"What if I refuse?" Mariel asked, his lips curving into a smile.
Selena raised her sword. "I'll force you," she replied. "Only someone equal to or stronger than me can reject my offer. I'm greedy. I'm interested in you, so I want to have you."
"…?"
"Do-Don't get the wrong idea, hmph! I mean, I'm interested in your strength. I like surrounding myself with strong people. Ferguso, Clarent, Eliza, Axel, Jimmy—they're all my subordinates whom I personally recruited. You'll be the sixth. I have an ambition to find Lady Merlin and force her to return the Sacred Spear Rhongomyniad. Your strength will be invaluable in defeating Lady Merlin."
Ah… this girl… did she not realize she just revealed information that should have been kept secret?
While this was good for Mariel, he wasn't pleased. He and Lukhiel shared a similar habit: they were always cautious about what should and shouldn't be said. So hearing Selena casually reveal that the Sacred Spear Rhongomyniad was in Merlin's possession felt unusual.
But knowing her reasoning, maybe Selena believed that being straightforward would yield better results.
"It's hard to refuse your offer," Mariel replied after a moment. "But the problem is, I don't like being ordered around, especially by someone weaker than me."
"Oh, weaker? Didn't you say you were unsure about beating me?"
"Women like compliments, don't they? Ah, but I'm not lying when I say you're very beautiful. Maybe we can have dinner together sometime?"
"Oh, is that so? Alright. If I can make you bleed first, you'll become my subordinate. But if you manage to make me bleed first, I'll treat you to a private dinner at the most luxurious restaurant in Pendragon. How about that?"
"Are you serious?"
"I'm always serious."
Mariel smiled elegantly. "Then I'll hold you to your word, Selena."
"And I'll hold you to yours."
Mariel nodded. "Go ahead, I'm ready anytime."
Selena didn't respond verbally. Lightning enveloped her body, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Mariel with her sword poised to strike.
She was fast—Mariel was nearly pierced by the sword. Fortunately, he managed to slow the sword's momentum with wind before sidestepping to avoid the thrust. Selena quickly swung her sword again with incredible speed, but this time Mariel had already created a wind blade to block Caliburn's slash.
"You're strong," Mariel praised as he parried the rapid barrage of Caliburn's strikes.
It wasn't an empty compliment; although Mariel could block every slash, each strike Selena unleashed pushed him further back.
"You're not bad either."
Selena's words were accompanied by a bolt of lightning shooting from her left palm. Mariel reacted quickly to dodge it, but his evasive maneuver left an opening for Selena to land a kick on his left side. Mariel was sent flying, but he managed to propel himself with a burst of wind, regaining balance and landing on both feet.
However, by that moment, Selena had already unleashed a wide-range lightning wave. Dodging was impossible; jumping into the air would make Mariel an easy target. He only had one option: to counter the lightning wave with a wind wave. And that was exactly what he did.
Mariel successfully nullified the lightning wave with his wind wave. But immediately after, two ice tigers lunged at him from both sides, their sharp claws aimed at him. At the same time, Selena charged forward with Caliburn cloaked in thick lightning.
She has an ice-powered spirit, Mariel thought as he enveloped himself in a wind armor. I guess I'll need to get serious now, he continued, hurling his wind blade toward the advancing Selena. Then he created two wind swords in his hands to block the sharp claws of the ice tigers.
They're tough, Mariel was surprised.
Ice shouldn't be harder than steel, yet these ice tigers were as tough as steel. Mariel would need to increase the density of his wind swords to break the tigers, but there wasn't enough time. He was forced to leap into the air to avoid Selena's slash.
"That's a big mistake!"
Selena's shout was followed by hundreds of ice needles hurtling toward Mariel. Their thin size and high speed made them almost impossible to dodge. Mariel wouldn't have been able to evade this a year ago. But the current Mariel, who had nearly mastered wind manipulation as well as Lukhiel, was a different person. Creating large-scale wind pressure was second nature to him now.
And that's exactly what happened.
All the ice needles slowed down drastically before being blown downward. Not only that, but the ice tigers were also knocked to the ground, their bodies shattering upon impact. Selena fell to her knees, using her sword as support to avoid collapsing completely.
Even so, Mariel couldn't seize the opportunity to attack Selena. As soon as he landed and prepared to strike, Selena unleashed another lightning wave to keep him at bay. Mariel cut through the lightning with his dual wind swords, but by then Selena was already back on her feet.
"You're incredibly strong; your wind mastery is extraordinary. And because of that, I can't let you go."
Mariel furrowed his brows. Selena released an enormous amount of mana. He didn't need to get closer to see it; the sheer volume of mana was visible from a distance. Thick green energy surrounded Selena's body.
"Rise in eternal frost, Frozen King Leztheria."
In an instant, the mana surrounding Selena transformed into a stunning ice mantle. At the same time, the temperature plummeted sharply, and the grass began to freeze. Selena's hair turned as white as snow, as did her eyelashes. Her skin became so pale that her veins were clearly visible.
So, that's the second stage of spirit mastery? Mariel thought. He could feel the stark difference in power between them. Selena was no longer someone he could defeat without using his own spirit's power.
"You should surrender," Selena said seriously. "If we continue, you'll be gravely injured. This will go beyond just making you bleed."
"You have indeed grown significantly stronger," Mariel admitted. "But that's fine," he continued, dispelling his wind armor. "I'll show you why your transformation still won't secure you victory. Come at me."
"Very well, if you insist." Selena raised her sword, now wrapped in thick lightning, and in a flash, she lunged forward to attack.
The girl had significantly increased her speed. If he wasn't accustomed to Lukhiel's speed when that demon didn't hold back, Mariel wouldn't have been able to follow Selena's movements. But Mariel had spent plenty of time enduring the demon's strikes. Even though his body couldn't keep up, his reaction speed was different. And that was more than enough.
"Accept your defeat, Mari—!"
Mariel caught Selena's sword with his five fingers. But what shocked the girl so much that she was left speechless was the disappearance of the icy mantle covering her body. Her hair and skin returned to their normal color, and the overwhelming power she had gained vanished in an instant.
Selena was so stunned that her eyes widened, and her body froze.
Mariel let go of Selena's sword. "I don't want to hurt your smooth skin. So," he flicked Selena's forehead lightly, "this is your loss. I'll make you—ah, we'll meet again sometime. When we do, I'll claim that dinner."
Mariel immediately dashed away, hia body already covered in wind armor; he didn't want Selena's subordinates to misunderstand and gang up on him.
Just three seconds after Mariel's departure, a man landed with a loud thud in front of Selena. Two others arrived a second later, and two more appeared another second after that. Jimmy, Eliza, Axel, Ferguso, and Clarent—Selena's five trusted subordinates, all older than her.
"Lady Selena, are you alright? Should we pursue that boy?"
"…No need."
"But, Lady, that boy is dangerous! He just canceled your transformation. What if he's a mercenary sent to steal the two sacred swords or has some other critical goal?"
"He didn't take Caliburn," Selena replied, staring at the part of the sword Mariel had held. "I don't know if he's a mercenary or not, but that doesn't matter."
Selena hadn't used the power of the sacred sword, so it wasn't surprising that Mariel could catch her blade. But if she had used its power, could he have canceled its activation just like he had canceled her transformation earlier?
Selena's spirit was that of a king, yet Mariel had undone her transformation. Did that mean Mariel also possessed a king spirit?
"Lady, you can't act so recklessly. Remember, you're a daughter of a noble with immense influence and a member of the royal family. You even have the right to ascend the throne if His Majesty Arthur IV abdicates. If that boy causes trouble in the future, your reputation would be tarnished!"
"Ferguso," Selena called, ignoring Clarent's concerns.
"Yes?"
"Send a letter to my grandfather. Tell him I want him to ask my parents to stop looking for a man to arrange a marriage with me. I've already decided that boy will be my husband."
"…What?"
"Lady Selena!"
"Lady Selena, have you lost your mind?!"
"…Your actions are always troubling, my Lady."
"Lady Selena, …may I ask why?"
Selena sheathed her sword and smiled innocently. She answered lightly, "He just defeated me. Do I need another reason?"
Ignoring the reactions of her five subordinates, Selena began walking away.
She was the strongest woman in Camelot's history. If she had to marry, her partner had to be strong too. Beyond that, Mariel had complimented her beauty and said nothing about her personality. So far, no one had dared to do that because of her tomboyish nature. Whether they feared she'd take offense or simply didn't like her personality was unclear.
One thing was certain: people preferred elegant, well-mannered women like Marryphimia. Selena didn't embody the behavior of a noblewoman. Her mother had even given up trying to enforce it, as had her father. While no one could deny the beauty of her body and face, noblemen would think twice before making her their wife.
Of course, Selena didn't care about that. She was still young and had never thought about when she'd get married. She wasn't interested in romance either. That was why her parents had been trying to find her a match—they didn't trust that she could find a husband on her own. And, naturally, she always flatly rejected every prominent man they brought to her.
A strong woman doesn't need to follow others' thoughts and demands, she remembered her grandfather saying. A strong woman lives by her own principles, rules, and demands. A strong woman lives in freedom.
That was why Selena became strong. She wanted to live freely and do as she pleased without anyone daring to protest. No one had the right to dictate how she should live. In this world, the only key to freedom was strength; everything else was meaningless.
"Let's go. We're heading to Birmithan right now."
⟨⟨⟨ OOO ⟩⟩⟩
Mariel was forced to take a detour to the left of the hills to avoid the possibility of being pursued. He didn't know if Selena would accept her defeat or not, and it wouldn't be surprising if she decided to gang up on him with her subordinates. Mariel's plan to take a boat to cross the lake would have to wait for another time.
Even so, he couldn't say he was disappointed.
Mariel had just obtained valuable information. It wasn't about Lukhiel; whatever that demon decided to do, Mariel wasn't concerned. It was about Merlin. If Selena said she was searching for Merlin, then it meant Merlin was indeed still alive and residing in the Tower of Babel. After all, no one knew more about Merlin than the royal family of Camelot.
As soon as Lukhiel finished whatever it was that had captured his attention, they could immediately begin searching for Merlin. His training was already complete; Lukhiel had said there was nothing more he could teach him. So, they no longer needed to spend any more time in the cave. They could begin the long journey to explore the world.
But before that, I need to settle the agreement with Selena.
Mariel's lips curved into a smile at the thought of sitting across the table from that girl.