After three strikes, Julianne's witch body shattered in response, and immediately after, Roger's Steel Sword left a horrifying wound on her body.
Julianne let out a scream of agony.
"What's happened?"
"What blocked my attack?"
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand; it was that momentary distraction that had caused Julianne to lose her advantage, allowing Roger to press his attack and enlarge his victory.
The ghastly wound almost split Julianne in two; she staggered backwards, while Roger, although also injured, was relentless and seemed to feel no pain.
Energy from the earth drained and flowed into Roger's body, and despite his intense pain, Roger took another step forward.
"Stay!"
As he spoke, the red sinews distributed inside his body turned into an eerie blackish-red, his eyes blood-red, and a continuous flow of energy transferred from the land beneath his feet into the Steel Sword in his hand.