Chapter 9 - First Boss Battle

Saffron, the young maid working for the Van Eisen family, didn't know how to react in this situation.

Sure she has experienced the trials and tribulations of being a captive maidservant to the invaders as well as to her also captive boss, especially when she has to work for both sides of the occupants of the mansion she currently resides in.

She was supposed to be an ordinary village girl, doing what needs to be done in your typical village life. It was supposed to be normal.

Then, they discover your magical potential, and all of a sudden, they begin to dislike you.

This was a shift in Saffron Avesta's life that she didn't want to happen.

For whatever reasons, whether it be society or religious beliefs, she doesn't know. But what she does know is people don't seem to like Magic Arts that much.

How it started the trend that Magic Arts users are sold to noble households to be used for a variety of purposes that she was scared to delve into, she doesn't have a single clue how it started. Everything was so vague and confusing as if there was no sense of the chaos that surrounded her.

Saffron Avesta, a user of the Light Arts, didn't seem to view the world in a good light.

There was still hope. That part was true, as seen how the Van Eisen household operates. Especially how kind the family treated her despite the differences in personality traits.

All was well until the invaders attacked.

Fortunately, she and her boss, Juvia Van Eisen, were the only ones not deported during the early stages of the attack. Unfortunately, however, she has to be bound in chains alongside lady Juvia and serve them. With said chains restricting her use of magic.

Now, serving as a maidservant was no foreign concept to Saffron, as she has been working quite well and dutifully to her responsibilities. She was even praised as a diligent maid working in maintaining the mansion and attending to the needs of the Van Eisen household.

There were a few things she felt that were odd despite her new life as a captive servant.

One, there were times when soldiers wanted to take a peek under her skirt, but they did not dare to assault her, rather they would take opportunities that would most often be them watching her from afar whenever she passed by. Which was odd considering the rumors she had heard about war being soldiers raping women or killing them in some way, but not them. The female soldiers, to her surprise that they exist at all in the invading army, were more direct than their male counterparts, groping her chest and performing more indecent actions. She despised them more than the male soldiers.

Two, there were some who wanted massages in the living. In a bizarre way, they prefer her doing it. Which is creepy, and it caught the attention of the "Scary Man in Glasses" (Kuznetsov), and he requested the same thing. Albeit in a more relaxing way and more privately isolated from the soldiers, which was done inside the office he used, she gained some experience with massages along the way.

Finally, the Battle-Hungry Captain (Heinrich) was staring at her.

This is the current situation that she's facing, and she has no idea how to react.

She was aware of the reputation the man holds, the most prominent being him taking down Zedekiah Van Eisen and slaughtering tens of thousands of soldiers on his own. There was no reason not to fear the man. Especially when he was the one who caught her when she tried to save Zedekiah during the night of the invasion.

Saffron thought at that time that the Battle-Hungry Captain was distracted enough that she could use the small window of opportunity to grab Juvia's son and teleport far away. But, no; somehow, in some way, she was knocked out by him in a burst of speed that she wasn't able to react to. Since then, she was held captive alongside the Eisen Matriarch.

This was how she came to be from that time forward. The man, the Battle-Hungry Captain known as Heinrich Abednego, has taken a close eye on her. A little too close for comfort.

Why is he so close?!

There was no reason for him to be doing this kind of thing. Sure, the Scary Man in Glasses wasn't here now because he had somewhere else to go, and the Battle-Hungry Captain was left in charge of overseeing the land while he was away. Also, the person who was in charge of the Haun Regiment fell ill, and the Battle-Hungry Captain was also left in charge of the one thousand soldiers in his stead.

Not only could he kill thousands, but she was pretty sure he could lead thousands as a terrifying commander.

Although she doesn't know why he was doing this, all she knows is that she was doing her usual job of cleaning and wiping windows, even though it was dark outside. There was nothing that she had done that could garner the attention of a scary man like Heinrich.

Mustering the courage to speak, her body and eyes visibly trembled as she began to open her mouth.

"I-Is there something t-t-t-t-t-that you n-need?"

Why did I stutter in the middle?!

Saffron berated herself in her mind. It made her look like a fool in front of the Battle-Hungry Captain as his gaze intensified.

She wanted to run away and cry, but she knew she could catch her before she could react. There was no way that she could do anything else but wait for his reply.

After what seemed like eternity, the scary man finally answered.

"...I've been thinking something… about you, specifically."

"...Huh…?"

The way the man said confused her. But, before she could even properly respond more to his words, the man continued.

"It feels odd that a Magic Arts user such as yourself would exist in this time of age, especially with your use of Light Arts."

"...What about my Light Arts?"

"Oh? You don't know? That's funny coming from you, maid… Ah, I see that you truly don't know. Hmm… interesting…"

Saffron could only flinch at the Battle-Hungry Captain. The way the man seemed to read her mind was scarily accurate, and also, the way he was able to read through her was as if he was opening an easy-to-read book.

I only wanted a normal life. Is that too much to ask?

She missed the good old days where having the company of the Van Eisen family was such a bliss. The time when she could talk to them without fear of repercussions was something she held dearly in her heart.

Those days are gone, and she knows it. Just like when she was sold away after her magical potential was discovered.

Before the Captain could continue, the bells rang. Their noise echoed through the occupied Margrave Eisen Land.

Soldiers began rushing out of the rooms they had occupied, fully equipped with armor and weapons as if they'd worn it all day long.

"What's happening?"

The maid thought out loud, not knowing what the reason for the sudden alarm they were having.

It wasn't long before she got her answer.

"Tsk. An attack, huh? Another nuisance to destroy, I suppose. Those fools never learn, do they?"

The man said calmly with a hint of disappointment in his tone, his gaze shifting outside the window. His soldiers ran outside the gates to meet with the attackers.

Then, he turned his back at the maid, surprising her with his serious face.

"I'll be back for more questioning, maid. But, for now, I'll have to deal with those fools from the Amriel Kingdom."

Without saying another word, the Captain left. His figure walked away from the young woman who was startled after he had said those words to her.

Saffron Avesta couldn't tell if it was a lucky day for her or another bad day. However, what she knows is that she has more time and space to do what she needs to do.

She breathed a sigh of relief before noticing something at a distance in the hallway.

With no one who can see nor stop her, Saffron approaches the object she noticed. Her speed that she used to walk was quick and swift, as her curiosity wanted to take a quick look before her captors decided to go back.

Once she reached where the fallen object was, Saffron recognized it in an instant.

"This is…"

She knew what it was, and it felt like a godsend opportunity that was presented before her.

"...Looks like there is a way out after all."

Saffron grinned for the first time in the eight months she was taken captive by the invaders. Her face looked like she had discovered a gold mine.

"Now, I need to bring this to Lady Juvia, and everything will finally be alright."

As she said those words, she grabbed the object and ran as fast as her feet could muster.

After all, time was of the essence.

XXX

Screams were heard throughout the conquered lands of the Margrave Eisen family. Echoing the night sky between the Star Mountains of the Amriel Kingdom.

Tens to hundreds of men rushed to the source to combat the invading force that fell their fellow comrades in combat. Fully armed with armor that can withstand considerable damage on par with their weapons of war.

These men were soldiers prepared to combat any human force that dared to invade. They were men who were trained in close combat, even at the frontlines, and were considered to be the bravest among the common men. These are individuals who fought tooth and nail in every engagement with bandits and rogues alike that plagued the land and had experienced near death as they fought at the command of their leaders. It can be said that they were men who were the ideal soldiers that any nation could dream of.

Yet, all of these were nothing to the slaughter that they were facing.

The invading force, or rather, the invading person, was cutting down their ranks like the wind blowing the dust of the earth. Tossing to and fro in every direction of her terrible might.

With each stroke, the invader strikes; one soldier falls. Another fell victim with the next swing of the terrible swift sword.

Even armor and shields, made with the best steel available, were hewn down like the sword cutting through the flesh of a defenseless human. Their swords were snapped as they attempted to block the invader's swing to no avail.

The invader, with her short shoulder-length crimson red hair that can be mistaken for blood, blew past the fallen soldiers. Her small body, insignificant to the towering bodies of men, housed with such strength that it put those who are witnessing the slaughter in such unbelief that they wonder if it is even possible for an invader such as her could hold such strength. Even those who had years of experience could not express well enough to explain the phenomenon that had occurred.

With speed like that of the wind was rushing towards the soldiers, cutting them down with no way to combat effectively against the embodied winds of their destruction. Her white coat and flowing long white skirt alongside her red hair gave her an appearance of a crimson-white whirlwind of death. A menace in times of war.

Rosetta van Eisen, the invader from the soldiers' perspective, was simply trying to reclaim her family's land by force.

Months of training under Samuel in the Northern Tribes of the Amriel Kingdom had made her a force to be reckoned with.

Those months of humiliating training, from him overpowering her the moment she got cocky, stripping her nearly naked and left tied to a tree during cold blizzard nights as punishment, speaking words of poetry that doesn't make any sense to allowing her to venture out to reclaim the land that was once her family's after she had suddenly transported from a portal at the time of her unwanted exile by the heathens that took her home. Even though Samuel himself had told her not to go for reasons, she, herself, does not know.

Regardless of his warnings and heeding them not; Rosetta set out by herself, feeling that her time was at hand to reclaim what is hers. Perhaps it was her burning desire to return to her homeland that got her to drop all of her training that Samuel provided her.

The small woman, around 5 feet tall, took the final swing, finishing off the last of the soldiers that were stationed in the land of her inheritance. Making the last groan she will ever hear from the soldiers that rushed to attack her.

"Now that's the last of them."

The young girl breathed a sigh of relief, looking around the dead bodies of the armored men lying around. Hundreds of their lifeless bodies scattered throughout the land. Each of their lives were taken with a single stroke each.

Her training had given such a great boost in her combat ability that it became an unfair advantage over these soldiers. The men that gave their all over this futile attempt to stop.

Even then, she saw their bodies and their efforts; she saw all of these with contempt in her eyes.

If she had been before the invasion eight months when it first began, she would have sorrow for them since they, like her, have a life. However, since they invaded and took what is not theirs, she had the reason to slaughter them with callous indifference to these fallen invaders. From which nation they were affiliated, she does not know. Regardless of that, she knows they were not good either from her perspective.

If anything, they were as good as dead in her mind.

"Now, moving to the main grounds."

Her view narrowed to the castle mansion where she had lived for most of her life. The building now stands as an obstacle that housed the enemy commander of the soldiers that were stationed in her family's land.

Rosetta stared at the castle mansion as she took a deep breath, sheathing her sword. Exhaling whatever feelings she might've felt when she saw her own home, the unwanted exile, the humiliation, out of her lungs and uttered beneath her breath:

"Let's go."

The young woman moved without hesitation towards the final destination of her reclamation. With speed like the wind, she went her way towards there. Easily avoiding debris and obstacles prepared for the invading force beforehand, the training provided by Samuel had given her many opportunities that would make any skilled person in parkour jealous.

Before, she was only strong enough to kill a tiger with one punch and with strength in her legs as strong as said beast, making her a monster of a runner, especially considering the amount of force put into with consideration of the size and weight of her body.

As she was before, she was now different from her own self from the past.

Now, she felt she could outpace the wind itself. The strength she has now is strong enough to shatter walls, so strong that even Samuel, her mentor, claimed she could destroy a 7 meter (23 feet) thick wall with a height of 27 meters. That same wall was also used to defend the Holy City, Jerubbaal, of the Holy Land for centuries since the Great Demon War.

Although it doesn't compare to the walls that protected the Capital City, Zerubbabel, which is about 26 meters thick and 102 meters high. Jerubbaal, in comparison, was entirely different for a reason.

As for how specific Samuel's knowledge was, she does not know. One thing for certain, she knew that he knew something.

Regardless of the mystery she felt from that man, she went her way, using her trained body to leap several meters high without strain under the moonlit sky as if giving the impression of her dancing through the air. A maiden flowing through the night sky with a single purpose in mind.

With that, she arrived at the main grounds of the Eisen Mansion, landing gracefully with her shoes, making an audible tap as she spread her arms, making it seem like she's giving a respectful greeting like any woman born in the nobility would do.

There, as if knowing beforehand, the leader of the enemy soldiers waited at the entrance, even at the doorsteps, of the Eisen Mansion. Crossing his arms, the commander, fully dressed in his full-suit of armor, the Lion's emblem showed proudly at his finely made silver-colored armor at the breastplate, his red cape flowing freely in the wind, and by his side a sword with the face of a lion as its hand guard by the hilt placed inside its sheath; giving an appearance of a sleeping lion.

The moment she saw him, she knew him instantly as the enemy commander.

If anything else, he gave off an aura befitting his stature and status. His dark brown hair and beard and his dull gray eyes had given the appearance of a man who had seen many battles.

Then, after a few tense moments, the man uttered. The tone is old but firm, as evidenced by his speech.

"You must be the one that slaughtered all of my men."

The commander stared at her deep blue eyes with his gray eyes. Narrowing his view at the woman who single handedly destroyed his entire unit.

"Yes." Was the curt reply of Rosetta van Eisen.

The man scoffed but nonetheless remained cautious at the woman while maintaining his ground. His confident but cautionary figure befits him to be an honorable, competent commander. So much so that when he introduced himself to her, it nearly caught her off guard.

"Very well. I am Heinrich. Captain Heinrich Abednego, currently in command of the Haun Regiment under the command of General Roshach Mill, supreme commander of the entire 11th Army. And you are?"

"...Rosetta. Rosetta van Eisen. I am here to reclaim the land you have forcefully taken from me."

The young woman replied, her eyes still looking firmly at Heinrich. With his look, on the other hand, he was raising his brow at the mere mention of her name.

"Van Eisen? I see. If you're from that family, then it means you are—"

"A descendant of the Sword Saint who fought in the Great Demon War 800 years ago."

"..."

The man went silent as the young woman, claiming herself to be the descendant of the Sword Saint, got his interest in her lineage.

He had heard the legends of said Sword Saint, the man who claimed to have mastered the Heavenly Sword Style, and one of many heroes during the Great Demon War that have defeated the Demon Emperor and his followers. It was said that their victory marked the turning point of how the world viewed its progression. Most especially towards the Elves, which the war had the most impact on out of all the races.

In order to have such a claim, either the woman is foolish or she has the right to do so as she so claims by her lineage to that same man that restored peace within human civilization.

Nevertheless, the commander of the Haun Regiment began to speak once more to the girl. This time, he exudes more confidence in his words, and he begins to be slightly bold with her.

"—Even so, however, you are still a child. A child like yourself would not benefit from that name alone."

Hearing him calling her a child, even though she was old enough to be in her late teens, but her height and her body itself looked like she was in her puberty; making it irritating to her to call her a "child" as a taunt.

"What makes you think of that?!"

Hearing that made Heinrich suddenly grinned at the woman. His overall aura changed drastically to the point that Heinrich wasn't the same as before.

"You are too young to know that!"

In an instant, the man disappeared where he stood and appeared in front of Rosetta. His Lion's Sword was already drawn from its sheath, prepared to cut her down with a downward slash.

The woman barely reacted to the enemy commander's movements, drawing her blade; she blocked the incoming strike with her own sword, striking the blade with equal force. Creating a resounding clang that echoed throughout the entire main grounds. Forcing both combatants to jump back to create distance from each other.

She's/He's strong!

Now, from that instance, both of them knew that this wasn't going to be an easy battle to win.

With no time to spare, both combatants dashed forward each with speeds that defy human perception. Moving fast enough that their swings became invisible to the eyes of the normal man. The sound of steel clashing against steel ringing reverberated the entire battlefield. Creating dust clouds with each strike, moving throughout the battlefield without anything to distract them nor to hinder them in this dangerous clash of blades.

Their strengths matched back-to-back in this dance of swords, and sparks were seen as metal to metal and began to grind each other with passing clashes. The commander then made a diagonal downward cut with the young woman countered with the left swing. Creating a shockwave that blew the dust from the ground they were standing on.

The next move Rosetta made was letting the force of the sword flow past her blade, sliding it down to the earth. Thus creating an opening for her to strike back, using whatever ounce of force she could muster, swinging her sword, aiming at Heinrich's left side to his throat, attempting to slice open to create what was hopefully the killing blow to end this battle.

Then, the enemy commander was unexpectedly quick enough to block the incoming blow with his arm, protected by the gantlet of his armor. Blocking the attack completely while throwing Heinrich off to the side, sliding by a few meters all without falling to the ground.

He blocked it?!

Rosetta looked at the man with shock in her eyes. Seeing the impossible before her.

The young woman knew this was going to be a difficult battle the moment she and Heinrich made that first clash. But she didn't expect him to be as powerful as her.

All those months of training and yet she found herself at the end with the enemy commander standing on the same level of strength that she has. With combat skills that can counter whatever angle she could possibly aim to no avail. His physical strength must be insane to be able to keep up with her.

If that wasn't enough to give her much trouble, Heinrich's armor was impossibly durable for normal steel armor. She put all of her strength into that slash, and it didn't make a scratch nor a dent into that armor. And she was strong enough to cut through armor of all things, as evidenced to the earlier encounter with the enemy soldiers.

How is it even possible?

She knew there were no magical enchantments in place. If there were, she would've sensed it earlier when the battle started.

Frustrated by this predicament, Rosetta leaped back, reaching a distance that she could comfortably use one of the Combat Arts, one of the many things she learned from Samuel. Raising her sword to the air upward and preparing for a downward slash toward Heinrich at a distance where the length of her sword could not physically reach.

"Wind Art: Air Blade!"

Using most of her strength, she launched an invisible slash of wind at the enemy commander. An invisible blade that can cut through trees, rocks, and most especially, flesh with great ease.

If his armor was strong enough to block any physical attack I could throw at, then it must be weak to magical attacks.

That was the most logical thing she could think of. It's likely that Heinrich's armor was made specifically to defend against physical attacks. As seen a few moments ago. There's a few probable reasons why it happened, but Rosetta was willing to take the option of finding out first rather than figuring it out through speculation.

If applying the principle, right arm strong and left arm weak, then it is most likely that using magic-based attacks would bypass the armor's defenses.

In this world, there were no such things as a perfect defense of both physical and magical types. In fact, there were no such things that had existed, not even during the Great Demon War.

It was, after all, common sense. However…

As the blade of wind passed through at astonishing speeds, Heinrich formed his arms into an X, covering his body as the Air Blade made contact, pushing the enemy commander with the ground beneath him, forming small mounds of dirt around the boots, with each passing second. Finally dispersing the Air Blade with all the strength that he had along with a roar as if he had done a feat of great difficulty.

Heinrich Abednego had managed to block it. A magical attack that the young Eisen thought would work against him.

Rosetta widened her eyes in shock at the feat. Bringing her to a stupor of thought at what she thought was impossible for him.

"How?"

That was the only thing she could utter in disbelief before Heinrich unexpectedly threw his sword, his Lion's Sword, at the young woman. Thus breaking off her stupor as she deflected the man's thrown sword, a foolish move by many.

For the enemy commander, he used the opportunity to immediately close the gap between him and her, charging at the young woman at full speed that Rosetta could not react in time before he threw a punch with his right hand, aimed and made contact at the young woman's solar plexus.

The sword maiden threw up, and her saliva went out of her as the blow propelled her flying through the air. So strong was the force behind it that when she made contact with the wall of the Eisen main grounds, it shattered into many pieces. The remaining structure then fell on the young woman, covering her with rubble from head to toe.

The thick walls that defended the Eisen Family Mansion for many years fell. The structure that was said will provide the last line of defense had fallen.

But Rosetta Van Eisen has not fallen yet.

XXX

Heinrich watched with bated breath, his eyes locked on where the young Eisen was as the rubble kept on falling on the woman. His serious expression never left as he knew that woman wouldn't fall that easily, even though it took all that he got into that blow.

He watched everything literally fall into place, even until, finally, a single pebble was dropped on the woman.

Although he had seen more than enough times of combatants thrown to walls and dying from it too many times to be a common occurrence. Heinrich knew that the young woman, as far as what he had seen, wouldn't die that easily.

Years of experience told him that even when he gave it his all, there is always something about willpower that fascinates him. To see those who rise again from their fall with such conviction that it could bring fear to anyone who is not prepared for it. Especially those who desperately thought it was the end of them.

But for him, and as well as other commanders of similar rank, they knew what to expect from the beginning, even before the battle started.

Years of careful recorded history and legends passing from generation to generation had helped him as well. Those from the Tsada Theocracy were better prepared despite the unbelieving general populace that plagued the nation for some time now.

Almost immediately after a second had passed, a burst of wind erupted from the ground, throwing all of the debris, both small and big, in every direction. Flying so far as the outskirts of the Margrave Eisen territory itself.

As all of this was happening, Heinrich merely scoffed as he caught an incoming rock that was dangerously approaching at his face. Perfectly catching it with his left hand, crushing it, turning it into smaller pieces; thereby showing his already impressive strength. The man soon found the woman standing from where the rubble was, perfectly fine with no visible scratches on her overall appearance.

In fact, there wasn't anything that could say she was injured in the first place. Instead, she had a scowl look on her as she brushed off the dust from her dress. Treating the whole matter as if it wasn't anything too surprising to her.

The man narrowed his eyes at the young woman, the invader that had gone so far to slaughter his men single handedly. A feat he would've commended if it weren't the fact she was an enemy to begin with that attacked his station out of nowhere.

Although he and his unit were the ones who took the territory in the first place, he had no problems admitting it. Knowing the events transpired were all true.

Yet, it had happened so long ago that any survivors that could've survived that day escaped his mind. However, he was sure enough none had escaped. The survivors were then treated as prisoners of war and deported somewhere at the high plateau of San Korras, an annexed territory of the Theocracy, at the far south. He himself had evaluated the matter regarding those who have been captured by his men and seen to it that they have done their job.

However, to see one managed to escape looked like an impossibility to him. Especially with the gift he has.

Heinrich was born with the Gift of Evaluation. Meaning, he had the ability to evaluate and weigh in what everyone does under his stewardship with perfect accuracy of their performance and overall result of their work; including checking if everything was just as planned or if it is in over-abundance of what they had prepared. Making this ability valuable in terms of statistical accuracy in the workforce for public affairs. Militarily, this makes it the perfect gift to know everything they had within their means fits with the plans of High Command; if the plan was unsuccessful or they over-achieved their goals based on their preparations at hand.

In fact, early in the war, they were so highly successful that no mishaps had ever happened at the time. Even during preparation times, no one was under-equipped with supplies and weapons, and the quality of the army was at an ideal level, even back when he was appointed as Chief-of-Staff under the War Division Planning Committee prior to his demotion to as Captain when a younger individual took his place with the same Gift as his. The quality, however, never diminished, even after his demotion.

Though not seen as a bad sign to Heinrich personally, his close associates, on the other hand, make it seem like a bad move on the higher-ups side. To which he condemned them for their actions.

Seeing the young woman, on the other hand, as a living testimony of his failure, does seem as an impossibility considering his gift. However, he knew exactly what had caused the miscalculation of his gift.

Heinrich opened the palm of his right hand, his sword, which was deflected by Rosetta earlier, was at a considerable far away distance from him, reappeared instantly on his hand. Thus making known to the world the true nature of his weapon.

The Lion's Sword has now returned back to its wielder.

Heinrich Abednego gripped his sword, feeling the familiar weight of the weapon that he had gotten used to throughout the years. The old commander stoically put his attention to the invader, with his sword now in his hand.

"I knew this battle wasn't going to be easy, but you, young Eisen, make it seem I haven't given my all. Which is the same thing for you, isn't it?"

The young woman did not respond back at the old man, but Heinrich knew she was taking the battle seriously based on how much she exerted herself earlier.

After all, if she's here reclaiming back her land, which she declared earlier, then she wasn't holding back her strikes at all. This, meaning, she's been fighting at full power from the very beginning.

Which also means that this is all that she could offer.

"I suppose that you've given your all after all, haven't you?"

As he said those words, a spine-chilling grin appeared on his face. His normal aura of a seeming benevolent commander changed to a more sinister, battle hungry warrior.

Heinrich Abednego, during peacetime, the "Evaluator" because of his Gift of Evaluation and excellent, accurate presentation of results.

He was also known by his other title, a title that he gained at the start of the war and witnessed by his enemies and allies alike. A title feared by his superiors alone.

He was known as the "Henker" meaning executioner. His brutality in ordering the extermination of entire populations of towns and villages as a show of force and fear to his enemies, it was only on rare occasions he allowed the deportation of certain groups to foreign lands where they could not possibly be able to return.

What added to the fear of his title was his gift that allowed him to know the exact statistical numbers of the chance of the conquered territories' natives rebelling against the occupying forces. Thereby allowing him to know exactly how much he can spare or kill during the war.

The number that he killed/exterminated during the war far exceeds those he spared. Those who were spared were considered a miraculous mercy for them, knowing not one of them had the likelihood of spurring rebellions in the future. This was only possible through the Gift of Evaluation Heinrich has.

Heinrich, currently, evaluated through his gift that Rosetta Van Eisen must die.

Although it is strange that the young invader in front of him needs to die so soon instead of capturing her and delivering her to his superiors. However, based on his experience thus far with his gift, it is highly unlikely she's as insignificant as she is now. Therefore, he had no doubts that his gift was telling him to act on it and think about it later on.

The Captain's left hand formed a series of hand signs that moved so quickly that it looked like a blur at a glimpse. Moreover, it seemed at a glance that he was moving in a way that doesn't make any sense.

In a way, the hand signs he had formed were, in part, a secret technique only several others like him knew throughout the Tsada Theocracy. It was a technique of releasing restraints placed on by themselves for the sole purpose of restricting themselves to fight and evaluate potential threats to the Theocracy while making said enemies believe those restricted are under condemnation. Which is false.

Thus, it is with Heinrich.

『Restriction 962: Heavenly Boundary and Mortal Plane Intercessory Movement. Arcania Departure, release!』

XXX

Rosetta Van Eisen noticed vapors of energy began leaking out of Heinrich after he had done all of those weird hand movements. Causing the air around him to vibrate, as if it was his own presence, was causing it.

Although she doesn't know the exact reason why this is happening, whatever it was she knows is bad news for her.

Heinrich had been a struggle for her ever since this battle started. She expected she'll be able to overcome him like the ones told in stories about heroes overcoming foes on their own, not like this. That is what she had thought and expected when she left on the journey back home to reclaim the Eisen Lands from the invaders.

But she never expected him to be so powerful to the point that she couldn't overpower him as she hoped to have after all the things she had gone through from her training with Samuel. Even then, she has been told repeatedly that she wasn't finished yet, and he also told her that her foes are not anything the world had seen before. He even claimed the things they possess did not exist even at the time of the Great Demon War, and their abilities do not originate from anywhere else but the present time.

She heard Samuel say some things that didn't make sense to her.

What is about that "there were things that did not exist even before the Great Demon War"? Like, it doesn't make any sense.

The Great Demon War is the single most detailed event that had ever occurred in this world. There were no end of stories, studies, commentaries, and discoveries relating to that war that wasn't unheard of. The Great Demon War was simply so great that there wasn't anything that could be possibly left uncovered from that era.

Yet, she began to realize that there are things that Samuel had said that have gone deeper than what he lets on.

The mere sight alone caused Rosetta to recoil by this. Fear began to seep in as Heinrich began changing his stance, his sword pointing at the ground held by his right hand. The air began to tremble violently as the energy he released began to shape around him. Turning into a white aura that danced around the enemy commander like fire moved by the wind.

There wasn't anything like this that was even mentioned in the legends, nor was it ever told in rumors before the invasion had ever happened. It is simply an unknown phenomenon that she had the unfortunate opportunity to witness.

Much like with fire, it disappeared instantly as it was quenched with water.

Even then, the uneasiness she felt still remained as Heinrich stood on that same spot ominously. His stance remained the same since the white energy was released, yet his overall aura changed dramatically. To the point that she has trouble recognizing if this was the same person she fought on equal footing with.

What did he do?

That thought popped up the moment where everything went still. A dead calm permeated between the two combatants. Silent enough, she could hear her own heartbeat by the deadness of their environment.

Yet, this only enhanced the ominous feeling, and not only that, she could hear herself subconsciously gulping her own saliva. A drop of cold sweat dripped down from her face.

That same drop of sweat, as it fell from her face, reached to the ground; Heinrich suddenly disappeared.

Without knowing where he went and how he did it, Rosetta frantically searched for the enemy commander from her nearby surroundings. Her hoping to find even a single clue of his whereabouts.

Where is he? Where did he go?

She put her guard up; she couldn't allow someone like Heinrich to escape or use a sneak attack on her. Especially when her reclamation of her family lands was nearly at her hands.

Months of training under Samuel had given her experience to know someone was moving faster than she could track. This is one of the many things her mentor had demonstrated an enemy would do if they had an advantage with speed. She knew something like this would happen one day. She thought it was one of the better things Samuel could do to help her be a lot stronger.

However, there was a fine line between someone who is using speed to train and someone who is using speed to kill.

Unfortunately for Rosetta, Heinrich was the latter.

All of a sudden, she felt something hard struck her abdomen. Showing Heinrich's sword's edge swung at her. The wielder himself was at her side without her knowing when he got there.

This was a superiority of speed. A pace where normal senses could not track someone who could move fast enough to evade any means without the help of extraordinary methods.

Regardless of that, having seen the blade strike her, she thought she was going to die. Especially considering when she was sent flying by the swing of the sword.

Yet, despite that, even when she was sent flying from the force of the enemy's blade swung, there was no blood spilled. Not even a scratch was seen nor half of her body separating from her. In fact, the sword wasn't able to cut her.

Such a ridiculous scene was rendered with the most appropriate reaction to it.

"HAH?!"

That was not all; although she felt pain when Heinrich struck her, it was only at the level she could easily handle. There was no doubt there was something during this turn of event.

Most of all, she wasn't the only one surprised by this.

"What?!"

Indeed, even Heinrich himself was startled when his blade couldn't cut her. The young woman couldn't believe it herself either.

How is this possible?

She thought to herself, this startling revelation startled her. Her body subconsciously repositioned itself as it had happened during training with Samuel. Landing gracefully on the ground, sliding through the pavement by the soles of her shoes.

Rosetta, once she was able to move her position freely, at a safe distance nonetheless, stared at her own body in disbelief. Closing and opening her left palm, checking to see if she has control on her body or not. To know if there was something or someone controlling her.

To her relief, she found none. But what irked her as to how she managed to survive the enemy commander's attack. Most importantly, how his sword couldn't cut her.

It was surreal, especially for both combatants, to see this happen. It was nothing that could've happened before.

Although such a thing would warrant some explanation, Rosetta knew such a time would wait. There's a battle that needs to be done.

Having an assurance she won't be killed easily, this means she could fight back without worrying too much about how the battle will go. With this in mind, she decided to close the distance between them immediately.

"Wind Art: Speed of the Wind!"

After activating the spell, Rosetta rushed towards Heinrich. Moving faster than she was before, at the speed she perceived, from her perspective, as the wind.

As it stands, this spell allows the user to multiply their speed as strong as the strongest winds from the bellowing storm, thus increasing the strength of the user along with it.

She blew past from where she last stood. The powers of the wind in her soles, renewing the battle once more. The strength of the very gales at her grip.

The woman charged, her small body, enhanced by magic, raised her sword to cut down her enemy.

However, the enemy himself, breaking off his stupor of thought, countered her strike with his own.

Heinrich's enhanced strength, and Rosetta's renewed speed clashed. Creating a powerful shockwave that blew the debris around them with such force, anyone could tell they were stronger than what they were when they first started.

As both blades of steel grind each other, the combatant themselves looked at each other with the firm determination to battle.

Breaking off, they swung their blades, with speeds unseen by the normal eye, faster than what was before. Each clash destroys the ground on which they stand, their very action disturbing the air around them.

"Wind Art: Demonic Twister!"

Calling forth the winds once more in this battle, a terrible great wind arose in the battle they fought. On the level that could destroy entire towns and villages by the strength of its wind. Lifting entire bodies of flesh to lands unknown.

Yet, Heinrich wasn't lifted up, nor was he blown away. However, this does not stop the young swordswoman from attack along with the wind she conjured in this battle.

He had his body firm on the ground, and this onslaught of blades and winds was threatening to destroy him if it were to continue. The enemy decided to counter this dual threat at once.

"Martial Art: Whirlwind!"

Swinging his blade against the rotation of this terrible twister, at speeds surpassing the woman's by a wide margin. The commander, with his sudden superior speed, has thus dispelled the twister.

Unfazed by her enemy's action, having seen a familiar feat made by her mentor, by which she fought with the standard of strength, based off of Samuel himself, who had done this time and time again. He was the strongest person she knew before Heinrich Abednego.

Pulling her free arm back, aiming at the commanding officer of the army that dared to conquer her land and country, allowing no time for him to move from the last attack.

"Wind Art: Shockwave!"

The young woman roared, and she swung her arm at the man with such force that it hit him by his breastplate. Forcing Heinrich to go back several meters from where he stood.

But Rosetta wasn't done yet.

After sheathing her sword, she leaped up into the air, opening her arms as the winds immediately began to gather around her open palms. Her right hand turned downward, and her left hand went upward in a counterclockwise rotation. The winds followed with each motion, thus creating a wind vortex as if a cyclone was being made by her.

As she began to put both hands by their wrists, the winds began to be compressed into one sphere. A sphere of pure wind mixed with pure magic energy, thus creating an ethereal blue appearance that makes it look like heaven is in her hands. Putting said hands by her right side, this powerful technique was ready to be unleashed.

All this was happening while Heinrich was still sent flying back. Not giving the man the opportunity to land on his own feet from the last attack.

"Wind Art: Secret Technique: Heaven Piercing Drill!"

With a roar from the top of her lungs, the young woman released the condensed wind attack, her ultimate attack after all the things she's been through by Samuel's training; the results of the eight months she's been with him.

With power to demolish entire scores of buildings in one go, this attack was more than enough to annihilate any man-made structure on its path of destruction. Many might consider this as the finishing move.

Yet, the man, Heinrich Abednego, while all this was happening, was calm.

The man stretched his left arm forward at the incoming attack, as if attempting to catch by his own hand.

Such a move would have been considered foolish by some, but Heinrich, in all of his experience as a warrior, was nothing but a fool. Those who knew him knew more than meets the eye.

"Martial Art: Fortress."

As the attack made contact with his hand, the powerful compressed magical wind was dispersed like high pressure water shooting at an object spreading everywhere. Creating a chaotic scene where the ground and buildings around Heinrich became loose and flew away. Demonstrating the powerful effect of Rosetta's strongest technique thus far as well as the enemy's capability to offset it.

However, although the attack proved to be her strongest attack she had done so far, to Heinrich, he managed to do the unthinkable.

The user herself couldn't believe what she had just seen.

He blocked it?!

Unlike before, when he first blocked the Air Blade, the technique she just used was far superior and evidently more powerful than what she first used. Thus, confusion and fear began to form in her mind as Heinrich began to rise from the ground with no damage that could be seen from his hand.

Then, Samuel's words began to ring inside her head.

"Thou art not yet ready. To return to the land from whence thou camest, I forbid thee. The enemy who taketh thine homeland is far superior than thou thinkest of him. For behold, what he now uses, doth not exist before. What thou thinkest its origin is, thou shalt not know. It is wisdom in me to warn thee of this thing before the pride in thine heart shall overtake thee. Be thou, therefore, humble, Rosetta. It is wisdom thou wilt know for thyself of these things. In time, thou shalt know of things sure to come. What you have now, shall new things be added unto thee. Though thou thinkest of thyself as weak, thou art made stronger than what thou believest. Thou mayest leave this land to where thou wast raised, it is thine own choice. Be ready, for that time must surely come."

The realization began to seep in. Each word Samuel said at the time was becoming a reality.

"He knew… It couldn't be…"

That was what she had uttered after she remembered that man's words. When she first heard him say that, he spoke in an archaic way of speaking. The language of the ancients eight hundred years past.

At first, she thought he was saying that because he wanted to. Now, as she just realized, that wasn't true at all. After all, it was that same language the holy scriptures were written and preserved for her day. The language of poetry and prophecy of ancient times.

Could Samuel be an Ancient?

That was what she had thought in her mind.

The Ancients were a holy people, a peculiar race. They were special in a way because they weren't classified as a single race but a diverse group from multiple races. Such as Elves, Dragons, Lizardmen, Humans, and so on. These people were united as one.

As for what purpose she doesn't know as the Ancients were regarded by all races, even by their own, as serving an unseen God. A God not seen nor depicted in murals, sculptures, nor any artistic form.

It was a God, in every meaning of the word, unknown to everyone.

In every land, there were at least one or more gods with intricate paintings and sculptures for those to believe them. Because it was easier to see those gods in order to have faith than to believe an unseen God.

Yet, even though their belief of an unseen God was thought to be foolish imagination by everyone else, their knowledge and wisdom, however, surpassed all else's understanding.

Why? Because the Ancients sought knowledge and truth. Not from their understanding nor their own strength, but walking in their faith of that unseen God to guide them.

It was incomprehensible for those who could not understand those who believed in something that was not seen but felt to be true. It was a challenging idea that made the philosophy "To see is to believe" a false truth by those who were influenced by the Ancients' teachings. Even then, it was a trial of their faith to call upon that unseen God.

The Ancients were also fluent in their way of speaking, and their way of using language in such an archaic but flowery way of words could puzzle some, but it served several purposes. But there was one purpose Rosetta was sure Samuel used.

He was telling me about the future!

Indeed. The Ancients were also those who made many prophecies concerning themselves, to every race, and this world as well. They prophesy evil, the destruction of civilizations and nations, the fall and rise of kings and tyrants, even the end of the world.

Yet, they also prophesy good things to come, the salvation of souls, the promises to every race, the return of a scattered remnant, and blessings to those who hearken unto the God of the Most High. The God who made all things. It was that same unseen God that they prophesy that whosoever believed in that Supreme Being and obey His law, they shall be saved.

But what Rosetta does not know is that there were specific people who were authorized to do those things.

And as she was thinking all of those things, she wasn't able to notice Heinrich getting back on his knees. With said old man having no noticeable damage in his overall appearance.

He had given the girl the opportunity to give it her all against him. But now, it was his turn to strike back.

"Martial Art: Void Cutter!"

The enemy commander slashed his sword, aiming at the still airborne young woman. Firing an invisible air slash with a force much more powerful than Rosetta's Air Blade. In such speed and strength, it was magnitudes stronger than could've been possible for wind art users.

Although the attack itself weakens when the enemy is at a sufficient distance away from the user, especially when the overall cutting ability of that air slash decreases and eventually disintegrates when it's at a certain distance. And that certain distance was where Rosetta was at.

Heinrich, however, as a user, was more than strong enough to make that distance, where most below his level was the maximum distance for them, but for him, it was on par as their most effective range.

The invisible air slash struck the woman in the air, hitting her body while midair. Thus propelling her farther from the old man.

Evidently, as he noticed, the Void Cutter technique wasn't able to slice her, despite the fact that it was sharp enough to cut through the walls of Jerubbaal itself like a hot knife through warm butter. Even then, it was at a distance where it was still a plausible feat for someone like him to perform.

Yet, it couldn't make a single scratch on her dress, nor the force behind it could kill the girl.

Such a thing can be considered as an impossibility, and yet, he was seeing it happening with his own eyes.

Despite that, Heinrich immediately followed up with another move.

"Martial Art: Flash Step, Sixfold!"

With a burst of speed, the enemy commander disappeared instantly. Closing the distance between him and Rosetta at such a rapid pace where it can be said he had teleported.

Heinrich swung his sword upward as he passed by the young woman. Moving her up into the air, the woman herself felt the pain of the enemy commander's sword as he struck her with such strength that she could tell it was him giving his all.

Yet, he wasn't done.

Rosetta felt another strike from the back, propelling her upward more.

Then another, another, another, and another.

With the enemy commander moving so fast, it was difficult for Rosetta to determine where he's at to make a counter attack. With the speed he's in, it was impossible for her to guard against the onslaught of attacks.

In the air, she was completely vulnerable.

As her body faced toward the heavens while in the air, the attacks made it possible for her body to see it from her current midair position.

If it couldn't get any worse for Rosetta, Heinrich suddenly reappeared. His blade raised above him, ready to cut down the young woman with merciless eyes.

Rosetta Van Eisen looked at him in horror and wasn't able to react sufficiently when the old man swung his sword down at the woman in full power. His blade completely made contact with her body, forcing her to fall from the air and down to the earth.

As for how high they were, it could be said that they were as high as the top of a tall mountain. The momentum Heinrich carried only made it possible to reach that height in the first place. Proving that he is far superior to what she had imagined him to be and far stronger than what he made himself to be.

So much so that when Rosetta made contact on the ground that a huge dust cloud was made, an earthquake soon followed. Shaking the surrounding area, making a few of the surviving buildings collapse because of the aftereffects of the fall.

This feat of strength only demonstrates how powerful the man, Heinrich Abednego, known as the Henker. Executioner of the Southeast Region of the Amriel Kingdom.

Despite all this, after the dust had settled, showing a relatively large crater, Rosetta Van Eisen was still alive and intact.

Heinrich looked down from the sky and clicked his tongue. Seeing the woman survive all of those attacks and still manage to move. Only for a little bit

The red-haired young woman, on the other hand, stared at the sky from the crater where she's at. The young woman wondered about her current miraculous situation.

How am I still alive?!

The young woman thought to herself as she looked around while lying on the ground. She didn't seem to be in too much pain other than reeling from the fall. Her body looked fine, other than the dust that made the dress Samuel gave to her look dirty. Even then, it was nothing compared to how she couldn't get cut by Heinrich's sword.

How was I able to survive all of that? It doesn't make sense.

She couldn't think of a plausible answer to her question. What the young Van Eisen can think of is that it was a miracle she hasn't died yet.

Regardless of that miraculous survival, she felt extremely tired. After using so many spells in so short of an interval, from the Air Blade, maintaining Speed of the Wind, summoning Demonic Twister, a surprise attack using Shockwave, and using the Heaven-Piercing Drill, the latter cost way too much power. Especially when the output for each spell was put at 100% for maximum effect, and yet, it wasn't enough to defeat Heinrich.

The spells she cast were designed to make the enemy use whatever power they have in order to weaken them and finish them off with her physical strength; which she boasted would be enough, considering the training she's been through.

However, that wasn't the case with Heinrich.

That old man is strong. What am I going to do to beat him?

Despite her current fatigue, she's still able to use her physical strength, though without the support of magic this time around. Making it difficult for her to fight Heinrich this time. Most especially when the enemy commander doesn't seem to show any signs of weakness.

"Martial Art: Cutting Edge!"

She heard a voice shouting from above, her eyes wide opened in recognition of that voice as she immediately rolled out of the way. Knowing exactly what will happen next if she doesn't move now.

In the nick of time, barely milliseconds away, Heinrich was seen plunging his blade into where Rosetta was supposed to be. With the young woman catching a glimpse of the old man's sword being coated by air as his landing produced a dust cloud. As a result, temporarily blinding her sight of Heinrich's imposing figure.

When she was about to stand, something appeared out of the dust cloud, dispersing it as she felt an invisible attack striking her body at what it seemed to be at point-blank range between her and the enemy commander.

"Martial Art: Void Cutter!"

The young woman was thrown away by the attack, flying her towards the ground inside the crater. Collapsing the land above on her as the distance between her and the old man rapidly increased. Drilling her deep into it until several moments later, it stopped. With the earth covering her entire body, however, she was still able to move only a little.

Although the young Van Eisen couldn't tell how deep inside she was. What she could tell was that Heinrich's earlier attack was strong enough to throw her away from the air, which is impressive, to say the least. But, as for his recent attack, this was stronger. Far stronger than his previous one as it was seen clearly to have been powerful enough to be able to punch through solid earth.

From an outside perspective and unknown to her, she was exactly 210 meters away from Heinrich and deep within the earth. A ridiculous feat of power so strong that Rosetta couldn't tell if he was human or not.

What kind of monster is he?! It's like he's on the strength of the 85 Heroes mentioned in the Great Demon War!

As the Great Demon War was on a scale never before seen at that time, literally every race was involved in that war. The 85 Heroes in particular were those from the aforementioned involved races, with an average of one hero for each race. Though the accuracy of it is still in debate with modern academics as, currently, there are less than 15 races known throughout the world. With humans being the majority, about two-thirds of the world population based on modern estimates.

However, regardless of the historical trivia, she was still alive yet again, and Rosetta could not comprehend how it was possible in the first place. No matter how much she thinks about it and how much she experienced, she couldn't know the exact reason why it happened.

Just thinking about it makes my head hurt! Besides, I need to get out before I lose any air inside here.

With that thought in her mind, Rosetta used whatever little magic she had available for her to make the escape.

"Wind Art: Twister!"

Using a lesser version of Demonic Twister, using herself as the center, a tornado of wind was formed. Dispersing the earth that covered her body, throwing off the rocks and dirt away from the young woman.

Although the spell may be the weaker version, it was still strong enough to create an opening to reveal the surface and moonlit night sky above her. Demonstrating her proficiency in using the Wind Art with what little time she had with Samuel.

With that, she used the last bit of her magic, leaving herself open to any attack. Though she could fight with her natural physical ability, her chances of winning were abysmal without magic. Even with the combat skills of the sword she learned from Samuel, she was nothing compared to what Heinrich had done earlier.

The only reason why she had done well enough was with magic. Although it did provide her some advantage, it was clear it wasn't enough.

Because of that, she was on the brink of losing consciousness. Her overall ability to fight was diminishing.

To make matters worse, Heinrich suddenly appeared in a flicker. The old man she fought so much in so little time did not appear as tired as she was.

As she was about to raise her guard up, the enemy commander swiftly threw a punch to her solar plexus, causing Rosetta to recoil from that sudden action. Finally causing her to lose her consciousness.

Her vision suddenly went black.

XXX

"Incredible. Truly, you are the most troublesome opponent I've met thus far, young Eisen."

Heinrich Abednego commented on the fallen combatant, who fell face plant on the ground with a thump. There, the old commander knew the invader was no longer able to fight.

Staring at the young woman's fallen figure, Heinrich wasn't sure what to do with her. Even though he evaluated through his gift that she needed to die, he was debating if that was truly the case.

Her potential to grow is large. If she was from that time eight months ago, she must've gotten stronger since then. This woman could've been a great asset to the Tsada Theocracy if we could make her join our side. But, on the other hand, she's a threat to us if she were to escape again and given enough time to grow, especially when she's still a child.

Although she was significantly weaker than him, she was still able to keep up toe-to-toe with him despite his suppressed combat prowess at the start of the battle. He was impressed as to how she managed to hold her own when he released his restrictions, even though it was only for a short amount of time.

If it took her eight months to get to this level of power, then how much more would she be able to if given the chance?

Heinrich stared at the young woman. Her short stature and young appearance gave off an impression of a child, sensing the potential she has as a warrior. Most importantly, given her display of skills earlier, must've been a prodigy with a sword and a much greater development with magic mixed with her combat capabilities.

She's an ideal example for a true Hero-level combatant. It'll be a waste of potential if she were to die tonight.

However, the old man knew his Gift of Evaluation better than anyone else. He understood clearly that if his "Gift" were to say something it had evaluated, it is almost a certainty that it is correct. His experience with his "Gift" had given him enough impressions to know if this was the case or not.

Regardless of whether or not she has the potential to be a great asset, Heinrich made his choice after considering the factors that led to this current situation.

Judging by all that had happened, the commander made his decision.

"You know, young Eisen. You could've been a great ally if you didn't slaughter all of my men earlier. If you hadn't done it, I would've let you go free without any consequences. But, unfortunately for you, that isn't the case. I don't want the families of my men to get angry with me if I let you go. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for me that you must die here. After all, I would be disrespecting my men if I do so."

He raised his sword above himself with his hand. Having made the decision to kill her rather than to spare her was nothing short of common sense to him. After all, if he didn't kill her here and now, the leaders of the Tsada Theocracy would've given the orders to kill her anyway. Therefore, Heinrich knew what he must do.

Since the young woman was currently prone to any attack with her vulnerable state, the old commander didn't really want to use too much of his strength to kill someone who isn't in much of a position to strike back. This was as easy as killing an unarmed man or, in this case, an unarmed woman.

Heinrich swung his sword in a downward arc. Fully expecting to cut the woman's head in half, especially when there is nothing to protect it.

As his sword was about to reach the woman's head, he suddenly stopped. His blade nearly mere centimeters away from the red-haired woman as he felt something.

The old man immediately turned around and saw nothing.

Must it have been my imagination?

The commander shook his head. He had experienced something similar to this back in his younger years when he first started training as a warrior. Back then, he was an inexperienced young man, but as he grew older, these feelings became rare as he grew accustomed to the battlefield. Yet, it was a feeling of dread, the fear of the unexpected.

Now, it was different. This was sensing an oncoming danger. Warning him of what would happen if he wasn't careful enough.

He turned his eyes back at the girl, trying to determine if he should kill her now or find the source of it. To his surprise, she wasn't there on the ground when he last saw her.

Where is she?! Where did she go?!

Heinrich stared in shock, completely taken off guard at the sudden turn of events. Trying to make sense of what had just happened.

She was here a second ago! Where has she gone off to?!

Although she left her sword behind, that might be a mistake on her part, but Heinrich was still wary of the fact that her physical strength is not to be underestimated. Even though he was stronger than her, the young invader might have another trick up her sleeve that she hasn't used yet. He knew well enough not to let his guard down in any circumstances whenever possible.

Despite that, he was currently facing an unexpected situation he hasn't faced since the beginning of the war.

A situation that excites him. So much so that he did react with a grin on his face.

With that in mind, he leaned backward, only to avoid an incoming attack from a familiar red-haired woman. Which was a sweeping downward motion as if she was trying to scratch him.

"There you are."

Heinrich grinned, finally found the young invader that had fought him so valiantly and with such ferocity that he could tell she wasn't the type to do things that would take too much time.

From the light of the moon, he could see only a silhouette of her face being overshadowed by the tip of her hair. Covering her eyes from Heinrich's own.

The old man flickered instantly, reappearing a short distance away from the girl who had attacked him. His grin still plastered on his face, his excitement apparent in his overall expression.

"Ready for round two, I see, young Eisen?"

Heinrich commented to Rosetta, which the young woman herself didn't react to, not even a single bit. With her head hung low and her arms as well making her as if she looked like she didn't have the energy to properly position her body, as if like a puppet controlled by strings. This caused the old commander to raise his brow perplexedly at the odd behavior the invader was making.

What's going on with her?

From what he had seen, it was like the young Eisen he had fought against was nowhere to be seen. Although, physically, she was there, there seems to be something happening that she's not being herself anymore.

Although Heinrich couldn't notice any notable changes to her overall appearance. He did, however, notice that her aura had changed. It was unlike what he had seen her exuded before, and he knew, as a warrior, there are always surprises going to happen. He just needs to be aware of it at all times.

What he didn't expect was that she suddenly disappeared after he blinked.

"...Hm?"

The old man scanned his surroundings with his eyes, not seeing the girl in his immediate surroundings, but he did notice that her sword disappeared from the ground. The blade itself was nowhere to be seen, though he knew the young woman had taken it.

Expecting an incoming attack, he casually raised his sword by his left hand only to block a slash that was aimed at his neck, only to have it blocked almost instantly.

He did, however, feel the force behind the strike, and it was far stronger than what she had done earlier. Which took him by surprise.

"How?"

The old man knew that the slash the young woman made was magnitudes more powerful than the first time they clashed, and it was also stronger than it was enhanced by wind magic from earlier.

He noticed that her Reshut level was replenished almost instantaneously. Making her as though she had never used magic in the first place.

Not only that, he also noticed that her Reshut level was far larger than it was before.

Statistically speaking, she was more than a tenth as strong as he was. Compared to before, she was only 1/27000th of his Reshut level after he had released all of his restrictions. Thereby making her as strong as 1/8th as he is currently. Multiplying her Reshut level on a scale unseen before.

As to how she managed to get this strong in so short of time after beating her, Heinrich doesn't know. But he knew there was a secret behind it, just like his restraints.

He tried to take a glimpse of the girl, but she, once again, had disappeared. Only to reappear again, and the man had to block at the same instantaneous speed as she did. Which resulted in a series of flash-like combat movements where Heinrich was at the defensive and Rosetta was flickering in and out in quick succession that it's hard to believe it was the same invader who he had a little trouble with earlier.

Although this may have disoriented some who were not used to this sudden change of events, the old commander was anything but inexperienced to these kinds of things.

Incredible. To be able to move faster than she was before, there must've been some kind of change to her, but what kind?

Heinrich could think of a few possibilities, but those were too obvious to point out. In any case, this was a surprising change of events compared to the beginning.

Regardless of that, her attacks became too predictable to the point that there was no reason to block with his sword.

"This is getting old. Let's change it up a bit."

Despite the ongoing onslaught of attacks, the commander commented rather casually. Showing his boredom of the current state of events, he decided to make an opening to create a counter offensive to see if there was anything more the girl could offer.

This he did, and as the girl was about to cut him down, Heinrich sidestepped out of the way. Thus, Rosetta entirely missed him by an entire mark, making her completely open.

The old man swung his sword, attempting to behead the girl from behind her neck. Seeing how exposed she was to his attack and how completely defenseless she currently is.

Then, the unexpected came.

As his blade made contact with her body, she suddenly dispersed, as if she was made out of air.

"An afterimage?"

He uttered in surprise, not expecting the woman to have been capable of using the afterimage technique, where the user uses enough speed to create an image that lasts long enough even when they were no longer on the same spot.

The man scoffed. It wasn't uncommon for someone to use an afterimage. Nearly everyone he knew used it, but it seemed unlikely for the girl to use it. Especially when she didn't use it at the start, and it irked him. Like, it was as if she wasn't serious then.

No matter. It's only a cheap trick. Besides, I can still track her attacks.

With that thought in his mind with certainty, he knew the next attack would land behind him. He did so as he raised his sword above him, blocking the incoming blow in advance.

What he didn't expect was that he felt it was heavier and stronger, so much so that it caught him off guard.

"What?!"

Although he managed to block it, it was heavy and burdensome to the point he had to move out of the way just to see what it was that made it heavy. What he saw was nothing he had expected it to be.

"A large sword?"

Indeed, it was.

It was a large sword, a very large sword. The length of it was nearly the same height as the girl, and the width of it was half of the sword's length. It had the same style as the sword she used earlier, but it was bigger, bulkier, and heavier.

What added to his surprise was the fact as to how she got the sword. The old man was highly aware there were no swords like the one she had in the nearest vicinity. Even if there was, he would've known it was there, and his Gift of Evaluation would've sensed it during the latest batch of supplies sent to his unit prior to this battle.

As he was about to contemplate any plausible theory to her large sword, a thin and narrow blade suddenly appeared in the young woman's arm as she thrusted with said sword straight at him. Attempting to stab him after the initial attack.

Heinrich, being faster than the girl, managed to dodge by moving his head by the side. Avoiding it by a hair's breadth. Only to have a small part of his face get scratched by the sword.

How? How is it possible?

He wasn't just surprised by the rapier itself because he knew it was light enough to freely attack at such speeds, but the sudden change of sword types was something he did not expect. Especially such a thing was extremely rare, even for him, to witness this kind of thing.

But what caught his attention was not just the sword. It was the girl's eyes that made him lose focus on the battle.

Upon closer inspection, one could tell that it caught the old commander off guard.

Why are her eyes bright red? Weren't they blue a little while ago?

Heinrich saw the young invader's eyes when he first fought her. The old man could've swore it was deep blue back then, and now, what he saw was bright red.

To see the sudden change of eye color was nothing he had seen before. Although he had heard there were certain races that could do it, all of those things were simply rumors, and there were no credible sources to draw real information from to disprove such claims.

Which race, he couldn't tell. What he knew about with absolute certainty was that they were extinct ever since the Great Demon War began 800 years ago.

Could she be a member of a different race I'm not aware of?

The commander's dull gray eyes narrowed at the girl's bright yet unconscious red eyes as she once again disappeared into a flicker in an instant. In a distance not so far from Heinrich, but not too close either from each other.

The old man couldn't believe what he was seeing. In one moment, the girl was absolutely powerless on the ground unconscious, and now she was up and ready to fight along with a shapeshifting sword that can change into practically any sword type. Most of all, her eyes changed color. If that wasn't enough, she was stronger than when the fight started earlier.

"What kind of being are you, young Eisen?"

The man questioned audibly. Now, his interest in the woman and her potential is now greater than it was before. His heart pumped in excitement at the current predicament he is in as well as in the fact that he might have a good challenge after all.

To his disappointment, however, the young invader did not reply. All he could see was her blank expression, as if she had lost her emotions. The way she stands isn't what a normal person would do, especially if they're conscious of how they appear to anyone else.

From another point of view, it was as if the girl lost control of herself. He could see she was acting like a doll controlled by a string, whose movements are not normally those with conscious thinking.

"Are you being controlled by someone, young Eisen? It's strange to me that you haven't talked as much, especially someone like you would've come up with something by now."

Once again, the girl was silent. The old commander narrowed his eyes on the young woman. Contemplating whether or not he should end the fight quickly or drag it long enough to see what would happen.

Either way, he knew he would still win in the end. After all, he hasn't even used all of his Martial Arts in this battle, and his reserves are still large enough to use throughout the night.

Heinrich took a stance. He was willing to take this battle on another level far different than what they started.

Although he felt sorry for the girl who isn't in control of herself, she was on a level that he felt was worthy of pushing him that no other opponents he had fought in this war was able to give him a battle that he deserved.

"Energy Art: Rebellion Orb!"

A ball of light formed in his hand as he threw it at the girl. With speeds defying all those who had seen him do in the past eight months of the war. The man grinned as he did so. Sprinting towards his opponent after throwing the ball of light.

The young girl also charged at the fast approaching ball of light. With reckless abandoning of logic as she ran towards it.

With her rapier now turned into her signature longsword, she slashed in a downward motion. Cutting the energy attack in half with both sides splintering into two directions.

The Captain used this opportunity to make his own attack on the girl. But Rosetta was swift enough to counter his strike, creating a shockwave that was magnitudes greater than the first two clashes that were made earlier.

In the distance, two explosions were seen. Two bright lights engulfed the land, sending gusts of winds strong enough to make entire buildings and the natural environment fly because of the strength thereof.

In that same moment, the two continued their dance of swords. With the red-haired young woman swinging her sword in every direction, performing an onslaught of attacks in a way that one could say she was fighting in an unconventional way. The winds of those two explosions blew, but it did not impede their battle. Not one whit has changed.

Heinrich himself was enjoying his battle with the young girl. The exhilaration of this turn of events had made it a battle worthy of legends.

Rosetta used whatever means she had despite her current unconscious state, where she was attacking based on pure instinct. Making it seem like there was someone or something controlling from afar.

Although she was not in control of herself, it was proved that, in her current state, she was a monster of a fighter.

Not only that, the young girl's fighting style changed dramatically. From someone who fought solely by the sword and using magic when necessary to one combining both aspects into a style that would normally be used by a certain group of people.

In other words, a Hero-level entity.

Without uttering a single word, the girl let out a burst of wind between them. Sending the Captain away in a relatively long distance. Once he landed, he began closing in on the girl with speed that defied the one he used before.

Again, without a word being uttered, a flurry of wind blades began flying towards the old man. Swinging her sword at speeds faster than she used before, creating air blades that were far superior to anything she had done since the start of the battle.

In a display of sheer skill, the man deflected the Air Blades with his sword. Dodging some of the invisible slashes as he charged towards her.

When the man finally reached the range, he made an attempt to swing his sword. But, the girl, who fired the air blades, began switching to her large sword as she fired a final Air Blade. Using the sword's weight and swinging it at a horizontal angle to the left, firing it on the man as if it was a final move.

The Air Blade itself was large, befitting for the use of the heavier sword. It was so large that Heinrich wasn't able to dodge it despite being twice as fast as the red-haired girl.

He did, however, manage to defend against it with his own sword. But he was being pushed back because of the strength of it.

Incredible! With such strength and speed, along with that incredible level of Reshut that she has, she was able to push me back!

The man grinned in stark contrast to Rosetta's expressionless face. His heart was pumping with adrenaline at the thought of fighting someone who was above a tenth of his power. Someone who isn't fighting on some goal for friendship, someone who is fighting literally on instinct.

Although he was still stronger than her, the fact that she was able to fight him far longer than most opponents he had fought in the past made him feel like he was younger now. The old man appreciated the girl's involvement in this.

He had evaluated that she was fighting at full power. He also evaluated that her current state had allowed her to restore her reserves after every attack she made with magic.

For some, it may seem like a cheat move for an individual to have the ability to restore their reserves, especially considering everyone has a finite amount of Reshut in their bodies. However, there were limits on how much one is able to.

In a battle of attrition, there was only a matter of time before her body could not maintain high levels of Reshut usage for attacks. After all, there was no such thing as limitless energy, including a body strong enough to maintain high-powered magic attacks.

Nevertheless, the man dispersed the huge Air Blade with a mighty roar, using the necessary strength needed to overcome his opponent's attack.

After that, he charged the young woman with the intention of pushing to her absolute limit while enjoying this battle to the death.

The young girl charged as well, retaining the blank expression for all the world to see. Using the Speed of the Wind to heighten her speed and strength to overwhelm her opponent.

The Captain could see after evaluating that her Speed of the Wind has increased her overall ability, both her physical strength and her speed, to a degree that she was, for the first time since the start of the battle, was stronger than him.

But Heinrich, being a warrior with the mind of a scholar, has another trick up his sleeve.

"Martial Art: Pace of the Wind! Energy Art: Convert Physical Boost! Enhance Art: Ability Boost!"

He used three of his four known arts, for speed and an increase of strength, increasing the overall effectiveness of all that he had activated. His Lion's Sword was also released, revealing a roaring lion with bright red eyes as the power of the sword began showing its terrible might.

With it, the battle once again resumed its pace. The towering man, who fought many wars and battles in the name of the Tsada Theocracy, against a young girl, who had great potential to be one of the strongest alive.

This was truly a battle of legends.

With each clash of blades, producing devastating effects on the surroundings, the two combatants fought with such strength and ferocity that no normal person would ever come close to fighting them.

It was the same for anyone who was below their level. The ability to use magic alongside their fearsome physical abilities was more than enough to make those weaker than them kneel at their devastating might.

Left, right, up, down, vertical, horizontal, diagonal. All of these directions were used in this deadly dance of sword and devastation, creating an intense battle that can make anyone stand in awe of their deadly strength.

There were little to no lapses in their concentration as these two monstrous fighters continued. Their surroundings were destroyed as an aftereffect of their battle. Yet, the two did not show any signs of slowing down.

But, their battle was significantly different.

Energy and winds were seen in their clashes. Pillars of light and terrible twisters of wind were seen with one of the two combatants giving their all while the other enjoyed this dangerous battlefield that displayed their titanic strength that can shatter large towns as a whole.

The man fought the girl with his ever overwhelming might; the girl with her shapeshifting blade could change to whatever she needed.

A large sword appeared to crush him with its weight. Then, a longsword to balance the combination of wind and blade. Another is with a rapier to pierce through with speed unlike any other.

At the same time, different magics were used. One based on pure energy and the other the winds that blew all opposition. It was a combination of both that produced such an effect while creating an awestruck display of chaos between the two powers.

Yet, the two never seemed to lose their ground in this chaotic environment. Simply going through all of these as a mere byproduct without any heed to the cause of such great destruction to the Margrave Eisen Land.

It went on for an unknown amount of time until one more clash was made before the two jumped back, creating a gap between each other as they both had done.

Rosetta turned her sword to a rapier, raising her sword up high and making a counter-clockwise motion until she made a full circular rotation from where she raised her blade.

As she did so, the winds gathered where the motions were made. Creating a ring of wind in front of the girl. With the very air sucking into that, the ring glowed with ethereal blue light that shone brightly in the night. Illuminating the battlefield as she did so.

Heinrich saw what was happening. Recognizing that ethereal blue light from her attack before he blocked it with his own hands.

He could tell it was exponentially stronger than what she used then. From his limited knowledge of wind art, he was aware that what she was about to unleash was a superior version of the Heaven Piercing Drill.

The attack, from what he knew, was aptly called "True Heaven Piercing Drill".

"It would seem this would be the climax of our battle, young Eisen! You have done well to push me to this level! Unfortunately for you, however, it's time for a climactic turn in this great battle that we have!"

The Captain grinned as he threw away his Lion's Sword into a far away distance. He then clapped hands after he did so.

He then pulled his hands away from each other, revealing a pole of energy. After he had done so, it turned into a magnificent spear of pure energy as it hummed. Showcasing the power that was poured into the construct.

"Energy Art: Rebel's Spearhead!"

Heinrich Abednego grabbed the energy spear and twirled it as though he had been a master of a spear for the most part of his life. Showcasing his skill with the weapon in his hand as he went for a stance that provided every advantage into one single thrust.

Now, both combatants were ready for this final clash.

The young girl made her first move into the ring, thrusting her rapier in the center of the swirling wind, coating both her sword and herself in ethereal winds made out of magic. Moving at speeds far faster than any iteration of what she did in the preceding actions.

The ground below her blew away from the red-haired young woman, displaying the awesome might of her most powerful attack she has ever made thus far.

The Captain, in turn, made his charge. His energy spear shone brightly as he went towards his charging opponent. This exhilarating moment pumped his heart with overwhelming excitement.

Once the two made contact, the two opposing forces clashed. A destructive effect between the two magical energies was plain to behold as it blew away all of the surrounding environment.

So great was its clash that anyone could see it from a far distance. So much so that one could think that two legendary warriors appeared and are currently fighting each other.

The True Heaven Piercing Drill, the one the girl unleashed, was a superior version of the Heaven Piercing Drill she had made earlier. It was a technique that allowed the user to engulf themselves or any object into a powerful attack that could truly pierce the heavens. It was an advanced technique, where most wind art users would struggle to master.

However, Rosetta, in her current state, was able to perform such a technique; a testament that there was more to her eyes than it seemed. That was what Heinrich had evaluated upon seeing what his opponent was able to do in comparison to what she did earlier in the battle.

Yet, Heinrich was able to create a force strong enough to withstand the True Heaven Piercing Drill. A feat that would've baffled Wind Art users because of how he was able to stop the ultimate attack with just an energy spear. This level of power was an anomaly, proving to the world that he has means far greater than it seemed.

For a moment, the two were struggling to get an advantage over the other. The young girl with her eerie blank expression against the maniacally grinning old man. It felt there was no end until the man instantly made a bored expression as he let go of the energy spear, dodging the girl's attack as he placed his hand on where the magical attack was made.

"Energy Art: Dispersion."

With a sigh, the old man began what he should have done since she began her renewed attack. The magic that coated his young opponent's attack disappeared, leaving the young girl, who retained the same blank expression, exposed to the Captain's upcoming attack.

The True Heaven Piercing Drill, the strongest of all the wind arts used by Rosetta, has been dispelled.

All of these had occurred in just a second.

In a burst of speed, Heinrich kneed the young girl in her abdomen. With the young woman unable to react to the henker's blow after all that just happened.

She was sent flying, as she did earlier, but Heinrich wasn't going to let her go as easily as he did before.

"Martial Art: Flash Step!"

Instantly, he closed the distance between him and the young Eisen, clasping both of his hands and swung downwards, slamming the girl with such force that, unknown to him, brought back the girl's original eye color from bright red to deep blue.

Even then, there was no time for the young girl to realize what had happened when she, once again, hit the ground once more. Creating a dust cloud, similar to before but not on the same scale, shaking the earth surrounding her.

Though Heinrich had done the same thing earlier, he was now aware of how potentially dangerous the girl is now.

He was going to end it here and now.

Using "Flash Step" for one final time, propelling him from the air as he went straight towards the young girl. Attempting to finish in one move. His Lion's Sword reappeared in his hand for a final sweeping right swing slash.

"Martial Art—!"

Heinrich Abednego's body began to shine lightly. The energy within him starts to leak out with each passing millisecond. He grew closer and closer to the girl until she was within range.

"—God Flash!"

With speed that far outpaced his own ability to react, Heinrich swung. The Martial Art, "God Flash", is a technique that allows the user to swing faster than he is able to react. This technique also was a greater and stronger version of Martial Art, "Instantaneous Flash," which also allowed the individual to draw or slash his sword at speeds instantly but is dependent on the user's reaction time itself.

It was an ability that displayed his strength as a warrior.

However, after the old man launched his attack, he had just noticed the girl had disappeared.

Repositioning himself, Heinrich landed on the ground in the split second he noticed. Landing gracefully while crouching. His head hung low as if to stare on the ground.

Although it is evident that Heinrich Abednego was truly more powerful than the girl, Rosetta, could've ever imagined. More so than anything she could dream about in her lifetime.

Yet, as the saying goes in the Tsada Theocracy, there are bigger fishes in the ocean than in the little pond you live in.

The commander instantly realized what had happened as he looked up outside the crater and saw a figure holding the invader in his arms.

"Who are you? Are you an ally to that invader you're holding?"

The old man questioned while putting his guard up. Extremely wary of the man, knowing full well how potentially dangerous he is because of how he managed to grab the girl in time despite him using "God Flash".

The figure did not answer, but he laid the girl down on the ground as gently as he could. Like a parent laying their child for the first time as gentle as it can be.

As the cloud that blocked the moonlight had passed on, revealing the figure that saved the young invader.

Heinrich could tell the invader had black hair and equally dark eyes. His fair complexion shone in the moonlight while wearing a dark cloak that freely fluttered in the wind, revealing also his black clothes with white outlines in his overall appearance.

The old man could tell he was a foot taller than the young woman, exactly the same height as he is. If he were to guess, by height alone, he could've mistaken the man for the woman's older brother or parent. His clothing, otherwise, suggests he's from an earlier generation, probably older than the young invader, by a considerable amount.

As for who he is, Heinrich doesn't know. But what he could tell is that he's someone not to be underestimated.

Finally, after a moment of silence, the man answered.

"My name is Samuel… Samuel the Prophet. I am this girl's mentor."