Chapter 412
On a beautiful and lush green lawn, a pair of girls, one with jet-black hair, and the other with auburn hair were fighting against a tall young man.
Their Auras, silver, carmine, and amethyst, let out sparks every time they clashed, and it was a truly breathtaking sight but there were no witnesses of their battle.
The only other person present there was a Chinese girl, who was fast asleep under a tree, and there were clear signs of a beating on her body in the form of bruises and tears all over her clothes.
These three girls have been battling against him on and off for nearly three days now, and unsurprisingly, Yingying, despite her Cultivation advantage, was the first one to go out. This was because, unlike Minami and Ingvild, she was just a normal Ashaya. A mere Mortal.
And Ingvild, who was only in True Profound Realm, was still not tired enough to drop down anytime soon.
Keith smiled as the younger Carmilla Princess, surrounded by her carmine-coloured Aura, tried to keep her distance and only followed Minami's lead.
She was an inborn fighter, and she had very sharp battle instincts and smarts. And unlike most young Aurors, she had a very good sense of measure, and she was well aware of her limits.
He was not surprised by Minami's progress over the last two days. His dear daughter was very special, and he had already expected her to improve a lot, but Ingvild did surprise him.
The girl was quite tenacious and was not in the least afraid of pain. And what was most important was that she was keen on learning and improving.
Keith rewarded her for her efforts with another sound kick into her abdomen, sending her flying away, and then he deftly blocked Minami's punch, which forced him back several metres.
"You failed to protect her. Again." He chuckled as he saw the frown on his dark-eyed daughter's face.
The two of them had come up with the plan after Yingying fell that she would lead the assault and Ingvild would play as support so that they could last till the end of the day and finish the training on a positive note. But this was the third time that Minami had failed to keep Keith engaged, which led to Ingvild getting attacked by him.
She was not pleased and was visibly upset with herself, but she did not lose her focus even for a moment as she chased after him.
Minami knew that she could easily make it until the end of the day. There were only a couple of hours left, and she was still far from her limits, but the key to passing this trial was not finishing alone, but making sure that Ingvild survived as well.
"Rest," She told the younger Carmilla when she was about to join her again, and the young girl hesitated for a moment before she nodded and sat down on the ground to recuperate.
"Pretty confident, aren't you?" He smiled as he rushed towards her, but Minami managed to react in time and blocked him.
The silver Aura around her body flared up, and then she attacked him with even more fervour, keen on landing more clean hits on him.
All she had to do was land seven more, but it was easier said than done since they had only managed six in nearly three days.
She gritted her teeth when he suddenly went on the offensive and started chipping away his Aura Defence with powerful punches and kicks. Her Elements calling out to her and the Powers within her Blood were urging her to let them run free and go all out. Sadly, she was not allowed to use them in this trial.
Minami managed to hold on for fifteen minutes against him, and it was then that Invgild joined the battler again, having caught her breath. And Keith, as per the rules he had set, returned to his defensive style.
He was teaching them how to break past strong defences and engage in a prolonged battle without allowing a chance to the enemy to capitalise on their mistakes. This was the reason why every time they made a mistake, he heavily punished them for it.
Keith was not truly going all out against them as he mostly stayed defensive, showing them their flaws and correcting them. However, it did not mean that he was taking them easy.
He was well aware of how dangerous his dearest Minami was, and how she could be unpredictable at times. For her to manage to land six clean hits on him and come up with all sorts of plans with Yingying and Ingvild was already a testament to her battle genius.
Then again, he had been training her and Yingying far longer than anyone else in the family.
The next two hours were a real test for the two girls as they tried their hardest to make it till the alarm bells sounded out, and Ingvild immediately dropped to her knees with an infectious grin on her face.
"We won!"
"You passed." Keith smiled and corrected her, but his words did not affect her mood in the least.
She was truly happy that they had passed the trial, and she did consider it her win.
Minami, who was still in good shape, sat next to Ingvild and gently patted her head.
"You did well." She complimented the young princess.
"I would not have made it without you. Thank you, Minami!" Ingvild hugged her and managed to get up on her feet as she approached Keith, expectantly looking at him.
"You are strong." He teasingly complimented her and then leaned in to give her a forehead kiss that she sought before picking her up in his arms.
Invild planted a kiss on his cheek and she rested her head on his shoulder before closing her eyes. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.
She was extremely tired now, and the sleep just whisked her away to the dreamland.
When Keith and Minami returned to Gaia, inside the Castle, the sky had already darkened.
There was still an hour in dinnertime, and the two of them put Yingying and Invild in their beds before returning to their rooms to freshen up.
"Good evening, Grandma." He smiled when he found his Grandmother waiting for him when he exited the dressing room, and the old lady happily smiled back.
"How was your training?"
"Fun." He told her and then walked over to hug her. "And did you sleep all day?"
"Slept through most of it." She nodded. "Fiona kept me company in the afternoon and we went out for a walk. She's very attentive and caring."
"She is." He nodded to her and then walked out of the room together with her, heading towards the dining room. "You have something on your mind?"
Keith could sense her curiosity, and he had not even looked at her. For some time now, he had begun sensing the emotions of people around him, and the System had told him that it was all related to him awakening more of his Bloodline abilities.
Diana was surprised that he could tell she had something on her mind. The thought had only just arrived before he had asked her about it.
"It's about Minami." She honestly replied, and Keith inquisitively looked at her. "She's extremely intelligent, attentive, and way too wise for her age."
He chuckled at her words and nodded his head.
"That she is."
"She reminds me of you."
Diana observed his reaction to her words and frowned when she found no hint of surprise on his face.
Then again, she was well aware of how good he was at masking his emotions. It was again something she had observed and found that Minami possessed as well.
"She has changed a lot in the last year and a half." She said again, and Keith nodded his head to her.
"I am aware."
"It's not about her personality, Keith. I am talking about her appearance." She frowned some more. "She..."
"Bears a resemblance to me?" He finished her question, and Diana nodded her head.
Truthfully, he was a little curious about it as well since his Blood had seemingly only affected Minami's appearance.
The only other people he had granted his Blood to were Venessa, Kiara, and Rebecca. And Venessa already bore an uncanny resemblance to him, and, to an extent, so did Kiara.
Rebecca had only recently received his Blood, so it was too soon to conclude anything.
The System, however, did mention that Minami was likely an exception, and it was the reason behind his curiosity.
"She acts like you at times, bears your resemblance in both manners and appearance. It is almost as if she is your daughter. And I have seen how you treat her."
"Well, she is my princess." He chuckled, and Diana could sense that he was not going to tell her much about it. "I am 24 years old, Grandma. And she's 19." He smiled at her. "But yes, she is my daughter."
"That's not what I meant..."
"She is not related to anyone you have on your mind."
"I see." Diana sighed and dropped the matter. "I love her as my grandchild."
"She is your great-grandchild." He smiled at her, and Diana rolled her eyes at his words.
"Right."
The two of them had just walked out of the hallway when they came across Minami, and Diana immediately smiled as she hugged the girl and engaged her in a conversation.
And again, she could not help but glance between the girl and him from time to time.
If it was not because of their ages, she would have really believed that the girl was his daughter.
As for Venessa, she did not even have to entertain the thought. Her niece would never do any such thing. It was just not her. Besides, she had always been before her eyes.