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“Ugh… Lady Leriana!”
“I’m fine!”
Hearing Casia’s urgent voice, Leriana quietly bit her lip. How did the situation turn out like this? The red blood dripping down her arm finally stained the ground. While using her divine power to heal her arm, she kept thinking incessantly.
When the real battle began, Leriana and Casia had the upper hand. Not only did they have numerical superiority, but their solid teamwork, where no one became a weakness, and Leriana’s unexpected attacks gradually pushed the man back.
Although they didn’t allow fatal wounds, small and large injuries continued to mark the man’s body. Seeing this, Leriana felt hope. The time she had spent honing her sword skills to protect others wasn’t in vain, and with a little more focus, she could defeat this man.
However, the moment the man’s aura glowed red, that hope was shattered.
‘Is this even possible?’
A great doubt occupied her mind. The red aura, irregular in shape as if its edges were torn, looked like a bright red flame. Yet its sharp intensity became even more prominent, and the longer she looked at it, an inexplicable discomfort welled up.
After the aura’s color changed, the man’s movements altered. It was faster and stronger than the sword he had been wielding until now. Every time the fiercely burning aura clashed, the previously balanced power tilted to one side.
She even got injured while trying to ambush him from behind to disrupt his focus on attacking Casia. In that brief moment, the way he targeted her unguarded left arm was chilling.
“Sia! Fall back!”
She switched places with Casia, who had to face the man while she was healing her wound. Immediately deflecting the heavily descending sword, she poured out her divine power strongly. In an instant, the light that flashed at the tip of the holy sword moved like lightning towards the man’s face.
The sword didn’t touch his face. However, the robe he was wearing couldn’t escape unscathed. Its side was completely cut, losing its original purpose of hiding his face.
Dark skin, deep navy hair, striking red eyes… He looked normal enough on the outside. Observing his expressionless face that was cold beyond compare, Leriana moved her sword once again.
She raised her divine power to its limit. Her body became lighter to a degree incomparable to when she only used holy power. As soon as light touched her toes, Leriana’s body, which had become a beam of light, quickly reached the man’s front.
As she swung her sword while spinning her body halfway around, she burst out all the divine power she had raised in an instant. The man’s body, with too much force on one leg, lost balance. It was only a fleeting moment, but that was enough. She desperately gathered the remaining divine power in her shoulder and arm wielding the sword.
The sword thrusting in a straight line suddenly became twice as fast. She thought it was a perfect attack, having calculated precisely the moment when the opponent’s balance would crumble.
“…Ha.”
Her sword didn’t reach the opponent. The man’s body inexplicably increased its speed, escaping the sword’s path.
It gets even faster here?
She was starting to feel more disgusted than shocked. Since revealing the red aura, the man’s physical abilities seemed to know no limits. Even though a human body should have its limits, it was believable enough that he was freely using divine power like herself.
“Lady Leriana!”
It seemed like a fight that would never end. Seeing with her own eyes that the opponent grew stronger the more he fought, she might have felt a little despair. What made Leriana regain her composure was Casia’s voice from behind.
Glancing back, she saw Casia’s grave expression. It seemed she had been injured in the previous confrontation, with a significant amount of blood seeping from her side, but her expression remained firm.
Leriana quietly readjusted her sword.
‘That’s right. This time, I have to protect Casia.’
With divine power that could heal her body, she was confident she wouldn’t lose in a prolonged battle. Just as she was thinking this and biting her lip…
“Cough!”
Dark red blood spurted from the mouth of the man facing her. The blood dripping down seemed unreal. For a moment, Leriana couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Her sword hadn’t touched the man. She had inflicted small and large wounds, but never enough damage to make him cough up blood like this. Her eyes, momentarily lost, looked at the red aura that seemed to have diminished in intensity compared to before.
Now she understood.
“…As expected, there’s no way such power can be used recklessly.”
The suddenly emerged red aura, abnormally enhanced physical abilities, blood coughed up without any warning. The disconnected pieces floating in her mind came together. It seemed that the power the man was using caused harm to himself the longer he used it.
As she let out a faint, hollow laugh at the easily deduced conclusion, for the first time, cracks appeared in the man’s face. She felt a strange satisfaction at his slightly furrowed brow and twitching eyebrows.
Seeing him cough up blood like that, his body had already started to deteriorate. If she continued to press him, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to completely gain the upper hand.
Deal with him as quickly as possible, then treat Casia. Having formed this plan, Leriana shook her sword once and rushed towards him.
Once again, an intense battle began. The exchange of blows, which had been strangely one-sided, gradually became even, and soon even the balance of power crumbled. Every time the swords clashed with fierce noise, the man’s hands trembled precariously. Leriana, who had kicked away the approaching blade with her foot, closed the distance and thrust her sword.
“Ugh…!”
Splat. Once again, droplets of blood painted the air. This happened despite neither of them sustaining injuries in the endless confrontation. Leriana’s eyes gleamed at the man’s face, which seemed to have grown paler than before.
The man retreated, widening the distance. His mouth had long since been soaked with blood. If he hadn’t been wearing a black robe, one could have seen with the naked eye his clothes drenched and reddened with blood.
Even so, he didn’t show any signs of impatience or anxiety. Just as Leriana was starting to feel uneasy about his brazen attitude, the man opened his mouth.
“It seems you’re not worried about your companion.”
“…What?”
It was such a blatant provocation that her mind went blank for a moment. Frowning deeply, she barely stopped herself from looking back. She thought that the moment she turned her head to check on Casia’s safety, the man would seize the opportunity to attack.
She didn’t need to turn around. Even now, Casia’s presence behind her should be…
‘Huh?’
There should be a presence, but…
Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine. Even while fiercely confronting the man before her, Leriana had constantly been checking on Casia’s well-being. She had spread her senses to ensure that Casia was still in the same place without any problems, and the occasional sound of her voice confirmed that she hadn’t lost consciousness.
But… since when?
Casia hadn’t said anything?
Her head turned involuntarily at the indescribable chill. This led to a moment of carelessness, and that carelessness turned the tide of battle.
Bang! With a bursting sound, thick white smoke rose. Leriana gritted her teeth at the hazy smoke that completely obscured her vision before she could react. It was a similar situation to before. He had escaped using the same method again.
“Damn it.”
Leriana muttered a curse under her breath and moved. She could feel his presence moving away, but right now, checking on Casia was more important than chasing and catching him. So, how long had she been wandering through the widely spread smoke?
Leriana could finally show a look of relief at the familiar figure emerging from the smoke.
“Sia!”
“Lady Leriana. I’m glad you’re safe.”
It was Casia. Leriana found peace of mind seeing her still checking on Leriana’s well-being first with her usual calm expression. It was disappointing not to have caught him, but Sia was safe. For now, that alone was something to be grateful for.
Leriana quickly grasped Casia’s hand. They needed to get out of here first.
“Let’s get out of this forest first. We should go back immediately and report to the mercenary guild. Given that man’s appearance, the imperial palace must be closely involved. It’s more serious than we thought.”
Maybe this whole commotion itself could be a trap.
This was the conclusion she had reached while thinking during the battle. Given his outstanding skills, he must be one of the Emperor’s closest aides, and the fact that he was involved was suspicious in itself. As Leriana was frantically explaining her thoughts while pulling Casia’s hand, she suddenly remembered the wound Casia had sustained.
I was so preoccupied that I forgot. She felt guilty. She had promised herself several times that she would heal her as soon as the battle was over.
“…Sia.”
Leriana stopped in her tracks for a moment. It was to heal Casia. However, the moment she turned around to check Casia’s wound, Leriana was left speechless and had no choice but to let go of the hand she was holding.
“Where did your wound go?”
Casia’s side was perfectly fine. It had clearly been cut by a sword and covered in blood. Her clothes had been soaked in blood.
Seeing her clean clothes as if she had never been injured, Leriana’s mind suddenly went blank. Her breath caught, and a buzzing noise filled her ears as if she had fallen underwater. One step, two steps. Slowly backing away, Leriana barely managed to squeeze out a question.
“Who… are you?”
At that moment, Casia, who had been wearing her usual indifferent expression, smiled. It was a grotesque sight with only the corners of her mouth curving up while her eyes remained unsmiling.
The being in Casia’s form swung its sword just like that.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
