In that brief moment, it seemed as if they had only exchanged a single blow, but in reality, the intricate dance of feints and counters was enough to leave one dizzy if broken down.
The threads that blocked, buffered, and sought out cunning angles to approach Shu, and how Shu's released light beams advanced, scattered, and constructed an indestructible defense by turning offense into defense...
The final result appeared. A slender beam of light gently swept across the puppet, neatly slicing it in two.
But the moment the puppet was destroyed, a few threads that had been connected to it finally found an opening in Shu's defense.
They bypassed Shu, lunging straight for the train behind him.
Several straight lines of snow shot up from the ground. Without a doubt, these few lines had the power to slice the train, along with the tracks and the foundation beneath them, into several pieces.
Kiana's expression changed slightly. Although she couldn't see the threads, her intuition had been screaming at her the moment the lines of snow appeared.
Something was coming for them! Without hesitation, she turned, grabbed Sirin and Frélle, and rushed backward.
The piercing sound of tearing metal rang out and then abruptly stopped. A hand stopped inches from Frélle's nose. In the light of the train, Frélle finally saw what was in that hand.
An extremely fine thread, which was now rapidly dissolving in the light.
Shu panted, his face grim as he retracted his hand. But inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced back at the train. The entire carriage had been nearly sliced in half horizontally. If Shu hadn't caught that thread at the last second, both the carriage and Frélle would have been cut in two.
The train was still able to move forward because he was using [Hope] to support its entire structure. Although the consumption wasn't huge, it wasn't a long-term solution. He had to find a chance to properly repair the train...
Shu looked up again in the direction he had come from. The puppet he had cut down was gone. It had fled quickly, even paying a certain price to guard against a parting shot from him before he could turn around.
But Shu didn't have time for that. If Kiana hadn't suddenly jumped back with the others, Shu probably wouldn't have made it in time...
Because by the time he had reacted, the thread was already at that position. It wasn't his speed that was lacking, but his reaction time.
The faint feeling of being enveloped and slowed had also disappeared. Shu was certain that his opponent had probably retracted their [Stage], and the thread in his hand couldn't be preserved...
Shu had no direct way of finding his opponent...
---||---
Kiana sat on the floor, rubbing her head. She then patted her head, her stomach, and looked down at her legs and feet.
Good, she was still in one piece!
Looking up, she saw Shu standing in front of her with a frown. Kiana knew immediately that Shu must have returned in the nick of time.
Although her heart was still pounding from the sense of crisis, Kiana felt much more at ease now.
"Big Brother Shu, your hand!" Sirin exclaimed. Shu and Kiana both paused. They looked down and saw the blood flowing from Shu's hand.
He opened his palm, revealing a long, thin cut running through it, blood welling up from the wound.
The moment he saw his own blood, Shu's body suddenly trembled. An involuntary adverse reaction took hold.
His heart rate quickened slightly. A subconscious reaction to blood made him feel the urge to gag, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
But Shu quickly suppressed these urges. It wasn't a psychological aversion, but a purely physiological one, his body's alarm bell.
RIP—!
The sound of tearing cloth rang out. A long, clean strip of white cloth was quickly wrapped around Shu's hand. It was skillfully wound twice and tied tightly.
Shu looked up in surprise and saw that Kiana's T-shirt was now a bit shorter.
"You..." Shu opened his mouth, about to say something.
"Oh, just a simple patch-up for now," Kiana said quickly, scrambling to her feet and running off, leaving Shu standing there with his hand outstretched, stunned.
The running Kiana almost collided with Mei, who was rushing over. After a sudden stop, Kiana dodged around Mei and ran towards her own room.
"Kiana!" Mei called out after her, receiving a "Be right back!" in reply.
Mei slowed down, a little confused, and then saw the white cloth wrapped around Shu's hand.
Isn't that the shirt Kiana was wearing today?
Shu's hand is injured?
She quickly walked over to Shu. As she reached out, Shu obediently raised his hand, not daring to delay for a moment.
Mei gently unwrapped the cloth and looked at the wound on his hand, breathing a sigh of relief.
It wasn't a very serious injury... probably just a deep cut from a knife.
Wait... Shu's body... She glanced at his slightly strange complexion, and her heart grew heavy.
"I'm back, I'm back!" Kiana's stumbling voice came from the side. Shu turned his head and saw Kiana carrying a large first-aid kit.
Shu's expression changed slightly.
Kiana ran up to him and opened the box in front of him. Inside, metal syringes, unopened disposable syringes, and various bottles of medicine glinted under the light.
Shu's expression changed drastically.
"Wait..."
Kiana took out a small box of medicinal powder, a bottle that looked like alcohol, and a roll of bandages.
Shu's expression relaxed slightly.
If it was just these, there was no problem...
Kiana started working, and Shu's face fell instantly.
"Kiana, when did you learn to do this?!" Shu finally couldn't help but ask, watching her skillfully clean the wound, apply the medicine, and wrap the bandage.
He glanced at Mei, who had consciously stepped aside. He had just thought Kiana would hand these things over to Mei to handle...
"Kiana learned it herself. She's been very diligent about it," Mei said with a smile, seeing Shu look at her.
When? How did he not know?
While Shu was still puzzled, Kiana had already finished treating the wound. Shu took back his hand and stared at the beautifully done dressing, dumbfounded.
Looking up again, Kiana was standing before him with her chest puffed out, her nose in the air, like a proud cat.
"Ah... Kiana's long-practiced nursing skills have finally come in handy. How amazing..." Bronya stood at the door, delivering the praise on Shu's behalf with her dead-fish eyes.