Chapter 56: Blade Dance

"... Right now... what did you just call her? Blade? Did you say Blade...?"

Sonia's instincts screamed as she felt an overwhelming presence emanating from the mysterious figure above. He hovered in the sky, looking down from the heavens.

His bright red eyes suddenly gleamed as he gazed upon the world. Even James fell silent.

Sonia struggled to maintain her composure. Everything about the strange figure felt wrong from the beginning.

By merely arriving, Huey's presence had halted the confrontation. All gazes, fear, and attention were directed at him.

Sonia looked up at the figure in the sky. It was...he appeared to be a young man with long black hair cascading down his back. His bright red eyes seemed to pierce through the very world, with chilling orange vertical pupils that were like two slits peering into the abyss.

Huey hadn't really moved, but his figure exuded a haunting grace that forced heads to turn and eyes to gaze. His pale white skin was a stark contrast to the dark and gloomy world, lending him an exceedingly otherworldly beauty.

In all rights, he was stunning. But it was the most dreadful devils that had the prettiest face.

The same way it was instinctive for people to be enthralled by Huey's looks, it was also instinctive to cower and run.

Sonia noticed the person was donning the iconic attire of the Ntuli Tribe and frowned.

That meant he was likely an enemy.

'Who is he? That bloodlust just now...is he going to attack?'

Immediately, Sonia instinctively retracted, backstepping away from Barak. In a single movement, she was almost ten meters from her previous location, yet her gaze never left the figure in the—

"He's gone!"

Huey had vanished from his position in the sky. She had never taken her eyes off him for even half a second, but now he was gone.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Before Sonia could panic, she heard a sonorous voice that chilled her to the bone. Her usual cold and motionless mask shattered, leaving her pale.

Terror was strewn across her beautiful face as if she had seen a ghost—indiscernible dread. Out of nowhere, Huey appeared just before her. It was as if there was a dissonance and relapse in the world that failed to record his movements.

Sonia met his eyes and froze.

'Stay calm! This isn't like you!' she scolded herself internally.

Indeed, this wasn't like her. Sonia was well known for her exceptionally high ability to remain level-headed and observant. She had masterful control over her emotions, expressions, actions, and thoughts. Was it a man who had flustered her so?

Sonia stopped, then quickly regained her composure. Her senses heightened, and only cold calculation made the gears in her brain spin. She gripped her sword tightly, and her eyes glassed over.

Total concentration.

Now, whatever move the mysterious young man made, she was fully prepared to counter.

And Huey did move.

He raised his left arm slowly toward her head, and like a trigger, Sonia raised her blade—

Then froze half way once more.

"Eh?"

Huey's hand had moved slowly, yet she was a second slower than him. Before she could follow his actions and intentions, she was already in his grasp.

Sonia stared at Huey with wide eyes as her chin was gently raised to his face. The world seemed to go blank for her at that moment, and all her racing thoughts ceased.

Huey, meanwhile, remained completely oblivious to the young lady's dilemma. He cupped her soft, oval face and tilted her chin upward. He leaned forward and bent closer to her face. His left hand moved, and his long fingers trailed over her soft pink lips, caressed her left cheek, and brushed through the strands of her golden hair.

His touch was soft and gentle, filled with a warmth that eluded his earlier cold and indifferent demeanor. Huey's red eyes were soft, his orange pupils were dazling to look at. Sonia felt herself getting pulled into them.

To Sonia's bafflement, she was unable to move despite not being restrained. She couldn't sense any bloodlust or animosity, yet her mind was blank. Everything happened so suddenly it seemed almost unreal.

But she could feel his touch and the proximity of their faces. Huey's eyes were so close, closely scrutinizing her face and peering deep into her own eyes.

It wasn't until she saw Huey's lips turn into a pretty smile that she felt a jolt through her body. Her heart skipped a beat, and her blank mind immediately raced. Acting on pure impulse, Sonia slapped Huey's hands away and quickly retreated as far as she could.

She raised her sword defensively, and the glass-like blade glinted with a ghostly hue. A terrifying pressure emanated from her being and seeped into the surrounding air.

The ground beneath her feet crackled as it turned to frozen ice. Her hair fluttered and scattered, defying gravity, and the radiance in her eyes burned feverishly.

Yet, Sonia couldn't hide the redness of her cheeks and her disoriented mind. She tried as much as possible to make it seem like she was enraged and bloodthirsty.

Well, she was. But Huey's actions were just so overpowering.

"You... are you really a Blade?" While she struggled with her thoughts, she heard Huey speak from across the distance.

She regained her composure, frowned, then relaxed her brows. Sonia assumed her usual cold and motionless mask and responded, "What does that have to do with you?"

Huey's expression instantly lit up brightly. It was an expression Barak, who was watching in confusion from afar, had never seen before.

In the next second, Huey blurred and closed the distance once more. This time, Sonia was ready and more attentive. The moment he was close to her, the glass blade shot forward through the air.

The blade cleaved the space in two and whistled as it drew an arc toward Huey's neck. Sonia's movements were so sharp, precise, and fluid that it would be hard to imagine she was flustered just a second ago.

The movement of her sword in that sudden moment eluded the gaze of many present. Yet Huey stopped it in place with the tip of a single finger.

"Woah..." He chuckled, his finger raised and holding back the glass blade before it could reach his neck. His smile widened even more, and his eyes beamed brighter, prettier. He said softly, in a playful teasing tone that could almost make Sonia run mad!

"That's dangerous."

But the fact that he actually stopped the blade of her sword with just the tip of his finger was more troubling.

'It refuses to budge!' Sonia tried to press her blade forward, but it failed to even bite into Huey's skin.

How was it possible?

This was a high-level weapon, specially designed and tailored to fit her personal style and ability. Despite its fragile and fickle appearance, the exquisite blade was ten times tougher than tungsten and could easily cleave mountains in two. When augmented by her ability, the destructive capability of the weapon was multiplied even further.

Sonia prided herself on being a swordsman, but she had never encountered something of this nature. No, that was a lie. There were only a few people who could stop her blade, and even fewer who could do so without a single scratch. Those people could be counted on one hand. Her father was one such person...

But what was this monster?

"Now, now. Just stay still for a moment, okay? I promise I won't bite." Oblivious or simply uncaring of her thoughts, Huey pushed away the blade and raised the same arm toward her face once more.

Sonia withdrew her sword, twisted on her heel, and swung forward again. This time, the glass blade descended from above like a blurred streak of white. It flashed through the air as a ghostly beacon, leaving a trail of suspended ice along its path.

Huey raised his arm, and the blade stopped as it met his skin.

Blocked again.

Sonia gritted her teeth and withdrew again.

'Again.' Her figure blurred, and her sword flashed.

Once more, Huey raised the same finger and impeded the sword's path with a broad smile. He seemed to be in a really good mood for some reason, while Sonia's expression only continued to contort.

'One more time!'

Her blade flashed again. The air froze, and glass glinted. Huey raised his finger and deflected the blow.

This time, Sonia rode the momentum and turned. She sucked in a deep breath, drowned her mind in chilling coldness, and exploded with movement the next second.

It became a flurry of blows and a storm of blades. Sonia moved viciously like a blizzard wind. The two of them danced at speeds unimaginable to the human eye.

The ground shattered beneath their feet, and the air rumbled from countless impacts dealt in seconds. Their figures became blurred streaks that bounced around, and each time Sonia cleaved through the air, a part of the environment became an ice field.

Huey smiled casually and moved his head one last time as Sonia's blade whistled past him. The air tore apart, and by the time the swing was complete, the ground was split in two by a giant trail of ice that ran into the distance.

Huey observed the changed environment with sincere amusement from the corner of his eyes. Sonia's blade flashed relentlessly one more time while he was distracted. Huey raised the same finger and blocked the attack with leisure and flawless grace.

"Don't you get it?" His smile twisted, and his red eyes became deeper. His vertical orange pupils became thinner and brighter as he said in a soft, low voice, "Your blade can't sever a single strand of my hair. "