Swish, swish, swish.
The black rose was gradually regaining its vitality.
At that sight, I let out a small chuckle and stuffed it back into my pocket.
Right now, there was something far more urgent to focus on.
“Yulia, come quickly! Hold my hand and don’t fall behind!”
“Yes, four…!”
This is a mess.
I sighed deeply as I watched Yulia scamper behind Yerina.
Thud thud.
I knocked on the frozen wall, and it felt as immovable as a mountain.
Even the mana in the area was completely frozen, trapped within Yerina’s grasp.
It was rampaging, but not in a wild state.
What on earth does that state mean?
I have no idea.
Maybe it’s something you only learn when you fully master the Frenzy Skill Technique and reach the next level…
Anyway, even though I can feel the mana in the area, it belongs entirely to Yerina, and I can never grasp it.
Can I break it with Half Moon Slash?
The ice wall, covered in ice on the walls, windows, and doors, is not just solid.
If it were an ordinary ice wall, I could easily smash it with a punch.
But this is the result of Yerina’s mana being concentrated to its extreme.
In other words, to break this, I’d need to deliver a shock strong enough to injure Yerina.
Whether that’s possible with Half Moon Slash is unknown.
Guys like Belphegor or Rex were cut down in one stroke, but Yerina seems like she could withstand it.
No, she might not even get a scratch…
If I miss a position and get targeted, I could end up logging out of this life.
Given that the Martial Arts Secrets put a burden on the body, I can’t just keep firing them indefinitely.
For now, finding a gap is priority number one.
“Is she searching for a gap by now? You might as well give up. You can’t get out of here until you kill me.”
“…”
She read my thoughts.
With a confident air about her, and apparently defenseless, Yerina was stepping forward.
It meant she was willing to take the first strike.
And that naturally implies that she thinks she can survive the hit and counterattack.
Or maybe she might even fail to land a hit in the first place.
I’ve dipped my toes in the realms of superhuman abilities, but even Rex, with his enormous physical power difference, started reading my intentions fast after a few clashes.
If it’s Yerina, she would notice immediately and block it with her beast-like reflexes.
She’s literally a mountain of an opponent.
I had felt it even during the match where we fought purely on physical abilities without mana.
Facing her head-on with all my means, there’s no way I can find an answer.
Back then, I could have snatched a single victory through tricks…
But now, it feels like no matter how many rounds I go, I will continuously lose.
Even when I surrounded myself with various traits before, the situation is even worse now that all my traits are sealed.
I can’t win.
One misstep could cost me my life.
Is there anything as futile and heart-wrenching as dying from a blind sword strike by Yerina?
I absolutely do not want that.
I want to avoid it.
Somehow, I must find a gap and get out of this place…
Is this right? Is running away correct?
In the moment I regained my senses, I found myself in panic, looking for an escape route.
Have I become scared facing an overwhelming power after such a long time?
How absurd.
It seems that playing overpowered in the Demon World made my threshold drop significantly.
Thinking back, this was my everyday life.
Meeting weaker opponents was far less common than facing stronger ones.
Was Rex feeling this way when he faced me?
Facing an unseeable, certainly stronger opponent in a life-and-death scenario.
At that moment, Rex risked his life to push beyond his limits.
He didn’t turn his back on the heights set before him.
Then what about me?
What lies ahead of me right now?
Yerina is here, and there’s a chance to clash with her Martial Arts Secrets.
Isn’t that the opportunity I have longed for?
There was no reason to hesitate or turn my back.
I chuckled in disbelief and gathered both hands as if holding a sword.
There’s no more trembling in my hands.
Only a solid will coming together to form the shape of a sword.
Is that why?
This time, the outline of the sword that I shaped with my will was clear and solid.
Even now, it’s composed of just two Martial Arts Secrets.
It’s already sharp enough to rival a real sword.
“Looks like I’ve got this.”
In that moment, Yerina’s eyes twisted, her tail standing on end, and she pointed her sword directly at me.
Did she recognize my direction straight away?
From the trembling wolf ears, I caught a glimpse of fear.
Yerina was also ready to face death.
An invisible foe.
Facing an unknown opponent, she was willing to bet her life on this fight.
It was truly the optimal situation to draw out the Martial Arts Secrets.
I can’t retreat from here.
If I don’t acquire the Frost-style Secrets, everything will be in vain.
“It’s just once. Just one clash, and that’s enough.”
I just need to hit the Martial Arts Secrets once.
With Yerina, her sight to behold the soul must have already awakened.
The moment our Martial Arts Secrets clash, I’ll be able to dive into her inner world.
“Yerina, you know, just one gentle hit that won’t hurt-”
Shhiiiii!
In that moment, a fierce whirlwind erupted around Yerina.
I instinctively stepped back, along with a shiver running down my spine.
“What the!”
The ice on the floor melted away in an instant, only to refreeze into sharp spikes coming at me!
Is she aware not just of direction but my exact position?
A flood of ice spears charging at me, ready to turn me into a pin cushion.
“Dakia-style Secrets.”
I toppled Mi Jeong beneath my legs and lay my sword horizontally.
Preparing for the Half Moon.
But this time, coming from all directions, if I unleash the Half Moon, I might end up becoming a porcupine with spikes stuck in my back.
The solution is simple.
I just extend the Half Moon.
With that, I cut back further, creating a perfect circular shape of the moon.
“eternal moon!”
A white light emitted as the sword aura spread out in all directions.
The incoming ice spears melted away and shattered completely.
Unlike the ice walls that surrounded the room, it seemed this improvised ice could be broken easily.
From the place where the wave of ice subsided—
“Where do you think this is?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Hold on!!!”
With furious eyes glaring, Yerina lightly caught the eternal moon with one arm and burst forth.
Was she planning to conceal her line of sight with the ice wall and launch a sneak attack?
Right after unleashing the eternal moon, I had no chance to dodge.
This is something I didn’t expect…?
“Die.”
With all that fury, the swing of her sword had no special techniques or intentions behind it.
Just a hard swing.
No, a really hard swing of the sword directed straight for my brow.
Gahhh!
“…Dangerous.”
Mi Jeong grabbed me by the back of my neck and yanked me back.
The sword struck the ground, creating a momentary earthquake, and ice shards scattered all around.
As my vision cleared, there lay a huge crater carved into the floor.
Had I taken that hit, I wouldn’t just be bruised; I’d be reduced to nothing.
It’s not like a club or a mace; can a sharp sword land such a strike?
Moreover, it wasn’t a massive blast powered by mana.
A moment of shock left me dazed, but it didn’t last long.
I quickly recalled my main objective and came to my senses.
I can’t apply the common standards of a typical person and their ordinary sword to Yerina.
I momentarily forgot this obvious fact.
In a battle with Yerina, everything changes.
Experience and know-how garnered from dueling fellow humans become utterly worthless when fighting a bear.
In a fight with Yerina, I must erase all the habits and tricks I’ve ingrained through past battles.
Even if a regular person, including Rex, managed to draw out the Martial Arts Secrets, there would be some stiffness for a moment.
With Yerina, that doesn’t exist.
Once she fires a Martial Arts Secret, puts you into a brief immobile state, she’d already make it a vow to strike you.
I’m losing it, here.
I had thought that once we clashed with a Martial Arts Secret, it would be over.
But Yerina looked like she had no intention of showing any Martial Arts Secrets.
Or does she think I’m not even worth using a Martial Arts Secret on?
That seems likely…
As she casually blocked my Martial Arts Secret, the being wielding an unstoppable strike provoked me relentlessly.
Definitely, from Yerina’s standpoint, she wouldn’t need to draw out something grand like pushing the limits of swordsmanship.
With the time and energy it takes to unleash even one Martial Arts Secret, she could swing her sword really hard ten times…
“Disappeared? That was unavoidable, how? What the heck? Do I have legs on my back? Am I not human? No, could it be… there’s not just one but two of me?”
“This is insane.”
Has she already read my full strength?
Is she truly unable to recognize me anymore?
Now I find myself filled with not just shivers but awe.
“Your skills don’t seem like much. Or are you just holding back?”
Jerking as if in displeasure, Yerina swept her sword toward what she presumed to be my location.
To her, it was just a probing attack to estimate my position.
For me, however, each of her strikes was overwhelming.
Bang! Crash!
With my Martial Arts Secret, I couldn’t even scratch the ice wall.
Each time a strike came flying in, I’d wonder whether I could somehow manage to block it.
But once it closed in, I could feel the heaviness of the sword, and an instinct screamed out within my body that I absolutely must evade.
Yerina’s sword doesn’t employ tricks.
No deception at all.
It’s not exceptionally fast either.
Just standard Frost-style swordsmanship.
Yet…
This is no doubt her full power.
The problem was that Yerina was indeed coming at me with her full force.
Her eyes glinting with frenzy, bloodshot.
My every flinch caused her ears and tail to react sensitively, perfectly predicting my location and intent.
“Is it over there?”
“Ugh…!”
In that moment, as I took a breath, a sharp stab zoomed straight for my solar plexus.
Instinct screamed.
Low my stance and evade, and immediately dart into her guard to counter.
“…”
But just as I dodged, losing my posture, I was terrified to see Yerina’s gaze tracking down towards me instead of the sword’s tip.
At this point, it’s as if she’s practically watching me!
“How sneaky.”
Clash!
Ignoring instinct, I darted back, and her sword tip sliced through the floor.
Had I moved in for a counter, I would’ve been split in half with that strike.
My reaction speed can’t compete at all.
In close combat, I have no answer.
If she had any kind of special advantage, I could consider looking for weaknesses.
But Yerina neither has any special traits nor weaknesses.
Simply put, she’s just ridiculously strong.
No matter how I strategize against Yerina, the moment I get too close, it becomes meaningless.
Is this Yerina’s true power…
With a single strike powerful enough to take down a whale.
Adding to that an unimaginable reaction speed that could claim the title of the fastest among all living beings in the current world.
Yerina was using this solid ice prison as an arena to release her full power without restraint.
But was she always this strong?
Despite being an OP character, didn’t she sometimes face crises in dungeons?
At this point, wouldn’t it be on par with just toppling the entire ground in a dungeon raid?
Ah, I enhanced her.
It suddenly hit me.
The current Yerina can masterfully manipulate her mana and control her frenzy.
Who helped her achieve that? It was I who bestowed upon her the Frenzy Skill Technique.
But why isn’t she using her Martial Arts Secrets…
Something feels off.
Yerina is clearly fighting with full power.
Yet she still hasn’t unleashed a single Martial Arts Secret?!
What could be the reason?
Is it one of those Martial Arts Secrets that paralyzes your whole body once used?
Even if that were so, wouldn’t she want to quickly eliminate me by using it right now?
Doubt was slowly creeping in.
A rational suspicion.
Could it be that she hasn’t yet mastered any Martial Arts Secrets?
