Chapter 31: The Phantom World (1)
Estelle stood up with her guard up, sweat trickling down her face.
Because of her deep focus draping her opponent, Estelle didn't pay any attention to her rough breathing or wetness from perspiration, causing her inner clothes to stick to her skin—her eyes remained set on Second's towering frame.
Desire to defeat Second though may have been burning in her green hues, with adrenaline filling every corner of her body, Estelle still couldn't forget about the pain weighing down her arms.
It's been roughly ten minutes since her battle had entered the serious stage in which Second was aware of the wolf priestess' style and plan to defeat him.
His answer? Give her a taste of her own style.
Keeping her short range at bay so as to she wouldn't be able to slam her offensive talisman onto him again, Second patiently played her own game, bashing her arms whenever a heavy blow was available to him.
He didn't waste any time or energy for a little movement that would amount to barely any damage and concentrated on wearing down Estelle's guard one at a time.
It worked well, really well—Estelle felt that in her bones.
She felt that bridge between them, formed by the difference of experiences.
Second might have been a phantom of the past, but he was born in a warrior race, and fighting was in his blood. Of course, since humans of Earth could easily domesticate tigers, the kings of the jungle, race alone wouldn't turn one into a splendid warrior.
The best example was Estelle herself, as her demi-human type of wolf race used to be feared by many until gray orcs defeated and subjugated them.
Also, had it been Second of the present or future, he would have had a much wider range of techniques and abilities, which would have been a real hurdle even to Benjamin, who currently lacked his skills.
Estelle had been set positively even while her arms weighed much more. She didn't let that gap in their experiences deter her from closing up the distance with her foe.
As she scanned his frame, Estelle picked up the first wound she had left on him. It caused Second to lose a lot of flesh off his chest, and then Estelle did her best to capitalize on it, trying to sneak in more talismans there, which failed because of Second's adaptation.
Fortunately, some scratches and light wounds still piled up on him.
If it hadn't been for orcs' natural high regeneration and Second's passive techniques to exploit his blood, Second would have lost much more blood.
Hyping herself up, Estelle was suddenly assailed by the voice from the depths of her soul.
'You paid a lot to wound him after your first devious attack,' said the woman born along with Estelle. Her voice sounded as ferocious as ever, and Estelle now knew why she was this way. Her elder sister told her that those existences born within them wanted the goddesses and their belief gone.
Because Sun wanted to use the deities and their belief and shrines for her own goals and future, the existence within her was at her throat. That applied to Moon, too, and now that Estelle swore to help her sisters with their ambitions, she was on the same side.
Estelle naturally ignored that voice and focused on her battle.
As it raged, however, it became difficult to ignore that woman.
'Don't you want my help? I can help you with your biggest concern,' the woman continued to goad the youngest wolf priestess. 'If I lend you my innate ferocity, your instincts will sharpen, and you will be able to see through him much easier. Your main concern, of being so many steps short behind your older sisters and that bastard, will cease to exist. You'll catch up to them in this one battle. Your jealousy will be gone. Your intrusive thoughts will be gone.'
Though Estelle understood that working with this woman would have been the worst move, particularly during the battle that she had been faring so well, when all her concerns and hidden thoughts became so bare before her, a moment of weakness and hesitation had snatched her heart.
The feral soul within Estelle exploited that moment.
Estelle's eyes turned red.
"Prospects might have been stolen from this world's population, but protagonists and antagonists are born as a backbone to guide their people to The Phantom World," Estelle's ferocious grin confused Second before the change he hadn't expected to occur actually did. "And I am one that can open the gates between worlds."
The entire summoning circle shone with colors of darkness, crimson, and jade. Those colors filled the ancient language etched on the periphery before temporarily changing their meanings like Benjamin had done in the past.
The gate to The Phantom World opened beneath them like the jaws of the toothless monster.
Estelle and Second fell inside, now gone from the living world.
-
"Estelle! Why?!" Moon screamed as she rushed to the summoning circle, unable to step in due to the invisible barrier surrounding the arena. She clobbered on it to no avail.
Sun went past her and slammed her hand on the invisible wall, "Incinerate the evil in front of me!"
While Moon had divination skills as a part of her priestess class, and Estelle was a proud owner of talisman craft, Sun's priestess class focused on exorcism.
Thanks to the evil soul within Estelle pulling strings behind the opening to The Phantom World, Sun could momentarily exorcise the hatred mingled with the darkness and jade energies swirling in the arena, which was the cause of opening the gates, causing a rift in the invisible wall.
Without saying a word, Benjamin leaped into that rift and then quickly followed Estelle to The Phantom World.
Sun's own technique backlashed at her as though telling her that only one person could enter alongside Estelle.
All energies soon subsided, and two sisters were now left alone behind the shrine.
Moon fell onto her knees and punched the gray stone of the summoning circle, "That speech! It must have been that bitch within Estelle! But… how did she take enough control over Estelle to actually open the gate to The Phantom World?! Just why did you allow her to do that, Estelle…"
Tears dropped off Moon's face.
Sun clenched her hands, not allowing any concern to appear on her face.
In a cool tone unbecoming of her name, Sun muttered, "It's my fault. I should have paid more attention to her. All's left in Benjamin's hands now…"
Moon bit her lower lip, thought for a few seconds, then replied, "I believe in him."
"So do I," Sun faintly smiled, "Since he has invested as much as he could into our priestesses' techniques, we should recuperate and put most of our efforts into them now. Later, we will do as we discussed."
"You mean?" Moon raised her eyes and gazed into Sun's warm pink hues.
The elder sister nodded, "Yes. We will have him invest in our physiques, which we have developed in the shrines. The more I think about it, the more it feels like fate. We decided to build the shrine of three deities and even made up a ruse saying that it was possible and legitimate because the three sisters are sisters like us. Years later, at the worst point of our shrine, Benjamin appeared with a prospect of being able to wield three physiques of the said beliefs."
"Sounds more like a scheme than fate," Moon whispered with her simple mindset, then clenched her hand and bit her lips so much that blood trickled down her chin, "But he is…"
Her violet eyes became fogged by the feelings Benjamin couldn't decipher even with his Investor's Keen Eye.
Sun turned a blind eye and smiled, "Indeed. He's the best person to facilitate us. That's why if he's hiding something and is someone sent here to harm us, I'll take the brunt of it should he reveal those colors…" She clapped her hands a few times before bringing Moon to her feet, "Let's get to work!"