As these thoughts raced through her mind, Firefly watched Aaron's sword blade swing toward her once more. This time, instead of blocking, she ignored the attack and threw a simple, straight punch.
Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer? Aaron thought, a thrill of anticipation coursing through him. From their first clash, he had realized her defense was impenetrable. He had deliberately slowed his attacks, leaving obvious openings for her to exploit.
Yet even with these vulnerabilities, Firefly fought with unwavering steadiness, as if oblivious to them. Aaron knew that sustaining close combat was rapidly draining his Magic Power. The longer the fight dragged on, the more precarious his position became; defeat was inevitable.
Just as panic began to gnaw at him, Firefly finally took the initiative. Seizing the opportunity, Aaron swiftly retreated and shifted his stance. In the next instant, a dense array of circular magic circles materialized beneath and around Firefly's feet.
Each circle was about the size of an adult's palm. From them surged silver chains, seemingly forged from the same material as Aaron's weapon and etched with glowing magical runes. The chains intertwined rapidly, instantly binding Firefly's legs, waist, and the arm she had used to punch.
Immediately, an even larger magic circle materialized above Firefly's head.
"Extreme Cold Blade!" Aaron murmured softly. This spell was renowned for its exceptional stealth, emitting virtually no magical fluctuations before activation and casting at lightning speed. Yet Aaron remained cautious, deploying it only after luring his enemy into attacking.
A person's defenses are undoubtedly weakest during an attack, significantly increasing the spell's accuracy.
With his opponent restrained, the spell's true killing power would manifest. The ice sword, forged from nearly all of Aaron's Magic Power, would plummet from the sky. Its extreme cold and razor-sharp edge could slice through even the world's toughest alloys as easily as a hot knife through butter.
Aaron had used this spell countless times, and until now, it had never failed him.
"Got him..." The instant the ice sword struck Firefly, just as a flicker of triumph crossed Aaron's face...
Crack—
A web of hairline fractures spiderwebbed across the ice sword's surface. Simultaneously, Firefly's right fist, still hurtling forward, snapped all the chains binding her and landed squarely on Aaron's cheek.
"...Got him!"
With her exceptional dynamic vision, Firefly could clearly see the ripple-like marks appearing on Aaron's cheek, like pebbles disturbing the surface of water. She watched his expression slowly morph from triumph to agony.
Teeth flew from his mouth, arcing through the air.
In that instant, Aaron's mind raced. Could this have been her plan all along?
At first glance, Firefly seemed most vulnerable during her attack. But in reality, Aaron, deluded into thinking his battle plan was succeeding, was now at his weakest.
Perhaps her relentless defense had been a deliberate strategy to deplete his stamina and Magic Power reserves. When he was on the verge of collapse, she had intentionally taken the bait, leaving him no choice but to persist with his tactical approach. Then, at the moment he mistook success for victory and lowered his guard, she had struck with lethal precision!
I've lost this round of tactical maneuvering...
As this realization struck him, Aaron spun violently like a top before crashing into the water with a splash.
Next, the countless shards of ice from the shattered sword slid off Firefly's body and scattered into the nearby water.
In truth, this supposed killing move was no different from the enemy's previous attacks. It was like a ten-point attack and a hundred-point attack striking her thousand-point defense—neither could even scratch her.
Firefly hadn't even realized it was her opponent's ultimate technique. Her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts:
As expected, SAM is incredibly tough. He can easily withstand attacks of this caliber.
But... did I go too far? Did that guy just die? I thought I held back...
Scanning the water, Firefly detected faint life signs from the man who had fallen in. He was still alive. Several soldiers were swimming toward Aaron's position, likely to rescue him soon.
Phew— Firefly mentally sighed in relief. Of course, she had to maintain her cool facade. SAM's cold, handsome voice echoed across the battlefield: "Your courage is commendable, but this foolish act is meaningless."
"Remember my name... Molten Knight SAM. Next time you challenge someone, make sure you've assessed the difference in strength between you first."
After careful consideration, Firefly chose the title "Molten Knight" over "Stellaron Hunter." This wasn't a name she'd invented; it was another term for the Glamoth Iron Cavalry, and all members of the order could be referred to as Molten Knights.
The main reason for her choice was that "Stellaron Hunter" sounded too specific. It immediately implied that Stellaron was a tangible object, and that she was a hunter who pursued it. But no such thing existed in this world—the name simply felt odd.
In contrast, "Molten Knight" sounded impressive, emphasizing the words "molten" and "knight"—simple yet cool.
Having delivered her line, Firefly wasted no time. She soared into the sky and flew toward the horizon. Since the Dimensional Rift in the Arctic Ocean wasn't what she'd expected, and she still had some time, she decided to investigate another one.
Perhaps the Dimensional Rift at the North Pole would prove to be the Otherworld type she was looking for.
-
The scene shifts back to the reporter in the Arctic Ocean, who was exclaiming repeatedly:
"Wow! Wow! Wow!"
"This is insane! One person, single-handedly crushing an elite squad of British soldiers? This is straight out of an action movie!"
"This story is going to explode! It's going to go viral!"
The reporter was already daydreaming about his imminent promotion, raise, and meteoric rise to success after publishing this story.
But his reverie was short-lived. He spotted several soldiers who had fallen into the water swimming toward his boat. "Hurry!" he yelled to the two sailors beside him. "Turn around! Get us out of here at full speed!"
The soldiers, spotting the nearby ship after their plunge, instinctively swam toward it. But the reporter had no intention of rescuing these foreign soldiers. What if they boarded the ship, hijacked it, and prevented him from breaking the story?
"Faster! Faster!" he urged relentlessly.