At that thought, Lude straightened up and beckoned to Sally with a crooked finger. "Come on. Attack me."
"All right." Sally took a deep breath, unable to keep a flicker of emotion from rising in her heart. Mr. Hastings always seemed to know what she needed. What she needed most right now was a chance to prove herself.
To prove she had grown strong enough, to prove she was worthy of avenging her parents, to prove she was no longer the same person she had been.
With another lift of Sally's hand, Lude saw clearly this time that her piano wire didn't shoot straight from her fingertips.
She seemed able to release the threads only from her fingertips, so she first touched her shoulder with one finger, secretly sticking the end of a thread to it.
Then she stretched out her arm, and the elastic metal thread instantly lengthened dozens of times over.
After taking aim, she released the stickiness at the end of the wire. The stored tension snapped loose, shooting the wire out like an arrow. It had enough force to pierce a three-centimeter-thick stone slab, or a defensive structure of comparable strength.
Faced with this fierce attack, Lude merely tilted his head, and the wire skimmed past his ear.
"Use all your strength." Lude's smile didn't change. "Show me what you can do."
"Understood, Mr. Hastings!"
After realizing that even her fastest attack couldn't hurt Lude, Sally grew excited.
Because it meant she could show Lude everything she had without holding back!
"Spider Wire!"
The girl cried out and fiercely clawed downward with all five fingers. Five threads immediately coiled toward Lude like living snakes.
Lude didn't dodge. He raised his arm and took the soft, yielding attack head-on.
Sally didn't expect the move to hurt Lude,