Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 278: Rewind

Chapter 278: Rewind

Celeste’s POV.

….

“I suppose that makes this more fun for me.”

Once again, Celeste chose not to answer, but she shifted her stance and prepared herself for an attack. Mana surged around her as she concentrated it into her body.

The woman’s smile sharpened.

And then…

Woosh!

They both vanished all at once.

The clash was immediate.

Boom—!

The surface of the water exploded outward as the two of them collided. Celeste’s arm snapped forward as a blade of condensed blood formed instantly in her grasp, slashing toward the woman’s neck, but the woman leaned back just enough.

Her body bent in an unnatural arc as the crimson blade missed by a hair, and in the same motion, her hand shot forward in a flash, her fingers digging straight into Celeste’s side.

Crack—!

Her ribs fractured instantly as blood burst violently from the wound.

Celeste’s eyes narrowed.

She didn’t scream or grimace in pain.

Her hand snapped down, grabbing the woman’s wrist, Blood Marionette activating instantly as she tried to seize control of her opponent’s body, but the woman laughed, her body twisting as her own blood surged outward, breaking the control before it could even take hold.

“You are too slow,” she whispered, her knee driving upward into Celeste’s abdomen.

Boom—!”

The impact forced the air out of her lungs as blood and spit spewed out of her lips, and she was sent skidding backward across the water.

She slid, then stopped, her feet digging into the surface as she steadied herself, blood dripping from her side, and her breath was sharp but controlled.

The woman tilted her head.

“Yes… That’s better,” she said softly, “show me more.”

Celeste moved first this time.

Woosh—

Her body blurred forward, faster, sharper, her movements refined as she closed the distance in an instant, her blade changed form, switching to a scythe flashing downward, then sideways, then it changed forms again as she thrust forward in rapid succession, each strike aimed to kill, to maim, and hopefully, to end the fight quickly.

But the woman matched her; every movement of hers was mirrored, and every strike was met with another, their bodies slammed into each other repeatedly as they exchanged blow after blow in a relentless flurry.

Blood sprayed.

Celeste’s.

The woman’s.

Though the woman seemed to care far less for her own state of being, her laughter slipped through the clash as she fought; her voice sounded almost delighted.

“Good, good, you learn quickly,” she said as she twisted around a strike, her hand slashing across Celeste’s shoulder, tearing flesh cleanly, “but you’re still lacking.”

Celeste didn’t respond.

She couldn’t.

Her focus was absolute.

Her movements tightened, sharpened, her mana surging stronger as she pushed herself further, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood pouring from her wounds as she pressed forward again.

Her blade carving deep across the woman’s torso, this time, and flesh split, blood spilling freely.

The woman smiled through it, with her white teeth painted a bloody red.

And struck back harder.

Boom—!

Celeste was driven into the water, her body crashing through the surface as she lost her bearings for a moment before forcing herself back up, coughing, and more blood spilling from her lips as her vision blurred slightly.

She was losing.

It wasn’t hard for her to see that.

It had been a bad idea to let this woman come in close and directly engage her in physical combat.

Celeste wasn’t exactly poor in physical combat, but her opponent was clearly far more attuned to that style of fighting.

Her movements were sharper, cleaner, and every strike carried purpose, while Celeste lacked proper technique, relying mostly on channelling mana through her body to empower her physical strength and keep up.

Not just that, but her mana was also thinning rapidly for some reason, slipping away faster than it should have, while her opponent remained relentless and unyielding, pressing forward without giving her even a moment to recover.

Regardless, they rushed each other again.

Woosh—

Their bodies collided in another flurry of exchanges, fists, blades, and blood clashing in rapid succession, but the result was the same.

Every clash pushed her further back, every exchange left her more damaged, her arms growing heavier, her reactions just slightly off as the woman’s attacks grew sharper, more precise, more deadly.

“Getting tired?” the woman asked lightly, her voice echoing as she stepped forward again, her wounds already beginning to close, her blood knitting itself back together with ease.

Celeste said nothing.

She moved again. But this time she was too slow. The woman’s hand pierced straight through her chest.

“Crack—!”

Time seemed to slow down as her bones broke, and more blood erupted.

Celeste’s body froze.

Her eyes widened slightly as she looked down. The woman’s arm was buried deep within her torso, her fingers curling around something vital.

“…!”

Her heart stopped as she panicked, and for a split second, the cold feeling of dread threatened to overwhelm her.

Her breath hitched.

She momentarily forgot that she was supposed to be in a trial, and even when she remembered it a second later, It didn’t matter to her that this was not her actual physical body and so whatever damage she thought would have happened to the life that was supposed to be growing inside had not actually happened; the sensation was unpleasant enough to make her want to flay this woman alive!

She looked up sharply and looked at the smiling beauty whose arm had pierced her torso and gave her a deathly glare. But she had taken more damage than she could handle.

“That’s a scary look you have there,” the woman said softly, her voice almost gentle now. ” But that’s enough, rest now.”

She twisted her arm and infused a blood-sealing spell to corrupt Celeste’s internal mana, stopping whatever countermeasures she may have already started deploying.

Celeste’s strength left her, and her body slowly went limp beneath the spell’s corruption.

The woman pulled her arm out, letting go of Celeste’s limp body collapse backward. She fell into the water with a gentle splash, and the water swallowed her.

Darkness crept in.

Her thoughts slowed.

’Is this it?’

Her mind drifted.

’I…’

Her vision dimmed.

’I can’t—’

In the end, she had lost because she was too stubborn, too prideful, too inexperienced, among plenty of other things she did not even want to admit right now, and as that thought settled in her mind, it left behind a bitter aftertaste that she could not ignore.

She had barely used half of the spells in her entire arsenal, and even though she could tell herself that she had no opportunity to do so since she had lost the initiative from the very beginning, the truth was not that simple; it never was.

Hadn’t she charged at her enemy as well?

Hadn’t she willingly stepped into a direct clash when she could have created distance, when she could have tested, probed, and adapted before committing fully, and yet she had not, she had gone in headfirst, relying on instinct and raw power rather than control and planning, and that had nearly cost her everything.

Sure, that had worked well enough in the past seven fights, but it had to stop working at some point. It seemed that time was now, unfortunately.

Excuses were easy. But that would never help her.

Her body sank deeper as if the trial had already begun registering her loss and ending the trial.

’I was too weak,’ she berated herself. But as soon as that thought registered, she rejected it completely.

No.

’I am weak right now, but I want to be strong. I can become strong! I just need time!’ Her will flared violently, the words echoing in her mind with a force that refused to be silenced, and even as her consciousness was slipping away, even as her thoughts began to fade into that creeping darkness, she forced herself to hold on.

’No… it can’t end here!’

Her breathing grew shallow, her body barely responding, but her mind clung stubbornly to that single thread.

’I can’t give up now… I want to create a better future… with him!’

Her vision dimmed further, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

’And our child… it can’t end here!’

’Time!’

Something snapped.

The darkness in her vision was suddenly overwhelmed by a flash of brilliance, a burst of light that cut through everything, flooding her senses in an instant as something deep within her awakened.

She felt something inside that she couldn’t understand.

A faint sensation?

A distortion?

A memory?

A moment?

A feeling she had not understood before.

Time.

Her eyes flickered open, and her mind sharpened for just a second.

She looked up from below the surface of the water, her body sinking lower and lower as the cold darkness wrapped around her, the faint light above her growing dimmer with every passing second, the rippling surface distorting her view as it drifted further out of reach.

Her limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, as if the water itself was pulling her down, dragging her into that endless abyss, her breath slowing, her vision blurring as the light continued to fade, inch by inch, second by second.

And yet, her eyes remained fixed on it.

On that fading glow above.

Even as it slipped further away.

’Time…’

Her lips parted weakly.

“Rewind…” she muttered.