"HAAAAA!!"

The Goddess of War, Anri charged straight at me. There was no trace that she was preparing a complex move. No traces of a faint or a follow up. She simply was charging with the intent to slash straight forward with all her might.

Normally I can dodge it, but I want to feel the force behind her swing. I want to see just how strong she is. And how far apart are our abilities. So I tightly gripped Yuki and met her sword head on.

The moment our swords collided the earth shook and a powerful gust of wind mowed down the surrounding landscape.

A second clash. Followed by a third. And finally a forth.

We stood in the centre of a typhoon of force where everything around us was mown down by our sword pressure.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!” (Sasha)

“What’s this!? What’s with this natural disaster!?” (Gamma)

“Wha…wait. What are you doing!? A mountain just vanished! The entire town is being destroyed.” (Sasha)

“Earthquakes are still happening…….” (Stella)

If it weren't for that Perfect cube spell, they most likely would have been blown away.

"Relax. Anri said she can turn back time, so it's ok."

"Fuh."

I noticed a smile on Anri's face. 

"You seem quite happy."

"That's because it's been so long since I used this much power. You're actually a big deal. Being able to take my blows without flinching…

More. Show me more!!"

"Gladly."

This time I was the one that charged towards her. Just as our blades were about to clash again.

"Lotus Stance: Sweeping Broom!"

Instead of taking her blade head on I pushed it sideways. Then with muscle tension I flip the sword in my hand so the blade once again pointed towards her and reversed my strike.

Connect!

But that didn't happen.

*Clang!!!*

"What!?"

"Fufu. A perfectly good blow. You almost got me with that one."

A pitch black dagger was formed into one of her free hands and she used it to parry my blade. My strike failed. Sensing that, I leaped backwards.

"That's weird. You're capable of multi-thought processing?"

It's hard to explain in words. Normally humans can't independently act differently with their arms at the same time. For example if you ask someone to draw a circle with his right hand and a triangle with his left, at the same time, it's almost impossible. I say almost because there are people who can do it.

True with proper training there are people that managed to harness that skill, but it's still extremely hard to pull off something like that in combat.

"Don't be so shocked. I am a Goddess. I have been to countless battlefields. My experience vastly outmatches yours. And yes, I can control each one of my hands differently."

"Then how about this?

DEEEYAAA!!"

I slash sideways with Yuki. The slash creates an immense amount of mana power which overflows from the tip of the blade, generating a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. And not just one. I generated 3 at the same time to assault her from different angles. This should instantly freeze her.

"Trying out magic now? How boring. [Celestial Fury]!"

She impaled her sword into the ground and when she said those words, a shockwave of lighting bolts emerged in a circular pattern. It grew in size and collided with my ice, completely breaking my dragons apart.

"Come on. Don't tell me you actually thought that would work? Stop acting so surprised. If you don't get serious…

I'll kill you."

A dark shadow flickered before my eyes. I haven't lost sight of her, but she was faster than my reflexes. She closed the gap between us and the shadow I saw was… her trident. 

"Guuaaah!"

I tried my best to dodge but I couldn't avoid it fully. The side of my abdomen was grazed and blood gushed out. However the wound wasn't deep.

Anri then lifted the trident and started licking the blood that it managed to soak.

"I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting your blood to be red just like an average person. But the taste is exquisite."

"You're really messed up there. Unfortunately I don't plan to give you seconds."

"Is that so? I doubt it. If you had trouble avoiding the previous thrust, then what's going to happen if I fire them in rapid succession?

Divine Tempo Assault!"

Crap! She rapidly threw thrusts one after another. Such muscle power is amazing. But this isn't the time to admire my opponent. If someone were to observe this fight from the outside, they would seriously think that I am assaulted by 10 spears at the same time. A flurry of assaults. However…

“The more I fight someone, the more I evolve.”

Each and every strike, I am fully able to dodge it. She kept the onslaught of attacks coming, however all they are hitting are nothing more than afterimages.

“Kuh… this shouldn’t be possible.”

Her physical speed, the speed of her sword as well as her Foresight that Nyarla mentioned… being able to predict the enemy’s attack. She’s abusing every type of speed and combining them into the monstrosity in front of me.

“Do you really have the time to daydream?”

I closed the distance. She can't use her trident at this range.

"Rondo Stance: Crescent Wind!"

I made an upward slash to brush away her sword and break her stance. Normally her swing matches my own but I use the moment of my speed to overpower her and redirect the force of her blow, slightly staggering her in the process.

Then I immediately twisted Yuki to point her downwards. From this angle I could twist my body and using my flexibility I could make a follow up attack and slice her in half.

"Fool. You left yourself exposed."

Her sword and trident were useless but she still had her dagger. She immediately thrusted her dagger into my stomach but…

*Clang*

A metallic sound echoes. Anri opened her eyes wide in surprise. Her thrust was perfect. I had no way to defend myself. So what happened? 

"You're pretty impressive, but you underestimated me. I already saw this coming."

She was shocked because the place where she tried to stab me was covered in ice. I generated an ice flower on my abdomen. The dagger didn't reach my flesh. 

And now that she had no way to counter, with great speed I slash downwards with a power enough to split a boulder. 

"Gotcha! HAAAAA!!"