Free Web NovelThe battle that followed...
Could only be described as "insane."
Pavela's attacks were completely without order, rhythm, or any technique to speak of.
She simply kept attacking, attacking, and attacking.
With her saber.
With her fists.
With her knees.
With her teeth.
Using anything that could be used to cause harm.
The Officer Woman picked up the dagger Pavela had dropped earlier, pitting dagger against saber.
Her technique was far superior to Pavela's—every parry was perfectly timed, and every counterattack was incredibly precise.
But Pavela didn't care at all.
Slashed? It didn't matter.
Stabbed? It didn't matter.
Bleeding? It didn't matter.
She was like a tireless killing machine, charging at her opponent again and again, trading blood and pain for every opportunity to strike.
The Officer Woman's clothes were slashed in three places.
A bloody gash was grazed onto her left arm by the saber.
A shallow wound appeared on her right cheek—scratched by Pavela's fingernails.
“Enough.”
The Officer Woman's expression finally darkened.
Her figure surged forward, her speed more than tripling. free𝑤ebnovel.com
The dagger turned into a bolt of silver lightning, aiming straight for Pavela's right neck—at that spot, a three-inch deep thrust would kill her.
Pavela met the attack head-on.
Her saber lunged forward at the same time, aimed at the Officer Woman's heart.
Mutual destruction.
This lunatic—
She wants to take them both down!
The Officer Woman's pupils suddenly constricted.
She could strike Pavela.
But Pavela would strike her too.
Given Pavela's current frenzied state, she definitely wouldn't pull back at the last moment.
But the Officer Woman—
Didn't want to kill this young girl.
She only intended to subdue her and, in the process, help her break free from the state of erosion.
It had been that way from the start.
Damn it—
At the last moment, the Officer Woman twisted her wrist.
The dagger's trajectory shifted.
The tip of the blade, which should have pierced Pavela's right neck, barely grazed her shoulder, leaving only a shallow bloody mark.
But Pavela's saber did not shift.
“Puchi—”
The sound of a blade piercing flesh.
The saber sank into the Officer Woman's left shoulder about two inches deep.
Blood sprayed out.
...
Time seemed to stand still.
Pavela held the hilt of the saber, the blade still embedded in the other woman's shoulder.
The Officer Woman looked down at her wound, then looked up at Pavela.
Surprisingly, there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.
“Good swordsmanship.”
She said.
Then, her left hand suddenly grabbed Pavela's wrist—the hand holding the saber.
The strength was astonishing.
Pavela's wrist bones were creaking.
“But—”
The Officer Woman's knee slammed hard into Pavela's abdomen.
“Bang!”
Pavela's body flew back like a «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» kite with a broken string, crashing heavily three paces away.
She struggled to get up, but the sharp pain from her abdomen caused her movements to stall for a moment.
The Officer Woman pulled the saber from her shoulder and tossed it onto the ground.
Blood gushed from the wound, staining half of her military uniform red.
But her face still wore that playful smile.
“Young girl.”
She walked toward Pavela, her pace steady and unhurried. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
“You're strong. Stronger than most people I've seen.”
She stopped in front of Pavela, looking down at her.
“How do you feel now?”
“Still want to fight?”
Crimson flames ignited in Pavela's eyes once more.
She hadn't lost yet.
She wouldn't admit defeat.
She wouldn't—
“Little Pa!!”
A voice tore through the twilight.
Pavela's body suddenly froze.
That voice—
She recognized it.
She turned her head.
Under the setting sun, a figure was sprinting toward them.
Dark long hair fluttered in the wind.
Ice-blue eyes were filled with anxiety and worry.
It was Eleanor.
Her sister.
...
“Pavela!”
Eleanor rushed over, and seeing the wound on Pavela's left arm and the blood covering her, her face turned pale instantly.
“You're hurt—how did you—”
Her gaze swept across the battlefield, seeing the blood on the ground, Pavela's soiled dress, and the Officer Woman whose shoulder was still bleeding—
Then she froze.
“Margaret... General?”
Eleanor's voice carried clear surprise.
“Oh, it's Little Ellie.”
The woman called Margaret covered the wound on her left shoulder with her right hand, her tone still leisurely.
“Long time no see.”
“Why are you here—your shoulder—”
“Routine inspection,” Margaret shrugged her right shoulder, “I didn't expect to encounter something so interesting.”
Her gaze fell on Pavela, with an indescribable look in her eyes.
“Is this your... sister?”
“Yes,” Eleanor instinctively shielded Pavela, her voice tense. “She is my sister, Pavela von Schwartz.”
“The foster daughter of the Schwartz Family,” Margaret nodded. “I've heard of her.”
She paused, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
“But I hadn't heard she was so... good at fighting.”
She looked at her still-bleeding shoulder and chuckled.
“It's been a long time since anyone has been able to wound me.”
Eleanor's body grew even more tense.
“General, I—”
“Relax, Little Ellie.”
Margaret waved her right hand, cutting Eleanor off.
“I have no intention of pursuing this.”
“She was chasing those two terrorists—right?”
She pointed at Klaus and Elena, who were pinned to the ground by police.
“I was just helping her vent some excess emotion. Though the methods were a bit intense...”
She looked at her wound again, her smile deepening this time.
“Quite a bit more than intense.”
“But I still quite like this little one.”
Eleanor's shoulders relaxed slightly.
But her hand still tightly gripped Pavela's wrist—
The uninjured wrist.
“Pavela.”
Eleanor turned around and looked at her sister.
Her voice was soft, but Pavela could hear the tremor in it.
“Are you... okay?”
Pavela looked into Eleanor's eyes.
Ice-blue, like a winter sky.
At this moment, those eyes were filled with worry.
Not questioning.
Not blaming.
Just worry.
Pure, unreserved worry.
Pavela's chest felt as if it had been struck by something.
That anger that had been burning—
Suddenly went out.
Not suppressed.
Not forcibly quelled.
But...
It extinguished itself.
Like a gust of wind blowing by, the candle's flame dimmed.
In Pavela's eyes, that crimson glow was slowly fading away.
A light greyish-blue color re-emerged.
Like the frozen surface of a lake in winter.
“I...”
Pavela spoke.
Her voice was a bit hoarse, as if she had just woken from a nightmare.
“I'm fine.”
She looked down at the wound on her left arm; the blood was still flowing, but only now did she truly feel the pain.
The numbness brought on by anger was receding, replaced by a burning, sharp pain.
“It's just... a minor injury.”
Eleanor stared at her for several seconds.
Then, she suddenly reached out and pulled Pavela into a tight embrace.
“You idiot.”
Eleanor's voice came muffled from above Pavela's head.
Pavela froze in place.
She didn't know how to respond to this... embrace.
This warmth—
This feeling of being enveloped—
Was very unfamiliar.
But—
Pavela slowly raised her right hand and gently wrapped it around Eleanor's waist.
“...I'm sorry,”
she whispered,
“for worrying you.”
