Millicent had sensed the killing intent locking onto her the moment Elemer made his move.
She peeked out from behind the statue, feeling as though that terrifying blade were already pricking at her back.
The Executioner's Sword blazed with crimson energy, letting out a piercing whistle as it tore through the air.
The power released as it spun in a spiral was so tremendous that even the wooden bridge was shaken by the shockwaves. Its structure began to crack apart, then gradually exploded into splinters.
Whether broken or intact, every statue blocking the way tumbled down along with the collapsing bridge. Her path forward had been completely cut off.
Watching the Executioner's Sword rapidly approach, smashing through everything in its path, Millicent asked herself a question in that fleeting instant:
Should she run, or take a gamble?
Her eyes fell on the neatly arranged prosthetic arms in the room beyond the bridge. Millicent quickly made her decision.
Now that her opponent had already discovered her presence, following her original plan would be difficult.
She had to think about how to seize this one remaining opportunity.
Millicent leapt out from behind the statue, smashing straight through the wooden ceiling and landing on top of the bridge.
The Executioner's Sword grazed past beneath her feet, reducing the statue she had just been hiding behind to countless tiny fragments of stone.
Millicent did not stop. She immediately sprinted along the remaining fragments of the ruined structure ahead.
Elemer was not discouraged when his attack missed. After using Aura Observation, he already had a rough idea of Millicent's strength. She was not an opponent he could easily take down.
Hearing Millicent's rapidly approaching footsteps, Elemer remained silent and continued using Eochaid's Dancing Blade.
This time, the Executioner's Sword did not spiral forward. Instead, it abruptly changed direction like a flick of a tail, swiftly turning around and flying back toward him.
However, that did not mean he was giving up his attack.
Elemer's eyes remained locked onto Millicent's aura. Even with the roof between them, he could clearly keep track of her movements.
He raised his hand, and the Executioner's Sword attacked Millicent once more from below.
Millicent sprinted across the shattered rooftop. She was just about to reach the roof of the lord's chambers when she suddenly sensed danger again.
Without hesitation, she turned around and stamped her foot against the roof to disperse the momentum. The ceiling shattered beneath her, bringing her mad dash to an abrupt halt.
Sure enough, the Executioner's Sword, wrapped in crimson light, burst through the roof right in front of her. It had nearly impaled her.
The Executioner's Sword remained locked onto Millicent, sometimes slashing, sometimes spinning, and occasionally launching high-speed thrusts. It was like a beast that had begun an endless hunt.
Even for an agile and nimble warrior like Millicent, trying to outrun a flying sword in a straight line while relying on her own human body was an extremely foolish idea. Her only option was to keep changing direction and search for an opportunity.
Millicent desperately dodged its attacks across the shattered rooftop, where there were barely any places left to stand. By now, she was only a few steps away from the lord's hall.
After calculating the distance, Millicent seized the moment she dodged another attack. She leapt sideways off the roof, hooked her left hand over its edge, and swung herself into the lord's hall.
The instant she landed and came face-to-face with Elemer, Millicent pulled out her welcoming gift from her waist pouch.
Seeing several unfamiliar objects flying toward him, Elemer immediately raised his greatshield and smashed the pots to pieces.
However, the explosion he expected never came. Instead, purple smoke poured out of the broken pots.
Three Sleep Pots released an enormous amount of purple mist, completely filling the room. Elemer was instantly swallowed up by the haze.
Seeing Elemer completely engulfed by the Sleep Pots' mist, Millicent felt somewhat relieved.
With such a large dose, even the giant creatures of Caelid would have fallen asleep.
She paid no further attention to Elemer and simply headed toward the wall at the back of the room.
Her purpose here was to obtain a prosthetic arm. That was more important than anything else.
But just then, the Executioner's Sword shot toward her again from behind.
Millicent instinctively dodged, but the blade still grazed her body.
A long gash opened beneath her left ribs. Her fair skin was exposed, but blood quickly spread across the wound.
Millicent turned around in disbelief.
A thick armguard wrapped in iron thorns pushed aside the purple mist. Elemer slowly emerged from within, his heavy footsteps echoing through the room.
Crimson aura surged from his entire body, keeping the purple mist at bay and preventing it from drawing any closer.
Elemer looked at Millicent, his heart filled with irritation. His desire to kill her grew even stronger.
The Sleep Pots had not been completely ineffective. Some of their effects had managed to invade his body.
Fortunately, he had reacted quickly. Just as he was about to fall unconscious, he used his aura to jolt himself awake and expel the foreign influence from his body. That was how he managed to regain consciousness.
Elemer raised his Briar Greatshield and held it before him. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he charged toward Millicent, pushing the shield forward.
Millicent hurriedly sidestepped, barely managing to evade this straightforward attack.
Under the impact of the Briar Greatshield, bookshelves, tables, chairs, and even the many prosthetic limbs Elemer had collected were smashed to pieces.
However, just as Millicent was preparing to keep her distance and look for an opportunity to strike, something happened that she simply could not understand.
Crimson aura coiled around Elemer's arm. He raised it and made a grasping motion toward Millicent from a distance.
Although the two of them were still more than two or three meters apart, Millicent suddenly felt her entire body restrained. She could barely move.
It was a lethal technique from Eochaid, a combat art that only an expert in manipulating aura could use: Lifesteal Fist.
By using one's own aura to suppress and seal off an opponent, the technique could restrain them. In the hands of a sufficiently powerful user, even physical contact at close range could affect the aura inside an opponent's body and cause them to lose consciousness.
Although it only worked on humans and had a limited range, it was extremely difficult to defend against when used unexpectedly.
Under Elemer's cold gaze, Millicent's body was instantly pulled toward him. Waiting along her path was the Executioner's Sword, already poised and gleaming with a chilling light.
Millicent's eyes widened as she struggled desperately.
But she was breaking free far too slowly. There was no way she could escape before the Executioner's Sword pierced her.
Watching the blade steadily approach, unable to resist as she was dragged step by step toward death, was perhaps the most despairing way to die.
Just as the sword's edge was about to touch Millicent's body, a golden-red sword shot out from the side, flying straight toward the Executioner's Sword.
The Regalia of Eochaid spun through the air in accordance with Lucian's will, colliding with the Executioner's Sword just before it could impale Millicent.
The two swords struck each other and immediately bounced apart, each veering away from its original trajectory.
Millicent seized the opportunity to break free from the Lifesteal Fist's restraint and leapt backward to put some distance between herself and Elemer.
Elemer was astonished to discover that the flying sword was none other than the Regalia of Eochaid he had lost when he was captured.
Lucian slowly walked into the lord's hall and shook his head at Millicent.
"Even if you're desperate to get your hands on a prosthetic arm, there's no need to rush into fighting an opponent you don't understand."
"See? You didn't know what kind of techniques he could use, and now you've gotten yourself into trouble."
Millicent shakily got to her feet, still recovering from the shock, when she heard Lucian speak again.
"If you want to fight, then go ahead. Go and get your prosthetic arm."
"However, I'm only giving you thirty seconds."
After hearing Lucian's permission, Millicent did not hesitate. She immediately ran toward the area where the prosthetic arms were displayed.
Even now, she was still shaken by what had happened. She had gained firsthand experience of just how unusual that power known as aura could be.
Eochaid might be a small country where practitioners who had withdrawn from the outside world gathered to train their arts, but its techniques were certainly not to be underestimated.
Watching Millicent leave, Elemer made no further attempt to stop her.
That was because he was now staring warily at Lucian. He did not dare take his eyes off him, let alone divert his attention to pursue Millicent.
The reason was simple: Elemer could not sense Lucian's aura at all.
Just moments ago, from beginning to end, he had only detected Millicent's presence. He had no idea where Lucian had come from.
Without the ability to observe aura, Elemer could not even accurately judge how strong Lucian was.
Yet simply looking at Lucian made him feel an invisible pressure bearing down on him.
Elemer had never encountered anything this abnormal.
Aura was the power contained within living beings. The stronger the creature, the more vigorous its aura should be.
Even the weakest creatures in the Lands Between, or even a tree or a blade of grass, should possess aura.
What was more, Lucian had just used Eochaid's Dancing Blade to contend with him.
That technique was among the most profound and powerful aura-manipulation arts in all of Eochaid.
Even someone who had mastered aura perfectly could not completely conceal it like this in the middle of battle.
Lucian paid no attention to Elemer's wariness, nor did he care that the man was making no move to attack.
To Millicent, Elemer was an exceptionally powerful opponent, and an excellent target for practical combat training.
But in Lucian's eyes, Elemer was nothing more than an aluminum can he could crush with one hand.
Looking at Lucian's utterly nonchalant expression, Elemer remained tense. After a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Why?"
"Why can't I see your aura?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow. He did not quite understand what Elemer meant.
Aura Observation was one of the most basic skills in this unique system of aura manipulation, and one of the prerequisites for using aura.
However, Lucian had only learned to control flying swords through the weapon skill attached to the Regalia of Eochaid. He had never undergone any proper training in aura itself.
Still, after giving it some thought, he more or less understood. His opponent must have some method of observing aura to judge an enemy's combat strength.
Lucian was a little curious about the question himself, so he tilted his head and began pondering it as well.
He wasn't concealing anything, so it certainly shouldn't be invisible to Elemer. But it couldn't be because his strength was too low to produce any aura, either...
Lucian thought of a possibility. Suddenly, he understood.
With a smile, he raised his hand and pointed toward the sky.
Following his gesture, Elemer looked upward, gazing through the ruined roof of the corridor outside the hall toward a patch of sky.
In an instant, Elemer's eyes widened. His eyelids stretched so far that even the corners of his eyes split open, blood beginning to seep out.
What he saw was a golden aura, vast as the heavens themselves, enveloping the entirety of Shaded Castle.
Golden waves of energy surged and danced, like flames licking at the Erdtree itself, illuminating the land below.
Within that aura, Elemer could even hear the praises of countless believers. An invisible sun, constructed from faith, was gathering above him.
The reason he could not see Lucian's aura was that the power of life it represented was simply too immense.
Even Elemer himself had long since been enveloped by that aura.
Elemer's entire body trembled. He gasped desperately for breath, like a drowning man.
This powerful warrior, this vicious criminal, was now as helpless as a newborn lamb. He could barely even remain standing.
Elemer could not accept what he was seeing.
His reaction had been too quick. By the time he realized what he was actually looking at, it was already too late.
At that moment, Elemer's entire worldview collapsed.
Unbelievable... Incomprehensible... Unacceptable...
Was this an illusion? When had it happened...?
That's right! It had to be!
Otherwise, how could this be possible...? How could something like this possibly exist in the Lands Between?!
If this was real, then what had all those long years of training, spent desperately training his pitiful strength, amounted to?
What about all the innocent people he had slaughtered, staining his hands with blood in his pursuit of even greater power?
What had any of it been for?!
What did it all mean?!
"AAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Elemer roared. His bloodshot eyes were completely red as he summoned the Executioner's Sword back into his hand.
After falling into a state of madness and frenzy, Elemer lunged at Lucian like a wild beast, swinging his sword wildly.
However, every one of those surging attacks was blocked by Lucian, who used the Regalia of Eochaid to control his blade through aura manipulation.
Although Lucian hadn't practiced using aura very much, he did have one guiding principle: he firmly believed that overwhelming strength could accomplish miracles.
Lucian simply blocked Elemer's attacks without doing anything else to him.
After all, he intended to leave this little experience dummy for Millicent. He was just waiting for her to get her prosthetic arm so she could use him for practice.
—
Millicent rushed toward the racks against the wall, her eyes rapidly scanning the many prosthetic arms on display.
Thanks to the observations she had made from the bridge, she already had a rough impression of their sizes and where they were arranged.
It didn't take long for her gaze to settle on a few prosthetic arms that seemed to be about the right size.
She casually picked one with a lustrous surface from the pile and held it up for comparison. Sure enough, it was the right size.
However, just as Millicent was about to put it on, she discovered that its joints had been damaged. It could no longer bend at the elbow.
Considering Malenia's combat intensity and how frequently she used her prosthetic, even these Unalloyed Gold limbs were practically consumables.
Millicent looked toward the other prosthetic arms. As expected, many of them also showed extensive wear and tear. Who knew how many were still in working condition?
Aside from the prosthetics that had been replaced because Malenia had naturally grown and outgrown them, there were also countless arms that had suffered battle damage or simply worn out through regular training, all displayed here together.
They were all discarded junk anyway. Since Maleigh Marais liked collecting them, the Haligtree might as well give him as many as he wanted.
Neither Dalia nor Millicent had any way of knowing the details of how these prosthetic arms had been delivered to Maleigh Marais.
Millicent gritted her teeth and continued searching even faster.
She had forgotten to consider this possibility beforehand. What a mistake.
Fortunately, there were so many prosthetic arms here that it was almost ridiculous. There had to be others of the same size.
At last, Millicent spotted a prosthetic arm whose luster had faded.
Unlike the others, this one was covered in countless marks and scratches, as though it had accompanied Malenia through many years of her life.
Looking at the arm, Millicent could almost imagine Malenia using it in her childhood, tirelessly practicing the flowing techniques of her swordsmanship.
Taking a deep breath, Millicent drew her blade and cut open the right sleeve of her robe, exposing her incomplete shoulder.
She fitted the prosthetic arm into place. Its golden mechanisms immediately activated, and the semicircular shoulder guard contracted. Golden spikes inside it pierced into her shoulder, firmly securing the prosthetic to her body.
Blood trickled down from beneath her armpit, but Millicent paid no attention to the pain.
Because her right arm was moving once more, responding to her thoughts.
Millicent tried moving the prosthetic, feeling its precision-engineered joints fit together perfectly. It was almost as though her right arm had never been lost.
Ever since losing her right arm, Millicent had often suffered from phantom limb pain.
Thanks to that imagined phantom limb, however, she could still remember what it felt like to use her right arm.
With her left hand, she placed the hilt of her sword into the golden palm and awkwardly tried to make the prosthetic grip it.
One finger after another curled around the hilt, firmly grasping it as though the hand and sword had become one. It felt as if this was how things had always been meant to be.
Once Millicent had grasped her sword, she had no intention of ever letting go again.
She stood up and turned toward the frenzied Elemer.
It was time to bring this to an end.
Millicent finally unleashed the full power contained within her body and charged toward Elemer at incredible speed.
Seeing that Millicent had equipped the prosthetic arm, Lucian smiled.
With a casual wave of his hand, he sent both Elemer and his Executioner's Sword flying aside, turning them toward Millicent.
Staring at Millicent with her newly attached prosthetic, Elemer immediately changed targets and once again unleashed Eochaid's Dancing Blade.
So what if she had a prosthetic arm now?
Her aura hadn't changed. With strength like hers, she still wasn't capable of killing him!
As she charged forward, Millicent swung her prosthetic arm. Her blade swept upward from below, meeting the rapidly spinning Executioner's Sword.
The moment she fitted the prosthetic arm into place, Millicent had felt as though everything had returned to her.
The agility and confidence she had always taken pride in. The flowing sword techniques engraved deep within her heart.
Millicent's blade avoided the edges on either side and struck the body of the Executioner's Sword with pinpoint accuracy, effortlessly deflecting it without suffering so much as a scratch.
Watching the Executioner's Sword struggle to regain its balance, Millicent smiled. Her confidence grew, and she charged forward even faster.
Although she had lost her right arm, she had gained far more along the way.
All the experience she had accumulated throughout her journey had now been transformed into strength, finally coming together with the recovery of her right arm.
Elemer watched Millicent in astonishment. He had never expected her to seem like an entirely different person now.
Facing Millicent's incoming blade, Elemer once again raised his Briar Greatshield and held it in front of himself, ready to drive it forward and counterattack at any moment.
However, Millicent had already seen through his intentions.
She stepped directly onto the greatshield, lightly touching its surface with her toes before vaulting straight over Elemer's head.
Like a flying bird, Millicent effortlessly spun through the air and buried her blade deep into Elemer's back.
Blood burst forth. Yet rather than weakening him, the pain only further inflamed Elemer's vicious nature.
The Executioner's Sword relentlessly pursued Millicent, determined to break her wings.
But Millicent charged straight toward the wall. To Elemer's surprise, she actually began running along its surface, circling the room as she searched for opportunities to inflict more wounds on him.
—
Dalia stood beneath Shaded Castle, gazing up at the lord's chambers at the very top.
Ever since the battle had begun, the sounds of fierce combat had continued to echo from that place.
Millicent must have successfully obtained the prosthetic arm and was now fighting Elemer.
But... could she really win?
At this moment, all Dalia could do was silently pray for Millicent.
Just then, a tremendous crash suddenly erupted from the lord's chambers. A pillar of red flames shot into the sky, blowing the roof apart.
Elemer unleashed all the aura within his body. That intangible energy took on a visible form, releasing wave after wave of shockwaves.
Millicent's slender body was instantly blasted away by the surging waves of energy. Along with the fragments of the roof, she was sent hurtling into the air.
The lord's chambers were the highest point in Shaded Castle, so the astonishing upheaval could be seen from every direction within the castle.
The Cleanrot Knights looked up at Millicent, whose body was covered in blood as she hung in midair.
At that moment, Millicent braced herself against a fragment of the roof and seized the opportunity to leap once more, diving down toward Elemer from above.
In midair, Millicent curled her body slightly and raised her blade high over her head.
As she soared through the air, Millicent felt more unrestrained than ever before.
A bird trapped in a cage... When would it finally spread its wings and soar?
"Bear witness to the flowing sword technique..."
"Bear witness to... WATERFOWL DANCE."
With every strike, Millicent used the utmost refinement of her technique to propel her body, allowing herself to remain suspended in the air for a brief moment.
Every strike came with peerless speed, and the more she attacked, the greater the power behind each successive blow became.
With every strike, another deep gash was carved into Elemer's already blood-soaked body.
In the end, the figures of Millicent and Elemer disappeared together behind the ruins and rubble.
The Cleanrot Knights held their breath. Dalia, in particular, immediately rushed toward the ruins of the lord's chambers.
A short while later, Millicent's figure appeared once more at the highest point of Shaded Castle.
She was in a miserable state. Blood streamed down her forehead, and countless wounds, both large and small, covered her body.
Beautiful, yet heroic.
Millicent turned toward the various parts of the castle, searching for the figures of the knights.
Although the blood obscured her vision and made it difficult to see clearly, she knew that the Cleanrot Knights must be watching her at this very moment.
At last, Millicent's gaze swept across every Cleanrot Knight in Shaded Castle, and she found Dalia as well.
She smiled faintly at Dalia and took a deep breath.
Slowly, she raised the golden prosthetic arm, covered in countless marks from battle, the very same arm that had once accompanied Malenia for so many years.
Like someone raising a banner, the golden hand held her long sword high above her head.
The Unalloyed Golden prosthesis had once again grasped a blade.
The undefeated wings had once again begun to dance.
A waterfowl danced above Shaded Castle, proclaiming its resolve.
To the Cleanrot Knights, the wings were still there.