Facing this devastating offensive, Lux didn't hesitate; her legs pushed off forcefully, and her entire body shot upwards like a cannonball, directly crashing through the ceiling.

The moment she passed through the ceiling, she switched to the [Black Bear Paw Glove], slammed her hand on the floor above to stabilize herself, and then, without looking back, rushed towards the upper floor.

"Boom—." Immediately after, the black tide also burst through the ceiling, blasting a huge hole in the wall of the second floor as well.

Before Lux could even catch her breath, she watched in horror as the floor beneath her feet began to seep out pitch-black circles.

The circles rapidly expanded, bulged, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a thick black stone pillar, and Rio the Shadowmancer's figure slowly emerged from the pillar, a cat-and-mouse sneer on his face.

"Keep running, my precious boy." Rio the Shadowmancer slowly, step by step, approached Lux; he seemed to have calmed down a bit from his brief frenzy, regaining some "patience."

"You talk so fucking much!" Lux finally couldn't help but curse. "Has anyone ever told you that your face looks like a pair of balls? You disgusting ball-face!"

"Oh-ho?" Rio the Shadowmancer seemed slightly surprised by Lux's insult, but then his interest grew even stronger. "The more you talk tough like this, the more curious I become… what would your balls taste like?"

As soon as his voice fell, the pitch-black shadow, like living sludge, rapidly climbed up the Shadowmancer's arm.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed forward, and that mass of black mud instantly condensed and transformed, becoming a giant black hand that viciously grabbed towards Lux.

"A tough-talking boy like you, I bet… your balls must be very juicy!" Rio the Shadowmancer roared with laughter.

Lux could only desperately dodge, but the speed of the black hand was too fast, and its range too wide.

She was ultimately grazed by the edge of the black hand, and an immense force instantly erupted, sending her entire body flying, crashing hard against the wall behind her.

"Pfft—" Lux felt as if all her internal organs had been displaced, a sweetness rose in her throat, and a mouthful of blood uncontrollably sprayed out.

She slumped against the wall, feeling as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart.

"Oh? Stopping already? Don't stop now," Rio the Shadowmancer leisurely walked towards the immobilized Lux.

[No… even with the [Wildcat Ring], my speed and agility can't keep up with him at all… And the power of the [Black Bear Paw Glove] can't break his defense… As for the [Dire Dog Necklace], its effect is only to enhance smell and grow sharp teeth for tearing, unless I can get into close combat, there's no chance at all… And, these are the only three accessories I can generate…] Lux panted heavily, her brain working at lightning speed, trying to find a sliver of hope.

[Mitty… I have to hurry… I must…!]

Under the stimulation of her strong will to survive, the beast-tooth necklace she had confiscated from the thug leader suddenly erupted with a dazzling red light.

A violent power instantly surged into her limbs and bones.

Lux felt her body begin to heat up uncontrollably, turning red, like a burning flame, like boiling blood.

She abruptly sprang up from the ground, running rapidly around the room.

And Rio the Shadowmancer, seeing this, seemed even more excited.

The black shadow behind him suddenly exploded, transforming into dozens of sharp black thorns, like a dense rain of arrows, shooting towards the rapidly moving Lux.

For a moment, black thorns flew everywhere in the room, and wood chips splattered.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were pierced with countless large and small holes, and the bleak moonlight from outside brazenly poured in through these holes, cutting this dark battlefield into fragments.

"Hahaha! Now this is a bit interesting!" Rio the Shadowmancer laughed wildly with excitement, his arms waving like a crazed conductor, controlling the endless black thorns chasing Lux's figure. "Yes! Just like that! Move around more! The more you move, the better your balls will be marinated, and the more delicious they'll taste when eaten!"

Lux's speed became faster and faster, so fast that she was almost just a blurry afterimage.

She even began to use the walls for running and jumping.

In this dazzling, high-speed maneuvering, she finally seized a fleeting opportunity.

Lux violently kicked off the wall, her body clinging to the ceiling like a gecko, and rushed towards the Shadowmancer.

The instant she was about to reach the top of the Shadowmancer's head, her legs pushed off the ceiling forcefully, and her entire body shot downwards like an arrow loosed from its bow.

Her speed was so fast that it even surpassed the limit of what the naked human eye could capture.

"You bastard… shut up for me!" Lux roared, her right hand simultaneously using the [Black Bear Paw Glove] and the [Wildcat Ring], clenched into a fist, and with world-destroying momentum, she slammed it viciously towards the Shadowmancer's face.

Facing this earth-shattering blow, a trace of astonishment flashed in the Shadowmancer's eyes, but his reaction was also extremely fast.

The shadow beneath his feet suddenly protruded upwards, transforming into an incomparably sharp black thorn, and before Lux's fist could land, it accurately pierced her right arm.

With a "squish," Lux's entire right arm was like a piece of roasted meat brutally pierced by a bamboo skewer.

Intense pain shot through her instantly.

But this, this was precisely the opportunity Lux had been waiting for.

The moment her right arm was pierced, the [Black Bear Paw Glove] on Lux's hand suddenly vanished.

She abruptly opened her right palm, and another puff of white powder, already prepared, scattered towards the Shadowmancer's eyes, which were now at close range.

"What?!" The Shadowmancer clearly hadn't expected Lux to have this trick up her sleeve.

The black shadow on his face instantly condensed into a pitch-black mask, blocking most of the powder.

But in that fraction of a second, Lux's left hand had already equipped the [Black Bear Paw Glove], and gathering all her strength, she slammed her palm hard onto the Shadowmancer's chest.

"Bang!" This blow finally landed squarely.

The Shadowmancer flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the distant wall, emitting a dull, loud thud.

But alarm bells screamed in Lux's heart.

That palm strike just now… the feeling of impact was wrong.

It wasn't like hitting a human body; it was more like hitting a hard piece of steel.

In that instant, the Shadowmancer had protected his body with shadows.

This blow, she feared, had not caused any substantial damage.

[I have to escape with Mitty immediately!] Lux made a decisive decision. Her meager magical power was almost depleted now; she could barely even catch her breath. Ignoring the intense pain in her right arm, she jumped straight down through the large hole that had been blasted in the second-floor floor.

"Mitty!" She immediately spotted her sister curled up in the corner.

Mitty was still breathing faintly, her eyelids so heavy they seemed about to close at any moment, but upon seeing Lux appear, she still struggled to open her eyes wide, looking at her "brother."

Lux immediately rushed forward, preparing to pick up Mitty and escape through the kitchen's back door.

If they could just escape into the intricate, dark alleys outside, perhaps… perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.

However, just as her fingertips were about to touch Mitty's body, several pitch-black spears, like venomous snakes, silently shot out from the shadow beneath her feet, instantly piercing through her thighs.

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Intense pain and despair, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed her.

Lux could no longer support her body and, with a "thump," knelt on the ground, only able to brace herself with her arms to keep from collapsing completely.

Her thighs… had almost lost all feeling.

"Keep running," Rio the Shadowmancer's voice was like a whisper from hell as he slowly walked down from the staircase.

He was slightly covered in dust, his black robe somewhat torn, and there was even a fine bloody scratch on his face, but other than that, he looked… almost completely unharmed.

Lux raised her head, staring deadly at him with bloodshot eyes, then struggled to turn her head to look at Mitty in the corner.

Tears, as if squeezed from a nearly wrung-out rag, silently slid from Mitty's barely open eyes. "Bro… ther…" A hoarse, broken voice came from Mitty's chapped lips, so faint it seemed it could be blown away by the wind at any moment, yet it was like a blunt knife, viciously cutting at Lux's heart.

"Mitty…" Lux felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness fill her entire body.

She tried with all her might to prop herself up, to stand, but the bloody holes in her thighs seemed to mock her silently: [You can't… You can't do it…]

[I must stand up… I must defeat this guy… I must protect Mitty… Because… I am her brother…]

However, before she could prop herself up, several more sharp black thorns shot out from all directions, accurately piercing her palms, arms, and shoulders… pinning her firmly to the ground.

Lux let out a pained, muffled grunt, completely losing the strength to resist, and collapsed heavily onto the floor.

"Well, the banquet… should be serving the main course now, shouldn't it?" Rio the Shadowmancer seemed to have finally lost his patience.

He stared viciously at Lux, who was sprawled on the ground, a twisted and cruel smile on his face.

"Mitty…" Lux used her last ounce of strength, struggling, inch by inch, to crawl towards where Mitty was curled up.

"Oh my, what a touching scene," Rio the Shadowmancer applauded exaggeratedly. "Hurry up, a little faster, kid. Hurry up and crawl over there."

This short distance of a few steps felt to Lux as if she had crawled for a long time.

Blood, like meandering streams, continuously gushed from the shocking wounds on her body.

Because she had used the berserker necklace earlier, her blood was draining exceptionally fast, and it was frighteningly hot, but after flowing onto the cold, shattered floor, it quickly cooled and congealed.

Finally, she reached Mitty.

She used her last bit of strength to lift her head, then lunged forward abruptly, holding Mitty tightly, tightly in her arms.

And Mitty, too, with strength so faint it was barely perceptible, hugged Lux back.

"I truly am a kind person, to have actually fulfilled the wishes of you pitiful 'siblings'," Rio the Shadowmancer said with satisfaction, a pleased expression on his face. "Then next, it should be time to… fulfill my wishes, right?"

Rio the Shadowmancer strolled leisurely, step by step, towards the two who were tightly embracing.

And Lux, merely held Mitty tighter, motionless, as if she had already given up all resistance.

A pitch-black shadow, like a venomous snake, coiled around the Shadowmancer's right hand, rapidly condensing and transforming into a sharp knife glinting with an ominous dark light.

He raised the black knife high, a cruel smile on his face, preparing to impale the "siblings" together, to thoroughly end this "game."

However, just as the black knife was about to descend.

A sudden change occurred.

Lux, who had been lying motionless on the ground, abruptly turned over.

Her arms, pierced by black thorns and a bloody mess, were now completely healed.

Her hands instantly switched to the [Black Bear Paw Glove], and with a powerful push on the ground, her entire body shot towards the Shadowmancer, who was now at close range, like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"What the hell?!" This sudden turn of events greatly alarmed Rio the Shadowmancer.

He subconsciously looked towards Mitty in the corner. "You're… a Healer?!"

He simply couldn't believe his eyes.

The Healer he had dreamed of, had been searching for arduously for years, was actually here.

Ever since becoming a Demon Hunter, he had been frantically searching for people with healing abilities, hoping to use them to restore the testicles that those bastards had cruelly cut off in his youth.

Lux's fist, carrying immense power, was almost about to smash into the Shadowmancer's face.

But Rio, after all, was an experienced Demon Hunter; at the critical moment, the black knife in his hand instantly dissipated, reforming into a mass of black shadow, which then condensed into a pair of thick black gauntlets, barely blocking Lux's earth-shattering blow.

Then, his fingers, like hooks, viciously grabbed Lux's wrist.

"You think this will… Urgh!" Before the Shadowmancer could finish his words, the [Black Bear Paw Glove] on Lux's hand instantly vanished, replaced by a necklace imprinted with a ferocious dog's head.

The moment she was grabbed, Lux had forcefully twisted her body, the red of her eyes and hair tips glowing with a dangerous light. As the [Dire Dog Necklace] activated, she lunged and viciously bit down on his **shoulder**.

[Dire Dog Necklace! Devour! Activate!] Lux roared in her mind.