At this moment, the magic dolls that had been forced back earlier had already returned.
Now, they separated one by one, gliding forward without a sound, encircling Riezel and Lizbeth in the middle as the claw-shaped weapons in their hands shimmered with chilling energy, ready to lash out at any second.
Faced with malice coming from all directions, Riezel remained calm, but Lizbeth could not help but draw Moslow and raise it high, forcing herself to stay composed.
Lizbeth's movement, however, immediately caught the attention of Ice Maiden.
"Reinnail's holy sword…"
Ice Maiden narrowed her eyes at first as she looked at Moslow in Lizbeth's hands, then shifted her gaze to Lizbeth herself.
Her eyes turned meaningful, as though she had just noticed something, and this stare—sharp and focused—made Lizbeth's entire body tense.
Riezel, on the other hand, turned his attention to Sigmund, who had been glaring at him with open hostility, and spoke up.
"You wanna stick your nose in this, too?"
Riezel's question made Sigmund sneer.
"And what if I do?"
Right now, anything that could irritate Riezel was exactly what Sigmund wanted to do, so although he knew Riezel might mistake him for siding with Ice Maiden, he had no intention of explaining—because, in the first place, his cooperation with her was for no other reason than to trouble Riezel.
Since that was the case, Sigmund didn't mind kicking Riezel while he was down whenever he saw a chance.
Unfortunately for Sigmund, he was destined to be disappointed.
Riezel not only failed to show any signs of irritation but instead grew even calmer and colder.
He scanned the surroundings, eyeing the magic dolls that had closed in on him and Lizbeth, then suddenly extended his hand.
"!!!"
At that very instant, the aura between Riezel and Ice Maiden erupted.
*Swish!*
With a faint sound of slicing wind, a figure of ice blue suddenly shot forward.
Her speed was astonishing—like a storm of frost and snow—reaching Riezel in the blink of an eye.
*Clang!*
A crisp metallic clash rang out as two weapons appeared at an unknown moment, colliding heavily.
"Oh?"
At some point, Riezel had withdrawn his hand and drawn his black sword, Hermit, blocking an ice sword aimed straight at his head.
Yes, an ice sword—literally, a sword made of ice.
Ice Maiden, looking cold and aloof, closed in instantly, wielding a sword formed of pure ice and striking down at the black sword Riezel raised, but in that instant, the heat radiating from his black sword melted the ice, causing the ice sword to liquefy before their eyes.
"Huh?"
Ice Maiden looked slightly surprised at the sight, then decisively abandoned her sword and leapt back.
However, the moment Riezel extended his hand again, Ice Maiden lunged forward without hesitation. Chilling energy gathered in her palm as she raised her delicate hand, forming another ice sword—this one denser and heavier than the last, its aura several times colder.
Wherever Ice Maiden passed, the air temperature dropped sharply, cutting away much of the suffocating heat.
Seeing this, Riezel, having no choice but to pull back his hand once again, narrowed his eyes and lifted his black sword to meet her.
*Clang!*
Riezel's black sword and Ice Maiden's ice sword collided, high heat and deep cold clashing at their edges in bursts of explosive force.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Riezel and Ice Maiden exchanged blows rapidly—one unleashing slashes of dazzling sword light, the other sweeping out waves of chilling wind.
In an instant, the air was filled with blades and shadows as their clash erupted like firecrackers, mingling with flying sparks and wild energy, their swords crossing hundreds of times in mere seconds.
After a few seconds, amid the storm of sword light and blade shadows, the two shifted tactics simultaneously.
*BANG!*
Each lashed out with a kick, striking the other's shoulder, their bodies trembling as both were sent flying backward.
"Master!"
Seeing the scene, Lizbeth's delicate face changed slightly—she wanted to rush forward, but was immediately blocked.
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
As soon as Lizbeth intended to move, the surrounding magic dolls sprang into action without hesitation. Each erupted with ghostly speed and strange footwork, darting toward her like haunting spirits, forcing her to fall back on defense.
In the blink of an eye, Lizbeth was locked in battle with the magic dolls, leaving only Sigmund standing motionless in place.
Sigmund watched as Riezel and Ice Maiden clashed, his eyes flickering as though lost in deep thought.
Meanwhile, Riezel and Ice Maiden seemed to have completely forgotten about him—their eyes fixed solely on each other as they rushed forward once more.
No, more accurately, it was Ice Maiden who threw herself at Riezel as the instant she saw him steady himself and prepare to raise his hand like before, she lunged forward as if provoked, unleashing a fierce and relentless assault.
Riezel raised an eyebrow, forced once more to pull back his hand, making his sword spin in his grip as he met Ice Maiden's ice sword head-on, scattering the countless icy shadows she sent slashing down.
Yet Ice Maiden still pressed on mercilessly, her face cold and expressionless, her gaze unwavering as she launched sharper and sharper strikes.
Her stance, her movements, her unshaken eyes locked on Riezel—all silently declared: "Don't care what you're planning by raising your hand, you're not going to pull it off!"
In Riezel's eyes, this was the message she conveyed—and it left him a little surprised.
In fact, if not for her relentless interruptions, throwing herself at him again and again, she would have already fallen.
Clearly, this had nothing to do with strength.
When Riezel raised his hand, the time magic he had been preparing was already primed, so if she had not rushed in each time to break his concentration, she would have been caught in frozen time—reduced to nothing more than a helpless doll for him to shatter.
At that point, even the greatest strength would have been useless.
Yet this woman had managed, every single time, to strike at just the right moment to stop his time magic from activating, which truly surprised him.
Aside from that, Riezel was also surprised by her strength.
At a glance, she was young—barely twenty at most—yet at this moment she displayed power on par with a veteran Sword Saint, perhaps even beyond.
To Riezel, this was shocking, since it was his first time on the Akasha Continent meeting a Sword Saint so close to his own age. Not only that, but she was not a newly ascended Sword Saint, but one who had already walked far down this path for years.
"Interesting..."
A faint transparency gleamed in Riezel's eyes as he gave up the idea of casting magic and steadied his breathing.
*Bzzz—*
Bolts of lightning suddenly crackled across Riezel's body, causing Ice Maiden's ice-blue eyes to instantly sharpen.
*BOOM!*
In the next moment, thunder roared as Riezel's figure became a flash of lightning, his sword slashing toward Ice Maiden.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
As the strike of lightning tore through the air, it aimed mercilessly at Ice Maiden's throat, swift and ruthless.
It went without saying that if it landed, her life would be over.
Yet the strike that had brought Riezel such fame—the one so few across the continent could withstand—was actually dodged.
Yes!
Ice Maiden dodged it!
Just as the lightning flared, she moved as though her eyes had opened to the future, sidestepping with uncanny foresight and avoiding the lethal flash of lightning by a hair's breadth.
"Hm?!"
Riezel's eyes flickered with shock.
Ice Maiden, however, did not retreat.
As soon as she evaded the flash of lightning, she surged forward, her ice sword raised high, and swung down mercilessly.
*Clang!*
Another crisp sound rang out—not the clash of blade against blade, but the shattering of Ice Maiden's ice sword.
Needless to say, the moment her strike landed against Riezel, her weapon broke apart, leaving her stunned as her brows furrowed tightly.
As a result, their figures passed each other, the distance between them opening once again.
In that instant, the air fell still.
*Gulp!*
In this silence, someone swallowed audibly.
It was Sigmund who had been watching coldly from the side.
Now, however, his pupils shrank sharply as he stared at the two who had fought with such intensity, his heart surging like stormy waves.
It was only natural—because the strength they both displayed left him feeling utterly out of reach.
Both of them were clearly stronger than him!
At this moment, this was the only thought flashing through Sigmund's mind—and with it came twisted frustration. To make matters worse, both of them were actually still so young, with limitless potential.
Knowing this, Sigmund's jealousy boiled, impossible to conceal.
'Damn it... Since when did becoming a Sword Saint get this easy?'
Sigmund couldn't help but think bitterly.
Coincidentally, the same thought stirred in the hearts of the young man and woman facing each other.
Now, they looked at their opponent—so close in age, yet so strong—and both felt a strange sense of recognition.
No doubt, this was the first time either of them had met someone their age whose strength they could truly acknowledge. Moreover, both realized their opponent was not only powerful but also carried something unique.
"Interesting..."
Ice Maiden was the first to speak, echoing the very words Riezel had spoken moments ago.
"At first, I thought the so-called Lightning Sword Saint everyone's been talking about was just some country boy with a bit of potential. Guess I underestimated you."
As she spoke, Ice Maiden stared seriously at Riezel.
"With strength like yours, you're no newly ascended Sword Saint."
"Even for me, it took three whole years after becoming a Sword Saint to reach this level."
"And you… You've been one for, what, not even half a year yet?"
Words from someone like her definitely carried weight.
"In that case, I'm not as good as you."
If those who knew Ice Maiden's reputation heard her saying this, they would definitely be stunned, for this was the first time in her life she had admitted inferiority.
Of course, for Riezel, who had no idea of her background, he did not take the remark too seriously.
"You're not bad either." Riezel replied casually. "It's not just your strength. You seem to have some kind of special ability. You could sense when I was about to cast magic and cut me off before I could. You dodged my sword move, almost miraculously, at point-blank range... I'm curious—what's that ability of yours?"
To this question, Ice Maiden actually answered truthfully.
"It's nothing amazing. Just a sixth sense."
"Sixth sense?" Riezel muttered, his gaze fixed on her.
"My sixth sense has been strong since childhood."
Ice Maiden spoke with a light nod.
"It's more than just vague feelings. At critical moments, I get flashes of insight in my mind, noticing things others can't."
"Some call it divine revelation, a gift from the gods given only to their chosen."
"Others say it's a form of natural prophecy. I've even foreseen disasters and stopped them before they happened."
"According to Heavenly Hunt, I might be an Imaginary-compatible individual, with strong tendencies in that direction, which is why even without using magic, I can show abilities similar to magic from the Imaginary System."
"Too bad I don't have the talent to be a magician. Otherwise, maybe I'd be like you—a genius of both sword and magic."
Ice Maiden's explanation made Riezel study her carefully.
In Riezel's eyes, though she was cold to an extreme, there was nothing visibly unusual about her, yet only those who bore foreign abnormalities beyond the norm could have compatibility with the Imaginary System.
Some had three hands.
Some had three legs.
Some had three eyes.
In short, only those who carried foreign traits that no ordinary human of this world possessed could be considered Imaginary-compatible.
As for him, his case lay in his soul, for he was not of this world but from another.
And Ice Maiden?
What about her that set her apart from the people of this world?
Perhaps sensing Riezel's doubt, Ice Maiden spoke directly.
"I have two hearts."
Riezel blinked at this, then used the Transparent World to look at Ice Maiden's chest. In that instant, he saw two hearts beating inside her, which confirmed that her claim was no mere bluff.
In the next moment, Ice Maiden spoke again.
"You've asked your question. Now it's my turn, right?" Ice Maiden met Riezel's gaze. "Personally, I don't really want to fight you. It's not just because you're strong—it's because you're younger than me and more gifted. I think highly of you, so how about we stop this and make peace?"
Her sudden proposition left not only Riezel stunned, but Sigmund as well.
"Hey! That's not what we agreed on!" Sigmund shouted in rage, his face pale.
Ice Maiden, however, ignored him as if he were a mere pebble on the road.
"As far as I know, there's no grudge between us that can't be resolved, right?" Ice Maiden continued bluntly, her expression calm. "Think it over, Riezel Brynhart."
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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