Back in my room, a sigh escaped me, a release of pent-up stress prepping for what was coming.
I did not have to wait long. Once I could see the moon hung high in the night sky, I could see the window slid open mysteriously, the pattern following what I remembered.
This time, though, I could actually see her.
No panic, no signs of distress – just the grip of my sword as I faced her.
"...How did you know?"
Once again, this cold question hit me, but this time, I did not let her sneak up on me as I intercepted her with my sword before she could do so.
The resulting clang echoed through the room, a symphony of metal meeting metal as the short confrontation ended in a stalemate.
Yeah, compared to the first time, there is a clear difference.
"Would you explain that to an assassin that's aiming to kill you?"
My rebuttal was direct, cutting to the point as I was not interested in talking with her.
This time, with the levels of my skills and talents, I could really hold my ground against her and collect more accurate information to review later....
"I suppose you are right. But I would still like to know the answer"
An understandable reaction. She was told this would be a fairly easy mission as the enemy is just a weak scion of a wealthy family, but she found something outside her expectations.
Still, I did not reply as I broke our stalemate by trying to use my body strength to my advantage.
Yet, she wouldn't bulge at all.
Well, I suppose that's Yor Forger for you...
In a bid to seize control, I opted for another kick. This time, she didn't effortlessly deflect it. Instead, she absorbed the impact with her arm, skillfully creating distance.
To the untrained eye, it might seem like a blow landing, but the harsh reality revealed a different story.
Observation and Sixth Sense, my vigilant allies, confirmed she suffered no damage. This was the same woman who emerged unscathed even after a car ran over her, after all.
"Since you did not reply to me, I shall assume you are Libert Mulling-sama. Although I am sorry to ask this of you... may I have the honor of taking your life?"
I snorted, annoyance creeping into my tone.
"Just because you are stronger than me, it doesn't mean I will let you take my life effortlessly, Thorn Princess. I will not die without taking a part of you with me too"
I actually liked Yor Forger's character, a lot.
In the first loop, the subtle joy of encountering an anime character had its charm, allowing me to appreciate her beauty even when she had such strong intentions to kill me. However, in the present moment, I couldn't care less.
I will not act like I am detached from death. I'm sure that is what the System would want out of me.
While Garden's mission to eliminate me held a rational basis, acknowledging the intentions the owner of this identity had, I remained tethered to my emotions.
Regardless of my liking for Yor, forsaking my humanity was a line I couldn't cross.
As the time for conversation was over, it was time to speak with our blades.
From the first loop, I knew a little about how she would respond to several situations, but the data in my hands was too little, thus it was not a reliable solution to use that, for now.
I couldn't afford the luxury of holding back against her; I unleashed everything at my disposal, letting my sword dance in the execution of the Sky Sword Art.
[You have used the [Sky Sword Art]]
[Your limits have been slightly removed]
[Your resonance with the Sword is increasing]
[Your Talent [Sword] is reacting to your emotions. It wants the blood of the enemy]
[Your Skill [Sky Sword Technique] will aid the process of communication between you and your Talent, [Sword]...]
.
.
.
Prompts flooded my vision, but I paid them no heed.
Sensing my sword was a threat, she parried with her stilettos, but I did not give her a single second to be surprised.
I pushed my body to move even faster, shifting my center of gravity, and the ringing of metal intensified to a high pitch, so high my ears were almost hurting from it.
My sword slid over her stilettos, intending to force her into a disadvantage, but a surge of unexpected strength from her side deflected my sword.
I was caught by surprise, and this gave her an opening. She did not hesitate to take it as I could see her stilettos about to cleanly pierce my head...
That would be an instant death.
In a split-second decision, I jumped, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike.
This was only possible because [Jump] could let me perfectly jump in any situation. Otherwise, I would be dead.
It was a single exchange, but I could feel the hands holding my sword trembling from the sheer recoil they were put under.
Is she a gorilla or a human? fuck
She was about to ask me something once again, but as I said, the time for conversation was over.
I made my way to her side as I decided on the next course of action.
A direct confrontation would be futile, so I aimed for her legs. Predictably, she parried my sword, expecting a kick. Instead, I surprised her with a leg sweep, catching her off guard.
Although I could not perfectly perform it since I was not in the proper position, my talents and skills helped me pull of such a thing.
She failed to defend, about to fall, but with inhuman reflexes, she used her hands still holding the stilettos to the ground, propelling herself to the other side of the room.
This show of athletics impressed me for about a millisecond, but I didn't let the spectacle distract me, knowing well that she was capable of such feats. In the first loop, I wasn't even worthy enough to push her this far.
It's different now.
"...Pardon me for having underestimated you, Libert Mulling-sama. From now on, I will not let my own prejudice influence my actions. I will give you the painless death you deserve"
Well, thanks for the offer, I guess.
For now, we were both just probing each other. Now, the real fight to the death will begin.