"What?!"
Upon seeing the longsword in Scaramouche's hand, Paimon's heart was suddenly startled, and he quickly retreated to avoid his attack.
"Paimon, stay away from us," Lumine instructed Paimon, then rushed forward with a few quick steps and delivered a downward slash at Scaramouche.
Seeing the attack that was flying towards him at high speed, a sinister smile appeared on Scaramouche's face. His figure flickered, dodging Lumine's attack, and then he brandished the Skyward Blade in his hand and lunged at Paimon again.
Paimon dared not be careless, took out the Serpent's Spine from Lumine's backpack, and swept it away with a single blow, forcing him back, and then attacked Scaramouche together with Lumine.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Clear sounds rang out as Scaramouche's attacks repeatedly collided with the attacks of Paimon and Lumine, emitting bursts of metallic resonance.
The joint attack of the two was fierce, but Scaramouche seemed to be at ease. He easily dodged the attacks of Paimon and Lumine, and was even able to find opportunities to counterattack them. Soon, Paimon's body was cut with several wounds.
Both Paimon and Lumine were startled. They never expected that this Scaramouche would be so powerful, and that their joint attacks were so easily resolved by him.
"This guy... he's much stronger than when we last met..." Lumine looked at Scaramouche with a solemn expression, having to admit that he was putting considerable pressure on her.
"Heh heh heh... you flatter me, but the main reason is that your combined attack lacks any synergy. Sometimes, one plus one is not necessarily greater than one~"
"Hmph... this hateful guy... he's actually implying I'm weak... damn it, if only the host could let me transform..."
"Paimon, you rest for a while, I'll fight him myself."
"Oh? What, did you hear my words and think you can beat me alone?" Scaramouche sneered dismissively.
"Hmph... do you think you're the only one not using your full strength?"
Lumine retracted the Aquila Favonia into her backpack, clenched her fists, and a faint, light green hurricane slowly began to manifest around her body.
"Oh? You couldn't hit me with a sword, and now you want to use your fists... Huh?!"
Just as Scaramouche was about to mock Lumine, he suddenly felt a powerful suction. Immediately after, he felt an extremely uncomfortable airflow surge into his chest, and his body was sent flying back several meters, falling to the ground.
"What... what move is this..."
Scaramouche struggled to stand up, and asked in disbelief.
Lumine had already appeared at the spot where Scaramouche had been, in a posture of punching, her entire body glowing with a faint green light, appearing incredibly sacred and majestic.
"Heh... it's just pure speed."
(Release all the Anemo energy in my body and concentrate it on myself. This can greatly increase my speed and slightly increase my strength and defense for a short period of time... but the Anemo energy required is too immense, even I can only maintain it for a few minutes... I'll finish him with one move!)
Lumine snorted coldly and concentrated a large amount of Anemo energy on her feet.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by a deafening roar, a terrifying gust of wind emanated from beneath Lumine's feet. The powerful Anemo energy even caused the stones on the ground to shatter into dust.
Seeing the terrifying scene around Lumine, Scaramouche's pupils dilated, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
His instincts were screaming at him that if he were to be hit by that move unprepared, he would certainly lose his life. He quickly used his abilities to wrap the Skyward Blade around himself and block it in front of his chest.
Scaramouche's intuition proved correct. As soon as he had adopted his stance, Lumine appeared before him again with almost instantaneous speed, raising her right foot, which was infused with a massive amount of Anemo energy, and kicked him in the abdomen.
*Bang!*
Scaramouche felt as if he had been hit by a mountain. His body flew out like a cannonball to the side, tumbling several times in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
"Pfft... cough cough... cough... I really didn't expect this, you actually retained such powerful strength."
Scaramouche painfully got to his feet, clutching his abdomen, with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"Do you want to keep fighting?" Lumine asked Scaramouche coldly.
"Heh... you've only landed a couple of moves and you're already acting so arrogant... I don't believe you can unleash that kind of power again..."
This guy... I can't tell if she has any more tricks up her sleeve. Compared to that little girl, she's indeed much stronger... It seems I'll have to use my trump card...
"Hmph... then you'll find out!"
With that, Lumine began to charge up again, intending to repeat her previous move, but found that Scaramouche was no longer afraid. Instead, he raised a hand and clenched it tightly into a fist.
(What is this guy plotting?)
"Heh... let's hear your sister's voice~" Scaramouche slowly walked to the display screen he had created, smiled sinisterly, and said.
"Ah!"
Upon hearing the familiar scream coming from the ring, Lumine's heart suddenly leaped in shock. She quickly turned to look at the display screen.
She saw Ei gritting her teeth in pain, and streaks of electricity-like energy were constantly ravaging Ei's body through the chains that bound her limbs.
"Stop it!!"
Lumine roared in anger, her eyes filled with killing intent.
"Host?!"
"Ugh! You bad guy, let Ei go quickly!"
Seeing this, Scaramouche's lips curled upwards, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He wanted to see Lumine's angry face.
"Heh heh... ha ha ha ~ It seems you guys care a lot about this person ~ In that case, I advise you not to move rashly, otherwise, if I'm not careful... crack! A certain poor little one might lose her life~"
Scaramouche released his hand, cut off the sound, and laughed heartily, his words full of mockery.
"Let her go, I'll go in for her..." Lumine took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her anger.
"No! If I have to go, I'll go!" Paimon quickly stepped forward and said.
"Heh... I'm very sorry, I have no intention of changing hostages, but it's not impossible to let her go..."
"Speak, what do you want..."
"Tsk tsk tsk ~ Looking at you, you seem ready to die... But don't worry, I'm not such an unfeeling person."
"As long as one of you two attacks the other with your full strength, and the other cannot defend, I will let her go immediately~ How about it? Isn't it very easy~"
"Okay, I agree."
Lumine agreed without hesitation and then turned to Paimon and said, "You hit me."
"Huh?! No, no, you hit me!"
"Don't argue with me! You definitely can't withstand my full strength!"
"But!" (You don't have to use your full strength...) Paimon winked and signaled.
"Ah... by the way, if I catch you playing any tricks, your little cutie will be in trouble~"
"?!" (Damn it! You dare to threaten me with the host! I'll give you a few good slaps when I catch you!)