"I cannot allow an urban legend to run wild and cause chaos on this ship."
Lin Yaqing pointed the tip of her blade directly at Angelina, declaring her resolve.
Angelina reacted as if she had heard something hilarious, half-covering her face while her shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly.
"Everyone is like this. I've grown tired of explaining anything."
Angelina thrust her lance straight into the ground. A pale purple shimmer flowed down the intricate patterns of the shaft. Delicate white flowers bloomed around the tip of the lance, like seeds birthed from nature dripping into the floor, causing a sea of white flowers to blossom.
She twisted the grip and suddenly wrenched the lance from the ground. Cracks spread rapidly as purple magic energy surged out, erupting all the way toward Lin Yaqing, tearing a terrifying gorge into the floor along its path.
Lin Yaqing leapt into the air and looked down. Within the gorge, countless tiny, dark purple eyes stared back at her, curved into eerie smiles.
Sensing danger, she saw silver-white lance tips rise from the cracks, thrusting toward her in mid-air. Had Lin Yaqing not dodged instantly, her body would have been pierced through.
Lin Yaqing continuously parried and slashed, shattering the white spears that lunged at her. The moment she landed, she spun her body with the agility of a startled rabbit. A second later, a sea of spider lilies bloomed where she had just stood, rotting away in an instant.
Lance and rapier clashed in mid-air. The ground beneath them collapsed, and both fell into the corridor below. Without hesitation, Angelina raised her hand. All the white flowers beneath her grew and flew into the air, their petals blooming in layers and intertwining to form a spiraling spear that shot toward Lin Yaqing.
The latter responded with equal speed. She brushed her fingers across the rapier, and a row of crimson magic circles unfolded before her. The condensed red light transformed into countless scarlet meteors that shot forth, colliding with and dispersing the spiraling spear.
Lance and rapier separated briefly before clashing again. This time, every pane of glass shattered simultaneously. The aftershocks bounced back and forth along the long corridor; crystal chandeliers were sliced diagonally, and the cross-sections of vases and paintings were left perfectly smooth.
No one could track their movements. Their dozens of exchanges every second were a display of violent aesthetics, stripping away all technique for pure power. As the world behind them began to crumble, the two continued their duel while running forward. Every second, flesh and blood flew from their bodies. The intent of the lance or the edge of the blade tore through their tendons and bones without resistance, wreaking havoc on their internal organs.
However, for the two young women surging with battle intent, none of this mattered. Their monstrous physical constitutions repaired their injuries every second. Highly secreted hormones ensured they felt no pain. Through their senses alone, they could track each other's lethal attacks amidst the drizzling rain, blocking strikes aimed at their hearts or eyes.
When supporting attacks no longer worked and thinking only slowed their bloodthirsty weapons, they simply cast aside all rationality. They allowed the most barbaric intersection of lance and blade until the castle began to wobble. The entire corridor collapsed, and they briefly separated as they fell, finally losing sight of each other behind a wall.
Yet, neither stopped. This battle would not end until one side's will to fight faded.
They began to walk slowly along the walls. Their gazes lingered on priceless, exquisite paintings—not to admire them, but because they knew the other was right behind the wall, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.
Their pace quickened until they were both sprinting, dragging their lance and rapier. They raced past a row of lit torches, eventually splitting at a fork and rushing down a spiral staircase until they reached two heavy, opposing doors.
They burst into the castle's great hall simultaneously from opposite ends. Lance and rapier kissed once more as their figures danced amidst the flames. A corner of the portrait of the king above the throne was burning; his majestic eyes were turned into charred holes by the rapidly climbing fire.
"You really are persistent," Angelina said expressionlessly.
"So are you," Lin Yaqing countered.
As if by unspoken agreement, the two separated at the same time.
"Let's end this quickly."
Angelina held her lance high. White flower branches grew from the surrounding sea of spider lilies onto her legs. She gripped the shaft with both hands as countless cracks opened around her. Eyes of all sizes were laughing. Overwhelming purple magic energy gathered into the Abyssal White Flower, and the shaft of the lance swelled several times in size, rising into the air like a high tower.
Lin Yaqing took a deep breath. She held one hand behind her back and leveled the sword hilt before her, the tip pointing forward in a duelist's stance. She whispered softly:
"O great will upon the stars, bless me. I offer one year to seek your gaze upon this corner."
Borrowing.
This was a secret Lin Yaqing could tell no one. it was also the reason she could grow at a speed tens or even hundreds of times faster than her peers.
Her magnificent attire became increasingly dazzling. Specks of light rose from beneath the feet of this young sword saint. In the next moment, the rapier erupted with power. A pillar of crimson fire blazed upward from its base, held in the girl's hand as lava-colored patterns flowed across it.
Angelina leaned forward and thrust her lance, while Lin Yaqing shouted and slashed with her rapier!
Purple magic energy and scarlet radiance consumed each other. Silence followed.
"Dammit, all this is happening, so where is the section head?"
The heavy cargo elevator ascended rapidly through the narrow shaft. Sparks flew as the steel mesh of the elevator scraped against the shaft walls. It seemed the commotion above had caused issues with the traction machine, though luckily it was still functional.
Inside the elevator, the youth's brow was furrowed. He tried to call through the communication curtain, but no one answered. He didn't know what had happened; he couldn't contact a single companion from Section 6. It was as if they had all vanished from the face of the earth.
Just moments ago, Bai Zhou had received a private email. An urban legend event had broken out on the opera floor of the deck. It was highly likely that the apocalypse-class monster was awakening.
After their initial contact with that monster at Belvedere Station, they hadn't been able to gather any news about it. It wasn't until recently that they captured signs of the monster's life signs waking up; the target had been hiding on this cruise ship for a month.
Based on their contact, they had determined that the monster was still far from reaching an apocalypse-class threat level. Or rather, that individual was suppressing herself. Through that eerie black glove on her right hand, she could restrain her power and desires.
But that didn't mean they could relax. On the contrary, they needed to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. No one knew when this individual would completely lose control. If this time bomb were to truly detonate, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Lost in thought, the cargo elevator reached the opera floor.
The old cargo elevator was covered in rust, making a teeth-grinding sound under the impact. This freight elevator, specifically used for moving large stage props, had been in service since the Dream of the Ocean was first built in the shipyard. The cruise ship's predecessor was an icebreaker that conquered the frozen winters, and the elevator shaft had existed to move weapons of war.
Since being converted into a civilian cruise ship, this freight elevator had been in service for at least fifty or sixty years—nearly as old as Bai Zhou's father.
Just as Bai Zhou was grumbling and pushing open the rust-pitted gate of the elevator to step onto the dark horse path behind the opera floor stage, he saw a figure approaching. His face immediately grew alert.
The person was dressed in a flat-collar evening suit, standing tall with long golden hair cascading down her back. Most unsettling of all was the white smiley face mask she wore, with an eerie light shimmering across it.
"I'm sorry, there is no passage here."
A female voice without inflection came from behind the mask. Bai Zhou snorted and immediately summoned his mimicry weapon. The heavy, high-tech blade slammed onto the ground with significant weight.
"Do you have any idea who I am?"
"I'm with the association's Section 6. If you've heard of Section 6, get out of the way immediately."
He was met with steady footsteps. Seeing that the opponent was unmoved even after hearing his title and was instead accelerating toward him, Bai Zhou realized she came with ill intent. He lifted his massive blade.
"At least tell me your name before we fight."
"Dark Gold Rose."
"You may also call me..."
A bone-like whip appeared in Xu Xiaoyou's hand. With a sharp crack, it straightened and trailed along the ground from her glove.
"Fate."
Rate on N.U.
