As I walk past the city guards at the gates, I find myself smiling because it confirms Leomi held back her overprotective impulses and didn't order Hospitaliers to follow me.

Still, I decide to lose anyone possibly following me. While an attack from the surviving rebels so soon after being defeated is unlikely, it remains possible and exactly what I would do now that I think about it.

To do so, I decide to hide in the same woods they used for the first ambush because it's very difficult to find someone in there through sight and near-impossibly difficult to track, overtake, and then ambush a moving target in these.

It would have been best to disappear in the city's crowd but, clearly, Leomi's destination is no secret while my umbrella and dress make me easily recognizable.

It takes me a good six hours to make it there on foot but I care very little because, while trying for my patience, the journey allows me to confirm there is no one tailing me on horseback.

Yet, I do spot a few more soldier squads patrolling in the area than there should be considering that large villages have their own garrisons and they're further north-east along the road so there is no need to scout the wilderness.

As I skirt within the edge of the woods looking for a tall tree I'm able to climb with three limbs, I spot a procession of carriages that are cruising past the woods half a kilometer away.

I enhance my eyesight and manage to catch one banner depicting a drawn composite bow with a thick arrow nocked on the string surrounded by a constellation of shining stars.

By memory, I associate this as the crest of one of Telnur's houses. The lack of a golden lion means that this specific carriage doesn't belong to Arkur, who should be able to use it as a Prince and flow-smith of the fourth Phalanx.

The constellation makes it likely that the house is a maritime one, meaning that the one traveling in that carriage would benefit quite a bit to secure Lance's hand.

I turn away and plunge deeper in the woods, holding no more interest in the procession because it is obvious that these idiots are pursuing Leomi, taking the opportunity that she left the city to meet with her before I do. They better hope they're gone by the time I get to the cottage.

It isn't Leomi's fault, yet I can't help but grow angry at her because of the jealousy the sight of these Nobles causes. To distract myself from these emotions, and because I have no trust in Arkur who could have changed his mind during the past week, I decide to reproduce the string construct he used in order to find a way to defeat it.

As I walk through the woods, I assemble several thin air-blades in an attempt to make a string but achieve no results because the constructs end up being too frail. I conclude that there is a trick to Arkur's strings, and that it's possible that it isn't even made of air.

I frown and change my approach, assembling a kinetic cube to determine whether it can be made into a string but give up half-way because the shape matters very little.

The important part is the interactions of the segments and, while the cube can deliver enough force to pierce armor, a solid string of kinetic force wouldn't have broken under the attack I used and because it stimulated flames when Arkur dismissed them.

It would make little sense to use a string of pure kinetic force to tear my shield apart because a kinetic cube would have achieved the same result in a shorter amount of time. No, the quantity of flow Arkur used doesn't even add up to such a scenario.

He didn't use all that much energy, which means the string construct's kinetic segments were merely a part of it, not the whole thing. I suddenly think of the barrier, not because it relates to the string construct but because it may very well be based on kinetic force.

After all, I've only seen it block physical attacks and Leomi's jay apparently... no, that wasn't the same thing because her lance pierced the impostor. That means the bird likely completely obliterated the barrier to the point it couldn't block anymore.

It wouldn't surprise me if the jay is a special construct considering it is unstructured and the way it came into being so I can't use it as a point of reference.

Considering the relatively small quantity of flow that Suxen's barrier is made of, I would guess no more than a handful of portions, and the fact it can rapidly appear to intercept attacks, I can conclude that it is not made out of air.

Yet, it also cannot be made of kinetic force because the cube itself is an inefficient construct. It took a lot of energy to create the tiny cube that burned with pale blue flames, yet all it could do was pierce through my armor. It would never be lethal unless it hits a vital organ or artery.

I have no way to tell what Suxen's barrier is exactly, but I do have an idea of a construct that could replicate the effects. If I can make a kinetic construct that, instead of producing kinetic force, it absorbs it, then it could theoretically block any physical attack.

Arrows would be stopped cold when they reach the construct despite the lack of a tangible obstacle, blades swung would simply turn immobile as if they hit a solid wall. That construct would be far less costly than a kinetic cube because it would merely take away kinetic force already present instead of generating it.

Still, it would have a glaring weakness in that someone could punch through it with bare hands by preventing the construct from affecting their bodies. But, who would fight with their fists without even gloves to protect their knuckles?

I could use my blood construct to bypass the issue entirely, though. It'll be worth testing when I run into the barrier construct again. I accelerate my pace through the woods, challenging my fear that I could have fear of thick woods after the ambush by going deeper within.

I find quite a few boot and hoof prints which convinces me that there's likely no one around from the impostor's group but it does confirm I hold no trauma from my ambush but merely anger at having fallen for it. After all, I am wary of all whether they be soldiers, Hospitaliers, or assassins.

I reach the other end of the woods in a couple of hours and catch sight of the cottage atop the cliff. The carriages I spotted earlier are surprisingly absent but there is dust in the air and a crater that I'm certain wasn't there last week.

I use a few lion constructs to climb mid-way up a tall tree and gaze to the south-west. I spot the back of the procession in slow retreat towards Meria. I grin because it tells me how the crater came to be.

Yet, I also feel other more complicated emotions than joy towards her awaiting me inside while refusing all disturbances. I experience fear because her reaction to these idiots was violent, causing me to feel even more urgency to meet her.

I pick up my umbrella to shield myself from thin branches as I start running. The physical exertion helps me deal with the quiet despair that rests in the bottom of my heart towards what I must do in the future and what I am about to do for Leomi to remain the being I love with all my heart.

There is irony in the fact that I don't wish for her to become similar to me but do want her to change to accept Celyz. Still, even if the seemingly impossible happens and that does come true, the final action I will take in my plan to destroy Nobility will be one to ensure it will never rise again but also cause Lance to suffer exactly because of who she is.

How we wish I could remain functionally insane while also abandoning my ambitions. I run out of the woods towards the cottage at an angle to reach the front but slow down when I spot Yvonne and Vikiana facing off on the porch.

The two appear to be arguing if I go by my best friend's difficult and worried expression. She does eventually catch sight of me approaching in my dress and she tries to discreetly shake her head to tell me to avoid Viki.

Her movement is, unsurprisingly, caught by Vikiana who turns and throws me a quick glare before turning to my best friend. Yvonne's shoulders rise and her eyebrows tighten from what the woman tells her but then her arms fall.

She gives me an apologetic look before turning to enter the cottage alone. Hm. Vikiana turns to me and heads over to cut me off with her hand on the hilt of her sword. Whatever this is, Leomi gave her agreement or Yvonne wouldn't have left so easily.

From this, and the fact Viki is picking a fight, it's possible that Lance wants to break up. Or, it would be if it wasn't impossible. What's more likely is for Vikiana to be tes...

“Let us find out how worthy you are in your chosen field.” Vikiana utters, confirming her intent is as I've deduced.

“I do not see any benefit to entertaining you, Viki.” I reply coldly. “You can't stop me and Leomi from being together.”

“You know that I am able to force you to fight, but that way would leave a wound on the survivor's heart.” She replies flatly, implying that she would duel me to the death if I were to refuse here and now.

I've no doubt she intends to test my character during this fight, were I to accept, by making me think she is trying to kill me. After all, she has met me before and after I turned insane as well as witnessed the ravages my actions caused to my personality.

Viki's reason to act now could be because of the state I fucked Leomi into, or because of Leomi's sadistic treatment of me which caused her to fear our union, or because she simply wants to fight me.

It doesn't matter because Jessica has no intention of agreeing and Elizabeth does not care so she is not provoked, which means that I can merely walk past her on my way to the cottage while ready to draw the rapier if she were to approach me.

“If you cannot defeat me, why should I ever trust you with my daughter?” Vikiana asks rhetorically because the answer is obvious, she should not.

I cannot help but pause because this is a true challenge to my pride as Elizabeth Vil. The woman takes a single side-step and blocks my way forward, provoking Jessica Freepath.

“Bare blades?” I question, trembling from E.Vil's eagerness to stomp the woman into the ground.

“No restrictions.” She answers with a calm voice that contrasts with her tense expression.

So, I can use all the flow I want to get rid of this final obstacle to Lance. I must be quick to win without mutilating her. I spin my umbrella a few times before setting it down on the ground because she's not an opponent I can play around with.

Viki unsheathes her short sword. I draw the broadsword on my back. We both hold our weapons out with the most casual gestures yet, like me towards her, she must be intensely focused to catch every single movement I make.

Liz and Jess choose not to close the distance because, unlike every other opponent they met, Vikiana's point to point burst speed is too high for this tactic. If we enter close combat, she will inevitably create an opening for her to lion's step out of our field of vision.

She does not approach either, apparently wary of our unorthodox fighting style and tendency to take insane risks in battle. I shape a perception construct with half my energy, accelerating myself for a hundred seconds.

I reserve a quarter of my flow to enhance my body with strengthening and lion type constructs while using the rest to apply a defensive construct to my single-edged broadsword because I don't want to turn this into a hand to hand battle by ruining both our weapons through clashing with armor-piercing constructs.

As my blade turns golden, I swing it towards hers who has taken the hue of flow as well. Clang. Our swords ring like bells as they impact each other. Hers remains steady, proving that we've both taken the approach of disarming our opponent first.

My defensive construct loses two portions of energy, meaning she chose an armor-piercing construct. I'm not surprised because she knows of my now obsolete lightning-armor-piercing construct so her best bet is to try to ruin my weapon if I use it.

I adjust my grip on my weapon and send a half-dozen lion strikes at hers, each using arcs calculated to arrive at widely different angles that it forces her from one side to another. It takes much less effort on the part of the attacker, an advantage I'll need to rely on to win.

My goal is to overwhelm her by using my advantage in speed while she has to divert some of her attention to hurriedly shape another construct to protect her sword while defending.

After all, if she leaves her weapon without any construct, I could switch to my sundering construct and cut it. Vikiana blocks the first few blows without difficulty but the fact I keep swinging at varying angles without pause causes her to lose ground.

She ultimately decides to bring her short sword closer to her chest to gain just a little bit more time to defend, which also allows her to apply a defensive construct to her weapon.

The fact she doesn't lack the energy to do so informs me that she's stocked up on energy to prepare for this fight. I decide to give up on Jess' arcing slashes because her close stance means I have to move in range of her left hand to counter it, which I don't want to do yet.

I release another half-dozen quick lion strikes with Jess' style while preparing to merge in some of Liz' style. Vikiana remains on the defensive but manages to cope better and better with my slashes because, unfortunately, I don't have such a quick and imaginative mind that I can create a multitude of variations on the spot even with my current perception of time.

Not to mention that her close-range defense means the tip of my broadsword is impacting the base of her short sword, meaning she is negating much of the force behind my blows with little effort.

Never mind the reflexes that allow her to react to my rapid barrage of blows, which hold just enough power to cut flesh but not bone, her experience means that she is able to use her tall height as an advantage the same way I use my average one.

She's a bigger target than I am but that also means each of her steps helps her cross more distance than mine do. These simple facts mean that we both must be very careful about what moves we make.

I link my failed swing into the launch of my last lion strike during which I'm going to enact my change of style, using a high slash aimed at her throat. She raises her sword to block as soon as I move, showing how predictable I've gotten.

This time, I don't worry about her countering and follow through with the blow by stomping forward with my left foot to add power. She brings her right leg back as if mirroring my stance. I twist my right arm and waist to turn the slash into a downward stab.

Viki reacts almost instantly by swinging the sword she raised to block down in order to parry my attack. No surprise there, she saw me execute this before and is no doubt the one who taught Leomi.

Yet, she fails to notice me open my hand to release the grip of my broadsword and let it slide forward along my palm. I snap my index and thumb on around the pommel just as her weapon impacts mine.

My blade snaps downward, almost ripping the hilt out of my strengthened two fingered grip but not quite because she moved too quickly and with the intent to divert the tip of my weapon.

The broadsword arcs down along the anchor point my fingers provide. I raise my arm, wasting a lion strike so as to be quick enough, while angling my palm forward until my weapon's handle hits.

I close my fingers, completing my switch to a backhanded grip thanks to her unwitting help and immediately step forward while lion's stabbing down at her left shoulder. Viki's light blue irises widen in realization she made a mistake but she doesn't panic.

She actually does three things at once. First, she slashes at my belly with her short sword, which won't do much damage because it's too close but will certainly rip through my dress and cut a few layers of muscle.

Second, she leans forward and to the left to launch a palm strike, crazily putting her shoulder further at risk and doing exactly what my attack is designed to dissuade her from doing.

Third, she demonstrates her cleverness and unbelievable footwork by angling her forward left foot sideways for a better foothold to lion's step without any run-up in order to dodge far enough.

A bitter taste fills my mouth. These last two decisions of hers defeat my tactics while the first is a retaliation. Viki's lion's step removes her torso from the trajectory of my weapon's point which continues downward towards her exposed calf.

Yet, her palm strike lands on the spine of my single-edged broadsword, pushing it back at me which causes me to miss her retreating leg. I manage to reverse my torso's momentum thanks to my strengthening construct but just barely.

With all this tension, and Liz' move having failed, I feel a stiffness in my chest that isn't merely caused by my struggling lungs. I decide to go all-in and start using backhanded clubbing blows with my blade's blunt spine.

She struggles to block my first blow and the three that land afterward because the arc of my attacks aren't thought out but chosen by instinct and blood-thirst, adding an element of unpredictability because I often make the decisions before optimizing my body to expertly launch these attacks.

As the woman defends herself from these heavier and irrational swings, while protecting the blade of her short sword, I assemble a hybrid kinetic-shredding construct so as to launch a pinpoint strike that may break her weapon despite the defensive construct covering it.

Liz' enthusiasm for battle fills my mind, the excitement caused by the increased adrenaline makes it slightly more difficult for me to complete the construct as well as make a blood-needle to use as a last resort but I do manage.

As I prepare to finish the fight, I notice that her rhythm changed while my mind was otherwise occupied and Liz' Berserk-like instincts took over. Vikiana suddenly tenses up as she leans to her own right side.

I hurriedly divert the straight bashing swing I've aimed at her forehead, twisting it into a half-moon defensive swipe to protect my left side because her preparations could indicate that she's preparing a rapid and powerful swing.

Then, Viki just... vanishes from my sight. I reflexively squeeze the Moebisus loop core of my perception construct with my mind because it also functions as a timer segment, causing time to slow down by a third more.

Next, I retreat to the left while spinning to the right and once more redirecting my broadsword's momentum by launching a completely unprepared and wild swing towards my right.

After all, the other possibility for her to lean to her right was to lion's step to her left but I foolishly dismissed the possibility because I deemed that we were far enough away from each other that she would be unable to move quickly enough to escape my senses.

I should have known better, she used this on fucking Rykz who have insane reflexes so there's no reason she would be unable to confuse my eyes when she's able to trick a Rykz warrior's three-hundred-sixty degree detection radius and kill them in the split-second it takes them to register the change.