"Fuck!"
With a desperate voice, Alain stumbled backwards, trying to evade Seria as she charged toward him.
But she was a cadet from the Knight Academy.
Such, she easily surpassed Alain in strength and combat ability.
Like a wild beast, she lunged at him, twisting her body in mid-air and delivering a kick aimed at Alain.
"Gah!"
He barely managed to block her attack with his hands, but the sheer force sent him crashing to the ground. The sharp impact reverberated through his forearms, forcing a pained groan from Alain.
"Ugh..."
As Alain groaned, a dark shadow loomed over him. It was Seria. In her hand was a large rock that she must have picked up from the ground.
"Damn it!"
Alain frantically reached out to block Seria as she charged at him again, but then!
"Ahhh!"
Her fist slammed into his abdomen, and Alain let out a scream, somehow getting tangled with her in the chaos. If he gave her any space, she'd keep pummeling him without mercy. He had to find a way to restrain her, to stop her relentless assault.
Thinking this, Alain clung to Seria, grabbing both of her arms.
"Ha... Ha...!"
'Had he rolled on the ground and hit some protruding rock?'
Blood began to flow from Alain's forearm.
Gritting his teeth, Alain held onto Seria's arms and braced himself.
"Ugh..."
In the moonlit clearing.
Seria's green eyes glimmered in the darkness.
Those eyes were filled not with the usual kindness and gentleness, but with anger and hatred.
With that ominous energy that could be called malice, Alain felt his knees weaken involuntarily.
Seria yelled at Alain, "I believed! I really believed!"
Seria screamed as if in agony.
Alain questioned inside himself.
'What did she mean?'
'What exactly had she believed so intensely?'
'... Perhaps she had trusted him that much?'
A girl who had only just stepped into the world.
It was difficult to claim there was any real depth to their relationship.
A friend she had courageously made during that time.
Perhaps that's why she had chosen to trust him.
She must have cherished it more than anyone else.
But he had destroyed that bond completely, he'd pissed all over it and tossed it in the trash without a second thought.
"Damn it!"
But what did that mean?!
There was no time for such useless thoughts.
There was only one thing that mattered.
He had to subdue her somehow.
But how?
The opponent was a girl who could easily tear a man apart.
To put it simply, she was like a fierce bear roaming the mountains.
He was barely holding her back for now, but the second he let his guard slip, she would tear him apart.
It was a true stalemate.
But at that moment,
"....!"
A question arose in Alain's mind.
It was about the current situation.
As mentioned, a woman, and especially one called a knight, was an existence with transcendent strength. Just like the bear he had metaphorically compared her to.
Yet here he was, somehow managing to hold her down with sheer strength.
How?
From that question, Alain arrived at a single conclusion. With that conclusion in mind, he devised a way to break through the current predicament.
'... Alright.'
He couldn't let time slip away any longer.
It was now or never.
Thinking this, Alain squeezed out every last ounce of strength he had and shouted.
"Uaaaa!"
"...!"
In that instant, Seria was startled by the force that shoved her backwards, causing her to step back. Seizing the moment, Alain quickly rolled out of her grasp.
"Ugh!"
Stumbling back, Seria regained her stance like a cat. She pulled something from her clothes.
It was none other than a dagger.
The sharp blade glinted in the moonlight.
"Ahhhhh-!"
With a scream that sounded like a desperate wail, Seria charged at Alain.
Just as she had been trained to do.
She pressed the dagger against her body, ensuring she wouldn't miss, aiming straight for his heart.
Thud!
A sickening sound echoed as the blade pierced flesh.
Blood dripped onto the grass.
"...Ugh!"
Yet Seria, gritting her teeth, glared at Alain.
Just a slight difference.
But Alain's response was quicker.
Raising his arm as a sacrifice, he managed to block Seria's dagger. With a fiery smile, he whispered,
[And with that rippling polyhedron shape, I shall bind you!]
"...!"
In that instant, Seria was overtaken by a sense of foreboding and tried to distance herself from Alain.
But it was already too late.
"Ugh!"
When had that power surged into his hand, and when had it erupted forth?
With the black energy that shot from Alain's hand, Seria was once again ensnared and collapsed to the ground.
'Crackle!'
Seeing her collapse onto the grass, Alain gasped for breath.
As Alain looked at him, Seria shouted in a voice filled with malice.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you right here and now! I'll rip you to pieces!"
Amid the sobs in her voice, Alain grimaced as he yanked the dagger embedded in his arm.
'Swish!'
A sound echoed as blood flowed from the wound.
Alain tore a part of his clothing to staunch the bleeding and approached Seria.
In response, Seria let out a beast-like growl, trying to intimidate him.
It seemed she was trying to prevent him from getting any closer.
But Alain approached her without hesitation.
And he positioned himself on top of her body.
Seria glared up at Alain as he loomed over her, fighting with every ounce of strength she had.
But her body wouldn't move as if it were firmly fixed in place.
"... So it was as I thought."
Watching her, Alain calmly concluded his earlier question.
Why had he been able to withstand her strength, which could have easily torn him apart?
The answer was simple.