It was not the first time Seraphina had entered such a state.
At the age of nine, in order to rescue Marlina from the jaws of a wolf, she experienced that deep-seated rage and roar emanating from her soul.
As a young girl, she managed to kill a robust adult wolf with her bare hands, frightening the pack away.
At eleven, Seraphina, who was out hunting alone, suffered an inexplicable assassination attempt.
On the brink of life and death, her savage and ferocious power awakened once more, allowing her to successfully counter-kill her attacker.
Five years later, Seraphina felt this innate power again… buried deep within her soul but yet to awaken.
There were no special enhancements, only raw strength, strength, strength!
Heightened senses, astonishing physique, rapid reflexes, and terrifying self-healing —
Pure and unadulterated as herself, relentlessly pushing her physical limits to an incomprehensible peak!
"Huff…"
Her breath, slowly escaping through clenched teeth, rose like scorching steam!
The muscles in her crouched beast legs tensed, and every joint and muscle in her body achieved perfect harmony without any guidance.
Then…she charged!
"Bang!"
The violent charge, however, yielded less than ideal results. Instead of a thunderous collision, the sound was akin to a vase shattering on the ground.
The assassin, who took the punch squarely, furrowed his brow and squinted at Seraphina, who was once again poised like a wild beast, ready to attack.
"Even with such a diminished force, you still have this much power?"
He rubbed his abdomen, exclaiming, "You truly are a monster, Miss Animal. I must take back my previous disparaging remarks."
As the man spoke, he dodged Seraphina's high kick, which was as sharp as a blade. "As I said, you must distinguish me from ordinary assassins."
"I pursue the ultimate 'kill,' seeking a power that rivals time itself, one that can even slay the world."
Amidst Seraphina's relentless onslaught, the assassin effortlessly evaded her attacks without counterattacking, and continued, "That's why I offer valuable prey… a fair chance to compete."
"With this," he pressed the blade against his throat, his eyes gleaming with a chilling fervor, "I refine myself!"
"So, I will reveal my abilities to you without reservation, and in this fair battle, I will end your life."
After his lengthy declaration, the assassin suddenly lunged, aiming his blade at Seraphina's throat!
She twisted her waist, her flexible and powerful leg kicking straight up, striking the assassin's wrist before his blade could reach her. Yet… her attack was as ineffective as before, barely making a difference.
"Are you curious as to why you—" he began, but Seraphina growled.
"Shut the fuck up. I don't need your condescending fairness!"
[It's the time.]
Under her increasingly frenzied demeanor, Seraphina's mind remained exceptionally calm, thanks to Ansel's teachings.
[I can't harm him because he wears a layer of temporal armor. ]
All attacks were slowed and weakened by time just before they could touch him, their accumulated momentum crushed and rendered powerless.
Seraphina could sense the unnatural stagnation, as if her strikes were hitting something but causing no damage.
The assassin was protected by… a temporal buffer.
However, this didn't mean he was invulnerable. Her initial charge had managed to break through the buffer to some extent, indicating that if she could surpass his power threshold, she could still inflict real damage!
Moreover, while wearing this "armor," he hadn't stopped time again.
This suggested that his temporal abilities might be limited to one type at a time!
"You don't need?" The assassin raised an eyebrow. "I've met many people like you, confident in their abilities. But Miss Seraphina, you must understand that their confidence is based on experience, be it powerful warriors on the verge of [Scepter], seasoned and profound sorcerers, or even prodigies who have already achieved the greatness of [Scepter]. Where does your confidence come from?"
The blade, flowing with sand from its hilt, danced once more. In an instant, the dagger seemed to traverse space, as if a scene had been cut, and was about to pierce Seraphina's neck!
But it only grazed her skin, drawing a thin line of blood.
The assassin's gaze subtly shifted, as just before his time-stalling strike, the girl unexpectedly leaned back — He didn't leisurely swing his blade but rather slashed without hesitation during this time freeze, leading to his failure to kill her in one blow.
Feeling the pain in her neck, Seraphina didn't pause, grabbing the assassin's wrist with her terrifying strength that could dismantle a beast's skeleton, and it erupted instantly!
Snap —!
With a crisp snap, the assassin delivered a diagonal kick to Seraphina's abdomen, but it comically failed to cause any harm.
The next second, his figure vanished, retreating nearly four or five meters away.
"Such foresight and counterattack can no longer be explained by mere combat talent," the assassin mused, rubbing his wrist that was nearly crushed by Seraphina but saved by timely time-buffering, causing only a slight misalignment.
"Are you a blessed one?"
Preoccupied with defeating her opponent, Seraphina didn't register the crucial two words. She stared intently at the seemingly untroubled assassin, following Ansel's teachings and thought process, and frantically planned in her mind.
As expected, he couldn't use both abilities simultaneously, and there was no seamless connection between them. Although the time gap was brief, it was an opportunity... the only opportunity!
Moreover, the time stop would resume once he touched me; otherwise, he would have killed me during the previous time freeze!
Also, his body wasn't strong at all; without the dagger, he couldn't harm me. So, all I had to do was… Ugh!
Seraphina's head suddenly throbbed with pain. For some reason, the roar from her sea of consciousness and soul weakened and even became dissatisfied. The power that fueled her relentless assault, continuously surging from her body, began to wane. Although it still supplied her, it was no longer as fierce and formidable.
The wolf lady didn't know where this power came from, but she knew her time was running out.
"I must create that one opportunity," Seraphina gasped, whispering in her heart, "as long as I can—"
Wait...
Was that truly her only chance? Were there no other options?
[Seraphina, what you can see is always limited, but the height and depth of your thoughts can reach the ends of heaven and the abyss]
Magic, how could anyone control time without relying on magic? So, he must be using magic, without a doubt.
Yes... magic, who said assassins must wield blades and excel in combat? The one who wanted to kill the baron today was a sorcerer!
This guy wasn't a proper warrior at all; his physical strength was so weak... he was clearly a sorcerer!
His combat skills and physical talents were far from unsolvable; he was merely a sorcerer who killed people by relying on his pesky time magic!
Seraphina noticed the trap this assassin had set. He deliberately didn't avoid any close combat, making him appear adept at hand-to-hand fighting. In reality, without the buffer layer, she would have beaten him to a pulp long ago!
Yes, what combat skills did this guy have? He just stopped time and went for the throat!
The assassin used this unconventional approach to conceal his identity, making people focus on how to break through his abilities while overlooking more critical aspects.
Socerers could manipulate Aether, summon storms, and even control time like this assassin, but no matter how powerful, they inevitably had weaknesses—Seraphina knew these basics from her daily school brawls.
The simplest and most lethal weakness was that sorcerers needed a casting medium to unleash powerful spells. Losing the medium wouldn't render them useless, but it would significantly weaken their abilities!
The stronger the connection between the medium and the spell, the better the effect. Thus, socerers' casting mediums were often diverse, and using a staff was simply due to its versatility. So, this guy's casting medium...
Seraphina's gaze discreetly fell upon the dagger.
That... dagger with a hilt resembling an hourglass, with sand flowing and turning within.
What else could it be?!
"Although I don't know what you're thinking," the assassin whistled, "the dangerous aura around you is rapidly fading, Miss Animal. It seems you can't maintain that berserk state for long."
Seraphina slowly closed her eyes, every muscle and bone in her body, every fiber and nerve, tensing at this moment, gathering strength, as if preparing for a desperate struggle.
Since she knew her purpose, all that remained …was to rely on her instincts!
When she opened her eyes again, her irises were stained blood-red, and her shrunken, pitch-black pupils were indistinguishable from those of a beast!
The ferocious power that had receded from her surged back, roaring with excitement!
Before the assassin could react, Seraphina, on all fours, charged at him without any pretense or flourish —
like a bullet piercing through everything, like a raging wind tearing everything apart!
The expensive carpet and even the entire floor were torn apart by her speed, and amidst the flying velvet and wood shavings, her dazzling snow-white figure traced a straight line in the air, splitting the space in two like a burst of lightning!
This speed left no room for the assassin to counter with time-stop. If he were a step slower and unable to give himself a time buffer, he would undoubtedly be torn apart on the spot!
[But this is too reckless]
Thought the assassin as Seraphina's clawed fingers reached for his throat.
Under such a violent onslaught, even with the buffer of time, he would be injured but not killed.
However, after gathering so much power and being disarmed by him, the girl would undoubtedly die.
The assassin increased the time-slowing force on his neck and chest, preparing to counter Seraphina's reckless, desperate strike and readying his dagger to deliver the true killing blow after her strength had been drained by time.
"So, again—?!"
Already prepared and giving due respect to Seraphina's terrifying power, Mr. Assassin did not feel the impact on his neck.
Although he had strengthened himself, the force should not have been entirely absent. This was—
A feint!
Deceived by Seraphina's fierce and violent appearance, and unable to guess that she had seen through his disguise, the assassin made the worst judgment.
The moment he realized it was a feint, Seraphina's other hand, which had gathered her true strength, had already crushed the assassin's wrist!
The entire wrist was crushed, bones, meridians, blood vessels, and muscles all ground together, causing unbearable pain that made him scream uncontrollably.
The moment the dagger fell, time would stop.
But before the assassin could grasp the dagger with his other hand, a small, pale hand with bulging veins and blood vessels had firmly seized it.
"I've won," said the she-wolf with a cruel smile, "take your tricks to hell, scoundrel!"
She gripped the dagger, her soul's savage brutality laid bare, and thrust it towards the assassin's heart!
In the long silence, the sound of a body hitting the floor echoed.
Seraphina looked at the stiff-faced, motionless assassin, the irrational, domineering power rapidly fading from her, and an overwhelming exhaustion washed over her like a tidal wave.
"...H-Hy…Hydral…" she murmured, her eyelids drooping as she collapsed to the floor, struggling to stand while her voice grew weaker, "if you didn't notice this, I would definitely... definitely..."
Thud!
Her head hit the ground, and she passed out.
*
Only a few seconds later, the door to the room was pushed open. The lifeless assassin on the floor suddenly opened his eyes, his wounds and bloodstains seemingly rewinding in time, returning to an uninjured state.
"Phew, Lord Hydral, are you satisfied?" he asked, playing with his dagger, a relaxed expression on his face.
"I really wanted to tell her, 'Ah ha, do you know how many clever people I've fooled with this thing?' and then enjoy her incredulous expression. "
"This Miss Animal, her understanding of extraordinary beings is too narrow and rigid."
The assassin shrugged, "Not to mention that most spellcasters have multiple casting mediums... she actually thought that a throne-level extraordinary being would die if their heart was pierced. Such an assumption... where did you find her?"
"That's not important, Oscarius," Ansel crouched down, gently stroking Seraphina's cheek, "what's important is that she's good enough, isn't she?"
"How could a blessed one not be excellent? In theory, she did indeed 'kill' me once, although I admit I went a bit too easy on her. But she hasn't reached the throne yet and could already use her own spirit... she's truly a monster."
"So, I'm even more puzzled," said Mr. assassin from the Chronos Guild, folding his arms.
"I could have guided her potential for you, Lord Hydral, so why did you ask me to stop here?"
Yes, it was Ansel who asked Oscarius to stop at this stage—because he had completely anticipated this assassination, what Seraphina would do in the end, and the final outcome.
Moreover, Oscarius had not received any requests from Ansel during the entire assassination process; it was entirely his own improvisation. Ansel had merely foreseen the outcome and asked Oscarius to stop there.
This made the assassin even more puzzled while also terrified to the core about the young Hydral's dangerous extent.
Since Lord Hydral was clearly cultivating this Miss Animal, why would he refuse to let her become stronger?
"Because this is enough."
The young man gently smoothed the girl's furrowed brow, worn by exhaustion and pain.
"You don't need to become more of a beast, my dear Seraphina."
Hydral whispered his venomous curse with tender affection.
"Indulge in the victory I've brought you."
"In a sweet victory filled with happiness and joy, without bloodshed or pain."