[Siena POV]
I will settle the score between the two of us in this battle...
His expression was perfectly flat. I wondered what his reason was for wanting to fight me, even though I had defeated him before. However, his strength this time was greater than before. Perhaps it was because during our previous encounter, Raul had first fought the senior members of the Cavalier Squad.
The bodies of both of us were repelled backward. I landed on the previously burning ship, while Raul fell onto the ship he had been aboard earlier.
— Crack!
This burning ship would not stay afloat much longer. I then hurried to run again, leaping and landing on the ship where the man had been thrown. The soldiers on this ship drew their swords, preparing to attack me. However, I ignored them, focusing instead on finding the black-haired man, who seemed to be utilizing the crowd of troops to hide and attack from my blind spot.
"Attack her!"
"How dare she attack our ship alone!"
Hundreds of people on this vessel then began to attack me simultaneously. Dozens of swords were aimed at me, but I merely evaded their strikes and continued focusing on finding that man's whereabouts.
"Die!"
My instincts sensed a threat from behind. Turning around, I found two men intending to stab me.
— Clang!
I parried the sword thrust of the first man, sending his blade flying into the air. Without stopping there, I ducked to avoid the second man's thrust and slashed his hand clean off.
"Aarrgghhh! My hand! My hand—"
I then kicked his body until he was sent flying, crashing into his other comrades.
Where is he...?
I searched for the black-haired man, but the crowd of soldiers made it difficult. Looking around, I sought someone with a calm demeanor who wasn't moving much. Surely, he was standing still and observing my movements, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"..."
I found him...
I caught a glimpse of a man who remained still and composed, unlike the other soldiers here. I then took a stance and lunged toward the spot where I had found him. I thrust my sword forward, piercing the chest of the man I predicted to be Raul de Garcia.
"Ugh... You bitch..." groaned the man I had stabbed.
However, upon seeing his face, I realized the soldier I had attacked was not the man I was looking for. He merely had the same stature and hair color.
That means...
Suddenly, I felt a presence to my right. I hurried to pull my sword from this man and turned to the side. Exactly one meter in front of me now, the man I was searching for was about to slash me with his sword. My hand moved by reflex to block his slash with my blade. However, the man suddenly canceled his slash and switched to a punch aimed at my face.
— BAAMMM!!!
My body was sent flying and rolled across the ship's deck. Yet, for some reason, the soldiers on the ship did not immediately attack me while I was in such an unprepared state.
— Crash!
Suddenly, I felt a jolt hit the ship. Looking back, I saw a ship of the Venetian Republic slamming into this vessel.
"Attack them!"
"Kill those Aragon dogs!"
The Venetian soldiers then leapt over and attacked the Imperial soldiers inside this ship. Both sides began fighting at close range using swords. I rose to my feet and stared ahead. There, in front of me, stood a black-haired man staring at me with one eye.
The storm winds around this ocean grew stronger, causing the ship to toss and turn as it was struck by increasingly large waves. Our gazes met; both of us then prepared our stances to strike.
In a space this narrow, speed magic would not be effective. Therefore, I had to rely purely on my physical speed to outmatch him in this fight. Kicking off the ship's floor, I used the Charging technique to dash toward him. The man did the same and immediately launched a thrust toward my neck.
I evaded it by tilting my head slightly. Next, I launched a counterattack by slashing my sword toward his neck. The black-haired man then ducked and launched a Sweep Kick at my legs, trying to knock me down. However, I was able to evade his attack again by jumping. Not stopping there, I then launched a vertical slash at him.
— Clang!
He blocked my attack with his sword. I then spun my body to gain momentum and activated Temper magic in my left leg, launching a powerful kick toward his face.
— BAAMMM!!!
He blocked my kick with his left hand. However, due to the strength of my strike, his body was still repelled slightly to the right, crashing into several soldiers who were fighting. I chased after him again; I would not let him disappear behind the crowd of troops fighting on this deck.
He stood back up and prepared to face the attack. Activating Temper magic, I then launched a combat combo from Liana de Grantz's sword technique.
"Eternal Blade..."
I began attacking him with my sword. Left, left, left, right, and left. My sword slashes swung extremely fast, but the black-haired man could easily evade all the attacks from the first phase of this combo.
How is he able to do it?
This attack combo is the fastest and has the best feint movements among the sword techniques on this continent. I began the second phase of the attack. This time, I would focus more on his movements. Right, left, left, and finally, a Spinning Slash.
This time, the man was able to parry three attacks and evade the last one. However, I now realized that the man always moved first, even before I moved my sword to launch an attack. That was why he was always on time to respond to this fast combo—because he had a "start" or moved earlier than my attack.
This means... He knew this attack combo beforehand. Therefore, I had to change the movements so he couldn't read them. The final phase of my combo began.
I started attacking him with several slashes and thrusts. For now, I did not change the pattern to make him let his guard down and feel confident. He could parry all my attacks easily. However, when I was about to perform the final diagonal slash toward his neck, I changed it into a straight thrust toward his chest.
— CLANG!!!
My eyes widened in shock because the man was still able to parry my attack.
"I knew you would change the attack pattern at the last second, just like she did," the man said.
She? Who does he mean?
However, I couldn't keep thinking about it because this time, Raul launched a counterattack while my defense was open.
— Baamm!!
He launched an uppercut that landed on my chin. My body stumbled backward; I refocused my vision ahead, but the black-haired man had already disappeared from his previous position. I felt a presence beside me and turned.
The man appeared ready to slash me with a horizontal strike toward my right ribs. I hurried to move my sword to parry it. However, my body suddenly toppled; it turned out the man had canceled his slash and instead kicked my heel. He then spun his body to gain momentum and launched a hard kick toward my head.
— Bamm!!
My body was sent flying and slammed into the wooden wall of this ship. My temple began to bleed after taking that direct kick from him. Rising to my feet, I saw the black-haired man walking toward me through the soldiers fighting on the ship.
"How can you read every movement of Liana de Grantz's sword technique?" I asked him. "This sword technique is famous for being impossible to parry because its speed is the greatest among all techniques on this continent."
Furthermore, the only ones capable of mastering this sword technique were myself and Liana de Grantz, making a counter to this technique unknown to anyone.
"You should have questioned me more when I was your prisoner," he replied flatly and prepared a stance to attack.
"Is that so?" I did the same and prepared to attack him. "Next time, I will provide a more cruel torture method so that you'll reveal all the secret information you possess!"
I dashed toward him and began fighting again. This time, I was more careful using Liana de Grantz's sword technique so I could respond to the man's counterattacks. Slash after slash, I unleashed them. Even though he could always evade, I was not worried because these slashes were a set-up to activate my other ability.
— CLANG!!!
Our swords clashed, sending both of our bodies repelling backward. Staring ahead, I saw that the man still looked fresh because I hadn't landed a single clean hit on him at all. He then dashed toward me, but I stood perfectly still, preparing to activate one of the Profound Codices I possessed.
"Blade of the Future..."
A sword cut would appear when the man passed through the area I had previously slashed. However, when he reached that area, the man suddenly jumped and launched a spinning kick toward my head.
— BAAMM!!!
Due to my shock, I was late to respond to his attack, causing my body to be sent sideways and roll across the ship's deck. My consciousness began to fade from taking two consecutive direct hits to the head. I then looked toward the man.
"You know how my ability, 'Blade of the Future,' works," I muttered to him.
"Exactly," he replied to me. "This ability allows you to delay the effects of the slashes you deliver and then activate them at another time, doesn't it?"
He knew... Just by seeing it once, he could immediately guess this ability I possessed. Truly a troublesome opponent. If only I could use Nature Mana, this fight would not be as difficult as it is now. I stood back up and prepared to attack.
On this ship, the fighting soldiers were decreasing in number because many had died. That meant I could use Asphalt magic this time because the fighting area had become wider. My legs then began to emit particles of light; this time, I would be able to outmatch him easily.
I dashed toward the man, but he then grabbed a rope connected to the ship's sail and slashed it, carrying him upward to land on the mast. Activating Axio magic, I jumped after him and landed on the same mast.
"You are very cunning," I sneered at him.
"All is fair in war and love, Miss Siena," he countered.
I deactivated my Asphalt magic. With a footing this narrow, I wouldn't be able to utilize my speed. We would fight directly, and whoever had the worse balance would be the one to fall. I looked into his eyes; he still appeared calm in this situation.
The wind blew harder, and the sound of thunder was loud as it struck the ocean. I could even see the Demigod still fighting the Aragon Empire's war fleet behind this man.
"Let's finish this, Raul de Garcia..."
I dashed toward him, running atop the yardarm.
"With pleasure."
He did the same. This time I did not use Liana de Grantz's sword technique because he could read it easily. I relied only on my instincts and experience this time. We traded blows, attacking and parrying each other's slashes.
Raul then launched a thrust toward my neck, but I was able to parry it and launch a kick toward his head.
— BAAMMM!!!
His body was repelled and fell from the yardarm. However, the man grabbed a rope and swung around the mast. He then aimed a Revolver at me.
How could he have that weapon? I then felt the belt at my waist and realized that the Revolver I possessed had apparently been taken by him just now without me noticing.
— BANG! BANG! BANG!
I tried to evade, but one bullet successfully lodged itself in my left shoulder. Blood began to flow, soaking my hand. The man landed again at the end of the yardarm and appeared to activate Accel and Temper magic.
Was he going to dash straight to attack me? However, with only low-level magic like that, my body's movements would still be able to respond to his attack. Besides, did he forget that I have the Buff Removal ability from one of my Profound Codices?
Raul then began to dash straight toward me. I also activated Accel and Temper magic and likewise dashed toward the man. We both met in the middle of the yardarm. However, before we exchanged strikes, I activated Buff Removal, returning Raul's speed and strength to normal.
— SLASSHHH!!!
We passed each other.
I then braked and stopped at the end of the yardarm. I saw that my left leg was bleeding from a cut from his sword. However, it seemed I had also successfully landed a direct hit on him. Turning around, I saw Raul standing at the other end of the yardarm. His body was still; a fairly large sword slash was visible on his back.
He then fell from the yardarm toward the ocean. I walked slowly to where he had been and searched for his falling body.
"I won..."
With a wound that deep, he wouldn't be able to swim in this raging ocean. His fate was almost certainly to die if no one helped him from drowning. I then sat down on the yardarm and stared at the pitch-black sky. Rainwater drenched my face, and I could finally rest after fighting him.
However, when I tried to feel for the locket on my neck, my hand found nothing there. I then hurried to stand back up and only then realized something, staring toward where the man had fallen into the sea.
"Damn you... RAUL DE GARCIAAA!"