Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

With a supple twist of her wrist, she changed the sword's trajectory—and a thrust pierced Ryo's left side.

Through the robe of the Fairy King.

"Why…?"

Ryo muttered instinctively.

"I knew that robe repels attacks with attributes. So I canceled the attribute at the moment of impact."

Argenta replied casually.

She pulled her sword out and took a few steps back.

"I was foolish."

"First ensure you are invincible, then wait for the enemy's moment of vulnerability."

Ryo quoted from 'The Art of War'.

"I hesitated, wondering if my defense might be broken. I tried to find an opening in my opponent instead of focusing purely on defending. Had I maintained perfect defense, the opponent would eventually crumble."

Ryo let out a small sigh.

"I realize it only after getting wounded. But now I know what I must do."

"Uh… Ryo, should I cast or give you a potion?"

"No need."

Ryo rejected Argenta's offer.

He sealed the wound by applying a membrane of ice to forcibly stop the bleeding.

Of course, this didn't heal the wound, but it was good enough for now.

"It actually cleared my mind."

That was the last thing Ryo said.

He stepped slightly forward with his right foot.

Lifted both heels.

Held his sword in a middle guard stance.

Eyes fixed on Argenta.

Just that—and his breath became calm.

And the pain disappeared.

All he needed to do was defend the sword.

That was all.

Argenta noticed the change in Ryo.

The hesitation she had sensed earlier had vanished completely.

"Interesting."

She whispered and leaped in again.

Another series of right-handed thrusts from her half-body stance.

But none of them landed.

Dodged.

Blocked.

Deflected.

Minimal sword movement, perfect footwork, unshakable composure.

Even while attacking, she could see no sign of breaking through.

"He changed so much in an instant."

Argenta murmured in awe.

Since stabbing him in the abdomen.

He had transformed.

Completely.

Now the dynamic was one-sided.

Argenta attacking, Ryo defending.

100% that pattern.

But Argenta knew.

If she let even one of her attacks slacken, she'd be instantly countered and the match would end.

The aura surrounding Ryo made that crystal clear.

She jumped far back once more.

"To think he's this strong."

She muttered, impressed.

Then inquired.

"Pastra. How long will this sealing corridor last?"

"Eh? It's fully reinforced, so… maybe about two hours?"

"Good! "

"What? Wait, are you saying it'll take that long?"

"If it ends in two hours, we'll be lucky."

"What the heck…"

Pastra shook her head at Argenta's words.

Even during that conversation, Ryo did not waver.

Still in the middle guard stance.

But his eyes were nearly closed.

Completely calm.

And serene.

"Now I see why Leonor and Jean-Jacques are so obsessed with him."

"Yeah, even I can tell just watching."

"Maybe this human is the one we've been waiting for all along."

"Eh? Argenta?"

"I'll shake him—with everything I've got!"

She ignored Pastra's question.

And leaped in again.

The swordplay resumed.

Argenta's assault.

Ryo's defense.

Argenta didn't rush.

She had accepted a two-hour battle.

After all, her opponent was a human.

She had already stabbed him in the abdomen.

He had stopped the bleeding, but had already lost a lot of blood.

He wouldn't last long.

Eventually, he'd falter. Collapse.

So there was no need to rush.

Pastra checked her alchemy tool that measured durability.

Two hours had almost passed since the battle began.

"To think it would really last this long."

She was surprised, but smiling.

For two reasons.

One, the rare data she was collecting.

Two, the sheer joy of watching this battle.

The pattern hadn't changed.

Argenta's attack.

Ryo's defense.

But each move from both sides was filled with ingenuity.

When a move was blocked, the next one would evolve to surpass it.

When a stronger attack came, an even stronger defense would meet it.

Argenta had been pleased to hear the corridor could last two hours, but she hadn't actually expected the fight to take that long.

"To think such high-intensity combat would go on for two hours."

She murmured, and it should have been audible to the man still receiving her strikes.

But he didn't reply.

Just continued to receive every blow with half-closed eyes.

Truly unshakable.

And for the last ten minutes or so, he had even begun to be surrounded by mist.

But Argenta understood.

He wasn't surrounded by it.

He was pushing with it.

What was he pushing?

"He's using water to push his sword and arms—enhancing both power and speed."

Argenta made this observation, and Ryo's lips curled slightly.

But she couldn't take that as a sign of wavering.

On the contrary, she felt his intensity growing.

It felt as if all her sword strikes had been dodged, and her swordsmanship absorbed.

Of course, swordsmanship wasn't that easily copied. It was just her impression.

And yet…

Ryo focused on only one thing.

Defense.

That was all.

Parry.

Deflect.

Dodge.

He didn't think about how.

He left it to his body.

Dodge with the head.

Block with the arm.

Step with the foot.

Again, didn't think.

He left it to his body.

No unnecessary thoughts.

He had entered a kind of 'zone'.

So, it wasn't a conscious action.

"Two hours passed!"

Pastra's voice rang out.

At that instant, Ryo stepped forward.

A seamless step, without warning.

Exactly when Argenta shifted from a horizontal slash into a thrust.

He dodged her thrust to his throat by a hair's breadth and struck back—a double-handed thrust to her neck.

Stab.

Murasame pierced Argenta's throat.

Her movements froze.

With a slight backward jump, the blade was pulled from her neck.

Then immediately jumped forward again in a single motion, slicing sideways.

Argenta's head was severed.

Ryo remained motionless, frozen in his finishing stance.

Argenta's body collapsed backward, her head falling away.

"Amazing…"

Pastra let the words slip out.

Then she snapped back to reality.

Looking at her alchemy tool, she said:

"The sealing corridor is collapsing. See you, Ryo."

And Ryo's world flipped again.

Captain Lu Yao of the Magic Artillery Corps and Abel couldn't understand what had happened.

One moment, Ryo was talking to them—the next, he was suddenly covered in wounds.

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

Lu Yao and Abel let out stunned, dumbfounded sounds.

At that moment, Murasame's blade vanished, and Ryo collapsed forward onto Andalusia's back.

"Ryo!"

Abel called out.

"Ah, Abel. I'm glad. Looks like I made it back."

"What happened?"

"You know, I got a little invite from those folks whose name starts with 'A' and ends with 'ma'. Fought a battle there for about two hours."

"I get 'A' and 'ma', but I have no idea what you mean. Just drink this potion."

Abel pulled a potion from his pocket and handed it to Ryo.

It was one of Ryo's special creations—extremely effective.

Ryo poured half of it on his left side wound and drank the rest.

Abel frowned at the wound.

He immediately realized it was a sword injury.

At the same time, he couldn't believe someone had managed to wound Ryo this badly.

Ryo's defense was supposed to be ironclad.

The fact that someone had broken through it.

"Uh, Duke Rondo…?"

Lu Yao finally managed to speak, still unable to grasp the situation.

"Ah, sorry, Captain Lu Yao. A lot happened… I just need some rest, then I'll be fine. Let's talk later, okay?"

And thus, Ryo safely returned from the sealed corridor.

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.

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