Several seconds passed.

"So this is the strength of the legendary Sword Mage? Truly extraordinary," the tall man said, standing up again without any harm.

"......"

Although Hiyori didn't know what was going on, she knew it wasn't that simple. So she wasn't very surprised.

"It seems like I'm lucky today, encountering such a good opponent."

It seemed that the tall man had forgotten what he was supposed to do and became excited on his own.

Saying that, the tall man picked up the broken pieces of the wall next to him with his hand and threw them directly at Hiyori.

In response, Hiyori jumped to the side, but it seemed to be exactly what the tall man wanted. After throwing the stones, the tall man charged forward, this was the legendary two-stage attack?

After dodging the stone attack, the tall man immediately launched another attack. Facing the charging tall man, Hiyori couldn't dodge at the moment.

So... Hiyori tightly gripped her long sword, Murayuki, and swiftly swung it from right to left towards the tall man.

She thought that the opponent would definitely dodge to deal with this move, giving her time to regain her composure.

But...

"Bang—"

The sharp sound of metal collision came, followed by a scene that surprised Hiyori. The opponent made no attempt to dodge and directly caught Murayuki with his left hand, using only his bare hand.

Moreover, the opponent's strength was very strong. If it was just a contest of strength, Hiyori would be at a disadvantage, although she was not weak herself.

"Now you can't move, right?"

Saying that, the tall man clenched his free right hand and swung it at Hiyori again. Because Murayuki was caught by the opponent, Hiyori was caught off guard and couldn't react to this punch, which meant that she couldn't avoid this attack.

The tall man's right fist gradually approached his opponent.

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared in the dark night, a straight line of fire, like a shooting star, came at an extremely fast speed.

"Biu—"

Then, the sound of something rubbing against the air and the sound of the fire colliding with the ground, as well as the sound of something collapsing, mixed together and could be heard clearly in the quiet night.

As a result, the tall man's right arm, which was originally extended, was grazed by the unknown line of fire. It was just a slight graze, but it felt like being burned, and the arm was clearly scratched, leaving a blood mark. The torn muscles and burns made the tall man show a painful expression.

As a result, he naturally relaxed his grip on Murayuki, then carefully looked at the place where the line of fire had fallen, not far from himself.

It should have been the roof, but it was gone. The roof seemed to have been directly cut off by something, leaving a huge gap, and the ground below also had a large crack, but nothing else could be seen.

What exactly was the true form of that line of fire? The tall man couldn't know now, but he was very clear about one thing: that line of fire was extremely dangerous, more dangerous than anything else, and he couldn't avoid it at all.

Although it was just a graze earlier, it was definitely not caused by the tall man's evasion. It was purely intentional by the other party. If the other party had intended to kill him, he would have died long ago. Moreover, that line of fire was like the scythe of the Grim Reaper. Since it could easily cut through the building, it would be effortless to cut him as well.

That speed and power were both unstoppable and unavoidable. He was in the light, while the other party was in the dark. The other party had the means to easily kill him, but he didn't even know the other party's position. Although he didn't know who the other party was, the other party was quite dangerous. Thinking of this, the tall man couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Moreover, even if the other party didn't intend to kill him now.

He was injured now, and the situation was very unfavorable for him. Although he was unwilling, he could only retreat for now. After all, he had gained something today. Not only did he fight against the Sword Mage from the Far East, but he also had a certain understanding of the identity of the intruder.

So the tall man pressed his injured right arm with his left hand and took two steps back. Hiyori didn't have the intention to chase after him, and after understanding this, the tall man quickly jumped to another rooftop and soon disappeared into the dark night.

Although Hiyori didn't understand what the fire was just now, she was saved because of it. At this stage, where the goal has been achieved, she must hurry back. So Hiyori quickly left, following the direction she came from.

She soon returned to where she was before and saw Ryuto still waiting there. Hiyori jumped down from the roof.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lord Ryuto."

"Oh, you came back so quickly. It hasn't even been 10 minutes."

"Yes."

"Then let's hurry back. It's getting colder."

..."

Although Hiyori didn't feel it much, it was indeed getting late. The car was definitely gone, but fortunately, it wasn't too far. So Ryuto and Hiyori walked towards home.