‘How do I do this?’
Chomp!
The sound echoed like ice shattering as Yerina ground her teeth.
Ears and tail quivered constantly.
Yerina’s animalistic senses were alerting her of imminent danger with no pause.
A faint killing intent and will from the enemy.
Distorted perception giving rise to confusion.
Memories were being altered.
Considering all of that, it seemed as if a hazy human figure materialized before Yerina.
Flaws were definitely present, and there was a time lag, but…
This was, in its own way, the best she could do.
‘It’s like I’m close yet far away.’
The speed was definitely faster on her end.
Moreover, this was a closed space where neither could escape until one was dead.
And the mana within this space was completely under Yerina’s command, leaving the opponent with no way to gather more.
From the start, Yerina had taken an overwhelming advantage in the fight.
As time passed, that advantage should have solidified.
Not only that, but she also held a clear advantage in raw power, so the outcome should have been quick.
Yet, despite fully committing for nearly five minutes, Yerina had dealt no significant blow to her opponent.
Even without seeing or being able to recognize it, she understood.
There was no feeling even akin to the sweet taste of combat, let alone a brush of the blade.
‘It would have been great if I could have gone for a counter.’
The bizarre lack of aggression from the opponent played a part too.
Frost-style was specialized in counterattacking the opponent’s strikes.
Thus, Yerina wasn’t able to showcase any of the nuances of Frost-style at all.
Of course, that was just an excuse.
Even without pushing with swordsmanship, she should have been able to incapacitate the opponent with sheer force and speed by now.
‘Is their only intention to avoid this place? Didn’t they intrude to harm Yulia in the first place? Why so passive?’
The opponent was utterly incomprehensible.
She didn’t even know their intention.
It was clear they had visited Jill’s dwelling, and upon checking, Jill was unharmed.
The only difference was that there seemed to be a glimmer of hope sprouting in those eyes that looked as if they had swallowed all the sorrow of the world.
‘What on earth is their goal?’
They rampaged through demonic energy, destroyed the Archive, and even infiltrated the headquarters of the allied forces.
Yet, there had been no casualties caused by them so far.
Their actions seemed more like they had a different agenda rather than attacking the alliance.
Though initially, she overreacted because Yulia’s life was at stake, watching her opponent continuously evade her thrusts made Yerina gradually suspect that she was mistaken.
Could it be that this opponent had no intention of confronting her?
“Dialogue… Is that possible?”
“………”
Yerina quietly murmured.
However, there was still no response from the other side.
They just silently held their sword in reply.
The killing intent was certainly palpable.
A suitable level of killing intent.
As if they purposely held back to allow her to follow their movements with her eyes?
“Y-yerina? Wh-what are you doing right now?”
Considering everything, it was clear that the opponent had no intention to harm her.
Drawing that conclusion, Yerina slowly lowered her sword.
Lowering her weapon against an unseen opponent who had infiltrated the headquarters…
Yerina thought it was a mad decision, but it felt right now.
There might be a chance to communicate without hostility…
Gack?!
At that moment, a fierce strike came flying in.
In an instant, a white sword aura aimed directly at Yerina’s forehead.
She quickly raised her sword in defense, but the shattered fragments of the sword aura grazed her cheek.
Yerina’s expression went blank as crimson blood trickled down her face.
The opponent, who had seemed like they had no intention to attack all this time, suddenly changed.
As if scolding her.
As if urging her to stand her ground and retaliate.
“Y-yerina? Your… blood…”
Without lowering her raised sword, Yerina wiped her cheek where the blood had splattered.
The shallow cut was already frozen and sealed completely.
“Oh. Ahaha… I’m fine.”
She felt scolded.
Although she couldn’t read their intentions or discern their expression, she had that feeling.
The opponent was currently reprimanding her.
Telling her not to get lost in useless thoughts and get back to the fight.
The reason was simple.
“There’s only one conversation between swordsmen… Did I just say something silly?”
She grew overconfident, thinking she understood their intentions briefly with the tip of her sword.
Dialogue? That was impossible with this opponent.
Hadn’t she already realized that while interrogating the Great Demon Belphegor?
This opponent was a forbidden entity that couldn’t be recognized by any means, and if she got any closer to their identity, her memory would be erased.
There was only one way to approach them.
Just like with Rex, they could only clash their blades against each other.
She only sought the secrets beyond the limits of the sword.
‘This guy knows…’
Yerina chuckled at herself in a bitter manner.
She had known all along.
Knew yet pretended not to.
No, to be more precise, she wanted to believe there was a way other than a sword to approach this being.
Haa…
Yerina’s sword tip trembled.
Why did she act so foolishly, knowing there was no such way?
The reason was clear.
Yerina had yet to even step half a foot into the realm of swordsmanship.
From the beginning, she hadn’t felt the need to break through the limits of the sword.
After all, there was no one in this world who could withstand this body’s physicality, so why bother?
To put it bluntly, as long as the height wasn’t too great, she could intercept without injury against an airship.
Hence, she evaded again and again.
The expectations for her to give birth to the Frost Duchess’s secrets poured in infinitely, but as the years went by and there was no sign of that happening, those expectations began to wane.
Now her father was dead, and there was no one left to spur her on.
She had lost both the necessity and motivation.
But those were all just auxiliary reasons.
The real reason lay elsewhere.
‘Because I’m afraid…’
She was afraid.
Afraid of pursuing the limits of the blade.
No, to be more precise, she was afraid of seeing what lay beyond the limits of swordsmanship.
‘What I saw back then was undoubtedly the ultimate technique, no… it was lying beyond the ultimate technique.’
There had been a time when she had been close to enlightenment.
While training to merge the mind arts and swordsmanship, she had glimpsed the secret of the ultimate technique of Frost-style, one Yerina was meant to create.
But that day, Yerina gained an unexpected realization.
Instead of the ultimate technique, she had glimpsed what lay beyond it.
How should she explain it?
As Yerina searched for words, it felt like she was observing herself.
Digging into her essence as if she were a third party.
Dismantling her body like a mere head.
Opening even her formless soul.
And only then did the essence of herself as a human become unveiled.
At that moment, the instant that projection appeared,
Yerina felt as if a world different from the current world was infinitely expanding.
Some may call it the ‘Inner World’.
…
…
…
‘What’s happening?’
Yerina suddenly changed.
Breath quickened, eyes started to shake.
Was her mind technique becoming difficult to operate? No, that wasn’t it, for Yerina was managing to suppress the raging mana while properly regulating all her senses.
She was… agitated?
Not quite like that.
Yerina’s spirit began to fade.
The killing intent directed toward her was waning, and her frenzied gaze no longer seemed to be directed at her.
It was as if she was stepping into a blurry dream.
Had she fallen asleep while standing?
I immediately fed a sword aura towards Yerina.
In return, she couldn’t react at all, and her body got cleaved in half by the blade.
“Whoa?!”
I was taken aback for a moment.
But after the sword aura sliced through, half of Yerina simply scattered like mist.
Upon witnessing this, Yulia had already fainted, frothing at the mouth.
I rushed to where Yerina had been and shivered.
Yerina hadn’t disappeared.
She was still there.
She had just transferred to another layered world here.
In other words, Yerina had entered her ‘Inner World’.
“When others see me, do they feel this way?”
This was the first time witnessing someone enter their inner world.
In Belphegor’s case, I had forcefully barged in, so it was different.
A mix of curiosity and confusion washed over me.
“She’s entered the inner world yet can’t utilize the ultimate technique?”
How bizarre.
Wasn’t the condition for entering the inner world supposed to be realizing the ultimate technique?
So then, did Yerina have the ability to use it but was just holding back?
That couldn’t be true.
Though she had flickered for a moment, Yerina wholeheartedly believed she was in a life-or-death battle to protect herself and Yulia.
So, if there were an ultimate technique to bring resolution, there was no reason not to use it.
“What could be a way to enter the inner world without realizing the ultimate technique…?”
Only one method came to mind.
With Belphegor, despite never having wielded a sword or contemplated grand ideals, he had entered effortlessly.
Not by intention, but by being pulled against his will.
Dragged in forcibly by me.
“So, did Yerina get pulled in as well…?”
A shiver ran down my spine.
And before long, I found myself gathering the last bit of mana at my fingertips.
To split apart the space and enter Yerina’s inner world.
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