The Twenty Virtues Book 1- The Twenty Generals

45-Chaos.

"So you're really going to face us?" Helena asked, clearly remembering how the last confrontation with Gaya had gone. Even though she could now wield her power, Gaya still hadn't revealed the abilities she had and that smile on her face made it impossible to be certain about her thoughts.

"It wasn't my intention," the general replied while keeping her blade pointed at the group. Her head slowly turned towards James. "But some people like to judge others, and I simply can't tolerate that anymore."

"I only spoke the truth, young lady," the elder said, showing no sign of fear. "You want to escape the consequences of your actions by placing the blame on us? Face the consequences of what you've done and regret it, or you'll never rid yourself of that guilt."

"My actions? Did I do something? That guilt?" Gaya's sword began to tremble from the force she was holding it, her brow furrowed even more as her muscles tensed, although her smile remained.

She could no longer bear to hear it. Enough of trying to blame her; she had never done anything wrong... but everyone insisted on accusing her of wrongdoing when she was just trying to do what was right.

Finally, the sword steadied, her brow relaxed, and she took a deep breath. Turning her head slightly to the side and lowering her sword, she said:

"What guilt?" For a moment, the swordswoman vanished, but it was because she moved so quickly that it took them a while to notice. She was so fast and light that she appeared among the three remaining, wanting to end it in a single blow.

The three managed to react in time, avoiding a fatal attack but receiving light cuts. The trio increased their distance from their foe, with a mix of all their blood on her blade.

"Too fast," Stuart commented, covering the cut he had received with his hand. The blade was so thin that the cut was deep and stung.

"Fast and skilled..." James continued assessing the young woman, raising his hands in preparation for an attack. "... But no matter how good she is with a sword, if she can't cut, it's just a pretty stick."

Barriers then began to form around Gaya, trapping the swordswoman in a cube-like structure, similar to what James had used against Lord V'huluver.

"Oh, oh, don't tell me you've forgotten, sir, the specialty of my sword isn't cutting..." As the cube began to close with the intent to crush the general, the swordswoman jumped onto one of the walls, as if gaining momentum. "... It's a small thrust."

Gaya propelled herself off the other wall, sword raised in front of her. The force of her advance was so great that her sword, unable to break or pierce through, pushed the barrier back. The push was so strong that she flew towards James before he could react. The extremely hard object struck his face, breaking his nose and severely damaging his face.

The murderer dashed toward her newly injured opponent, sword ready for the attack, when Helena appeared from her side, attacking with an sword. It was a failed attack as Gaya dodged.

Once again, the two swordswomen dueled fiercely, and once again, Helena didn't even come close to matching Gaya's skill. She found herself losing the confrontation, as if the weapon had become one with its bearer, and Gaya moved with such care and lightness that she was impossible to keep up with in terms of speed.

Helena hesitated to use her energy, not only would she lose her sword again, but if she misfired, she could harm the others around her. For now, she would try to fight without them, using them only if it was absolutely necessary.

Gaya maintained her advantage until Stuart entered the combat, wielding Carlos's sword, and immediately using its power to create a copy of the weapon. The man, with two swords, tried to assist Helena against the general.