Cat Fight
Every time she swung the bastard sword, the surrounding terrain changed dramatically. Trees were uprooted and rocks pulverized. The place called Urhel village vanished entirely, buried under mounds of dirt. That merciless destructive power was precisely the strength of Allen Rocksfield, the mad dog of Rocksfield.
Facing her, Ardena felt terror and anxiety crawling from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes. That woman wasn't human. She was a monstrous aberration far beyond human limits.
"A monster..."
"Monster? Yeah, that's me. I'm a monster that even humans fear!"
Every breath Allen exhaled made the surrounding mana quiver. It was submission. The mana trembled in fear at the mere respiration of this fierce, merciless beast. Inside Allen's body right now, an enormous amount of mana was swirling. If hundreds of mana bombs detonated all at once, would it produce firepower like this? Energies that would make even grand archmages shiver with chills rotated rapidly within her, igniting fierce embers.
"What do you plan to do after killing me?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'll go to where Yushin is. I'll slaughter anyone who gets in my way."
Allen declared she would pile up elf corpses into mountains and flood the seas with their blood. It wasn't a joke. She meant every word. And she had both the power and the madness to back it up. She wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to create a corpse mountain blood sea. Right in front of Ardena, she boldly proclaimed she'd exterminate every last elf scum who stole her beloved fiancé.
"How dare you spout such nonsense before the Warrior Captain of the Elf Kingdom!"
Ardena roared. The warrior captain, swept up in blazing fury, fully unleashed the mana of her armor. It rivaled a dragon. The White Lily Scale, emanating near-infinite mana, matched draconic authority. And Ardena, wielding that mana through her sword with all her might, surpassed even the mana-attuned dragons—it wasn't an exaggeration.
"Yeah, that's more like it...! If you're the bitch who stole Yushin from me, you better have that kind of power!!"
Allen laughed. A smile laced with pure murderous intent, directed at the high elf warrior captain. And the clash resumed. They collided endlessly, time and again, each aiming for the other's life. With every exchange, Allen's smile deepened. The longer the fight dragged on, the thicker her madness grew. A true berserker. The warrior armed with frenzy and valor showed no sign of fatigue whatsoever.
This monster leaves herself wide open during big attacks. If I exploit that, I can win.
Ardena decided to target it. She waited for Allen to drop her guard, exposing a weakness. The wait wasn't long. Drenched in madness, Allen began devoting herself solely to offense. As if she didn't care about exposing vulnerabilities, she swung the bastard sword with both hands, leaving openings.
Now.
Ardena's sword spun rapidly. It completed a full rotation, deflecting the heavy blow of the bastard sword, then her hilt thrust toward Allen.
"Gahk!!"
Blood gushed from Allen's mouth. Ardena's extended hilt had slammed into her abdomen. Mana exploded outward. An invisible mace originating from the hilt crushed into Allen's body, damaging her organs deep inside. The blood pouring from her mouth was proof.
"Heh, kehihihi!! I wondered what you were aiming for... but that was it?"
Allen cackled wildly. Even as she spat crimson blood and her guts took damage, she kept laughing. It sent chills down Ardena's spine. She'd landed a perfect counter, yet her opponent seemed utterly relaxed. No, the damage had definitely transferred. But Allen's composure came from the fact that it wasn't enough to finish her off decisively.
"Ngh!!"
The bastard sword swung down. Ardena raised her sword with both hands, barely blocking it. They entered a contest of strength. Allen pressed down with her bastard sword, trying to cleave the high elf in two, while Ardena resisted, their blades locked between them.
The metal screamed. Ardena felt her limit first. Pitting raw strength against this near-monstrous power was utter folly.
"What's wrong? Running out of steam already? Then die! If you're out of strength and tricks, just die!!"
The bastard sword whipped down like lightning. Clang, clang...!! The metal shrieked in agony. Ardena countered with swift, precise strikes, but facing Allen's brute-force onslaught was no easy task. One moment of carelessness, and her head would roll. Feeling the terror of death, Ardena stepped forward.
No, it's not over yet.
Ardena's sword strike slithered like a viper, arcing wide. A silver-white slash flew in. It grazed past the bastard sword and struck Allen. The relentless attacker took another unexpected hit—this time to her cheek. It tore open, red blood trickling down. Ardena had aimed for the throat, but Allen's innate instincts let her dodge the invisible strike.
"Almost lost my head there? Too bad, you missed."
"Don't underestimate me. I can take your head anytime."
"Then do it!!"
Allen unleashed a one-sided barrage of attacks. Ardena focused on defense, biding her time for a reversal. The area around them was already a wasteland. Not even a foundation stone from the buildings remained; it was total devastation. Negotiations between the two nations? The site where talks had taken place was unrecognizable. The duel between these two heroines—for one man—had utterly collapsed the talks.
"Hah!"
Ardena's decisive strike finally closed in directly on Allen's body. But it didn't cut easily. Allen wore no armor, but her skin was the issue. Hard as steel. A hide that had deflected mana-infused arrows boasted durability enough to withstand even a mana blade. Was this human? Allen had transcended human limits into superhuman territory, and Ardena no longer saw her as human.
"What the hell is that armor?!"
Allen shouted. The Elf Kingdom's sacred relic. Untouched by any attack. And that wasn't all. The mana pouring out like an active volcano showed no sign of depletion. Near infinite. As long as the owner's will held strong, the White Lily Scale kept granting her power.
This won't end like this. I need to kill this damn pest quick...! Drop dead already, you cockroach bitch!
Allen's impatience grew at Ardena's unyielding stance. She wanted to hurry to Yushin. Having sated her battle lust, she figured it was time to wrap this up. She overwhelmingly dominated in raw power. If she threw everything at her, she could end this drawn-out fight. So Allen decided to draw a new weapon she'd never shown before.
"Come down, lightning."
Allen reached out. Lightning struck from the empty sky, hurtling toward her. Krarararararak!!! Blue lightning arrived. It began morphing into a single sword. The revealed blade was lighter and sharper than the bastard sword—Dragon Pursuer—she'd been wielding. A sleek longsword suited for precise swordplay, not the power-focused style that fit Allen.
"You said you lost to Yushin in a duel? Thinking you could beat me after losing to him was just stupid arrogance. Now I'll sever that tenacious neck of yours. So vanish, pest."
Allen thrust the lightning sword. Blue bolts swirled into a vortex, filling the surroundings. Her control over lightning was clumsy. Ardena suspected it wasn't Allen's own weapon, but stolen from someone else. It contrasted sharply with her ghostly mastery of the bastard sword, as if fused with it. But Allen offset the weakness by wielding both Dragon Pursuer and the lightning sword simultaneously.
"I wonder if even that fancy armor can withstand this strike? I'm curious about its limit. I won't stop until your body crumples like a meatball."
Bugs had to be burned. A fitting end for the pest that lusted after her love and tried to enslave him. Cockroach. Damn cockroach. She'd surely seduced her fiancé with that pretty face. But it wouldn't work on her. She and Yushin were bound by love. He wouldn't refuse returning to Valua Kingdom. Just as she loved him blindly, he loved her too.
"Ahahat, ahahahahaha!! Die, die, die, die, die!!! Any bitch who approaches my man, my fiancé, gets killed!!"
The mad dog howled in frenzy. Cackling insanely, she pushed the lightning to its limit. The lightning sword's flaw was that it damaged its wielder too. But Allen had no worries. She was a monster with flesh transcending humanity. Even a direct lightning hit left her unscathed.
"Come at me, monster! I'll repel you!"
Ardena shouted. She focused all the mana from the White Lily Scale into her single sword. Emerald-green mana surged and converged. This would surely be the final clash. Whether it could kill the monster was uncertain... but failing to strike now meant taking the monster's blow instead. The best defense is a good offense, as they say. Ardena prepared her last strike too.
"Squirming like a bug."
Allen bared her teeth in a grin. The pathetic pest was putting up a decent struggle, but no one survived this lightning. Armor was just armor. Even the Elf Kingdom's treasure couldn't block all damage to its wearer. She'd burn black inside it. Allen planned to reduce Ardena to unrecognizable ash and claim the relic.
"Stop, Allen."
As Allen swung the lightning sword down, a man arrived at Urhel village. He reached out and gripped the hilt. It froze solid. Allen, poised to strike, halted. As if time had stopped. Her runaway freight train of madness screeched to a sudden stop.
"Yushin!"
Allen cried out. The face twisted with loathing and rage bloomed into a radiant smile. Her demeanor flipped so drastically it was hard to believe this was the same rampaging monster. Like a puppy wagging its tail at its master. Showing obedient puppy-like submission, Allen beamed at Yushin.
"You came back because you missed me, right? I knew it. I never doubted you! Yushin would never abandon me. The elves must've lied. Because we're fiancés bound by love."
Allen shouted in succession. Ecstasy, joy, the happiness of reunion. Tinged with a sliver of anxiety. The mad dog of Rocksfield was genuinely thrilled. Thrilled to reunite with her fiancé, thrilled that he'd rushed here for her.
"No, I'm not going back. I came to stop you."
Yushin said. Utterly unexpected words. Allen's face slowly hardened. Her endlessly trembling eyes held disbelief, praying she'd misheard, that it couldn't be true.
But it was fact. Yushin told Allen plainly he had no intention of returning to Valua Kingdom.
"Go back, Allen."
Yushin said.