Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Maria coughed up a mouthful of blood as that attack sent her reeling, but she just activated her [Transcnedent Restoration] and was back to normal. Standing back up, she couldn't help but be surprised at how powerful Mira was.

'Even though I came prepared… As expected of her, I guess,' She thought bitterly. Ever since she'd known Mira, the woman had been overwhelmingly powerful. Her instincts were outrageous, and she trained as if her life depended on it.

With every battle, every training session, every day, she grew stronger. Now that she had so many buffs and enhancements, she was basically invincible amongst those in the same major realm as her.

However, ever since she broke through the Core Formation Realm and obtained a teacher, she's been planning for this day.

At first, it was just a thought that she had shelved, but once her parents died, she underwent a drastic change.

Since she met Mira, she had always been doing her best to keep up with her, but after some thinking and self-reflection, she understood that that was fundamentally wrong.

Mira's talent was too high. Every time she broke through a stage, it was equivalent to multiple breakthroughs. Catching up to her was impossible.

However, unlike what most people knew about Mira, including Aelina, she wasn't perfect or invincible.

Everything had a counter; the only question left was how to exploit them.

And Maria knew Mira better than anyone else.

'Mira often fights recklessly, trading blows and relying on her vitality.'

So, she cut off that path for Mira. If she wanted to trade blows against the best healer on the Continent, she'd bleed out first.

Lowering her stance, Maria prepared for the next attack. Like she thought, Mira disappeared from her senses, turning into a phantom, or rather, a [Reaper].

'I don't know where she'll attack from, but…'

As soon as that thought passed, something phased through her armor. She instantly used her [Translocation Step] and teleported away, throwing a [Scorching Radiance Lance] where she previously stood.

BOOOOM!

Mira's form was visible for a split second, and that was all she needed. With another step, she appeared right next to her and slashed.

Sensing her approach, Mira parried her sword and counterattacked, which she blocked with her shield.

The two went back and forth for hundreds of rounds in an instant, darting across the landscape. Sparks, flashes, and explosions went off like a chain reaction, lighting up the area and destroying everything in their path.

There were still a few late arrivals coming to the scene, trying to catch a glimpse of the castle, only to explode in a blood mist as Mira and Maria passed through.

Mira's scytheplay was more refined and unpredictable than Maria's swordsmanship, so she was able to score more hits, but the latter's shield always killed her momentum at the most opportune time.

'Her second weakness is her scythe, which requires a delicate balance of strength and momentum to fully utilize its potential. She's skilled, but there's a limit.'

Thus, instead of going down the path of the sword, which she had mediocre talent with, she added a shield, which was the perfect 'weapon' to counter Mira's fighting style.

Grunting in annoyance, Mira stomped on the ground hard, causing the ground to shatter. Yin Lightning gathered around her and with a step, she disappeared. Maria followed suit, but Mira was one step ahead of her!

BOOOOM!

A scythe slammed into her side, shattering her ribcage and sending her flying. Before she could react, Mira appeared in front of her with her fist raised.

[Explosive Ice Gauntlet]!

A tremendous force came down on her shield, cracking it and breaking that arm.

BOOM!

Maria's body bounced off the ground, creating a crater from the tremendous force as she coughed up more blood.

"Come on! That can't be it, can it?!" Mira yelled as she descended from the sky like a meteor.

BOOM!

A mushroom cloud of dust extended into the sky, forming a deep chasm from that last slash. Fortunately, Maria had already flashed away, healing her injuries.

"Of course not. Rather, I was waiting for this exact moment." Maria smiled and snapped her fingers. Hundreds of mirrors appeared around Mira, scattered throughout the battlefield.

With a thought, the lasers from above focused on the mirrors, reflecting tens, hundreds, and thousands of times, creating a maze of countless skin-melting beams of light.

Mira was about to go back into her [Reaper] form and pursue Maria but was forced to stop as one of those lasers brushed by her shoulder, dispelling the form for a moment.

'Tch! The one downside of this technique elemental attacks.' Mira grumbled in annoyance as she looked around, hoping for a way out. However, as time passed, the beams closed in on her, preventing any sort of escape.

It didn't help that she was a rather tall woman with ten bushy tails. If she wanted to escape this entrapment unscathed, she'd need to be about half her size.

'Ah! Half my size!'

Without hesitation, she transformed into a small fox. At some point, within all the chaos, Hana was thrown to Rhydian for safekeeping so she didn't have to worry about that little burden.

Maria was shocked, seeing the new form Mira could take on, but reacted instantly. "Don't think you can escape with just that!"

With a quick step, she shield-blasted Mira in the face, sending her back into the cage just as her transformation finished. The next instant, the network of lasers created walls that entrapped Mira on all sides and they were closing in fast.

"What're you going to do now, Mira? You can either come out willingly or… I guess unwillingly."

"Damn. Looks like you got me again." Mira's calm, cold voice came from within as a slight chuckle escaped her lips. "Fine, I'll play your game."

Honestly, her only option at that point was to dig out, but she felt that had more consequences than upsides.

Thus, left with no real choice, Mira, back in her human form, jumped out of the 'wall' closest to Maria, doing whatever she could to prevent severe injuries. Her skin and flesh were seared, blackened, and bubbling just from that split second, but she had no time to care about such injuries.

Without hesitation, she launched herself back at Maria, who was smirking at the sight. Mira's [Glacial Mirage Steps] were certainly powerful, but in her eyes, they were incomplete. Or rather, they weren't effective against her.

How much time had she spent with Mira, enduring those harsh, cold gazes, that dense killing intent, and the terrifying pressure that she constantly emanated? Unless her 'mirages' were exact replicas of the original, they'd never be able to fool her.

'Other people might fall for it, but not me!'

Raising her sword, she unleashed another [Sundering Dawnstrike], meeting Mira head-on.

BOOM!

The two were pushed back from a dense explosion before dashing back in, exchanging countless blows. Both of them incurred injuries, big and small, but due to the unique properties of Maria's light, one was regenerating as soon as they appeared, while the other was worsening.

"Has anyone ever told you how annoying that technique is?" Mira asked, her voice still composed, yet it sounded slightly strained.

"Hehe~ No~ Nobody has lived long enough to say something like that."

"Truly, what a pain in the ass."

"Thank you~!"

Mira tried to increase the pace, using the Light, Yin Lightning, and Yin Fire elements to speed things up and add more destruction to her attacks. However, Maria just smiled and accepted everything, using her own strategy against her.

She was trading blows!

'Damn! So ruthless!' Mira was tempted to cry tears of joy as her friend/fiancee/disciple finally took her advice seriously, but now wasn't the time. Still, inwardly, she was very impressed. Even the killing intent coming out of her eyes felt real.

'No, I guess it is real.' Chuckling to herself, she kicked Maria in the stomach and created some distance, planning her next moves. Inspecting her body, Mira sighed and understood that she should probably end things soon lest things get out of hand.

Maria watched Mira's expression change several times and smiled to herself.

'And that's Mira's third weakness: her lack of proper techniques.'

Since her strength grew exponentially and she was constantly either being chased or chasing, she never had the time or felt the need to create suitable techniques. Although there were a few surprises, they were still within Maria's expectations.

If Mira had a true Battle Art, a set of techniques that synergize well, she'd be many times more dangerous. Fighting against beasts, such things weren't necessary, but humans were different. Rather than tough bodies, techniques made up for most of their strength. And Maria planned to push that to the extremes, focusing on a single aspect: countering Mira.

Without something like that, all she had to do was survive Mira's onslaught and outlast her. Something she had made ample preparations for.

Suddenly, a series of claps entered her ears.

"Well done, Maria. Truly. This amount of growth in such a short amount of time is shocking, to say the least." Mira slowly stopped clapping and gripped her scythe before she continued. "Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end."

"Oh? Finally going all out, are we?" Maria quipped back as Mira nodded.

"I'm sure slowly whittling me down isn't all that satisfying of a win for you."

Maria shrugged, not commenting, but Mira could partially understand her feelings. Right now, she was seeking a sort of 'revenge'. Coming from someone who pursued vengeance her entire life, there's nothing more satisfying than crushing your opponent after a hard-fought battle. Eeking out a win on a technicality isn't interesting at all.

"So, let's take this up a notch!"

[Paragon Blizzard Obliteration]!

All of Mira's tails glowed fiercely as nine exact replicas of Mira appeared around her. The very space around them trembled as the oppressive aura behind each clone bore down on Maria.

"It's a bit sooner than I expected, but I guess this is fine."

Raising her sword in the air, she inwardly exclaimed, "Sanctity of the Prime Radiant.'

All the light in the surroundings was sucked into Maria's position like a black hole. The light from the sun, the natural light from the Earth, the atmospheric Light Qi… everything. They all descended onto Maria like she was some sort of deity.

She bathed in this seemingly infinite power as a domain extended out of her, covering the battlefield.

The two squared off, staring at one another. With a simultaneous nod, the two disappeared.

BOOOOOM!

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