Chapter 5
"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonya took a deep breath, frantically recalling every detail of the battle so far. Although she was confident she hadn''t lost any memories from her repeated deaths, she had no way of knowing for sure. She had to avoid the worst case scenario as much as possible.
She had lost count of exactly how many times she had died. Her mind was focused solely on the enemy before her, the "Apocalypse Observer." She analyzed his every move, imprinting his ruthless attacks into her body''s muscle memory!
She realized the Observer did not possess any extraordinary abilities. He didn''t even have a physical advantage over her.
Compared to her, the Observer was merely a skilled swordsman - at best.
Sonya had seen master swordsmen who had cultivated their skills to perfection. Even a casual swing of their de emitted an oppressive aura like needles pricking your back. Just gripping their sword hilt was enough to instill fear and submission in the weak.
The Observer was an ordinary footholdpared to those true masters.
Yes, just a foothold.
Although she had died again, Sonya''s desperate counterattack had seeded in hitting the Observer.
But like his sword returning to his hand after being thrown, the Observer who had just taken a sword to the chest appeared unscathed, as if the wound had instantaneously healed.
If there was a recovery period, Sonya would have certainly traded injuries for death to wear him down. Unfortunately, this duel was meant to be fair, leaving her no such loopholes.
A fair duel - Sonya found it somewhat ironic.
But she had to admit, everything was fair.
The unreasonable restrictions made it clear she had only one choice: to defeat the Observer through absolute skill in this duel.
The ten seconds were up. Time itself seemed to be a tangible entity. The moment it ended, Sonya tensed uppletely, gripping her sword and charging at the Observer!
At the start of every battle, the Observer would hold his sword in a ready stance before stepping forward to draw and spin in a shing attack. The farther Sonya was from him, the more intense the blow, even knocking away her weapon entirely!
This move was simr to the famed iaijutsu quick draw sh. And the method to counter it was simple - never dodge, actively step forward to interrupt his spin!
ng!
Sonya''s arms were almost numb from the vibrations, but she had seeded in stopping the Observer''s spin, dragging him into lethal close quartersbat!
After dying so many times, Sonya no longer cared about a few more holes in her body. As long as she could kill the Observer before her own death, it would be her victory!
ng! ng! ng!
After several seamless exchanges, Sonya silently counted to five in her head. Right on cue, the Observer evaded in a bizarre, abrupt direction, then stepped forward for a sword sh at her head!
No warning, extremely dangerous!
Sonya had initially thought it was some supernatural ability. But after experiencing it several deaths, she realized it was abat footwork technique.
Even so, Sonya had no counter - she simply couldn''t predict which way the Observer would evade!
Because he would often only evade after seeing Sonya''s attack, then immediately counterattack, she dubbed this move "Mikiri."
Iaijutsu was easy to block, but mikiri was hard to defend against.
So Sonya didn''t even try to defend. She raised her arm to block the sword with her forearm bones, closing the distance to attempt a beheading strike!
Mikiri''s greatest weakness was itsck of power - it couldn''t sever her arm!
But as the Observer''s sword sliced into her arm, his legs slid strangely in the sand as he evaded again, barely avoiding Sonya''s de as he stepped forward with a neck slice!
Double mikiri!
"You have ten seconds to rest."
Sonya pped her cheeks and gripped her sword tightly at the Observer. "Come on!"
The Observer entered his ready stance and unleashed his iaijutsu quick draw sh -
But there was no sound of des shing. The Observer remained in his spin sh stance, but he hadn''t hit anything.
Just before the Observer''s sh reached Sonya, she suddenly slid her feet in the sand in a bizarre stance, evading in apletely different direction!
The Observer was still in the recovery of his spin sh, while Sonya was free to counterattack!
But instead, Sonya took on the sheathing stance!
"After dying so many times, even a pig would have learned your moves!"
With Sonya''s yell, she stepped forward, drawing and spinning in a shing attack!
Mikiri - Iaijutsu - quick draw sh!
Using iaijutsu as the follow-up to mikiri topensate for mikiri''s weaker attack!
Sonya had already learned the quick draw sh long ago, but had held back until she was confident in mikiri as well,bining them in hopes of ying the Observer in one strike!
With the fierce spinning momentum, Sonya barely felt any resistance as her de sliced open the Observer''s chest like a hot knife through butter!
She couldn''t aim for his neck due to her height, and raising her arms even slightly during the spin was a huge burden, so his chest would have to do.
So smooth? Sonya could hardly believe it. She quickly regained her bnce from the spinning sh and eyed the Observer warily. "Does this mean I''ve defeated you?"
"Yes, congrattions." The Observer said. "You have seeded in defeating me with only one de."
One de... As Sonya stared confusedly, the Observer lightly flicked his toe in the sand, hooking and pulling out another longsword.
"The first half is over. The second half begins." The Observer held the twin des in a cross stance. "Also, there is no ten second rest from here on."
......
......
"Sonya, we have morning sses today. Aren''t you going?"
Sonya clutched her head and sat up to find only Engelica left in their dorm room. Engelica was already dressed and about to head out.
"What time is it?"
"7:30 AM. We have General Ed this morning. I remember you usually get up an hour early on mornings with General Ed to do your skincare and makeup routine... The others already left... You don''t look well."
"Is that so?" Sonya unconsciously touched her neck before collecting herself and shaking her head. "I probably had a nightmare..."
"A nightmare? You''ll forget it soon." Engelica said indifferently. "Remember toe to ss. Don''t be absent or we''ll lose dorm points."
After that, Engelica left and Sonya was alone in the room.
On any other morning when she overslept, Sonya would be hurrying to wash up, apply makeup, and get ready. But today, she sat numbly on the bed, lost in thought.
It was so strange. It felt so real even though it was a dream. Even stranger that she had zeropses in memory, recalling everything vividly from her first death to her ny-ninth.
Even the pain of each wound was fresh.
Once the Observer entered dual de mode, their battle intensity instantly increased exponentially. Sonya barely had any chance to breathe before the Observer was upon her again. Her arms were nearly numb from exhaustion. By the end, she was basically relying on instinct to meet the Observer''s onught.
Mikiri, iaijutsu, mikiri into iaijutsu, iaijutsu into mikiri, triple mikiri, triple iaijutsu... Sonya countered the Observer''s endless variations with just these two techniques, nearly exhausting everybination.
When she finally defeated the Observer, she felt no particr emotion. In the end it was just endless mikiris and iaijitsus, evading all the Observer''s attacks and striking all his openings until he fell.
But after defeating the Observer, Sonya felt no joy.
Because the Observer had said one thing to her.
"This trial is over, but your life has only just begun."
Though she couldn''t see his face or hear his tone, Sonya was absolutely certain - this was no blessing.
"Apocalypse Observer..." Sonya mulled over the name, as if crushing it between her teeth before swallowing it down.
At the same time, in the luxurious master suite of the underground cells of Caimon City''s Shattered Lake Prison.
Ashe yawned and awoke, feeling particrly exhausted for some reason, as if he had been beaten up.
Opening the light screen, Ashe saw a new message in Aurora''s Sorcerer Handbook:
"Your bond with the Death Maniac Swordswoman has deepened after the trial."
Ashe scratched his head. "...Just assigning a trial can deepen bonds? There''s something like that?"