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“What?” Nivia blurted out in utter confusion. She was in disbelief at what she had just heard coming out of the blindfolded man’s mouth. “Did he just say he had the viceroy kidnapped and confined in that crate in the cart behind the carriage?”

“You heard that too, huh?” Amyra muttered. “And I thought I was hearing things. This son of a bastard actually abducted the viceroy. I’m astounded but at the same time, it’s something to be expected of the Covenant.”

Aera twitched in response to the word “Covenant” but she didn’t make any rash moves.

“But why abduct the viceroy? If the Covenant wants the viceroy dead, why kidnap him? Is the viceroy’s death not their objective?” Nivia began musing to herself out loud.

Ruyo continued staring at Erin and her companions without saying a single word, all the while smiling at them, though his smile never reached his blinded eyes and his grip on his sword never loosened. The three cloaked figures behind him had their arms tucked in their garments, fiddling for something.

“...Marduk intends to frame me,” Erin said after a brief silence between the two sides.

“Frame you?” Nivia blinked dumbfoundedly at Erin’s conjecture. “H-how? And why? Why would you think so?”

“Why bring the viceroy all the way here, the place where I was lured to, if not for that reason? Place my dead body beside the dead viceroy and let my corpse hold the murder weapon, and let the people’s imagination assume the rest.”

“Let’s say that’s true, Erin, what would that achieve?”

“War, conflict, chaos,” Amyra answered. “As far as I know, this Marduk bastard treats crime as a business. The more war, conflict, and chaos there are, the more profit he would rake in. A Fae killed a human who held a high position in a human kingdom, the consequences would be… tremendous, to say the least.”

“Impossible. How shallow of a mind does one need to have for something like that to—”

“The truth doesn’t matter,” Erin said. “The truth seldom matters. Considering the state of this city, they would want to shift this blame onto someone. Who better than the two dead figures? Regardless of what conclusion the people might draw, chaos would ensue in the end. Am I correct, Ruyo?”

The blind swordsman shrugged. “Good guess but… I don’t know. I honestly don’t. Marduk never tells me anything about his plans and I’m not interested enough to ask.”

“Then why do you serve him? Is it money? No, you don’t seem like someone who’s obsessed with money.”

“The money’s good. It’s a reason, without a doubt, just not the main reason.”

“Then what is the main reason?”

Ruyo chuckled and raised his sword, pointing the tip at Erin. “Moments like these… Are we gonna keep talking or are we going to fight?”

As if those words were the signal, the clothed figures behind Ruyo brandished their weapons from under their garments. One was wielding a pair of twin short swords, the other was wielding a sickle with a long chain attached to the handle, and the last one was wearing a pair of studded gauntlets.

“I don’t suppose I can ask for the greatsword again?” Amyra inquired.

“I’m sorry, Amyra. The enemy this time requires my full focus,” Erin said. A grin was slowly appearing from the corner of her lips.

“I understand, m’lady. Say… you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I would be lying if I said I’m not. It’s been a while since I fought a proper swordsman.”

“Then, I shall entrust the blind bastard to you, m’lady. Nivia and I would take care of those… lackeys behind him.”

“Would those three not meddle while Erin fights with the blind man?” Nivia scoffed.

“It’s a three-to-one,” Aera muttered quietly after holding her silence for the entirety. “It would be a fair fight if the swordsman doesn’t intervene.”

“Rest assured, you three,” Ruyo said. “I am not without honour and fairness. I too, wish to have a proper duel with a swordmaster such as Lady Erynthea here.” He then beckoned for the three clothed figures behind him to dismiss. The three individuals nodded and backed away from Ruyo.

“Erin, allow me—”

“No, Nivia. This fight is mine. You and Amyra will handle those three. I know it’s cruel to say this but your aid in my fight with Ruyo would be… detrimental. The condition he gave us is more feasible than if we engaged in an all-out melee.”

Nivia lowered her gaze as reluctance flashed across her face. “I understand, Erin. I shall do as you say.” And she, along with Amyra and Nivia, backed away from Erin and Ruyo.

“Shall we begin, Lady Erynthea?” Ruyo asked.

Erin’s grin widened. “It already has.” As soon as those words left her lips, she flew towards Ruyo like an arrow released from a bow that had been drawn to its limits.

Ruyo raised his sword ever so slightly in response and that was all it took for him to deflect Erin’s thrust. He twisted his grip and swung his sword in retaliation.

Erin planted her feet firmly on the ground and twirled, avoiding Ruyo’s sword by a hair’s breadth. When she halted her twirl with impeccable timing, she came face to face with Ruyo. She lunged with another thrust. Ruyo reeled in his slash and caught Erin’s sword with his blade. He redirected her thrust, or at least he tried to. To his astonishment, Erin’s strength had increased by many folds. He suspected the use of Body Strengthening but he didn’t feel any change in her Mana. She had merely deceived him of her physical strength by deliberately softening her swings.

Unable to parry the lethal blow, Ruyo tossed himself to the side and tumbled to his feet. When he recovered his bearings, he immediately spun around to parry Erin’s relentless blows. He parried only three blows before his grip began to feel numb. He refrained himself from parrying the fourth blow and switched to dodging her attacks. However, Erin followed his movements precisely, as if reading his thoughts ahead.

Ruyo snorted in amazement and sheathed his sword. Erin’s blade came for his head. He snickered. Mana surged throughout his body but the surge around his waist and his right arm were the strongest. He then drew his sword with a speed that was comparable to light. In a split second, his sword, which had been below Erin’s waist, was suddenly above her head.

“Amazing,” Erin muttered.

“Hmm?” Ruyo hummed in confusion. When he squinted his eyes and peered at his foe and his blade, he realised he had failed to cut Erin with that drawing technique of his. Erin had stopped just an inch outside of his blade’s reach.

“I will admit, this would have been my loss if I didn’t have my Divine Gift.”

“Are you sure you want to reveal that card of yours?”

“Oh, please. As if you or Marduk didn’t already know about that trick of mine.”

Ruyo tittered. “You are indeed correct. I do know. I also know that if you wanted to, you could have easily destroyed my blade and guard. But you didn’t.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“Because… as much as I hate to admit it, I have also been looking forward to this. The people I have fought thus far didn’t have skills in the sword as good as you. You are not reliant on your levels or your stats.”

“We are the same then, are we not, Lady Erynthea?”

“I won’t go that far. We are enamoured with the sword and the thrill in a proper duel but that is as far as our differences went.”

“I see… I would love to know if that stance of yours still holds true as you take more and more lives.”

“Perhaps it won’t be but you will never know.”

“Oh? And why is that, pray tell?”

“Because you won’t be alive to tell it,” Erin said and disappeared from Ruyo’s view in the next second.

Ruyo frowned lightly. “Now that’s not fair, my lady.” Despite saying so, he turned around and caught Erin’s slash with his sword. “What a trite move, Lady Erynthea.”

Erin smirked and poured her strength into the blade lock. “Trite it may be, it works half the time.”

“Unfortunately, this is half of the time that it doesn’t work,” Ruyo retorted. He pushed back with a sudden burst of strength and twisted his body into a kick.

Erin hopped a step back to get out of the reach of Ruyo’s foot. She immediately lunged back in with a high cut. Ruyo sidestepped her swing and countered with a quick thrust. She easily deflected his blade and riposted with a quick thrust of her own. The blind swordsman clicked his tongue and slid a few feet backwards without moving his legs. In Erin’s eyes, it looked as if he was pulled backwards by invisible strings attached to his back.

“That must be the ability of a level ten Fleet Foot,” Erin mused in her heart.

Ruyo didn’t have many Arcane Arts but the few that he had, were high in levels. His Sword Art and Fleet Foot were both level ten. His Arcane stat was less than half of hers but his Finesse stat was nearly double hers. Furthermore, there were around ten levels of difference between them.

However, Erin was now under the influence of Lust. Her stats were now doubled. Else wise, this battle would have already ended in Ruyo’s victory. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. It was not easy to keep her mind calm and sensible while under the effects of Lust. Being rash and brute forcing would not guarantee her victory in this fight. Ruyo was different from the other opponents she had fought. He possessed discipline. He had honed his skills instead of over-relying on his stats and level.

“Getting tired already, Lady Erynthea?”

“You jest,” Erin scoffed and levelled her sword horizontally with her gaze. “I was just starting. I’m just greasing my bones. Shall we begin in earnest?”

“Gladly,” Ruyo said and sheathed his sword. He then bent his knees, lowering his posture as he leaned forward.

Though it was a foolish action to stow away one’s weapon during the heat of a battle, Erin could only see his action as the opposite of foolishness. After all, she had seen him do it once just a few minutes ago and had it not been for her Sixth Sense and Spatial Sense, she would have been bisected.

As Ruyo drew his sword and his entire body thrust forward like a projectile launched from a cannon. The moment he was within range, he drew his sword completely and slashed in a wide arc.

Erin used Warp to move herself away instead of exchanging blows with Ruyo. The combination of Sixth Sense and Spatial Sense told her of the danger should she try to deflect or block that slash. For a moment, she saw the air split apart and the space seemed to whirl.

“Good instincts,” Ruyo praised as he sheathed his sword once again. “You don’t have to be considerate of me, Lady Erynthea. I would be more honoured if you didn’t limit yourself so much.”

“This opportunity is quite hard to come by. I’m not going to waste it. Besides, time is on my side for once. The longer this battle goes on, the likelier we will attract attention.”

“Well then, I shouldn’t waste my idling.” He bent his knees and lowered his posture, leaning forward. This time, he did not lunge at Erin. Instead, he twirled where he stood as he drew his sword.

“Fuck,” Erin muttered and hopped into the air, just as the space below her was momentarily split apart by what appeared to be an overextension of his slash. Though she didn’t take the blow, she could feel the intensity. She knew she made the right choice by dodging it instead of catching it.

Ruyo sheathed his sword after that slash.

Erin moved in on him with Warp at that moment and swung her sword.

But she was a second too late. Her blade was still inches away from carving into Ruyo’s head when the guard of his sword had already left the scabbard.

“Bollocks.”