Chapter 1.12

The instant the duel began, I surged forward with my right foor exploding off the ground. The force of my leap cracked the ground beneath me as I quickly closed my distance to Kuroyuki.

…but that exploding speed wasn’t enough.

Kuroyuki, facing my approach continued to stood there calmly, observing.

The moment our distance was down to five steps, she gently tapped her right foot at the ground.

Then it came.

Kuroyuki’s snow tsunami.

“Tch…!”

As her tsunami erupted right in front of me, I immediately kicked myself backwards to gain some distance before I was caught in it.

Her snow tsunami spanned four metres high amd fifty metres wide, surging forward like a tidal wave, intent on swallowing everything in its path.

“Hmph…!”

With a downward swing, I sliced a gap open from the tsunami and passed through.

As expected, Kuroyuki shot seven of her spears at me.

TH— THUNK— TH— THUNK— PUNK— THUNK— CLANG—!

With ease, I knocked away all seven shots.

…Now that I have a weapon with me, this means nothing.

With a outburst of my right foot, I finally got close to Kuroyuki within sword’s reach.

With a horizontal swing, I swung the sword on my right, aiming for her left arm.

TINK—!

“!?”

…I was surprised when my swing went over her.

In that moment, she received the blow with the shaft of her spear and pushed it upwards, deflecting it.

I gritted my teeth and pinned my foot in the ground with a forward stance, forcibly turning my elbow in a counterclowise spin, swinging the sword from below.

CLANK—!

Kuroyuki skillfully intercepted my sword with her spear by pinning it to the ground.

“…You sure are faster than you were this morning,” Kuroyuki remarked with a faint, almost teasing smile. “…But not enough.”

Before I could respond, Kuroyuki released the spear at her right hand and threw a straight punch.

“Grk—!?”

PANG—!

I managed to block her punch in time with the scabbard as my feet skids backwards.

Yet, the sheer force of her punch punctured through the scabbard and landed at my forearm.

…The pain was sharp but manageable; my arm was sore, but I could still move it.

“…Pierce.”

“Huh…? Wha— WHOA—!?”

When I looked up, many of her spears are already headed my way. She shot them as a follow up.

I quickly recovered from my broken posture and defended against them.

THUNK—! CLANK—! THUNK—! THUNK—!...

…I could feel her spears are getting more powerful with each shot.

CLANG—! THUNK—! THUNK—! THUNK—!...

My arms are getting numb, just how many more are there…?

After knocking away the seemingly last spear, I lost sight of Kuroyuki.

…What the— where is she?

The moment I noticed Kuroyuki from my 3 o’clock direction, an ice spear was on my way.

“GUH—!!?”

Facing that last spear that was thrown by Kuroyuki as a finisher, I reacted on pure instinct, shifting my blade to my left to deflect the spear while bending my waist backward, narrowly avoiding it.

POW!!!

The spear grazed past me, embedding itself into the ground with a loud crack.

Although I was quite surprised by this attack, but I wasted no time.

Whenever Kuroyuki threw the spear herself, she left herself open for just a fraction of a second.

I immediately closed our distance, and swung my sword downwards.

Seconds before the sword reach her, she did a gentle leap backwards.

THOOM!!!

She dodged it!?

When I raised my head and look, Kuroyuki already closed her distance with a sword on her left hand, slashing from my left.

THUNK—!

I managed to block it with the scabbard.

…Wait, that slash don’t have much power on it.

When I realized that, the blade of the ice sword that stopped on the scabbard retreated back to her chest.

Kuroyuki pointed her sword at me once more, and thrust her sword with blinding speed.

"Mrk—!?"

THUNK— BOOM!!!

I barely managed to evade the thrust by leaping to my right and knocking her blade to the left with the scabbard, feeling the rush of air as the precise shockwave from her icy sword punctured a small hole at the ground behind me.

…This technique— it’s the same as Luna’s!

With no time to hesitate, I swung my sword at Kuroyuki, aiming to force her back. But Kuroyuki expertly parried my attack to her right with her sword, deflecting the attack effortlessly.

Kuroyuki immediately recovered her stance, preparing to thrust again, this time aiming for my right shoulder.

“Not this time!”

I did a sidestep to my left and did a quarter clockwise spin to evade her thrust by hairbreath.

CLANG—!

With full force, I knocked her sword down to the ground with my scabbard, and followed with a thrust from my sword, aiming her chest.

…Wait, her sword came off from her grip so easily.

When I came to, Kuroyuki had an ice spear on her right hand, thrusting towards me.

A cross counter!?

TH—!

Our weapons collided with each other, with the trajectory of our attacks veering off slightly.

I need to block it…!

THUNK—!!!

“Grk—!!!”

Seconds before her spear hits me, I managed to block her attack by blocking with my scabbard and jumping backwards to reduce the impact.

BOOM!!!

Yet, the sheer power from her spear sent me flying backwards and crash landed on the ground.

...Kuroyuki’s strikes were even more powerful than she was this morning.

…Just by receiving a blow from her spear froze my entire left arm.

“Hmph.”

Tensing up my muscles, I broke the ice on my entire left arm.

“…Is that all?” Kuroyuki asked from afar, seeming disappointed.

“That’s just a warmup…!” I answered.

Now that I just finish my warmup exercise… let’s see how far I could go.

POW— CLANG—!!!

I closed my distance to Kuroyuki in an instant and swung my sword downwards, where she blocked it with the shaft of her ice spear.

THUNK— CLANG— CLANK— THUNK— THUNK—…

I threw a rush with both the sword and scabbard, but Kuroyuki blocked, deflected, and parried everything I threw at her, without even a counter attack.

“Eat this…!”

Squeezing a little more power, I swung the sword horizontally.

WHUNK—!!!!!

Kuroyuki blocks it with her spear by stabbing it to the ground, transferring the impact downwards. The shockwave scattered the snow around us.

KRIK— KRACK!!!

“…!”

Though her ice spear had crackled under the impact, yet the force from my swing was completely dispersed.

Kuroyuki stepped back swiftly as I retreated slightly, keeping myself within her range to maintain pressure.

“…Impressive,” she said, a hint of genuine surprise in her voice. “…I wasn’t expecting you to break my ice so soon.”

She reformed the spear with a motion of her hand, the cracks sealing as though they’d never been there.

I heaved an exasperated sigh.

…Shit. It’s tiring.

“…I’m sure you could do better than this, no?” she challenged, her eyes glinting with amusement.

…As I thought, she knew how to use the ‘Force of Will’ as well. This explains why I couldn’t break her ice no matter how hard I tried, it was because of her ‘Defensive Cladding’.

…I don’t want to use this since it’s tiring, but it’s the only method I have to break through her defenses.

“…Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I murmured. My tone dropped, signaling the shift in tempo. “You have to avoid receiving my attacks directly— at all cost.”

“…Try me,” Kuroyuki replied with an annoyed look, as if I was looking down on her.

After coating the sword in ‘Offensive Cladding’, I stepped forward, drawing my blade horizontally from left to right in my usual swing.

THOOM—!!!

At first, Kuroyuki tried to block with her ice sword, only to realise it immediately broke upon contact.

In the split second, she dodged by bending her waist backward, narrowly avoiding the swing, and followed up with a backflip to retreat.

In the middle of her flip, she extended her leg in a sharp arc, aiming a kick toward my chin.

“Urk—!?”

I jerked my head back just in time, feeling the rush of displaced air graze past my cheek. The sheer speed of her kick left a sting in its wake, as if even the wind was sharp.

That was close. Too close. If that had landed, I’d be sprawled out cold on the ground, no question about it.

However, it’s the same for me as well.

…The sheer force of my attack would be fatal if Kuroyuki hadn’t choose to dodge.

“…I’m sorry for underestimating you,” Kuroyuki murmured, her tone dropping from playful to deadly serious. The slight smirk that usually tugged at the corners of her lips was gone, replaced by cold focus.

With a flick of her hand, she shot several spears in rapid succession.

T-T-THUNK!

The first spear shot toward me like a bullet, followed by another—and another. I barely had time to breathe. My reflexes kicked in before my mind could catch up. With a swift motion, I slashed at the oncoming projectiles, each swing of my blade shattering the ice spears into a fine mist.

But the moment the last shard fell to the ground, I knew I’d made a mistake.

Too slow.

Kuroyuki was already there.

She moved like a phantom, her figure blurring as she lunged forward, an ice spear gleaming in her right hand. The tip of it gleamed with a deadly sheen, aimed straight for my chest.

“Grk—!?”

I didn’t think. I couldn’t. Instinct took over.

CLANG—!!!

The sound of impact echoed through the space as I swung my scabbard in a desperate backhand motion. The force of the strike shattered her spear into glittering fragments before it could pierce me, the icy shards raining down between us like deadly snow.

My breath came in ragged gasps, heart pounding against my ribcage like a war drum.

She’s faster than I thought…

I barely had time to catch my breath. Steadying my stance, I planted my feet firmly into the ground and transitioned into an offensive strike. My blade sliced through the air with deadly precision, arcing toward Kuroyuki’s neck.

THOOM—!!!

But she was faster.

With reflexes that defied belief, Kuroyuki pivoted on her heel, slipping to her right with an effortless, almost lazy grace. The blade’s edge missed her by a hair’s breadth, cutting nothing but empty space.

I gritted my teeth and stepped forward, refusing to let her escape the momentum of my assault. With a sharp twist of my wrist, I swung my blade backhanded from my lower left, the steel whistling as it tore through the air.

But again— she was gone.

Kuroyuki backstepped fluidly, as if reading my mind, her movements as smooth as water flowing around a stone. Frustration flared in my chest, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Without warning, she pushed off the ground with her right foot, launching herself into the air. Her body spun in a graceful anticlockwise arc, like a dancer mid-performance.

“!”

My eyes widened as her spin came to an abrupt halt mid-air. Before I could react, she thrust a spear toward me with blinding speed, the tip gleaming like a frozen fang as she descended.

CLANG—!!!

I twisted my body to the left on instinct, bringing my scabbard up just in time to deflect the spear. The impact reverberated up my arm, the force sending a jolt through my bones.

That was CLOSE…!

But she wasn’t done.

Kuroyuki landed with barely a sound, and in the same breath, she lunged forward.

Shit—!?

BAM—!!!

“GUHACK—!!?”

Her right leg shot out in a brutal cross-side kick, slamming directly into my exposed right side. Pain exploded in my ribs as the force lifted me off the ground like a ragdoll. I was airborne for a terrifying moment before I crashed into the earth with a resounding boom, the impact rattling my teeth.

I lay there for a second, gasping for air, my vision swimming. Damn… I almost blacked out. If I hadn’t activated Hard Defensive Cladding at the last second, that kick would’ve pulverized my insides.

But there was no time to dwell on the what-ifs.

I forced myself to my feet, groaning as my body protested—

PAK!

“…!”

The sharp sound of fingers snapping cut through the air like a gunshot. My heart skipped a beat.

In the next instant, the scattered ice spears around us detonated simultaneously.

BOOM— BOOM— BOOM!

Shards of ice burst into the air, releasing a dense fog that swallowed the entire battlefield. A bitter chill seeped into my bones as snow cascaded around me, blanketing the ground in a suffocating white.

Within seconds, I was blind.

I couldn’t even see my own outstretched hand.

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to breathe steadily. Breathe in. Concentrate. The fog was just a distraction. Ignore it.

I closed my eyes, shutting out the world, and reached out with Presence Sensing. A faint pulse— barely there— tugged at the edge of my awareness. Her presence was thin, like a wisp of smoke on the wind. Sometimes I felt it, and then it would vanish entirely.

No way… My pulse quickened. Was her Presence Erase really that advanced? It felt like my ability was broken, like trying to catch a ghost with a net full of holes.

Where is she…?

CRAK.

The faintest sound—a footfall on brittle ice. Behind!

THOOM—!!!

I spun on my heel, blade swinging in a wide arc, cutting through the thick fog.

But—

Nothing.

My blade sliced through empty air.

What? I was certain she was there. I felt it. Did she dodge at the last second?

Wait… My senses screamed.

She’s at my five o’clock.

THOOM—!!!

I whipped around and swung my blade with everything I had— but once again, I cut nothing but air.

Damn it!

Before I could adjust, I felt the sharp whoosh of movement beside me.

A spear came lunging from my right.

“Kuh…!”

I jerked my head to the side, feeling the icy bite of the spearhead as it skimmed past my ear, close enough to make my skin prickle. My heart hammered in my chest, but I didn’t pause. I immediately stepped back, widening the gap just enough to bring my scabbard down in a sharp, decisive arc.

THUNK—!

The strike connected—but not as I’d hoped.

Crap. I realized too late. Forgot to switch back to Offensive Cladding.

The force of my strike knocked the spear to the ground, but without the extra power, it didn’t shatter. Still, I wasn’t about to let this chance slip. I slammed my right foot down on the fallen weapon, pinning it before Kuroyuki could wrench it back.

For a split second, I thought I had the upper hand.

But Kuroyuki—she was always one step ahead.

Her grip loosened, and the moment the spear lost its support and clattered against the ground, she let it go without hesitation.

PAK.

Oh no—

BOOM—!

“BUGARGH!!?”

The world exploded beneath me. The shockwave lifted me off my feet, the force blasting through my body like a freight train. I crashed to the ground, the air ripped from my lungs.

But somehow… I wasn’t hurt. Not really. The impact felt more like being slammed by a giant dodgeball than anything lethal.

That was intentional, I realized, panting. But the real danger wasn’t the blast itself.

It was the aftermath.

I tried to move— and felt it.

Shit.

My foot was frozen solid.

The ice crept up my leg like a living thing, cold and biting, locking me in place. I clenched my jaw, forcing the pain down. No time to waste. Gritting my teeth, I coated my scabbard in Offensive Cladding, the familiar warmth of energy surging through the metal. I brought it down, smashing the ice in a shower of glittering shards.

But the second I shattered the ice and flipped back to Presence Sensing—I felt it.

Too late.

From my left, the faintest shift in the air.

The sole of a shoe, wrapped in glinting ice greaves and sabatons, flashed toward me.

THUNK— POW!!!

I moved on instinct, bringing my blade up just in time to block the kick.

But the blade didn’t stop the force behind it.

Her Offensive Cladding amplified the impact beyond what my body could absorb.

“GUHACK—!!?”

The force of her cladded kick wasn’t just physical—it tore through me like a spear made of pure pressure. The shockwave rattled my bones, starting from my left arm and ripping through my torso, slamming all the way to my right arm. I felt the tremor in every nerve, my muscles screaming in protest.

My vision blurred, but I held on.

I was sent flying by the force of her kick, weightless and powerless, my body tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. I didn’t even have the strength to brace myself. The world blurred into a streak of motion before my back collided with the trunk of a tree. The impact jolted through my spine, sharp and unforgiving.

I could barely breathe, my vision spinning as the ground rushed up to meet me.

When I finally came to, the first thing I felt was the cold steel of Kuroyuki's spear tip pressed gently against my neck. It sent a chill down my spine, but more than the weapon itself, it was the suffocating weight of her presence— of her victory— that threatened to crush me.

Kuroyuki stood over me, her posture relaxed, but there was a confident, almost smug smile curling at the corners of her lips. She looked down at me with an air of finality, as if she had already won.

“…I had fun.” She said, her voice light and teasing, almost playful. “…Any last words before I end this match?”

Her smile— it was the smile of someone who was certain. A smile that said, I’ve already won. It was the kind of smile you see from someone who’s never questioned their own strength.

And yet… as I lay there, her spear at my neck, I knew.

I knew this was the end.

I knew I would lose.

I’d known it from the very start.

But even so…

I hate this feeling.

I hate how powerless I am. I hate how it feels to lose, knowing there’s nothing I can do about it.

Before I could even stop it, a laugh bubbled up from deep inside me.

“Hehe… hahahahaha…”

I couldn’t help it. It was all I had left in me— laughter, bitter and raw, escaping my lips against my will.

I could see the confusion in her eyes. Her confident smile faltered, and her brow furrowed just slightly.

“………what’s with the laugh?” she asked, genuinely puzzled, as if she didn’t understand the meaning behind it.

I met her gaze, the laughter still echoing in my chest, but it didn’t sound like victory. Not to me.

“…It’s time…” I breathed out, forcing myself to speak. “...for round two.”

My words hung in the air, sharp and defiant. I wasn’t done. Not yet.

In life, there are always things that can’t be predicted. And who knew what would happen in the end?