"Would you like to continue, my lady?"
Guilliman smiled and extended a hand, his posture composed and his tone elegant.
Yvraine looked at his outstretched hand, then at the slightly trembling web between her thumb and forefinger.
In the end, she simply plopped down onto the cold, hard rock and planted the Sword of Sorrow beside her.
"I'm done, I'm done!"
She waved him off irritably, her voice carrying a hint of sulking.
"I can't beat you anyway. If we keep going, I'll only be making myself suffer.
"You're practically a monster!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Guilliman laughed heartily. Though sound could not travel through the vacuum, his laughter reached Yvraine through faint tremors in the ground and psychic resonance.
He withdrew his hand and casually sat down not far across from her. Even seated, his huge frame resembled a small mountain.
"Don't say that." Guilliman reined in his laughter, his tone turning earnest. "You're already incredibly strong, Yvraine.
"Your speed, your combat skills, your grasp of timing, and your use of the Blade of Rules...
"Across the entire Milky Way, I'm afraid you could count on one hand the people who could face you head-on without falling behind. You have every reason to be proud."
"Enough already!"
Yvraine rolled her eyes. Though the human expression was somewhat unfamiliar to her, the meaning came across perfectly.
"You shameless braggart! Aren't you just praising yourself by praising me? I couldn't even last more than a few exchanges against you."
She really was upset. Extremely upset.
She had thought that with her millennia of combat experience and a weapon of rules, she could at least force out his trump cards or pose some genuine threat.
But what happened?
Her sure-kill strike had been casually defused with a light slap, and the battle