Infinite Realm

Over a minute had passed since Sato and Cecilia had started exchanging blows. Rather than calling it exchanging, it was more of Cecilia attacking with Sato running around the place as he tried to dodge. Cecilia didn't give him any breathing space to counter so Sato was always forced to be on his feet lest he gets injured. However, it wasn't like there were no gains in this for him.

Having survived for this long, Sato became confident in his suspicions. Cecilia couldn't use her full strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had any chance to react and would have been dead long ago. 

As for the reason why this was so, Sato believed it to be due to her injuries. No matter what, the injuries he had seen on her body back at the wreckage site were real. The HP potion was only able to take care of the surface wounds but her internal injuries were still there. Even the herbal mixture Sato had prepared according to Fudo's instructions was only meant to heal some of them to enable her to wake up from her coma. In summary, Cecilia still had a few injuries and they were the more difficult ones to handle.

Even though he knew this, however, this didn't mean that Sato was a match for her.

'Damn this brat. How is he holding on?' Cecilia cursed inwardly.

She had thought that she could take Sato down without a hitch but he had constantly been dodging her attacks by utilizing the terrain to the fullest. If the duo had been duking it out in a wide-open space, Sato would have lost to her since. However, he had been relying on the trees for cover and meandering through the area with ease, making it difficult for Cecilia to land a hit. 

If she were in her peak form, this wouldn't have been an issue as the speed of attacks would have been something Sato couldn't avoid. Even if he could, she would have just razed this little forest to the ground without care or compassion. Sadly, Cecilia was unable to employ such methods. 

It wasn't just because she was unable to perform such spells but that Cecilia didn't want to alert any monsters in the river.

The great Lorls river was home to a lot of powerful monsters. The deeper one went into the river, the more terrifying the monsters become. Apart from that, in the deeper parts of Maldora Canyon, the monsters that made a home from the river weren't easy pickings. If she actually went on and razed this part of the riverbank, Cecilia might attract the attention or even ire of some of these monsters. In her peak state, Cecilia wouldn't be scared of these 'shallow-dwellers'[1] but her current form simply didn't allow that. It would be even worse if she were to draw one of those freaks in the river. Even if Sato were to die, Cecilia would unconditionally end up escorting him to the afterlife.

'Wait!' Cecilia suddenly widened her eyes.

She had yet to realise anything strange with Sato running around in a random manner as he dodged her attacks but as her mind had recalled the existence of the river monsters, Cecilia suddenly realised that Sato had been running in the direction of the river. He was leading her towards it.

'B*stard! I almost fell for it.' Cecilia gritted her teeth in fury.

If she had not recalled the fact that the Lorls river contained some monsters that even the current her couldn't handle, then she might have unwittingly stepped into Sato's 'trap'.

"Get back here, you animal!" Cecilia growled.

This time around, she decided to use her full strength. While it was true that her injury prevented her from using her peak abilities, the current strength she wielded was still fearsome. It was only because she was afraid of worsening her injuries that Cecilia had limited herself. But with the risk of Sato escaping and her life at potential risk of death, Cecilia didn't care about worsening her injuries.

*Whoosh*

A huge green wave arose with the motion of Cecilia's arms. Like great tidal waves, the green wave blitzed forward with great momentum, bringing down any obstacle in its path without fail.

Sato glanced behind him to see the terrifying force heading his way. With a frown, Sato immediately sped up as he tried to avoid its area of reach.

*Stth* *Stth*

Whatever the green aura touched immediately disintegrated out of existence. If not for the damaged soil that remained in the wake of the aura's destruction, one wouldn't have known that a great destruction had taken place here.

*Whoosh*

The aura eventually faded out of existence after wreaking havoc within a 15 metres space.

No lifeform was left in its wake as the entire greenery -both shrubs and trees- was wiped out of existence. The uneven ground, which was a result of the billowing motions of the green wave, was the only thing left visible, apart from a certain figure.

"Sky Blade." Cecilia said with a bit of surprise but more of frustration. 

Her attack had come out without any alert and the speed of the waves wasn't slow. The destructive capabilities were even more alarming as just a slight touch was enough to send a living being to the other side[2]. But Sato had somehow avoided it. 

Cecilia already had a gauge on his speed, having pursued Sato for quite a significant distance, so there was no way she would have given him a chance to escape her attack. 

The abrupt timing of her attack as well as the speed of the green waves were all tailored to take Sato down without a hitch, but he had somehow come out of the development.

'Just what the hell is going on here?' Cecilia couldn't help but wonder. Nonetheless, she still retained a dominant outward appearance in front of Sato as if everything was still under control.

"Haha. Surrender now and I will let you have a fast and easy death. Behind you is the great Lorls River and you have nowhere else to run to." Cecilia declared.

While Cecilia's words were a bit exaggerated, they were quite true. 

Of the four cardinal directions, Sato's front was occupied by Cecilia while behind him was as she had stated, the Lorls river. As for his two sides, if Sato were to make a move, Cecilia was sure that she would be able to land a heavy attack at him -one that would be very difficult to dodge. But even with that in mind, she still didn't want to leave behind any risk.

*Vrim* *Vrim*

Suddenly magic runes took shape by the two sides of Sato forming runes that blockaded his path. 

Cecilia's green aura wave attack from before was actually a two-pronged attack. The first was the one in the light, being the obvious green aura wave. The second was in the dark, which were these runes that had just made their appearance. 

While they looked like runes, these were actually the effects of a special type of talisman that Cecilia had activated. Stepping on them would be the same as coming under the attack of a very powerful spell. Even a level 20 [Guardian] would shy away from these runes much less Sato. They blockaded the path and made it such that there was only two entrances and exit. One behind and the other in front. With the fact that the Lorls river was behind him and Cecilia in front of him, there was no escape.

"It's over." Cecilia grinned.

The only reason Sato had survived this long had to do with her holding back and him utilizing the terrain to dodge her attack effectively. With Cecilia removing the limit on her strength and the entire place having been destroyed to form a plain, Sato seemed to have all his previous advantages as his end looked to draw near.

"We will meet again, and the next time we do, it will be my win."

Before Cecilia could even react to his word, Sato immediately turned around and dived into the river.

'Eh? Nani?"