Four days later, Stella guided me to a place where we would likely stay even longer than in our house.
“Are you ready?”
“I am, but… is this really okay?”
As I looked around at the empty scenery that resembled a construction site before the building actually went up, I felt a sudden wave of unease and asked for confirmation.
The training spot that Stella had arranged was one of the undeveloped areas of Iron Grave’s five districts.
When I first set foot in this underground city, I mistook the vast, open underground plaza as the entirety of Iron Grave. In truth, there are four more districts branching out from the central plaza.
First, there’s the only completed area where crops are cultivated and livestock is raised, and the second area, currently under construction, is focused on workshops along with facilities for dwarven craftsmanship.
Then there are the remaining two empty districts. Stella had spoken with Bolton to borrow one of them.
When I first heard Stella had secured this space, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was okay to rent out an entire district. You know, the kind of permission that could just as easily be called a heist.
The dwarves are indebted to the Sahelrn Duchy, so I figured it would have been difficult to refuse even if they insisted on pushing it through.
But when I learned that it had been 120 years since the underground city was created, I naturally accepted it.
Just looking at the scale of the central plaza left me dumbfounded, but it had taken that long to get to this point.
Of course, the most difficult part was digging down into nothing but caverns to secure space without collapsing; building on already cleared ground wouldn’t take another hundred years.
I’d heard they wouldn’t be developing for at least another 10 years or so.
Hearing that made my head spin, given the lifespan of long-lived beings, but it was good news for me. However, when I asked if she was sure, it was not to check on the rental situation again.
“Is it going to collapse?”
“In the past four days, we had dwarven artisans and that elf over there conduct extensive durability reinforcement work. I’m confident it can withstand at least one strike even if His Highness comes.”
“O…”
My tone was calm, but the content of the statement was undoubtedly impressive, drawing a gasp from me.
What I worried about was whether this underground space could endure the blows from Stella and me. If that stubborn maid could confidently assure me it could take even a hit from Martini, there shouldn’t be any problem.
But while I worried less about being buried alive, I still couldn’t completely relax.
First off, the fact that I needed to be concerned about the cave collapsing meant I had to take significant impacts with my body going forward.
“Well then.”
Clap! Stella’s applause echoed through the cave.
“Let’s see everything you’ve honed so far.”
There was no question about being prepared, nor was there a warning that we were about to begin.
But as I noticed Stella’s light step pounding the ground and her right arm swinging horizontally, I instinctively lowered my body and rolled backward.
A fierce gust of wind swept over my head. A long, thin shadow blade extending from Stella’s hand sliced through the air.
If I had hesitated just one more second, my head would have cleanly rolled away.
But I knew Stella would not stop here. I concentrated on her pulsing life force, confident that a follow-up attack was imminent.
With a frightening speed, Stella disappeared from my sight.
However, as long as she was alive, the trace of life wouldn’t vanish.
Through Blood Magic, I was able to leave a trail and successfully chase down Stella’s presence.
“My shadow.”
As I jumped, my shadow shot up with me.
I gathered the surrounding darkness with my fingertips. My extended fist collided with Stella’s shadow.
“Not bad for a reaction. Good.”
Stella’s shadow devoured my darkness.
I judged that pulling my arm back would be difficult, so I took a step in to surrender below my right wrist.
My right hand was severed. But even without my wrist, the arm continued to reach toward Stella’s face.
In the next moment, I felt the vivid sensation of my regenerated right fist shattering her cheekbone.
“For the first time…”
“Don’t forget. I’m also a vampire.”
With a powerful impact like my insides bursting, I was thrown back at a speed so rapid it was hard to comprehend.
Just as I thought I was crashing into the cave wall, I collided not with uneven stones but with an invisible barrier and rolled to the ground.
Crunch, my spine shattered.
In the disorienting feeling of my insides twisting and the world spinning around me, I hastily tried to right my posture, but contrary to my expectations, the onslaught didn’t continue.
Stella stood in the same spot where she had kicked me, calmly pointing out.
“While putting your all into a single strike is good, you must always think about the next move. Stop believing that sacrificing flesh to gain bone is your personal strategy. The enemies the Progenitor will face are like those.”
As she spoke, Stella’s face was already flawless, without a trace of having been struck.
“Indeed.”
I glared at her, catching my breath while digesting Stella’s critique.
I wasn’t caught off guard. I never actually thought I could take Stella down.
However, I certainly didn’t expect she would respond without a hint of wavering despite being hit squarely in the face.
It must be because I had never lost to anyone in regeneration before. When a sudden situation arose, I instinctively acted as I would with humans.
Of course, even by the standards of the Strong Ones, Stella’s response was not average. A Knight, after all, would still die if their head came off.
However, the point that a strategy involving sacrifice is not my personal specialty was rather sharp. Just the other day with Hexion, that knight didn’t hesitate to sacrifice an arm.
When it comes to Knights or similar foes, one must be ready to part with a limb or even resort to self-destructive tactics if need be.
“Again.”
The corners of Stella’s mouth lifted slightly.
There was no warning this time either. But this time, the attack came from three directions simultaneously.
From the front, Stella, and from both sides in the rear, gigantic shadowy hands.
It reminded me of the time I almost died at the hands of the Church’s Trackers in the elves’ forest.
An attack coming in as a plane, neither point nor line. I had no confidence in countering with shadow magic, which I hadn’t used beyond merely wrapping it around my hands.
If I didn’t receive it with my body directly, my only option left was Blood Magic. Upon reaching that conclusion, I acted without hesitation.
I gathered my arms below my chest and inserted my index and middle fingers into my wrists without a moment’s pause.
Spinning around in place, I scraped and pulled as if clawing with my fingernails and spread my arms wide.
Flesh tore from my wrists to the tips of my palms, and a massive amount of blood splattered in all directions.
“Now.”
The blood droplets shot out in every direction, becoming a barrage that clashed with the shadowy hands.
As I glanced at the blood barrage bursting against the shadows, I countered the oncoming Stella.
Blobs of undefined darkness and shadow, I met her two fists. However, in the next moment, a massive shadow swiftly expanded and engulfed my entire right hand along with my magic.
“When using darkness magic, it’s more effective to draw from simple concepts rather than abstract ideas.”
Without pausing, Stella kept pushing me back as she spoke.
“As you can see, I’m utilizing shadows.”
From Stella’s shadow, something sharp rose up. As I hastily turned my head, a pair of shadows whizzed past my head on either side.
“You might say that shadows don’t exist at night, but what matters is how you define the concept.”
With a flutter, a dark shadow suddenly dripped from the ceiling as if water was leaking.
“There is no true darkness for a vampire’s night vision. There are merely darker and less dark spots. The difference between harnessing darkness from nothing and scraping existing darkness is like night and day.”
It was tricky. At some point, I found myself too busy dodging instead of countering.
Here, I realized a one weakness that even Blood Magic couldn’t resolve.
Blood Magic detects life force. Hence, even if sounds and scents are hidden outside my line of sight, as long as the enemy is alive, I cannot miss them.
So far, this method had proven highly effective.
Although I hadn’t trained in Blood Magic for long, my tracking ability allowed me to keep up with foes beyond my level, significantly widening my response options.
However, now, that advantage was completely sealed off.
While I could track her actual movements, my magic traps did nothing against her tactic.
The only living thing is Stella herself; the shadows emerging from all sides hold no life.
“I don’t know much about Blood Magic since I can’t use it, but now you see that simply sensing the life within blood isn’t enough.”
I twisted my body to dodge. Three shadows swept close by me narrowly.
But one that sprang up from beneath pierced my foot, and Stella kicked my immobilized body away.
“Ultimately, to respond to ambush magic, one must be able to see through even the spirit’s intervention. What do you think? Can you do more?”
I spat out the blood filling my mouth.
What a ridiculous question. If it can stretch this far, I haven’t even begun to start.
“Again.”
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