A cold stand-off between two familiar fighters rested amongst snow and a multi-colored pool. Both waited for a move, but also Dareia still offered Eudokia an opportunity. The clear view of power betweewo put Dareia at a decided advah the snow field rgely eroded away.

  “Overfidence isn’t like you, Eudokia. You know you ’t be holding back against me.”

  “This will be enough.” She focused on her Field trating deeply on it. The maximum radius of the snow began to shrink revealing the park once more. As the Illusioightehe tested liween their Fields moved. It pushed slowly a meter further away and then another. The new line halted close to the equidistant poiween them. However, the slight advantage remaio Dareia.

  “It would seem that stubborn streak remains.”

  Chapter 37 – Secret Lives

  Eudokia breathed slowly, maintaining her focus. ‘I ’t let Yuki near… I o end this quickly, but as I am, that’ll be difficult…’ She materialized the chakram in her right hand with a linking to the pommel of her sword. All the snow in the Field suddenly shifted to ice.

  A wry smile came over Dareia watg Eudokia prepare. “Baring fangs, but not your cws. Let’s test that stubbornness of yours and see how long it sts.” She swung her sword in an ar front of her, geing a glow. Like before, energy shot out of it in a white arc.

  Without rea from Eudokia, the ice shot up as pilrs of hexagons. Uhe barrier she made before, this held tight until the energy faded. Eudokia leapt into the air to nd on an outstretched k of ice.

  The moment her foot nded on the ice, it stretched out rapidly. Despite the ice appearance, her feet gripped the surface effortlessly as it seowards the enemy. With her momentum, Eudokia jumped from her ptform bringing down her sword upon Dareia.

  Their csh rippled sparks around them. Ice from her Field flung at the woman. Small bsts of energy radiant out from the assassin’s sword. Each danced around evading or defleg away sedary attacks. Clouds of id liquid dyes rained around them in minor explosions. No clear advatled between them yet.

  Pushing Eudokia back with her sword, Dareia made a little room for herself. “Fair enough. I’ll put in more effort.” She stamped her foot into the liquid Field. Red colors coalesced together. They quickly separated into orbs that hovered in the air. Four in total gathered and sped towards Eudokia at inhuman speeds.

  Only her automated defense of ice saved her. Yet it wasn’t halted, it shattered into smaller particles that sank into the ice like acid. It slowed down enough that she could react by drawing up more defenses. ‘Dammit, she’s keepi bay while she ges modes. I wao stop her from utilizing her Field. Despite the time I spent with her, she had little opportunity to use her power in bat. So I know nothing about what every color do, just the fun of the Field…’

  Ohe time had been bought, the assault ended. Dareia revealed her sword upgraded to a bastard sword length, though wider and with a blue tint throughout the metal. Her previous body suit was coated in a green pattern of geometric symbols and shapes. It almost looked like a magic array had been painted over her, but it morphed stantly into nees from sed to sed.

  Eudokia swept her arm out, clearing away all of the ibsp; ‘An new offense…’ She mentally prepared her Field for whatever might e. It had been a while since a fight required her to put in the effort. Not an unwele experience, she would o be stronger.

  Rather than swinging the sword, Dareia thrust it into the earth. She dragged it through the pool of liquids stirring up the colors. A tear through the surface erupted dividing everything. Like an invisible ribbon, it stretched out towards Eudokia, cutting ibsp; It spiraled out to around her. Invisible forces closed in.

  Testing out the attack, Eudokia sshed her sword through the air only for it to be diced up. She stepped bad looked around to see the divide almost pletely trapping her. A slight groan came out of her teeth as she pressed them together. Eudokia discarded her ons, fog fully on her Field.

  The spirals closed off any escape quickly. Locked within, the bastard sword spun up in the air, light as paper. Another invisible attack brushed against the snow moving quickly. It shattered through ice defenses effortlessly. Each destroyed wall brought it closer to Eudokia. Withi meter, she threw up her hand raising o pilr of ice.

  Shards of ice rained down c the area in a fine powder of particles. However, the pilr remaianding carved deeply into with a slibsp; She exhaled with some relief. ‘It worked, but I won’t be able to use that trick again…’

  Dareia stared carefully at the results. Her analytical mind absorbed all the details and checked against the facts. Sing the enviro, her eyes widened a touch with revetion. “Clever. I see you’ve improved your tricks!” Beh her, the ice Field of Eudokia hovered surprisingly close with frost still ging ts. “You really are a special talent, flipping your Field and dragging me away just enough to weaken my attack.”

  The icked up the bastard sword from the air and s sharply in an arbsp; A faint crack echoed through the air as the spiral carvings disappeared. “Perhaps this is enough for you.”

  Ice around the assassin disappeared. The entire Field morphed turning into mounds of rolling hills. Eudokia pnted her feet into the ice as it sealed around her boots. The sword and chakram reformed in her hands as the ice dragged her body forward.

  She closed in with Dareia. The ice mounds pull her up and around making quick hit and run strikes. Despite the size of the bastard sword, it maneuvered well to parry or defend. Sparks from the metal sang out as they exged blows.

  Before a rhythm could be found, Eudokia ged up her pad movement. The Field morphed with the ice growing out to bee sheets suspended in air. All logic or physics ignored with her new i. It gave her new surfaces to slide along that ed around and upside down.

  The sword fight no loayed two-dimensional. Her body spun around on the ice rotating wide being horizontal. Bdes rattled and screamed through the park. She fought upside down and on the fnks, whatever would keep the fight from settling into something adaptable.

  Despite her best efforts, any appearance of a hit gnced off. The stant assault rgely kept Eudokia safe, but no head way was made. She only had guesses to the nature of the green patterns on her body. It provided prote, clearly, but she needed more information. Each attack sought to answer her question.

  Dareia shifted her focus and deflected with her sword. The bde sliced through the sheet that Eudokia rode. With a spiral, it shattered through the rest. She grabbed Eudokia by the forearm and threw her to the ground. Stabbing the sword down at her, she rolled away in time, but the spirals chased after her.

  Eudokia sank half her body into the id slipped away forcefully before the attack could capture her again. She coughed and gasped a little rec from the sudden pull. ‘Dammit, not a scratch…’

  “All that talent you built just for the King. It’s a shame that you’ve tossed it all the way on a childish dream. I thought I trained you better.”

  She pushed herself back to her feet. Her body came out a little bruised, but nothing that could stop her. “At least I’m still serving something honorable.”

  “This is tradition. Regardless of your feelings oter, this is the way things go.”

  “I won’t see his dream fade and be destroyed by those corrupt bastards!”

  “It’s the way it goes sometimes. I thought I taught you that. The world isn’t a and orderly pbsp; I taught you to survive.”

  “And I will and see our people to a better path!”

  A sigh came from Dareia. “It seems you’re set to this path then.”

  “I am.”

  “Then you better be more clever than this!” Drawing in a breath, the park ran silent for a moment. Fog within herself, the liquid Field suddenly took over most of the ibsp; The sword shrank down to a dagger size now tinted red.

  A bit of sweat dripped down Eudokia's forehead seeing the real strength of Dareia revealed. ‘Is she going to force my hand? He’s still not shown up… If I’m alohen perhaps I …’

  The entire pool shifted red. It rippled outwards being rger waves. Repeated waves echoed deeper building stronger until it became the sistency of an o. Rising higher and higher, a three meter tall wave crashed dowhe remains of the ice Field.

  Ice walls rose up from the Field in hexagon shapes once more. Each attempted to stave off the liquid, but shattered immediately. Another eveer wave smmed down against Eudokia. The pressure pinned her to the ground. Nothing could move even a timeter. Her Field failed to hold off the surge no matter her focus. ‘I ’t… I didn’t think she was this strong…’

  Whatever the liquid was made of, it started to burn away at her clothes and skin. pletely submerged, it all just dissolved into the wave. The erosion of her body screamed throughout her mind. She held her mouth shut fearing what it would do inside her.

  Her heartbeat quied. The stress tightehrough her mind. If her body sweated it disappeared immediately. ered, Eudokia felt the remi sting of her mortality. It seemed almost poetic that it came from Dareia.

  As a st defense, she pulled in all the ice she could to encase herself. It provided a brief respite, but the corrosive liquid didn’t stop. She needed a better pn than defense. Eudokia searched through her memory for anything about the woman she could use. Nothing came to her and the crag ice didn’t help her focus.

  Buying time, she tried to move herself with the Field again, but the pressure held her in pbsp; ‘I ’t overpower her…’ Fog harder on her Field, she tried to squeeze out just enough. She felt a small tug on her as the liquid didn’t hold her so tightly. It wasn’t enough to escape. Above it all, Dareia stood on the wave maintaining the strength.

  Slipping a little more, she suddenly got caught on something. Moving the ice away, a utility hatch id underh her. Fighting her mind’s tration, she forced her Field tighter. The strain on her mi like she would burst. It however gave her enough to expand the ice out enough to get the hatch open.

  Eudokia dropped inside quickly and released her Field back to normal strength. She looked around the now ice covered interior of the shaft. Very little light mao make it even reflected off the ice surfabsp; Feeling her way through would be the only ce, but escape wasn’t the goal. She bought herself time to pn.

  She sat down catg her breath and examining her body. Blood streamed down her arms and legs where exposed. Her clothes had dots of soaked material. “As I am, I’m not going to be able to match her strength. And I have maybe one focused Foldi in me. I ’t waste that…but I o make an opening.”

  Above the sound of waves drew her attention up. The dark metal grate covered in ice hid the unknown threat in almost taunting fashion. “Even with a pn I’m going to o escape first. I don’t know if she’s figured it out yet.”

  Fog otire, it repaired itself and hopefully provided some bandaging for her wounds. As she finished, an unnerving ch echoed through the shaft a few meters away. Suddenly, light started to pour in along with liquid.

  “You ’t hide from me, Eudokia.”

  “Damn, I’m out of time…”