Arc 4 Chapter 36 : Raul Vs Siena

[Raul POV]

They were the same height, had the same body language, and even the same black hair. If not for her uniquely orange-colored eyes, I would have mistaken the woman standing before me for Liana.

Furthermore, the situation was eerily similar to the first time I met Liana. It was raining, and she was walking toward me. The only difference was that this time, her intention wasn't to board the same bus as me.

She had come to eliminate me for causing trouble in her country far too many times.

The woman drew her sword from its sheath and continued walking toward me at a leisurely pace. The only sounds in the area were the patter of rain and Siena's footsteps.

To be honest, I had absolutely no information regarding this woman's strength. In the game, her character had already died before the Main Story even began, and the President of the Republic of Venetia had no surviving children when the game started.

Yet, the reality was that she was alive now—and she possessed knowledge that could only have been obtained by someone who had once lived on Earth.

Siena di Reginossa was an enigma in this world, just like me.

She stopped when the distance between us was around thirty meters.

Raindrops fell directly in front of me.

But suddenly, they disappeared.

The woman appeared right before my eyes and immediately unleashed a horizontal slash toward my neck.

— Tang!

Although caught off guard, I managed to block her slash with my sword.

But Siena didn't stop there.

She swung her left leg toward my head, but I swiftly ducked beneath her attack.

I then slashed toward Siena's right leg, which was still planted on the ground.

She immediately leaped high into the air, twisting her body like someone performing a graceful diving maneuver.

Her sword began to emit magical light, signaling that she had activated Temper.

I did the same, preparing myself to face her next attack.

Just as our blades were about to collide, Siena suddenly disappeared in midair, leaving my sword to cut through nothing but wind.

She appeared beside me.

I immediately activated Unreality Field and Temper.

"Mezzaluna!"

Her sword struck my right ribs, sending my body flying backward until I slammed into a rocky cliff.

I clutched my right side and felt something wet.

Blood was beginning to flow from the wound caused by her slash.

If I hadn't activated Repel and Unreality Field earlier, that attack would have inflicted a much deeper wound—and could have been fatal.

Her ability was similar to Minor Teleportation.

However, Siena's activation was much faster and could only be used within a range of less than ten meters. Minor Teleportation, on the other hand, only worked from a distance of thirty to two hundred meters.

That was why I had initially assumed she was using that spell when she suddenly appeared before me.

— Crack!

Chunks of rock began falling from above the cliff after my body slammed into it so hard.

When one of the rocks fell directly in front of me, it suddenly disappeared.

In its place, a woman appeared out of nowhere.

"..."

"Heaven Divide!"

— Tang!

I blocked Siena's powerful slash with my sword.

However, because of the difference in strength between us, my body was still knocked sideways.

I understood now.

Landing on both feet, I activated Temper on the sword in my hand.

Siena, who was standing far ahead of me, suddenly disappeared.

I swiftly swung my sword sideways.

Just as I expected, she appeared there.

She was startled that I had attacked before she could launch her own strike.

— Tang!

She blocked my slash with her sword.

Her body was pushed backward by ten meters.

Siena could move between objects within a certain range.

That meant she possessed Spatial Mana Manipulation—one of the rarest Nature Manas in this world.

I had to remain ready to activate my defensive mechanisms at all times, because this woman hadn't even revealed a single one of the Profound Codex abilities she possessed.

Activating Accel and Temper, I shot toward Siena.

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She activated the same spells and rushed toward me as well.

We both swung our swords at each other.

— Clang!

Our attacks collided, sending both swords flying from our hands.

The impact also pushed both of our bodies backward.

I quickly reached for the Revolver I had previously taken from an enemy and aimed it at Siena.

But I saw the black-haired woman doing the same, pointing her firearm directly at me.

— Bang!

We pulled the triggers simultaneously.

A spark erupted in midair as the bullets from our Revolvers collided.

— Bang!

We fired again.

This time, I felt Siena's bullet pass my head by a hair's breadth.

Meanwhile, my own bullet grazed the side of Siena's neck.

We continued firing at each other until the final bullets were spent, then discarded our Revolvers.

Next, I caught Siena's sword as it flew toward me from the collision of our previous attacks, while she caught my sword as it was sent flying toward her.

Siena's legs became surrounded by orange particles of light, signaling that she was activating Ashpalt.

I did the same.

We then rushed toward each other and launched our attacks simultaneously.

I thrust my sword toward Siena's neck, but she avoided it by tilting her head slightly to the side.

She then countered with a diagonal slash from below, aiming for my stomach.

However, I kicked the flat side of Siena's blade, causing the slash to pass harmlessly beside my leg.

Taking advantage of the opening in Siena's defense, I unleashed a vertical slash toward her left shoulder.

But suddenly, I was displaced.

This time, I found myself approximately fifty meters above the ground.

Did she use her Spatial Magic to move me into the air so she could evade my slash?

My body began falling from the height.

I quickly drove my sword into a cliffside and hung from it.

"Her Spatial Magic is really troublesome," I muttered.

But I didn't have the luxury of relaxing.

Siena suddenly appeared above me and immediately unleashed a powerful slash.

I released the sword embedded in the cliff and blocked her attack, but my body began falling once again.

— Tang! Tang! Clang!

We began clashing swords in midair.

Siena gave me no room to move freely.

— Thud!

Pain shot through my body as I slammed into the ground from the height.

Siena, meanwhile, disappeared again before her body could hit the ground.

Ugh...

It seemed my left shoulder had shifted slightly because I hadn't landed properly.

I tried to get back on my feet.

The woman was slowly walking toward me.

With her ability to manipulate space, landing an attack on her would be extremely difficult unless I used my Shadow Nature Mana.

Moreover, she still hadn't revealed a single one of her Profound Codex abilities.

There were two ways I could defeat her: activate the second stage of Full Vengeance, or attack her with Reject Impact.

However, as much as possible, I wanted to save the second stage of Full Vengeance.

I had no intention of killing Siena before finding out what she knew.

But I didn't have much time to analyze the situation.

Siena had already activated Ashpalt and shot toward me.

I activated the same spell.

However, the moment Siena reached me, for some reason, the speed boost I had gained from activating the spell suddenly disappeared.

"Mezzaluna!"

Siena unleashed a horizontal slash.

I could only block her attack, sending me skidding several meters backward.

What happened?

Why wasn't Ashpalt having any effect on my body?

Siena attacked again.

I activated Ashpalt once more, but when the woman came within close range of me, the effect of Ashpalt suddenly vanished from my body.

"Sea Wind!"

Siena unleashed a combination of attacks.

Without my speed enhancement, it was extremely difficult to evade and block all of them.

My body became covered in sword wounds inflicted by Siena.

When her combination ended, Siena's legs were surrounded by intense orange light.

This was a spell.

A superior enhancement spell to Temper.

Fuerte.

I hurriedly activated Unreality Field and my defensive spell—Repel.

But just like before, the effects of the defensive buffs I had activated suddenly disappeared.

— BAMM!!

Siena kicked me hard in the head, sending me flying until I crashed into a rocky cliff.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

I spat blood from my mouth.

I could also feel two of my teeth had been knocked out by Siena's kick.

My vision was beginning to blur, and I was on the verge of losing consciousness after taking such a devastating blow to the head.

Just as I thought.

This was one of her Profound Codex abilities—one capable of removing the buffs a person gained from magic.

"Buff Removal, huh?" I muttered.

Realizing how dire my situation was, I began gathering Mana in my left hand, preparing an attack against her.

Siena shot toward me.

I hurriedly got back on my feet and activated Ashpalt, fleeing from her before I entered the range of her Buff Removal.

I glanced behind me.

She was still around fifty meters away.

However, the moment I turned my gaze forward again, Siena had suddenly appeared directly in front of me and was already launching an attack.

Ugh...

She had used her Spatial Magic again.

At this close distance, the Ashpalt I was using would automatically lose its effect.

She managed to pierce my right shoulder with her sword.

But I punched her in the face, sending her flying several meters backward.

By trading blows like this, I had finally managed to land my first attack on her.

However, without any enhancement magic, my attack seemed to have had virtually no effect on her.

On the other hand, the sword that had pierced my right shoulder made it difficult for me to move my right arm.

"Blade of the Future..."

She muttered something under her breath.

I heightened my focus, preparing myself for Siena's next spell.

But suddenly, I felt something slash across my back.

My entire body went limp.

At the same time, Siena reappeared before me with her Spatial Magic and delivered a powerful punch to my face.

— Baammm!!!

My body was sent flying again, crashing into a rocky cliff.

I still didn't understand what she had done before.

Without a sound.

Without any warning.

I had suddenly felt the attack of a sword slicing across my back.

Was that another one of her Profound Codex abilities?

Lying on the ground, I tried to stand again even though my body had almost reached its limit.

The continuous loss of blood was making me weaker by the second.

My breathing grew heavier...

"..."

Siena appeared before me again and immediately unleashed a low slash toward my legs.

I managed to jump over it and countered with a powerful kick toward her head.

Siena blocked my kick with her left hand, but her body was still pushed several meters to the side.

Why was she going through the trouble of targeting my legs with an attack that left her defense so open?

"Blade of the Future..."

Siena activated that spell again.

Suddenly, it felt as though my left leg had been sliced by an invisible sword.

Siena then rushed toward me again.

I turned around and tried to flee using Ashpalt, even though I was now limping.

I think I finally understood how Siena's Blade of the Future worked.

And it was clear that she also wanted to capture me alive.

"..."

The black-haired woman appeared before me again with her troublesome Spatial Magic and thrust her sword toward my left shoulder.

But this time, I didn't dodge.

After Siena's sword pierced through my shoulder, I grabbed her right arm, preventing her from escaping me.

"Reject Impact..."

— Boommbb!

Both of our bodies were blasted backward by my attack.

I crashed into a rocky cliff once again, while Siena was sent flying fifty meters away from me.

With this attack, she wouldn't be able to activate her magic again.

I tried to stand once more.

My left arm hung limply at my side, paralyzed by the effects of using Reject Impact.

On the other side, Siena had already gotten back on her feet.

There was blood around her mouth.

It seemed she had suffered an internal injury from my attack.

However, my eyes widened in shock when I saw what Siena did next.

"Liana de Grantz..."

Yes...

Siena assumed the sword stance belonging to the strongest Grand Espada in the history of the Empire.

She then shot toward me at incredible speed.

After all the wounds I had sustained throughout the battle, I was no longer capable of reacting quickly enough to evade her attack.

Siena's sword pierced through my right shoulder, driving my body backward until I hit the rocky cliff behind me.

My body had reached its limit.

I couldn't move a single muscle.

At this distance, I could feel Siena's heavy breathing against my neck.

We looked into each other's eyes...

But slowly, I began to lose consciousness.

My head drooped before falling onto Siena's right shoulder.

"I've captured you, Ghost of Cataluna."

Those were the last words I remembered before I passed out and lost to Siena.