Arc 4 Chapter 53 : Raul Vs Siena (2)

[Siena POV]

I will settle our unfinished business in this battle...

His expression was completely emotionless.

I wondered what had driven him to fight me again, even though I had already defeated him once before.

However, his strength this time was greater than before.

Perhaps it was because, during our previous battle, Raul had already fought against the members of the Senior Squad Cavalier.

Our bodies were both thrown backward.

I landed on the burning ship from earlier, while Raul fell back onto the ship he had been aboard.

- CRACK!

The burning ship wouldn't remain afloat for much longer.

I immediately ran forward, leaped, and landed on the ship where the man had been thrown.

The soldiers aboard the ship drew their swords, preparing to attack me.

However, I ignored them and focused on finding the black-haired man.

He was probably using the crowd of soldiers as cover, waiting for an opportunity to attack me from my blind spot.

"Attack her!"

"How dare she attack our ship alone!"

Hundreds of soldiers aboard the vessel began attacking me simultaneously.

Dozens of swords came at me, but I simply evaded their attacks while continuing to search for the man's whereabouts.

"Die!"

My instincts sensed a threat from behind.

I turned around and saw two soldiers attempting to stab me.

- CLANG!

I parried the first man's sword, sending his blade flying into the air.

Without stopping, I ducked beneath the second man's thrust and slashed through his arm, severing it completely.

"Aaargh! My arm! My—"

I then kicked his body, sending him flying into several of his comrades.

Where is he...?

I searched for the black-haired man, but the crowd of soldiers made it difficult.

I looked around, searching for someone who remained calm and didn't move much.

He had to be standing still, observing my movements and waiting for the right opportunity to attack.

"..."

I found him.

For a brief moment, I spotted a man standing completely still and calm, unlike the other soldiers around him.

I immediately lowered my stance before launching myself toward the man I had identified.

I thrust my sword forward, piercing through the chest of the man I believed to be Raul de Garcia.

"Ugh... You damn woman..." the man I had stabbed groaned.

However, after seeing his face, I realized that the soldier I had attacked wasn't the man I was looking for.

He merely had the same build and hair color as Raul.

That meant...

Suddenly, I sensed someone's presence to my right.

I quickly pulled my sword out of the man's body and turned toward the side.

Exactly one meter in front of me, the man I had been searching for was about to slash at me with his sword.

My hand instinctively moved to block his attack with my own blade.

However, the man suddenly canceled his slash and switched to a punch aimed directly at my face.

- BAAMMM!!!

My body was sent flying, rolling across the deck of the ship.

Yet, for some reason, the soldiers aboard the vessel didn't immediately attack me while I was vulnerable.

- Brak!

Suddenly, I felt the ship shake violently.

I looked behind me and saw a Republic of Venetia ship crashing into ours.

"Attack them!"

"Kill those Aragonian dogs!"

The Venetian soldiers leaped aboard the ship and attacked the Imperial soldiers.

The two sides immediately began fighting at close range with their swords.

I rose to my feet and looked ahead.

A black-haired man was standing before me, staring at me with his one remaining eye.

The storm winds surrounding the sea had grown even stronger, causing the ship to rock violently as enormous waves crashed against it.

Our gazes met.

We both lowered our stances, preparing to attack.

In a space this narrow, speed-enhancing magic wouldn't be effective.

Therefore, I had to rely purely on my physical speed to overcome him in this battle.

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I planted my foot against the deck and used Charging to launch myself toward him.

The man did the same, immediately thrusting his sword toward my neck.

I avoided it by slightly tilting my head.

I then counterattacked with a slash toward his neck.

The black-haired man ducked beneath it before launching a Sweep Kick at my leg, attempting to knock me down.

However, I easily avoided his attack by jumping.

I then followed up with a vertical slash.

- CLANG!

He blocked my attack with his sword.

I spun my body to generate momentum, activated Temper in my left leg, and delivered a powerful kick toward his face.

- BAAMMM!!!

He blocked my kick with his left hand.

However, because of the force behind my attack, his body was still knocked slightly to the right, crashing into several soldiers who were fighting nearby.

I immediately pursued him.

I wouldn't allow him to disappear behind the crowd of soldiers fighting across the ship.

He stood up again and prepared to face my attack.

Activating Temper, I unleashed a combination from Liana de Grantz's swordsmanship technique.

"Eternal Blade..."

I began attacking him with my sword.

Left, left, left, right, and left.

My sword swung at incredible speed, yet the black-haired man easily avoided every attack in the first phase of the combination.

How was he doing this?

This combination was the fastest sword technique and possessed the best Feint movements among all swordsmanship techniques on the continent.

I began the second phase of the attack.

This time, I focused more carefully on observing his movements.

Right, left, left, and finally, Spinning Slash.

This time, the man blocked three of my attacks and avoided the final strike.

But now I realized something.

The man always moved first—even before I moved my sword to launch an attack.

That was why he could consistently respond to my rapid combination at exactly the right moment.

He had a better Start.

He moved before my attacks even began.

That meant...

He already knew this combination beforehand.

Therefore, I had to alter its movements so he wouldn't be able to read them.

The final phase of my combination began.

I attacked him with several slashes and thrusts.

For now, I didn't change the pattern of my attacks, making him lower his guard and become confident.

He blocked every attack with ease.

However, when I was about to execute the final diagonal slash toward his neck, I suddenly changed it into a straight thrust toward his chest.

- CLANG!!!

My eyes widened in surprise.

He had still managed to block my attack.

"I knew you would change the pattern at the last moment, just like she did," the man said.

She?

Who was he talking about?

But I couldn't keep thinking about it.

Raul launched a counterattack while my defense was open.

- BAAM!!

His Uppercut struck my chin.

My body staggered backward.

I quickly refocused my vision ahead, but the black-haired man had already disappeared from where he had been standing.

I sensed a presence beside me and turned around.

The man was about to slash horizontally toward my right ribs.

I quickly moved my sword to block it.

However, he suddenly canceled his slash and instead kicked my heel, causing my body to lose its balance.

He then spun his body to generate momentum before delivering a powerful kick toward my head.

- BAAM!!

My body was sent flying, crashing into the wooden wall of the ship.

Blood flowed from my temple after taking the full force of his kick.

I rose to my feet and saw the black-haired man walking toward me between the soldiers fighting across the ship.

"How can you read every movement of Liana de Grantz's swordsmanship technique?" I asked him. "This sword technique is famous for being nearly impossible to counter because its speed is greater than any other swordsmanship technique on the continent."

Furthermore, the only people capable of mastering this sword technique were Liana de Grantz and me.

That meant no one else should have known how to counter it.

"You should have asked me more questions when I was your prisoner," he replied flatly, lowering his stance and preparing to attack.

"I see."

I lowered my stance as well, preparing to attack him.

"Next time, I'll use more brutal methods of torture so you'll reveal all the secret information you possess!"

I launched myself toward him and we began fighting once again.

This time, I used Liana de Grantz's swordsmanship more carefully so that I could respond to his counterattacks.

Slash after slash.

Although he continued avoiding every attack, I wasn't worried.

These slashes were merely a setup to activate another one of my abilities.

- CLANG!!!

Our swords collided, sending both of us flying backward.

I looked ahead.

The man still appeared completely fresh because I hadn't managed to land a single solid hit on him.

He then launched himself toward me.

But I remained still, preparing to activate one of my Profound Codex abilities.

"Blade of the Future..."

A delayed sword slash would appear once the man passed through an area I had previously slashed.

However, when he reached the area I had attacked earlier, the man suddenly jumped and launched a spinning kick toward my head.

- BAAMM!!!

Caught off guard, I reacted too late.

His attack sent my body flying to the side, and I rolled across the deck of the ship.

My consciousness began to fade after taking two consecutive devastating blows to the head.

I then looked toward the man.

"You know how my ability works—Blade of the Future," I muttered.

"That's right," he replied. "This ability allows you to delay the effects of the slashes you make and activate them at another time, doesn't it?"

He knew...

Just from seeing it once, he had immediately figured out how my ability worked.

What a troublesome opponent.

If only I could use my Nature Mana, this battle wouldn't be nearly this difficult.

I rose to my feet again and prepared to attack.

The number of soldiers fighting aboard the ship had continued to decrease as more and more of them were killed.

That meant I could now use Ashpalt because the battlefield had become more spacious.

Particles of light began gathering around my feet.

This time, I would be able to overwhelm him easily.

I launched myself toward the man.

However, he grabbed a rope connected to the ship's sail and slashed through it, causing himself to be carried upward before landing on the mast.

Activating Axio, I leaped after him and landed on the same mast.

"You're very cunning," I mocked him.

"Everything is fair in battle and love, Miss Siena," he replied.

I deactivated Ashpalt.

With such a narrow foothold, I wouldn't be able to take advantage of my speed.

We would fight directly, and whoever lost their balance first would fall.

I stared into his eye.

He still looked calm despite the situation.

The wind grew stronger.

Thunder roared across the sea.

I could even see the Demigod still fighting the Aragonian Imperial Fleet in the distance behind him.

"Let's finish this, Raul de Garcia..."

I launched myself toward him, running along the mast.

"With pleasure."

He did the same.

This time, I didn't use Liana de Grantz's swordsmanship because he could read it too easily.

Instead, I relied solely on my instincts and experience.

We exchanged blows.

Attacking and parrying each other's strikes.

Raul then thrust his sword toward my neck.

I blocked it before launching a kick toward his head.

- BAAMMM!!!

His body was sent flying and fell from the mast.

However, the man grabbed a rope and swung around the mast.

He then pointed a Revolver at me.

How did he have that weapon?

I instinctively reached toward the belt around my waist.

And sure enough, the Revolver I had been carrying was gone.

He must have taken it without me noticing.

- BANG! BANG! BANG!

I tried to evade the shots, but one bullet embedded itself in my left shoulder.

Blood began flowing down my arm.

The man landed on the end of the mast and activated Accel and Temper.

Was he planning to charge straight toward me?

But with only low-level spells like these, my body would still be able to react to his movements.

Besides, had he forgotten that I possessed Buff Removal from one of my Profound Codex abilities?

Raul then launched himself straight toward me.

I also activated Accel and Temper before charging toward him.

We met in the middle of the mast.

However, before we could exchange attacks, I activated Buff Removal, causing Raul's speed and strength to return to their normal levels.

- SLASH!!!

We passed each other.

I then braked and stopped at the end of the mast.

My left leg was bleeding from his sword slash.

However, it seemed I had also managed to land a devastating blow on him.

I turned around.

Raul was standing at the opposite end of the mast.

His body was motionless.

A large sword wound had opened across his back.

He then fell from the mast and plunged toward the sea.

I slowly walked toward the place where he had been standing and searched for his body below.

"I won..."

With a wound that deep, he wouldn't be able to swim in this raging sea.

His fate was almost certainly sealed.

He would die if no one came to save him from drowning.

I then sat down on the mast and looked toward the pitch-black sky.

Rainwater soaked my face.

Finally, I could rest after fighting him.

However, when I reached for the pendant around my neck, my hand found nothing.

I immediately stood back up.

Only then did I realize what had happened.

I turned toward the place where the man had fallen into the sea.

"Damn you... Raul de Garcia!"