Always a bigger bad around

The fight had begun.

Yet, Gigarose didn't move.

She stood there, arms at her sides, her massive chest rising and falling ever so slightly as if she were completely relaxed. The two blades on her back didn't even budge.

'Tch. She's either cocky or baiting me,' Noah—now Shadow Oracle—thought.

He knew there were only two ways to handle this without exposing himself.

Option one: Throw the fight, get absolutely wrecked, and keep his secret safe. Not happening. The system promised him a reward for this match, and he was too curious to pass it up.

Option two: End this match fast.

Noah chose the latter.

In an instant, he activated Void Blink.

His avatar flickered, vanishing from his starting position and reappearing behind Gigarose in a flash of purple-black energy.

His fingers curled, a purple energy pulsing around his arm as he primed his finisher—Null Strike.

One clean hit and this was over.

But then—