Xiang Qingxia stopped at the entrance of the corridor. She pointed her sword at the floor and saw the black-robed mage Soren Alaya from a distance. They were about ten meters apart. "I don't understand. How did you destroy my ward, Xiang Qingxia Ruiji?”said Araya, grimacing in pain. He had repeated this question in his mind many times. Though he suspected that he knew the answer, he asked the question anyway to make the seriousness of the question more real.
The girl in front of him was the one who had lost consciousness after breaking her ribs in his hand last night. She woke up in the enclosed space between the walls of the building and broke through the barrier with the arm she used to weave her own spells.
"Yes" and "infinite" were opposites. The concept of infinity and the concept of limited existence were twins. It was this limited existence that Shiki Ryōgi observed with her mysterious eyes, the ending of all things, the same ending that she had cut in order to make the effect of the quotient come into play quickly and almost immediately. The prison she was in was infinite, an inconceivable non-Ethereal space. But there was no true infinity. There was only purpose, driven by mechanical and mysterious processes. The only denial of the purpose of existence was the 'true nothingness.' To this girl, this space was just a room with no door latch and no guards. Araya's admission made him feel ashamed.
"Someone must have let you know," he protested. "The damage I caused is too serious. There's no way to heal it. Why was the corpse moving? Why did you wake up with an injury? Why didn't you sleep for a few more minutes?”Araya's voice was very rough. This was the only sign of his anger. He believed that obstacles were never important, but if she kept calm for a few more minutes, everything would be resolved.
Did she resurrect herself, or did someone help her? This question kept popping up in Araya's mind. Did someone wake her up, let her know that she was imprisoned, and tell her the secret of her release? That damned art of Aizaki Shunko? No, she doesn't have time. The first time, she has to duel with me, and the second time, she has to duel with A Erba. His face showed a thoughtful expression as he pondered over all kinds of possibilities. He looked at his palm, the hand that had wiped off Tomoe Enjō a few minutes ago. Perhaps it was the most decisive moment he had ever given.
"It's Tomoe Enjō, isn't it?”Araya guessed, spitting out the name like a powerful curse.
Xiang Qingxia shook her head in disagreement. "No, Enjie had nothing to do with waking me up. No one did that. I woke up by myself. "Enjie doesn't even need to come here," she said calmly. The wind blowing from the open corridor behind Alea made his coat wrinkle, and Xiang Qingxia's hair swayed. "But give him some credit. He is the reason for your failure.”
When Xiang Qingxia said this, Alaya narrowed her black eyes curiously, thinking about what she had said. If there was anything that could stop him, it would be Xiang Qingxia or Aizaki. It wasn't the actors who had been pulled to the strings.
" Impossible," Araya declared. "He can't do anything. He played the role of a puppet and brought you here.”
"Yes, he probably never had any real chance. But can you give up on the fact that he has always been a puppet? If you keep saying that, you're like the biggest person who refuses to admit it.”
Araya couldn't answer because he knew it was true. When Tomoee Enjō escaped from the loop he set, Alaya thought he could be used. He included him in his plans, adjusting them to account for what he was going to do. But his escape was not part of the original plan. Would that organization go against what Araya had always said? It had slipped away from him, even affecting his long-term plans.
Xiang Qingxia said,"You saw that small loophole in your plan and decided to take advantage of it.”。"But that little mistake made it worse. I mean, he's the one who brought me here, isn't he? Guess who's ruining your party now? It's already very important for him to escape." She took a step forward, languid, almost drunk, and threw the black-robed wizard far away, leaving him to prepare his arm hesitantly as usual.
Araya felt that something was wrong with her, something was different. He didn't know how she knew about Tomoe Enjō's destruction, so he could only guess. The emotion emanating from her was…hatred? Araya thought that this was only a small difference. Merely changing her mind won't close the gap between our abilities. However, Araya could not help but see her as a completely different person.
Xiang Qingxia continued to move forward. She didn't look ready to fight. She spoke again.
"To be honest, I don't care about you at all. But a few days ago, you made me feel so bad, and I thought maybe it was time to repay you. So you will die here tonight." Her gaze was sleepy and her eyes were not as sharp. "But did you know? This is the first time I'm not interested in killing. Even though I knew that this round was about to end, I still couldn't laugh.”
The sword in Xiang Qingxia's hand clattered because her grip on the sword was very loose before, but now it suddenly became a stronger and safer sword. She kept her gaze forward as she pushed forward slowly. The sword stopped beside her, its hilt level with her waist, pointing downward. This eventually caused the mage to raise his hand and spread out the three traditional circular lines around him in a perimeter.
"Very good. "If that's what you want," Araya said as he prepared. "Killing you will only delay my grand plan in the short term. I shouldn't have wanted to capture you alive from the start. I will find a way to resurrect you and transfer my soul. Although this corpse might expire, the price to pay to reach the origin of the spiral was very small.”
Xiang Qingxia did not answer, but when she saw the circular perimeter, she stopped moving forward. The distance between them was getting closer. The outermost circle of Alaya's three times circumference was four meters away from him. Xiang Qingxia stopped two meters away. Simply put, the mage could feel Xiang Qingxia's thirst for blood from the cold of winter to the heat of summer. He could feel the blood winding around the corridor, making his hair stand on end. But even though he could feel the terrifying change in her body, even though he knew the age, quality, and lineage of the sword in her hand, he was still confident that Xiang Qingxia would fail. Her swordsmanship was useless against her today.
However, Xiang Qingxia felt something different. If the mage no longer thought that letting her live was a choice, he would not let Xiang Qingxia get as close as she did. No, he would kill her from afar. Aleya still hoped that he could capture her alive. Xiang Qingxia believed that it was this small detail that gave her the upper hand.
Xiang Qingxia stopped outside the ward that Alaya had deployed. She was ready. Her second hand was holding the hilt of her sword. Her back was slightly lowered, and her center of gravity was also lowered. Her body was arched, ready to jump at any time. All traces of her former weariness were now gone. She brought the sword to the front and middle, aimed the tip of the sword at the enemy's throat, and angled the sword. It was the most basic stance in any sword discipline.
Facing the mage, she closed her eyes and nodded in understanding. " Now I know," she said softly. "I really don't want to kill you. It's just that I can't stand your existence.”Her final thoughts about Tomoe's murderer. The air was filled with the smell of murder. Alaya and Xiang Qingxia both smelled it, letting it drift past them in a sweet moment. Then, the invisible signal of the battle was sent out. The duel had begun.
In a flash, Xiang Qingxia's eyes opened.
Araya channeled his mana into his outstretched hand. His motivation in this battle was not the confidence that he had gained from the previous conflict, but a rare, almost foreign emotion that he had felt ever since he saw Xiang Qingxia walking in the hall. Fear. That was why he felt that he had to kill her here and now.
“SHUKU!”He roared angrily, his hands clenched into fists, and he drew a space around Xiang Qingxia that he would crush. The gap between Lorika and the spell weaving was very small and did not exist at all. One casting was enough to deal with this girl.
However, Xiang Qingxia ran very fast and predicted his incantation. In an instant, the sword was raised high above her head with blinding speed. She raised her sword so quickly that it flew down with a fierce edge. The spell only appeared for a moment, but Xiang Qingxia killed it, just like the sound of her blade cutting through the air seemed to cancel out Araya's loud voice.
The mage tried to repeat the spell. He only needed to open his palm again and then close it. But this was too slow for him to react. When Xiang Qingxia left her position, he didn't even say a word. He didn't even enter the incantation that he was weaving in his mind. She moved her sword to the side of her waist level, which was a side position that allowed for a large swing and sprint. Before the battle, Araya thought that losing one ward was acceptable. He wanted to lead the second ward to Qingxia. But now, her blind advance had quickly destroyed both wards. He took two steps forward, and his wings gracefully waved two slashes. She was still moving forward. She had just narrowed the gap of six meters to zero. One more step, one more breath, one more fight, and the match would be over.
The sword came from Araya's right wing, and he saw that the blade was slanted. Her speed seemed to make time flow in scattered events rather than arbitrary measurements of seconds. This attack was similar to her previous two attacks. The nature of the telegram allowed Araya to jump deeper into the corridor to avoid the attack, thus increasing the distance between the two attacks. The mage paused briefly as he studied his opponent with a glance.
A straight line of fresh blood flowed from Xiang Qingxia's lips to her chin. But Araya knew that she hadn't suffered a blow yet. That must be the wound from yesterday. His ribs were broken and his internal organs were damaged. They were still in a fragile state of healing, they must have been reopened, and even walking would force blood out of her throat. She was obviously hurt, but she danced with all her heart. Araya let his right arm lean against his side.
In other words, until he realized that there were no more arms. From his shoulder all the way to his right chest, there were clear traces of blows. His missing arm lay on the floor. His manipulation of space allowed him to move faster than any normal person on his hind legs, but Xiang Qingxia was still able to cut him with a perfect blow. Even the owner of the arm didn't notice it until after the attack.
" What kind of creature?" Araya did not answer the question. He ignored his injuries and focused his attention on the enemy. This strike could be fatal. If his third ward wasn't there, then Knife would have punched him and undoubtedly split him in half. However, this slowed down Xiang Qingxia's attack speed, which was enough to save him. But at the same time, she was attracted by the complete difference between Xiang Qingxia and the night of their first duel. Was she angry because of what he had done to Enjō? No, of course not. He narrowed his eyes at the girl in the white kimono.
Suddenly, she straightened her body and pulled out a hand from the hilt of her sword. She released her nervous posture and suddenly became the girl from last night. His recovered hand covered her mouth, and she coughed twice. His hand was dripping with blood. If she didn't have to fight such a severe trauma, Araya thought, she wouldn't have given me a chance to breathe.
" You changed when you held a weapon," the black-robed mage observed in surprise. This was why she looked so different. Her extensive training in sword dancing had changed her, forcing her into a state of near trance. Just as Araya suspected, her mind was very similar to the warriors of the past. She trained their minds to shape their bodies as weapons. This battle was about killing and survival, and it was outside of normal circumstances. " Well, it's a kind of self-hypnosis, just like wizards do when they create art," he murmured, his voice trying to suppress the pain in his right arm.
Xiang Qingxia shrugged. "I think you can call it whatever you want.”
Araya cursed himself for ignoring the sudden change in her behavior. When she opened her eyes, it must have happened. He didn't expect the Ricky Dynasty to teach such vulgar subjects. He also knew that Xiang Qingxia had built a bridge between them. It was not a coincidence. Her movements, the swinging of her sword, and her concentration were all focused and refined, making her a deadly living weapon. She was the only one who knew this. He had thought that her tools were only the mysterious eye of Death Perception and her knife, but in fact, her sword skills were much higher.
"You fooled me, Xiang Qingxia. I thought you had revealed all your fighting skills when you were dancing with Fujino Asakusa. But I see you have one last trick.”Xiang Qingxia slowly shook her head and answered. Regardless of whether it was positive or negative, Araya could not say it. "So we meet at last," he shouted, pressing down on the gaping wound on his former right arm.
The girl in the white kimono smiled. This was the first time she had ever smiled so gently. A smile that signified the end. Returning to her original tough stance, she ran like a loose arrow toward Araya. He knew that Xiang Qingxia could understand him now and knew what was going to happen, so he couldn't avoid the next blow. But he would not allow her to use her advantage so easily, not in his sanctuary. He gambled on satisfying Xiang Qingxia's request. He walked forward and shouted.
“DAKATSU!”At this moment, Alaya raised her left arm in an attempt to stop Xiang Qingxia's attack. He hoped that Sarila, the holy remains of the pious master embedded in it, would be able to withstand most of the damage from the slash. Even she couldn't see the Entropy Line easily. Xiang Qingxia's sword hit his arm. In an instant, Alaya could see that the attack had been stopped.
Once he realized this, he immediately took the next step. He used an impromptu artistic technique to animate his severed arm, making it move toward Qingxia at an unnatural speed. It slid along the floor until it approached Xiang Qingxia. It jumped up and grabbed her throat, pressing hard and choking her.
Xiang Qingxia had let down her guard for her unexpected actions, while Alaya had pressed on for the advantage she had gained in an instant. He took a step back and pulled back his left arm that had blocked Xiang Qingxia's last attack. Then, he extended his hand again and opened his palm, just in front of Xiang Qingxia.
“SHUKU!”He clenched his fists and tightened the space again. Xiang Qingxia felt her body being crushed by a force that seemed to come from all over her body at the same time. A painful snore finally disappeared from her lips. Her leather jacket was ripped open, and she was forced to leave her spot. Araya manipulated space to shrink to a much smaller size than it looked.
At first, Xiang Qingxia looked like she would fall heavily to the ground from the attack, but she managed to stand firm in time. Soon, she doubled her attack, and the corridor led her again and again to a strange path that led to Araya. For a moment, she seemed to disappear from Araya's sight, but she just bent down and ran quickly toward him, protected by him faster than he could. The sword moved in a blur and immediately hit Alea's center of gravity.
The mage could feel that the life he had accumulated was only fading for a brief moment. "Idiot!" Araya shouted. He tried to kick Xiang Qingxia's abdomen to drive her away. This was an easy action to see, so Xiang Qingxia easily dodged it. She jumped to the side, but the blade slipped out of its shallow cut as she moved.
Araya understood now. If I want to stop her, the structure must cooperate! The mage opened his left hand to shatter space for the third time. After gaining some distance from the jump, Xiang Qingxia could easily see Spell's arrival. A swift but fierce slash prevented it from appearing any further around her. But after the slash, she stood still.
Araya had completely disappeared, the black coat and everything else.
Xiang Qingxia thought,'No matter what magic he uses to move around, I can't do anything.' If he wants to run, I'll let him run. She ran to the edge of the corridor and looked out from the outside. She put one hand on the railing and looked down to find her target.
But this time, he could not escape. Xiang Qingxia jumped over the edge without hesitation.
After getting far away from the green glow, Alaya began to destroy the building itself. It might damage Xiang Qingxia's body, which was the body he planned to use, but as long as he could restore it to its human form, then let it go to hell. Even if the skull was crushed and the gray matter scattered, it could still be replaced. For him, it was important that the body did not completely fail before he dealt with it, so that he could excavate the soul connected to the Spiral of Origin.
Losing his arm and being stabbed in the chest was nothing compared to his ultimate goal. He had been fighting for it for many years. As long as he reached the spiral of origin, where everything began and ended, everything would be fine. What he had to do was still the same, but now it had been postponed.
Araya believes that this seems to be the only option to prevent a stalemate between us. If I had just killed her, things wouldn't have turned out like this. However, it has come, and I must end this chapter of her life.
By weaving art and relocating himself in space, Araya placed himself in the garden outside the building. For him, it was like stepping out of his own body. He often saw the greenery around the buildings, but he had not stepped into them for a long time. Although this was part of the reason, his dominant will of subjective reality had little effect in this regard. This will made his heart stronger. He would not waste any time after he came out of the relocation place. He raised his head and extended his other arm to the sky, pointing at the top of the cylindrical structure and opening his palm.
The next thing he knew, a gaping wound had run straight through his left shoulder.
The next thing he knew, a vicious wound had cut straight through his left shoulder.
" Xiang Qingxia…Reggie." He looked up at the night sky and finally grunted. "You damned…stupid woman.”He coughed, and blood came out of his mouth. It was bright red, bright red. There was no chance for it to land on himself or Xiang Qingxia. The drop of blood had been blown away by the wind, only a few feet away, but now he could no longer move. "All of this…is impossible."
Araya appeared in the open space outside the building. He looked up at the building and began to cast a spell. However, he saw Xiang Qingxia Mizuki falling rapidly from the tenth floor. This meant that there was almost no gap between the wizard weaving his relocation spell and the girl's rash descent from the top floor of the building. He would never know how confident she was at that moment. He suspected that he would never know. How did Xiang Qingxia know that he would appear in the courtyard outside? Even so, who would have thought to jump and think they would land safely? To aim and hit a lonely person from that height in an almost uncontrollable fall was far beyond recklessness. It was a miraculous foresight. It was as if she already knew.
But she did it. Before she had even finished her incantation, or even appeared in the garden, she jumped. Almost at the same time he appeared, Xiang Qingxia's attack hit him. His outstretched arm quickly became a temporary shield, but it was not enough to stop the knife wound from landing on his left shoulder and extending all the way to his abdomen. Even the arcane shield provided by Sarila on his arm was not enough to stop its powerful power.
As for Xiang Qingxia, she had already lost consciousness. She stood motionless, but she leaned against the blade in Alaya's body. Ironically, while Alea raised his arms for all the defenses, protecting Sarila and the last ward that he managed to build at the last moment, Xiang Qingxia broke through all of them just to cushion her fall. Without them, the worst case scenario of a fall would be fatal or aggravate her internal injuries. The worst case scenario would be killing her. Another miracle.
Her grip on the sword was as tight as a corpse. When Alaya looked at Xiang Qingxia who had lost consciousness, his forehead covered his already painful face. "You are prepared to risk killing me in a gamble. No, if it wasn't through this, it would definitely be through another method. You can kill me. Perhaps there was no risk at all. It's a terrible sight to see Salem Araya defeated by a rookie like you.”This time, he finally spoke without his previous posture.
Araya's left arm was almost cut off, and his right arm was long gone. The mage was still standing. He kicked the unconscious Xiang Qingxia away and hit her in the chest. Her body flew away from him and sank several feet into the ground. However, Xiang Qingxia continued to grip the hilt tightly, even though it was still embedded in the mage's body. Therefore, this sword that had been weakened by the fall was now forced to split into two. Half of it was still embedded in Alaya's body, while the other half was held by Xiang Qingxia. In this way, its 400-year history ended.
Xiang Qingxia was lying on the soil in the garden, motionless. he muttered, looking at her unhappily. "You're lying there, and you're finally dressed like a girl your age.”When his face darkened, the mage did not move. He had spent the last bit of his energy on chasing Xiang Qingxia away. There was nothing he could do now. Because he felt that the knife was not only cutting his body: One of his death lines must have been cut off. "From that appearance, I knew we would never fight again.”
The mage dispersed the guards who had quickly disappeared and muttered to himself in a praying manner. "I know my origins. It was still. Those who were awakened by the Origin would soon return to the spiral.”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。