Ryu froze.
Indeed.
The opponent was a god.
A person of the Lower World attempting to lie before a god of the Heavens was simply overestimating themselves.
And.
No matter what.
She had been caught by him.
Caught red-handed on the spot, leaving her no room for excuses.
Since he could so confidently identify her identity.
It meant that the thing she feared most had happened—because of her recklessness, The Hostess of Fertility, the haven she swore to protect with her life, had been involved.
Thinking of this.
Ryu's thin lips, hidden in the shadow of her hood, pressed into a tight line; although she still hadn't removed the hood covering her face.
But this was her fault.
It was her overprotectiveness of Syr and that bone-deep paranoia that led to this panicked error in judgment, ultimately bringing trouble upon herself.
If you're wrong,
you must admit it.
"..."
Ryu took a deep breath, and her hands—which had been tightly gripping her daggers, ready to strike—slowly lowered. That combat stance, as if facing a great enemy, dissolved, replaced by a nearly humble sense of apology.
"I am very sorry."
"It is just as you said."
"Due to some extremely personal reasons, I harbored unnecessary and rude suspicions toward you."
"This was a lapse in judgment caused by my own paranoia."
"I am deeply sorry for the trouble I have caused you."
"If there is any compensation I can offer..."
Though Ryu's voice remained cool, it had lost some of its previous sharpness and gained a touch of sincerity.
"Compensation won't be necessary."
"Someone already used that phrase today."
However,
Heimdall didn't want to hear these cliché apologies right now.
Especially not now.
Compared to verbal apologies,
Heimdall wanted something more practical.
...
So,
Heimdall flicked his wrist.
*Hum—*
The silver spear he had been casually holding carved a cold flash through the air before coming to a steady halt at his right side. The spearhead pointed diagonally toward the ground, emitting a crisp, low hum.
"Speaking of which,"
"judging by Miss Elf's reactions, Miss Elf must have been a high-level Adventurer in the past."
"If Miss Elf truly wants to make amends,"
"how about a spar with me?"
"Right here."
"As long as Miss Elf can keep me entertained,"
"we'll act as if tonight's events never happened."
"In fact,"
"if Miss Elf can defeat me,"
"not only will I let you go, but I will also grant you one request that doesn't cross my bottom line."
"What do you think?"
"It's a fair deal, isn't it?"
Heimdall said this
with a specific intention in mind.
But whether it would come to fruition
depended on Ryu's reaction.
"???"
Upon hearing this, Ryu jerked her head up. Her sky-blue eyes, which had been hidden in the shadows, widened instantly in utter disbelief.
A spar?
Sparring with a god?
This was simply insane.
"Are you joking?"
"You are a god!"
"In the Lower World, gods are strictly forbidden from using Arcanum."
"Besides..."
"if I were to accidentally injure you and trigger the passive protection mechanism of your Arcanum..."
"you would be forcibly sent back to the Heavens!"
"Don't worry,"
Heimdall interrupted Ryu's concerns.
"Miss Elf and I will be testing our martial arts."
"A pure exchange of skills."
"No Arcanum, no Authorities—just a pure clash of martial techniques."
"As for that counter-mechanism Miss Elf is worried about..."
Heimdall gave a light chuckle.
"Rest assured."
"I guarantee nothing will happen."
"Even if you truly have the skill to hold a blade to my throat,"
"I will never use even a single shred of Arcanum."
"..."
Ryu was stunned.
She seemed to realize that he was serious; this god was not joking.
The situation was particularly clear: if she didn't agree and satisfy this god's whim, it would likely be difficult to resolve things tonight.
And since the god had put it that way...
...
"Then, forgive my rudeness!"
"But I often go too far."
"Please be careful, Lord God."
Ryu gritted her teeth, and her eyes instantly became sharp.
With no way to retreat,
she could only fight.
Since the opponent was a god and had made a promise, this was merely a pure contest of martial arts.
As the former [Gale],
as a Level 4 Second-tier Adventurer,
and as an avenger who had walked the line between life and death countless times, honing assassination and speed to their limits—
she possessed absolute confidence in pure technique.
Gods possessed long lifespans and infinite knowledge, but with their physical stats and Arcanum restricted, they might not necessarily win against a battle-hardened veteran while using a mere mortal shell.
Thinking of this,
Ryu adjusted her breathing and slowly lowered her center of gravity. Her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, once again gripped the twin daggers hidden in her sleeves.
If she was to fight,
she would go all out.
This was respect for a god and responsibility toward others.
"..."
The night wind seemed to freeze at this moment.
The alleyway was deathly silent.
Only the occasional clamor from the distant streets could be heard, making the atmosphere here feel even more oppressive by contrast.
The next second,
*Thump!*
A muffled sound exploded.
It was the sound of a sole forcefully shattering a bluestone slab.
Ryu's figure vanished.
No.
She didn't vanish.
It was just that she was too fast.
As the [Gale] known for speed among Level 4s, the velocity she exploded with in that instant even pulled a green afterimage behind her.
No probing.
No holding back.
Her first move was a killing strike.
She had thought that in this narrow alley, long weapons wouldn't be able to maneuver properly.
Short and compact daggers held the advantage here.
Ryu intended to exploit this. Using the counter-force from the wall, her body completed an incredible mid-air pivot.
She instantly cut into Heimdall's right-side blind spot.
That area was a dead zone for swinging a long spear.
"Got you!"
A sharp glint flashed in Ryu's eyes.
Her twin daggers, like a venomous snake's tongue, aimed directly for the nerve cluster at Heimdall's wrist.
Once he was disarmed, the match would be decided.
However,
at the very moment her blade was about to touch Heimdall's wrist,
she heard it.
"Too slow."
The faint voice reached her ears even faster than the sound of the wind.
Like nine points falling from above, or a single line released and retracted.
Heimdall braced the spear on his right against the wall, using the reaction force to precisely knock the butt of the spear against the side of her dagger.
*Clang!*
A crisp sound rang out.
Ryu felt an irresistible force surge through her wrist.
Even...
It wasn't just parried.
The force traveled through the daggers into her arms, numbing half of her body.
"How is this possible?!"
Ryu winced in pain, closing one eye, her heart filled with shock.
Heimdall's timing was impeccable.
Before she could adjust her stance,
the silver spear seemed to spring to life instantly.
The long shaft, which should have been clumsy in such a narrow environment, was as nimble as a snake in Heimdall's hands.
There was no need for wide, sweeping swings.
With just a few flicks of his wrist,
the shaft, the tip, and even the butt of the spear...
every part became a lethal weapon.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang! Clang! Clang!!"
The dense sound of metal clashing echoed through the alleyway.
Ryu's prideful speed had become completely useless at this moment.
No matter what angle she attacked from,
or how she used the terrain to change direction,
that spear would always appear a step ahead on her path, effortlessly neutralizing her offensive.
It was like an impenetrable Wall of Sighs.
Driving one to despair.
"Is this... the martial prowess of a god?"
The more Ryu fought, the more alarmed she became.
On the level of technique,
the gap between them was practically on a different dimension.
She was desperately running, calculating, and shifting her moves.
In contrast, the other party seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll, not even moving his feet an inch.
It was like an adult teasing a child who had just learned to walk.
"I don't believe it!"
Ryu gritted her teeth, that elven stubbornness finally erupting.
Ryu's speed suddenly surged once again.
She turned into an afterimage, whipping up a storm within the narrow space.
Once more,
she caught a momentary gap when Heimdall took a breath.
Her twin daggers crossed.
Aiming straight for the center!
This strike was unavoidable!
However,
facing this lethal blow,
Heimdall performed only a simple movement.
Instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping into Ryu's blades.
Simultaneously,
he slammed the spear in his hand onto the ground.
"Thump!"
A dull boom resounded, as if a heavy hammer had struck the heart.
Using the recoil from the impact, the spear shaft bounced up with terrifying speed, striking precisely at the intersection of the two daggers.
"Crack!"
A massive force erupted instantly.
Ryu felt a sharp pain in the webs of her thumbs, unable to hold onto her weapons any longer.
Both daggers flew out of her hands, spinning and embedding themselves deep into the walls on either side.
And that silver spear...
at the moment it deflected the daggers, it lunged forward.
Finally,
it stopped steadily less than a centimeter from Ryu's throat.
Ryu froze on the spot.
"It seems Miss Elf hasn't held a blade in quite a while."
-------------------------------
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