[Skill Root- Cellular Dark Mana Horn!]

From the knuckle of the hand that was blocked by Sylphy's own, a black horn grew and impaled straight through her palm. She seemed oblivious to pain as she looked at her wound in surprise.

[Variant Skill- Internal Lockdown!]

The Dark Mana within my body entered through her hand and seemed to lock the entirety of her flesh. The special properties of the Dark Attribute showed itself at this moment as it was almost like her body was frozen in space due to the shadows around her.

Blood flowed from her impaled palm as a black energy restricted her movements. However, even though my Dark Mana was able to invade her flesh... her mind seemed untainted.

I stopped using my Chainsaw Edge to damage her weapon and felt how motionless her body was while I was forcing her fingers to let go of my hand.

I moved away from her body and stepped back, the deadlock we were in was broken since she wasn't able to move. I unconsciously sighed in relief but also was felt cautious due to her eyes. It was almost like they were teasing me despite not having moved...

Even though my ability has completely overpowered her, why is it that I feel so restless? Looking at her hand that was healing at a rate visible to the human eye, I once again felt that she was a humanoid monster. No doubt about it!

Even though she was put in such a difficult situation, her gaze seemed unmoved. A crackling sound could be heard as she broke from the restraints I put on her body without warning!

The sword she held by its blade twisted in the air before she bent her arms.

[Sword Art- Heaven Severing!]

A sharpened aura of pure Light Mana converged on her blade’s edge and cut towards my body while slicing through the air. Space and time seemed to be irrelevant in front of her supremacy!

It wasn't that my mind wasn't able to react... With Cognitive Drive boosting my mental functions, I noticed her attack long before she actually moved.

However, for some reason my body couldn't actually keep up with my thoughts. Damn it! A chill ran down my spine as I activated Weightless Breath and focused the majority of my mental functions to bring it to its limits!

The ordinary sword in Sylphy's hand inched closer and closer to my chest as I also activated Chainsaw Edge to its fullest potential to block her attack...!

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The sound of iron smashing together could be heard as I was sent flying from where I stood. The knife Anna gifted me shattered to pieces as a result of me using it to defend alongside my sword.

Phew... It's a good thing that Anna's gift was able to save me... but I feel really regretful for breaking it so easily due to how I was told to care for it.

I put the shattered knife back into its holster within my clothes and looked at Sylphy who was charging at me by making use of the time I was unable to use my speed in mid air. Time was slowed down in my perception so I could easily tell how she was making use of the fact she was faster than me.

Think you can capture me again like last time? Not going to happen!

[Main Skill- Abyssal Knife]

A black knife of Dark Mana formed inside my hand before I threw it towards her. With her superior aerial speed in combat, my magical knife wasn't able to even scratch her, but a sly smile curved onto my lips as I saw the knife that was flying past her.

She seemed momentarily shocked as after seeing my expression and hurriedly placed her sword to block behind her. It was at that moment that my body disappeared and reappeared behind her, the white sword in my hand glowed brightly as I attacked.

Once again we parted, a serious expression was on her face as she looked at the black knife that once again formed on top of my palm.

"A teleportation skill...?" She muttered while looking at my hand. It's not like I didn't understand her sentiment, an ability like teleportation wasn't that rare, but combat-oriented teleportation abilities were extremely hard to form...

I didn't answer her because doing so would be stupid. Why would I allow an enemy of mine to understand my abilities? It’s better to end this quick!

The teleportation ability of my Abyssal Knife also had a cool down of a few seconds so her not attacking out of caution is actually favourable to me.

From what I can tell: Her physique is naturally strong rather than enhanced through magic... It is just like that time in the past when she captured me.

Hah... I was too full of myself before and underestimated her due to the fact that I'd grown stronger, but now I've remembered that I'm not the only one who had grown in these five years.

Compared to the past, her physical strength and sword skills have improved dramatically. I don't know what her limit will be in the future but it seems like I can't hold back anymore.

She's scary... Not just because she's strong but due to the fact that she's so much of an anomaly like myself. Why aren’t I able to sense her bizarre Mana?

I'm unable to understand how she arrived in this world nor why she reincarnated into the same area as I did. Was this some sort of plan? Why isn't she just killing me instead?

There seems to be some underlying motive behind her actions that I’m currently unable to comprehend. I need to gather information about her...

"Why do you want to increase your strength so badly? Even though there's so much hatred in your eyes, you'd rather manipulate me rather than killing me. What is your goal?" I took the opportunity to ask her. With the Heavenly Sword in one hand and Abyssal Knife in the other, it would be weird if she didn't take this opportunity to think a plan of action to capture me.

She paused for a moment at my words and the sinister smile on her face vanished. Her face became expressionless once more, yet even though it was the same as it was when she was trying to trick me, there was a massive difference in her appearance.

She no longer had the bright eyes she had when the Young Miss introduced her to me... instead there was just a bottomless abyss in her eyes that were filled with unfathomable melancholy.

"You wouldn't understand my reasons even if I told you~" She replied with a stunning smile which contrasted to her lifeless eyes. To think she would be more incomprehensible than Enigma.

"There's no way I'll have hope in understanding you if you don't even give me a chance." It may sound like flowery words but the there's no one who can deny that communication is the first step needed for people to understand the heart of others.

"You think you can empathise with me?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Don't know about that. Maybe the reason will make me feel pity. It will depend on how I feel after listening to your circumstances. Though don't expect me to suddenly want to make a contract with you after hearing it." I said seriously while looking into those terribly cold eyes. Do eyes like those even belong to a human being?

I didn’t know what were her reasons for wanting to steal my magical power could be... but why is it that I feel like I wouldn’t ever have the ability be able to comprehend her strong emotions?

"Since you insist, I'll give you another chance. Make sure you keep your ears open this time..." She sat down from where she stood while stabbing her metal sword into the ground. It looked like she was very confident in being able to fight me one-on-one.

"Isn't it sad that only the talented have the right to achieve their goals?"