We Will Win

Xingsu had been separated from the others when the Hunting Game began.

Xingsu kept a cool head. Crucabena must have sealed off an area and made the children fight to the death inside it. His goal was perfectly clear: find Crucabena. He also trusted Peruere; she had to be searching for Crucabena too. Even if the two of them failed to meet, the sounds of a fight with Crucabena should draw the other over.

After all, this was their last chance to fight together.

How would he find Crucabena? The answer was that he did not need to. She would come to him herself.

After briefly getting his bearings, Xingsu headed east. The farther east he went, the more likely he was to encounter people. Crucabena could never stand by and let anyone meet people from the Court of Fontaine.

"You have the courage to overthrow me, but not to face all of this?" At some point, Crucabena had appeared behind the boy whose eyes brimmed with anger and resolve. Her voice was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable authority. "I know you want to kill me. You think I'm cruel and cold, that I've sent countless children to their deaths. But you must understand: weak kindness cannot protect anyone. Only by surviving the slaughter and crushing your fragile, childish heart can you truly live.

"Come. You learn faster than any child I've ever seen. Your talent is unmatched. I can allow you this little rebellion and forgive everything you've done before, so long as you obey me. I can make you the strongest king!"

But Xingsu had long since seen through this false home to the stark white bones buried within.

He had witnessed the brutal training and his companions' horrific deaths with his own eyes, seen countless kind souls mercilessly crushed and forcibly indoctrinated with Crucabena's already diseased beliefs. He had long since grown utterly disgusted with this twisted preaching.

He did not hesitate in the slightest. Only icy resolve remained in his eyes as he flatly refused. "Is the survival you preach built on piles of children's bones?! As our 'mother,' can you only discipline children through brainwashing and violence?! I will never accept a House of the Hearth like this, or rules like these!"

With that, Xingsu abruptly drew his sword. A fierce flash of steel tore through the air, hurtling straight toward Crucabena's face.

"Hah. You overestimate yourself." Crucabena shifted slightly to one side and raised her sword to block the strike, then swiftly eased off and slashed back at Xingsu.

Xingsu held his sword upright before him and blocked the blow. Following through with her horizontal slash, Crucabena raised her leg and kicked. Though Xingsu successfully blocked the attack, the heavy kick still sent him stumbling.

Crucabena pressed her attack, drawing on the power of her Hydro Vision to summon three water lances that shot straight at Xingsu.

His face, abdomen, and heart-the three water lances went straight for his vital points. His usually harsh training and cool head let Xingsu quickly find a counter: dodge right, slash down. He successfully neutralized a water lance's attack.

The enormous gulf in their strength had become fully apparent in their very first exchange.

Xingsu had clearly attacked first, yet Crucabena had countered his offensive and suppressed him in return.

"Not bad. Then let me see whether you truly have what it takes to overthrow me!"

Stay calm. I can't keep taking hits like this. Crucabena has all sorts of attacks, and she has a Vision too. If I only defend, she'll wear me down to exhaustion. I have to attack!

If one move doesn't work, then try another. One of them has to hurt her!

The edge he had honed through years of training day and night and countless brutal trials was unleashed in full. His sword was swift, steady, and ruthless. Every move was a killing strike tempered in deadly combat, without a trace of childish immaturity-only blood-soaked composure and ferocity.

The boy poured everything he had learned in his life into the fight, channeling all the anger, frustration, and grief he had suppressed for years into his moves. He put every ounce of strength into each swing, all to overthrow this absurd, cruel order. His blade whistled through the air, his relentless attacks building layer upon layer, cutting off every avenue Crucabena had to dodge.

Crucabena's expression tightened slightly, and she finally set aside her earlier contempt.

She raised her sword horizontally to block, and the ringing clash of metal erupted without pause. Fierce attacks and defenses alternated with blinding speed. Hydro and Xingsu's biting blade repeatedly collided and burst between them, sending fragments and cold air flying in every direction.

With exceptional reflexes and the will to stake his life, Xingsu steadily met every one of Crucabena's attacks. He feared neither injury nor her oppressive presence. He gave every swing his all, each strike aimed straight at a vital point, several nearly slipping through gaps in Crucabena's defenses.

Though Crucabena countered him move by move and fought with composure, a measure of surprise had already risen within her. Most children who fought her lost within three moves, yet Xingsu had relied on his courage alone to fight her for dozens of exchanges without falling behind.

But their stalemate was only temporary. The power Xingsu unleashed by wringing himself dry and burning through his life could not, in the end, match the combat prowess Crucabena had accumulated over the years.

Xingsu's breathing began to quicken. The muscles in his arms shook violently from the sustained, intense fighting, and the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers repeatedly went numb from the impacts. A barely perceptible sluggishness gradually crept into his formerly fierce swordplay. He was still desperately pressing the attack, desperately searching for an opening, but his body was gradually becoming unable to withstand this endless battle at its limits.

"What? Is this the extent of your strength? Do you know that when your ability cannot match your ambition, it is called arrogance?" Crucabena remained as elegant as ever, standing proudly in place.

No. At this rate, I'll definitely lose. The fight has made a lot of noise. Peruere should already be on her way. I can still buy a little time and weaken Crucabena... Peruere, you have to give it your all.

"Hah, what does Nicole knowing have to do with me? All I know is that right now, I'm going to defeat you!"

A piercing clash of metal erupted.

Xingsu brought his sword down with all his strength, only for her to block it one-handed. An immense force rebounded along the blade, numbing his entire arm. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger split open at once and seeped blood. His sword shook so violently that he could barely hold its hilt.

Before he could recover, Crucabena raised her elbow and drove it squarely into his torso.

A suffocating pain abruptly exploded through him. Xingsu stumbled violently backward, a sickly, metallic sweetness surging into his chest as he nearly coughed up blood on the spot. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to stay upright. Refusing to concede, he raised his sword and charged again, his blade taking tricky, vicious paths as he tried to find the slightest opening.

But all his struggles were already futile.

Crucabena raised her hand and swept her sword, its edge so fast that only a cold flash remained. She precisely flicked his blade aside, then reversed her hand and pressed down in the same motion.

A sharp crack rang out.

The longsword was jolted straight out of Xingsu's hand and fell heavily onto the cold stone ground with a despairing clatter.

The instant he lost his weapon, the blade at Crucabena's fingertips was already at his throat, its chill piercing to the bone, without the slightest mercy.