I Ascend Alone-Chapter 144: Ryzen vs. Ahn & Leon Part II

I straightened fully, loosening my shoulders with a roll. "If that's your best, I might actually fall asleep standing."

Mirae's eyes narrowed slightly, her stance shifting subtly. Leon caught the look and immediately mirrored her energy.

Something changed.

The room's pressure deepened, the very air vibrating faintly like the pluck of a taut string.

Leon tapped the flat of his saber once against Mirae's spear in a deliberate motion—a signal.

Mirae didn't hesitate. She spun her spear once around her wrist, the movements flowing into Leon's saber, forming a spiraling pattern of glowing runes mid-air.

My smile faded a touch, curiosity sparking.

The runes pulsed once, and the air crackled with a sudden surge of synchronized mana—not separate sources, but one fused stream.

Leon planted his saber into the ground with a sharp clang, both hands flaring with golden light. Mirae mirrored the movement, embedding the butt of her spear next to it. Their weapons crossed lightly at the hilts.

The runes locked into place, and then the ground split beneath them, veins of light streaking outward.

A low hum grew into a deep, resonant thrum that vibrated in my bones.

Leon's voice was steady, laced with that same deadly mischief. "You're not the only one who's been holding back, Ryzen."

Mirae's lips curled into a faint, almost wicked smile."We never showed this outside our squad," she added. "And never in front of a camera."

The runes collapsed inward, imploding into their bodies.

In an instant, their auras merged, braided together like strands of a single unstoppable force.

The surge of energy exploded outward—a dome of brilliant gold and silver that slammed into the training chamber's reinforced walls. The walls trembled but held.

The fusion completed.

Before me stood a single, combined force—not just Leon and Mirae separately, but something entirely new.

Their forms shimmered slightly, overlayed with traces of each other's magic. Leon's aura burned hotter now, aggressive and consuming, while Mirae's was sharpened, refined into deadly precision. Their movements were synced down to the heartbeat.

Fusion Skill: Twin Eclipse Stance.

Leon's saber now crackled with extra weight, like it could tear through dimensions. Mirae's spear shimmered with pure arcane razorlight, vibrating on the edge of sound.

For the first time since stepping into this training room, I felt the tiny prickle of caution at the back of my neck.

Leon stepped forward first, his aura dragging long tendrils of burning force behind him, his strikes promising devastation.

Mirae moved in perfect concert—no wasted movement, no hesitation—the tip of her spear vanishing and reappearing with each heartbeat, setting up a killbox from angles I couldn't even fully track.

The sheer synchronization was terrifying.

It wasn't two hunters attacking in tandem.

It was one weapon, with two blades.

I cracked my neck again, the grin tugging harder at my mouth now.

"Finally," I murmured under my breath. "A little excitement."

They blitzed me.

Leon's first strike was a downward cleave, empowered by Mirae's layering magic, a blow that could split mountains if it landed cleanly.

I caught the blade barehanded, the impact ringing out like a gunshot, but the force behind it drove my feet back an inch across the floor.

Before I could fully stabilize, Mirae's spear lashed in horizontally at my ribs, layered with kinetic ruptures designed to tear defenses apart.

I twisted just barely, the spear kissing my jacket, and the fabric ripped open instantly from the impact pressure.

I released Leon's saber and surged forward between them, a blur of movement, and for the first time, they kept up.

Their bodies twisted around mine like a perfect machine, pressing me from every angle, forcing me to dodge, to parry, to think.

I laughed low in my throat, blood thrumming with adrenaline.

"Good," I muttered, eyes flashing. "But not good enough."

And then I stopped holding back.

A small fraction—just a whisper—of my Monarchal power slipped free.

The room dimmed, and their combined aura staggered for just a breath.

And in that heartbeat of hesitation, I moved.

I stepped inside Leon's guard so fast it was like the world had skipped a frame—my palm grazing his saber aside while my other hand hooked Mirae's incoming spear and pinned it harmlessly against my side.

Their eyes widened—not in fear, but in raw, thrilled awareness.

Leon snarled and twisted, breaking free with a surge of brute force, his saber flashing toward my neck. Mirae flowed into his motion, her spear a seamless follow-up, aiming to pierce my heart.

I weaved through the dual assault with effortless grace, one foot pivoting, my body slipping through microscopic gaps in their fused offense.

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With a light tap of my knuckles against Leon's shoulder, I disrupted his center of gravity, forcing him to stumble a half-step.

At the same instant, I spun around Mirae's thrust, one finger flicking her spear just enough to spiral the tip off course, the momentum dragging her body forward awkwardly.

I planted a foot firmly between them.

And unleashed.

A pulse of raw Monarchal pressure detonated outward from my core—a soundless shockwave that didn't throw them violently backward, but froze them mid-motion.

Their bodies locked for half a second, caught in the oppressive weight of my unleashed presence.

Golden veins of light cracked along the reinforced floor beneath me.

Leon gritted his teeth, muscles straining visibly to move. Mirae's hands shook against the shaft of her spear, her own magic flaring wildly in response, struggling to break free.

I stood in the center of them, watching, feeling their raw spirit burning, their fighting wills refusing to yield even as their bodies buckled.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment. And then, I pulled the power back.

The crushing weight vanished instantly, like a storm evaporating at a snap.

Leon gasped for air, dropping to one knee, the point of his saber digging into the floor to keep him upright.

Mirae staggered back two steps, falling into a crouch, her spear trembling lightly in her grasp.

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of their heavy breathing—and the faint hum of energy still crackling in the air.

I opened my eyes, meeting theirs squarely.

And I smiled—not mockingly. Not arrogantly.

But with respect.

"You two," I said, my voice low but carrying clearly, "are monsters in your own right."

Leon barked a short, rough laugh, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Yeah, well," he rasped, "it's hard to be a fight when you're up against a real one."