The reflection of a blade shone in the forest, and a shadow was suddenly cut in two.
Elseria, standing impassively in the middle of twenty shadows, watched the one in front of her disappear as she raised her sword in a fluid motion to block another's attack.
"You should kindly cease your futile struggle and surrender, Princess. Wouldn't it be a shame if your friend got hurt because you refused to obey?" Lascia's voice echoed from all directions.
Elseria frowned, a hint of anger appearing in her eyes.
"Why are you trying to capture me? I have no value for the kingdom of Loania."
"Ah! That's right! They call you the abomination, isn't it?" said Lascia, laughing, "You don't have to worry. Even if you are a stain among the elves, your blood still has a certain value."
The ground rose beneath Elseria, taking the form of a hand that attempted to grab her. She stepped back, easily dodging the hand before destroying it with a swift slash.
A shadow lunged at her from her right. Its hands were enveloped in a black mist resembling a pair of gloves. The shadow swung its fist straight toward her head.
Elemental water particles appeared around her feet, and in the next instant, she vanished, reappearing behind the shadow, swiftly cutting off its head.
Two more shadows lunged at her from each side, each wielding a spear, while wind blades were fired from her blind spots.
Elseria dodged the two spears by bending her body, preparing to counterattack when she noticed the wind blades. Her sword traced a line in front of her, and a water blade emerged, intercepting the wind blades.
The two shadows moved their spears in an attempt to pierce her, but before their weapons could even graze her, she leaped into the air.
Landing on one shadow's head, she channeled her crystal essence into her foot. With a burst of energy, the shadow's head exploded. Her body fell slowly, with the shadow vanishing beneath her foot.
The sound of the wind whistled as an arrow headed towards her head. Her eyes discerned the approaching arrow, and with a twist of her wrist, she shattered it with her sword before it could reach her.
The shadows continued to hurl themselves at her without granting her a single moment of respite. One shadow emerged above her with a war hammer in its hands plunging towards her. The weight of the hammer increased its falling speed. Elseria dodged to the side while intercepting the strike of a longsword.
The impact of the shadow wielding the hammer resonated through the ground, causing an explosion and sending debris flying in all directions. One of the debris moved abruptly as if it were controlled, hitting her ribs while she defended against three shadows, causing her to grimace in pain.
Elseria gritted her teeth, enduring the pain in her ribs. Suddenly, darkness enveloped her surroundings as if all light had vanished. She felt a sense of danger and created a sphere of water around her body, pushing back the shadows closing in on her.
As quickly as it appeared, the darkness receded, replaced by a blinding light and, with it, a stone pillar that crashed into her chest with tremendous force. The impact sent her flying backward, her body slamming into a nearby tree, which halted her in place.
*cough*
She spat out a mouthful of blood as her body began to fall. She stabbed her sword into the ground, using it as support to keep herself standing.
"Looks like it's the end, Princess," Lascia's voice carried a tone of jubilation as she spoke.
Elseria's eyes grew cold. She glanced around, searching for a figure.
'He shouldn't see me,' she thought before closing her eyes and standing upright.
The shadows rushed at her all at once, their weapons raised, ready to pierce her.
As there was only one step left between her and the shadows, a vast amount of elemental water particles escaped from her body, taking the form of hundreds of blue butterflies that flew slowly.
The world seemed to slow down as a butterfly floated gently before her head. She slowly opened her eyes. Their once golden color was now captivating blue, like the calm surface of a cloudless ocean. They seemed to reflect the vastness of the sea, drawing anyone into their depths of azure with an irresistible allure.
Her silver hair took on a subtle shade of blue, reminiscent of the soft ripples that dance across the surface of a serene lake under the moonlight, shimmering with an unearthly radiance.
As she blinked, the world around her glowed with an ethereal glow, and from her back, a pair of delicate butterfly wings began to unfurl. Each wing was adorned with intricate designs, resembling the delicate veins of a leaf but shimmering with the translucent beauty of water droplets catching the light.
The wings stretched gracefully, their hue shifting between shades of cerulean and aquamarine.
With a graceful movement of her wings, a torrent of water gushed forth, engulfing the shadows. The waves crashed upon them with relentless force, sweeping them away, leaving only droplets of water in their wake as their bodies vanished.
"So that's why they call you an abomination. That title suits you well," Lascia's angry and frustrated voice resonated with a hint of jealousy.
New shadows emerged to replace the old ones, rushing towards Elseria, who raised her sword while taking a combat stance and wiping the trace of blood at the corner of her lips with her other hand.
"Water Waltz"
A blue aura enveloped her sword as water began to swirl around its edge. Her wings fluttered slightly as she took a step forward, disappearing the next instant.
The sound of flowing water could be heard as a shadow was split in two.
Elseria's silhouette couldn't be seen, yet long trails of stagnant water appeared, resembling currents weaving a path between the suddenly divided shadows.
Her ethereal silhouette reappeared behind the shadows shortly after, with her sword held above her head. The water currents created during her passage still hung in the air as the shadows began to disappear one by one.
The eyes of Lascia, hidden within her illusion, widened at the sight. She bit her lip as a white staff adorned with inscriptions and a crystal at its top appeared in her hands. Her face suddenly paled as the inscriptions illuminated.
The air around Elseria warped into a mirage of twisted images of crystal beasts materializing.
An imposing dragon lunged at her, its fiery breath scorching the air. But as its jaws closed in on her, a butterfly landed on the hilt of her sword, the blade coated with a layer of compressed water, and the next moment, dozens of cuts appeared on the dragon, which dissipated into nothingness.
"Tsk. Shouldn't you avoid staying in this form? If your friend sees you like this, he too might think you're an abomination," Lascia said, her voice tinged with venom and impatience, trying to disrupt Elseria in any way she could while she continued to create illusions.
Although Lascia didn't expect her words to have any effect, she saw Elseria's eyelids flutter slightly. A smile formed on her face. 'Eh, so that's how it is.'
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