Right as she sunk into a quagmire of doubt, Lady Kalasena made a mistake. A silk projectile sliced across her shoulder, splashing blood into the air. It was her first real injury since the battle began. That attack broke her tempo, and her stance fell into disarray. She was in danger! Yuna saw this and froze. Those hesitations and doubts in her mind rapidly faded. What she needed to do now was help. Everything else was unnecessary! She tried to act like Shirley or Freon. Under her efforts, her heart calmed down, and her breath steadied. Although the process seemed long, it happened in seconds. First of all, she needed to settle the problem of light.
She shouted, "Lady… Lady Kalasena, can you use your Martial Perception?!"
The lady dodged a swipe, spun around, and lashed out with her sword. It bounced off the insect's back with a clang. Blood was starting to stain the clothing around her shoulder. The more she moved, the more she opened her wounds. Her plate armor was a hindrance. Despite the disadvantages, Lady Kalasena's face remained the same, stoic and stiff. It seemed like, even in battle, her expressions did not change easily. It almost looked like she was having an easy time… When Yuna shouted, she immediately understood what the former wanted to do, and nodded. Yuna needed to squint to see her nod, but that was enough. She had remembered that Lady Kalasena was a Perception Realm Novice, and she could use Martial Perception, meaning darkness was a nonissue. With that out of the way, Yuna could switch to another spell. She memorized the positions of the two bugs, doused her fireball spell, and began casting anew.
Lady Kalasena responded to the darkness by unleashing her Martial Perception. She continued to battle, as if nothing had changed. However, the strain of using a Martial Perception was not light. Her condition was better than when Benedict or Shirley used it, but still, her mastery over it was too low to use in a prolonged battle. She originally intended to observe and adapt to these bugs more before forming a killing strategy. Delaying was no longer possible, so she finally decided to go all out! Boom! Her aura morphed into a chilling, lethal wind that sent shivers down Yuna's spine. Even the bugs appeared dazed. Lady Kalasena's stance moved from defense to offense, as she attacked with lightning-fast momentum! Imbued with her Martial Perception, she slashed through two legs and stabbed into a soft belly. That was the start, as the girl inflicted four more wounds on the bugs. She was unbelievably fast, having completed her chain of attacks in less than three seconds. Even though Yuna's spellcasting speed was impressive enough to rank among the top of her peers, Lady Kalasena was somehow faster!
Nevertheless, Yuna's spell eventually completed. She shouted something, and Lady Kalasena hurriedly retreated. Three water streams shot at the two bugs and coiled around them like chains. Obviously, plain water could not contain them, so these restraints broke easily. However, another round of water streams was quickly launched, adding to the previous chains. Then a third. Then a fourth. More and more water piled on to form a large spherical prison. The bugs were trapped inside a strong vortex of currents that made it difficult to escape. This was the water-type spell, Ocean Prison! This High Gaseous Fog spell was designed to imprison enemies, such as wild animals or even humans.
"Did-Did I do it?" she asked timidly. Since she could not see anything, she needed Lady Kalasena to confirm.
At that moment, multiple silk arrows pierced through the water prison! The bugs were in a frenzy trying to escape! One of them shot at Yuna, who was unaware of the danger she was in. Lady Kalasena sensed it with her Martial Perception, jumped in, and slashed it down. Without saying a word, the lady sprinted at the watery prison and thrusted her sword into a bug head. This time, it went deep. She continued by cutting down the insect's belly and thoroughly bisected the creature. The blood made the water murky, but she was unbothered. After doing the same to the second bug, she finally released her Martial Perception.
"It's over," the lady announced.
Hearing that, Yuna flushed with relief. She removed her Ocean Prison, and casted her fireball spell. Light flooded the tunnels once more. She was shocked to see the insects brutally cut apart. It did not seem like something that the elegant and noble Grand Lady would do. Regardless, they somehow survived. That realization caused her legs to go weak. Other people might laugh at their accomplishment, since it was so small. Winning a battle against two bugs was hardly something to brag about, and she was not even the one who dealt the finishing blow. Yet, Yuna was proud of herself. She managed to do something she previously thought was beyond her. That tiny step gave her the confidence to hold her head high. Sometimes, it was all someone needed.
Lady Kalasena flicked the insect blood off her blade and sheathed it with a click. Although she looked impassive and stoic on the surface, she was actually very tired. Real combat was entirely different from training. One small mistake could be fatal. It was especially precarious in that final stretch when she used her Martial Perception. A Martial Perception did not magically make her stronger, faster, or more durable. It was not that miraculous. The only thing that a Martial Perception did was massively enhance the body's five senses and drown her in information. After that, it was up to her to convert that into her advantage. In other words, between people with the same information, the end result could vary greatly. This was best seen with her battle, because she could not decisively finish off the two bugs on her own. She needed Yuna's help to immobilize them first.
Yuna spoke up then, "Is your shoulder okay?"
The lady looked at her squarely and proceeded to calmly remove her plate armor. The straps were hard to get to, but she managed. Her expensive armor was heartlessly dropped to the floor and created a loud bang on impact. Yuna jumped at the sound. To think that she could move with such speed and agility, while carrying around that much weight… Once again, it reinforced the idea that all Perception Realms were monsters in their own right. Under that metal, Lady Kalasena's clothing was dyed in a crimson red. She frowned and tore away the clothing around her shoulder. Blood continued to seep out unendingly.
Yuna panicked, "We need to hurry and stop the bleeding! Come here. Let me do it."
Lady Kalasena gave her a certain look that Yuna interpreted as aversion. When she saw the effect that she had on Yuna, her face softened and she nodded silently. The girl sat down and presented her shoulder. She was surprisingly cute, when she wanted to be. Yuna felt a little closer to the Grand Lady now. Splitting her focus on her spell, she cleaned the lady's wounds as best she could and wrapped it in layers of cloth. After some time, she was done.
"There we go… That should hold until we're out…" Yuna wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Thank you," she replied curtly.
"You're welcome, Lady… Lady Kalasena."
Between her stammers, she stood up to help the Arcane Knight, who was still unconscious. When she came to his side though, she belatedly realized that the man had already stopped breathing. He was dead. As it turned out, he had bled to death during the battle and quietly passed away. Lady Kalasena had noticed with her Martial Perception but said nothing. With a heavy heart, Yuna straightened his body, tidied his clothes, and made him as presentable as possible. That was the last grace she could offer to this nameless knight. She did search his body to see if he had any memorabilia or proof of identity that they could return to his family… Sadly, she could not find anything like that.
It was quite depressing. They could not bring his corpse back to the surface. He had perished in these tunnels without anything to remember him by, and his body would remain here without anyone to see it. Alone and in the dark for many years until his skeleton turns to dust. His soul would be left to anguish in these empty tunnels for eternity. Would their fates be the same? Yuna and Lady Kalasena stayed silent, their thoughts were unknown. The only thing that moved was the flickering light that drew deep shadows across the walls.