13. Iris El Devhardt – 07
“Anyway, it’s a bit disappointing. If I had hit that place with my fist, not my foot, I could have sent it away very reliably.”
Ariel muttered a bit regretful as she saw Iris bleeding from the corner of her mouth. In terms of simple power, kicks are more powerful than fists, but the lack of delicacy was a disadvantage. If I had just been able to put a fist on Iris’s lower abdomen at the last moment instead of kicking it, Iris’ damage would never have ended with just vomiting blood from the corner of her mouth like now.
Ariel’s taijutsu is not composed of simple elements such as punching and kicking. In bare-handed martial arts, even if the opponent is wearing hard armor, there is a technique of penetrating glass (浸透勁) series that penetrates the impact by applying a blow with vibration added to the upper part.
As it is a very delicate technique, the downside is that you can only use the technique with your hands, not your feet, but even if the enemy takes a defensive posture like before, it is also a technique with the power to attack him and completely destroy the inside. If only I could have landed that blow on Iris, it would have completely crushed her ‘inside’-
…Be very sure that you won’t talk nonsense like that again.
Trying to soothe the feeling of regret, Ariel picked up the fingers she had just cut off from Iris’s sword attack from the floor and put them on her left hand. Within a second, the cut wound began to regenerate, and the left hand returned to normal as if nothing had happened in the first place.
It was the same with the stab wounds to the whole body that had been ovulated by Iris’s sword attack earlier. There was no need to use divine power. During just a few breaths, all the wounds on her body healed as if time had been turned back.
And seeing that scene, Iris unknowingly laughed in vain. Even if a limb was severed, it started regenerating within a second. I couldn’t tell what the difference between that woman and a lizard or crayfish was.
“…Really, it’s a scene that I can’t get used to no matter how many times I watch it. Surely it won’t stick again even if its head is cut off?”
“Well, I don’t know that far. But, my dear, wouldn’t it be more important to prioritize your own health rather than questioning such trivial things? I don’t know why, but seeing that he’s bleeding so much from the corner of his mouth, he doesn’t seem to be in very good health.”
Even as she watched the scene where Ariel, who could be said to be responsible for causing blood to bleed from her lips, brazenly said such words, Iris’ face did not move. No, on the contrary, he looked at Ariel’s face and smiled softly.
“Well, it’s okay if you don’t worry too much. Fortunately, what I am filled with does not seem to spill out.”
Saying that, Iris stroked her belly very gently and carefully. That attitude, as if embracing something precious that could not be exchanged for anything, forced Ariel to recall a certain memory from a distant past.
“…you, now…”
It is a cheap provocation. He knew better than anyone else in the world that it was nothing more than a gimmick that was clearly intended to stir him up and was not even worthy of a reply.
…but, but.
– Mom, can we sleep together? huh?
Now there was no way to see it again, there was no way to do anything about the memories of the past floating in front of my eyes. As much as the happiness I felt then, the pain I feel now doubles. That pain, that sadness, spread like wildfire in Ariel’s heart and burned everything in front of her eyes.
I felt like I was going to get sick. I couldn’t breathe properly, and for a moment I gasped unsightly. It felt like my head would turn around any second. No, I ended up thinking that maybe my head was spinning from the beginning.
“…Now I see, I made a very big mistake. Rather than attacking the belly, I should have plucked out that wicked tongue from the beginning.”
“Yeah, now you’re putting on a look that’s worth seeing. I’ve been really curious about it for a while. Just what kind of face was hidden under that attitude that seemed to put us down.”
I didn’t like it from the start. Iris had been really dissatisfied with that woman’s laid-back, laid-back attitude from a very long time ago. I really didn’t like Ariel’s attitude as if she was shouting that I’m different from you guys, that I have something qualitatively different from you guys-
It’s really cheeky. It means that you were not the only one who was with him, made memories together, and spent an unforgettable time.
In the shining memories with someone, there is no way that there is such a thing as a ghost.
Iris gets up from her seat, wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. I aim the twig in my hand at Ariel again, but the twig that was broken in half from the previous attack just feels even more ugly than before.
“Time to change weapons, would you like it? Because it’s the branches rolling around.”
Seeing Iris’ shabby appearance, Ariel threw out such an offer as if to be merciful.
“Don’t ask me to. As I said before, this broken branch is more than enough to deal with you.”
Iris eventually rejected Ariel’s offer. Probably because of pride. One twig is enough to deal with Ariel. Iris was the first to speak up.
“…that decision, I’ll make you regret it soon.”
“If you can do that, you can.”
It was just a moment when they stared at each other and confronted each other.
Within a second, the two were exchanging fists and swords at each other.
keying-
As before, there was no sound in the fight between the two. No, the sound did not follow their movements. It’s just that only the hostility towards the other party, which has been well-ground to the limit, serves as a milestone for each other’s movements.
Fists like beams of light are thrown out dozens of times in an instant, and in response, broken tree branches travel through the space to block all attacks from opponents.
At first glance, the aspect of the battle going the same way as before.
…However, something crucial is different this time. The branch Iris is holding is broken and cut in half. As a result, Iris’ attack range was significantly reduced, while Ariel was able to close the distance towards the enemy without exerting any effort.
Even with such a minor difference, the number of things Ariel can offer increases infinitely.
At this moment, we realized each other. Winning or losing will be decided within the next three seconds.
1 sec.
Unable to cope with Ariel’s successive attacks, cracks begin to appear in the already half-broken branch.
Ariel’s movement, which took another step forward without missing that gap, finally broke through Iris’ defense.
Ariel’s right hand, which had become disfigured at the cost of narrowing one step, grabbed Iris’ left hand and broke it in the opposite direction.
Kwajik-
A definite feeling came. With this, Iris’ left arm was smashed. At this moment, the goddess of victory must have been smiling at Ariel.
2 seconds.
An unexpected injury took Iris half a step back, but in return, Ariel was able to take a step forward. Ariel’s kick was fired from close range, and Iris allowed the blow. Watching the sight of fresh blood flowing from Iris’s mouth again, Ariel tries to cool her head even more. Victory was right around the corner. At the very least, being swayed by emotions, he had no intention of missing out on a victory that was as good as what he had received.
Ariel pierced Iris’ strike by a single piece of paper, and Ariel pierced Iris’ left side like a spear. Currently, her left arm is broken. There was no chin to counterattack. So, that’s it-
…However, on the verge of victory, I had these doubts.
He wondered what Cain would think about fighting the princess like this.
3 seconds.
For a moment, Ariel doubted her own eyes. Iris’s left arm, which must have been completely broken just now, began to move again like magic.
flowing stars.
The royal secret swordsmanship that makes it possible to move all kinds of ‘flows’ that exist in a certain space according to the caster’s will.
Ariel, a martial arts master who can even control her own heartbeat, thought it was meaningless and hadn’t used it until now.
‘…capital?’
Iris’ left arm begins to transform into a single sword. A dazzling aura forms on her left arm, drawing a sharp trajectory in the blink of an eye.
Peit-
In an unexpected counterattack, blood starts gushing out of Ariel’s abdomen.
Ariel took a step back involuntarily to Iris’ sudden blow.
And it wasn’t until he took a step back that he realized what a stupid thing he had done.
That he had given enough space in front of the swordsman—
“…!”
By the time I realized that, it was already too late.
Iris was already standing with one foot back. Her arms are pulled taut behind her, and the light on the branch she is holding burns more brightly.
“…Goes.”
In the silent space, a voice that could never be heard came.
grit it Advanced tactics such as Dong Gui Jin were now nothing more than a luxury. At this moment, she has only one choice.
As if mourning her own death to come, the very moment Ariel put her hands together on her chest-
Woo woo woo woo-
The upper part of the hill they were standing on was completely cut down.
At the end of the top of the mountain, which boasted a huge height, was cut off, and the scene of falling to the ground only felt truly unrealistic.
…No, to be precise, the mountain wasn’t cut away. It was just that the mountain peak was included behind what Iris wanted to cut.
However.
“…It’s amazing. You’re still breathing.”
The target that Iris wanted to slash with was still alive and breathing despite receiving the slash from the front.
“…Is it the guardian of the radiance?”
The moment right before Iris’ slash reached her, Ariel succeeded in saving her life by using the power bestowed by the goddess, ‘Guardian of Luminous Light’.
‘Guardian of brilliance’ is one of the ultimate defenses that bounces off all wrong reasoning by momentarily freeing Ariel from this world. Even if Iris’ sword could cut through everything in the world, it couldn’t cut through things that didn’t exist in this world. As a result, Ariel was still alive and breathing even after taking Iris’s slash from the front.
…Of course, it was a step too late to activate the authority, so the body was cut diagonally, and there was no trace of where the right arm had gone, but Ariel’s breath was still attached to it anyway.
“…Really, it’s exhausting.”
Iris murmured as she forcibly fitted the bones in her left arm together.
Indeed, there was no doubt that Ariel Thiers was a tough enough opponent. If Ariel hadn’t been vigilant at the last moment, she might have been the one lying miserably on the floor.
“…ha, ugh…!”
A gasping sound can be heard from Ariel lying on the floor. Upon closer examination, her body was already beginning to regenerate, even though one-third of her body had been severed. Seeing that, Iris laughed in vain.
“This is won, not crayfish. Now it even jingles. I really doubt that even if you smash your head, it will come back to life.”
At Iris’ taunting words, Ariel unknowingly bit her teeth. I didn’t ask for a duel to hear ridicule like that from that woman-
“Because of old times, losers are eternal. Since I won the duel with you, I think I also have the right to carry out my will unilaterally with you.”
“…..”
“Then let me declare by the right of victor. Cain is mine He is my own, and everything about him is prioritized to me. I’m thinking of giving Cain a little to you and other women, but it has to be the remnants of love left after being bestowed upon me. Because at this moment, I love him so much. As you say, I’m a bad woman, and I don’t like to share mine with others.”
“…..”
“How is it? If you nod obediently, I will give you special permission to stay by Cain’s side. No matter how much I think about it, I think it’s a way to make everyone happy, full of mercy and kindness. What do you think?”
“…..”
There is no answer from Ariel. He just looked at Iris with eyes full of original poison.
“Is the negotiation broken?”
In fact, Iris didn’t think Ariel would readily accept her proposal either. She admitted that her love for him was not shallow enough to give up everything just because her body was cut in half. No, it was rather difficult if not to that extent. It wasn’t that she or Ariel were lying on the hillside swallowing dust because of shallow feelings like that.
“Then there is nothing you can do. Until you nod obediently to my words, I’m going to test your immortality. I have no intention of killing you, so please don’t scream. Well, you’re not a cute girl enough to scream.”
Ariel didn’t blink an eye as she faced Iris’s hand that was slowly reaching towards her. Even if I die when I die, I don’t want to show my weakness in front of that woman.
“…huh.”
Looking at Ariel like that, the moment I tried to reach for my left arm, which was still fine—
“…..”
has disappeared. The image of Ariel lying in front of him disappeared without a trace. As if, from the beginning, there was nothing here.
“…space transfer?”
As far as Iris knows, there is only one person in the present age who can perform spatial feats.
“…Lowering.”
And that was when From behind Iris, the voice of a man she knew so well approached her ears.
“Is it okay if we change players at this point?”
It was Cain.