Sensing the new threat, the two knights' attention shifted from me and Henry, towards the noble lady.
The two lunged at her with high speed, trying to end the fight instantly.
The first assailant came from her right while the other sprinted to her left.
As they came closer, daughter of Dawn readied her sword with a confident gait, despite being outnumbered.
Right as she got her sword ready, the first knight swung his blade toward her neck.
With a swift me movement she deflected the blade effortlessly.
But as she was focused on the first knight, the second thrust his sword straight at her back.
With catlike agility, Vera twisted her torso, dodging the sneaky thrust. Using her free hand, she pushed her palm straight into the assailant's solar plexus.
"Aaghk!" The knights' body bent backwards as spit flew from his mouth.
"You were trying to impersonate Dawn Knights…. With this pathetic level of skill?" The noble lady taunted without an ounce of concern.
The first attacker, clearly irritated, lunged at her again.
"You see, what distinguishes the normal awakened from the truly skilled isn't power or speed," she said, holding her ground during his relentless offense.
The second knight recovered and joined in, choosing to attack at the exact same moment his ally did.
"...It's about technique"
With that declaration, a thin veil of blue mana gathered around her body and sword.
'Aura'
But unlike the brown haired hunter, her aura was leveled and unmoving—like an undisturbed lake.
Dawn Sword Art - Sunlight Sonata
With a flash of golden light, the young lady's sword cut through the air, leaving sparkles all around her.
The two assailant's swords shattered on impact, leaving a laceration on the chest of one…
"AHHHH!"
…And removing both hands from the other.
"Huh, I was merely aiming for his wrists. Oh well, this will do just as fine." Covered in blood, her rosy cheeks made her look like a rose under the moonlight—deadly, yet beautiful.
Power, speed, mana, technique and grace. That's what I just witnessed. The amazing utilization of these things….
Strength
My ambition. What I've been looking for.
The noble lady in front of me demonstrated exactly what I wanted—what I needed.
I could feel my heart burning up.
'I have to reach this level one day…'
While I stood stunned, she caught my gaze and smiled confidently, as if telling me to burn this image into my head and never forget.
"Well that was disappointing," she said in a bored tone whilst still covered in a resplendent blue light.
She looked at the final knight with a smirk. His controlled expression twisted. He probably never expected to be interrupted in such a manner—especially by a noble girl barely reaching adolescence.
"Are you going to try and entertain me next, or did that demonstration scare you off?" She taunted.
She's good at it.
"Oh and don't think I haven't realized that trick you are using. Those two might not have been able to, but I can see through it."
'We didn't realize what exactly?'
It wouldn't take long to know the answer.
Seeing that his trick had been figured out, the middle aged year old knight touched his face. Before I could understand what he was doing, his face suddenly warped, changing its shape.
What remained after was a different man. His skin seemed slightly healthier with no trace of wrinkles, probably in his mid 20s. He had dark green eyes that leaked killing intent. There was a scar covering his right eye from his eye brow to his mouth. His cheekbones moved up. He would have been considered handsome if it wasn't for the creepy eyes.
'He was using a transformation artifact...'
The moment the man transformed, the incongruous feeling I had since earlier disappeared. It was due to his artifact.
But why was I able to sense that?
Sigh
"You've made this more complicated than it has to be, little girl." His raspy voice echoed throughout the dark street. His knightly mask gone—replaced by that of a cold blooded killer.
"I was wondering when you were going to reveal yourself. Don't worry, you don't look that bad. You'll probably suffice as a scarecrow in my father's fields. Rejoice, not many people get that honor."
Correction. She's really good at it.
The man slowly pulled out his blade as a familiar blue veil covered him.
'They're both aura users...'
And he's at Tier 3 as well.
I wasn't capable of feeling Vera's power level. Normally you can stop mana from leaking through, except if they do it intentionally.
Meaning, these Umbra guys were trying to intimidate us earlier.
I'm not sure how powerful she is but, judging from how easily she took out those Tier 2 knights, she's at least at the peak of Tier 2.
But will that be enough?
As you go up in rank, the power disparity starts growing bigger. A Tier 1 human might be capable of standing their ground against a Tier 2 one. But a Tier 2 human will have a way harder time surviving a Tier 3.
So, will that really be enough...
The sound of clapping reverberated throughout the dark streets.
"Wow, you can use aura! I suppose you'll at least be able to put up a fight." The young girl exclaimed as she decided to take the initiative this time.
With blinding speed she ran across the street zeroing in on the blond haired man.
Raising her thin sword in the air, she brought in down with an unnatural amount of force no one of her body weight should be capable off.
But the attack was easily blocked.
Pushing away the thin sword, the man retaliated with straight thrust aimed directly into Vera's eyes.
Tilting her head to the side, the world seemed to slow down as some strands of her hair were cut. Using her flexibility again, Vera used the motion of the tilt to slash toward her opponents face from his swordless side.
Slightly shocked by his enemies' nimbleness, the knight quickly ducked before sending a kick toward the noble lady.
Blocking the kick with her hilt, she skidded back a few meters due to the force. But she didn't have time dwell on it as when she looked up, a thrust was aimed straight for her eyes.
Quickly deflecting the blow, she gathered mana into her blade and held it at her waist, preparing for an attack
Dawn Sword Art - First Light
She drew her sword at light speed in a horizontal line aiming straight for her enemies' neck.
Surprise etched into his eyes as he scrambled to block it. By the time he recovered he looked up only to see sparkling light particles.
!
Horror spread across his face as his instincts told him to turn around immediately.
Dawn Sword Art - Enlightening steps
Seemingly appearing out of light, the young swordswoman cut through the air aiming for the man's chest.
The man tried to tilt his head but...
Slash!
The girl cut was too fast. She cut straight through his stomach.
The man fell to the floor in disbelief..
Silence
"Hmm, that was decent I guess." Swinging her silver sword to get the blood off it, she returned to her unbothered, royal appearance.
'Her swordsmanship was....'
"Beautiful." I couldn't help but accidentally exclaim. Each of her swings were fast and full of grace. Even though I could barely keep up with it, I knew countless hours were put into refining such a fighting style.
Turning her head toward Henry and me she walked
"!!!"
But before she could, a chilling aura spread out from behind her.
The fallen knight rose. The wound on his stomach started being covered in a familiar black ink. The same ink that allowed Aiden to recover from a fatal wound.
And the one that made him stronger...
"My lady, watch out!" Henry seemingly coming to the same conclusion I did, screamed out to the noble to warn her.
Seemingly teleporting, the man's sword already arrive in front of here.
But thanks to her impeccable reaction time. She managed to block it.
Though in doing so, was forced back in front off me and Henry.
"Tch," She clicked her tongue before raising her sword toward the undying man.
Though she mostly looked fine, I could see a slight tremor in her arm.
Advancing this time, the noble lady swung at full might toward the monstrosity.
But the attack was easily stopped. He retaliated with another heavy swing, that was deceptively fast.
And another.
And another.
She was on the defensive. If even one of those hit her, she'd be in danger.
Finally getting enough of it, she raised her sword to her waist again.
But this time, even more mana gathered than before...
The streets started quaking and I felt the air becoming heavy.
'What type of attack was she planning?'
The man didn't want to find out so he rushed towards her.
Exhale
Letting out a deep breath, the pale blond haired beauty looked at the approaching man grimly.
Then she gritted her teeth before eventually releasing her stance.
The man was almost upon her, his sword placed right at her heart.
"I suppose Tier 3 is a little too much for now, you can take care of the rest, Adrian." Speaking towards seemingly no one, the girl closed her eyes.
Just as the opponents sword was about to pierce her heart...
Shingg!
The sound of piercing flesh was heard.
Though the noble was left unharmed.
Instead....
"Aghhk." A deep male scream was heard.
"Understood, my lady."
An old man stood between the combatants. In his hand he had a sword piercing the now bloody armor of the false knight.
The man was wearing a refined suit and could be seen bowing with practiced elegance.
"Take care of the aftermath and interrogation. I'll personally inform my father about the situation once we get home." The lady's bell like voice resounded as she cleaned the blood of her body with the attendants handkerchief.
"You two." Tilting her head over at us she continued, "Follow along. We'll explain things on our way."
Me and Henry stared at each other incredulously
"Where might we be going.. Uhm, my lady?" I awkwardly tried to address the our savior about the location we're headed.
She looked at me for a while before smiling.
"Well, where do you think? We're heading to my home."
'But that's....'
Almost reading my mind the girl mischievously grinned before adding...
"The mansion of the Dawn Family."
I just can't catch a break, can I?