- Shattered.
Aina coughed violently, blood flowing out from her lips. But, she had hardly finished when she swung down her blade again. It was as though her cough was just instinctive but battle was all she truly cared about. Even if her body was on its last legs, she would still swing again and again.
Myghell's sword snaked forward, attempting to parry it. He added a small bit more strength to his strike, taking into account what he predicted would be her boost in power. However, his strike hadn't even landed before his pupils constricted further.
The moon to Aina's back suddenly increased in size. It gained rivers of blood and land of bones. It held a gravity of its own, shattering the ground beneath their battlefield and causing it to cave in.
Myghell's steps faltered slightly and the pressure Aina's swing placed on his wrist caught him off guard, causing it to fracture.
A light frown finally marred his face. Though indifference was still the greatest 'emotion', this change in him was equivalent to tidal waves in almost anyone else.
Still, what he was most off put by wasn't Aina's power, that alone was still like nothing compared to him. He was still barely using 10% of his strength. What was shocking was Aina's progress. Every time he felt that she had run into a wall, she burst through it.
It wasn't only this, but he felt that she always seemed to rapidly adjust to his battle style. If it wasn't for the fact he didn't need to bring out his true abilities to fight her and was only casually and randomly countering, Myghell had the feeling that this woman might even be in a better situation than she was now. It was a baffling thought indeed, but this woman was definitely a genius of battle.
Suddenly, Myghell's pupils constricted. A trickle of blood fell from his cheek. It was so subtle that he almost hadn't noticed.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.
'I'm… Injured…?'
"… Blood…"
Aina spoke for the first time. In fact, they were the very first words spoken between them.
She continued to huff out fogs of crimson, her veins having practically been lit on fire. However, on her third huff, her mouth suddenly opened wide, twin canines that glistened with a pearly light reflecting beneath the high moon.
Myghell felt a suction force he couldn't fight back against erupt from his very being. His pupils constricted as he finally unleashed his full strength. But, despite his quick reaction, a globule of blood half the size of his head was still ripped out from him in that instant.
His expression twisted into a deep frown. If he had taken Aina as a serious opponent from the beginning this would have never happened, his Force Skin would have definitely blocked her attempt. But now, he felt that he had been humiliated.
Despite this feeling, though, Myghell quickly calmed, unable to do anything as Aina swallowed his blood entirely. As far as he was concerned, doing this was nothing short of a death sentence. Only he knew what his true power was. Someone else trying to swallow it would only lead down a single road.
Aina couldn't read Myghell's mind and even if she could, she was in a completely berserk state. There was hardly anything she could make sense of at this very moment.
She swallowed the blood whole, instantly feeling as though her throat was being burned through. She shrieked into the skies, causing Myghell to shake his head.
He had taken his time in this battle hoping to understand where that feeling was coming from. But, it seemed she would die before he got his answer.
The truth was that he felt that he might never get an answer to begin with. He had already been fighting this woman for almost half an hour and yet he hadn't gotten any clues. He was already close to losing his patience and just killing her anyway.
Myghell was about to stride forward and take what was Aina's corpse away when he suddenly froze again.
Aina's shrieks had suddenly come to a stop, replaced by sobs. The crimson had retreated from her gaze, rationality coming back to her person. Tears she couldn't seem to control fell from her eyes, pooling both beneath and outside of her mask.
Aina's injuries began to rapidly heal. In fact, in the blink of an eye, she had returned to peak condition, something that left Myghell completely stunned. Not only had she survived… Just how high was her Blood Elemental Affinity?!
Aina looked down from the skies, her tear filled gaze locking onto Myghell.
"You're not him… You… Deserve death…"
The irrational words caught Myghell off guard. She had already wanted to kill him before, so why did this feel so much different? It was as though she had been snapped back to reality and hated Myghell for reminding her of something she didn't want to be reminded of.
However, Myghell never got a chance to understand just what was happening or just what his blood reminded Aina of because she directly lost consciousness, her body falling over as tears fell like a stream.
Just when Myghell thought this might be an opportunity to take her away, a towering shadow appeared and slung Aina over his shoulder. His crimson eyes swept over Myghell before he walked by the Heir without a single care. Yet, from start to finish, Myghell didn't dare to do anything and could only watch them leave, his eyes narrowed.
He had finally grasped where that feeling came from.
…
The shadow soon made it back to Planet Viola, entering a familiar estate before laying Aina onto her bed.
"Adoptive father."
Yuri entered the room, laying eyes on Aina.
Miel didn't look back. "Her defenses are the lowest they will ever be. You can do it now."
"Yes."
Yuri nodded without resistance, placing a delicate palm on Aina's forehead. This was indeed the best time. A year of patience had finally brought them to this point.
Maybe someone else would have thought that a year ago would have been the ideal time, but Yuri's experience told her that this was the moment Aina's mind was the most solid. Time had proved her right, in these recent months, Aina had shown not an ounce of emotion.
But, the things without any give were also the things most susceptible to shattering. And now, Aina had finally shattered.