Sebastian's body slammed hard against the wall. He could feel his entire body trembling from the pain, but he tried to push it aside for now. Sebastian noticed that the shield he was holding was half-destroyed from Aspasia's attack. He also saw Aspasia suddenly standing right in front of him.

  "Don’t take your eyes off your enemy," Aspasia said.

  Aspasia attacked Sebastian from above, slamming him into the ground with tremendous force. Sebastian quickly blocked the attack with his hammer. The clash between Aspasia’s blunt swords and Sebastian’s hammer created a loud, ringing sound that echoed throughout the church. The impact shattered several of Sebastian’s fingers, which had been holding back the terrifying force of the blow.

  Aspasia began attacking Sebastian with her fierce movements. Despite her slender frame, there was no wasted muscle in her body. Every strike she delivered was filled with power, and Sebastian was certain that her swords were far heavier than they appeared. Sebastian and Aspasia exchanged brutal blows, with no defensive maneuvers in sight. They simply kept attacking each other, disregarding the damage to their own bodies.

  The gruesome battle spectacle witnessed by the church soldiers was horrifying. Sebastian’s body was covered in wounds, and the sound of bones cracking or breaking echoed repeatedly. Yet, despite taking direct hits from Sebastian multiple times, Aspasia showed no signs of injury. In fact, she seemed to grow stronger as the fight went on.

  Sebastian noticed a faint red aura slowly enveloping Aspasia’s body. The harder he hit her, the more visible the red aura became, and the stronger her strikes grew. Sebastian couldn’t keep up with the fight much longer. His body was losing strength as he had to attack and endure pain simultaneously. Gradually, his consciousness began to fade, and his energy drained away. Seeing a golden opportunity, Sebastian kicked Aspasia away from him and tried to figure out how to defeat the madwoman in front of him.

  Aspasia laughed, seeing Sebastian’s confusion and desperation. So far, she hadn’t expected Sebastian to fight so brutally. In her life, only a few people had dared to duel her like this, and not many of them survived because they were too overconfident in their strength. On the other hand, Sebastian scanned Aspasia’s entire body with his eyes but found only minor bruises, while his own body was riddled with cracked and broken bones slowly healing thanks to his holy magic.

  "That red aura... what is it?" Sebastian asked.

  Aspasia looked slightly surprised, then said, "You can see it? Wow, impressive. I thought you were just a third-rate martial artist who only knew how to swing that weapon without any fundamentals."

  What Aspasia said was true. Over the past few days, Sebastian’s fighting style had been chaotic, as if he had forgotten the basics of the martial arts he had mastered. Anger had clouded his mind, and now he fought like a wild beast, swinging his weapon without thought. Sebastian tried to calm his turbulent mind, filled with rage. He couldn’t keep fighting like this; he had to change his mindset, or he would die here.

  Sebastian took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His mind was filled with a million raging emotions, but he had to control them, or his life would be at stake. Aspasia noticed the anger radiating from Sebastian slowly fading. Although she could still see the turmoil within him, it was now far more controlled than before. Aspasia didn’t like the calmness creeping into Sebastian’s mind. She could no longer use his emotions as a source of her strength.

  Aspasia’s true power came from the anger and emotions radiating from her opponents. The more furious and enraged her opponent became, the stronger Aspasia’s body grew, and the harder her strikes became. This was the Berserker technique, the martial art Aspasia had mastered. However, even though Sebastian’s emotions had calmed, she still had many techniques and strategies to use against him. After all, Sebastian’s abilities were still far below hers.

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  Sebastian stared at Aspasia and began formulating an attack strategy. He then launched his assault after finding a small gap in Aspasia’s defense. His attacks now felt technical and precise, with no reckless swings like before. This irritated Aspasia. She felt that if Sebastian dared to attack her like this, he must have found a weakness in her defense, which bruised her ego. She had always seen Sebastian as nothing more than a minor nuisance.

  Sebastian continued to attack and read Aspasia’s movements. He blocked what he could, avoided fatal strikes, and struck at every opportunity he found. Finally, the unexpected happened. Sebastian landed a powerful blow to the side of Aspasia’s head, sending her crashing into the wall. The onlookers in the room were stunned and couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. They couldn’t believe that Sebastian had managed to land a hit on an Inquisitor, especially with his body so battered.

  "You... you really... MADE ME ANGRY!"

  Aspasia’s body radiated a red aura that spread around her. Even the soldiers watching from a distance could now see the aura. Aspasia rose from the humiliation she had just suffered. Every cell in her body emitted a dense, murderous aura directed at Sebastian, who had just embarrassed her. On the other hand, Sebastian could feel his body trembling violently, and his heart sank. Fear took over his mind, making his legs move on their own to flee the scene. Sebastian kept running. This was the first time in his life he had felt such overwhelming fear. Even when fighting Cain the previous day, he hadn’t felt anything this intense.

  Suddenly, Aspasia’s hand grabbed Sebastian and slammed him into the wall. The terrifying force made Sebastian feel the pain he had been ignoring, surging through every nerve in his body and shattering his mind. Aspasia then jumped to where Sebastian was and punched his stomach with immense force. Blood gushed from Sebastian’s mouth, covering his face. Aspasia grabbed Sebastian’s head and threw him toward the ceiling. She then leaped and struck his face with such force that his head became embedded in the church ceiling.

  The soldiers witnessing the fight were frozen in fear. What they saw was brutal and horrifying, a one-sided battle that was too gruesome to watch. Aspasia landed on the ground and observed Sebastian’s condition, checking if he had survived the fatal blows she had delivered.

  Sebastian, on the other hand, had already lost consciousness. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was drenched in blood. There wasn’t a single bone in his body that wasn’t cracked or injured from the relentless blows he had endured. The holy magic flowing through Sebastian’s body gradually faded, and his breathing slowed until he finally exhaled his last breath.

  Aspasia, seeing Sebastian lying lifeless, turned her gaze to the soldiers who had been watching the fight. Without hesitation, she began slaughtering the soldiers one by one. There could be no witnesses to this battle. She couldn’t bear the shame if word got out that she had been pushed back by Sebastian, a third-rate martial artist. The soldiers fled in terror, none daring to raise their swords against Aspasia after witnessing what she had done to Sebastian.

  Meanwhile, Sebastian floated in a dark void. He felt as though he was sinking deeper into an abyss. He could see the surface of the water growing farther and farther away until he was left floating in emptiness, with nothing around him. Eventually, Sebastian reached the bottom of the ocean, where he saw someone he knew well waiting for him with a smile—an expression he had never seen on that person’s face before.

  "We meet again," said the angel of death.

  Sebastian looked at the angel of death face with such regret and sadness, the only reason he was seeing him right now means he’s dead, he has failed his mission and now this is the end of the road for him. He never thought that things would end up like this. However, deep inside Sebastian heart he knew that he’ll eventually ended up here, but not this soon.

  "Does this mean I’m dead now?"

  "Not quite. You’re on the border between worlds. Holy magic is a unique thing. It will do everything it can to keep you alive, and only I have the authority to take your life."

  Sebastian looked at the angel of death and asked, "So, what happens now?"

  The angel of death chuckled softly and said, "What do you want? To return to the world of the living?"

  Sebastian nodded and said, "I have to go back. I must... I must..."

  The angel of death snapped his fingers, and suddenly, Sebastian found himself sitting across from him at a table. The angel of death clapped his hands gently, and a warm cup of tea appeared for both of them.

  "Now, let’s discuss the terms of bringing you back to life. Give me a reason why you deserve to live a second time."