To Hunt a Tiger

"Well, this is... sigh." Leo wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned. The blood on the back of his hand was dark crimson. It was his own. To be precise, it was blood that had boiled up and burst from within after being grazed by the heat of Ilryun moments ago.

The wound itself wasn't deep. Leo's physical body was already in an absurd realm. If an ordinary swordsman had been grazed by that same heat, their bones would have withered, and they would have turned to ash on the spot. Even a typical executive of the Demon King's Army would have had to sacrifice an arm. Yet Leo endured.

His skin burned, his muscle fibers tore, and some of the physical circuits that absorbed shock snapped, but he swallowed the pain. And after swallowing it, he laughed.

"Crazy bitch."

The words were closer to admiration than an insult. Leo was laughing. Murderous intent gleamed in his eyes, blood stained his mouth, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his breath was hot with the fever of battle. Even so, he looked delighted. Like a beast that had finally found a fight where its body could be thoroughly broken. Like a monster that relished the very possibility of its own destruction.

Ena watched him. Cheonram in her left hand. Ilryun in her right. The dark grey wind and the solar heat leaking from the black scabbard wrapped around her hands in contrasting currents.

The poison that touched Ilryun's heat evaporated. But instead of vanishing, the evaporated poison grew finer. It became a smaller, more deeply penetrating mist. Scattering into the air, it turned into microscopic toxic particles that couldn't be blocked simply by holding one's breath.

Dispersing it with Cheonram split the layers. Burning it with Ilryun made it finer. Yet leaving it alone meant it would accumulate in her body. Annoying. It was a truly annoying method.

Ena took a short breath. A faint metallic taste rose from the back of her throat. There was an unfamiliar heat somewhere deep inside her body. It wasn't the heat of Baekil. It was a heat that did not belong to her. Scorpio's poison was circulating slowly through her veins, feeling as though thin needles were scraping the insides of her organs.

Leo didn't miss that subtle shift.

"Your breathing changed a bit," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Is it finally kicking in?"

Ena replied in a low voice, "Laugh all you want now."

The blade of Ilryun rose ever so slightly. The sun, just drawn from its black scabbard, had not yet fully opened. Even so, the surrounding poison fog withered into white ash near the blade. "For you will soon die with your faces contorted."

Leo's laughter grew louder. "Haha."

He bowed his head slightly, then raised it again. The blood at the corner of his mouth dripped down his chin. Drip. Before the blood could even touch the ground, it dried under Ilryun's intense heat, turning into a black stain. Leo bared his teeth, looking even more amused at the sight.

"No, really. I never imagined there'd be someone who could take on both Taurus and me at the same time."

At those words, the earth behind them rumbled. Taurus moved. His colossal body was already covered in wounds. The tip of his left horn had melted and half-vanished under Ilryun's heat, and a deep gash left by Cheonram's wind scarred his shoulder. The flesh beneath his black hide was split open, with crimson demonic energy oozing out like lava. Yet Taurus did not retreat. Planting his feet deep into the earth, he held the entire battlefield as if it were an extension of his own body.

A power that turned the very ground into his ally.

Whenever Ena stepped toward Leo, Taurus upended the ground beneath her feet. Whenever Ena tried to slash Taurus, Leo lunged for her wrists at that exact moment.

The coordination between the two wasn't seamless. Rather, it was crude and violent. Leo clashed with her with a laugh, while Taurus silently pressed forward. When Leo threw off Ena's sword path with his shockwaves, Taurus collapsed the ground beneath her unbalanced stance. When Taurus bound Ena's feet with the earth, Leo burst through the gap like an explosion.

If they came one by one, she could simply slash them. If they came one by one, she could simply burn them. But with both moving in unison, the battlefield demanded both of Ena's hands.

Deflect Leo's shockwaves with Cheonram. Burn Taurus's core with Ilryun. And dodge Sagittarius's snipes, which intruded between the two, with her body. Cut through Scorpio's poison with Cheonram. Suppress Asklepios's staff between Ilryun and Cheonram.

Seriously. What a tiresome battlefield.

Ena shifted her feet. It was a small movement. But at that single step, Leo's eyes gleamed.

"Here she comes." He lowered his stance with a grin.

Ena lunged toward Taurus first. To be precise, toward the empty space between Taurus and Leo. It was a place far too dangerous to be called "empty space." Taurus's horn was descending from the front, Leo's fist was flying from the right, and Sagittarius's arrow was holding its breath in the sky. Yet, that was the shortest path. The point where she could disrupt their coordination the fastest.

Ena's left hand moved. Cheonram whipped up the wind first. Leo's fist collided with the wind. Boom! A shockwave erupted. Cheonram's wind didn't take the impact head-on. It twisted it. Bending it at an angle, sliding it to the side, and dropping a portion of it downward. But Leo pulled that deflected shockwave back into his own body. Black patterns flashed across his forearm. He absorbed the shock. Having absorbed it, he unleashed it once more.

His second fist flew forward, heavier than the first. Ena brought Cheonram back. The winds overlapped. Meanwhile, Ilryun in her right hand swept low.

Taurus's horn was coming down. A massive horn. A hide like black rock. Crimson demonic energy flowing within. Ilryun grazed the side of the horn. A line of searing heat was etched onto it. Taurus's massive frame shook slightly. A piece of the horn broke off. Before the fallen fragment could even hit the ground, it withered and crumbled into dust. Taurus let out a short groan for the first time.

"Urrgh..." A massive rumble from his throat. The earth vibrated in resonance.

Ena tried to press deeper into the opening. At that moment—shwek.Sagittarius's arrow arrived. A snipe fired from an unseen distance. The arrow didn't aim for Ena's neck. An target too obvious would no longer work. This shot was aimed at Ena's left ankle. Specifically, the exact spot where she had to place her next step right after deflecting Leo's second fist and melting Taurus's horn.

No matter how fast a human body was, there was always a moment when the center of gravity shifted. Sagittarius targeted that precise split second. An inch. Truly less than an inch away. The arrow zipped past Ena's ankle and embedded itself in the ground. It didn't explode. Instead, a spike of black demonic energy shot up from where it landed.

An arrow meant to anchor her to the ground. A snipe designed to synchronize with Taurus's terrain collapse. If Ena had stepped there, her ankle would have been bound for a single breath. A single breath. On this battlefield, that was more than enough.

Ena narrowed her eyes. "The archer has a nasty personality as well."

No answer came from the distance. Sagittarius did not show himself. He only sent arrows. And he did so from amidst the poison fog, Leo, Taurus, and Asklepios. It was an exhausting tactic.

Ena swept Cheonram low. The poison fog was rising again. The layer she had cleared just moments ago had already reached neck height. Scorpio was far away. Still out of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sight. Yet the poison was continuously being generated. It rode the wind. It seeped through the cracks. It bloomed anew from Asklepios's roots. Poison sacs scattered across the battlefield ruptured, spewing mist.

Dispersing it with Cheonram. Slice through the layers of poison. Force it down to the ground. But the ground was full of roots. The roots fed on the poison and bloomed again.

To break this cycle, she had to kill Scorpio. Ena already knew this. She just had to kill Scorpio. It was a simple conclusion. The problem was that the Demon King's Army knew this too.

The moment Ena shifted her gaze toward Scorpio's general direction, the Zodiacs moved. As if they had been waiting for that single step from the very beginning.

Leo charged from the front. Taurus hoisted up the earth between Ena and Scorpio. Sagittarius's arrow pierced the path ahead of her trajectory first. Asklepios's vines, laden with poison, rose like a wall. Beyond the poison fog, she could sense Scorpio's faint laughter.

Ena clicked her tongue. "You certainly have a knack for banding together to be a nuisance."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Leo laughed, thrusting his fist forward.

"It was not a compliment."

Cheonram met Leo's fist. The shockwave deflected to the side. At the same time, Ilryun slashed low. A portion of Taurus's rising ground melted under the heat and collapsed. An arrow flew through the gap. This time, it targeted Ena's wrist. Her right hand, which held Ilryun.

Ena didn't dodge. She deflected Leo's fist with Cheonram, guiding the arrow directly into its trajectory. Boom!Sagittarius's arrow exploded against Leo's forearm. Leo's arm recoiled to the side. Blood splattered. Leo laughed a beat late. Leo laughed even louder.

"I see!"

He shook his ruptured arm. The wound tore wider, and dark crimson blood spilled out. Yet his muscles still moved. His shock-absorption circuits reconnected. Taurus lunged into the fray. His massive frame loomed over Ena's left. His horn was broken and his shoulder was split, but his weight remained undiminished.

Ilryun pointed toward Taurus. Ena slashed not at Taurus's body, but beneath his feet.

"Urrgh..." The center of gravity Taurus had anchored into the earth. The root of that heavy power. The moment it touched the sun-aligned blade's tip, it withered into white ash. Creeeeak! The ground split open belatedly. The earth beneath Taurus's feet gave way. His colossal body shook ever so slightly.

As long as Taurus held his grip on the earth, he was as immovable as a mountain. But the moment his core was severed, even a mountain would crumble. His left foot sank. His knee wobbled. His shoulder tilted.

Ena didn't miss the opening. Cheonram swept in from the side. The dark grey wind brushed aside Leo's fist and flowed low toward Taurus's flank. The wind didn't leave a deep wound. Instead, it disrupted his balance. Thud! The massive body lurched to one side. For the first time, Taurus nearly fell to his knees.

"Urrgh..." A low groan echoed. It sounded less like a cry of pain and more like boulders grinding against each other deep underground. Dark crimson blood dripped from Taurus's mouth. At the tip of his broken horn, the lingering heat of Ilryun still burned white. Between the gashes carved into his chest hide, red demonic energy flowed like lava. That massive frame was faltering.

A monster that could only tie down Ena's hands when working in tandem with Leo. That very Taurus had lost his balance simply because the ground beneath his feet had been severed.

Leo's laughter ceased for a brief moment. "Oh," he muttered in short admiration. "You actually saw through that."

Ena didn't answer. It wasn't because she lacked the leisure to do so. He simply wasn't worth exchanging words with. Her gaze was already tracking Taurus's next move.

Taurus didn't fall. He channeled his strength back into the collapsed ground. The earth squirmed. Over the severed roots of demonic energy, new roots began to grow. White roots sprouted from the black soil. Roots twisting like serpents. Green life force flowed through them.

Ena narrowed her eyes. Up above. High over the battlefield. Astride the shattered bedrock and overturned terrain, Asklepios was brandishing his staff.

Her self-proclaimed "son." The moment she recalled that label, Ena's stomach turned even more. He was smiling. A light of life force flowed from the tip of his staff, which resembled black wood. The ring ornament depicting a snake eating its tail opened, and blue and black light flared simultaneously from within. That light descended to Taurus's feet. It drove roots into his severed core. Over the demonic roots charred by the sun, it forcibly overlaid new life.

The collapsed ground beneath Taurus rose again. The split earth locked back together. Taurus's left foot gripped the ground once more. "Urrgh..." His groan grew deeper.

Ena let out a very soft breath. "Sigh."

It was a breath laced with irritation. And fatigue. She hated to admit it, but it was definitely there. Ena's speed and power were overwhelming. That was undeniable. She reacted even when Leo lunged. She found her balance even when Taurus flipped the earth. She dodged even when Sagittarius targeted the gaps in her breathing from beyond her sight.

She pushed back even when Asklepios closed in, mixing his staff, magic, and snakes. She sliced through the layers with Cheonram even when Scorpio's poison fog filled the battlefield like air. Ena was still fast. Still strong. Still keeping track of every direction on the battlefield.

But... "Cough." Blood welled up from the back of her throat. This time, she couldn't swallow it down. Dark crimson blood trickled from between her lips. Drip. The blood running down her jawline stained her white clothes like a tiny dot. It was a small stain. For a mark left by a swordsman capable of ending an entire battlefield, it was far too small, far too quiet.

But the Zodiacs saw it. Leo didn't stop laughing, but his gaze grew sharper. Taurus let out a low, rumbling breath. Asklepios curled his lips upward, staff in hand. Far beyond the poison fog, Scorpio's thin laughter drifted over.

Ena wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. It came away bloody. Dark crimson, slightly sticky, and turbid with poison. It felt unpleasant. The same went for the inside of her body. Scorpio's poison was no longer merely scraping the back of her throat. It was circulating through her veins. It was clinging thinly to the depths of her lungs. It was seeping into her muscles, gradually dulling the transmission of her strength. It left a subtle feverish sensation beneath her skin. The sensation in her fingertips lagged by the briefest of moments.

Yet Ena knew. The feeling of being a hundredth of a beat slow in the hand gripping her sword. The sensation of her feet pressing against the ground feeling just a fraction heavier than usual. The discomfort of her lungs feeling damp inside even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when she wasn't inhaling. And Asklepios was approaching with a smile, staff in hand.

It was a well-laid trap. Truly. To a disgusting degree.

"Mother," Asklepios spoke from above. His voice was soft. Even with the stench of blood and poison mingling in the middle of the battlefield, he spoke as if he were taking a leisurely stroll through a garden. "Seeing you spit blood isn't half bad."

Ena raised her head. Asklepios stood atop the shattered bedrock. Behind him, vines, snakes, and roots flowed like a living cloak. The light of life force was still dripping from the tip of his staff, connecting directly to Taurus's feet. Even if she severed it, he reattached it. Even if she burned it, he overlaid it. He wasn't healing dying tissue; he was embedding new life to keep it moving. Even if Ena slashed beneath Taurus's feet, Asklepios would raise him back up. That was why the battle wouldn't end.

"Beautiful, as expected," Asklepios said. "The moment a strong being reveals their weakness is always a sight to behold."

Ena lowered her blood-stained hand. "To your eyes, everything must look beautiful."

"Not quite," Asklepios laughed. "There are certainly ugly things. For instance, the attitude of my mother, who gave birth to me only to turn her back on me."

Ena's eyes sank coldly. "I never gave birth to you."

"Yet my flesh and blood are yours?"

"One does not call scraps gathered and stitched together a birth."

"Then let us call it a creation."

"Do you also have a hobby of naming trash cans?"

Asklepios laughed, looking even more delighted. "Your tongue is as sharp as ever. We truly are alike."

"That mouth of yours will soon cease to resemble mine."

"I look forward to it." He raised his staff. "Now, I shall join in as well," Asklepios said. He stepped down slowly from the shattered bedrock. His steps were light. The tip of his staff tapped the empty air. Normally, there would be no ground to step on. Yet every time the staff moved, thin roots bloomed in the air. Black vines briefly wove together to form a foothold, only to wither and crumble the moment his foot passed over them. It was as if the battlefield itself was temporarily fashioning stairs for him. It was a grotesque sight.

Ena watched him, leaving the blood on her mouth unwiped. Asklepios's face still closely resembled Ena's. Silver-white hair. Clear eyes. Arrogantly refined features. Except within him, there was none of the fatigue, responsibility, or irritated humanity that Ena possessed. In their place was a pathological self-love and composure. A face that took it completely for granted that he stood at the center of this battlefield. Eyes that regarded the fact that his body was made from her scraps as some beautiful tale of creation.

Ena felt sick to her stomach every time she saw that face. Not because he was a strong enemy. But because they looked alike. They looked alike, but in a way they never should have.

Asklepios leaned his staff against his shoulder. The snake ring at its tip slowly opened. Green life force pooled inside the white snake's mouth. Simultaneously, black demonic energy wrapped around it. Healing. Regeneration. Plant manipulation. Magic. And close-quarters combat. All of it gathered at the tip of a single staff.

Asklepios smiled. "The three strongest in terms of raw power within the Zodiac? Mother."

At those words, Leo turned his head. Blood still stained his mouth. Perhaps due to the impact of being slammed into the ground by Ena earlier, the skin near his jaw was torn. Yet he was still grinning. "Three?" His golden eyes locked onto Asklepios. "You're counting yourself in?"

"Is there any reason I should be excluded?" Asklepios asked back lightly. "Whether by pure physical strength or anything else, I am the strongest among the Zodiac."

He slowly spun his staff. Perhaps unable to refute it, Taurus let out a low rumble. "Urrgh..." It was hard to tell if the sound was an agreement or a warning. But Asklepios didn't care in the slightest. He looked down at the roots extending beneath Taurus's feet. The core Ena had just severed. The roots of the earth withered by Ilryun's heat.

That spot was now forcibly held together by the white roots and black vines Asklepios had embedded. Taurus stood. His original balance had been broken once. But Asklepios had overlaid a new balance. It was too violent to be called healing, yet too alive to be called reinforcement.

Ena observed the structure. She had to cut it. Not Taurus's body, but the life force of Asklepios embedded beneath him. She had to sever that. But now Asklepios had descended in person. That meant only one thing. He didn't intend to just provide support. He planned to join the melee.

Leo generated shockwaves from the front. Taurus held the earth. Asklepios filled the gaps with his staff, roots, and magic. The three strongest within the Zodiac. Leo's shockwaves. Taurus's weight. Asklepios's body, reinforced by life force and magic. Their pure forms differed, but all of them were raw power.

Ena let out a short breath. "To think you would count yourself among the three with your own mouth."

"Am I wrong?" Asklepios smiled. "Even if I am a degraded copy, my original is you."

Those words settled over the battlefield. Leo grinned. Taurus's red eyes locked onto Ena. Asklepios pointed his staff forward.

"I was created from your flesh and blood. Built around the traces that endured your heat, with the Demon King granting me life force and magic." He placed his hand over his chest. "My completion rate might be low, but my starting point was simply too high."

Ena's eyes turned cold. "Arrogant."

"Does that resemble you as well?"

"It seems you only gathered my worst traits."

"Then that makes it even more splendid." Asklepios looked genuinely delighted. "A replica with only good traits is boring. A life must have flaws to be real."

"I have no desire to call you a life."

"Then what shall you call me?"

"Waste."

Asklepios's smile faltered for a split second. Truly, just a fraction of a moment. Though the corners of his mouth remained curled upward, the light in his eyes dimmed. Ena caught the shift. I struck a nerve. Even he had a trigger.

Asklepios smiled again. "Is that so?" He lowered his staff. "Then, as befits waste, let me dirty my mother's hands."

At that moment, Leo moved. It was before the words had even finished. The lion vanished from the front. No, he had closed the distance too quickly. Boom! The earth exploded beneath Leo's feet. The shockwave arrived first, with his body appearing to follow right behind. Leo's fist didn't aim for Ena's face. Her disrupted breathing. Her blood flow slightly muddied by the poison. The split second her left hand holding Cheonram reacted a fraction slower after spitting blood. He targeted that exact vulnerability.

Cheonram rose. The dark grey wind deflected the fist. The shockwave slid to the side. Leo pulled the deflected shockwave back into his body. His second fist followed immediately. Ena raised Ilryun low. The solar heat grazed Leo's forearm. His skin burned and his muscles tore. Leo gritted his teeth, but his grin didn't fade.

"Hot!" The moment he shouted—

Taurus stomped the ground. Rumble! The earth beneath Ena's feet sank. This time, it wasn't a simple crack. Taurus dragged the entire ground downward. As if a massive counterweight had been driven into the center of the battlefield, the ground beneath Ena's ankles dropped. Ena tried to pull her feet out immediately.

At that moment, Asklepios's staff lunged. From top to bottom. Like a club. No, like an axe. The snake ring at the tip of the staff opened, spewing a black magic circle. Gravity. Pressure. A forced binding by roots forged of life force. White roots erupted from beneath Ena's feet, attempting to wrap around her ankles.

Ena narrowed her eyes. They've coordinated their timing. Leo tied down her hands. Taurus collapsed the ground beneath her. Asklepios pressed down from above with his staff and seized her ankles with roots. A triple-layered suppression. The forms of their power differed, but their goal was one: stop Ena's movements. Just for a single breath. In that single breath, Sagittarius's arrow would strike. Scorpio's poison would invade.

For the first time since sending Arcel away, Ena felt that the structure of this battlefield had completely shifted. The Zodiacs were no longer attacking individually. They were utilizing one another. Taurus's weight was layered over Leo's shockwaves, and Asklepios's life force was embedded into Taurus's terrain. Through the gaps, Sagittarius's snipes and Scorpio's poison slipped in.

Fine. She hated to admit it, but it was impressive. A well-laid trap. And just as tiresome.

Ena slashed Ilryun low. The roots attempting to bind her ankles withered into white ash. At the same time, she flipped Cheonram. Leo's second fist was pushed aside by the wind and deflected. Yet Asklepios's staff continued its descent. Ena didn't dodge. She blocked the staff with the pommel of Cheonram. Boom! The air compressed. The staff was pushed back. Asklepios's wrist bent backward. A sharp crack echoed from his wrist bone. But snakes immediately wrapped around it. White serpents coiled around his wrist, forcibly snapping the bone back into place.

He laughed. "As expected."

Ena raised Ilryun. She delivered a swift thrust toward Asklepios's chest. At that moment, Taurus's bedrock erupted from the side. A thick slab of dark stone interposed itself before Ilryun's path. The solar blade sliced through the bedrock. But that single beat—in that single beat, Asklepios retreated. The hem of his clothes was slightly singed. A shallow line was carved into his chest. Instead of blood, a green light seeped from the wound. Asklepios touched the wound with his fingertips. "So close."

Ena said in a low voice, "Next time, I will hit."

"And next time, I shall block it better."

"You are a quick learner."

"Only because my mother is so outstanding."

"Your mouth remains as insolent as ever."

"Didn't I tell you to cut it off?"

Instead of answering, Ena moved. Cheonram swept left, cutting off Leo's angle of entry. Ilryun descended to the bottom right, targeting Taurus's feet once more. But this time, Asklepios reacted first. His staff struck the ground. Thud. White roots spread out in advance beneath Taurus's feet. A living barrier formed along the path of Ena's Ilryun. The barrier wasn't hard. Rather, it was soft. It burned upon contact with the solar heat. But the moment it burned, it spewed a green mist laden with toxic fumes. Scorpio's poison was mixed into it.

Ena immediately suppressed Ilryun's output. Burning it more would spread the poison. Burning it less meant she couldn't sever Taurus's core. In that split second, Leo closed in. "What a great expression!" Leo's fist slammed down onto Cheonram. Boom! The shockwave traveled up her arm. This time, it hit slightly deeper. Ena deflected it with Cheonram, but her breath was short due to the poison. Blood welled up from deep inside. She swallowed it. But this time, a portion of it leaked through her lips. Drip. Dark crimson blood ran down her chin. Leo's eyes flashed. "It's working."

Ena looked at him. "Your arm is cooking as well."

Leo's forearm was indeed charred black. The part grazed by Ilryun was slow to recover. Even Leo's body, which endured through shock absorption, couldn't fully adapt to the solar heat. He clenched and unclenched his fingers. Blood and charred flesh moved together. "That's what makes it fun," he laughed again.

Taurus charged from the side. This time, it was a full-body tackle. A mountain moving in tandem with the earth. Ena twisted her body. She pushed Leo back with Cheonram and scraped Taurus's flank with Ilryun. Taurus's hide split open. But Asklepios's staff descended from above. Ena ducked. The staff grazed past her head. Snakes rained down along its trajectory. Black snakes. White snakes. Small, venomous serpents lunged toward Ena's shoulders and arms. A wide swing of Cheonram could clear them away. But the poison fog was present. Using a large gust of wind would only disperse the poison further.

Ena used Cheonram in short strokes. Short. Low. Cutting only what was about to touch her body. The heads of the black snakes fell. The white snakes were sliced in half. But venom splattered from their severed bodies. Ena dried it with Ilryun's heat. At that moment, more toxic fumes arose. Small enough to easily slip into her body. Ena held her breath. But it was already too late. The metallic taste rose from the back of her throat once more. This time, it was hard to swallow. "Cough." A tiny sound. Blood pooled on her lips. Asklepios watched, his eyes gleaming. "Even the color of your blood is like mine."

Ena thrust Ilryun toward him as if throwing it. Asklepios raised his staff to block. Boom! The tip of the staff exploded. Half of the snake ring was blown away. Asklepios's palm split open as well. Yet he didn't let go of the staff. Roots sprouted from inside his palm, binding the staff together with his flesh. He smiled. "That hurts."

Ena's eyes grew even colder at his words. Disgusting.

Ena took a step forward. This time, toward Asklepios. Leo naturally reacted. Taurus moved as well. Sagittarius's arrow was instantly notched. Scorpio's poison grew thicker. But Ena didn't stop. She deflected Leo's first fist with Cheonram. She burned the bedrock Taurus hoisted with Ilryun. She lowered her body to dodge Sagittarius's snipe. The shot grazed past, severing a few strands of her hair. Silver-white hair scattered in the poison fog. Through the gap, Ena reached Asklepios.

Ilryun swept from bottom to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top. Asklepios's staff blocked it. It blocked, but was pushed back. The staff bent. His guard opened. Ena flipped Cheonram into a reverse grip. The dark grey wind tore through Asklepios's flank. Rip. Instead of blood, vines burst out. Asklepios's smile contorted ever so slightly. It was the first time. A face touched by genuine pain. Ena saw that expression.

"That face suits you better."

"Mother. You are quite cruel, aren't you?"

"Hardly as cruel as you."

Ena tried to press further. At that moment, Taurus's massive body lunged from the side. Leo's fist flew in from the opposite direction. Both moved to protect Asklepios. Leo was laughing, but his judgment was precise. If Asklepios died, Taurus's regenerative reinforcement would cease. The cycle of poison and roots would also slow down. The Zodiacs knew this. That was why they blocked her.

Ena raised both Cheonram and Ilryun simultaneously. Deflecting Leo's fist with the wind. Suppressing Taurus's shoulder with the heat. BOOM! A shockwave erupted from the center of the battlefield. The poison fog was blown back, only to surge right back in. Ena held her breath within the storm. Blood welled up again. This time, she couldn't swallow it. "Cough." Blood spilled. From her mouth to her chin. From her chin to her white clothes. Drip. It was more than before. Ena wiped the blood with the back of her hand. No matter how much she wiped, it kept smearing. Her insides felt turbid. But her eyes were not yet dead. Rather, they grew clearer.

"Very well," Ena said. Her voice was low and quiet. "Did you say there are five of you who came to capture me?"

Asklepios smiled. "Indeed."

Leo rolled his shoulders. Taurus made the earth rumble.

Ena raised Cheonram and Ilryun. "Then all five of you..." Her blood-stained lips parted slightly. "I shall burn you all, leaving not a single bone behind."

Sheath. She sheathed Cheonram. She wasn't giving up on Cheonram.

Creak...

She was giving up on herself.