his palm into Ichigō’s shoulder.

  The strike wasn’t ordinary—his Thunder Cp skill activated upon tact, sending a jolt of crag electricity c through Ichigō’s frame. Sparks erupted from the cyb’s shoulder joint, the circuitry within momentarily overloaded by the attack.

  Ichigō staggered back, the impact leaving a visible dent in his gleaming armor. Wisps of smoke rose from his shoulder, but the damage didn’t wipe the smirk from his face. “Impressive,” Ichigō admitted, his voice tinged with grudging respect. “You’re really worthy of notio wonder Fire Fly Corporation pced a bounty on your head.”

  Kuro didn’t bother with a response. His expression remained unreadable, his sharp eyes analyzing every movement of his oppo. Without wasting a sed, he shifted his stance, his feet grounding firmly as he gathered energy.

  With a sudden burst of speed, Kuro closed the distaween them and unleashed his Kangaroo Cut. The uppercut carried with it immense power, a bination of raw strength and perfectly timed momentum. The strike ected with Ichigō’s chestpte, the force so great it sent the cyb hurtling backward.

  Ichigō’s body collided with a tree, the impact shattering the trunk with an explosive crack. Splinters flew in every dire as the tree crumbled uhe force, leaving Ichigō sprawled amidst the debris.

  Kuro stood his ground, his gaze steady and unwavering. His aura crackled faintly with residual energy, a testament to the precision and trol he had honed over tless battles. “You’re strong,” he said, his tone calm and measured. “But you rely too mu your tech. That’s your weakness.”

  Ichigō groaned, his meical joints whirring as he pushed himself back to his feet. His once-pristine armor was dented and scorched, sparks dang itently along its surface. But his crimson eyes burned with undiminished determination.

  “You’ll regret uimating us,” Ichigō growled, his voice a mix of defiand menace.

  Kuro tilted his head slightly, his expressioraying no fear. “Then stop talking and prove it.”