One Dina shot toward Reno’s chest, while the other swept low, aiming to take out his legs.
Reno reacted instantly.
With a sharp pivot, he sidestepped the first strike, her knuckles grazing nothing but air.
At the sa mont, his sword flashed downward in a lightning-fast arc, slicing toward the second Dina’s leg.
The blade t no resistance.
Instead of cutting through flesh, the second Dina flickered and dispersed, unraveling into a swirl of wind and dust.
Another clone.
The real Dina used the opening flawlessly.
Just as Reno’s sword whipped through the illusion, she leapt forward, closing the gap between them in an instant.
With all the force of her montum, she drove her knee straight toward his jaw.
Reno barely reacted in ti.
At the last possible second, he tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the full brunt of the impact. But Dina was fast, too fast.
Even with his quick reflexes, the blow grazed the side of his face, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his jaw.
The sheer force of it knocked him staggering back several steps.
His boots scraped against the arena floor, and for the first ti, the crowd saw him off-balance.
Gasps and cheers erupted from the spectators. Dina had landed another hit!
She landed smoothly, shaking out her leg with a cocky grin. "You’re quick, I’ll give you that," she said, her voice teasing. "But you can’t dodge forever, pretty boy."
Reno exhaled slowly, rolling his jaw. It hurt.
But pain was nothing new to him. He simply adjusted his stance, his unreadable expression returning, as if the blow had done nothing at all.
The mont Reno steadied himself, she rushed in, pressing her advantage.
Another clone flickered to life beside her, forming out of the swirling air as they moved in perfect unison.
Two Dinas again.They ca at him fast.
Reno exhaled slowly, his breath steady despite the tension coiling in his muscles. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, the cool tal pressing firmly against his palm.
The blade, slim and sharp as a whisper, glead under the arena lights, reflecting the anticipation that hung heavy in the air.
His posture remained calm, almost unnervingly so, but beneath his stoic exterior, His mind worked quickly, calculating. Every detail mattered.
The clones weren’t perfect, Reno had figured that out quickly.
They vanished the mont his blade struck them, dissolving into nothing like mist scattered by the wind. There was no resistance, no weight behind their movents, only the illusion of substance. A feint.
But they were a distraction, and Dina used them flawlessly.
She didn’t need them to be perfect, just convincing enough to pull Reno’s focus in the wrong direction.
And they did. Each ti one flickered into existence, it moved like her, mirrored her attacks, matched her speed.
They darted around him, forcing him to divide his attention, to react instinctively rather than strategically.
And that was exactly what she wanted.
While Reno struck down one clone, another was already circling behind him.
The mont he adjusted, three more rushed in from different angles, their blurred forms creating a storm of movent around him. His blade was fast, almost impossibly so, but even his speed ant nothing if he was always one step behind.
And Dina? She never was.
She was fast. Not as fast as Reno, but close.
Close enough that the difference barely mattered when she had the advantage of numbers.
And unlike him, she didn’t have to hesitate. She could throw out attack after attack, relentless, unyielding, always pressing forward.
Reno had to be precise, every movent calculated, every strike deliberate.
His sword was a weapon of speed and accuracy, but he couldn’t afford wasted swings.
He had to be sure before he struck, had to separate the real Dina from the illusions before committing to an attack.
But Dina? She had no such limitations.
She didn’t need to hold back. She didn’t need to second-guess.
She was everywhere at once, fists flying, legs sweeping, clones flickering in and out of existence.
If one strike missed, another was already on its way. If a clone was cut down, another took its place.
It was an endless assault, not wild, but controlled chaos, a rhythm that only she understood. And it was working.
Reno reacted in an instant, his instincts taking over.
He caught Dina’s kick with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his slim fra.
She was strong, stronger than her size suggested, but he absorbed the force, refusing to stumble.
Before she could recoil, he pivoted sharply on his heel, twisting his body with practiced precision.
His sword flashed, a sleek arc of silver aid at her side. It was fast, lethal, a strike ant to turn the fight in his favor.
But again, she switched with a clone at the last second.
One mont, his blade was racing toward her side, the next, she was gone, replaced by an illusion that crumbled the instant his sword t it.
The sharp clang of his blade cutting through empty air rang out, a hollow, taunting sound.
Then she was behind him, fast, precise, rciless.
Her elbow slamd into his back, a precise, brutal strike that sent him lurching forward.
The impact rattled through his spine, montarily disrupting his balance. For the first ti, his footing faltered.
He tensed, muscles coiling like a spring, catching himself just before he could fall. But Dina was faster.
Before he could fully regain his stance, she was already there, her body twisting, montum building. A blur of motion.
Her leg swung high in a perfect arc, a spinning kick aid straight for his head.
Reno jerked his sword up to block, too slow.
Dina’s heel slamd into his forearm, and though he managed to deflect most of the force, the impact rattled him to his core.
A sharp jolt ran up his arm, his muscles protesting as the shock spread through his bones.
Even with the partial block, the sheer power behind her kick was undeniable.
He slid backward in the sand, his boots skidding across the arena floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The fine grains clung to his clothes, swirling in the air around him as he fought to steady himself.
His arm throbbed from the impact, the lingering sting a reminder of just how brutal Dina’s strikes were.
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