Prison of a princess (2)

Reactive adaptation.

That's what I've named that special talent of mine.

I was actually not someone who was talented in a way, that I could quickly learn something just by getting instructed by someone or reading a book like other geniuses could.

When I told my first teacher, Roywid, that I didn't manage to do the training regimen he gave me, he laughed and patted me on the shoulder, thinking that I was joking.

However, I wasn't.

I was genuinely not able to progress in such a way, even though my progress in skills was usually rapid in sparring sessions.

We soon found out that it was, because of my weird body constitution, that allows me to adapt to my opponent, which meant that I was learning best in real-time combat.

Analyzing, adapting, and overcoming.

That was the ability that allowed me to come so far.

"I see," I mumbled, closing my eyes in concentration to focus on accurately reading the code. "So that's how it's done."

"What..?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and utter disbelief, as she looked at me — no, rather, what was behind me.

While my skill certainly wasn't as good as hers yet, as I just started to grasp the basic concept of her ability, it was enough for now.

Her ability was made of two components. The ability to create the dimension and the ability to freely manipulate the dimension.

While the first one was used to passively maintain this space without using too much ether, the second part was used to manipulate its structure and create the weapons she used.

In this dimension, she was similar to a god.

However, she wasn't the only one who had that ability now.

Although my weapons were neither enchanted ones nor elemental ones, they roughly matched hers in number.

Behind me, millions of different weapons of the highest caliber levitated, just waiting for my command.

"How did you do that?"

She asked, taking a step back in caution.

"That's not something a dead woman would need to know."

I chuckled in a deep voice, as a small smile formed on my face.

During the first part of our fight, she seemed so confident, but now she was the one who backed away like a coward.

However, that doesn't mean that she was any less dangerous.

After all, people are the most dangerous when they are backed into a corner with nothing else to lose.

She then grits her teeth, swinging her arm forward, as she roared out a command.

"Shut up! Fire!"

Pointing her finger at me, all the weapons began to launch forward, crashing down on me like the splinters of a meteor.

Seeing that, I only uttered a single command.

"Retaliate."

A colorful rain descended from the sky as pure steel ascended from the ground, colliding with each other in a breathtaking scene.

Clang—! Cling—! Clirrr—!

It seemed almost like the sky and the ground was fighting with each other, beautifully mixing into an astonishing spectacle, as the sound of explosions and clashing steel echoed throughout the whole dimension, shaking it with each collision.

While I could retaliate for a while, I wouldn't last very long, so I had to end it quickly.

"Void step."

Bamf—!

Vanishing, I reappeared in front of her and raised my arm to slash her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, not expecting my attack.

Cling—!

With a sloppy movement, she barely managed to parry my first strike, the sword she just generated getting knocked out of her hand in progress.

"Fuck—!"

Her expression was one of pure terror as she looked at me.

"I..I'll kill you!"

People had different ways of reacting to fear.

And it seemed like she reacted to fear with anger, trying to overplay her emotions and act like the fear didn't exist in the first place.

She tried to overcome her problem by acting like it didn't exist in the first place, completely ignoring it.

It reminded me of a certain someone.

Clang—!

Conjuring many other weapons, she tried to defend herself from my strikes.

Each of my strikes was done sloppily, as none of them were aimed at killing her yet.

It didn't seem like she realized that, though, as she was too consumed by her emotions, losing her ability to think rationally.

"G..go away!"

I watched as her attacks lost any sense of direction, blindly throwing weapons at me in a vain attempt to protect herself.

"W..what is wrong with me gaining some freedom?!"

Her voice trembled not out of anger, but out of panic, as tears welled up inside her eyes.

"...I just wanted to be gone from this godforsaken place!"

Cling—!

Her attacks gradually got slower and weaker, almost like she was giving up, as we just kept parry-trading with each other.

"...what have I done wrong..?"

With every word, her voice got quieter, until she went fully silent, just looking at me with a sorrowful gaze, begging me for an answer to her question.

Thinking that I should end this, I kicked her feet away, throwing her down to the ground, as I grabbed her by her arm, jumping on top of her.

Swash—

Plunging my sword right next to her neck, our eyes locked.

"...Just tell me, brother..."

Ignoring her tears, she stared directly into my eyes, looking at me with an expression of incomprehension.

"...why does this happen to me..?"

I watched how she bit her lip, trying to stop her lip from quivering, as to not look weak in her seemingly last moments.

While I knew that I had to kill her, I hesitated, as I watched the seemingly young girl act all mature.

Even though I was aware that she was 140 years old, that was only her age in number. Physically, she was only 14, as she grew up inside the Depths, and she certainly didn't have the experience of being considered 140 years old.

In reality, she was still just a kid, trapped in a prison for over a hundred years.

"Reality is cruel sometimes, isn't it?"

I started speaking in a calm voice, not having the intention of letting any of my hesitations slip into my voice.

"Like a caged bird who just waited for their glimpse of freedom, you waited in this place, only for someone like me to come and ruin your chances."

She let out a bitter chuckle after I finished my sentence, looking at me with tired eyes.

"...it's quite a sad ending, isn't it?"

For a moment, her voice broke down, forcing her to pause a second.

Biting on her lip, she tried to suppress the emotions that were welling up inside her, trying to act her age.

"...in the end, I'll die alone in this place without ever living in the first place."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, before she hesitatingly formed a weak smile.

"...why was I even born in the first place..?"

For a split second, I could see the image of her and the child from the Depths overlapping.

Feeling how my chest started tightening, I grit my teeth, as a sharp pain spread throughout my body.

Gritting my teeth, I reassessed my options.

I didn't want to make such a decision a second time, and this time the situation was different.

"Hey,"

I said to her, forming a reassuring smile, as I had decided on my next steps.

I was about to do something that I usually avoided for my own sake.

And that was taking a risk.

A gamble that I couldn't know the result of.

Still, I was determined.

"Do you want to live?"