City of Sin Book 2, Chapter 143

Life and Death As One(2)
Gangdor chased behind Sinclair, but speed wasn’t his forte. Waterflower quickly overtook him, her runes activating and boosting her speed leaving her only a hair’s breadth away from Sinclair.
The three knights were sent flying away, cut into pieces right in front of Richard. His eyes quickly turned bloodshot, his entire body trembling with intense fear and wrath. However, he stayed calm and accurate as he took out the Book of Holding. A rich power of death spread through the area, and a tall and strong warrior of darkness added to Sinclair’s obstacles.
A loud bang sounded as Sinclair pushed into the warrior, but she couldn’t send the creature who weighed hundreds of kilograms flying away. She ended up thrusting her left dagger into the gap in armour at the warrior’s neck, twisting his head off and rendering him completely useless.
Finally, there were no more obstacles! Sinclair grinned, gritting her teeth in pain as she raised the dagger in her right hand once more. In less than half a second, she could slash thirty times to cut this mage in front of her into pieces. She would only keep his head, heart, and organs; the only parts of him that were valuable.
The tip of the dagger would start with his crotch. Richard’s keen awareness as a mage told him that this demon in front of him had at least fifteen strikes lined up for it. She believed it would give him an unforgettable memory as he neared his death. In her opinion, the more terrified one was before death the more delicious their heart would be.
However, what met her was not a panic-stricken teen but a man and his sword. Her gaze was attracted to an eye-catching scarlet moon atop his forehead.
Richard had the nameless sword held up high, the power of Eruption combining with scarlet moonforce, putting his abilities on full display. There were no yells or roars, a mere calm swing towards his enemy. The energy formed a crescent in the direction of his strike, forcing Sinclair to block. The secret sword of Silvermoon had stopped her in her tracks; had she forced the issue, he would have cut her in two before she could even start her ‘operation.’
“A sword art? Isn’t that the power of the scarlet moon? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!” Sinclair yelled in shock. However, her blades still struck towards Richard without hesitation.
With the support of Eruption, Richard’s body was surging with power. The moon atop his head grew clearer and clearer, the secret swords of Silvermoon being boosted in power. All of Sinclair’s movements were encompassed within the range of his moonforce, forcing her to retreat from a fatal blow.
Under the brilliance of that half moon, the two were fighting evenly!
The insides of Richard’s body were burning, every surge of power from his bloodline accompanied by severe pain. Eruption was destroying his nerves and blood vessels like it was lava. Thankfully, he only needed to hold on for a short while until his team could surround Sinclair once more. The demonic girl whose body was still burning in magical fires was no longer invisible, and the power of the Lens of Time was displayed as well. Although Sinclair had forced the spell to break, she had suffered great damage for doing so. Her movements had been slowed down.
Numbers were still leaping up everywhere in his vision. Richard clearly knew that Sinclair had suffered far worse injuries than he had, so he just clenched his teeth and persevered. He switched from secret sword to secret sword as though he was mad, completely disregarding the consequences.
Sinclair attacked twice more, but then she suddenly let out a wailing scream. She flipped into the air and leapt over Waterflower’s head, raining blows onto the young lady. Numerous clangs rang through the air as the two brushed past one another.
Sinclair was left with another shallow wound on her chest, but a dense black energy was visibly wrapped around this one. However, Waterflower’s wound was much more serious. Her abdomen was almost completely cut open, exposing her wriggling intestines.
The young lady stumbled back, almost falling down. However, she clenched her teeth and covered the horrible wounds with her left hand. The blade of her sword was still vibrating slightly, ready to launch a fatal blow at any time!
"Waterflower! Back off!" Richard shouted desperately. However, the young lady did not bother. She was still staring at her opponent like a wolf, even crouching low in preparation to pounce.
Sinclair saw the runes on her abdomen, before looking down at the black energy spreading from her own wound as she cried out once more, “Runes! You have a rune set!”
Even a grade 1 set created by a master that was compatible with its user was comparable to all of her grade 3 runes, barring Dark Sacrifice. Sinclair’s runes were just selected for individual purposes, so they weren’t a set at all. Seeing a rune set on a young level 10 girl was astonishing. There had been many unexpected surprises this night.
She wanted to pounce on Waterflower once more, but silver moonlight flashed down before her eyes. The moonforce disgusted and terrified her; several injuries had left her fearful of coming into contact with this unknown power. She thus fled in horror, leaving her original position.
However, the expected attack did not come. Sinclair lifted her head, only to see Richard waving his sword. The silver moon over his head flashed— its intention was not to attack, but to frighten.
Richard’s face was pale, the hands holding his sword trembling. Yet, Sinclair did not dare to launch a hasty attack. The Snow Moon left her feeling a strong sense of danger. Throughout this battle she hadn’t been able to see through this mage or anticipate his actions, so she didn’t know whether this weakness was just a trap. Although the opponent in front of her was a mere level 10 mage, she no longer had the confidence to kill him in one blow.
Hesitation was not tolerable in the battlefield. The warriors from the two wings drew close, and countless weapons stabbed into Sinclair.
Flowsand quietly appeared behind Waterflower, hugging her and dragging her away from the frontlines. Waterflower struggled at first, but when she turned her head she saw streams of amber liquid flowing down from the cleric’s eyes, nostrils, and lips. This was her blood, fused with divine power. It was the price she had paid for forcing the Lens of Time on Sinclair.