"Count."
The moment she finished speaking, Mira vanished from the spot.
The rubble was whipped up by her wings as she swooped down from Lin Yuan's upper left, her demonic claws aimed straight for his shoulder. Lin Yuan parried with his sword, the metal clashing against the scales, the vibrations traveling through the blade into his arm.
Mira didn't force her way down; Black Wings suddenly retracted, and she flipped over behind him using the impact.
Dark magic power rapidly compressed in his palm.
" Evil Explosion!"
Lin Yuan took a step forward, and the space behind him simultaneously folded open. The dark orb rushed into the misaligned space, passing by him from the side, and exploding into a cloud of dust on the riverbank.
Mira had already chased after them into the dust cloud.
The biggest difference between her and two years ago is not that her magic is stronger, but that she is no longer driven forward by the power she Take Over. Every attack leaves room for maneuver; a missed attack with her claws will immediately become the leverage for the next attack, and her outstretched wings can change direction at any time.
Lin Yuan also did not stay in the same place.
The Nameless slashes diagonally out from the smoke and dust, without a fixed starting stance. The next strike begins from wherever the sword is positioned; the sword's path changes depending on where the feet can land.
" No Form " originated from high-level SAO strategies and was specifically designed to counter monster attacks that have no fixed patterns.
Mira's claws struck the spine of the sword three times in succession.
Before the third collision was over, " Nameless " had already used the recoil to turn to her right. Mira raised her arm to block, but Lin Yuan released his original strength, and the sword blade slid past the scales, suddenly stabbing towards her folded black wings.
Mira suddenly took off.
The sword tip only severed a few black feathers.
"There!"
She raised her hand and unleashed a dozen or so dark light orbs. Lin Yuan did not retreat; his sword flashed, slashing the foremost orbs to the sides. The force generated by each collision became the starting point for the next strike, with no gap between sword strikes to recharge.
No Interval.
This is a series of sword techniques he developed while dealing with long-handled scythes in the system's maze.
The last energy projectile was slammed into the river by the sword's spine, and a column of water roared up.
Mira, however, was not in the air.
The rubble beneath Lin Yuan's feet suddenly cracked. Using the explosion as cover, she approached from the side and behind, her sharp claws already past the sword's edge, striking heavily towards his waist.
A ripple of black and silver light flashed between the two.
The claw was clearly close, yet it always missed by half a palm's distance. Mira recognized this as Lin Yuan's most frequently used spatial folding technique, and immediately reached out with her other hand from the opposite direction.
Lin Yuan did not increase the distance.
He deliberately removed the folding space, causing Mira's first strike to suddenly move forward. In the instant she lost resistance, her center of gravity inevitably shifted slightly.
" Nameless " passed between two sharp claws.
Mira twisted her body forcefully, and the black wings swept towards the sword like blades. Lin Yuan lowered his wrist to avoid the wings, and the hilt of the sword struck her wrist.
The two of them stepped back simultaneously.
Mira landed on the edge of the shallows, her right hand slightly numb.
"You couldn't have avoided it two years ago," she said.
"Two years ago, you wouldn't have used a light bullet to block your vision first."
Mira laughed.
The next moment, the jet-black scales on her body turned into magic and peeled off, and another aura, far sharper than before, rose from within her. Light blue scales covered her arms and legs, and sharp horns extended backward from her ears. Her original black wings were replaced by a pair of blue wings that were always raised upward.
"A new Take Over?" Lin Yuan asked.
"After I became S-Class, I didn't just take on grape-picking assignments."
The Satan Soul - Halafus.
Mira flapped her wings, instantly increasing her speed. She left a pale blue afterimage in the air, and high-density dark magic gathered between her palms simultaneously.
" Halphas Explosion!"
A barrage of purplish-red magic bullets rained down from above, instantly covering most of the riverbank. Lin Yuan stepped into the hail of Nameless, and with each collision, " No Interval " used its continuous turning ability to forcefully carve a path through the gaps.
The last magic bullet grazed Lin Yuan's shoulder and exploded, tearing his clothes in three places. Mira had already closed in using the explosion as cover, her enhanced claws colliding head-on with the sword's edge.
Lin Yuan met the attack with his sword drawn.
Claws and sword blades clashed more than ten times in just a few seconds. Mira, relying on her demonic body, forced her way in, each swing leaving cracks in the riverbed; Lin Yuan, on the other hand, constantly changed his sword path, directing his power into the air.
Mira suddenly folded her blue wings, and two gusts of wind from the left and right simultaneously blocked her retreat.
Lin Yuan took a step forward.
His figure didn't retreat; instead, he crossed the last stretch of distance between them, appearing at the point where Mira would find it most difficult to exert force when swinging her arm. The spatial folding lasted only a moment, as fast as ordinary footwork.
Mira immediately bent her knee and rammed it into his chest.
Lin Yuan dodged to the side, pressing the hilt of his sword against her right wrist, while his left hand simultaneously gripped her other arm. The Nameless Sword spun upwards along the last remaining gap between them, its blade stopping at the side of her neck.
Mira struggled.
The sword blade did not move, and the hands could no longer exert force.
Only the sound of their breathing remained on the riverbank.
"I lost."
Lin Yuan released his grip, took half a step back, and sheathed the " Nameless Sword".
Mira deactivated the Take Over. The light blue scales and wings dissipated as magic. She stood there, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't speak.
"Speak," Mira looked up, "What do you want me to do?"
Lin Yuan thought for a while.
He hadn't made any demands regarding the bet from years ago. This time, he still didn't immediately think of anything he absolutely needed Mira to do.
"I'll leave the wish unfulfilled for now."
Mira paused for a moment. "Owes it again?"
"Wait until I've thought it through."
You'd better not think about it for another two years.
"Won't."
Mira stared at him for a moment, and finally accepted his answer.
"Then remember it." She held out her hand. "You have a wish."
Lin Yuan took her hand.
"I remember."