Chapter 226 Maiev
Maiev and Selpen stood facing each other in the arena.
Selpen spoke while combing her hair.
âItâs not Flan. I thought you wanted to face Flan.â
Maiev had not failed to hear such remarks from Selpen. On the contrary, it was precisely because she had heard them that she decided to step into the arena.
Selpen slightly lowered her waist, looked up at Maiev provocatively, and continued.
âYou even seem a bit nervous?â
Maiev looked down at the openly provoking Selpen without moving. Then, with an expressionless gaze that showed no emotional disturbance, she replied.
âI am nervous.â
âUh?â
Selpen widened her eyes a bit, not expecting Maiev to admit it so easily.
After a moment, the pink-haired Capital Knight burst into laughter.
âItâs the first time Iâve seen someone admit theyâre nervous.â
âI have no reason to lie.â
âTrue. I like that honesty. I also like directness~â
Selpen nodded and spoke again.
âThen why did you step forward? Do you think itâs better to get beaten first? Or⊠did you want to protect Flan?â
âWell.â
Maievâs tone abruptly cut off Selpenâs words.
âIâm not nervous because I think Iâll lose to you.â
It wasnât a lie.
The fact that Selpenâs unique ability was âenchantmentâ and that she wanted Flan as her opponent. Maiev stepped into the arena because such things bothered her.
ââŠOh?â
Selpen took a step back with a slight smile. Indeed, Maievâs eyes were filled with a fighting spirit that made the Capital Knight even more intrigued.
âSo, why are you nervous?â
âControlling my strength.â
ââŠâ
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The smile on Selpenâs face grew stronger. She continued to speak while combing her hair.
âSo, what youâre saying is⊠youâre worried about controlling your strength because youâre stronger than a Capital Knight like me. Is that right?â
Maiev slowly nodded.
âThatâs pretty much it.â
When Maiev slowly closed and opened her eyes, they held a killing intent that seemed inhuman.
Unlike others who only had to pursue victory, Maiev currently had one more constraint.
âVampire.â
Her inherent nature.
Maiev was not born a vampire by her own will, but it was also impossible to escape such a birth.
At one point, she had been proud of her nature as a vampire.
Born as part of the Void, continuing the will of the Princess who held the continent in her grasp, she believed herself to be more useful than anyone in the world, moving with a grand purpose.
But now, things were different.
Flan.
To enjoy a life of humanity with himâŠ.
âI am ready.â
Selpen continued to comb her hair as she spoke.
âYouâre more arrogant than I thought. Alright.â
As the Capital Knight shook her head from side to side, her well-combed pink hair shimmered glossily. Selpen flicked her tail comb into the air.
At the moment Maievâs gaze followed the high-flying tail combâ
Bang!
Something dove into Maievâs arms like a lightning bolt. It was a tremendous surprise attack.
â!â
Boomâ!
Maiev hurriedly swung her hand upward. An ink-like line drew vertically in the air, deflecting the sword.
âHmmâŠâ
Maiev kicked off the ground and retreated far back, swallowing dryly.
She had anticipated that Selpen would launch a surprise attack after throwing the comb. However, despite being fully aware of it, this was the best response she could manage.
Swooshâ!
Then, an astonishing thing happened before her eyes.
âWhatâŠ!â
The line Maiev had drawn in the realm of painting was clearly sliced in half by Selpenâs blunt sword.
âThat canât be possible?â
Swooshâ!
Again, as Selpen slashed horizontally with her sword, the ink line Maiev had drawn was severed. At least, from Maievâs perspective, this was something she couldnât easily understand.
Furrowing her brow, Maiev focused on observing.
Then she saw something new.
âItâs a bit different from simply breaking, isnât it?â
Upon closer inspection, the ink line wasnât merely breaking.
âItâs dodging by itself.â fĐłeewŃbnoŃ”el.cÏm
What she thought was the line breaking at high speed was actually the ink line moving to avoid Selpenâs sword on its own volition.
Selpen flashed a triumphant smile.
âDid you notice?â
Swoosh!
Selpenâs incredibly fast sword slashed horizontally once more. All Maiev could do was bend backward to the point her waist seemed to snap to avoid it.
While rolling back to regain her stance, Selpen continued speaking.
âEnchantment doesnât only work on people.â
ââŠâ
Maiev caught her breath while Selpen, with a triumphant expression, took out her tail comb and started combing her hair.
âEven the lines you draw are influenced by enchantment. Once they like me⊠you understand who they will follow as their master without me having to say it, right?â
âThatâs an absurd ability.â
Maiev muttered while licking her dry lips.
She knew that unique abilities were beyond common sense, but this was beyond her expectations. Her mind was now filled with complex calculations.
âIn this case, magic is meaningless.â
Mana is a delicate force that flows as if it has its own will. If she lost control of it due to Selpenâs enchantment, any magic she cast would become a detriment to Maiev.
âDark magic is also impossibleâŠâ
Theoretically, hitting the opponentâs vital spots while defending against all incoming attacks was simple, but she couldnât put it into practice.
âHave you already given up?â
Selpen brought her sword down vertically.
Whoosh!
The blade, catching the sunlight over the arena, shone brightly. A silver line drew a stark trajectory as it descended vertically. It was a tremendous downward strike.
But Maiev had not yet given up.
Thwack!
Maievâs palm swiftly pushed Selpenâs wrist aside.
Crack!
A sound like her wrist snapping came from Maievâs hand, overwhelmed by the force, but she didnât allow the strike to land.
âWhat? Are you trying to win with martial arts? A magician?â
Selpen continued her attacks, as if finding the idea absurd.
Instead of answering, Maiev kept moving. As long as she accurately struck the joints like the wrist or shoulder, she could prevent her body from being sliced by the sword.
However, just as she was about to deflect the wrist again, Selpenâs knee suddenly struck her abdomen.
Thud!
âUgh!â
With a sensation like her organs were about to burst, Maiev rolled several times across the ground. She quickly stood up and regained her stance, but she was already in a dire state.
âSpit.â
Maiev spat out a lump of blood with a cough. Covered in dust and with blood dribbling from her mouth, her gaze towards Selpen did not weaken in the slightest.
Selpen nodded quietly.
âWhatâs this, youâre holding out? A magician.â
But this time, her voice wasnât mocking.
âImpressive.â
Even Selpen couldnât help but notice. As soon as Maiev realized that magic was nullified by enchantment, she stopped using it.
Instead, she relied solely on her solidly trained martial arts to confront her. It was commendable that she had mastered the basics of martial arts and abandoned magic so decisively.
âI was really disappointed that I couldnât fight FlanâŠâ
Selpen grinned.
ââŠbut Iâm satisfied. This has been fun in its own way.â
âStop the arrogant talk.â
âYour mouth doesnât seem to change. Well, wait. I wonât taunt you by dragging it out any longer.â
At the same time, Selpenâs aura intensified to an unprecedented level. The ground beneath her feet even caved in slightly.
Swoosh!
Finally, Selpen launched herself into the air.
Just as Maiev had drawn her world of paintings, Selpenâs long sword began to draw a trajectory in the air. The traces hung suspended in the air before shooting out all at once.
âMaiev!â
Becky and Trixie shouted, their eyes wide with shock.
The audience was also astonished. It was already impressive to imbue oneâs aura into a sword, but to project it like a projectile was an incomprehensibly high-level skill.
The sword energy, as if it could slice through space itself, and techniques that no ordinary knight could ever mimic, began to rain down on the defenseless Maiev all at once.