The air around Raven crackled with a palpable intensity as she leaned her upper body forward with both swords extended behind her.
In a single light line of motion, her body moved with a new fluidity, her blades weaving a deadly dance that blurred the lines between attack and defense, shimmering with a faint but beautiful and pristine white light.
Krullgath barely had time to react as Raven launched forward.
Her swords had quickly become extensions of a furious whirlwind, striking from multiple angles in rapid succession.
Soul essence surrounded her like a swirling cloth, and her strikes birthed persistent crows… biting endlessly on him, it was as if each strike of hers had been given an existential essence of their own.
Her Crows however, instead of black were… white?
Not that the White Walker cared about that but Northern found it very strange, they were clearly crows but every part of them were white, down to their eyes.
'Strange' he thought but couldn't afford to avert his focus, he just stared.
Each of Raven's blows came faster than the last, slicing through the air with a deadly precision that belied the raw power behind them.
Krullgath's bone axe was a blur of motion as he tried to parry her relentless assault.
His movements were powerful but increasingly desperate as Raven's attacks chipped away at his defense.
The arena echoed with the sharp clang of steel meeting bone and the occasional grunt of pain from the White Walker as Raven's swords found their mark.
Despite the ferocity of her assault, Raven knew that Krullgath's strength was not to be underestimated.
He had after all proved himself through the past few minutes of their duel.
He swung his ax in wide arcs, creating gusts of icy wind that forced her to adapt her approach.
With each strike, he tried to overwhelm her with his sheer brute force.
But Raven's technique was crazy smooth. She moved with the speed and grace of a predator, her strikes calculated to exploit the smallest openings in Krullgath's defenses.
Her swords sang through the air, cutting into Krullgath's flesh and drawing blood with every pass.
With a roar, Krullgath swung his axe in a desperate attempt to break through Raven's onslaught.
The massive weapon cleaved through the air, aimed at her midsection with bone-crushing force.
But Raven anticipated his move. She twisted her body, letting the axe pass harmlessly inches from her side, and countered with a vicious upward slash.
Her blade found its mark, slicing across Krullgath's chest and sending a spray of blood into the icy air.
The White Walker staggered back, a look of shock and pain flashing across his face.
Everywhere, the arena, the wind, even his breath seem to pause in a stunning shock of what just happened.
Like it or not, Raven was beginning to have the upper hand in this battle.
She had drawn blood from his body more than once!
His gaze toughened, cold eyes glowing with a subtle white light of fury.
"Looks like things are about to get difficult…" Northern muttered.
In the instant he did, Krullgath pierced forward like an arrow, he arrived in front of Raven in a flash and powerfully swung his axe.
Of course, even though it was belatedly, Raven threw her hands forward to block the attack.
But its sheer force was overwhelming that her bones vibrated, she couldn't help but stagger back.
And seeing it only made more of Krullgath's attack fly her way. For that moment, the tide of the battle shifted fully to the White Walker's side.
And the onlookers began raising their usual cheers.
Raven was forced into an entrapping web of defending, every swing of her sword, every maneuver was in a desperate but usually failed attempt to get past his overwhelming chain of attacks.
It was getting frustrating, she couldn't even take a moment to retreat without worrying about his annoying attacks.
Her hands throbbed with every swing, the cold did not favor her too and everything just seemed like they wanted her to lose.
And sadly for her, that is how her entire life had always been.
Cursed, they call her.
She had no place in this world and every single thing had always worked together to proved that fact right.
Raven had always had to fight against an overwhelming number of odds.
Before coming to Stelia, every day was war and she couldn't erase the feeling of fighting a war that she definitely knew she was losing.
After coming to Stelia, she had forgotten about that emotion for a while.
For once in her entire life, she actually felt like she had perfect control of her own life, of everything.
But right now, she was being reminded again of that feeling.
And it did not feel good at all.
With a defiant cry, Raven threw outside outrightly into his incoming attack. It was so wild and crazy that the White Walker got faltered for a moment and withdrew his attack.
But Raven's feet was already on the tip of his axe—she used it as a stepping stone and threw herself back into the air, landing away from him.
Krullgath stood frozen in shock.
"Woman. Crazy." He muttered, eyes still staring unbelievably.
Raven, however, was already shifting into a new stance.
"Black Crow Dual Blade Arts, Fifth form, Feathered Fury," she whispered.
Then disappeared in a wake of white dancing feathers.
Krullgath staggered back as Raven was before him in the blink of an eye, she spun with the grace of a dancer, her blades cutting through the air in wide, sweeping arcs.
Krullgath's eyes widened in surprise as Raven's swords slashed at him from every direction.
He struggled to keep up, his axe moving in a desperate attempt to block her attacks.
But Raven's speed and agility were too much for him.
Her blades began to find their mark progressively, slicing into his flesh and drawing more blood with each pass.
Despite his wounds, Krullgath fought on with a savage determination.
He swung his axe in a wide arc, forcing Raven to leap back to avoid the blow.
But she was stubborn.
She closed the distance between them in an instant, her swords a blur of motion as she launched into another form, muttering beneath her lips:
"Black Crow Peripheral Form, Eclipse Slash"
She crossed her swords in front of her, their edges gleaming in the dim light.
With a powerful twist of her body, she unleashed a combined strike that deflected Krullgath's axe and sent him stumbling back.
Krullgath roared in frustration. He swung his axe in a wide arc, creating a wall of icy wind that threatened to engulf Raven.
But she moved with the agility of a shadow, slipping past his defenses and delivering a swift strike to his exposed side.
Her blade bit deep into Krullgath's flesh, and he howled in pain.
He swung his axe in a desperate attempt to fend her off, but Raven was already moving.
She danced around him, her swords flashing in the dim light as she attacked from every angle.
But she knew she couldn't keep it up for long, she didn't know why but she could feel that the White Walker, had several tricks up his sleeves.
She needed a very strong attack to end this duel, besides, she was already getting severely exhausted.
Her stamina usually was something she was proud her. But the cold in this place did not do her any good at all.