A Spent Blood Knight vs. Alexia at Full Strength

The battle-axe let out a low whoosh as it swung down toward the Blood Knight.

Alexia was well-trained, but the speed she displayed now went far beyond what training alone could explain.

Elza's blessing had significantly enhanced Alexia's physical abilities.

On top of that, the Fire Elemental was quietly lending its power as well.

As a result, Alexia's combat capability right now was exceptionally high.

And unlike Azu, who was still being tossed around by power she couldn't control, Alexia had the skill to wield it properly.

The Blood Knight used his two back-mounted arms to try to catch the battle-axe.

Two crossed swords met the axe head.

Metal clashed against metal, but the battle-axe didn't stop.

It pushed through and lopped off one of the arms.

The stump was cauterized on contact.

The battle-axe slammed into the ground.

Alexia put force into her right wrist, wrenched the axe back up, and thrust the head at the Blood Knight.

This time the Blood Knight used all three remaining arms to block.

That was enough to stop it. She couldn't break through three at once.

"The girl may surpass you in raw power, but in technique, you are superior."

"Why, thank you."

After accepting the compliment, Alexia channeled mana into the battle-axe and triggered a fire spell.

A gout of flame erupted from the axe head and engulfed the Blood Knight.

"A little something extra, as thanks."

She pulled the axe back and opened some distance.

The Blood Knight flailed his swords as though trying to shake off the fire.

"Hard to tell if it's working just by looking."

"Don't worry, it seems to be working."

Elza tossed a vial of holy water from behind.

Alexia caught it mid-flight and poured it over the battle-axe.

"I hope so."

She gripped the axe in both hands and readied her stance.

The Blood Knight's arms hadn't regenerated. Cauterizing the wounds seemed to be working.

Alexia advanced.

The hem of her battle dress fluttered as she moved.

One of the Blood Knight's swords thrust toward her chest.

She sidestepped it with a fluid twist.

In the same motion, she torqued her body to the right and spun.

Once, twice, three times.

Each rotation built more momentum through centrifugal force.

The Blood Knight's remaining two swords came crashing down, and Alexia swung her battle-axe to meet them.

With all that rotational force behind it, she drove the blow home.

Something shattered on impact.

What shattered was the Blood Knight's swords.

The battle-axe continued into the Blood Knight's torso.

The sensation was different from when she'd cut his arm. It reminded her of hitting hard rubber.

She couldn't cut all the way through, but the Blood Knight was sent flying.

"Azu put up quite the fight."

She looked at the shattered sword fragments.

They were turning to ash and vanishing.

Stronger than the Blue Knight, yet Alexia was still dominating him. That was because Azu had given everything she had, massively depleting the Blood Knight's power.

At full strength, this never would have been possible. Alexia could feel that.

(She really does push herself hard for someone so small.)

Alexia was impressed.

It was precisely because Azu had fought to the absolute limit that the rescue had come in time.

The Blood Knight rose to his feet.

Just as Elza had said, even if the damage wasn't visible, it was clearly accumulating.

Blood was seeping from where the battle-axe had struck.

The Blood Knight retracted his back-mounted arms, and the severed arm grew back.

It didn't seem to be true regeneration.

"Not just a Water Elemental, but a Fire Elemental as well. Truly, what else can I call this but fate."

The Blood Knight said this as he produced a new sword.

One of the red circles that served as his eyes vanished in the process.

Pouring that much power into the sword had cost the Blood Knight himself.

Even so, it must have been a necessary decision to counter Alexia's battle-axe.

The Blood Knight took his stance.

It was the Ash King's stance.

"I'd like to ask you something before I finish you."

"What is it."

"What exactly are you?"

"Hmm… I've forgotten."

That was obviously a lie.

No being capable of forgetting itself could persist as a monster this powerful.

"I see. Well, never mind then."

Alexia said this and readied her battle-axe.

She'd sparred with Azu enough times that the stance was familiar to her.

The Blood Knight's execution of it would be on an entirely different level, of course.

The Blood Knight moved first.

Fast.

Despite the ample distance between them, he closed it in an instant.

From his stance, he thrust forward. Alexia brought the tip of her axe to meet it, but between the momentum and the Blood Knight's raw strength, the thrust wouldn't stop.

She managed to deflect it, though.

The sword grazed Alexia's cheek, leaving a faint wound.

Blood beaded along the cut.

"Scarring a maiden's skin is rather ungentlemanly, don't you think?"

"I never claimed to be a gentleman."

"Oh? Is that so. Then allow me to educate you."

Alexia released her battle-axe and pressed both hands against the Blood Knight's chest.

"I forgot to mention, but I'm actually a mage."

"I've never seen a mage like you. You'd sooner pass for a warrior."

"Even after this?"

Compressed fire ignited from her palms.

An advanced-tier spell amplified by the fire brooch and the Fire Elemental.

She'd been preparing it since the fight began. Now she released it.

At this range, Alexia herself would be caught in the blast, but she didn't care.

The Blood Knight was weakened, but he still had enough power to kill them all.

She poured in an ironclad resolve to end it here and now.

"Eat this."

An explosion erupted. The blast roared outward, devouring everything in its path.

Behind them, Elza and Kazusa ducked behind a boulder just in time.

A violent gust of wind followed immediately after.

"Wow, flashy as ever, Alexia-chan."

"I've never seen magic like that. Is she actually an advanced-tier mage?"

"Probably, at least when it comes to fire. The power-over-everything approach is very her."

Eventually the shockwave subsided, and Elza peeked out from behind the rock.

She stopped Kazusa from doing the same, just to be safe.

Standing there, her battle dress a little worse for wear, was Alexia.

They say a mage who dies to their own spell is a novice. Alexia's skill as a mage was beyond question.