SAINTESS [Chapter 71: Difficult to reconcile]

Under everyone's gaze, Isatia walked to the other side of the training ground's center, slipped off her student loafers, and stepped up wearing thigh-high black stockings. Her black hair, black dress, black stockings, and pale skin created a striking contrast that was oddly captivating.

Ah, two pairs of opposing violet eyes, two pairs of black stockings.

Winnie looked at the weapon Isatia had chosen, she'd picked a practice cage-hilted rapier.

But given Isatia's talent, she was undoubtedly proficient in far more weapons than just this one.

Aesphyra versus Isatia, fated heroine versus fated heroine, Carillian Academy's top-ranked first-year against the second, this was truly the highlight of highlights.

Even a seasoned warrior like Winnie had to admit he needed to sit up and pay attention.

Aesphyra and Isatia, two outstanding figures among the fated heroines. Whose fortune, whose protagonist aura, whose divine blessing, whose talent, whose trials and tribulations were stronger?

This duel would be spectacular, though it was one where magic, Soul armaments, and Divine Blessings couldn't be used, a pure weapon-based clash.

Come to think of it, these two really were in sync, weren't they? A single glance across the crowd and they both knew the other had chosen them.

Winnie glanced around. Many students, who had just recovered from their own impressive performance, were now drawn entirely to the duel between Aesphyra and Isatia.

After all, who would care about some annoying man when there was a battle between two outstanding beauties? The quality of duels was simply on a different level.

Let's be honest, aren't fights between men nowhere near as interesting as fights between women? Fights between women were the most entertaining.

Now, not only was the entire class focused, but even other classes in the adjacent training grounds, upon seeing who was fighting here, had their attention completely drawn over.

After all, both of these girls were extremely popular within the academy.

After the teacher announced the start, neither moved. Instead, they observed each other's subtle movements, probing for attack intent, trying to predict the other's next action.

Winnie was watching carefully, learning from it too. But honestly, while he understood their intentions, actually imitating them was incredibly difficult. The reaction speed and insight required were at a whole different level. Without reaching that stage, even knowing how to fight, you still couldn't respond.

No wonder they always said duels were life-or-death, compared to the opponents he'd faced earlier, who attacked without hesitation, obviously in intent, with no feints, purely genuine, this was on a completely different level of difficulty.

Isatia waited. Aesphyra waited too. Both waited for the other to reveal their intention. Whoever lost patience first and showed a subtle movement would be read immediately.

Thus, even after the teacher declared “friendship first, competition second” and announced the start, neither made a move. They simply stared intently at their opponent, letting the wind lift their hair.

Hmm? Wait, wind?

Winnie suddenly looked toward the edge of the training ground. The area they were in happened to be near the windows, so the breeze was strong.

Between, a single gust of wind could tip the scales, that saying was indeed true.

A gust blew in. Since Aesphyra was facing the window directly, the wind lifted her bangs, and a strand of hair momentarily blocked her vision.

Seizing this exact moment, Isatia moved instantly, from her previously flawless, motionless stance to one of sharp aggression in less than half a second.

By the time Aesphyra's silver bangs fell back into place, Isatia, who had been at a safe distance moments ago, was already right before her, her rapier thrusting in at a sharp angle.

This wasn't “unfair”, on a real battlefield, everything changed in an instant. Environmental factors had to be considered before combat even began. If such a thing happened, it was simply bad luck or lack of thoroughness for not expecting it.

In the span of a single gust of wind, the opponent had teleported right in front of her, an attack with no wind-up, no chance to react. Anyone would be overwhelmed by such an assault. Even upperclassmen would panic and lose composure. Almost anyone in this situation would be flustered.

Winnie, who saw the details clearly, couldn't help but whistle inwardly. He imagined if he were the one facing such an attack, could he even respond?

Although, his bangs weren't that long, so a gust of wind wouldn't block his vision like that.

Everyone who understood the timing couldn't help but hold their breath for Aesphyra, believing the outcome of the duel was already decided.

“Clang! Clang!” Unexpectedly, Isatia's surprise strike was cleanly blocked by Aesphyra, who raised her sword as if her vision hadn't been affected at all, deflecting the rapier thrust.

At this, a faint flicker of surprise passed through Isatia's eyes, but it wouldn't affect her next move.

Blade clashed against blade. Their weapons collided countless times in midair, moving too fast to follow, like two streaks of white lightning colliding repeatedly, making every spectator break into a sweat.

The sharp wind from their clashing blades felt like icy winter snow, stinging every student's face.

Many watching students couldn't help but wonder, if this were a real duel, and their opponent was one of these two, would they even survive a single round?

They might not even realize their head had been severed, and wouldn't even feel the pain?

Right? The “clang clang clang clang” sounds just like heavy rain pounding glass, ringing several times per second, what an insane attack frequency?

How could these two even see each other's movements?

“Wow, so cool!” Shikondell's mouth was nearly shaped into an 'O'. “Both of them are amazing!”

Well? These two are both fated heroine-level goddesses.

Winnie pursed his lips, then suddenly thought of something, turning to look at the awestruck Shikondell beside him.

Ah, right, there's another fated heroine here. He always kept remembering that this clumsy white-haired moon elf was also one of the fated heroines.

Just then, Aesphyra seized an opportunity, her sword guard caught Isatia's rapier, executing a perfect parry-counter, and her longsword swiftly swung down toward Isatia.

Isatia, knowing exactly what Aesphyra would do the moment her rapier was caught, couldn't move her weapon. But that didn't mean she couldn't counter.

Kicking techniques made up a significant part of swordsmanship. Swordsmen who skillfully used kicks were far superior to those who relied solely on blade techniques.

Taking advantage of Aesphyra's parry-counter, Isatia lifted her slender leg wrapped in sheer black stockings and suddenly kicked Aesphyra's calf, briefly throwing her off balance. The descending sword veered off course, allowing Isatia to easily dodge.

Turning defense into offense, Isatia regained the initiative. Wielding her rapier, she elegantly performed dazzling sword flourishes in midair, making her next attack trajectory impossible to predict.

Aesphyra, of course, wouldn't let the initiative slip. She simply used her momentary imbalance to create distance, then crouched low, her longsword slashing toward Isatia's knee joint. The movement was smooth and fluid, showing no hesitation from being kicked.

Seeing this, Isatia realized her feint had failed. She had no choice but to defend, after all, even a leg hit would count as a loss. In combat without armor, being struck on any limb meant losing the ability to continue fighting.

“Clang! Clang!” The rapier and longsword clashed again, immense force, as if distorting the air around them.

The two held their weapons, neither yielding, engaged in a test of strength. Instinctively, both used kicking techniques.

Their movements were nearly simultaneous, but Aesphyra was just a fraction faster. Her black-stockinged foot struck Isatia's abdomen.

Of course, she held back, Aesphyra controlled her strength, aiming only to disrupt Isatia's balance.

Isatia did lose balance. Aesphyra seemed poised to finish it, but the airborne Isatia reacted with astonishing speed. Her black-stockinged foot hooked around Aesphyra's ankle like a grappling hook, pulling the single-legged Aesphyra off balance too.

The two tumbled onto the training ground. Isatia stabilized first and immediately lunged her sword at Aesphyra. But Aesphyra responded with the same skill, just as Isatia began to move, before fully rising, she kicked Isatia exactly in the hand holding the sword, sending the rapier flying.

Disarmed, Isatia instantly fell into disadvantage. But clearly, Isatia wasn't one to give up. The moment she lost her weapon, she didn't waste time on futile actions, no attempt to retrieve the fallen weapon, no stunned hesitation.

Her only move was to grab Aesphyra's wrist.

Since she had no weapon, she'd take her opponent's, ensuring the enemy wouldn't have one either.

Aesphyra tried to strike Isatia with her sword, but Isatia gripped her wrist tightly, forced to let go, restricting her movement.

In their fierce struggle, the longsword dropped to the ground. Yet neither bent down to pick it up, the reason is obvious: they were already locked in combat.

Without weapons, fists and feet became the deadliest weapons. In a flurry of strikes too fast to track, their attacks generated violent gusts of wind from their punches and kicks.

Watching this, Winnie felt his eyes growing tired and sore. Their movements were simply too fast, a black-clad and a white-clad figure exchanging martial arts techniques. Even without weapons, they fought back and forth on equal terms, impossible to separate.

The audience could only see the two pairs of black-stockinged legs constantly intertwining and shifting positions.

Isatia truly lived up to being one of the strongest fighters among the fated heroines, actually matching Aesphyra in strength. Even if only briefly, and without using magic, Soul armaments, or Divine Blessings, this was already incredibly impressive.

Winnie remembered that in close combat, Vanessa was stronger than Aesphyra and could also fight her to a draw. That meant Isatia and Vanessa were probably on par in hand-to-hand combat.

But during the entrance trial dungeon, when Aesphyra fought him, she used the blessed Hero's Holy Sword, while he used a mithril Mace, valuable, yes, but a refined weapon couldn't compare to a Hero's Holy Sword. The quality difference was too great.

“Stop! Both of you, halt!” Just then, the teacher stepped forward, calling out to the two girls locked in an indecisive battle at the center.

Training weapons wouldn't injure students, getting hit meant losing. But hand-to-hand combat was different.

What if these two, caught up in the heat of battle, just kept going? Remember, these two were the first and second ranked in the entire first-year class.

And most importantly,

"Students, end of match. Class is over." Only after the teacher reminded them did the students realize the bell had rung at some point, this lesson was finished.

Seeing the teacher's words, the two could only reluctantly cease their force, silently stepping back from the center of the training ground to put on their shoes.

“You both performed excellently, perfectly matched, impossible to determine a winner. We'll call this a draw. Do you both have any objections?” The teacher said as they approached.

They glanced at each other, then silently nodded in unison.

Outwardly, they seemed satisfied with the result. But inwardly, who knew what they thought, whether they truly acknowledged or resented each other.

“Good. Today's class ends here. Everyone, this was merely a training match, not counted toward any grades. Those who lost, don't be discouraged, failure is the mother of success. Reflect after the match to improve. Those who win, don't be arrogant. Above all, don't let this affect your relationships with classmates.” After delivering this, the class officially ended, and students began to leave.

Winnie also stood and left with Shikondell.

Usually, they returned to the dormitory for lunch. With Shikondell cooking, costs were much lower. Although meals on campus weren't expensive either, and there were many affordable, high-quality restaurants.

After leaving, Winnie didn't see Isatia or Aesphyra, and didn't know where they'd gone.

Ah, so tiring...

The moment Winnie returned to the dorm, he collapsed onto the sofa, rolling back and forth like a wheel.

“Winnie, time for lunch.”

“Okay, got it.” Soon after, Shikondell's voice came from the kitchen. Winnie stood up. He always had this feeling, like in his past life, his mother called him from his room to eat.