Punti borrowed a horse and rode it close to where the southeast battlefront was. It had been a peaceful journey, absent of any unexpected happenings, since most of it had been along the established roadways. Until now.
A woman was standing right in the middle of the road, and upon seeing her, Punti pulled on the reins to slow the horse down. The battlefront was so close that he could practically see it, so it was highly unlikely that the woman before him was a civilian. She had an alluring face, and her wavy brown hair reached just past her shoulders.
"Judging by those black robes of yours, are you by chance a member of Moon Blossom?" Punti called out.
She was wearing black robes, just like the three members of Moon Blossom he'd fought back in Mullux Village.
"My name is Lumia Canarre, and I am the vice captain of Moon Blossom. I've come to get you, Punti. Let's go to the Arnian encampment together, if you dare to accompany me. The general himself will serve as our witness."
"Oh? How considerate of you to come and fetch me! Did the silver-haired information broker squeal on me?" Punti hypothesized that after she sold him information on Moon Blossom, she'd turned around and sold intel about him to the mercenaries. She was certainly a shrewd opportunist.
"That's right. You seek a duel, don't you? I accept. We'll discuss our conditions and requests before the witness." With that, Lumia turned her back to Punti.
"Don't you worry that I might be the kind of villain who'd attack you from behind?" Punti asked. He urged his horse forward and pulled up next to Lumia, walking down the path by her side.
"Someone who wanted a duel wouldn't do something so meaningless, right?"
"Well, yeah."
Is she really as powerful as they say? She seems a bit too gentle to be a mercenary, but she walks so gracefully, she must be a skilled fighter.
"Should I call you Miss Lumia?"
"Please, call me whatever is comfortable for you."
"Miss Lumia, how strong are you?"
"You'll know as soon as the duel starts. Speaking of which, I'm surprised you can do as you please during wartime. Are the rules in the Therbaen army not strictly enforced?"
"I'm just special."
That was right. Punti Arlandel was a special human, born and raised as the hero's son. If it was limited to duels, then the only person who could win against Punti was his father, Matias. Aside from fights against heroes and other hero candidates, Punti had lived the life of a winner. He could even single-handedly defeat an intermediate-tier monster.
Lumia shrugged. "If I were the general, I wouldn't allow any of that."
***
In the Arnian encampment, several soldiers and the members of Moon Blossom formed a circle around Punti and Lumia.
"Punti, I assume you'd want Moon Blossom to hand over Iina upon your victory?" Asura said delightedly.
"Miss Information Broker, whyyy did you immediately go and sell me out?" Punti sighed.
"I saved you some time. I should get some extra compensation for that."
"I guess you're right. Thanks to your welcoming committee, I was able to enter the Arnian encampment without any fuss. Actually wait, just who are you really?"
"I'll tell you that after the duel." The smile on Asura's face didn't budge at all.
"Your prize, Iina Kuusela, is right here," said Teropekka, general of the Arnian army.
Iina was standing next to him with her arms tied behind her back. Asura had been the one to tie her up so it would look like Moon Blossom really planned on offering her up. They couldn't afford to have Punti escape here.
"What I want upon my victory is you, Punti. If I win, then I would like you, without putting up any resistance, to turn yourself over to the Arnian army as a hostage."
With Punti alone, they would have enough bargaining power against the Therbaens to request that they return all of the Arnian prisoners of war. That was how high a status he boasted. However, Asura's aim was something else.
"I shall be the witness," Teropekka said. "Are there any objections to that?"
"I apologize for doing this in the middle of wartime, general," Punti said. "Is it all right for you to be doing this instead of commanding your men?"
Since it was still daytime, the Arnians and the Therbaens were still fighting.
"So long as Matias doesn't show up, my forces have it handled. Thanks to Moon Blossom, the Therbaens are exhausted. Besides, your capture would be a greater boon to my army than any scuffle."
"I suppose. So that means you all know who I am, and understand just what value I have. May I borrow a weapon?"
One of the soldiers threw his sword towards Punti, who caught it easily out of the air.
"Would you like me to use a sword as well?" Lumia asked.
"You can use whatever weapon you want!" Punti replied confidently. "You can use magic too. Do whateeeever you want. But the only thing I won't allow is someone trying to intrude on our fun."
"I won't let that happen," Teropekka said. "I swear it, on my honor. This will be an official duel."
"All right, all right, just start already." Asura groaned. "I just wish that I could drink alcohol to fully enjoy the show." It was truly unfortunate that her body physically couldn't handle any liquor yet.
"Very well." Teropekka nodded. "Now then, both of you, this will be the final confirmation of the rules. Neither of you can kill the other party. Both of you are very important to us." Upon seeing both Lumia and Punti nod their assent, he gave the order. "Now, begin the duel!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Punti moved.
"Oh? He's fast," Asura murmured.
Punti closed the distance between himself and Lumia in a heartbeat and slashed out sideways. Lumia blocked the attack with her sword, held in a single hand, and Punti's eyes widened in shock.
"Salume, did you prepare my tea?" Lumia asked nonchalantly.
Punti leaped back to put some distance between them again.
"Here you go, Vice Captain," Salume said as she handed a teacup to Lumia.
Lumia accepted the drink with her left hand and said, "This isn't an intrusion. I just wanted to have some tea. Don't worry about me. Go ahead with your attack if you wish." With that, she took a sip.
"Don't underestimate me!" Punti yelled, his face dark with fury as he leaped forward once more.
***
Impossible! Punti was panicking. With the sword she held in one hand, Lumia easily parried every single one of his attacks. She was even so relaxed that she occasionally took some sips of her tea.
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Even when he changed the angle of his strike or tried to circle her to attack from behind, Lumia blocked every single move.
"What the hell?!" Punti yelled. He was holding his sword with both hands and attacking with all of his strength. And yet, Lumia parried his blows without a single change in her expression.
"I happen to have some experience with a sword," she explained.
"This is more than just 'some experience'!" Punti stopped and backed off. If he didn't catch his breath, he wouldn't have enough stamina to keep fighting. "How is someone like you still a nobody?!"
Dueling her felt like fighting against a Great Hero. Punti had once fought against the Great Hero, Axel Ehrnrooth, who had the title of Unarmed Great Hero, and was famous for fighting without the use of any weapons. He was undoubtedly the strongest man in Eastern Felsen. Punti felt the same sense of despair he'd felt against Axel. Of course, Axel hadn't been serious and when Punti talked to him later, he'd said that he had only been using twenty percent of his strength.
"Just who the hell are you?!" Punti demanded.
"I've already given you my name." Lumia finished drinking her tea and placed the empty cup on the ground.
"Impossible... This is impossible! Do you realize how strong you are?! It's inconceivable that I've never even heard rumors about you!"
"I spent the past ten years wandering around while raising a snotty little kid," Lumia explained. After she said that, she readied her sword. It was the first time she'd done so since the duel started. She held the sword sideways in the air, with the hilt in front of her forehead.
"That stance...is from Central...?"
Lumia's stance was one from the swordplay schools of Central Felsen. Eastern Felsen styles usually held the sword so that the tip was pointed at the opponent's face.
"I'm hardly surprised, hero candidate. You're familiar with Central Felsen's swordsmanship styles as well?"
"Just who are you, really? Is 'Lumia Canarre' a fake—" Punti was cut off in the middle of his sentence. To be more precise, he wasn't able to finish it. The blade of Lumia's sword was already touching his left cheek.
"I'd hoped you could've at least reacted to that. The hero candidates lately are all of such poor quality compared to those of the past."
"I...I surrender..."
Punti fell to his knees. Despair, helplessness, and most importantly, fear... For a brief moment, when Punti suggested that Lumia wasn't her real name, Lumia gave off a feeling so terrifying that it felt like Punti had been facing down a Demon Lord.
Is she really human? Punti wondered, unable to control his shivering.
***
"Honestly, does the boss really need us if she has the vice cap'n?"
"Hmm. Now that I think about the past two missions, as well as this one, I agree that the vice captain could've handled everything on her own."
"She's so scary...so scary... The vice captain is...terrifying..."
"I can hardly find the words!"
"I knew that this would happen."
While the Arnian soldiers were tying up a limp and pliant Punti, the members of Moon Blossom offered their opinions on the duel they'd witnessed.
"Jyrki, I invited you all to Moon Blossom because I needed you," Asura said. "It's because you're all here that we can split into two teams and accomplish so many things."
"Well, yeah, but seein' the vice cap'n fight just makes me sad at the power difference between us."
"Get used to it." Asura accentuated her words of encouragement with a slap against Jyrki's back. "Marx, you're more than strong enough, so don't worry too much about it. Besides, you're good at coordinating your attacks with others, right? Lumia's not so good at that, so it can be hard to use her at times."
"Are you...saying that I'm easy to use?"
"That's a compliment, Marx. Don't get all upset. It's impossible to try and gauge Lumia's individual strength as a fighter because she exceeds any standards that you can set. Sometimes I doubt she's even human, ha ha. Iina, Lumia's only scary during a duel. In a lawless fight to the death, I'd be the one to win."
"I...agree, but..."
"In any case, just stop putting sugar into her water," Asura concluded cheerily.
In truth, she was in a fabulously good mood. Not only had she seen Lumia's swordsmanship after a long time without witnessing it, but everything had gone according to her plan.
"Okay... Anyway, can you..." Iina turned around and showed her back to everyone. "...untie me?"
"Leave her be," Lumia ordered. "Think of this as revenge for the sugar. I just wish that I had a whip on me..."
"No... Help me, Boss..." Iina looked at Asura, teary-eyed.
"Now, now, Lumia," Asura said. "Can you save that for later? We're going to take our leave now. There's lots of things that we have to handle on our end."
"You're going back already? Why don't you come with us for the night attack? I can already see the path to victory."
Asura shook her head at Lumia's suggestion. "Yes, I imagine that your team will be able to force the Therbaen army to retreat. Just from observing the battles visible from here, I can tell that they don't have much manpower left. You did amazing. If you want, I can give you a pat on the head."
"I don't want one. More importantly, are you really going back?"
"I am. Actually, before that, I should say my farewells to Punti first." With that, Asura approached him. He was staring at the ground, his limbs bound up by rope. "Hey, you went through quite the ordeal, Punti."
"They...called you their boss..." Punti raised his head and stared at Asura with dull, lifeless eyes.
"Ahh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet." Asura chuckled. "My name is Asura Lyona. I am the leader of Moon Blossom. With your help, we'll be able to retrieve all of the Arnian prisoners."
And once they returned Punti to the Therbaen army, they no longer had anything to fear from him. They'd broken his spirit.
"You...planned this whole thing out...from the very beginning...?"
"Of course." Because Asura knew who Lumia really was, she also knew that... "A mere hero candidate could never hope to defeat my Lumia. If you want to win against her, then you better bring along a true hero. Now then, I hope you have a good day. The sunny weather makes for a fine day to despair."
"Yeah... I don't want to see you or Miss Lumia...ever again..."
"Good. Iina, Reko, let's go." Asura walked to where they'd tied up the horses and jumped onto hers. After that, she reached down with her left hand and pulled Reko up. "Don't touch my boobs."
"What boobs?"
"I'll kill you. Hold down here," Asura said, looking miffed, and Reko hurriedly moved his arms so that they were wrapped around her stomach instead.
"Boss...do you want me to take him?" Iina asked after she'd gotten onto her own horse.
"Nah, it's fine." After she said that, Asura started to move her horse forward.
Iina followed behind her. They left the Arnian encampment and, after traveling for a while, Asura suddenly changed directions, moving towards the north. There was a forest there, which was also where Moon Blossom had had their first victory.
"All right, it's about time to begin."
"Yes, Boss."
"Boss...you tricked everyone..."
"It's all part of the plan, Ina, so there's no problem with that," Asura replied, an evil grin on her face. "We'll gift those Therbaen shitheads a deeper despair than what we gave Punti! I wonder what faces they'll make. I can hardly wait."