CLANG

Guh!

I don’t even know what’s happening in front of me. All I do is hold out my sword in front of me and let the enemy bash it. The only thing I can do is to tighten the grip to the sword.

CLANG

This darkness, the difference in strength, the discrepancy in our physique which I assume he is an adult and his armors.

Everything is not in my favor. My only saving grace is that I have my regeneration ability. My barrier is rendered useless with something unknown.

CLANG

I am getting tired. My hands are getting numb. My mind is going to black out. I can’t squeeze out any more strength.

CLANG

With that final blow from his sword, my sword, even though I am still holding it, I lost my defense. He is just been doing simple and steady attacks, I can tell. He is still holding back because he knows I am not worthy of getting serious, I can tell. What I don’t know is his purpose for doing this.

“ACK!”

Again?! I was…stab again!?

From me left hip going through my lungs then out to my right should.

It hurts!!

I can’t squeeze out any scream anymore or even a gasp. I can only feel how painful the cold steel pierces my body like a barbecue. I can also feel blood flowing and spurting out from my body. As he pulls out his sword from my body, I limply fall on the ground.

I just close my eyes while my blood continuously spill and the pain from where I was stabbed throbs in pain.

Am I still even breathing?

…

I can’t even sense anything anymore.

I use my intangible barrier.

…Intangible barrier, huh. It’s been a while since I used this since recovering from my blindness.

Blindness…wait…

What if…I can see this darkness as blindness?

Suddenly, a new hope, even just a little, arises from my heart. I cast the intangible barrier and try to senses everything around me.

Wow…

I am…much comfortable without seeing anything as I use my intangible barrier to sense everything around me. Unlike my barrier from earlier, this has no form and it cannot be touch. It only serves as my eyes that probe everything around me in details that the naked eye can’t see.

Movements, flow of the air, temperature, and forms.

Everything is transmitted to me with it.

I waited until my regeneration patches up my wound and I will try to fight again.

…

I stand up. It was nice of him to wait for me in this situation but I will show him that I am not someone you should take lightly.

I hold up my sword again and wait.

I will wait for his next move.

I will wait for his counter.

I will wait for his blow.

…

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Here it is!

I can see him clearly in this darkness!

Slim full body armor with sword in hand and a dagger hanging on his waist. I can’t really make out of anyone’s appearance with this barrier but I can at least tell he is wearing something in his head. His stance is standard for a trained knight.

He attacks with a side sweep from left going to the right.

I didn’t bother to parry it. I slid my sword to the same direction where his sword passes and adding momentum to it, I throw off his control over his weapon’s trajectory.

I didn’t charge in recklessly as I sensed that he is holding out his shoulder and positioning his feet in the ground for a dodging motion. I just dash to his side and spins and together with it I made a spiral slash upward and retreats.

CLANG

I hit the back of his armor making a bit of dent into it but there’s no harm incurred to him. I position myself in his back and arrange my foothold vying for another dash.

As he turns around with a diagonal slash downward from top right to lower left.

I block it with my sword and slid it downward further in my right and to the opposite of it, I dashes to his right flank and spins again with another spinning slash which hits his armor again.

…

I can do it.

I am using my advantage as someone smaller and harder to hit. At the same time, my intangible barrier that probes every angle of the enemy whether he is facing towards or in the opposite direction. I can sense his every bit of movement, I can see his motions. All I need is a reflex to keep up with his.

I am not a trained fighter or anything.

I even only yielded a sword no more than a month, not to mention that in my training, I only used practice swords which are made of wood. Unlike what I am wielding right now, it gives me uncomfortable feeling in my wrists but is later fixed by my regeneration.

…

This time, he goes for a straight slash in front.

I dodge it with little allowance and jumps backward to my left. After that, he then made a low sweep towards my direction.

I jump to my right and dashes again towards his right flank again but I didn’t attack. I run past his right flank as his low sweep from earlier spins towards my direction so I slide down past it to evade.

His attack misses and but there aren’t any gap in his defense anymore.

I run around again to see where his next attack going to come.

He suddenly tries to pierce me with a quick sleight of hand. I immediately stop at my track and avoided being pierced in the belly again.

I see an obvious opening now!

As he tries to retract the sword, I dashes with it and this time, I am the one who is going pierce him!

“HAAAA!”

I have been eyeing the gap of his helmet for a while now. My aim is the neck which isn’t protected by anything.

“This is it!”

As I was about to pierce my enemy…

Wait…

This is… a person right?

!?I stop my attack.

I stop my attack.

I stopped before the tip of my sword pierces his throat.

I…I can’t?

We stopped for a moment.

My hands aren’t moving.

This is… impossible…

My morals over rides my intention to pierce him even though he had been hurting me for a while now, even though, I have spilt blood because of him, I can’t…

…

He lowers his sword as I lost the composure to act immediately.

Clenching his right fist, he punches me in the guts that I black out immediately.

.

.

.

I…

Where…?

“I swear to gods Mrothgir! You are going too overboard with it!”

“…”

“Do you have even a single thing to say?! Don’t keep quiet!”

“I have nothing to say in my defense.”

A… quarrel?

That was… Violetta-nee’s and Master’s voices…

What’s going on?

…

I open my eyes slowly. The light from the bright chandelier blinds my sight. Then slowly, my eyes adjust to the brightness.

What I saw is Violetta-nee cradling me in her arms, my bed stained with my own blood, the same goes for the carpet.

In the doorway, Fon-nii is standing silently. Master is leaning on the wall and… a pretty woman with flowing gradient wavy hair wearing a light armor is kneeling with both of her knees.

It’s Milin.

I look at myself. My sleepwear is soaked in blood and there are holes. My body is covered with dried blood I assume that came from my own body.

“Violetta-nee…”

“Asagao! Have you come to already?!”

“Yes… What’s goi--…no… I already have an idea.”

I turn to Milin, who isn’t wearing her usual maid uniform. She is just looking down. She won’t look at me in the eyes.

I call out to her.

“Milin…”

“Please…do not say my name… I am not worthy of being called like a human anymore. I am… the one who did these terrible things to you…Princess Asagao.”

Was she reply to me…

What I said to her.

“I am glad…I didn’t stab you…”

“Ah…but… *sob*…why…”

She starts to cry silently. Her shoulders are trembling while clenching her fists tightly.

I look at master.

“Master… this whole ordeal…”

“As you have guess, I have put Milin in doing this. I lend her a dagger that cuts down spells and I sealed the door and block any light from coming into your room. I also casted magic on her so she can clearly see at dark.”

“Training…huh…”

“Yes. I know you have already noticed it too in our training. What’s lacking?”

“Realism. It feels bland as each day passes…”

“It was a fruitful result.”

When I was about to answer, Violetta rebutted in rage.

“Fruitful?! Mrothgir! Are you still okay in the head?! You ordered Milin to almost kill Asagao! And we cannot overlook Milin’s action too even if you said you will take full responsibility for it!”

“I am only doing what I can to make Asagao improve.”

“By abusing her capabilities to regenerate?! What if that ability of her didn’t work at that time?! What would we have now? A dead little girl!?”

“But nothing happened right?”

“Mrothgir…you are not…”

“…”

“You are actually doing research and experiments on Asagao while in the preface of training aren’t you?”

“I… won’t deny it.”

“…You scum… get out…”

“I… am sorry…”

Eh?

Is master really doing that?

…

I don’t know what to feel…

Is training with the Calm Dragon Tempest Art is just a leeway for him to further his research about me?

…

Master obediently left the room without saying anymore words other than his sorry.

As master left the bloody room, Fon-nii walks closer to us.

He stops at Milin’s side and talks to her.

“Are you willing to atone? What do you feel when you stab someone innocent? Did you dislike the act that you have committed?”

“I want to vomit right now. I can’t do anything but to clench my teeth from her cries as I stab her earlier. I trampled her over and over again when I am the trash. I see no salvation from my act.”

“You are indeed resenting yourself and regretting every action you did. You cannot change the fact that you have committed the crimes… and for that, I will immediately punish you with death.”

Eh?!

Fon-nii draws out his soul weapon and points it at Milin’s neck. Milin just obediently lowers her head exposing her nape to the edge of Fon-nii’s sword.

They are serious!

Before the sword could be swung, I jump to Milin and clings to her as if to protect her.

“Princess Asagao…”

“No! I don’t want Milin to die!”

“But…”

“Yes, you did something terrible to me! You are a terrible person! But I won’t let you die! I don’t want you to die! You are my one and only perverted maid who salivate like a dog! You are that maid that always has a loud mouth that wakes me up in the morning! You are that maid that I want to be by my side to serve me!”

“*Sob*…do you…forgive me? *sob*”

“Yes…”

“..*sob*…*sniff*…”

“So, Fon-nii, I won’t let you kill her!”

I told it straight to him while looking at his eyes as I cling to Milin who is crying in my chest.

After a few seconds passed, Fon-nii gave a sigh and lowers his sword and retracts it.

“I was just trying to see if you yourself can forgive her. I am to abide for what you feel for this incident. If you forgive her, then…I will too… I will forgive her… for you Asagao…”

“Thank you…”

“No, thank you, Asagao. I want to start changing myself too and this is a good start for me.”

He put his hand in my head and starts rubbing it.

“As for you Milin.”

“Yes…”

“Serve Asagao well.”

“Yes, your majesty!”

With a smile back in her face, Milin answered back with liveliness.

This incident may have brought us closer and sparks a changing and forgiving heart within us.

And through Milin’s thrashing, I was able to gain something in our battle. I already know now what to do.

Violetta-nee then speaks.

“For now, let’s settle it with that. I will talk to Mrothgir myself and Milin, you are still not exempt from any punishment. Ishtal and I will talk about this.”

“Yes! Lady Violetta!”

“So, let’s end this with this. It’s still midnight and everyone should turn to their own bed which reminds me, Asagao, you should change into something else and take a quick bath.”

Violetta-nee looks at me and had a questioning face.

“Where are you going to sleep for tonight?”

“Eh?”

“We can’t disturb people this late night to prepare another room immediately.”

“Where…?”

As I think of where… Fon-nii answers the question.

“Isn’t it fine if she sleeps with me? She is my little sister after all?”

Did you just decided to make me sleep in your bed?!