I was almost thrown off the ground when our swords clashed. The only thing that kept me on my feet was the fact that I wasn't her original target since I had just appeared from nowhere to stop her from pursuing Favian. The demon’s reflex was quick, reacting almost instantly when I charged at her.

I was cleared of any doubt that hinted she wasn't a stillbringer. My first clash with her was a testament that she was one. The brute strength she possessed was by no means close to matching her effeminate form, a classic rendering of a deceptive appearance.

I quickly disengaged, holding in the same position wouldn't do me any good, especially against someone as strong as her. She pressed, slashing in my direction. My plan had worked at least. She had seemingly switched her priority from Favian to me. Favian was out of sight but I still had to buy her more time.

The auburn-haired demon withdrew her sword and stepped back a little. It seemed like she wanted to talk so I switched out of the grey domain to hear what she had to say.

“It's quite noble coming from you, wanting to die in her place. Are you lovers or something of that nature?” the auburn-haired demon asked.

“I didn't know demons knew a thing or two about nobility,” I replied.

“Urrgh, come on. Don't call me that. Demons? That name irks me. I am Sophia, call me Sophia.”

The black-haired lady beside her tried to speak, probably in protest to the fact that her compatriot gave out her name, but Sophia, or so she introduced herself, hushed her. Sophia continued speaking,

“What about you? Courtesy demands you tell me your name too.”

I paused for a brief moment, contemplating whether or not I should tell her my name.

“It's Svan. Svan Choryth.”

Her expression slowly changed from a smile into a frown and it seemed my plan worked. I believed that the Choryth name would be somewhat of a sore spot to the demons since we had managed to beat them twice. I was hoping to provoke her and it seemed that I did just that.

“How fortunate,” Sophia said, curling her lip.

I didn't need any warning to know that an attack from her was imminent so I triggered the grey domain just in time before she came at me.

I tried to avoid meeting her sword with mine. The force at which she swung her sword gradually increased with each strike, sending forceful vibrations to the entire length of my arms as I struggled to hold my sword in a firm grip. I had to end the fight as quickly as possible so I pulled her closer to me using femryn’s jolt. Her silhouette in the grey domain drew closer to me, defenseless. It was apparent that she never expected what I had just done.

I didn't wait for her body to meet my sword. Instinctively, I knew when she would be within striking distance so I slashed. I was quite shocked when my sword met with a conjured rock instead of Sophia’s body but I was satisfied with what I’d done.

I could tell that she hadn't quite recovered from what I had just done to her, and though I couldn't see the expression on her face, she had to be a bit shaken. I turned around in a swivel and struck again even though I knew I would get blocked. Before she could even recover, I crashed her onto the wall behind her using femryn’s jolt, then closing the distance between us immediately, using realm slip. For some reason, I didn't want to land any lethal strikes on her even though I was fighting for my life, but I had to. I was in a kill-or-be-killed situation so if I wanted to live, I had to kill her.

I pushed her further away from me and then performed the maneuver which I used on the demons I fought at Landchet, triggering realm slip and materializing just as I attempted to stab her with my sword. I was struck with another unpleasant surprise as my sword didn't go through. Her awareness was top-notch. It was evident that she had used her stillbring to strengthen her body in case of any surprise attacks after I had used femryn’s jolt on her.

“This is going to be difficult,” I lamented.

Of everything I had expected from taking on this fight, I never expected to meet a demon who was a stillbringer. To make matters worse, she could also conjure spells.

“I sure have a lot to report back at home if I survive this encounter.”

Sophia thrust her sword in my direction and thanks to the grey domain, it approached slower than it normally would. I was able to react just in time, parrying her sword away from my direction with mine as I shot myself backward to put some distance between us. After our brief set-to, I felt that either she wasn't serious with the fight or she didn't want to land lethal blows. She wasn't even conjuring spells which I knew she could, solely relying on her sword skills.

For me, there was no guarantee that I was going to win the fight. I couldn't cut her or even launch any more surprise attacks, thanks to the fact that she was a stillbringer. I knew she was just using a fraction of her abilities, and given the current situation, she didn't even need to go all out. If she was just any other demon, I knew I would have killed her, but she wasn't.

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I saw her silhouette charge at me. It was comparatively fast, even though I was in the grey domain. I felt I had a chance since it was easy to tell that she was using her stillbring to compensate for speed. It didn't matter how fast she was going, realm slip was way quicker than her speed would ever be.

I readied myself as I triggered realm slip, carefully plotting my path to strike behind her just after I materialize. I was completely taken by surprise given the outcome; my sword didn't go through. Sophia shot herself backward just to keep a safe distance but I was left wondering what had happened. It was surreal that she was possibly a threefold stillbringer to top off the fact that she was a caster. But it was even more unbelievable that she happened to combine two stillbrings at the same time.

I didn't notice I was hurt until I felt a fast trickle from my stomach down my legs. I was bleeding but I didn't even know when I got stabbed.

“You have to leave this place immediately,” I heard Darya say to me.

“When did I get stabbed,” I asked, not sure if I was directing the question to Darya or myself.

“Probably when you materialized behind her,” Darya said to me.

“She must have anticipated your move and struck.”

The disbelief on my face was obvious. I had only used realm slip once before I got stabbed on my second attempt.

“This is impossible,” I muttered.

I was angry, and though I didn't request Darya to, I was wishing she came up with something, anything other than realm slip or femryn’s jolt that would help me get back at Sophia, possibly kill her. Darya seemed to hear my thoughts, but she said,

“I could do something but it would take a toll on you and right now, you are not doing very good so you need to leave here now.”

“If you are so insistent on me leaving, why don't you take me out of this place, just like you did at Ausbane.”

“Seems you don't know how badly injured you are. What part of taking a toll on you don't you completely understand?” Darya said to me.

I didn't know how bad my injury was, but it was beginning to ache me as I started to feel some pain in my belly. No more arguments were needed to convince me that I had to leave.

With my sights set on the route Favian used to escape, I used realm slip to take myself away from Sophia and her group, moving as far away as possible until I saw silhouettes that indicated that I was at the cavern’s entrance. I finally switched out of the grey domain only to find myself covered in a lot of blood. I began to feel dizzy, stumbling as I walked while I held my hands over the wound Sophia inflicted on me.

A figure approached me. There was an exponential increase in the pacing of my heartbeat. I thought that Sophia had come to finish what she started. Drawing out my sword with one hand, I pointed it in the direction of the approaching figure while using the other to press on my wound. My sword felt heavy and I wasn't sure if I would be able to hold it up for long.

“You are in a terrible state. Come on, we have to get out of here,” a voice said to me.

The voice was familiar,

“Favian. Is that you?” I asked, unsure of what I was seeing because my vision was significantly blurred.

“Don't speak, save your strength,” she said to me.

I heard her ripping a piece of clothing before wrapping it around my torso to prevent further blood loss. Favian supported my weight on hers as we walked a little distance before I heard the neighing sound of horses. With Favian’s help, I did my best to mount the horse as I felt the remainder of my strength drain away.

“Hyaa!” Favian screamed, jerking the horse into a galloping clip. I felt wobbly, but Favian held me in place as we rode off.

SOPHIA STONECLAW

“Your majesty, are you alright?” Octavia asked me with a concerned look on her face.

“Do I look not okay to you?” I said to her.

“No,” she replied even though her expression said otherwise.

I sheathed my sword and turned in the direction of the rest of the group.

“This must be the reason the Choryths were able to fend us off twice,” I clamored.

I had no doubt in me that the Choryth I just fought could take out even some high-ranking El-bloods because his ability was a difficult one to go up against. I was lucky, or rather, the fact that I always took combat scenarios seriously just happened to save my life. I didn't want to think about what would have happened if I hadn't reinforced my body with mana. The Choryth, Svan, had an interesting ability. Even teleportation could be performed by a human in this world. I wasn't surprised, since this world had a way to bend every law of physics I had ever known. This fight with Svan was an interesting experience and I couldn't be happier that I came out of it victorious. To be honest, I was a bit scared, having a taste of his ability. I expected him to conjure spells, which wouldn't have posed any problems for me. The experience was a rude awakening for me, there was no telling what sort of other kinds of abilities I would experience here on the southern continent.

“Onto the sapphatine crystals, right?” I said to Octavia.

“Yes, your Majesty,” she replied.

We ventured deeper inside the cavern and I couldn't seem to keep Svan off my mind. The fact that he was strong and had an interesting ability that kept me on my toes throughout our fight was enough to keep me thinking about him. I wanted to know more about him. There was an unusual curiosity inside me that needed to be satisfied.

He was different. The way he spoke, the way he behaved, and the way he fought was different. As mind-blowing as this world is, there weren't a lot of things that seemed to captivate me, or draw so much of my attention but Svan just happened to do so in just a brief encounter.

I believed I injured him, prompting his retreat. I didn't know what he was expecting when he performed the same move on me twice. It wasn't the best of decisions coming from him. Though we were technically fighting to kill each other, it didn't feel that way to me. It felt as though we were testing out each other's abilities. It would have been a shame if I had killed him but thankfully, I didn't. Sadly, it was almost certain that our next meeting, if there would be another, would be the same situation; one where we are trying to kill each other.

I paused for a moment, surprised that I was sympathizing with my enemy.

“What's wrong with me,” I wondered.