Dual Souls, The Other Half is Bronya

A slender hand gently caressed her full heart… Bronya truly felt that sting. She looked at Edelweiss, "Aren't you going to attack, Little Ai?"

"You still have some strength left, don't you, Bronya?" Edelweiss landed lightly, as graceful as a startled swan.

Fighting to this point, she had actually acknowledged her. Her current question to Bronya was more of a prompt, "Let me see it, your full power."

"Hoo~ I thought you were going to stall for time again."

Bronya let out a long sigh. If it were just her alone… it was still quite stressful.

However, since Edelweiss wasn't attacking, she had time to chat for a bit. "Little Ai, I heard you like sweets. How about we exchange notes sometime?"

Mmm~ Sweets…

Edelweiss's expression shifted slightly. She was incredibly talented, reaching the pinnacle in a very short time, even easily crossing into the Demon realm.

But in reality, Edelweiss loved sweets and had privately studied them for a long time. In fact, her initial reason for practicing the sword was simply to lose weight!

"Bronya likes sweets too?"

"So-so. But I've been studying for a long time. What do you think it was for, Little Ai~"

—Of course, it was for you!

A super direct shot, it almost broke through Edelweiss's defenses. A faint blush could be seen on her delicate, pretty face. "Alright, Bronya, aren't you ready yet?"

"I'm almost there."

Seeing Edelweiss change the subject, Bronya wisely didn't press further. Byakuya's figure appeared beside her. "Be careful, Little Ai~"

The two slightly lowered their stances, their movements perfectly synchronized, their left hands forming a blade-grazing gesture.

At the same time, their Magic Power burned further, the pale blue magical aura on their bodies surging, an extremely sharp sensation slowly rising.

Twin Wings' Sword, Imitation: One Blade Arrogance, Life Chronicle… and so on. In the end, they were all buff skills.

With layer upon layer of buffs, sword techniques that belonged in a Wuxia world were elevated to a level they shouldn't have reached.

"..."

Not a sound. Or rather, the overwhelming power "killed" the vibration of the medium, cutting off the transmission of sound.

—Vertical and Horizontal Alliance!

Black and white sword energy raged, like dragons. Heaven and earth seemed to turn black and white, leaving only the terrifying sword light.

41. Did I win this time?

Amidst a silent shockwave, Byakuya and Bronya were sent flying out, looking somewhat disheveled.

The sword energy raged, plowing a hideous gash in the earth, as if gnawed by some monstrous beast. However…

Everything lost its meaning before that figure—the pure white Valkyrie, Edelweiss!

If it had been a surprise attack, she might have achieved results. But she had specifically warned them earlier… Sensing the threat of Vertical and Horizontal Alliance, she had entered the Demon realm.

Even if only for a moment. With Edelweiss as the epicenter, the sword energy was split in two. The gash plowed into the ground also became much shallower, instead spreading outwards to both sides.

"Cough cough~ Is this Twin Wings?"

Byakuya propped himself up, coughing out a large mouthful of blood. Bronya was more severely injured, a faint magical glow appearing on her as she prepared to dispel her manifestation.

Emmm…

But abruptly, Bronya stopped.

At this moment, a somewhat crazy thought surfaced in her mind: Have you really given your all? Isn't there still that move—One-Hit Rakshasa!

Although it would cost a lot, for Byakuya and Bronya, that was never a problem. It's just… should they really go for it? They had only confessed their feelings not long ago.

To go all out and slash once, was it really worth it? If the goal was to deepen her impression, Vertical and Horizontal Alliance was already enough, right? Forget it, let's stop here this time…

"Byakuya, aren't you going to attack?"

A clear, light voice rang out. Edelweiss saw something in Byakuya's eyes and asked at that moment.

"Click~"

A weight was added to one side of the scale. In Byakuya's heart, the urge to attack gradually surged, slowly overpowering his reason. "...Are you sure, Little Ai."

"Is the price very high?"

With a slightly changed tone, Edelweiss heard something. "If that's the case…"

"No."

Supported by the powerful recovery of Life Chronicle, Byakuya slowly stood up, leaning on his sword, a wild smile gradually spreading across his lips. "Actually, it's not a price at all."

Dying and coming back to life day after day, doing sit-ups, what was a mere life worth? Moreover…

—Before "Yin-Yang," did Byakuya live a peaceful life without taking any risks?

Impossible.

It was fine when he was under One Person, having been picked up by the Old Heavenly Master since he was young. But in the Qin Shi World… Heh, as someone from Great Qin, Byakuya faced countless assassinations!

He couldn't possibly become timid just because his life had insurance, could he? He would look down on himself.

With a sudden flick of his sword, Byakuya drew an arc with his left foot, bringing the blade level before him, slowly lowering his center of gravity.

The sword tip, entwined with a magical glow, traced the blade inch by inch, incredibly slowly. "Little Ai, this is actually my first time using this move."

"I don't know what I'm capable of..."

Bit by bit, Byakuya's skin and tendons tore, spilling bright red blood. "But I can be sure it'll be terrifying. So you better be careful, Little Ai."

"..."

Edelweiss could feel it – a will to fight to the death! Byakuya had compressed all his strength, focusing it into this single strike. She absolutely couldn't take it lightly!

Silently, she stepped into the Demon's domain, her platinum sword glinting coldly.

An even more terrifying sense of pressure. Byakuya understood that Edelweiss was ready. But... she's so strong, to be able to unleash even more power?

"Then Little Ai, be careful."

A flash of sword light, exceeding all limits. In Byakuya's eyes, the entire world lost its color at that moment.

With only the power of a single strike left, Byakuya instinctively used the sword technique he was most familiar with and trusted the most.

A vast, dragon-like sword aura raged across the heavens and earth, diving towards Edelweiss, shattering everything with absolute "force."

—Hundred Paces Flying Sword!

A silent sonic boom, a terrifying blast wave swept over.

"Hmm... Is this really not a missile?"

Bronya appeared on the periphery. The Heavy Rabbit manifested, an alloy shield standing tall, blocking the sweeping blast wave, her spiral silver hair flying wildly in the gale.

◆ To speak of strength, "Yin-Yang" is based on the Carefree Token, with the world's acknowledgment.

Therefore, the spiritual equipment formed by the Yin-Yang fish is truly "indestructible." Excluding attacks on the world level, its strength is genuinely unbreakable!

After a long while, the battlefield finally calmed down.

A sharp pain shot through him. Tsk, he had already cut it off, was it just too intense?

Bronya unconsciously hugged herself, displaying a feminine fragility for the first time. "Ugh... it hurts..."

"Really... that Byakuya guy, he's... still alive?" She raised her head with some effort, looking towards the smoke-filled battlefield.

A deep blue mechanical arm reached out, lifting Bronya's slightly curled body.

The Heavy Rabbit floated, moving towards the center of the battlefield. Sword marks, as if etched into the heavens and earth, flickered, sending sparks flying from the Heavy Rabbit's shell.

"Why hasn't the manifestation been canceled yet?"

Leaning on the mechanical arm, Bronya didn't interact with Byakuya—the pain would only double.

"Yo, hiss..."

Byakuya tried to lift a hand, but a wave of pain pulled at him, causing Bronya to suffer as well. He twitched the corner of his mouth and gave up the idea. "You're here, Bronya."

Emmm... Bronya passed through the endless sword marks, observing the situation, and couldn't help but fall silent. "Byakuya... won?"

"Won? I don't think so."

Byakuya lay on the ground, the Life Chronicle working its hardest to repair him, but it just couldn't keep up.

In that instant, unparalleled speed, absolute power, ferocious magic power... etcetera, all these elements combined, pushing the lethality to its extreme!

Edelweiss also entered the Demon's domain and unleashed her true "Twin Wings Sword."

—The destructive power of this strike had far exceeded the limit that the Inherent Gear could withstand.

It was obvious that this exchange would end with the shattering of a spiritual equipment.

Logically speaking, Edelweiss should have defeated Byakuya, and she was accustomed to shattering others' Inherent Gear.

But this time, Byakuya's spiritual equipment was too damn sturdy! As their swords collided, Edelweiss felt like she had hit a world, perhaps even more than one?

No matter how powerful she was, how could she compare to worlds? Without any surprise, the platinum sword shattered.

A soul-piercing pain, even Edelweiss inevitably lost consciousness.

"Can an egg break a rock?"

It seemed like he had won, but Byakuya didn't feel happy. "Seriously... doesn't this make it look like I schemed against her?"

"Mhm, Bronya more or less understands. Then..." Bronya nodded, her silver-pink eyes fixed on Byakuya.

"Alright, alright, I get it."

A flash of magical glow, Byakuya silently canceled his manifestation, and his body gradually disappeared.

In some unknown space, emmm... let's call it the "Void." A body appeared, it was Byakuya, deep in slumber.

At this moment, power surged from the Void, slowly repairing Byakuya's injuries.

42. Dragon!

When Byakuya was no longer manifested, the pain Bronya felt lessened considerably.

"He's really badly injured this time."

Saying that, she jumped down from the Heavy Rabbit's mechanical arm, and Bronya sensed the approximate time needed for recovery.

"Emmm..."

"So it's gotten this bad?" Byakuya's voice suddenly rang out beside them.

—He had manifested again.

With a helpless smile on his face, Byakuya spread his arms, the pain causing him to twitch his lips. "It actually took three days. If I hadn't felt it, I wouldn't have known it was this serious."

"More than that, if it's this serious, why is Byakuya still alive?"

"Probably because the Life Chronicle is too awesome?"

As he said this, Byakuya habitually went to shrug his shoulders, but a sharp pain shot through him.

"...Byakuya should just go respawn."

"I think so too."

Reaching an agreement, Bronya's mind stirred slightly. The mechanical, menacing muzzle of the Heavy Rabbit aimed at Byakuya. "Then, Byakuya, see you again in a day."

"Heavy Rabbit, fire—!"

Endless light erupted from the muzzle, instantly engulfing the unguarded Byakuya.

"So, what should we do now?"

Looking at Edelweiss, who was unconscious beside her, Bronya couldn't help but feel a bit troubled. After all...

—This was Twin Wings Edelweiss!

If news of her getting injured spread, it would cause a huge sensation, and might even attract some ill-intentioned individuals. "Looking at it this way..."

This battlefield, covered in sword marks, had actually become a sanctuary? She needed to request reinforcements.