[The wind howls furiously, the world steeped in solemn desolation.]
[Amidst the ruins and devastation, a white-haired woman stands alone atop broken walls, holding a long sword.]
[She is more luminous than the moon, yet colder than its glow.]
[Under the icy reflected light is an extraordinarily youthful face—one that could topple nations—yet the light in her eyes is no longer young, instead mirroring utter lifelessness.]
[Perhaps her eyes have already died, staring vacantly, soullessly, at the man slowly approaching her with a glaive through the countless frozen Cloud Knights...]
"Oh! Isn't that the general from the Luofu?" Stark recognized immediately.
"It seems this time, the Celestial Screen wants to show us just how powerful General Jing Yuan really is," Stark said with an eager expression. "Hmph... He's an Emanator-level powerhouse. Who could possibly stand against him if he fights seriously?"
"Stark, don't just watch—try to learn some of his close-combat techniques too," Frieren reminded him.
Initially, she had wanted to advise Stark to study Seele's melee moves, thinking they might be useful against powerful monsters. But every time Seele appeared, the boy couldn't help but stare at her bare thighs... which often angered Fern, eventually leading to him being banned from watching whenever Seele was on screen.
This time, surely nothing would go wrong, right?
[Under crimson auroras, the woman stands expressionless atop the ruins, looking down at Jing Yuan from above.]
[Jing Yuan lifts his gaze slightly, taking in her face—unchanged for centuries—as memories flood his mind in an instant.]
[Once upon a time...]
[Her eyes still held light, bright and vivid, stern yet seemingly smiling.]
["Heed this oath! As clouds that cover the heavens, will the knights protect the Xianzhou! Draw!"]
[The woman stands in the grand hall, surrounded by Cloud Knights, unsheathing the sword at her waist.]
[And before her... is none other than a young child—Jing Yuan in his youth.]
["Yes, Master!"]
[Little Jing Yuan shouts with undiminished vigor, drawing his blade. But as the sword gleams and fades... the past and present merge, and he slowly raises his glaive.]
["As clouds that cover the heavens, will the knights protect the Xianzhou!"]
[Once, he drew his sword to follow his master. Now, he swings his glaive to kill her.]
[As he raises his blade, the woman taps lightly with her foot—in an instant, a sharp, piercing sound cuts through the air, crisp and shrill like a crane's cry, striking like a feathered needle.]
[Faster than sound... is her sword!]
"So fast!" Cocytus nearly exclaimed aloud as the woman moved. But the thought barely crossed his mind before she was already upon Jing Yuan.
Her flight was like lightning, bending impossibly mid-air—behind her, radiant light trailed like the skirts of a lunar deity, dazzling as a meteor shower!
"Could she be the Emanator?" Adjusting his glasses, an unusual look of surprise and confusion crossed Demiurge's face. "At this speed..."
"Shalltear, didn't you spar with that swordsman from the Kingdom?" Demiurge asked. "How would you compare them?"
Only after his reminder did Shalltear vaguely recall such a person—when she attacked a band of mercenaries, a swordsman named Brain had charged at her. She had complimented his nail care back then, but compared to this woman...
The difference was like heaven and earth—no, even greater, though Shalltear couldn't think of a more fitting analogy.
"Hehe," Shalltear forced out a bitter smile. "I think she could kill me in one strike."
"Even in full battle gear?" Demiurge couldn't fathom Shalltear being instantly defeated—after all, the Supreme Beings had taken considerable effort to subdue her.
If she admitted she could be one-shotted, wasn't that indirectly admitting this woman was stronger than Lord Ainz?
At this thought, a trace of displeasure rose in Demiurge's heart, and he raised his tone slightly: "Don't you have your Spuit Lance? As long as you can wound her, you can continuously recover stamina, no?"
"That's true in theory... but only if I can actually land a hit on her."
After saying this, Shalltear's already wax-pale complexion seemed to grow even paler.
——
Meanwhile, in the Demon Slayer world...
The Hashira stood frozen in shock, mouths agape yet unable to look away from the battle between the woman and Jing Yuan.
...It was complete one-sided suppression.
To them, Jing Yuan—wielding his glaive—was already immensely skilled. Though he couldn't mount an offense, the fact that he hadn't been instantly killed under such speed was proof of his strength!
"Gyomei... can you see their techniques?" Kanroji asked the Stone Hashira, widely regarded as the strongest.
"No... I can't. Neither see nor memorize them."
Though blind, the images from the Celestial Screen projected directly into his mind. He didn't ask for much—just to barely grasp one or two of the woman's moves. But it was still too fast!
Among all Breathing Styles, Thunder Breathing held the title of "Godspeed," with its First Form enabling bursts of speed akin to lightning—achieved by compressing muscles through breathing techniques.
But every Thunder Hashira knew the First Form couldn't be used repeatedly for long—human limits were absolute. Muscles would tire; this was an unbreakable rule.
Yet this woman...
Every swing of her sword surpassed Thunder Breathing's First Form in speed. And she only grew faster, her killing intent intensifying, as if she would never exhaust.
[Under the storm-like assault, Jing Yuan struggles increasingly, appearing thoroughly battered.]
[With a furious roar, time seems to rewind for him—back to dusk in days long past.]
["Hold tight!"]
[Facing a sweat-drenched little Jing Yuan after a day of sword practice, the woman only sternly commands: "A Cloud Knight must never lose grip of their weapon, nor let their form slacken!"]
["Yes, Master!"]
[But now... though Jing Yuan's glaive moves like wind, what meets him is the woman's sword tip—lunging forth the moment her foot taps the ground again.]
[The cold strikes like midwinter snow, rushing toward his face.]
[And this sword flashes like light itself, aimed straight between his brows.]
Stark shivered as he watched.
"Aren't they master and disciple?! Do they have to fight so lethally?!" Stark whined, on the verge of tears. "And how am I supposed to learn anything from this?!"