Back in the Main Road
*Boom*
"The Barrier broke?!" Kaiden was shocked because this was a defensive item that should even withstand the power of Half-Saints.
"What just happened?" Yumi was also taken aback as she saw the barrier shattering.
"Oh no, milad-" Kaiden immediately thought of Victoria's safety. He immediately looked back as he panicked that Victoria was now exposed to the hordes of undead around them. Without him to fend off the undead army, Victoria would be endanger!
But currently, he was completely subdued and captured by Yumi. The Hell Threads restricting confining his body was not only too strong and too tight for him to struggle but he was also being weakened by the suppression effect of the Magnate Force.
As he thought, the undead beasts took advantage of that single moment to jump towards Victoria. More than a dozen of undead zombies were already pouncing, ready to devour their prey.
However, in the next instant, a few words were only heard:
"Heavenly Cross. First Sword - Night Sever"
Kaiden and Yumi saw a flash of light made from countless crossing sword slashes. The undead zombies that were in Victoria's vicinity were eviscerated into hundreds of fine pieces before eventually scattering through the wind.
A sound of a heartbeat was heard from her as it reverberated through the earth.
'I felt like a sword was just brandished past me.' Kaiden felt as though something sharp passed by him.
'What was that?' Yumi felt the same thing. She was looking at Victoria which seemed to be the source of this sensation.
Both of them had the same thought in that instant as they looked at Victoria, 'It's like I'm looking at a sword...'
In the same breadth, Victoria opened her beautiful eyes that was glowing in white light. She unsheathed her sword once more and swiftly spun as she drew a beautiful circle in the air with her Star Crossing sword that was bursting with Sword Energy.
She shifted the angle as she connected the circle and created a series of of smaller sword circles, creating something similar to a dome. Flicking her wrists in blinding speed, vertical slashes connecting the circular slashes to create a globe-shaped cluster of sword energy.
"Heavenly Cross - Fourth Sword - World Encompassing Cross!"
*Swoosh*
This beautiful globe-like sword cluster instantly expanded throughout the forest as it was accompanied by the sound of Victoria's heartbeat pulsating. In the next moment, the Colossal Mammoth and Titan Rhinoceros which was just towering a few seconds ago, was now segmented into numerous cubes by the globe made of sword slashes!
Not just that, the surrounding zombies and undead beasts around them were also obliterated!
Clean. Beautiful. Devastating. Those were the words that popped in his head as he witnessed such beautiful swordplay.
"That's World Encompassing Cross! Milady did it so perfectly!! She used to mess up a bit when she was using this..." Kaiden could not believe his eyes. This was the World Encompassing Cross one of the moves of the Heavenly Cross Sword Technique that Victoria was practicing. Until recently, she could perform it but not to this level of skill!
The Hell Threads binding him were fully cut yet he was not harmed at all! The skill to execute this difficult technique and even adjust the output selectively in one particular region while it continued its devastation everywhere else...
'Genius' That was the only thought Kaiden could describe this genius
Not too far from him, he could hear the sound of someone coughing blood.
"No, this cannot be...." It was Yumi who was down on her knees with a large wound on her torso.
The only reason why Yumi did not die is that in the same instant, she saw Victoria moving. She immediately conjured a bone wall from the ground and she had her Hell Puppeteer guard the attack with her Hell Strings. With some effort, she managed to avoid being killed by Victoria's World Encompassing Cross.
However, her Hell Puppeteer was also severely damaged for guarding the attack with her. This caused even more backlash which caused her to cough up more blood.
"How impressive, Princess Victoria... *huff* *huff* I did not think you were capable of that..." Yumi said, looking at the newly awakened Victoria.
"You actually achieved enlightenment at death's door? And you advanced to the peak of Mortal Severing with power rivaling that of a Half-Saint?! HAHAHAHA, how fucking convenient!" As Yumi struggled to stand up, she was livid.
"This is unacceptable!" Yumi screamed as she summoned a restoration pill for her to consume and heal herself with.
Victoria appeared beside the now recovering Kaiden whose body was now bathing in shining bright sword energy.
"How... brilliant, milady..." Kaiden praised Victoria like he always would.
"Focus on recovering using the Restoration Pill..." But Victoria's face darkened as she saw the state he was in, his entire body cracking and bloodied from pushing himself too much. He also sustained numerous cuts and injuries.
On the corner of her eye, she saw Yumi trying to take a Restoration Pill.
Seeing the perpetrator in front of her, she could not help but feel extreme hatred for the first time.
'She was the one responsible for the deaths of everyone...'
She remembered the smiling faces of everyone as she bid farewell. Yumi's maniacal laugh as she watched what was her home crumble as she could only flee.
'She even desecrated their corpses...'
Their defiled corpses being manipulated to harm her and Kaiden. Kaiden forcing himself to destroy their bodies. Yumi tormenting her and Kaiden physically and mentally.
All of these fueled Victoria to say words that are unlike her!
"It is time for you to die, Malevolent Magnate!" Without hesitation, Victoria drew her sword with vengeance in her heart for the first time! She did not wait for her to recover at all!
Victoria was a flower in a greenhouse kept within the comfortable confines of her clan, away from the realities of the world. She was naturally affectionate and kindhearted and she grew up in such a loving environment. While competition was prevalent among the younger generation in search of talents capable of leading the clan, it was never to the point that hatred would build up inside her.
In fact, despite the ugliness and politics of the clan's competition, Victoria did not bear any ill will to anyone except for this person in front of her.
She had never felt such malice towards another. Thus, experiencing bloodlust and thirst to kill another person was something she never experienced.
"Heavenly Cross - First Sword: Night Sever!" Victoria with one clean motion, she leaped forward and was executing her signature attack! This time it was laced with killing intent!
Her desire to kill Yumi influenced her sword energy once more as she gained enlightenment! It became sharper and deadlier!
'A sword is a tool for killing!' Victoria had this epiphany. She typically hears this phrase when she was being tutored or trained by their sword instructors. But she knew what it meant but it was only now that she could truly understand what it truly meant.
She willed her sword to be able to inflict the most pain with the goal of killing Yumi! The sword energy wrapping her sword became increasingly sharper and sharper.
'I will kill her!'
With this newfound understanding due to her hatred for Yumi, Victoria's sword skills were still sublimating at a rapid state!
Kaiden was already expecting a flash of light followed by countless crosses of sword slashes.
However, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared in front of Yumi, his hand reached out to Victoria's sword. It created a mass of darkness that completely devoured the numerous slashes that Victoria unleashed.
"What?!" Kaiden was absolutely shocked to see that Victoria's attack was easily deflected. That attack just now was stronger than any of the attacks that he performed while he was in his berserk state earlier. An attack that could be said to be at the peak of the initial stages of the Half-Saint Realm!
Yet, this mysterious figure made it seem like it was nothing of note.
"That was an excellent attack just now, Princess Victoria Cross." With a slow clap, there was a deep and menacing voice that was heard from the shadowy figure who protected Yumi.
"An enemy?" Victoria immediately raise her guard and assumed a combat stance. The arrival of a new enemy was something that made this situation quite unfavorable to them.
'He was able to deflect my attack with such ease... He should at least be a Half Saint as well...' Victoria deduced as she was assessing the situation.
"I certainly did not expect to witness the birth of a once-in-a-lifetime genius while guarding my disciple." The dark man remarked.
The slow clap continues, "To think that you could attain the strength of Half-Saint despite being only at the peak of Mortal Severing. What I find most impressive is that you output this sort of power and technique whilst having an unstable and unconsolidated cultivation."
"Master, you were protecting me from the shadows?" Yumi, who just ingested the high-ranking Restoration Pill, said while her wounds were visibly starting to recover.
"Indeed." The man Yumi called her master seemed to be shrouded with darkness and mystery at first look. Dark energy was rising from this man's body. He seemed to not even have a shadow while the entire view past him seemed more darker than usual.
The man had a contrasting long white hair and glowing jet black eyes that was peeking from the hood he wore. He was rather tall but he had a slight hunchback. He wore a black long robe and yet it seemed like it was connected to the ground. Complimented by the two meter wooden staff on in his hand, he had a very sophisticated and aged aura with him.
"I can take care of myself. I don't need you to save me." Yumi said as she regained footing and was recovering complexion.
*Swoosh*
A sword with blinding light suddenly appeared a few inches by Yumi's neck as she sensed the bright glowing eyes filled with killing intent behind her.
"?!" Death. Yumi felt death so close at that moment.
Seeing as both master and disciple were talking, Victoria took the chance and attacked Yumi who was still injured.
[Star Crossing Sword: Shooting Star]
With overwhelming speed, she disappeared from where she stood and appeared behind Yumi to behead her. A bright white line followed her that traced the distance she traveled as though she was a shooting star.
But before it could reach Yumi's neck, the staff of Yumi's master appeared to stop it.
Yumi was wrapped in darkness as she was moved beside her with a mass of darkness to protect her from the swords path.
Both Yumi and Kaiden could not believe their eyes as Victoria actually moved faster than what they perceived!
"Tsk." Seeing as her surprise attack failed, Victoria immediately retreated to where Kaiden was.
'He was able to easily block my attack again.' Victoria did not have a good feeling right now since her onslaught was being easily fended off. 'But, I'm getting more used to using this strength the more I use it...'
"Haha, not even an ounce of affection from my very own disciple. Yet here I am saving you once more." Yumi's master mused while saving his student.
Victoria once again tried launching one attack after the other. She once again aimed for Yumi while trying to position herself in the old man's blind spot.
*Swish* *Shing* *Twang*
She lunged forward and then sidestepped midway and lunged forward again to attack. Her attack was deflected by the Staff.
She once again used Night Sever but it was just a bait. Once it was blocked, she was already behind them and then dashed forward with her unbelievable swiftness. She slashed Yumi and her master from the back!
*Slash*
But those figures faded as they turned into ripples of darkness.
"What?!"
She then saw that they were not too far away from her.
Victoria chased them down. She used Shooting Start to close the distance but once again sidestepped, she lunged forward and slashed but the dark old man deflected it once again.
"How ferocious!"
"Heavenly Cross, Sixth Sword: Star Traces"
Victoria did not stop after being deflected, she moved past them and then she stopped with one foot and then turned around again to attack. She did this again and again and again but she was deflected every time but she kept on attacking.
*Shing* *Twang* *Shing* *Twang* *Shing* *Twang* *Shing* *Twang*
If one were to look it from above, Victoria's attacks were actually tracing the shape of a star!
To no avail, Yumi's Master completely outclassed her and he was doing this while protecting Yumi. He would either block the attack with his staff or devour it with darkness or evade it using that strange movement technique that replaces them with darkness clones.
As though he got tired of it, he waved his staff and said "Advent of Darkness!"
*Boom*
A giant explosion of darkness happened in front of Victoria that blew her away. The explosion destroyed everything in its path and created nothing but darkened soil from what used to have be a part of a forest.
'He's too strong...' Despite guarding it with her sword, Victoria was still internally injured and she bled slightly from the mouth.
'He's at the middle stages of the Half-Saint Realm...' Victoria estimated his strength from the encounter. This was because the man in front of him was perfectly controlling his power making it difficult to approximate what his cultivation was based on the aura he was emitting.
"The target of the mission has caused you undue inconvenience repeatedly, has she not?" The Master looked at Victoria who tried assassinating his beloved disciple.
"Let us all calm down now." The man proposed calmly. "Although there is irreconcilable hatred between my disciple and you two, I would like to propose that you willingly surrender and we can let you live imprisoned."
"Stop speaking nonsense!" Victoria once again dashed forward and performed another Night Sever.
"I see, so this is the chosen path you wish to persist in." With a wave of his hand, Night Sever dissipated like it was nothing as it was devoured by the darkness he produced! Only a strong shockwave was heard afterwards!
"In that case, I shall humor you. I do warn you this will be rather painful for the both of you..." He now spoke with a more serious tone. He raised his staff and hit the ground with its ferrule.
The darkness from Yumi's Master spread quickly and it enveloped the entire area they were in. Before anyone could react, they were already trapped within the darkness.
"Domain of Darkness!"
"I can't see anything..." Victoria and Kaiden had nothing but darkness around them. They were standing in flat ground just now. Yet they felt like they were actually floating...
"Where are you, Big Bro Kai?"
"Where are you, milady?"
They both the same thing at the same time yet they could not hear each other despite being actually only a few meters apart.
"Its futile. The Domain of Darkness devours everything from light, sound, the ground. Even air itself..." Victoria heard a voice but she could not distinguish where it came from. It sounded like it was coming from all directions at once.
"I can't... breathe..." Both of them were now in a dilemma as they were only running in the air that they had.
Victoria would last long since she still has Innate Energy to support her.
But between the two of them, Kaiden was in a worse condition. His body and his cultivation is in shambles so he was already struggling to breathe a few moments in.
'I need to save Big Bro Kai. I need to protect him like he protected me!' Victoria felt pressed for time as she recalled the state that Kaiden was in.
Then, she started to attacking everywhere hoping she could break the Domain of Darkness.
But all her attacks disappeared into the void and she only exhausted herself.
"Nothing is working." Victoria said in frustration as she was charging up for another attack
The dark man's voice reminded mockingly, "Be careful now. You would not want to implicate the dying young lad around you. Hahaha."
'I might end up hurting Big Bro Kai...' Victoria stopped attacking after realizing that she might also end up hurting Kaiden who was also sucked into the Domain of Darkness
This left Victoria feeling more helpless.
Then, she felt an energy that was trying to suppress them even more.
'Magnate Force?! It's even way stronger than Yumi's. They're really forcing us to pass out and take us captive.' Victoria deduced what the Domain of Darkness was for
"AAARGHH!" Kaiden was struggling even more as he felt his body weakening more and more
===
Yumi and her Master was outside the Domain of Darkness. The Domain of darkness was a large sphere of dark energy that was floating in front of them.
"With this, subduing them would only be a matter of time." The man confidently said.
Yumi rejoiced as she knows how powerful Domain of Darkness is. It is typically a suppression technique her master used to capture his targets alive.
"I am so close to acquiring my Knight..." She was elated that after so much work, she can finally get what her heart had desired for a long time!
"Thank you, Master!" Yumi said with a very rare sweet smile on her face.
"Oh now, you're fawning over me." Her Master teased.
"Hehe, the mission only asks of us to capture Victoria, right, Master? I will have Kaiden as my new toy, okay?" Yumi said cheekily.
"Fine, fine. Do as you see fit. Do not worry, I will be taking out the young knight for you within two minutes. For the princess, it will take quite a while." He reassured.
"Focus on recovering for now." The Master reminded.
"Yes, master." Yumi nodded and sat down to meditate.
===
'No, I can't just not to do anything right now. Otherwise, I'll just go back to the old me. I have to protect Big Bro Kai like how they all protected me.' Victoria shook off her negativity. She remembered the way everyone fought to protect her, brandishing their swords with unwavering resolve until their final breath.
'Swords are also a means to protect others...' A new enlightenment was blooming inside her. She was now understanding what it meant to want to protect others now that she has experienced itself
*Badump*
Victoria's heart once again started shining. Her sword resonating with her. It was not only her sword that was resonating with her but Kaiden's sword as well!
'I can feel where his swords are at.' Without seeing anything, Victoria went to that direction and saw the struggling Kaiden.
Once she arrived next to him, she covered him with her Innate Energy to shield him from the Magnate Force. It made Kaiden calm down
'Is that milady?' Kaiden felt that the aura enveloping him was rather familiar.
'I need to focus. Father always said that there is nothing in this world that cannot be cut. Focus!' Victoria focused more and more to create a sword that could through even darkness itself!
*Badump*
Her heart resonates once more as she attacked with one vertical slash!
'Star Crossing Sword, Starlight Piercing The Night!'
The attack travelled the Domain of Darkness and actually caused the space to shake!
*Rumble*
It actually lit up a space that was designed to devour everything! The Domain of Darkness was trying to counteract as it devoured the light but the light was illuminating at greater intensity!
*Badump*
'I can do this!' Victoria was growing exponentially right now due to the pressures of the battle!