Chapter 201: Why do you fight? What brought you here?

The battle betwe Strax and Kryssia continued to escalate, each strike and block echoing like thunder across the battlefield.

They moved like blurs in the air, Kryssia's feet floating with grace as her blades danced a her like a whirlwind of steel and death.

Strax, in turn, wielded his massive sword with surprising precision, as if perfectly in tune with the very rhythm of the fight.

I'm starting to run out of ergy... with Persephone's help, the one minute I had is lasting much longer than expected.

The g a them was a landscape of destruction—craters oped by blows, shattered stones, and the air thick with the tsion of battle.

Kryssia's excitemt only grew, fueled by the power that Strax was showing. He was no longer the weak and uncertain oppont she had faced before. Now, he was a force to be reckoned with.

She's completely a battle maniac... I don't ev know what I can do to tone down her craziness...

"You're evolving fast, Strax!" Kryssia exclaimed, her smile wider, her breath heavy but animated. She paused for a momt, watching him like a predator admiring its prey that had finally become worthy. "Faster than I imagined."

"Ah... ah..." Strax was panting too, but his eyes remained locked on her, his pupils now glowing with a fierce crimson light.

He could feel the intsity rising within him, a new ergy seeming to flow with every movemt, every block, every counterattack.

But there was something more.

No matter how much stronger he was becoming, no matter how accustomed he was to the new power he possessed, it seemed Kryssia hadn't reached her limit.

And that was becoming increasingly evidt.

The differce in cultivation is becoming clear again...

Suddly, Kryssia exploded into action, moving with a speed Strax could barely track. Her blades cut through the air with deadly precision, and no matter how hard he tried to block or evade, she was always one step ahead.

Strax barely had time to lift his sword before he was struck in the shoulder, the metal tearing through his scales and flesh.

The impact st him sprawling backward, sliding across the g until he slammed into a rock. He gritted his teeth, feeling the searing pain shoot through him, but quickly got back to his feet, ready to continue. However, something had changed. Kryssia was no longer just testing him or having fun. Now, she was fighting to win.

"Aahhh!" he screamed in pain, feeling his ribs crack from the force of the blow.

"Is that all you have?" Kryssia taunted, her voice still playful, but with a dark determination underlying it. "You've evolved, Strax, but it's still not ough. I said I wanted to see your true pottial, but it seems I was wrong about you."

"I..." He began, his voice hoarse but firm. "I'm a man... who loves his wives very much."

"Your... wives?" Kryssia murmured, her voice soft, as if trying to grasp the meaning of that.

Strax, despite the pain, held his gaze on her. "Yes... my wives. Every one of them. They're the reason I keep fighting. They're the reason I get up, ev wh I'm at my limit.

I don't fight just for myself. I fight for them. To protect them. To stand by their side. That... is what defines me."

For a momt, Kryssia stood in silce, her sword still raised but unmoving. She looked at him, and something in her eyes shifted. The wildness, the thrill of battle, had faded. Her once lively smile now seemed... sad.

"You... love?" she repeated, almost as if the word was foreign to her.

Strax nodded slowly. "Yes. I love."

Kryssia slowly lowered her sword, her eyes still fixed on Strax. The battle, which had once be a fight to the death, now felt like something more. Something much deeper.

"I... used to be like you, you know?" Kryssia murmured, her voice now lower, almost melancholic. "I had someone too... someone I fought for. But I lost that... a long time ago."

She stepped back, her body relaxing as her expression softed. "And now... I don't think I know who I am anymore. I'm not the warrior I used to be, and... maybe I hav't be for a long time."

Strax watched her, still cautious, but feeling the tsion betwe them dissipate. Kryssia seemed lost in her own thoughts, battling inner demons he couldn't see.

For a momt, silce hung betwe them, th Kryssia took a step forward, extding her hand to him. Strax, hesitant, accepted the gesture, using her strgth to pull himself to his feet. They stood facing each other, swords still in hand, but in some way, the fight was over.

"You made me realize something today, Strax," Kryssia said softly, her smile returning, but now softer, more human. "Maybe I need to rediscover what made me fight in the first place. Maybe I need... to remember who I really am."

'So suddly? What a strange woman...' Strax muttered to himself.

"Maybe... we'll meet again, Strax," Kryssia said with a light smile. "And who knows, next time, the circumstances might be differt."

With one last glance at him, Kryssia turned and began to walk away, her blades vanishing in a cloud of ergy before disappearing completely. The battlefield was now quiet, except for the gtle sound of the wind passing through the devastated trees.

Strax watched as Kryssia walked away, his thoughts drifting to his wives, to the reasons why he fought and why he would continue to fight. And although the battle had be intse, he felt like something deeper had be gained that day.

"I hope they did their job, or I'm going to die," Strax said, looking toward where Samira and the girls had be, but there was nothing there anymore.

"Well, at least I know my next target... Kryssia, huh? Well, who cares. She'll be mine anyway."

[Time's up. Assimilation ded.]