You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Even Esdeath was intimidated by this aura, but the surging power within her quickly helped her break through her confusion, and the flames of warlike passion ignited in her eyes.

"That's exactly how it should be fun!"

clack clack clack-

The entire iceberg collapsed instantly, and the fragments transformed into armored knights of varying sizes, raising swords and spears from all directions, leaving him no room to dodge.

These ice knights are stronger than ordinary soldiers but weaker than Teigu users in individual combat. However, their numbers are almost endless, making them practically an immortal army!

Esdeath did not expect to secure victory with this, but only to wear down Iori's stamina, because she noticed that Iori had a technique for releasing energy, but he didn't seem to use it often, and concluded that his accumulation was far less than her own!

It must be said that her judgment was extremely accurate. Although Iori's spiritual pressure was considered high among the vice-captains, and its quality was more concentrated and refined, in terms of energy scale... it was indeed inferior to Esdeath, who could freely control the celestial phenomena. At least she couldn't squander it as casually as Esdeath.

but!

If you think you can overwhelm Iori with sheer numbers, you're making a big mistake!

Various weapons attacked from all directions, and it seemed that Iori had no choice but to withstand the attacks. However, she calmly uttered a single word:

"Lan~"

Hiss—Bang!

Various weapons pierced through Iori's body, but no blood flew out. Only the sound of air being torn apart rang out, and then one ice knight after another collided with each other due to inertia!

Like a phantom, or like clouds and mist, Iori calmly emerged from the countless shards of ice.

"What is that? A hallucination?"

Esdeath instinctively thought it was some kind of illusion, but the strong wind that hit her head the next moment and the sense of crisis that rose in her heart shattered this guess.

Clang!

The saber and the Kusanagi Sword clashed once more, and the chilling aura surrounding Esdeath was sliced ​​open by some invisible blade. A stinging sensation swept across her cheek, making the Ice Queen shudder.

In just one battle, she deeply felt the changes in Iori.

Not only her, but the man's basic abilities also improved significantly!

"So it unleashed the energy it had stored up beforehand? It seems to be an ability of the same type as mine!"

This discovery made Esdeath even happier. She secretly memorized how Iori avoided the Ice Knight's Hollowfication ability, but her hands moved without slowing down. With a boldness that surpassed even that of men, she launched a series of attacks on Iori with wide-ranging sword techniques.

Iori refused to give an inch, and the two exchanged blows at a speed beyond what the naked eye could perceive. Dozens of moves were exchanged in just a few breaths, and the bursts of wind pressure easily cut through the hard ice wall, producing a sharp, ghostly howl.

Clang—Boom!

The full-force collision sent the two flying, while the combined pressure of their swords sliced ​​through an ice peak.

A massive iceberg toppled over, and the gazes of the two separated individuals met, only to be severed by the iceberg in an instant—

Iori remained calm, while Esdeath was shrouded in shadow.

"Why... No, I am the strongest!"

In the seemingly evenly matched battle just now, Esdeath vaguely sensed something, but she was unwilling to admit it. As if to encourage herself, she shouted something, and then her long ice-blue hair swung up as the queen delivered a spinning kick to the side of the iceberg.

This attack was like the first domino, with countless cracks instantly spreading across the entire iceberg, shattering into countless spikes with a deafening roar, creating a dense, impenetrable downpour that completely covered the space around Iori!

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

Dense ice spikes pierced through her body without a moment's pause, while Iori stood motionless, as if she were just a phantom, every inch of her body constantly shifting between "spiritual particles" and "spiritual body," without suffering any harm throughout.

But he also knew that this was by no means Esdeath's last trump card.

Sure enough, the ground beneath their feet trembled the next moment, and huge ice walls rose up from the ground, towering like mountains, even forming ice caps like the sky, obscuring the heavens.

Centered on Iori and Esdeath, an area within a radius of 300 meters was transformed into a completely enclosed ice fortress!

"Although I don't know what magic tricks you used, since our weapons can clash, you must have a physical form, just as intangible as water mist."

Esdeath was determined to succeed: "In that case, I'll just have to build you an inescapable cage!"

I will freeze the entire atmosphere, so that whether you are a ghost or a phantom, you will forever slumber within this vast tomb!

"...Bad luck."

Iori sighed softly, "You and I are really incompatible."

"Isn't it a little too late to regret it now?" Esdeath revealed a sadistic smile. "You should have known better than to try and provoke me with such arrogant words!"

"No, I mean you were unlucky, and..."

Iori lifted her eyelids, revealing dark eyes beneath her disheveled hair, and glanced at her indifferently.

"When did you start to have the illusion that you would win?"

——[Nagi]

The sword tip, gleaming with a mercury-like luster, touched the ice surface, like a gentle breeze rippling across a lake. The ripples spread rapidly, sweeping across the entire ground and the surrounding ice walls in the blink of an eye, finally converging at a single point on the dome.

Drop~

Esdeath's thoughts became hazy, as if her mind had been cleared of all ideas. A moment of blankness flashed across her face, but her subconscious killing instinct brought her back to her senses immediately.

In her astonishment, the surrounding scenery had changed dramatically. The smooth ice surface reflected her and Iori's figures, and countless lights and shadows overlapped in all directions, making it seem as if she had stepped into a kaleidoscope, dazzling and mesmerizing.

She was naturally not fooled by mere visual effects; what truly unsettled her was:

The solid ice that should have been completely under her control now seemed to be covered by something, making it hazy and indistinct to her senses.

For someone as assertive as her, this feeling of being turned the tables was incredibly unsettling!

What are you looking at?

　A soft voice sounded, quite close by!

Esdeath suddenly looked up and saw Iori standing three meters in front of her!

Sudden!

With a swift movement, the huntress leaped back ten meters away, gripping her military knife tightly in her right hand, her eyes fixed on Iori, not missing a single subtle movement.

However, to everyone's surprise, Iori did not take advantage of her distraction to attack, allowing her to escape from the attack range, and did not make any move to stop her from beginning to end.

He simply asked, "Why are you backing away?"

"—!"

"If you want to kill me, you should get close and swing your blade, instead of running away like a rabbit without thinking."

Esdeath's eyes widened, her pupils trembling slightly. Her beautiful face remained expressionless, yet she seemed deeply moved by something.

"I... ran away?"

"The fear of a powerful enemy approaching, and the instinct for survival driving the body to act—this is what is known as 'running away'."

There is no need to feel ashamed of this; the fear of powerful enemies spurs humanity forward, and that is the most primal driving force.

Rather, you should be happy about it. As the 'strongest,' it's been a long time since you've felt fear, a long time since you've pursued even greater heights driven by instinct, hasn't it?

“…What nonsense!”

The Ice Queen gritted her teeth, revealing a ferocious smile like that of a wild beast: "How could I possibly be dominated by fear! On the contrary, I have conquered everyone's fear!"

A temporary retreat is for a better advance; only by creating distance can we take you down!

With her arms outstretched, a snow-white spear appeared within them. The Ice Queen hurled it with all her might, instantly piercing through circles of transparent ripples in the atmosphere!

"Distance only has meaning in a contest where the two sides are evenly matched; for you and me, distance is meaningless."

See, if I do this—”

Despite the spear piercing through her head, Iori instantly appeared in front of Esdeath, his left hand pointing two fingers together at Esdeath's chest.

"My hand will almost immediately touch your heart."

Clang!

A cold light flashed, and the saber was suppressed by the Kusanagi Sword as soon as it was raised.

boom!

With a swift motion, his left hand swept across, a wisp of white light swirling around his sword finger, tracing a crescent moon-like trajectory, and deflecting all the sharp ice spikes that attacked from his blind spot.

“What—” Esdeath was shocked again and again.

Why... this man isn't powerful enough for her to be far behind, but why... from the beginning until now, she has never been able to truly touch him, as if she is not fighting a real person, but rather an imaginary reflection in the water!

"Mudada~"

Iori's eyes remained calm and undisturbed, as if nothing could surprise him.

"Within this domain, nothing you do is a secret; your breathing, the flow of blood, the relaxation of your muscles... nothing can escape my eyes."

For example, the fact that your hands are trembling.

Trembling? Me?

Esdeath stared blankly at her right hand holding the saber, and indeed noticed a barely perceptible tremor, which made her feel utterly absurd and even want to laugh.

She grew up in a cruel world where the strong prey on the weak. To her, the world was a huge hunting ground where she either hunted others or became the prey!

Having brushed with death countless times, she now trembles in the face of the enemy!

what……

"...Haha...Hahahaha!!!"

Her heart was pounding, her blood was almost flowing backward, and powerful energy surged from the woman's body, enveloping everything around her as if it were a tangible substance, even the invisible air seemed to be frozen.

And this was just the prelude; an even more violent energy fluctuation suddenly erupted—

"too slow."

Iori remained calm and composed. Just as he said, nothing within the domain could escape his eyes, not even the flow of the icy energy within Esdeath's body.

No matter how fast a move is, as long as it involves the steps of flow, concentration, and release, the time it takes will never be zero!

Moreover... the process of Esdeath's development was far too lengthy~

——【澈】

Ka!

The ice mirror shattered, the towering wall was cut in half, and the frozen atmosphere revealed countless cracks before resuming its flow.

The Queen, as if waking from a dream, knelt on the cold ice, her long hair sliding down like beautiful tassels...

Chapter 66: He beat Esdeath to her knees—

Tick-tock... tick-tock... tick-tock...

A shallow wound on her slender, fair neck bled, the blood seeping down her arm and soaking through her military uniform. The blood then congealed at her fingertips and finally dripped onto the ice, where it solidified instantly into rolling beads.

Esdeath's face was blank, as if she was very unwilling to accept what was happening before her, but unfortunately she could not escape the gravity of reality and gradually realized the fact that "she was still alive".

"I...I'm not dead?"

She reached up and touched the wound on her neck, finding that although the location was bad, the cut wasn't deep enough to sever her throat or arteries.

Did we make a mistake?

No, that sword strike was strange and precise. With the immense power to cleave the entire ice wall, it only grazed her neck... To say it was a coincidence would be too far-fetched. It could only be that it was deliberately done under Iori's control, sparing her life.

As for why Iori did this... Esdeath has no idea.

When the Ice Queen regained her senses, the cold energy within her body automatically circulated, instantly covering the wound with a layer of white frost, stopping the bleeding in a rather haphazard way.

As she touched her neck, she felt something was wrong. She instinctively reached behind her, only to find her hand grasping nothing. Turning around, she discovered that her beautiful, ice-blue hair had been completely cut off and was scattered on the ice. All that remained of her hair was shoulder-length and ear-length.

Of course, Esdeath isn't an ordinary woman who cares so much about her hairstyle. Instead, she's more concerned with another issue, and her thought process is rather peculiar:

"You're not killing me... are you looking down on me?!"

"..." Iori's eyebrows twitched, revealing a half-smile, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

In Esdeath's eyes, it is only natural for the strong to bully the weak, and it is also natural to kill opponents in battle. As for herself, if she defeats an opponent and leaves them with a life, she will definitely torture and abuse them both physically and mentally, completely breaking their will and turning them into a dog that can only wag its tail and beg for mercy.

Judging from her own experience, she didn't think surviving was a good thing.

The thought of those criminals whose personalities were broken by her tortures—what if she herself became like them?

hiss!

Even though Esdeath was very confident in her willpower and would never be defeated by physical torture, she shuddered at the mere thought of that possibility.