Erika''s feet lightened with each step towards the hidden monster. She let her des hang beside her waist, the ck mist enveloping her entirety as it turned her hair jet ck.The surroundings became darker and darker as she approached, the forest and river now filled with an eerie darkness, the sounds of animal cries growing distant.


    Within moments, the girl arrived at the beast, now illuminated by the moonlight.


    It was a giant, a hulking mass of muscle and flesh that stood on four legs, its head covered in a mane of fur. It had a snout like a bear but with razor-sharp teeth that jutted outwards from its lips. Its body was covered in a hide of thick ck fur, and the girl could make out a faint glow emitting from its chest.


    "So you finally arrived, little one."


    Erika froze.


    "I must admit, I am surprised that you woulde here, to the heart of the forest. This forest is not a ce you may enter."


    "What are you?" Erika asked, her voice quivering slightly.


    "Me? I am merely a guardian, a protector of thisnd. And you, girl, are trespassing."


    "I see."


    Erika sheathed her weapons. She took a deep breath, steadying her racing heart as she stared up at the giant beast.


    "Then I will y you."


    —Vindication: Activated—


    She disappeared in a blur, appearing right below the monster, her dual des slicing through the air aimed at the bear''s throat. An attack with no concern or care for the monster''s words or warning.


    However, the beast was faster.


    In the blink of an eye, an enormous w mmed into her midsection, sending her crashing into the trees. She crashed through multiple trunks, her body rolling across the ground before she mmed into another tree.


    "Ugh..." With onest thud, her body smashed into the thick trunk of another tree. However, the power was not enough to crash through, and her body mmed into the solid wood as she caught up blood before rolling onto the ground, her arms loose and her body covered in shadow.


    Ryuji watched the interaction, notifying the guardian to look at him with a fearful look. Of course, the forest that adventurers constantly attack couldn''t have a guardian above a certain level. It seemed the knights constantly hunted them.


    It seemed wary of Ryuji, backing away before rushing after Erika.


    "Show me, Erika. I know it caught you by surprise, but that''s it. I am watching." Ryuji didn''t approach. Instead, he sat on a fallen stump, his eyes flickering with a neon blue light as his sclera turned ck, able to see the entire forest ahead of him with his demon vision.


    "Haa....haa...." Erika panted, her lips dripping with drool and blood as she wiped it, her eyes narrowing upon hearing the thunderous footsteps of the bear approaching her rapidly, adrenaline and the will to win flooding her body and mind.


    "You are weak," the beast roared, rushing to her faster, destroying trees on its way. "Leave."


    Erika didn''t reply.


    "But...I guess it was foolish of me to expect a filthy, corrupted human to understand."


    "You didn''t fight him. That means you are fearful ofbat against Ryu..."


    Her voice was low, cold, and devoid of emotion. Yet it made her aura flutter and explode with energetic ir—a ck me zed around her body while she held both swords and lowered her hips. An eerie, yet beautiful, smile upon her face.


    "I will not hold back. I will kill you."


    This time, Erika didn''t rush forward.


    Instead, the girl disappeared, turning into a blur before she rushed behind the monster, her dual des coated with a shadowy me, her body already in mid-air, as she rotated twice, slicing horizontally at the monster''s hind legs, with a ferocious amount of force, her eyes alight with an azure shine.


    The monster roared, turning its body with incredible speed as its front paw shed at Erika, a silver light emitting from the bear''s chest as its ws glowed, smashing into Erika.


    She stepped back with her left foot before performing a backflip, dodging the attack as shended on the ground, a grin on her face, her body twirling to the left, avoiding another attack, while her des nicked the inside of the bear''s paws and arms.


    "Fascinating."


    Ryuji muttered, his voice calm, as his eyes were covered in ayer of blue light, able to see the entire battle within the forest.


    The agile movements of Erika were nothing like the past. When she fought as a duelist, her body never stopped moving, the shadowy me distorting her movements, making it hard to see if she stepped forward or to the side, causing a great distraction.


    This was a technique that could be used in close-quartersbat.


    But Erika had changed.


    Her movements were smooth. She sidestepped attacks, twirled her body, and dodged strikes by the monster''s paw. It was a fight of agility and power, the two opponents shing against each other with incredible blows of pure devastation while Erika''s ck des slowly cut away the bear''s life force, her attacks bing sharper and sharper.


    However, the bear was powerful, and its fur was as tough as steel.


    So, just one attack would kill her.


    Erika''s body leaned back, her head lifting as a tremendous force sent her body floating into the air, despite the w of the bear missing, her azure pupil seeing the bear''s huge maw opening to bite into her neck.


    However, Erika didn''t panic.


    Her body rotated in the air, tossing her des behind the bear; she used the momentum to avoid the bite, its sharp razor teeth shing together only a few centimetres from her face as her eyes and mouth opened wide, a look of glee on her twisted face with a wide smile.


    Ryuji watched the beautiful lips of Erika, soft and pink opening as the excitement and strange glow in her eyes intensified.


    "—de flurry~!" Her voice was sultry and seductive as her figure vanished; not only did the bearmit its attack, but the area was now filled with trees with several branches with a great foothold for Erika to use.


    Her body reappeared behind the bear, grasping her swords with a reverse grip, the first strike of her de flurry, cleaving the bear''s hind legs, the second strike severing its tail. She was moving fast, incredibly fast.


    Ryuji was stunned as his eyes widened.


    The technique that Erika was using was an old ability. A technique she learned herself a long time ago... yet he felt it changed; something evolved when he didn''t see her.


    Despite taking damage and suffering counter attacks from the deadly guardian, she continued to use her de flurry like a mysterious dance just for Ryuji to watch.


    Erika was strong.


    The bear roared in pain, unable to react in time as its limbs and tail fell off, its body now falling on its knees, blood spurting from its wounds, its furry coat now dyed a dark red, yet it still tried to turn and swipe at Erika.


    However, her steps were like a graceful swan dancing upon a river. The sh of her ck des flickered in one ce, appearing metres away the next instant; her attacks were unpredictable and fast.


    "Die," Erika muttered, appearing below the bear''s neck, her two des pointing downwards, the shadowy me zed brightly, as she jumped, mming the dual swords into the bear''s neck, her breathing haggard, as she felt the tough fur try to resist her des, lifting her body and twisting herself like a circus dancer forcing the des to tear through its flesh like a corkscrew opening a bottle of wine.


    "GRA—"


    A loud cry echoed as blood sprayed the surroundings, the bear''s eyes turning nk, its body toppling to the side as Erika rolled onto the ground, panting heavily as the shadowy me surrounding her faded.


    The forest grew silent, only the heavy breathing of Erika remained.


    "Impressive, Erika. You have be much stronger. Now, we can progress further." Ryuji smiled as he stood up, walking towards Erika, his eyes returning to normal.


    "I...haha...hahaha," Erika giggled, a wide smile on her face, her cheeks red as she stared at the dead bear. "I won?" Tears oozed down her eyes as the ck drained from her eyes like ink, and her legs seemed to tremble like jelly.


    "Yes." Ryuji crouched down, cupping her cheeks and staring at the smiling girl, his azure pupils flickering. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks, her face covered in a mixture of sweat, blood, and dirt, her outfit covered in the bear''s blood while the w marks and wounds she suffered were visible.


    "Why are you crying? Are you happy?"


    Erika nodded.


    "Then, why are you shaking, trembling?" Ryuji''s tone was low and soothing, his words gentle as he wiped her tears, his pupils flickering with an ocean blue light as he gazed at the excited girl, her aura now calm.


    "Ehehe... I never tried to force my de to flurry past seven strikes... I think I overdid it a little." Erika chuckled, her hands shaking, her eyes blinking, trying to focus, yet Ryuji''s hands were warm, and she couldn''t help but lean forward, resting her body on his.


    "Seven strikes? Erika, your de cut that poor thing over twenty-seven times... I am quite shocked, even the use of your strange shadow fire to strike a second time the moment your body vanished to the next location. Is that what you learned with Kathryn and the maids?"


    He saw her struggling to stand and lifted her into his arms; the light body of Erika shocked him with her ability to defeat a monster five levels higher than hers. She was undoubtedly talented, maybe not in pure swordsmanship, but her brain and how to use her talent definitely surpassed how Ryuji used his skills.


    "Uhm... I practised this alone at night, when feeling lonely or you chose to sleep with Yumiko..." Erika mumbled, her arms wrapping around Ryuji''s neck as she pressed her body against his, her head resting on his shoulder.


    "Did you feel lonely often? You never said anything."


    "Mm! I didn''t want to appear too needy... plus, you looked happy sleeping with her." Erika smiled, her eyes narrowing as she thought of the many times Ryuji spent the night with Yumiko. "I wanted to have something special so that you would praise me like her...


    so I pushed myself, even when it hurt my lungs, and breathing felt like swallowing fire, or my abdomen felt like a knife was stabbing me, I trained..."


    Ryuji listened to Erika, walking back to the river while stroking her back with his fingers. Out of her sight, bloody spikes protruded from the ground, prating all monsters that came within a fifty-metre radius of the two. Ryuji only needed to imagine the spell and its condition to activate, to make these ridiculous trap spells.


    Though they would be less effective in an actual battle, while he could focus on Erika alone, the spells were easy to maintain; he wanted to give all his attention to her right now.


    Because she won, far better than he expected.


    "I see."


    "Are you not mad? I practised without telling you, and I did it at night... in secret?"


    "I''m not mad, and maybe you can let me join you next time. I would like to know more about you too. You and Yumiko are different, and I like that about you." Ryuji chuckled, his hands sliding down her body, squeezing her butt gently.


    "Ah, that tickles, ugh... it hurts tough. My stomach is all bruised."


    "Anyway, I''m impressed. But there are a lot of improvements we can make. As for your bruised stomach, let me rub it better."


    "Idiot..." Erika turned away, her face a deeper red from before, yet Ryuji couldn''t see her expression.


    "Your thighs, too. How about your breasts and back?"


    "Ugh... pervert."


    "Well, then, let''s get you cleaned up and take you home."


    "Okay..."


    "After we enjoy a little longer looking at this beautiful view together, okay?"


    "Nn!"


    "Also, Erika?"


    "Mm?"


    "I like you too."