13. Iris El Devhardt – 06
“…Ariel?”
A low hill located behind the imperial palace. Bianca, who had decided to remain outside the palace for the time being to watch the situation, because of the barriers placed inside the imperial palace that limited the use of magical power, tilted her head as she saw Ariel unexpectedly return here.
Apparently, Ariel, who had fluttered her body just a while ago, saying that she would take a quick look at the situation in the imperial palace and come back, but after less than ten minutes had passed, she came back here. Could it be that something went wrong? For example, someone caught the fact that he and Ariel had trespassed into the imperial palace-
However, when she saw a woman wearing a white dress with a slightly disheveled appearance following her in silence from behind Ariel, all the miscellaneous thoughts remaining in Bianca’s head were scattered.
“…Is the princess low?”
As soon as Bianca saw the princess, what surprised her was that that naive and stiff woman was wearing a dress that was so revealing. A woman who acted as if she would die if her bare skin touched the air, but then appeared wearing a dress that exposed her arms and legs, including her shoulders, is it really a sign of what the world will become?
The second thought that came to my mind was why Ariel, who had rushed to find Cain and find out the truth of the rumor, returned here with the princess. No matter what assumptions came to mind, it was impossible to guess what triggered the princess, who must have been with Cain just a moment ago, to voluntarily follow Ariel to a deserted hill.
“…Tsk, the criminals who arbitrarily stormed the walls of the imperial palace were all gathered here. Bianca del Castana, I will formally file a complaint with the Castana family later on, so you know that.”
As soon as she saw Bianca’s face, her face contorted at Iris’ bluff. Could it be that this fact was discovered by the princess not long after she confidently walked toward the palace?
“What on earth did you take such a precious step to here? If you’ve already talked with Ariel, I think you’ll be familiar with the fact that Ariel and I didn’t come to the palace with friendly feelings towards you.”
Bianca frowned as she recalled the various information she had just received from Arya. He hadn’t expected that the imperial palace was his home ground, and he would have done so many tricks in just one night. In other words, he had no intention of ending up in a miserable life like a dog chasing chickens after Cain was taken right in front of his nose.
“You don’t have to make that face, Bianca del Castana. The reason I came all the way here is to make a decision in the format you want.”
“…the format we want? What is it?”
“Well, isn’t it pure violence that is savage and even primitive?”
Iris glanced at Ariel, who sighed and smiled and maintained an expressionless expression as if frozen.
“That woman made me an offer. Rather than arguing with each other, he said, why don’t we go to a deserted place and have a good fight? It’s not a very elegant way, but unlike haggling, the fact that the winner and loser is very clear is attractive, so I gave my consent.”
“…Lowering. Please, if you have a pierced mouth, you should speak as clearly as possible. I just made a cold-hearted judgment that there is no point in having a painful conversation with a woman like you anymore.”
Wooddeuk-
Ariel bent her knuckles and looked at Iris with a cold gaze. No matter what happened in the imperial palace, Bianca unknowingly took a step backwards due to the ferocious murder that emanated from Ariel’s body.
“Violence is the only solution for a woman who is worse than an animal who cannot understand human speech even when she has a good conversation. Isn’t that right, lower?”
“Something seems to connect with me, Ariel Thiers. I also strongly agree with you. Basically, I’m a pacifist, but I’m well aware of the fact that sparing rods and reprimands for those who don’t respond is also not good for discipline.”
Watching the action of exchanging blades in the name of language toward Seoso, Bianca cautiously opened her mouth to Ariel.
“…Will I lend a hand too?”
In Bianca’s opinion, the chances of Ariel gaining the upper hand in the fight against the princess seemed extremely slim. It wasn’t to underestimate Ariel’s strength. In terms of martial arts alone, Ariel, who had reached the realm of a rising god and possessed the most powerful divine power under the earth, possessed enough power to be called a transcendental being by herself.
…However, the opponent is not too good. The person she wants to oppose is Iris El Devhart. A swordsman praised for possessing the best swordsmanship in the empire within a hundred years. In close combat, even the ‘Witch of Winter’ did not dare to invade her ‘territory’.
Above all, the compatibility was not good. Basically, the difference in reach between the sword and the arm is a factor that can never be ignored in battle, but Ariel, who uses bare-handed martial arts as her main skill, was deprived of 1 point just by fighting Iris, the swordsman.
“…No, never interfere. Bianca. After all, this is my fight.”
However, only a resolute voice returned.
Only then did Bianca realize. Even if he didn’t know what happened in the imperial palace, Ariel in front of him was quite upset.
“Oops, it was okay for me to attack all at once. I’m really sorry.”
Speaking in such a relaxed tone, Iris picked up a twig that had fallen nearby, held it in her hand, and raised the twig towards Ariel.
“…Hmm, with this, my preparations are complete. Why are you standing so far away, Ariel Thiers? Come on, don’t rush. Could it be that it was intended to wait until I die of old age?”
Leaving behind Iris’ provocation, Ariel looked at the tree branch Iris was holding with an expression of absurdity.
“…Are you kidding me? Why don’t you use a sword?”
At Ariel’s words, Iris sighs and laughs. It was a laugh filled with blatant ridicule.
“I want you to know your subject, Ariel Thiers. The only opponent I consider worthy of drawing my sword is Cain. If I pull out my sword to fight with you, wouldn’t I be embarrassed to see Cain later?”
The tree branch Iris was holding was just swaying loudly. Even if I didn’t do anything, it could be said that it was a kind of bonus that it was so thin that it would break at any moment.
“…You’re trying to be bluffing until this moment. well, good If you put your fist into that mouth a few times, you will regret your choice.”
“Oh, is that really possible? At least with the power of the likes of you?”
Each one takes a step forward toward each other. Before I knew it, this space was thickly covered with flesh like needles that had been polished to the limit.
It was a very moment when they confronted each other.
I wonder who stepped on it, and there is a sound of a tree branch breaking from the bottom.
Take that as a sign of initiation.
Quaang-!
The tree branch Iris was holding and Ariel’s slender limbs collided.
****
Basically, bare-handed taijutsu is a technique that does not deviate from the realm of self-defense. Yes, that is also normal. A sane person would never fight with his bare hands in front of someone holding a sword. This did not mean that bare-handed martial arts were inferior to martial arts. It just meant that the areas they controlled were different.
That is why bare-handed martial arts developed more widely among priests than among knights. The spirit of immortality, which focuses on suppression rather than killing the opponent, was a suitable martial art for those who served the goddess.
…However, it was also a story that had nothing to do with a person in the realm of a master like Ariel.
Because the hands and feet she wielded were sharper than any other weapon in the world, and contained strong power.
At most, even if the woman’s leg collided with a tree branch, a huge vibration resonated in all directions.
However, it is only a preliminary skirmish.
Because Ariel was seriously determined to kill Iris.
“…!”
Right before the sound of the clash reverberated everywhere, they were already entering the world of super speed.
In a moment when one second is divided into a hundred, even a moment is not enough, they read each other’s breath and pour countless lives at each other.
Ariel was the one who took action one step ahead in a super-fast world where even sound could not catch up. Arms and legs strengthened to the limit by divine power attack Iris as one pure violence.
Fists are fired, elbows are swung, swords are thrown, knees are soaring, legs are swung. In an instant, all the strikes that humans could do were poured into Iris in an instant.
However, Iris is not taken aback by Ariel’s attack. It is not suppressed by Ariel’s momentum, and at the end of the dazzling light, it makes the branches that have turned into a sword run in all directions. Like a flash of light, the self-confidence that blooms a flower in full bloom in the space where they stand protects her and tries to resist the violence that threatens the owner-
aang-!
The detonation that would be heard a second later had not yet been produced and filled the space where they stood. Less than a second after the two started clashing. However, the sum exchanged between them was already well over dozens of sums.
‘Win. No, I can win.’
Now, you can win. It was a close quarters fight. Not only did the princess allow herself too much distance, but she was only holding a thin branch of a tree. There is no reason not to win!
“…!”
In an instant, Iris showed a gap. Without missing him, Ariel’s sharp knife stabs Iris in the neck. As Iris ducks her head and easily avoids him, Ariel’s body spins like a top as if she had expected it, and her slender legs rush to hit Iris’s lower abdomen!
‘…ah.’
…And it was the next moment that I realized that it was a trap.
Peeing-
There seemed to be the sound of a thread being pulled taut from somewhere. In the next moment, as if a trail of light connoted to kill was waiting, it pierced Ariel’s body across all directions. Ariel’s whole body exploded in an instant, and blood splattered in all directions.
However.
“…!”
At the last moment, Ariel managed to grab the branch Iris was holding with her left hand. As a result, the branch Iris was holding stopped in the air.
…Of course, Ariel wasn’t safe either. In return for holding on to that branch, all the fingers on my left hand had run away.
But, it doesn’t matter.
Because of this, I was able to narrow the distance to that woman one step at a time.
Kwazijik-
Ariel’s violent fists are thrown at Iris. The fist barely grazed Iris, but that alone tore the dress she was wearing and shattered her bones.
That wasn’t the end. Using her left foot as a pivot, Ariel’s left elbow, which spun around, was fired at Iris’ temple like a cannonball!
‘…Kuh!’
However, I noticed in advance. Ariel’s elbow just barely passes her temple. Confirming that, the very moment when I was about to launch a counterattack again-
Quaang-!
To her lower abdomen, a whip-like kick strikes like a surprise!
“Keah-!”
The moment Ariel’s foot stuck in Iris’ stomach, the world of super-speed came to an end, like glass breaking.
As if Iris had become a ball, Iris bounced off and ended up rolling on the other side of the floor.
“…Did you block it?”
But Ariel looked at Iris with a dissatisfied expression. At the last moment, Iris inserted a tree branch to mitigate the damage from the kick. However, the shock was still effective, though she ended up spitting out blood from her mouth.
“…ha…”
Iris gasped for breath as she held the half-broken branch. However, the pain that seemed to upset her intestines was short-lived, and a strange question engulfed her mind.
Just now, Ariel had the opportunity to put a fist through her temple. If the fist had landed on the temple, that would have decided the outcome.
But, Ariel didn’t. In the first place, the opportunity to attack the temple was blown away with paint, so he dared to attack the lower abdomen. Also, with a kick that has a large motion and is easy to detect. No matter how you think about it, it must have been a move that was far from the logic of martial arts.
…No, come to think of it, Ariel had been attacking her lower abdomen since earlier. Of course, that place is also a vital point, but there is no reason to attack a specific vital point in battle. If there is such a reason, it is.
no way-
“…It’s like a crazy bitch. I couldn’t believe it, but it must have been very determined from the beginning.”
The killing spree leaking from Iris became even more heinous.
“Was it partly aimed at the lower abdomen? It’s like a crazy year. I wonder if four years old can still call themselves priests who serve the goddess.”
“Ha, are you kidding me? Now I can see your relaxed expression a little bit, my dear.”
Despite Iris’ threats, Ariel just sneezed and snorted.
“If you didn’t want that place being targeted, you shouldn’t have boasted in front of me about the fact that you recklessly opened your crotch to that person. Isn’t that so, low?”