Chapter 580: Jealousy is My Power (80)
Chapter 580: Jealousy is My Power (80)
What happens when a hand axe and human flesh collide?
The result was obvious. Naturally, the human side was supposed to break.
But what if it didn't?
In that case, one had to question a single premise.
Whether the opponent was actually human.
The back of the woman’s hand, clean and without a single scratch, spoke volumes about the sheer sturdiness of her body.
As expected of Seria’s mother.
Her durability was beyond imagination. While I couldn't be sure if she surpassed Seria, it was safe to assume that most ordinary attacks wouldn't leave a mark.
I immediately shouted to Senior Elsie.
“Please take care of Her Highness the Princess!”
“You want me to fight while lugging around dead weight?!”
“In exchange, I have Seria!”
Seria had only just escaped her berserk state.
Since she hadn't even fully regained her reason, there was no way I could tell her to draw her blade against her own mother. I lowered Seria as gently as possible and spoke.
“Seria, run as far away as you can. I’ll hold her off here somehow…”
“Oh my, I don’t recall giving permission for that.”
Whoosh. The scent of her skin reached the tip of my nose.
In the blink of an eye, the woman’s shadow had closed in on me. I hadn't felt even a hint of her footsteps.
The atmosphere surrounding Seria’s mother had shifted completely.
Her eyes, shrouded in a silver mist, held an unnervingly intense glow. Furthermore, her elongated fangs and nails glinted with an ominous sharpness.
Rather than beautiful, well...
She looked dangerous. I tried to shield Seria, but the woman was faster, raising her claws.
“It might hurt a little, so just bear with—Gah?!”
Of course, I wasn't without my own tricks.
Seria’s mother let out a sudden cry and staggered. A hand axe, thrown from behind, had struck the back of her neck.
The secret of Stillness in Motion.
By now, it was a technique so famous that almost everyone who faced me knew of it, but Seria’s mother was someone who had been cut off from the world after her disappearance.
She even seemed to be acting independently from the other vampires.
It made sense that she wouldn't know this technique.
A gap in information leads directly to an opening. Seria’s mother had no choice but to lean forward, exposing a brief vulnerability.
Even so, it was a fleeting moment, impossible to calculate in seconds.
Had I not been a martial artist who reached the level of High Expert, I wouldn't have been able to make use of it.
I shoved Seria far away and drew my sword. The woman, having regained her posture, lunged at me with her claws, but as long as I had my sword, blocking her was no problem.
Clang! Sparks erupted with the metallic screech.
The hardness of her blade-like nails was terrifying. The blood-red Aura flowing over them served as indirect testimony to her skill.
At least Expert level.
Judging by the hardness, she might even be a High Expert.
Furthermore, she had two hands. In other words, despite her short range, I would inevitably be at a disadvantage the moment she closed in.
Clang, clang, clang!
My sword shrieked as it was scraped by a relentless barrage of claws. Even though I was protecting it with Aura, the blade was bound to be damaged if it was filed down at such a terrifying speed.
If I had known this would happen, I should have secured a better sword.
As I stumbled back after several exchanges, Seria’s mother spun gracefully and slashed with her claws.
She finished the move by extending her leg in a sharp kick.
It was a movement akin to a dance, but considering the power packed into that single strike, I was in no position to leisurely admire it.
“...Urgh!”
Even though I blocked it with the flat of my blade at the last moment, the heavy impact rattled my internal organs.
As I was pushed back a couple of steps, the woman took complete control of the momentum. She immediately took a step forward, trying to burrow into my guard.
The shorter the distance, the more the advantage swung in her favor.
However, I wasn't the only one here.
“Karmic Flame.”
It was a short trigger word.
The chanting was so fast that not even a precursor of mana could be felt, yet its power was undeniable.
The moment the sound of roaring flames erupted.
The silver-haired woman leaped into the air, tracing a graceful arc as she landed back. A pillar of high-heat flames surged up to fill the space she had just occupied.
Boom!
As the explosion rang out, I slammed my foot firmly into the ground behind me.
From here on, the counterattack began.
“Fire Lightning.”
As another trigger word echoed, flames and lightning intertwined like threads, raining down from the sky. Seeing the spears of fire and electricity chasing her like snakes, the silver-haired woman clicked her tongue.
And then, a Single Flash.
With a slicing sound, the fire and lightning made of mana were cut in half and dissipated. It was a sight I had already seen when facing Seria.
Aura that achieves the Materialization of all phenomena.
To think it was hereditary.
With that thought, I kicked off the ground, and yet another trigger word rang out.
“Heavenly Palace.”
Three times in a row.
Each was a spell with power that couldn't be ignored. If the power had been below a certain level, the vampire would have likely chosen to just tank it.
But the magic Senior Elsie used was not only fast but also sufficiently powerful.
Powerful enough that even a direct descendant of the sturdy vampires had to go out of her way to avoid it.
Furthermore, the last spell activated was extremely difficult to dodge.
Eight arrows of lightning poured down from the sky.
At first glance, they didn't seem particularly strong, but their speed was truly terrifying. By the time one noticed them, only golden trajectories remained.
No matter how much of a direct descendant she was, a vampire could not block light.
Though she managed to deflect more than half of the eight arrows, the woman couldn't help but spray several streaks of blood from her limbs.
Yet, her fierce momentum didn't diminish in the slightest.
That was why I was charging forward.
My sword, like a river of starlight, plunged down like a waterfall.
Clang!
Seria’s mother barely blocked my strike by crossing her claws. Though her knees buckled slightly, she somehow managed to hold her ground, her trembling arms refusing to give way.
The woman even wore a faint smile.
“Do you really think you can stop me like this?”
“And why wouldn't I be able to?”
Just before the woman could let out a scoffing laugh.
Creek.
I suddenly shifted the center of gravity I had been putting on the blade toward the hilt. The silver-haired woman, momentarily distracted by our conversation, had no way to respond to the sudden change.
She only stared at me with eyes that asked what I was thinking.
No answer was needed.
Using the woman’s claws as a lever, I slid into her embrace. At the same time, one of my hands dug into her shoulder.
By the time she realized what was happening, she was flying through the air.
Just as I had been once before.
Secret Martial Art: Moon Reversal.
The woman’s body was slammed into the ground at a right angle.
Boom!
Amidst the rock fragments soaring with the dust, I staggered away from the center of the impact.
Originally, 'Moon Reversal' was a technique that diverted and redirected the opponent's strength.
But since I had forced it, it was only natural that it took a toll on my body. My bones and muscles, already burdened by accumulated damage, were trembling and screaming in protest.
Stop using it already.
Unfortunately, that was a wish that couldn't be granted.
Coughing as I secured a safe distance, I had no choice but to look at Senior Elsie.
My heart was screaming that I should take the woman’s head right now. But the opponent was a being with a body of steel that even blades couldn't bite into, and above all, there was a problem that constantly grated on my nerves.
The Princess.
No matter how much I spread my Qi Sense, there was no sign of the Princess fleeing.
Unfortunately, my suspicion was soon proven correct.
“Wait, Senior Elsie!”
The Princess was trembling behind Senior Elsie’s back. In her cupped palms, she held a stone I had never seen before; it was likely something Senior Elsie had given her.
Then what about Senior Elsie?
She was ignoring the Princess entirely, focused on muttering her incantations. Seeing her annoyed expression at my call, she seemed to be quite concentrated.
“What?!”
“I told you to protect Her Highness!”
“I don’t raise dead weight!”
With that, Senior Elsie drew a massive circle in the air with her finger. Inside the ring of light that rose following her index finger, symbols of unknown meaning were filling in one after another.
“If she wants to run, tell her to run herself! If she wants to fight, tell her to fight herself!”
“But, Her Highness is...!”
“Everyone has a first time!”
Her tone was unexpectedly firm.
I was momentarily flustered and lost for words. Senior Elsie glanced at the shivering Princess, and the girl stiffened under that gaze.
It was the attitude of a veteran dealing with a raw recruit.
“If she was going to be dead weight, she shouldn't have said she was coming in the first place! Tell her to figure it out!”
“But...!”
“She’s coming! Get ready... Chains of Heaven!”
Regrettably, Seria’s mother didn't give Senior Elsie and me the luxury of arguing.
Boom! Another explosion, the countless-th one today.
The ground was torn up by a sudden burst of energy, obscuring our vision. However, a martial artist who had reached a certain level could feel the opponent's presence even without sight.
I held my sword horizontally to block the lunging beast.
Screeeeeeech!
Her crossed claws scraped against my sword like a saw.
The silver-haired woman, who had pounced on me as if flying, remained in the air for a surprisingly long time. The pure white mist surrounding her body had taken the form of a winged creature, flapping its wings.
A bat?
Blood-red light smoldered in what appeared to be its eyes. Perhaps due to the influence of that form rising behind her in place of a shadow, the silver-haired woman looked even more beastly.
Her claws and fangs had grown further, and her blue eyes glinted with predatory desire.
Every time the bat flapped its wings, my feet began to sink into the ground with a crunching sound. My already aching body let out an even harsher scream.
Still, just a little longer.
Salvation arrived immediately.
Clatter! The unleashed chains of light struck the woman’s limbs like cannonballs. Swept away by the torrent of chains, the woman flew back without even being able to scream.
Thick chains wound tightly around her limbs. But even this could only buy a brief moment.
The chains of light were already trembling. Judging by how Senior Elsie’s face was contorting as she maintained the spell, it seemed even that magic wasn't enough to restrain the monster.
Senior Elsie let out a suppressed groan and shouted.
“Hur—ry... deliver the finishing blow!”
Skreeeeeeee!
The woman, caught between human and beast, thrashed and let out a piercing shriek.
I clicked my tongue but had no choice but to kick off the ground.
I didn't want to waste this.
Crack, snap, grind.
The cracks appearing in the chains of light were spreading uncontrollably. If I took just a few more steps, the silver-haired woman would break free and start rampaging at will.
She was a monster who boasted immense physical strength even when she possessed her reason.
If that happened, she would be impossible to handle.
Finally, the moment I reached her immediate vicinity.
“...Hehe.”
A faint smile spread across the lips of the screaming woman.
A clear sneer.
There was no need to wait to find out why.
Snap!
The woman’s right arm broke free from its restraints on its own. As if she had been waiting for this moment, the length of the Aura coating her claws was the greatest I had ever seen.
I understood her aim.
I was left with two choices.
One was to let those claws pierce me in exchange for driving my blade into her heart.
The other was to block those claws, giving her enough time to fully escape her restraints.
Either way was a suicidal move.
Even if I wanted to choose the former, I still had the battle with the vampire ahead of me.
So, I decided to choose neither.
Tap. The tip of my sword dropped to the lower left.
Seeing that stance, the silver-haired woman’s face turned pale for the first time. She looked so shocked that even the madness in her eyes momentarily vanished.
“How... how do you know that...!”
She had no choice but to react that way.
For the silver-haired woman had also once been a member of the Yurdina family.
Secret Ritual Technique: Golden Silk Sword.
The lion’s claws, which only the direct lineage of Yurdina could hide, revealed themselves right here and now.