Another hit again, and once more, Medea was forced to take a couple of steps backward while having her blade in front of her; this time, it’s no longer just her hand trembling from the impact of their exchange, but even her blade is shaking now as well.

"Ahem... aren’t you quite ungentlemanly, Junior Novus, you’ve been trying to hit a noble lady in the guts for quite some time now..." as she regains her footing again, just waiting for her next exchange with her opponent, she asked, her tone still a bit playful but the seriousness slightly creeping up as well.

Still, her face sports that same enchanting, yet nevertheless unhinged smile, a clear hallmark that she is as far away from being normal as one can get.

"Say what you want, Senior Medea, but it’s exactly because I find it uncomfortable to hit a female in the face that you are not receiving any hits higher than your guts" Novus retorted as he rotates his fist that is also starting to get really uncomfortable from the repeated exchange too, not only does it twitch from the pain of its flesh being torn apart with each exchange, but past a certain point, each hit begins feeling unsatisfying as well.

Almost as if there’s something lacking. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Still, he thought that if he continues to fight and search for ways he can improve himself under the stress and pressure of combat, then he will be able to find a way to supplement this feeling of something lacking, and having confidence in his way of figuring things out, he felt like it was only a matter of time before he achieves that.

"Fufu~~ is this really the same junior who refuses to acknowledge me as a lady?" hearing his remarks, she asked in a teasing tone as she decided to change the pace a little, taking the initiative now as she is in the losing side of things for quite some time now, making her play around the hilt of her blade as impatience starts sprouting in her mind.

She lunges, reinforcing her legs with mana as her body shoots forward, crossing several meters of gap between the two of them within mere moments, standing face to face with him the next as she uses both hands to lift the blade, intending to bring it down on her opponent’s head.

It was too late to dodge, so Novus reacted, fast, bringing up both his arms to parry the blow, mana swirling more erratically around them as two torrents absorbing it greedily contest each other, one torrent flowing towards the entirety of Medea’s body, circulating even towards her own extension, her blade.

The other flow was absorbed by Novus, reinforcing his body the only way he knows of, unrefined, completely barbaric, wrapping mana around his bones, flesh, and skin while gritting his teeth, preparing for the brunt of the impact about to hit him.

Flesh and blade come into contact once more, but this time, it doesn’t only scratch; no, it shatters bones as the blade turns the hard, solid mass into nothing but pieces and smithereens.

Medea just stares at her junior’s face as his lips and the corners of his eyes twitched, the young man feeling his blocking arm tremble as he barely kept a shout back down his throat while feeling a surge of electrifying shock hit his mind, True Immortal Blood’s drawback proven to be weighing down on his mental capacity as well as a word repeats itself time and time again in his mind.

Pain, atrocious, inhumane pain.

"I said female, not lady... it might not be that different, but it is... You will know that if you’re really a lady, Senior Medea" still, he kept himself composed enough not to show, as he refuses to back down on the other battle happening while their weapons clashed, retorting to her previous words once more, making her grit her teeth in annoyance once his words are carried to her ears.

As he said those words, he also used his supporting, undamaged arm to lock the blade further on its current spot, the maniacal smile on his face sending shivers down her spine as she watches him approach, forcing her to draw out even more explosive power from Blade Enchantment Magic as her instincts scream to her mind of something.

Danger.

Even with both his arms occupied with her blade.

And with this very instinct already saving herself from multiple precarious situations, there’s nothing else that she hesitates with as she draws out even more explosive power by utilizing Blade Enchantment Magic even stronger than before, her body heating up in the process of being augmented by far more mana than she can usually handle.

But it pays off, the sudden burst of unexpected power far stronger than her previous output went past Novus’ guard, the blade slipping out of his grasp as his opponent creates significant distance between the two of them once more.

Hence, the reason why the incoming kick aimed at her legs hit nothing but the air, wind swirling and shooting forward, was a testament to how dangerous it would have been had it just hit its intended target.

’What a monster.’

They both thought the lady watching the deep, supposedly grievous wound was already beginning to heal without any interruption.

’It’s healing that fast even when affected by Blade Enchantment... what terrifying regenerative prowess...’ she thought to herself, feeling her arms shake, as if she’s getting more and more tired from bearing the brunt of the impact of their previous clashes.

’She even managed to avoid that... Senior Medea... just how quick does that mind of yours work?’ he remarked, recalling her response to him locking her down on extreme close quarters, that explosive strength she generated near instantaneously, as well as the instinct to avoid an attack that she had yet to witness for their entire fight, making him understand how terrifying she truly is.

They stood there, staring at each other, seemingly trying to feel out whether the other one would move or not.

"Just as I expected, you’re completely different from what rumors say about you, Junior Novus... you’re strong... to the point that the me from when I was a freshman would’ve struggled fighting against you..." There was no movement; however, there was sound as she opened her lips once again, words of acknowledgement coming out of her mouth.

And it surprised, no, it shocked the young man more than he ever thought it would.

His body froze, not from the exhaustion of battle that caught up because of this relaxed moment, but rather from his mind being unable to think of what to reply to the words told to him.

Eventually, a single word came out of his mouth, perhaps gratitude towards her for saying those genuine words, or perhaps gratitude towards her for not taking advantage of the moment where he was frozen to a standstill just because of said words.

"Thank you, Senior Medea."

He mutters, causing the unhinged expression on her enchanting face to grow softer into a satisfied smile.

"That’s Lady Medea for you~~" she said, and without warning, she swung her blade once again.

Only now did he notice that the blade was glowing, brighter than ever before.