At the very last moment, it meant that my final sword strike had been blocked by Ceria.
My weary body couldn’t even grasp the sword hilt properly. The powerless knife flew and spun several times in the void before plunging into the ground.
I tried swinging an axe, but it was futile.
Ceria’s body was essentially a weapon in itself, and there was no way I could match her with my exhausted state.
Ceria gave me a faint smile. The sight of the girl with empty eyes smiling gave me Goosebumps.
“It’s finally over. Honestly, if you hadn’t hesitated, I would have been the one to collapse…”
“I’ve experienced something like this before.”
That was a remark I breathed out while panting.
Ceria quietly stared at me with her lips sealed. No emotions could be read from her eyes.
The junior I knew used to have a richer expression.
By now, Ceria’s smile had faded, revealing a cold and severe face like the first time we met.
“Do you remember when we dueled? Back then, when I was on the losing side… Do you recall what I said?”
“Is that relevant?”
Her reply was firm.
I couldn’t help but let out a faint smile after hearing that. As I steadied my wobbling body, a face with crystal-clear, unblemished skin approached me.
She’s beautiful.
Ceria had always been so, but up close, the view was even more astonishing. It was hard to find even a small flaw so close.
With a somewhat weary voice, I lamented:
“Ceria, no matter what, I can’t fight you with a sword.”
“Yes, that’s what I expected.”
Her voice was as clear as her beauty.
Wobbling, I took a few steps back, but the distance between Ceria and me didn’t widen. If I stretched out my hand, I could still touch her.
A slight groan escaped my lips.
“But instead…”
Right at that moment,
My arm muscles began contracting intensely. Actually, it wasn’t just my arms.
As I squeezed all the muscles in my body, an incredible force erupted—a kind of power I hadn’t yet tapped.
Ceria’s countenance slightly frowned.
And rightfully so.
All I managed to do was create a minor cut with the blade. At this point, trying to punch her wouldn’t possibly yield any significant damage.
Had I been able to use a technique like “Moon Reversal,” it might have made a difference.
At least in Ceria’s mind, there was no picture of my fists striking her with any effect.
That is, until now.
But right before I launched my punch,
Ceria’s eyes had no choice but to widen to their limits.
For the entire world appeared to be distorting.
As if my punch had gravity pulling everything towards it, warping the scenery around it in an eerie manner.
Her azure eyes seemed to question me.
“What is this?”
An answer was unnecessary.
As I took a single step forward with a “thud,” Ceria instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.
Muscles were bulging from the delicate arms of the woman.
Yes, muscles.
My fist and her sword crossed.
Scenes broke apart in succession, disjointed in my mind. Perhaps the extreme concentration caused it.
First, Ceria’s sword lunged at my incoming punch.
Second, my upper body suddenly bent, altering the trajectory of my punch.
Third, my punch aimed for Ceria’s abdomen as it slipped through her guard.
An impeccable penetration.
This feat would have been impossible unless I had anticipated her sword’s trajectory beforehand. In the nearly halted time, right before my punch landed to her stomach, I whispered:
“Because muscles are too honest, as you once said.”
I didn’t know if Ceria heard my mutter.
But right after, at the very moment Ceria’s eyes, filled with alarm, turned towards me,
Ka-bam!
An unbelievable explosion, far too much to be caused by a simple punch, erupted.
The ground shook, the air trembled, and it felt as if the entire world had turned upside down.
Ceria’s body, struck directly, floated into the air before folding at a right angle.
Mountain-Crushing Strike.
A strike said to collapse mountains at its zenith, unleashed upon the vampire’s body.
*
Ka-thud!
Amid the swirling dust, something crashed against something else. It must have been the noise made by Ceria, who was propelled far away by my strike.
The direction Ceria flew off to was clear.
The trail carved upon the dirt path and the fallen trees pointed towards it.
I sighed and released the power that had been gathered in my body. She was certainly not dead.
However, her retaliation, at least for some time, would be unlikely. No matter how tough her skin might be, having her innards twisted would surely wreak havoc on her body.
Someone who’d been through this situation many times, I knew all too well.
What remained now was simply securing Ceria as our captive.
As I was brushing the dust off my hands, a cry of admiration erupted from somewhere.
“Sir Ian!”
A maiden then came bounding toward me like bouncing steps.
The Fifth Imperial Princess, Shi-en.
Her limbs had seemed paralyzed, unable to move a bit, moments ago.
But soon I understood the situation. Several empty healing potion bottles lay beside where Shi-en had been resting.
Healing potions carried by the royalties of the Empire.
Considering Shi-en hasn’t experienced severe wounds like I, receiving an effective cure would make even someone with limbs pierced capable of leaping around.
“Amazing! What was that technique just now? It looked, at a glance, like the forbidden martial arts from the Holy Kingdom…”
“It’s just a shortcut.”
I turned my gaze away, dismissing the princess’s curiosity.
Though the catastrophe I had caused was my doing, the repercussions of just one punch had been astonishing. Enough to worry about Ceria’s condition.
Could she have received a fatal wound?
This mounting concern naturally moved my body to act.
“More importantly, let’s go find Ceria first. Leaving her like that could be dangerous…”
But my words couldn’t reach completion.
Thud. Thud.
From behind the dust cloud, footfalls approached. A faltering silhouette soon came into view.
Just seeing its outline was enough to recognize her.
I immediately closed my mouth, and the princess turned ashy pale.
Could she have maintained the ability to move despite sustaining that blow?
An involuntary groan of disbelief escaped my lips. Of course, Ceria’s body wouldn’t be unscathed, but I was running out of time.
I needed to finish this quickly.
Just as I furrowed my brows,
“S-Seior Ian…”
A warm voice bathed my eardrum.
No doubt it was Ceria’s voice. I was startled and scrutinized her expression once more.
Focus had returned to her widened blue eyes.
It was my junior, the Ceria I knew.
I promptly dashed toward her, lending her my shoulder. As soon as she leaned on me, she violently spat blood and water.
“Ceria, are you okay? Has your consciousness returned?”
“S-Seior… Wha… Why am I here?”
“Later, let’s talk about it later.”
At that point, I almost cried with relief.
Once upon a time, Senior Elsi provided me with some advice: for juniors who don’t listen, a firm hand is necessary.
I had thought it nonsensical back then, but who would have guessed I’d see its truth today?
Thankfully Ceria had come back to her senses. Had she collapsed completely, I wouldn’t have known what to do.
“For a moment, it was like a bad dream… Got it, Ceria? Let’s rest…”
But was it the willful trickery of fate?
The world wouldn’t give Ceria and me the luxury of rest.
Ka-bam!
A deafening explosion signaled something approaching from afar. In an instant, I pushed both Ceria and me onto the ground. A shadow flew right above us.
Thud, thud, thud!
After toppling a few trees, the newcomer finally landed. Her condition suggested she’d taken a powerful technique, yet the new girl immediately rose to her feet and declared:
“Alright, want to tango? Let’s experience the true power of me, Elsi Rainelle!”
Silence fell.
The eyes of the girl with the cap met mine in the void. Both of us stared, mouths moving aimlessly for a few seconds.
A voice, calm and trailing behind, followed:
“With such a little body, your skills are commendable. But interfering with my sister is something I cannot allow… oh.”
Light steps.
A graceful woman, who’d paused upon witnessing my figure and Ceria’s, stood there, her slightly enlarged eyes hinting at faint anticipation.
She couldn’t be more than her mid to late twenties.
The silvery-haired woman with a face resembling Ceria’s elder sister soon offered a charming eye smile.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, son-in-law… and my beloved daughter.”
I could only stand there bewildered, as Ceria—still clinging to me—seemed to forget how to breathe.
It was the triple confrontation.
The day I first met Ceria’s mother, who I’d only heard about in stories, had finally come.
