The Thirteen Consecutive Strikes
I tried hard to ignore the blood trickling down the back of my neck. My survival instincts, pushed to their absolute limit, were overloading my brain. My leg still isn't fully healed. Running away is out of the question, let alone overpowering her.
Every possible option and scheme was being shot down, and only death waited ahead. The reason I could stay calm even now was simple. I guess I have no choice but to drop Lumiela's name?
Thankfully, I could still ride on my noona's coattails. If it had been Princess Evangeline, maybe not, but Lumiela's name alone should work on a knight like this.
"If you make me ask again, I'll cut you down."
At the knight's impatient demand, I answered steadily.
"I am Lady Lumiela's personal escort."
"Hah! I gave you a chance, and you spit out lies!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the knight's sword slashed straight for my throat.
Shit. Fuck.
I threw my body into a roll at the last possible instant, barely dodging the blade. The sword, denied its target, slammed into the floor with a sharp crack.
"Ugh."
Pain surged up my leg from the old wound. It looked like the knight didn't believe a single word I'd said.
I thought there'd be at least some hesitation. What the hell?
No matter how rigid someone was, I'd expected the name of the First Princess to give them pause. The knight ripped her sword free from the stone, then yanked off her helmet. Golden hair spilled out around a surprisingly youthful, beautiful face.
It was a woman...?
I was briefly startled by the knight's gender, but it made sense. Of course there would be female knights. Superior strength could be compensated for with mana or refined technique even without a special bloodline. Compared to the women I'd met so far, she was actually on the more ordinary side.
Staying wary of her next move, I kept talking.
"If you're truly that suspicious, just restrain me and report to the First Princess later. Is there any need to attack me outright?"
"...You continue to mock me. Even if what you say is true, why would Lady Lumiela's escort sneak into the Full Moon Palace and rip the Fourth Princess's clothes off?"
"That's..."
I had no good answer for that one. It's not like I wanted to come here...
"Would you believe me if I said the Fourth Princess kidnapped me, so I had no choice but to improvise a plan?"
"......"
The lady knight's face went ice-cold as she swung her sword at me again.
Fuck.
Whoosh! I'd been expecting it, so I ducked under the first strike, but the problem was that it didn't end there. A strange scraping sound announced the second blow. Instead of retreating, I stepped forward and twisted my body to the right. Her blade sliced through a few strands of my hair.
Before I could even feel relief at the narrow dodge, another razor-sharp edge was already coming. A relentless flurry of linked strikes followed. I was stunned. The sword... it doesn't stop at all?
Normally, swinging a blade repeatedly would tire the user and degrade their precision. No matter how refined the swordsmanship, using it continuously without any preparation was nearly impossible. Yet her sword never paused even once. It chopped down from above; the instant I evaded, the blade that had been below shot upward toward my torso. If I bent to avoid that, the trajectory twisted unnaturally and came flying at my head.
I was dodging on pure instinct. Far from slowing, the lady knight's consecutive attacks only picked up speed. Is this actually possible?
I might have plenty of theoretical gaps, but after using a sword for a while I'd developed a decent sense for it. Even I didn't think I could pull off something like this.
Whoosh! Damn it, I can't even find an opening to draw my own blade.
If I'd had my sword out I might have been able to deflect some of the force, but there was simply no gap. In the end I avoided every strike while barely using my injured leg. It was an evasion technique that had reached the realm of the divine.
Whew.
I finally slipped past the last attack, breathing hard as I kept my distance. That really was too close... What kind of monstrous technique is that?
Sweat poured off me like rain. My legs trembled violently. I felt like I'd collapse if I let my concentration slip for even a second. Somehow I had survived all thirteen consecutive strikes.
The lady knight spoke with a hint of genuine admiration.
"...Not bad. But that leg doesn't look fully functional. How long do you think you can keep dodging?"
The moment she raised her sword to charge again, I spoke first.
"That's strange."
"What...?"
My sudden casual tone made her flare with anger, but I didn't care. No point being polite to someone who's trying to kill me.
"The swordsmanship you're using. I can't put it into words, but something feels off. What kind of trick are you pulling?"
"...So you've seen through the secret of the Linked Ring?"
The lady knight stared at me with surprise in her eyes.
"To an extent. I've roughly grasped the principle."
Bullshit.
She was laughing at me on the inside. No one had ever seen through the technique after facing it only once. This is just another stalling tactic. He can't even run with that leg... How pathetic.
Since she already had me cornered, the lady knight decided to humor me a little.
"Is that so? Then you should already know this technique has no weaknesses whatsoever."
"I admit it... You must have poured incredible effort into perfecting that sword art. However."
Shing. I slowly drew my sword.
"......!"
"I don't particularly want to die either."
The moment the words left my mouth, I activated the Void Illusion Sword. Boiling pressure and killing intent surged outward.
Shudder. The lady knight's body froze for an instant.
"Intimidation...?"
She looked at me in pure shock. Intimidation was an advanced technique that required at least the mid-level of Sword Cloud. How could someone like me possibly use it? It was completely outside her common sense.
Twitch. But even that pressure only bought me a very brief window. The lady knight shook off the momentary stiffness using her mana.
"......!"
Yet even though she should have charged immediately, she couldn't bring herself to close the distance.
"You... you...!"
She stared at my stance in disbelief. At some point I had taken a familiar posture—the exact ready stance of her own unique Linked Ring Sword technique.
He copied the Linked Ring Sword just from watching? That's impossible...
From the start, this art was not something any genius could learn in a short time. Is it an illusion? What is happening?
The sight was so absurd she briefly suspected hallucination. Separate from her confusion, the Linked Ring Sword was unfolding at my fingertips.
I recited calmly, "Linked Ring Sword. First Form."
"Kuk..."
Here it comes!
The lady knight raised her sword, bracing for the chain of attacks.
"......"
"............?"
But no attack came. She looked at me in confusion. Without changing my expression, I continued.
"Linked Ring Sword, Second Form."
The next ready stance. This time she was certain the real strike would follow. The first was a bluff. Now the real thing... Come!
She raised her sword once more into a perfect defensive posture.
"............?"
Again, only silence. When she looked at me in bewilderment, I kept speaking with a straight face.
"Linked Ring Sword, Third Form."
This bastard...?
Please, someone, anyone, just come! Ideally it would be Lumiela, but Olivia would be fine too. Praying for rescue, I kept buying time.
No matter how heaven-defying my talent for the sword was, even I couldn't master that technique in such a short period. If I had a ridiculous amount of time and stamina, maybe...
The true nature of the Linked Ring Sword, which looked like it hid some incredible secret technique, was actually just an extension of the fundamentals. To wield it, you had to be able to cut and thrust in literally any situation. The training required far surpassed anything an ordinary person could endure.
It was the pure fruit of effort, with basics refined to an absurd degree.
Of course, being able to use such a technique at her age proved she was a genius, but the repetition must have been truly brutal. That level of effort was not something I could steal just by watching. The ready stances, however, were another matter.
The posture right before the chain begins. That much I can imitate.
Combined with the pressure from my Void Illusion Sword and a string of seemingly profound lines, the lady knight had no choice but to fall for the bluff.
"Linked Ring Sword, Fourth Form."
"Enough."
But it looked like my little performance had reached its limit.
"Hah. I've seen enough of your antics. Time to end this."
How much time had passed? After rolling through battlefields together for so long, Serena had grown somewhat comfortable with Envy.
"Envy noona?"
"Hm?"
Envy casually ripped off the leg that had been contaminated by green light, discarded it, and immediately regenerated a new one. It was a horrifying sight, but Serena remained calm as she continued her questions.
"This might be rude, but the other Seven Deadly Sins also struggle with their 'desires' the same way you do, right?"
"That's right?"
Serena hesitated for a moment, then finally forced the question out.
"Th-then... what about the devil seated on the throne of Lust?"
"Hmmm?"
At the word "lust," the corners of Envy's mouth curled up playfully.
"Well. Lust is... how should I put it? It's actually a lot less fun than the other sins."
"Huh?"
"No matter what you imagine, it's not nearly as 'lewd' as you think, dear. Hehe."
"I-I didn't mean it like that!"
When Serena exploded in embarrassment, Envy simply gave her a knowing, mischievous smile.