Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

no respond.

The world has become a bubble of fantasy, with only the sound of the fire crackling.

It seemed like a confession, a sigh, or the sound of water drops falling to the ground.

Chapter 35: Shake Hands Before the Blades Clash

"Senior... you really showed mercy."

The sword blade cut open the leather palm and the skin, and blood kept gushing out from the broken area, as if it was attracted by the black blade, but also as if it was resisting this attraction, wavering, and finally just flowing down the wrist, staining the white wrist armor with bright red spots.

"…It's much slower than I thought. I can only score 60 points."

Lunicia held the tip of the black giant sword tightly with her palm. Judging from her expression and her trembling arms, she was undoubtedly using all her strength. No matter what mentality Sestin had, the giant sword she had inserted so casually could not move any further. It was held tightly in her palm and trembled continuously.

Her tone was calm, as if what was happening was just a matter of course and something that was expected.

"It's stricter than before, and the swordplay is the same."

Even though her palm was almost completely cut open, there was still no expression of pain on Lunicia's face. Only the slight tremor in her voice and the cold sweat on her forehead revealed her condition - the wounds caused by the "World-weary" would not only cause the weak to lose their lives, but would also increase the pain at the wound tenfold or a hundredfold. In addition, the sword blade was always rubbing against the flesh, deepening the wound bit by bit, and the pain was almost exponentially increased.

The reason why she was still able to hold on and not faint was simply because she didn't want to lose her composure in front of her beloved senior.

"Really? I think this is just barely acceptable."

There was no emotion in his words, nor in his actions.

As if some shackles had been untied, Sestin pressed both hands downward suddenly, and the tip of the sword broke through Lunicea's one-handed defense and went straight to her throat, almost cutting her left hand in half horizontally, unstoppable.

Intense pain came from her palm, amplifying the pain tenfold or a hundredfold, almost causing Lunicia to faint instantly. However, her will and experience whipped her spirit, so that she barely managed to just black out without really losing consciousness.

In a normal battle, even a momentary lapse of consciousness could cause the situation to take a sudden turn for the worse.

This never happened.

when!

The sole of her boot kicked heavily on the blade of the black giant sword, and her left hand, which was almost cut horizontally, grasped the tip of the sword and used it as a fulcrum to pry her whole body. Even though it was pitch black in front of her eyes and even though her five senses could not receive any information other than "pain", Lunicia still relied on the remaining impressions before she lost her vision to react in the moment when she could hardly perceive the outside world and could only be immersed in pain.

——It’s not over yet!

At the moment when her body was suspended in mid-air, Lunicia kicked Systin's head hard!

Without the protection of a helmet and the barrier of a force field, Lunicia was fully confident that this blow would crack her head apart, or at least break her cervical vertebrae, which could also be a fatal blow!

"……not bad."

It didn't work.

The soles of the boots and the wrist armor collided violently, making a teeth-grinding friction sound. In the moment of life and death, Sestine took the blow lightly.

Of course, no matter how you think about it, this half-hearted counterattack will not work, and naturally it is impossible to get the approval of Systin. The golden pupils captured every tiny detail, Lunixia's muscle movements, Lunixia's breathing, Lunixia's heartbeat and blood flow, these things that are almost impossible to capture with the eyes are all visible in front of this eye, and it is precisely because of this that Systin almost immediately judged her next move.

Her approval is reserved for the "next moment".

when--!

The "vindicators" and the "world-weary" collided again.

The kick just now was just a cover. The real purpose was to allow him to adjust himself, safely get through the period of blurred consciousness caused by the pain, and to make Systin reveal a flaw. As a moment in the battle, it was too brief, but it would give him a chance to pick up the flaw of the sword again!

— Blocked it?!

Lunicia was very confident in her attack just now. Her control of angle, timing, speed and strength could be said to be the best sword attack so far. She did not expect this attack to seriously injure or even just hurt Systine, leaving a scratch on her face, but it should also allow her to move and dodge instead of using the more technically demanding sword blocking - considering the impression Systine left in Lunicia's memory, Lunicia felt that as long as she could get her to use the "dodge" that was not so in line with her personal preference, she would have won half a game.

However, she actually blocked it with her sword without any error, which was really beyond Lunicia's expectations.

Lunicia did not feel too disappointed. After all, she had achieved her goal. If she continued to dwell on such trivial matters, her thinking would inevitably be distorted. After a few backflips, she had already distanced herself from Setin and no longer had to worry about being completely suppressed at such a close distance.

However, the opponent was a strong man who was far superior to her in terms of experience, skills and physical fitness. In close combat, external interference such as "accidents" would be reduced to a minimum. In this case, Lunicia really didn't feel that she had any possibility of escaping the disadvantage. Relatively speaking, the chances of winning did not increase much by fighting with swords after keeping a distance, but it was better than having no chance at all.

"Although it's not very clear, but in the battle just now, Senior only used the 'Chaos' derivative."

"...What do you want to say?"

Sestin didn't show any extra expression, and his words were still cold, as if it wasn't a big deal. Even so, although the other party didn't seem to care at all, Lunicia had a gentle and subtle smile on her face, as if she saw something was going to turn around.

Once upon a time, Lunicia was the only secret saint of the Glorious Court. When she was still studying and living in the Central Cathedral, she had the opportunity to practice actual combat with the full-strength Sestin more than once. Of course, excluding the cases where Sestin deliberately dragged out the battle for teaching, Lunicia would be defeated in less than three rounds. Even so, Lunicia still learned about Sestin's proud sword skills through repeated fights and conversations.

"Sword of Death".

Even among the Vatican's annihilation force "Black Silence", which was full of strong people and had an average level that was unbelievable, only two people were able to successfully practice the sword skills that only existed in legends.

The "Sword of Death" is divided into three derivatives in total. According to Systin, only those who have mastered all three derivatives can be said to have reached the advanced level. Those who can only master the first or first two sets of derivatives are not worth mentioning at all.

According to what Systin said and demonstrated, the three sets of derivatives of the "Sword of Death" are called "Chaos", "Revenge" and "Reverberation". Among them, almost every member of "Black Silence" has mastered the "Chaos" and "Revenge" derivatives, while the third "Reverberation" derivative has only been successfully learned by two people in history.

One is Ivangeline, the creator of the "Sword of Death" who serves the Goddess of Night and Silence alone.

Born in the Fifth Calendar period, she founded the "Black Knight" branch of holy warriors and was honored as the Sword of the Goddess and the ancestor of the Black Knight. It is for this reason that later generations also respectfully called her the "Black Knight."

The other one is now standing in front of him.

The pinnacle of the current "skills" of the Glorious Temple, the instructor of Lunicia, the former captain of the "Black Silence", and the missing exile.

"Black Summoning Blade" Systine Perancine.

Chapter 36: Tune of Chaos

Step forward quickly.

Both wrists, put all your strength into it.

The shackles were all removed.

The almost impeccable start, as a sword skill, was at a high level enough to make the master's eyes light up.

As if responding to Lunisia's wholehearted devotion, the light of the eclipse sprinkled on the silver-white sword, reflecting a faint orange light. The blade vibrated the air, as if singing a joyful tune.

--when!

The swords met, white and black collided violently, and then went their separate ways in an instant.

Just one contact was enough to change Setin's expression.

It was no longer the expression that seemed as if nothing mattered, filled with indifference and indifference, and only running for the remaining fire. Some emotions that should not have existed and should have been infinitely suppressed gradually stretched out the tattered disguise and tore apart the mask that became shattered just because of a meeting.

Those emotions that could be called solemnity or joy were mixed together in a sticky way, just like the sword skills she wielded.

"chaos".

--when!

The sword blades intersected again, making a pleasant resonance.

Not all creatures in the world were delighted by the crisp sound. With the intersection of the swords as the center, an invisible wave of air swept through like a strong wind, shattering gravel and the few remaining glass. Both the walls and the streets became as clean and refreshing as the sky after rain, as if celebrating their fight and consciously giving in to their dance.

Even though the previous attack had carried some strength, even though the previous sword had contained some "chaotic" true meaning, that kind of strange sword path that contained a hint of cunning, if it were an ordinary opponent, if it was an opponent without a will hidden in the sword, he would probably have been defeated and would have no power to rise again.

Lunicia's sword remained steady and unmoved, taking the blow from the odd angle without any pressure.

At this moment, Systin understood everything.

The girl she was facing, the girl she once thought was immature and inexperienced, who didn't have the ability to stand on her own, was not joking in what she said. She was fully qualified and capable, and she said such words out of her own will.

"Please tell me if I can take on both 'Revenge' and 'Reverberation'."

- Tell me everything, what I don’t know, what I want to know and don’t want to know, what others are carrying alone and are unwilling to share with me. No matter what they are, I am willing to listen, even if it means taking on another burden that does not belong to me.

This is not arrogance or ignorance. It is simply a judgment made out of confidence in one's own growth, which is irrefutable.

——In that case, then it’s as you wish.

--when!

Almost without any warning, the black and white blades that had just been touching and competing with each other suddenly separated, and the black blade slashed out again almost without any interval, with a more bizarre angle, and greater speed and force than before.

Cold sweat rolled down her forehead. Although her eyes were serious and focused, a smile appeared on the corner of Lunicea's mouth.

--when!

The black and white swords collided again.

The angle was even more bizarre. The black blade that was clearly in sight the previous second had already been diagonally behind the body the next moment. It was almost impossible to defend against it both intuitively and based on visual judgment.

This is the essence of the "chaos" derivation. With the wide-open and unpredictable strange sword paths, the so-called "rules" of the enemy are completely disrupted, and the enemy returns to chaos, thus tearing the enemy apart at an angle that the enemy cannot predict, like the jaws of a dragon and the fangs of a shadow.

Among the many powerful people who practice the "Sword of Death", only a very few can perform this sword technique with a two-handed giant sword. Lack of experience, slow skills, delayed judgment and physical deficiencies all make them only able to glimpse the truth with long swords, straight swords and rapiers, but unable to truly grasp the essence of the "Black Knight" Yiwen Jielin.

This flaw does not exist on the blade of Systine.

She is a strong person, who can shake the sea of ​​clouds and tear the earth apart with just her momentum.

It was for this reason that she seemed quite confident about this bet. Even if she only used a fraction of her full strength, she still felt that she could win easily.

This is also not arrogance or ignorance, it is simply absolute confidence in one's own strength.

That trust is now showing signs of cracks.

The sword just now was still restrained in terms of power, but in terms of skill it was undoubtedly the ultimate "chaos" and could be said to be an absolutely unpredictable sword.

In Systin's opinion, the best way to deal with this sword is to give up fighting, and to ensure that he is not killed by the sword by adjusting his body posture, and to complete the counterattack while taking the attack by exchanging injury for life - this is not only Systin's personal opinion, but also the best solution that can be adopted in many cases when "skills are not as good as others".

What about the case of “technological parity”?

Then it will be like this.

Her hands were trembling slightly due to the excessively strong force, and her knuckles had become numb and cracked from the repeated exchanges. Even so, even though she looked extremely embarrassed, Lunicia still took the sword steadily.

——Why is this happening?

His thoughts were racing as he considered all the possible answers to this question. Of course, these activities and hesitations only existed in his mind, along with rationality to suppress strength. As for instinct, that kind of thing was naturally excluded from the brain. No matter how the brain thought, the muscles would act on their own according to the instinct of struggle.

The sword of "Chaos" slashed out again and again, but was blocked by the white blade again and again. The sound of the weapons clashing also became more and more crisp and pleasant from the beginning. This undoubtedly represented that Lunicia's proficiency was constantly improving, so that she could block it more and more skillfully.

This situation is not good at all for Systin.

The three derivatives of the "Sword of Death" actually have no clear-cut moves. The focus is on understanding its essence, and then creating the so-called "moves" from the essence - as long as you can correctly and completely understand the idea of ​​each move, every sword you swing can naturally be called a "move."

But precisely because of this, if the enemy faced was also able to perfectly grasp the idea of ​​the "Sword of Death", it would be easy to end up in the current situation: no matter how one changed one's moves, the result would be within the opponent's expectations, and thus no matter how one swung the sword one would not be able to break through the opponent's defense, unless one used strength and speed far beyond the opponent's reaction and physical fitness, or introduced factors other than the moves.

Sydne would never do that.

——If I do that, it would be like I’m admitting defeat.

People who have outstanding qualities often also have extraordinary persistence in certain aspects, or to put it bluntly, they can be called paranoid.

At least in this gamble, Setien would rather fail than win in this way.

——Is it because I showed the little princess my sword skills? Or has she grown to the point where she can understand the essence of the "chaos" style in just a few fights?

——It should be both.

“…It’s better than I thought.”

Her words were no longer as cold and piercing as before. She repeatedly waved her sword to warm up the cold flesh. Correspondingly, her expression was no longer as stiff and frost-covered. Just like her tone, she had no intention of continuing to conceal her joy, even if it was just a little bit that was difficult to detect.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Lunicia forced a smile.

It wasn't that she was not in a good mood. On the contrary, she could perfectly take on a whole set of "Chaos" continuous sword attacks from Cestin. She had never dreamed of such a scene even when she was sleeping at night. However, the psychological tension was ultimately difficult to suppress. It made her forehead covered with sweat, her voice tremble slightly, and her hands shake constantly.

——Strange, was my level this high before…?

Technically speaking, Lunicia didn't think her sword skills had improved much compared to before. If she only talked about sword skills, she believed that she could break through Setin's continuous sword attacks one by one based on her previous level.

Of course, this is only technically possible.

If one also considers that even though Sestina didn't use her full strength, her physical fitness, strength, and agility were still far beyond those of a normal person, Lunicia had no doubt that her former self would have been defeated very quickly.

Even if the brain could react, the speed of her hands and feet might not be able to keep up with Systin's rhythm. Even if the speed could be compensated by prediction, the huge force that neither the dragon nor the fortress could resist would definitely overwhelm her. Judging from the fight just now, even though Systin never used her full strength, Lunicia could still feel that her strength had become even stronger than before she left.

——What on earth is happening to my body…?

No matter how you think about it, it must be something that happened to you that led to this result.

What is it specifically?

If we review the abnormal situations during this period one by one, there are actually not many options left.

First, I died once and then was resurrected. I don’t know whether to say it is lucky or unfortunate.

The second one is that he encountered a girl formed by the orange flame. Although she used his own face, she was undoubtedly another person.