The moment the ambush was launched, the surrounding world dimmed instantly, as if time itself had frozen in that instant.
Claudia's mind raced—if she swung her twin swords from this angle and that angle simultaneously—
The very instant this thought formed, Pan-Dora in her hands showed her the outcome of the next second.
Her twin swords, swung in ambush, were aimed precisely at Yabuki Bujinzai. Her swordsmanship wasn't as refined as Kirin's, but its sharpness was no less formidable. Yet, despite her swings, her blades inexplicably cut through empty air, failing to land even a scratch on him. In the next moment, Yabuki Bujinzai reacted, his expression shifting to surprise as he turned. A flash of cold light flickered in his hand, and pain shot through Claudia's arm, forcing her to release her grip on one sword.
This pattern won't work!
Change the pattern—if she swung her twin swords from this angle instead... Still no good. She wouldn't land a hit and would be countered immediately. The gap in their strength was immense. She had to seize the upper hand from the very first move. Try another pattern!
Claudia continuously activated her predictions, replaying the outcomes in her mind. But as the number of patterns she tested grew, her heart grew heavier.
Missed!
Failed!
Can't land a hit!
No matter how many predictions she made, the result was always the same.
Yabuki Bujinzai simply stood there, not moving a single step, yet her twin swords couldn't touch him—as if he wasn't even there.
After testing over a dozen patterns and exceeding a minute of prediction time, with her remaining capacity dwindling, Claudia had no choice but to exit the prediction mode.
The moment she did, the world before her regained its vivid colours. Yabuki Bujinzai, startled by her ambush, wore an unmistakable look of surprise on his face.
Claudia's twin swords, mid-swing, abruptly changed trajectory, sweeping past Yabuki Bujinzai without striking him—though they wouldn't have hit him anyway.
Yabuki Bujinzai's surprise froze on his face, his eyes briefly clouded with confusion as he looked at Claudia.
"...Miss Enfield, what exactly were you trying to do just now?"
"I merely wanted to test your skills."
Though her first strike had failed, beads of cold sweat had already formed on Claudia's fair back beneath her shirt. She took several steps back, yet her face wore an innocent smile.
Yabuki Bujinzai watched her retreating steps, his aged eyes gleaming with sharp intensity.
"Is that so... If you wished to test this old man's skills, you could have simply asked. Why resort to an ambush?"
Moreover, the killing intent she had exuded the moment she drew her sword was unmistakably real.
At this realization, Yabuki Bujinzai narrowed his eyes and took a deliberate step forward. An overwhelming pressure erupted from his body, like a blade attempting to pierce straight through Claudia's heart.
Claudia flinched—the murderous aura was so tangible that she instinctively retreated further.
"Wouldn't this method better reveal Lord Bujinzai's true capabilities?"
"A fair point. But it suddenly occurs to this old man... Miss, the Pan-Dora you wield is an Orga Lux capable of predicting the future, isn't it?"
Yabuki Bujinzai's gaze fell upon the twin swords gripped in Claudia's hands. The eye-like patterns on the hilts emitted an eerie glow—one red and one green—like something from the underworld.
"You activated Pan-Dora just now, predicted that a sneak attack wouldn't work on me, and halfway through decided to change tactics—abandoning the ambush to play along with me..."
Claudia smiled bitterly in her heart.
Truly worthy of being Ginga's sharpest blade. With countless battles under his belt, his mind was frighteningly sharp. Her petty tricks couldn't deceive him.
"How tragic. As the daughter of the conglomerate's highest executive, you could have become its first Genestellar leader. Yet you chose to ambush me, a member of the conglomerate's combat unit. How unwise."
Yabuki Bujinzai's eyes grew colder as he stared at Claudia.
"Why would you do this? Depending on your answer, I might not report this to Ginga."
If her reason was reasonable enough, he could dismiss it as a child's prank.
Claudia froze momentarily upon hearing this, then let out a soft laugh.
"Why? To be honest, even I don't fully understand. If you think I'm foolish, go ahead and mock me. But—I have no intention of taking back my decision!"
"...What a pity."
Yabuki Bujinzai closed his eyes in pity.
Claudia's actions had already harmed the conglomerate's interests. Even if this were brought before the highest executives, there would only be one answer—kill her.
Not a single executive would object.
Not even her own mother—Isabella Enfield—would hesitate for even a second before making the decision to execute her own daughter.
Thus, he had no reason to hesitate.
All he needed to do was kill Claudia here and now.
As this thought flashed through his mind, Yabuki Bujinzai reopened his eyes.
No trace of regret or sympathy remained—only icy killing intent, sharp as an arrow, piercing straight toward Claudia's heart.
Facing that overwhelming murderous aura, every hair on Claudia's body stood on end.
Suddenly—a flash of cold light!
Claudia instantly activated Pan-Dora's predictive mode. The world froze once more as her mind raced, calculating possible evasion patterns.
Dodge to the side... No, that wouldn't work. The moment she thought she'd avoided it, the cold light would pierce her chest.
Then jump the opposite way... What? Why would she still get hit?
Could Bujinzai's thrown weapon change trajectory mid-air?
Claudia couldn't comprehend the sheer gap in their abilities. She could only keep running predictions, finally arriving at a barely viable outcome on her fifth attempt.
With her remaining time dwindling, Claudia exited the prediction and executed the last viable movement—leaping aside. The cold light shot straight past, grazing her arm. Her uniform sleeve split open, revealing a half-inch-deep gash that immediately stained the fabric red.
"It came straight at me? How?"
Claudia didn't even have time to clutch her wound before hastily retreating.
At the same time, her gaze fell on the weapon embedded in the wall not far away—a kunai, commonly used by ninjas. In her mind, she traced the trajectory of its flight and was shocked to realize that the kunai had been launched in a perfectly straight line from the very beginning, without any curve whatsoever!
She had actually failed to dodge a kunai flying straight at her despite making five predictions?
"...How terrifying!"
Claudia forced a smile onto her face as she rapidly retreated.
"Seal the perimeter."
Yabuki Bujinzai, his expression devoid of emotion, issued the command as he stepped toward Claudia.
In the next moment, over a dozen shadowy figures suddenly appeared around him. Each was clad in the same pitch-black uniform as his, making it impossible to distinguish their genders—their heads were completely covered as well. Upon receiving his order, the shadows swiftly dispersed in all directions.
Watching Claudia retreat with a grim expression, Bujinzai remained unfazed. He reached to his waist and produced a pure black Lux. Infusing it with prana, he formed a staff-type weapon.
Raising the staff, he pointed its tip at Claudia and thrust it toward her with icy determination!
***
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