"Thud!" "Whoosh!"
A black whip-shadow slashed down diagonally from midair, striking the ground and leaving several lash marks in the already-soft dirt.
Larkspur narrowly dodged to the side, brushing past the sudden attack. She narrowed her eyes and let strands of silver-blue thread pull at her wrists, yanking her sharply forward.
Guided by the threads, her body seemed to turn into a puppet, shifting several meters in poses and movements that completely defied human biomechanics. Then, she abruptly stopped at a certain point.
She extended her Magic Armament, transformed into a dagger, and fiercely thrust it toward the person before her throat. Yet the vicious strike did not inflict any serious injury, as it was firmly blocked by a blade formed from black metal.
Yuan used the long blade in her hand to knock aside Larkspur's dagger, let out a long breath, and said, "Let's call it here."
"Giving up?" Larkspur asked as she dispersed the dagger in her hand back into threads.
"No. A draw."
Yuan shook her head. "Without using anything other than Magic Armaments, it seems our sparring can only go this far. By the way, have your injuries gotten a little better?"
"They're not life-threatening for now. No need for your concern." Larkspur's response was somewhat guarded.
This was the third time Yuan had challenged Larkspur to a duel since arriving in Fangting City.
The first had taken place at the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Borrowing a temporary Magic Armament made by Hong Siyu, Larkspur had barely managed to drive Yuan back. The latter two, however, had become pure hand-to-hand fights, held in an open area on the outskirts of the city, and both had ended evenly matched.
Still, that apparent equality relied on Larkspur's unusual tricks.
Frankly speaking, in hand-to-hand combat technique alone, Yuan was the