A warp appeared at the center of a vast plain illuminated by moonlight and stars.

Seven figures emerged from the warp, five steel soldiers, Elena and Harlan.

The place was on the other side of the border, in Sadora territory. Elena had traversed this plain in the morning to reach the canyon where she found something as implausible as a Xibil.

Given the lack of activity on the border between Izana and Sadora, Elena considered that this plain was the best place to hold her fight with Harlan. She did not want her father and the others to know about this.

The warp closed and Harlan walked silently to put distance between himself and Elena. The five steel soldiers stepped back to give space. The reason for their presence was to take care of any unforeseen that might arise. Some monsters from the area could appear and interfere in the fight.

Harlan who was wearing his butler outfit finally stopped about ten yards away and turned to Elena as he adjusted his white gloves.

Elena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The three most significant events in her life came to her mind; the death of her mother, Richell's attempted rape on her, and the day she received Kaname's legacy.

Her mother's death had completely shattered her. Since that day Elena had felt incomplete.

Richell's attempted rape made her hate men and see them as beasts. From that day on, life lost meaning for Elena and she stayed alive and protected herself because she had promised her mother to always keep herself safe.

Finally, there was Kaname's legacy. Since Elena received that power and Kaname's knowledge, she thought she had been reborn. However, this was a farce. She only had been blinded by the power and her self-confidence was just an illusion that was completely shattered by that ominous creature, the Xibil.

She had to change; she had to change not only for her own good but for the good of those who had followed her. She had to change to face any future situation.

Elena opened her eyes and unsheathed one of the steel swords hanging from her waist.

An imperceptible smile appeared on Harlan's lips. Elena had said she wanted to change, and she chose to do it through battle.

Long before he was a servant to House Lutrel, Harlan had been an orphan who grew up on the street, constantly robbing and fleeing to survive.

Harlan's life changed when he stole a silver brooch from a noblewoman. He had pretended to bump into her by accident to grab the pin from her chest.

Harlan was twelve years old at the time and was forced to rob by a small gang of criminals.

Somehow that woman had suddenly appeared in the hiding place of that gang of thieves, and without the help of anyone, she knocked out ten men.

Barely showing tiredness, that woman stood in front of a shocked Harlan and exclaimed some words that Harlan could never forget.

"Stealing from a helpless woman, don't you have pride of your own?"

Harlan had to endure the desire to laugh every time he remembered that. A helpless woman?

"Pride won't feed me" —this was the only thing Harlan could answer.

"If your pride cannot prevent you from starving, it is because you are weak, I will teach you to live with pride!"

Without asking for his opinion, that woman took Harlan and dragged him into the city center, to Lutrel Palace.

Harlan was subjected to a brutal training regimen at the hands of that woman, and every time he escaped, she always ended up finding him and after hitting him, she dragged him back to Lutrel Palace.

With passaging time Harlan stopped trying to flee and trained diligently, and without even knowing when it happened, he changed. He was forced to do it with blows and training. However, Harlan has never regretted or any reproach about how things ended. He was deeply grateful to that woman for forcing him to become strong, for teaching him to live with pride.

Harlan suddenly remembered that when he saw the faint shadow of that woman in Elena's violet eyes, a tenacious look, equal to the look of Claire Eis Lutrel, Elena's grandmother.

「Miss Elena, let me test your strength and your determination」

Some black marks appeared on Harlan's face, and later he practically disappeared and then appeared in front of Elena.

Harlan thrust his right fist forward.

Elena who had been totally taken by surprise could barely raise his sword to protect herself.

Harlan's fist hit the side of Elena's sword, and the force of the attack pushed Elena several steps back.

「Thaumaturgy…」

Elena muttered that in surprise as she was pushed back.

Thaumaturgy was one of the simplest branches of magic, but difficult to learn and very complex to master. Therefore finding a user of Thaumaturgy is even much more difficult than finding a user of runic magic.

As for the applications of thaumaturgy, essentially this was not very different from runic magic, however, there was a great advantage in thaumaturgy over runic magic.

Runic magic envelops the skin, bones, nerves, tendons, and muscles with magic power to strengthen them. This is the reason magic runes appear floating around the body.

Thaumaturgy directly administers magical power to the skin, bones, nerves, tendons, and muscles and forces them to strengthen. The sign of this is black marks and lines that appear on the skin.

The effects of runic magic fade when you stop using it and this not leave consequences on the body.

Thaumaturgy is not that simple.

Being forced to strengthen due to the direct administration of magic power, muscles, bones, nerves, tendons, and skin is gradually strengthening little by little with the constant use of thaumaturgy. The pinnacle of thaumaturgy is said to be reached once it becomes unnecessary to use it when the body can move and perform normally as under the effect of thaumaturgy.

However, administering magic power directly to the body's organs and systems is a very painful process. Few people can bear this pain without losing consciousness. Moving while enduring this heartbreaking pain could already be considered a feat.

Like rune magic, thaumaturgy did not exist when Kaname and his companions fought demons, making Elena unable to use it.

Not giving Elena time to react, Harlan appeared on her right side and performed a powerful spinning kick.

All Elena could do this time was to watch Harlan's leg come. She could not react.

Harlan's leg hit Elena's right forearm. She let out a slight cry of pain as she rolled onto the ground.

Harlan's speed exceeded Elena's normal speed, she had even ended up releasing her sword from that attack, and possessing Elena's body ten percent of a transmigrant's abnormality, this was a shocking result.

Harlan was most likely close to reaching the pinnacle of thaumaturgy. His body was already normally strong without using thaumaturgy. Elena understood this as she rolled on the ground, and realizing that she could not face Harlan normally, she activated her runic magic.

With her body surrounded by magical runes, Elena rested her hands on the ground and propelled herself into the air, then fell to her feet.

Harlan couldn't help but form a visible smile on his lips when he sees Elena's body being surrounded by magic runes. He had seen her use runic magic on her arms when she faced Richell, but he never expected that she would be so skilled as to use runic magic all over her body at the same time. Such a level of control over runic magic at such a young age would make the Balzan House and the Royal Family feel ashamed.

「You really haven't been soft, Harlan」

Elena stated that while wiping some blood from the edge of her lips.

Harlan gave a slight laugh. He had used himself thoroughly from the beginning to be a wall against which Elena collided. This was his way of trying to help her achieve what she was trying to do, change.

「These old bones will get some action again」

After saying that, Harlan ran straight towards Elena, this time she could see Harlan's movements.

Elena unsheathed her second steel sword while Harlan had collected the sword she had lost.

Both steel swords collided, and many sparks flew from the friction.

Harlan tried to push harder but ended up being forced to back off.

Under the effect of runic magic, Elena now outnumbered Harlan.

Dismissing the showdown in physical strength, Harlan drew back several leaps back with a faint smile on his lips. His body had been influenced by thaumaturgy for decades, and yet he had been overcome in physical strength by Elena. This was pleasantly interesting to him.

「It looks like I will have to try hard」

Harlan released the steel sword and brought his hands to the back of his waist and from his clothes, he took out a pair of daggers. Using the sword was not really his specialty.

Elena squeezed the hilt of her sword with both hands and sharpened her senses to the maximum, Harlan's aura had undergone a significant change when he wields those two daggers.

Harlan charged towards Elena and having her within his reach, he pushed the side of the dagger in his right hand towards her. The blade of the dagger struck the steel sword, and the force of the shock pushed it back.

Another attack quickly fell on Elena, this time the dagger in Harlan's left hand came from her left. Elena deftly maneuvered to re-block with her sword, but immediately Harlan's right knee shot up and hit Elena's abdomen.

Elena took two steps back but with no room to counterattack, the daggers fell once more on her, and by blocking each attack, Harlan once again used one of his legs to hit her.

Am I being pressured? —Elena was surprised to realize this.

Thanks to rune magic and as she possessed ten percent of a transmigrant's abnormality, Elena was outperforming Harlan in strength, speed, and reflexes, however, she was being overwhelmed by Harlan's experience, and her fencing could be described as mediocre.

Elena was one of the worst regarding fencing within the Order of Saint Eclestine, and this had not changed by obtaining the legacy of Kaname. She defeated that Baron of Dur because the difference in strength between the two was abysmal.

In front of the Xibil, Elena discovered that she was still the cowardly girl who constantly ran away.

Facing Harlan, she was understanding how wrong she was to think that just by possessing Kaname's legacy only the gods could pose a real danger to her.

Harlan was strong, but his best moment was over. If someone at Harlan's level and half his age attacked Elena, what would be the result? She would surely be defeated.

Elena still had the sorcery and her puppets, but weren't these two advantages useless against the Xibil?

No, Elena did not want to hide behind her puppets and her sorcery. Something like that should not be an advantage for her, but merely tools for carrying out tedious tasks.

What to do to leave mediocrity behind?

The moment that question crossed Elena's mind, an image subtly slipped through her mind, the image of a black-haired young man wielding a katana, Kaname. A second later, another image came into Elena's mind, that of a cocky young knight wielding a two-hand-sword, Feris the Holy Knight.

Harlan's right leg hit Elena's chest, pushing her back several steps.

What to do to leave mediocrity behind?

As she watched Harlan charging once more at her, the answer to that question was generated in Elena's mind.

What does it matter if it's not my strength? I never have had anything of my own, just my life.

As Elena Eis Lutrel I received from my father food, education, a name, and what is necessary to live.

As Elena Lutrel, I could not get any success and lived for three years under the shadow of the past.

Everything I have as Elena Izana I have received thanks to the Kaname's legacy.

What does it matter if it's not something that belongs to me? I'll take it, and then I'll make it completely mine.

Elena stopped backing up and completely readjusted her posture. Her legs spread slightly, she leaned her body forward slightly and held her sword in both hands in front but with an unusual posture.

Harlan narrowed his eyes as he noticed a change in Elena's aura, yet he didn't stop and continued charging towards her.

This time Elena did not wait for Harlan's attack. In a swift movement, she launched an upward cut as she stepped forward.

Being completely taken by surprise, Harlan crossed his arms and used both daggers to stop Elena's sudden attack.

Elena's sword was locked between the edge of the two daggers. However, the blade of the sword emitted a faint glow.

「Overcharge」

Harlan felt as if his arms were about to split in two. The strength of Elena's attack exploded. Elena had used a battle technique.

Unable to withstand the force of that attack, Harlan's arms gave out and were pushed up as the two daggers flew. Harlan could barely take a step back to see Elena's sword draw an ascending arc an inch from his face.

As her sword rose in an arc after breaking Harlan's defense, Elena took advantage of the inertia of that to make a turn on her right leg.

Elena's body turned to her left, and she lifted her left leg to tap Harlan's left side with her ankle.

With her arms still being propelled upwards, Harlan could do nothing and Elena's attack hit him squarely on his left ribs.

Harlan rolled several meters on the ground, then stopped and quickly stood up. He was laughing happily.

Because his bones, muscles, and skin were very resilient thanks to decades of using thaumaturgy, none of his bones had been broken and he only had a few slight cuts on his skin made by rocks on the ground. His butler uniform was now a mess, full of wrinkles, cuts, dust, and a few bloodstains.

Elena quickly returned to a battle stance as she kept her full attention on Harlan. She was now using Kaname's fencing and his battle techniques, and she was combining all this with the way Feris used runic magic.

The result of that was flexible fencing based on swift and accurate movements but could be switched to mere brute force-supported attacks powered by runic magic and battle techniques.

This was the answer Elena had come up with. Combining, adapting, changing, and creating, she would use everything at her disposal to achieve her goals and along the way, she would make it all her own.

「Miss Elena, it seems you have found an interesting path, let me help you ground the foundations」

Harlan wiped the blood that drained from the edge of his lips and then readjusted his white gloves.

「Stasis 」

A visible amount of white steam was expelled from each edge and cut into Harlan's clothes.

Elena's eyes widened.

Stasis was one of the most egregious and difficult to learn battle techniques, thus altering the flow of magic power and agglomerating it on a specific point of the body at the user's will, resulting in a strengthening that was above even the effect of thaumaturgy.

A forearm under the effect of Stasis could block the edge of a mytril sword without taking damage, and a fist under the same effect could break the iron as if it were glass.

However, Stasis can only focus for a few two seconds on a single point on the body, and going beyond that limit could lead to the point under Stasis effect to explode. Therefore when activating this battle technique, the user must continuously move all over his body that agglomeration of magic power, and doing this while fighting and in a way profitable for the battle is a feat perhaps comparable to using thaumaturgy.

Thaumaturgy and Stasis, Elena finally understood the reason Kaname's senses told her that Harlan was perhaps stronger than an Izana Knight.

「Perhaps having faced a True Dragon would have been easier」

Elena murmured that while trying not to laugh.