Chapter 155
Then, before she could fully restrain herself, sharp words escaped her own lips.
A response just as biting, just as piercing, aimed directly at Erietta.
Her voice, usually calm and dignified, now carried an electric sting that made the air around her seem to tremble.
This reaction even startled her, proving that beneath all the layers of wisdom and experience, there were still remnants of human sensitivity that could be wounded.
'Not peace, but the acknowledgment that we have other priorities far more important.'
The spark of verbal conflict quickly grew into an uncontrollable blaze of anger.
Every sharp remark from Erietta was met with a stinging reply from Aldraya, like two swords clashing in the air.
Neither wished to yield, neither willing to step back.
Their exchange spiraled in an endless cycle, each one further trapped in their own web of arguments.
Until finally, at the peak of tension, Erietta hurled an unavoidable challenge.
Her voice echoed among the trees, calling Aldraya to settle this dispute on the battlefield.
Without the slightest hesitation, Aldraya accepted the challenge.
Her Angelic blood, once mighty, boiled within her, reminding her of the cosmic battles she had endured.
The two vastly contrasting figures suddenly united in a single purpose.
Their swords were drawn almost simultaneously, slicing through the darkening air.
The fight was no longer a simple duel, but a collision of two uncompromising worlds.
The battle raged fiercely, like a mesmerizing dance of death.
Every passionate slash from Erietta's sword was met with Aldraya's calculated deflection.
They moved swiftly across the grass, cutting through the air with deadly precision.
The surroundings were forgotten, leaves scattered by the wind born from their movements, while traces of Inti Lu energy flickered like panicked fireflies.
Both were so immersed in the fight that they failed to notice the destruction their deadly performance carved into the area.
Then, like a ray of light piercing darkness, Ilux arrived.
With an unexpected display of courage, he broke into the space between the two fighting women, his hand raised to stop them.
His firm yet concerned voice cut through the shroud of anger enveloping them.
Aldraya, seeing her student standing in the line of danger, immediately loosened her stance.
Erietta, recognizing her friend, slowly lowered her sword.
At exactly the same time.
'Your presence here is no coincidence, Ilux.
There is a puppeteer pulling the strings behind all of this.'
Fiiih!
'So this is how you play, Theo?
Using others as shields while you hide behind the shadows?'
While Ilux carefully checked on Erietta, and Erietta herself answered only with cold, brief replies, Aldraya stood in silence, entirely on alert.
Her sharp gaze caught something else—something deeper than a simple coincidental encounter.
When Ilux glanced her way to ask if she was alright, Aldraya merely shook her head gently, exactly as she expected—her guarded nature wasn't so different from Erietta's in moments like this.
Yet in her profound silence, Aldraya's ancient instincts as a guardian of the cosmos suddenly detected a thread she had overlooked.
Ilux's presence here at the perfect time and place felt far too precise to be coincidence.
There was another hand behind this, an unseen force moving all the pieces like chess pawns.
And Aldraya knew exactly who the mastermind was.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, piercing the thickening shadows in search of the figure she had suspected.
Only one person had both the capability and the motive to orchestrate something like this—one person cunning enough to manipulate the situation without appearing in the open.
Theo Vkytor, the degenerate samurai loyal only to the clinking of coins and worldly pleasures, was playing a far deeper game than she had imagined.
'There is a depth behind your mask of greed.'
From behind the thick foliage of ancient trees, Theo was caught off guard when Aldraya's silhouette emerged like a phantom from the shadows.
His mouth instinctively opened to ask why she had come, but before he could speak further, Aldraya's calm yet commanding voice ordered him to be silent.
The air around them seemed to freeze, filled with the weight of a philosophical question—deep and meaningful—posed by Aldraya.
It was not mere words, but the echo of thousands of years of regret, a veiled confession from a soul weary from its endless cycles of sin and redemption.
Theo fell silent for a moment, his eyes—usually sharp and vigilant—now holding an unexpected depth.
When he finally answered with two simple words, "don't know," it was not empty ignorance.
Aldraya, with the sensitivity of an eternal being, sensed the subtle nuances in his reply.
Theo was not without answers—he simply knew that anything he said might never satisfy the absolute standard of truth Aldraya upheld.
He understood the complexity of the question beyond the capacity of ordinary humans, and more than that, he respected Aldraya's spiritual journey enough not to offer a careless judgment.
In the simplicity of Theo's answer, Aldraya discovered another truth.
This samurai was not a crude fighter relying solely on his sword and primal instincts.
Behind his ragged appearance and debauched reputation lay deep wisdom and a keen understanding of the human soul.
Theo possessed the rare ability to grasp moral complexity without immediately imposing judgment—a trait seldom found even among well-studied philosophers.
'My relationship with Ilux grows in predictable comfort.
No turmoil, no disruption to my serenity.
But with you, Theo, everything is different.
Every interaction is a small battle that must be won.'
Fhhhh!
'Perhaps because only with you… I can still feel something—even if it's merely the desire to see you annoyed.'
Aldraya drew a deep breath, returning to the present with layered awareness.
Her steps continued along the path toward her hometown, but her thoughts drifted back to moments long past.
With renewed resolve, she allowed herself to once again sink into the ocean of memories, diving through the fragments that shaped who she had become.
Days turned into weeks, and the bond between Aldraya and Ilux grew close like siblings.
But strangely, this closeness coincided with Aldraya's new habit of regularly visiting Theo.
Amid her busy schedule training Ilux, she always made time to see the samurai, posing philosophical and existential questions that endlessly disturbed her mind.
One day, Aldraya invited Ilux to spend the whole day with her.
Throughout their time together, all she felt was a flat and empty sense of companionship.
She walked beside a man without feeling even the slightest spark in her heart, while Ilux himself seemed irritated by Aldraya's cold and distant attitude.
Yet the situation became completely different when Theo offered to go with her.
Delivered with a teasing and provoking tone, his offer triggered an unexpected reaction in Aldraya.
She felt compelled to respond to his challenge—as if some primal force within her refused to be ignored.
Even more surprising, she found a strange satisfaction each time she managed to irritate Theo, knowing he couldn't truly lash out.
There was a unique dynamic between them, a psychological game far more engaging than the dull routine she lived as a teacher.
To be continued…