Chapter 390 Butterflies Dancing in the Wind (Part 2)
The momentum changed.
A sense of oppression. A suffocating pressure. It was like being on the edge of a storm, like being on the seabed thousands of meters below.
Ji Huaisu suddenly raised her head, a thin streak of blood appearing on her chin. The strange curved sword brushed past her neck, and in a split second, her head and body were about to be torn apart.
Before she could summon a new weapon, Lerna's slash arrived. The blood-red sword pressure spread in circles, like the wings of a butterfly. Ji Huaisu raised her fists and struck out with all her might, her gauntlets brimming with wind-powered force striking the blade's back. The clash of metal clashing was incessant. She withstood the close-range sword dance, relying on the strength cultivated through years of combat. However, Lerna swerved and kicked her in the chest.
The powerful kick even broke through the divine barrier and knocked Ji Huaisu into the House of Lords!
Vander gasped: "Be careful, she's serious!"
"This isn't a problem that can be solved by being careful..."
Ji Huaisu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at the slowly approaching enemy. He took off his eye patch and replaced his weapon with a curved sword instead of a knife. This was the only change in appearance, but the feeling he gave was completely different.
That steely focus was undoubtedly the hallmark of a warrior, a mastery enough to rival Chu Hengkong. More importantly, there was a familiar sting in Lerna's eyes, the kind of gaze that Ji Huaisu had often encountered in his childhood: the look of a highly skilled warrior.
The "Secret Eye" of Sephiroth 5 on the Path to Unity reveals mysteries, discerns truth from falsehood, and transforms a warrior. Proof of technical mastery, observation is more important than speed!
Ji Huaisu remembered his father's teachings. When fighting with a high-quality warrior, the first thing to do is to determine the type of the opponent's third eye.
The clairvoyance of the Zanxin is a "ghost pupil" that favors physical destruction, while the clairvoyance of the Mortal Monks favors fluid control over external manifestations such as moves and abilities. It's said that a small number of clairvoyances focus on mental control, but judging by their fighting style, they're unlikely to be Lerna's. So...
The House of Lords was bustling with activity, with civil servants discussing the wanted criminal who had broken through the wall. Ji Huaisu ignored everything around her. She pulled out a second Gale Card and loaded it into the system. As the card flashed, Lerna's curved sword was already slashing towards the head!
"Holy Judgement of Discipline: Breaking the Army and Chaotic Wind!"
Eight tornadoes rose out of thin air, and were controlled within the room by relying on the extremely strong control over the elements, increasing the local destructive power at the cost of reducing the scale.
"Help!" "The wanted criminal has gone mad!" "What an insult..." Members of parliament and civil servants were swept up by the gust of wind, like chickens being blown out of windows. However, Lerna remained unmoved by the force of the wind. She didn't even draw her knife, but simply extended two fingers. The moment her fingertips pierced the tornado, the entire gust of wind dissipated into irregular streams.
The spell was directly broken up because she cut off the flow of magic power that guided the wind direction!
Ji Huaisu cursed inwardly, her terrible premonition coming true. Lerna's divine eye, similar to that of a martial artist, controlled power, a natural enemy for her, who wielded elemental power. She summoned a light shield and shadow blades to temporarily block it, but before Lerna's divine eye, elemental weapons were practically shredded paper.
The first strike shattered the light shield, the second shattered the shadow blade, and the third, a brilliant arc of sword, slashed towards Ji Huaisu's flank, but was momentarily stalled in mid-air. An icicle rising from the ground froze Lerna's wrist, and Ji Huaisu desperately rolled to avoid the blow. But Lerna's reaction was faster. She stepped forward and stamped on Ji Huaisu's left hand, dealing a second blow to the unhealed wound from the previous battle!
“Oops!”
The energy surged through the wound on her left hand, paralyzing Ji Huaisu's senses like a neurotoxin. At that moment, she was unable to move. Vander poked his head out, shouting anxiously, while Lerna concentrated to the utmost. The world before her eyes turned to pure white, the only strange color being the weapon in her hand.
She swung her weapon, slashing through the pure white world, turning it into a thousand-foot-high waterfall of pure black!
It was a surge of passion and blood gushing from the wound. Even a Sacrifice Snake at its peak strength would have to take the blow head-on, and Ji Huaisu, with his strength restricted, had no chance of survival.
But Laerna remained undeterred. A true killer, she sheathed her blade and struck three times, further shattering her foe's body, leaving him no chance. Ji Huaisu was crushed beneath the sword's weight, leaving not a drop of blood behind!
“……!”
Even if their bodies were fragile, the enemy had the strange device created by Velus, so it wouldn't completely evaporate. Lerna covered her forehead with her hands, her own useless scream echoing in her mind: "What have you been doing since just now?! Are you too tired from not getting enough rest? Why are you cutting the air?!"
(Hypnosis? When?!)
Lerna thought of the eye demon that had poked its head out for no reason before. Its eyes were glowing. She had been hit by the icicles!
She followed her other self's example and released her Qi and Bloodline detection. Sure enough, she spotted Ji Huaisu near the Media Building. He was still arguing with the Eye Demon.
"Well done, Vander! Can you try harder and use hypnosis to make her surrender?"
"You've read too many strange books! I've told you countless times that this is a self-defense technique, but it's not that powerful and can't be used a second time in such a short time!"
Ji Huaisu was still trying: "If she can't throw away her clothes, then let her throw away her weapons."
"Please, please be honest, my Lord Knight! That woman caught up with us and she looks so fucking angry, damn it!"
Ji Huaisu dodged the ferocious sword energy with a roll. Lerna, chasing behind, was as powerful as a ghost. She used her last Shadow Claw card, brandishing a pair of giant Shadow Claws to block Lerna's attack. Lerna didn't retreat, her eyes filled with icy rage!
"Talk to her while the hypnosis is still effective and buy some time!" Vander said quickly.
"Good eyes! You are indeed a killer now!" Ji Huaisu racked his brains to delay time, "Then why let that useless personality take the lead? Your strength is enough to control this body for a long time!"
Lerna gripped her curved sword tightly, her anger growing even stronger: "What do you know? What do you know!"
Ji Huaisu secretly cried out that it was not good. She had originally wanted to delay time, but it seemed that she had triggered the enemy's painful memories! And the most important thing was that she didn't want to listen to the killers' sad stories at this time!
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..."
Lerna said angrily, "If I didn't have social phobia, I wouldn't have let that useless guy take the lead!"
"This reason is too heavy!"
Vander couldn't hold it in: "You're already at Sephiroth Level 5 and you still haven't overcome your social anxiety!"
"Physical point transformation can't solve psychological problems!"
Lerna dodged Shadow Claw's slash and slashed into Ji Huaisu's left arm with her knife. The heavy blow made Ji Huaisu feel as if his limbs were broken. She was knocked to the third floor of the media building, and the reporters and screenwriters scattered in fear.
Ji Huaisu collapsed into the pile of documents, feeling numb and almost unable to stand. Lerna stepped on the broken glass as she approached. The surveillance camera behind her reflected Hill, pinned down by the Divine Guards. She raised her curved sword like a guillotine.
"That's it. I'll get rid of you, and then I'll go and fight Chu Hengkong—"
"I'm afraid you don't have this opportunity." Ji Huaisu laughed, "It's fun, isn't it? Fighting with me in the House of Lords."
Lerna was stunned when she heard this. She remembered the strange choice made by the Useless Personality during their battle. He had pursued the House of Lords relentlessly, breaking through the divine barrier when attacked, and creating a violent gust of wind that blew away the people inside...
The House of Lords was emptied at that moment. Realizing this, Lerna turned her head hastily and saw the green burning column of fire engulfing the House of Lords!
The Ambitious Demon's laughter echoed, but Klerna was no longer paying attention. The female knight stood up again, the suppression of the Single Love Tree lifted by the destruction of the House of Lords. She spread her hands and used the formation to generate a full set of sealing cards. 10, 20... 40... 100!
"Very good, the mission is almost complete." Ji Huaisu grinned and showed the card with the dragon on it. "Let's settle the score, Miss Autism!"
【Disaster Beast Arrives】
The wind blew, thunder roared. A six-clawed dragon descended amidst the thunder, roaring to the heavens and earth. That was the fully unleashed Free Wind, the true mark of a Wind Seal Knight. It extended its massive claws, grasped Lerna tightly, and with immense force, propelled her skyward!
It was impossible to break free. Impossible to resist. The concentration of magic was too great. The dragon's structure was incredibly complex. Even if the outer flaws were pierced with the Celestial Eye, the magic circle at its center would repair itself even faster. It was a sheer fusion of power: strength, mass, gigantism—the very concept of "strong" manifested in the most unbridled form, creating this absurd elemental creature.
Lerna struggled to pry the dragon's claws open, but before she could exert any force, she felt a piercing chill behind her. Icebergs formed in the sky above, their surfaces covered in shadow blades as dense as a thousand needles!
[Shadow Blade][Iceberg][Fusion Advent]
"Discipline Seal: Cold Needle, Absolute Shadow."
Lerna was smashed into the iceberg by the dragon's claws. Even before the extreme cold, the pain of a pierced brain arrived. Needles pierced her shadow, halting her thoughts. The blade, about to pry open the dragon's claws, paused, and her blood flow slowed. If this continued, she would be trapped within the iceberg, a mindless zombie!
(This is terrible, this is so horrible, I’m dying, what should I do——)
(Switch.)
(Me?! Do you want me to die?! Gah!)
The moment her personality switched, she was pierced by a shadow needle, frozen in the ice like an idiot mummy. Lerna used this opportunity to gather her strength and switch again. Her blood rushed violently as her personality shifted, gushing through the wound on her back and melting the ice!
"——Red Light Butterfly!"
The iceberg crumbled, the shadow needles shattered, and the suddenly increased power pushed the dragon's claws back. Lerna floated in the air, the blood gushing out behind her coagulating into crimson butterfly wings.
This was a secret technique she had developed for the decisive battle. It burned her life force to establish an overdrive circulation system with her extracorporeal system, absorbing external energy to significantly enhance her basic qualities in a short period of time. Deathwing forged from blood!
Laerna fluttered her wings, instantly gliding past the dragon's length, her curved sword striking the knight on its back. Ji Huaisu blocked the attack with a card-sealing technique and retaliated with a lightning spear. Dozens of lightning spears emanated simultaneously, but Laerna, with her butterfly wings, unleashed her divine eye to shatter them all. She swung sideways with a swift strike, but Ji Huaisu met it head-on with the Infinite Sword.
"Not bad, not bad... At this rate, I won't have any problem fighting Kong!"
This was no empty statement. At her full strength, Lerna's power was astonishing, the pressure she brought almost rivaling Chu Hengkong's. In such a close-quarters fight, the Dragon of Misfortune's massive size was useless, instead hindering it due to the dispersion of its power. But Ji Huaisu remained unfazed. This drawback had been considered before the Knight system was designed, and she had already prepared a countermeasure.
Ji Huaisu created a new card, a translucent emerald green "Wind Armor." She added the Wind Armor and the Disaster Beast to her arm armor.
[Wind Armor][Disaster Beast][Fusion Advent]
"Dragon Soul Possession!"
The Dragon of Misfortune raised its head and roared. It soared into the sky, then dove down, slamming Lerna aside with its massive jaws and devouring Ji Huaisu. Its massive body dissolved in the light, its elemental power condensing into a brand new armor. The mighty dragon's body disintegrated, transforming into ornate reliefs all around the armor.
In an instant, the dragon vanished, and a knight in green armor descended amidst thunder. She raised her sword and, quite literally, transformed into a gust of wind!
“Elementalization…!”
This was the symbol of the Sephiroth in the Path of the Supreme, the omnipresent elemental body. After being possessed by the Dragon of Misfortune, Ji Huaisu was finally able to briefly utilize the power of elementalization.
Suddenly, wind blades and lightning spears flew like raindrops, an intense assault from all directions. Lerna felt as if the world had engulfed her, even a drop of rain could become a deadly hidden weapon. She maintained a vigilant mind and observed her surroundings, using her secret clairvoyance to decipher every attack. She slashed, blocked, spun, and soared, finding openings in the torrential onslaught. She remained unfazed, for she knew her enemy's fighting style well.
Ultimately, it was firepower. Firepower determined victory. Her elementalized attacks were all designed to force flaws, and she would use a lightsaber or a dragon spear to deliver a decisive blow. At that moment, she would use her clairvoyance to discern the key, and then strike decisively!
"Are you ready..."
Ji Huaisu's laughter drifted through the wind, and the speed of the wide-area strikes increased again. Lerna braced herself, counting down in her mind. Five seconds. Three seconds. One second.
The knight appeared, reigning atop the storm, wielding a dazzling giant sword. She raised the sword high and slashed down, causing the blood wings on Laerna's back to vibrate violently. She forced all her strength to strike with the sword!
Then, Lyanna Barry froze in mid-air.
Her curved sword was entangled in countless "threads," as if trapped in an invisible cocoon. Silken threads entangled her wrists, bound her waist, bound her limbs, and tightened around her neck. These threads were woven from air currents and lightning, and even the divine eye could not detect them amidst the endless gusts of wind and dense clouds.
"I just found it a bit strange. Since it is the Secret Sky Eye that is good at sensing the flow of power, why would its attack be hindered by my ice pillar?"
Ji Huaisu dropped the sword and laughed, "I guess you only have one third eye. You usually cover it with an eye patch, and you can only use it when you switch between personalities. That's why there's this 'blind spot' that shouldn't exist."
I noticed this in the previous fight.
So, he used elemental transformation to attract attention and secretly set this deadly trap...!
Lerna couldn't struggle. She was like a butterfly caught in a spider's web. The entire sky was the fulcrum of the thread; if she exerted force, she would be torn to pieces by her own strength. Ji Huaisu stood with his back to her and threw a spark of lightning.
"The secret method of catching butterflies with a Skynet spider web."
The lightning fell into the net, rushed along the silk thread, and caused a violent fire.
A shimmering net loomed above the dense clouds, illuminating the entire Mansa Star Fortress. Lerna screamed unconsciously, her will weakened by the elemental infection, and she disappeared into the dim ocean.
Switch personality. Switch. Switch!
But there was no response. She had already collapsed in the last seal, feeling useless. Realizing this, she reluctantly reached out, then finally closed her eyes and plummeted from the sky.
Ji Huaisu released her elemental form and bandaged the wound. She glanced at Lerna, who reeked of burnt flesh, and whistled with glee.
"Before figuring out how to defeat Chu Hengkong..."
"Let's first think about how to overcome our social phobia."
(End of this chapter)
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