The mere slash kicked up a breeze, forcing the arm high in the air.
Ciel's eyes followed as the arm fell in an arc, across from her and the bleeding Quia, before a girl, with her back against them, caught it without casting a glance.
Blood soaked the girl's suit sleeve, draining its jet-black colour. As her hand let down Quia's arm, she stared back to reveal a blue, piercing gaze, the crystal-like irises revealing the savagery of a beast.
The blackcat'st ears, adorned in the equally black hair, twitched with interest. As she brought up the elf's arm, her sharp nose took a simple, curious, innocent sniff.
She made a face, then casually threw it away.
In that split second, the resolved Ciel raised her staff. Yet the catgirl matched her decisiveness, as she clenched onto the sheathed katana at her waist.
The catgirl's thumb flung, casting the sword of its shell.
And with a blue ray flickering, her figure disappeared in a flash, only to appear right before Ciel with both her arms raised for a downward swing.
Ciel's enhanced senses tingled. Her body melted into mist as the sword flashed, meeting only the air.
The catgirl's pupils followed the moving mist. Before she could give chase-
"Stripey. Paw!"
A paw swung with tremendous speed. The catgirl leapt, yet the fist closed the distance in a blink.
Her figure blasted off with the punch's impact, retreating into the forest's shade following a couple of crashes.
"Quia."
"...mm."
Without another word, Quia tossed a few crystals to Ciel, summoned from her dimensional magic.
"Can you…" Ciel glanced at Quia's right arm, now turned into a cleaved stump that bled like rivers.
She munched on crystals, the refreshing sensation healing the bitterness in her heart.
"Of course I can…!" Quia mustered up a shout as she summoned another red potion. After plucking the lid open, she dunked it down without a care.
The red stump folded, before fibre-like fresh began travelling down from her shoulder. It squirmed and converged together, a process that revealed utter pain from Quia's face, sweating of exhaustion.
The arm eventually grew back, yet the trembling fingers suggested it was deprived of strength. It would be useless until much, much later.
"God damn it… did you see that catgirl just now?"
Ciel tilted her head, frowning.
She was sure that the girl was a Stormveil. Barely a hesitation, quick reaction speed, and inhumane kinetics.
But Quia's chortling expression smelled like fear. And the strong elf rarely feared anything.
"What was it?"
"She- uh," Quia explained. "Right as the paw punched forth, her legs bent and pressed into Stripey's fingers, before launching herself away with the strike to 'dodge' it."
Quia seethed her teeth. "This is some ridiculous reflex. What did they give the kids in Stormveil to eat nowadays?"
Ciel's lips pursed.
If it were the past her, her monstrous instinct would've caught the catgirl's stunt.
It seems the need to level up grew more apparent after each battle.
"Focus," Ciel gripped onto her staff. "This is far from over."
The catgirl's strength, Ciel estimated, amounted to at least high tenebra III.
For reference, all of Ciel's opponents were either low or high Tenebra II. Quia, the strongest she met so far, was barely on the margin of Tenebra III.
"I have a plan."
Ciel whispered. They had to defeat this Stormveil quickly, first by limiting her movement.
"Do tell now."
Quia's mumble grew urgent. Amongst the dark trees and bushes before them, rustles echoed as footsteps accompanied them, a sign of the Stormveil's recovery.
"Remember the river from earlier?"
Quia froze. Her pupils wandered, then a confident grin crept up her lips.
"Who will be the bait?" Instantly understanding the plan, the elf chuckled.
"I will. From that exchange just now, the Stormveil would take me the weakest." Ciel lowered her staff. "So, she should be rushing in three… two-"
Her waist bent backward. The blade arced overhead, narrowly grazing her round nose, before Ciel's form dissipated into moving mist again.
"Stri-"
A kick followed up to Quia's chin, smashing the elf's teeth together to silence the chant.
Meanwhile, the catgirl's eyes flickered. Then she moved rightward, following the mist.
Ciel then flew, landing herself atop a branch, as she stared down at the catgirl from high-up.
As expected, Stormveil's blade flung and sliced the trunk. It fell apart, but Ciel escaped into the mist again, hovering over to another branch.
A frown crossed the catgirl's brows as she sprinted. Ciel manifested, then she cut down a tree before the dastardly girl moved to another.
A path of innocent trees began to collapse in their chase, tumbling over like dominos.
Worries eroded Ciel's heart as the catgirl's movement began to catch up, each slice faster than the next.
And right as Ciel manifested again, her foot stumbled over the crippled branch as the tree toppled over before she knew.
Her calm, flat eyes lingered atop. The catgirl's figure now sprang herself right above Ciel, caught the moonlight's embrace as she lifted the katana with both her hands.
Big mistake. Even as Ciel's body descended from 10-feet high, she took the risk to aim her staff.
A blue ray fired, assured that the target can't dodge mid-air easily.
Yet the catgirl's hand merely stretched. The palm grasped the moonblast. Blue mana shattered away at the touch, as supposed to frying her hand.
"...huh…"
An almost surprised gasp escaped Ciel.
Up until now, her moonblast had been one-shotting everyone on its path.
The Stormveil, a high tenebra-III target, was clearly the limit.
Watching the scorched palm, Ciel read the pain on the catgirl's face.
And right as her back almost hit the ground, the sword descended near her face-
Swish! Quia scooped away Ciel as the slash struck into the soil. A slice of hair lingered, but an inch further would be Ciel's neck.
"Ah, damn it damn it damn it!"
Quia's jumble of curses followed her sprint. Her arms, one still trembling without strength, carried Ciel as she weaved through the maze of trees.
Footsteps drummed behind, louder and louder. It didn't take a second guess whose it was.
"Ciel!"
As they neared the river, Quia lifted Ciel high above her shoulders, her right arm convulsing as she gritted her teeth through the pain.
"Brace yourself!"
With a shout, they finally left the forest for a familiar, wide shore, before Quia flung Ciel's body across the river.
Ciel, having prepared herself, disappeared into the mist again as she watched from the other side.
The elf spun around as the catgirl stepped onto the shore. The momentum carried into her next swing, the katana gleaming near the elf's head.
Yet Quia's kick ascended to crash into the catgirl's chin before her brain was sliced. A payback from before.
The catgirl winced, the elf seized the opening, gripping her suit's collar before hurling her overhead.
Splashes of water exploded as the catgirl's figure crashed into the large river.
And as she recovered to stand, she paused, realising half her legs were submergedino the fast, running water.
The sheer weight of the waves slammed into her legs as she lifted them to adjust her posture with difficulty.
All except Quia. As the elf dropped into the river, the wind magic shielded her skin, allowing her to move normally.
"And now."
She put up a fighting stance, right as Ciel raised her staff on the other side.
"We dragged her into our territory."
Ciel, who thought the same, bit her lips.
She had a feeling the battle had just truly started.