Chapter 31 (Patreon)

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"The past is a phantom, a whisper on the wind. To live there is to be a ghost, but to learn from it is to become a legend."

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Chapter 31

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Frieren was acting like a total gremlin.

It was a new low, even for her. The thousand-year-old elf who could destroy entire continents was lying on the floor with her head in Fern's lap. Her cheeks were puffed out like a moody toddler, her robe was halfway off her shoulder, and her hair was a complete mess. She looked like a soggy napkin.

"Fern… ahhh," she whined softly, opening her mouth like a baby bird begging for food.

Fern sighed, but a small smile was on her face. She picked up a spoonful of soup and gently brought it to Frieren's lips. "Yes, yes. Eat slowly, Mistress."

Frieren chewed her soup with extreme drama, as if it was the last soup left in the world.

Across the room, Stark groaned. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking very annoyed. "Ugh. This is so annoying to watch."

Frieren peeked one eye open and looked at him. "Are you jealous, Stark?" she mumbled through her food.

Fern tilted her head and nodded seriously. "You should take turns, Mr. Stark."

Stark choked on his own breath. "Wh-what?! No! I'm not—! I'm not jealous! It's just embarrassing to see someone so old acting like that!"

Frieren didn't even react to his outburst. She just made grabby hands toward Fern. "More soup."

"I'm spoiling you too much," Fern muttered, but she filled the spoon again anyway. Stark looked like he wanted to jump out a window.

"I'll need at least two months to go through all the memories," Frieren said between bites, her voice muffled by her baby-mode act. "I might even fall into a coma-like state soon."

"That long, huh…" Stark scratched the back of his neck. "That's kind of scary."

Denken, who had been sitting quietly, lowered his head a little. "I'm sorry. We had to change your journey because of me."

"It's fine," Stark said with a shrug, waving his hand. "It's not your fault. Besides, I didn't have any big plans anyway."

"I did," Frieren said without moving from Fern's lap. "I planned to take a nap."

"That's not a plan," Stark hissed.

While all this was happening, Naruto was standing alone on a balcony. His red hair was messy and flicking in the wind. His bright green eyes were focused on the city of El Dorado, which was now just an eerie monument, still and golden inside a shimmering magic barrier.

Methode walked quietly to stand beside him. Her face was calm, but her fingers were twitching near her staff. "What is it?" she asked.

Naruto's eyes didn't move. His voice was low. "I feel a presence."

"Inside the barrier?"

"No," he said. "Just outside it. It's powerful."

"How powerful are we talking?" Methode asked, her voice a little tense.

Fern had also perked up, tilting her head toward the same spot. "I… felt something, too. Just for a second. It was like a quick flash and then it disappeared."

"I can still feel it," Naruto muttered. "It's faint, but it's there. Watching."

Stark had walked over and was squinting at the golden dome. "Another mage? Or a demon?"

"Maybe both," Naruto replied. His voice was now almost a whisper, as if he didn't want to be overheard. "Its magic is… huge. But it's also controlled, like a seasoned mage would control theirs. But there's also something else. Something wrong. Something that feels like instinct. Like the demons I've fought before."

"A demon mage stronger than Macht?" Methode asked, her eyes getting sharper.

Naruto's lips were a tight line. "Yeah. That's what it feels like."

"Great," Stark muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "More trouble. Just what we needed. Can't we get, like, one week where we're not being hunted by ancient monsters?"

"I'll let you know when that week comes," Naruto said dryly.

Behind them, Frieren had fallen asleep mid-bite, a little bit of soup on her lip. Fern gently dabbed it with a napkin. Stark muttered something about never getting any respect as Fern's future husband, and Methode, for once, didn't correct him.

But Naruto's eyes never left the barrier. The presence wasn't moving. It wasn't running away. It was waiting.

And Naruto wasn't sure if that was the worst part—or the most terrifying.

The sun was low in the sky, painting it with orange and pink, like the horizon was on fire. The wheels of the horse-drawn carriage creaked steadily on the dirt road. Inside the carriage, Fern sat stiffly, her arms folded. Her eyes were constantly watching the road through the window slits.

Methode sat slumped beside her, her legs neatly crossed. Her eyes were closed, and faint blue lines of light glowed under her skin. She was helping Frieren's mind work through Macht's centuries-old memories. Frieren herself, her head resting on a bundled cloak, looked as peaceful as a sleeping child. But Fern knew better. Her master was in a state where even breathing was a lot of effort.

Fern reached forward and gently tucked a loose strand of Frieren's hair behind her long ear. She whispered, "Hang in there, Mistress…"

Outside, Naruto and Stark were walking on either side of the carriage, like a couple of bodyguards. Naruto had his hands tucked behind his head, his usual relaxed way, but his bright green eyes were always scanning their surroundings. Stark, his sword sheathed but his hands twitching, was keeping up with a mix of annoyance and nervous energy.

"You know," Stark muttered to Naruto, "I'm still not sure this is better than staying back and just blowing everything up."

"I'm not sure you could blow anything up without pulling a muscle," Naruto replied, not looking at him.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Stark grumbled.

From the driver's seat, the old coachman hummed a simple tune as the horse trotted steadily forward.

Inside the carriage, Fern leaned back with a sigh. "Methode, are you okay?"

"Yes," came the cool, emotionless response, though her fingers trembled slightly. "But the spells keeping Frieren stable are very fragile. Any magical interference could break the balance. If she wakes up too soon…"

Fern nodded grimly. "Then we make sure nothing gets to us."

A moment passed. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees along the road. Sunlight flickered in the carriage windows.

Then—

Both Naruto and Fern became still at the exact same moment.

Their heads snapped in the same direction—toward the distant hills beyond the El Dorado ruins.

Stark blinked and slowed his steps. "Wait… what? What is it?"

Fern's hand was hovering near her satchel, her eyes wide. Her voice was a whisper: "The barrier is down."

Naruto's jaw was tight. "The whole thing just broke apart like glass."

Stark straightened up as if he'd been hit by lightning. "The what?! So nothing is stopping Macht anymore?! He can just walk out and turn us all into gold like it's some kind of hobby?!"

"Yep," Naruto muttered, his voice sharp. "That's pretty much it."

And then Naruto's face suddenly went blank.

He clenched his fist.

"…Shoot."

"What?" Stark asked, his voice panicked. "What happened?!"

"My clone. I left one to watch Denken from a distance. It just got erased."

"Erased? You mean Macht—?"

"No," Naruto said slowly, his eyes narrowing. "It wasn't Macht. It was something else."

Fern looked at him sharply. "Stronger?"

Naruto didn't answer right away. He looked over his shoulder, back toward El Dorado. His eyes were like hard gemstones.

"Whatever it was… it was very precise. It didn't just make my clone disappear. It took it apart. Like it knew exactly what a clone was, how it worked, and exactly where to strike."

The carriage suddenly felt like a coffin. A thick, heavy silence fell over them.

Stark broke it with a nervous laugh. "Okay, um… just a friendly reminder that we have two mages who are out cold in this cart, we're in the middle of nowhere, and it looks like some invisible monster just killed Naruto's clone like it was a fly. This is great. I love this for us."

Naruto clicked his tongue, glaring into the distance. "Whatever is out there… it waited until the barrier fell. It didn't do anything while El Dorado was sealed."

Fern's face went pale. "Then it wanted Macht to be free."

"And if it wanted that," Naruto said grimly, "then what's coming isn't just Macht escaping."

"It's part two," Fern whispered.

A heavier silence fell after that. Even the coachman stopped humming. The only sound was the slow, rhythmic sound of the horse's hooves.

And somewhere, unseen and silent, far away beyond the horizon—

Something had woken up..

Õ—T—Õ

The carriage jolted hard, and the driver's hands shook on the reins. Sweat poured down his face even though the air was cool, and his eyes darted back and forth like a scared rabbit. His voice was thick with fear.

"W-We have to get out of here! Faster! That… that thing coming this way—!"

"Easy, old man," Stark said from the side of the carriage, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "If a demon has us in its sights, you can't outrun it. You don't outrun demons. You just try to survive them."

The driver shuddered and didn't say another word, but his knuckles were white on the reins.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped walking. His body went completely still, one hand twitching in the air.

Stark turned to him. "What's wrong?"

"I can feel it…" Naruto murmured, his eyes glowing faintly with focused intensity. "Denken and Macht… they're fighting."

Fern leaned out of the carriage window, her face pale. "Can you tell who's winning?"

Naruto's face hardened. "Macht is playing with him. Denken is using everything he has. But the problem is… Macht hasn't even started trying yet."

"Shouldn't we go help him then?!" Stark asked, already pulling his sword out of its sheath and turning to run back.

Naruto held up a hand to stop him.

"No. Denken chose this fight. He wanted to take Macht down on his own—it's a matter of pride for him. If we just show up now, we could mess up his plan. This might be his only chance to surprise Macht."

"But—"

Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped in a new direction.

The air grew cold, but not from the wind. It was from magic.

Twisted, dark, and hungry magic rushed toward them from the trees ahead. It moved like a wave with a mind of its own, a cold pulse that made the birds fall completely silent.

Fern's face went completely white. "This… this is different."

They all felt it.

Even Methode, whose eyes were still closed as she helped Frieren, flinched. Her voice was faint as she whispered, "There's another one…"

Fern gritted her teeth. "This magic is stronger than Macht's. More controlled. If this one has even one trick like Macht's, it's going to be a huge problem."

Stark let out a breath and rolled his neck, trying to stay calm. "Then this demon might be way out of our league. But that doesn't mean we're backing down."

Naruto cracked his knuckles, stepping a few feet ahead of the group. The wind tugged at his white cloak and his messy hair whipped around his face.

"Stay back."

Fern blinked. "What?"

"Stay with the hag and Methode. Protect the carriage."

Stark narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me…"

Naruto smirked over his shoulder, his green eyes flashing with a mix of crazy and calm.

"I'm going to hold it off."

"Hold it off?! Are you insane?" Stark yelled. "You think you can fight something that's stronger than Macht all by yourself?!"

"Well," Naruto shrugged, "If I don't attack it now, none of us might live long enough to think about whether it was a good idea or not."

Fern's voice cracked a little with fear. "But what if it's… one of the Seven Sages of Destruction?"

Naruto paused for a second.

Then he gave a toothy grin, the wind catching his cloak like a hero in a storybook.

"Then I'll just have to punch a Sage in the face and hope it stays punched."

Fern reached out her hand, a desperate look on her face. "Mr. Naruto—don't be so reckless. We know you're strong, but this is a demon. A real one."

Naruto glanced back at her, and for a second, his eyes softened.

He gave her a reassuring smile.

"What are you talking about? That demon is already less than a thousand feet from us."

A beat passed.

"If I don't hit it first, none of us may live long enough to hit back."

The air twisted around him as he let his magic burst out. His power grew like a storm cloud, wild and bright, full of raw force. Dust swirled away from his feet, and his presence became sharp, like a sword that had just been unsheathed.

Then—

"Don't worry," he said, giving that stupid, dazzling grin of his. "I won't die, Fern."

"Believe it."

And with that, Naruto disappeared, leaping toward the coming terror like a red comet streaking across the sky.

Õ—T—Õ

Solitär was grinning widely as the young redhead stepped into the clearing. Her smile was crooked and cat-like, full of curiosity, like a predator that hadn't decided whether to play with its food or just eat it.

"You feel strong," she said, her voice like a beautiful but deadly bell. "For a human, that is. What's your name?"

The redhead narrowed his green eyes, looking her up and down without a hint of fear. "Naruto Uzumaki. And you?"

She tilted her head, amused. "My name is something no human has ever heard and lived to remember. But since you asked so nicely—Solitär."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Sounds a lot like a card game."

Solitär blinked, then laughed. "You're funny. I like funny humans. It makes breaking their bones a bit more fun to watch."

"Yikes," Naruto muttered. "Cute and crazy. That's a dangerous mix."

Her eyes gleamed. "Still not scared?"

Naruto shrugged. "You're not that scary. You have this mysterious librarian vibe. Honestly, you'd probably fit in teaching magic at some weird, fancy school."

"You're very direct. I like that." Her grin got even sharper. "But before I shatter every bone in your body and watch you twitch on the ground, I have some questions for you."

"Cool, a quiz before I die. Go ahead," Naruto said, lifting his staff with one hand like he was just twirling an umbrella.

Solitär stared at him. "What is love?"

Naruto blinked. "Really? Now?"

"Yes. It's important."

He sighed and pointed his staff at her. "Love is… when you're connected to someone so deeply that it physically hurts to lose them. When their happiness becomes your happiness. It's not logical. It's stupid. It makes people do crazy things. And yet, it's the reason humans fight so hard not to die."

"That's what the books say," Solitär murmured.

"Well, maybe the books are right for once."

Suddenly, a low hum filled the air. Magical portals opened behind her, spinning slowly like dark stars. From them came swords—they were elegant and shaped like triangles, each one glowing with magical runes. There were dozens of them. Hundreds.

Naruto's face didn't change, but his fingers tightened on his staff. "Guess we're skipping the second question?"

"Oh, I'm going to carve the answers out of you," she purred, taking a step closer. "I want to see you cry. To see your hope disappear. That's how I learn."

"Right. A very healthy way to learn," Naruto muttered. "You need therapy. Maybe a hug."

She stepped forward. "Do you think about anything when you kill animals for food?"

Naruto frowned. "Of course I do. They die so we can live. There's respect in that."

"To us demons," she said, "humans are just like that. It's instinct. We kill. Because it's fun. Because it's just what we are. And right now, I have to get rid of you—because you're about to get in the way of Macht's little fight with his apprentice."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So you're his backup? His bodyguard?"

"No. I'm just nosy. But if you interfere, it will ruin the experiment. And I don't like when things get ruined."

Naruto took a deep, steady breath. "Too bad. I don't like when people die."

"You won't like what happens next, then."

The triangle swords started humming. Naruto's staff flared with light.

"Bring it on, demon," he muttered. "Let's see which one of us learns something today."

The air itself seemed to crackle as the blades came. Solitär's countless triangle-shaped swords shot out from her portals like a meteor storm, whistling through the air with deadly precision. Each one glowed with magic runes, moving in crazy, unpredictable paths, getting faster and faster as they closed in on the boy in white. It looked like a storm of divine punishment.

But Naruto was even faster.

He was just a blur of white robes and red hair, dodging, spinning, and weaving through the deadly attack. He held his staff, using it to tap and push away the few blades that got too close. The ground cracked under his boots from the force of his sudden moves, and the trees around them were sliced into splinters by the blades he barely missed. His green eyes glowed faintly with magic, but they were calm and focused, like he was dancing in the eye of a hurricane.

He wasn't even trying to win.

He was just holding her off.

And he had plenty of magic to use.

Solitär narrowed her eyes as her portals moved around, creating new ways to attack him in midair. She changed the speed and angles of some swords and even sent a few together to try and corner him. But every time, Naruto was just a little bit faster. His body would disappear and reappear ten feet away, his robes flapping in the wind. He would casually block one sword with his staff while ducking under another, as if he was late for tea and not in the middle of a fight to the death.

"You're not in a hurry, are you?" Solitär called out, her voice amused but with a hint of irritation. "You're holding me up."

Naruto didn't answer right away. He was paying attention to two things at once: her, and the distant fight between Denken and Macht. Their magic was clashing far away to the east. Denken was hurt, but he was still alive. Still standing. Still fighting.

If anything changed, Naruto would be there in a second.

"Just… enjoying the moment," he finally said, flicking a sword aside with a little more style than was needed.

Solitär was floating high above the battlefield now, her portals swirling behind her like a creepy halo. She watched him as the next group of swords appeared—these were bigger and had jagged edges.

"Tell me something, Naruto Uzumaki," she said, twirling her finger in the air. "Have you ever been in love?"

Naruto blinked, a little confused. "…Huh?"

"Don't pretend to be dumb. I want to know. You humans are so interesting when you're in love. It's stupid and messy and makes you do things that don't make sense. But it's… fascinating. So? Have you ever kissed someone? Had your heart broken? Whispered sweet things to them in the moonlight?" Her eyes glinted with real curiosity now. "Come on. Give me that raw, embarrassing, sappy stuff."

Naruto paused in the middle of dodging, tapping a sword with the tip of his staff to send it into the ground.

He checked to make sure no one was close. Fern and the others were far away with the carriage, Frieren was still asleep, and Methode was still connected to her. Nobody could hear him say what he was about to say.

So, of course, he decided to have some fun with it.

"Well," he said, flipping over a low sweep of blades. "Since you asked… yeah. I've been dating someone."

"Oh?" Solitär tilted her head, almost smiling. "Do tell."

Naruto spun his staff behind his back, blocking two incoming blades. "Her name is Frieren. She's an elf. A little bit of a grump. But she has this whole mysterious ancient wisdom thing going on. She's really cute when she gets flustered."

Solitär actually stopped her attack to stare at him. "…Frieren? The Frieren?"

"Yup. I call her 'Hag.' She pretends to hate it, but just between you and me, I think she secretly likes it."

Solitär blinked. "You're lying."

"Nope," Naruto said with the most believable fake sincerity he could manage. "We've had some really deep moments. I once held her hand. For about five seconds. Which, you know, is a really big deal for her. And the first time she smiled at me? I thought my heart was going to explode."

Solitär's face twitched. "…You're making this all up."

"We were even going to move in together. Somewhere quiet. Maybe get a couple of magic bunnies."

Solitär's portals started pulsing dangerously. "You're full of it."

"Oh, totally," Naruto grinned, finally admitting it. "But you were enjoying it."

She snapped her fingers and sent another wall of blades at him, this time twice as fast, with a mocking angry look on her face. "You disrespectful cute little insect. I was not."

"You totally were," Naruto laughed as he turned into a blur again. "You wanted to hear about love. I gave you the rom-com special."

"Then let me show you what I give in return."

The sky grew dark with blades.

The sky cracked as Solitär raised her hand, and a flash of magic—no, it was human magic—blazed from her fingertips.

Naruto's eyes went wide, and he gasped as the bolt of light screamed past his cheek, turning a whole section of the forest behind him into dust. The trees didn't fall; they just disappeared. A whole patch of the world was gone in an instant.

He skidded to a stop on the scorched ground, his boots kicking up sparks. "That wasn't demon magic…" he muttered, completely shocked.

Solitär floated high above, laughing like a crazy person. "Surprised, little mage? I studied your magic! I read every book I could find, I took apart every spell I could get my hands on, I rewrote entire formulas. Humans think they're so smart, but your knowledge is so easy to steal. And now…"

WHUMP.

Seven portals—glowing and swirling like oil on water—opened up behind her, forming a halo of destruction.

"…now it's all mine."

They all lit up at once.

Magic burst out from each portal in huge, twisting columns—white-hot destruction, some spells turning into ice, others twisting gravity, some just making the space around them explode. In the middle of all the chaos, the deadly triangular swords shot out again, cutting through the air like guillotines.

Naruto's response was pure instinct.

He jumped high, twisting in midair, his robes looking like a white flame. With a spin of his staff, a dome of pure magic appeared to shield him, barely holding against the first attack. The dome cracked. He spun again, making it disappear in midair, and fell fast, dodging the second blast by a hair.

A third beam of light came from below. Solitär had reversed a gravity spell.

"Geez, she has every single trick in the book…" Naruto grumbled, flipping backward and landing on one of her floating swords. It moved wildly, but he kicked off it just in time to avoid a spiral of ice that exploded behind him.

He landed hard, breathing heavily, his hair wild from the heat. "Alright, alright. I'll admit it—maybe I underestimated you."

"You did," Solitär purred, slowly coming down to the ground. "You thought I'd be like the other demons. Easy to predict. Dumb. Just violent." She smirked, her portals crackling with energy in her hands. "But I'm different. I learned from you. From your kind. I learned your magic… your weaknesses… and now I want to learn your emotions."

"What?" Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"I want to know why you cry when someone dies. I want to understand why holding hands makes your heart beat faster. Why do humans protect each other instead of just killing the weak?" Her eyes were wide, and her voice was shaking with crazy curiosity. "Why do you love, Naruto Uzumaki? What makes it so… special?"

He steadied his breathing, gripping his staff tightly. "Love is what keeps us from becoming like you."

Solitär tilted her head. "Like me?"

"You ask why we love, why we cry, why we protect? It's because we care. We live short lives. We lose things. And that pain is what makes us human."

"But pain is delicious. Why not just enjoy it?"

"Because it destroys people," Naruto snapped. "Because it hurts! You think killing is a game. That feelings are just something you can read about in a book. But love isn't a math problem. Pain isn't a spell. They're things you feel. You don't just learn about being human, you live it."

Solitär's expression turned sour, as if his words tasted bad. "So dramatic," she said coldly. "It's like trying to teach a rock to feel the rain. I was right. It really is pointless."

"Yeah," Naruto said, pushing his staff into the ground. "Trying to talk to you is like asking a volcano to chill out. So…"

He raised his head. His bright green eyes were locked on hers, fierce and unblinking.

"…I guess I'll just beat the lesson into you."

Magic exploded from his body in a burst of white and gold light. The air hummed with it.

Solitär's face broke into a huge grin. "Finally!"

He was done holding back.

Naruto shot forward like a comet, his staff spinning so fast it was a blur. He closed the distance in less than a second, slamming his staff down. Solitär blocked with a shield, barely, but the ground under her cracked. His attacks were non-stop now—blows that shattered rocks, twisted the wind, and turned her swords into dust in midair.

But she was just as good.

With a flick of her wrist, one of the portals turned into a swirling vortex, spitting out magic ropes that wrapped around him like snakes. Naruto used his own magic to burn them off. She teleported behind him, but he felt her and hit back with a blast of pressure magic. She used a special rune to send it crashing into a mountain behind them.

They moved faster than thought—two blurs of red and purple, crashing into each other with fury and precision.

Naruto jumped off a sword and spun in midair, launching a golden spiral of cutting wind. Solitär laughed and used a mirror rune to send it right back at him. He ducked, and the blast shaved off a piece of his robe.

"You're good!" she screamed with joy, her hair whipping around wildly. "But you'll break before I do!"

He landed, panting heavily. "Maybe. But breaking is what makes us human. And even when we break…"

A huge pulse of magic shot through the ground as he raised his staff again.

"…we stand back up."

A column of golden light burst out from him, making the sky crackle. Solitär blinked, genuinely surprised for a second.

"Alright, demon," Naruto growled. "Round two."

And this time, he wasn't just stalling. He was fighting to finish it. Denken needed him.

The air was thick with tension and magic. The ground beneath them cracked like eggshells under pressure, scorched, frozen, and splintered all at once. The battlefield was no longer just a field. It was a swirling vortex of magic crashing into magic, two forces of nature hitting each other like waves against a cliff, neither one willing to break.

Naruto spun his staff, his breathing calm but his eyes locked—serious, fierce, and unblinking.

Crack!

A jagged spike of ice shot out of the ground at his command, flying toward Solitär like a frozen spear. She danced around it with scary grace, laughing like a child on a carousel. "Ice? I thought you would be warmer than this, Naruto~!"

He didn't answer. His next move came from above. A huge amount of water rained down in a twisting stream, forming an enormous snake-like wave that crashed toward her with the fury of a storm.

Solitär lazily raised her hand, created a barrier, and let the water hit it without even flinching. "Water, too? You're a very hydrated little mage," she teased, licking her lips as if she could taste his magic.

And then—

FWOOOOOSH

A fireball the size of a boulder exploded toward her from the steam, burning the battlefield with blistering heat.

Her eyes went wide for a split second. "What?!"

She twisted out of the way, her cloak a little burned. "I wasn't expecting that! Sneaky, sneaky~!"

From the shadows of the steam, Naruto jumped, his staff spinning as he launched a bunch of smaller fireballs. She blocked them all, a swarm of blades appearing with a loud hum. Then—

"MY TURN!" she shrieked, grinning from ear to ear.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!

Magic burst from her body like a storm. Waves of raw magical pressure shredded the trees, made the side of the mountain collapse, and filled the air with loud explosions. Her blades came next—hundreds of triangular edges, slicing from every direction, zigzagging, appearing and disappearing.

Naruto blocked with his staff, a shimmering shield of magic covering its length, but even he was being pushed back. He could barely see her; her movements were just streaks of purple lightning. Her attacks were everywhere—from above, from below, from behind, even from inside his own shadow.

It was like fighting a hurricane made of blades and magic. There was no opening.

"She's crazy," Naruto muttered, ducking under one blade and sliding under a magical spear that would have cut him in half. He tried to hit back—he shoved his palm forward, using his magic to create a swirling ball of pure compression and rotational force.

He lunged—a Rasengan.

But—CLANG!

A blade hit his wrist right in the middle of his attack. The spell disappeared.

Another sword screamed past his cheek. Another tried to take his leg.

No opening. No space. No chance.

Her magic was so thick it was like trying to punch through a wall made of condensed galaxies. Even his staff strikes were being pushed back by her raw power.

Solitär floated above him, spinning slowly, laughing like a ballet dancer who was drunk on a fight. "Are you trying to touch me, Naruto?" she cooed. "Oh my! What a pervert!"

Naruto landed hard, flipping backward to dodge a barrage of spinning blades that stuck into the ground around him like magical landmines. He panted and smirked. "You want me to hit you, huh? What kind of messed-up hobby is this?"

She winked. "I like pain. I just don't like losing. But if someone could land a hit, mmm… I think I'd fall in love."

He narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll knock you down harder."

"Oh? A proposal? You humans move so fast!"

And then they clashed again.

Fire against nothingness. Water against distortion. Ice against chaos. Naruto's magic flared like a lighthouse in a storm. His movements were precise now, more fluid, more natural. No wasted steps. He wasn't fighting to show off. He was fighting to land one clean hit.

Just one.

That's all he needed.

And Solitär?

She kept laughing. Kept dodging. Kept trying to get him to hit her harder.

Because beneath all that magic and chaos…

She was dying to feel something real.

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Õ—T—Õ

Author Note.

Drop your thoughts in the review section, I'd be delighted to read any constructive critismcism— actual reviews. Your words inspire me to write faster, larger, better and with more depth.

See you guys soon.

~Phoenix.