Khate could already feel her body reaching its limits.
Although she still maintained the upper hand in several exchanges, she understood better than anyone that the balance would not last much longer. The Dusk Bead continued spreading through her body every second they fought, weakening her healing abilities little by little while draining away the vitality she relied on most.
The battle had already become a race against time.
If she failed to end it quickly enough, she would eventually collapse before Rhea did.
Yet even now, Khate remained cautious.
Something still felt wrong.
Rhea had revealed many abilities already, but Khate refused to believe that this was everything she had prepared before infiltrating the manor. Morgan would never send someone carelessly into a battle like this without multiple safeguards.
While exchanging attacks, Khate continued spreading part of her senses toward the battlefield behind her.
Toward Three.
A faint emerald barrier still protected him beneath the ruined remains of the collapsed manor. Even while fighting, Khate never allowed her awareness around him to weaken for even a moment.
She had already made one mistake by allowing him to be taken hostage earlier.
She would not make another.
Bang.
Her staff collided against Rhea's blood whip once more, releasing another violent shockwave across the shattered courtyard.
Cough.
Blood spilled from Khate's lips immediately afterward.
The green armor covering her body flickered briefly.
Rhea noticed it instantly.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
"You are getting weaker much faster than I expected," she mocked while retreating several steps across the ruined battlefield. "At this rate, you might not even survive long enough to watch your clan fall."
Khate ignored the words completely.
Instead, she forced more vitality through her body and charged forward once again, increasing the intensity of her attacks.
The ground continued collapsing beneath them as green and crimson energy clashed repeatedly across the destroyed manor grounds.
She needed to finish this quickly.
If she had not been poisoned already, Rhea would never have survived this long against her in the first place.
But regrets had no meaning during battle.
Rhea suddenly moved backward again while extending one hand outward.
The remaining two blood servants near the battlefield trembled violently.
Their bodies rapidly withered as streams of blood were forcefully extracted from them and compressed into a small floating crimson bead above Rhea's palm.
The moment the bead formed, Khate's expression changed immediately.
The amount of vitality condensed inside it was horrifying.
Rhea smiled slowly after noticing the reaction.
"You finally noticed."
Khate immediately retreated several steps without hesitation.
The blood bead was unstable.
One wrong move near it would trigger complete destruction.
But instead of attacking Khate directly, Rhea suddenly shifted her gaze elsewhere.
Toward Three.
Khate's eyes widened instantly.
The crimson bead shot forward violently.
Straight toward the emerald barrier protecting her son.
"Three!"
Khate disappeared from her position almost instantly.
The ruined battlefield cracked apart beneath the force of her movement as she rushed directly toward the incoming attack.
Then the explosion happened.
Boom.
A terrifying blast swallowed the entire area instantly.
The first explosion triggered a second one.
Then a third.
Violent crimson shockwaves spread outward continuously while shattered debris and blood mist filled the battlefield completely.
Even the remaining ruins of the manor collapsed further under the force.
For several moments, everything disappeared beneath smoke and destruction.
Rhea remained standing at a distance while breathing heavily.
Her face was pale now.
The battle had drained her far more than she wanted to admit.
Still, as she stared toward the destroyed area ahead, excitement slowly began appearing in her eyes.
No aura remained.
No movement.
No heartbeat.
Nothing.
The emerald presence that had pressured her throughout the battle was completely gone.
Rhea's lips slowly parted.
"I won…"
The words came out almost like disbelief.
Then relief followed immediately afterward.
A shaky laugh escaped her mouth.
"I finally killed you."
She stood there breathing heavily while staring at the destruction ahead of her.
Even after everything she had prepared, defeating Khate had nearly cost her life.
That woman truly had been a monster.
Rhea slowly relaxed her guard for the first time since the battle began.
Then she turned slightly away.
Puchi.
Something sharp pierced through her chest instantly.
Rhea's body froze.
Blood slowly spilled from her lips as she looked downward in disbelief at the black staff protruding from her heart.
Her breathing stopped briefly.
Then she slowly turned her head.
Behind her, Khate stood unsteadily while gripping the blood-covered staff tightly with both hands.
Her armor had almost completely dimmed.
Large burns covered parts of her body while blood continued flowing down her arms and lips without stopping.
Yet she was still standing.
Rhea's pupils trembled violently.
"I thought… you died…"
Her voice came out weak and broken.
Khate looked at her coldly despite the exhaustion visible across her face.
"I told you…" Blood slipped from her lips again as she struggled to steady herself. "You celebrated too early."
She pulled the staff out violently.
Thud.
Rhea's body collapsed onto the ruined battlefield heavily.
Dust slowly rose around the corpse.
Khate remained standing for several seconds afterward, simply staring downward to make sure the woman would never rise again.
Only after confirming that Rhea was truly dead did the strength finally leave her body.
Her knees struck the broken ground heavily.
The emerald armor surrounding her flickered repeatedly before slowly beginning to disappear piece by piece.
Khate's breathing became uneven.
Every part of her body felt unbearably heavy now.
The poison inside her had spread much deeper during the fight than she initially expected.
Still, none of that mattered to her at that moment.
Her eyes slowly shifted toward the ruined remains of the manor.
Toward the faint emerald barrier hidden beneath the debris.
"Three…"
Her voice had become weak now.
Even dragging herself forward became difficult.
Yet she still forced her exhausted body to move slowly across the shattered battlefield toward her son.