Crest of the Strongest Knight - Final Seven

Chapter 204 - Vengeance

Everything had gone wrong so quickly.

It all began when that pale red orb took its place in the center of the artificial night sky above, signaling the true start of Amelia's ritual. Although Amelia's strength hadn't actually increased as a result of the false blood moon, Medrauta was hard-pressed to fight back now that her opponent had completely changed their strategy.

Whereas she had previously been in a much more conversational mood as she traded blows with Medrauta, Amelia was now focused solely on obtaining the final catalyst she needed for the completion of her ritual. Viviane's mastery over the Lake's power had grown significantly since she obtained it, but it was only enough to suppress Amelia's regeneration instead of completely negating it.

Regardless of how many successful cuts or thrusts Medrauta landed on the witch, her regeneration would soon activate once more and close those wounds after the lingering power of the Lake waned. The only way to end Amelia once and for all would be a swift decapitation, an attack that she would never permit Medrauta to perform.

Medrauta's blade moved rapidly, becoming nothing more than a pinwheel of silver light as she parried Amelia's attacks incessantly, choosing to counterattack only when she knew it was absolutely safe to do so. After all, there was no need for the witch to fight defensively so long as she kept Medrauta's blade away from her neck. Any other attacks would simply be a waste of time, and both of them knew it.

More importantly, there was no room for mistakes on Medrauta's end. While she was certainly capable of dueling Amelia to a standstill in her current condition, the witch was no longer interested in exchanging blows. Rather, Amelia continued to push toward Viviane's direction, inching closer and closer with each step that Medrauta was forced to take backwards.

The silver-haired knight had no idea how much blood Amelia actually required for her ritual. Underneath Revelo Castle, a single drop had been enough to raise the Spire, but Medrauta doubted that such a paltry amount would be enough to revive the Witch Queen.

Medrauta's narrowed as Amelia thrust her blade rapidly, the black sword exploding forth like a volley of arrows fired from point-blank range. Staying calm, the silver-haired knight dexterously weaved her way through each thrust before parrying the last with her sword and shoving Amelia backward with some effort.

That should buy me a couple of seconds... The knight's breath remained even and measured, but she could feel the beginnings of combat fatigue settle into her muscles. With her memories returned to her, Medrauta recalled the countless bedtime stories her mother had told her. They were by no means extremely detailed nor were they meant to be overly informative, but they were enough for her purposes at the moment.

From those stories, Medrauta recalled that rituals as grand and important as the one Amelia was attempting to perform had to be completed within a certain timeframe. In fact, that was likely the reason why Amelia had waited until moments ago to truly begin her ritual.

Amelia continued pressing her attack relentlessly as if to confirm Medrauta's theory, her sword swinging wildly as its black blade now blazed with crimson mana wreathed around its edges.

Her latest strike rang loudly as it was stopped short by Medrauta's blade. The two pit their incredible strength against one another for a moment, the steel of their weapons shivering violently as each blade struggled to withstand the power of their wielder. For a moment, Medrauta thought she would win this test of strength, but Amelia's lips suddenly split into a wicked smirk.

Medrauta let out a cry of surprise as Amelia's body suddenly dispersed into a swarm of black butterflies, causing the silver-haired knight to lurch forward uncontrollably as all the force opposing her suddenly disappeared at once. She whirled around quickly, only to see the swarm of butterflies already beginning to coalesce at Viviane's position.