Hero of Harmony (Continued)

Chapter 242: Skill Issue

Subtly shaking my head, I got rid of such thoughts and focused on the matter at hand, which was to deescalate the current situation from further progressing; however, that was promptly cut short when the woman stepped forward while slicing her sword, causing me to gulp nervously.

'Why was that so badass!?' Thought Alexander as he eyed the woman in slight awe, only for her to suddenly lunge at him with immense speed.

Taken aback by her aggressiveness, I swiftly tilted my body to the side, narrowly evading her long sword while I quickly backed away, dodging another slash; raising my hands into the air, I tried to once again talk things out, but she didn't seem to have any interest in listening as she pushed off the ground and dashed towards me.

"M-Miss! P-Please, I'm n-not trying to fight you! L-Let's just talk things out!" Said Alexander anxiously as he continuously dodged the woman's attacks while trying to sound as friendly as possible, though to no avail.

As frustrating as it was, the woman had no desire to listen to me; hell, she didn't even at least think about my words as she continuously attacked, her sword always a hair's breadth away from slicing through my skin.

Leaning backward, I watched her sword stab right where I was previously standing, only for me to blink away as she sliced downwards, nearly cutting me in half.

"Alright, woman, you're making this difficult, but since you don't want to listen to reason, maybe I need to beat it into you a little. Sorry in advance; I would've preferred not to harm you." Remarked Alexander in slight annoyance as he twisted his swords, brandishing the dull side of his blades while eyeing the woman, who clicked her tongue, seemingly taking offense by his actions.

Just as I was about to go ahead and knock some sense into her, she raised her sword into the air, only to slash downwards, launching a curved wave of reddish-black mana that sliced through the air; quickly raising my swords, I firmly planted my feet and blocked the powerful attack that had pushed me a few feet back.

'Ouch!' Said Trina loudly as she and Zartha twitched in pain, their voices startling Alexander.

'Eh, are you two okay!? What happened?' Asked Alexander in concern as he glanced at his two swords, only to block the woman's sword, yet, she redirected her blade last minute, nearly poking his eye out.

'Focus, Master. We shall inform you later; just try to evade that attack from now on.' Said Zartha coldly as she bent down and gently rubbed Trina's head, soothing her pain.

Inwardly nodding at Zartha's words, I shifted my focus to the fight at hand, only for her blade to finally reach me as she nicked my cheek, causing my golden blood to flow down the side of my cheek, though it was for a split second as it healed right...

'Wait... Why isn't it healing?' Thought Alexander in confusion as he quickly leaped into the air, using [Air Step] to further distance himself.

Touching my cheek, I felt a stinging pain and saw my own blood, which only further confused me since such a small wound like this should've been healed within a second, yet, for some reason, it hadn't healed at all. I was entirely clueless as to why, but I knew it had to do something with that woman's blade; maybe it was also related to that reddish-black mana I saw; unfortunately, I wasn't given a chance to ponder as she swiftly charged right at me.

Quickly bringing my sword up, I stopped her blade while I used Trina to slash at her, using the dull side of my blade, yet, with a leap, she dodged my attack before kicking me in the face with her armored foot, causing me to wince at the lingering pain that I hadn't dealt with in so long.

Regaining my bearings, I slashed upwards at her approaching figure, yet she simply deflected it using her sword as she continued dashing toward me; using Zartha, I slashed at her from above, figuring she'd be forced to dodge as her sword was dealing with my other blade. However, I was sorely mistaken; with incredible skill, she flicked her sword and pivoted on her foot, using her heel to Trina into Zartha, slightly knocking me off balance, and although I managed to quickly recover, she had slashed right through my armor, leaving a deep gash on my chest.