The Grand Duke's Son Is A Heretic

She was faster.

Wind-imbued footwork propelled her forward like a hurricane. She struck from the right where Kael pivoted. A bladed gust tore past his ribs.

He parried the next strike, their swords clanging like thunder, sparks flying in arcs around them.

He didn't match her power. He matched her angle letting force slide off as he deflected without using reflection.

No matter what he can't use reflection cause Adele had seen it clearly.

Adele rotated mid-air, spinning into a downward slash.

Kael ducked, hexagram lines flashing under his boots that made him slide but it was manage.

His foot slid sideways, and he launched up, twisting his blade in a spiral slash to her back.

She blocked it just in time, her blade trembling from the strange rotational force.

"Your movements—!" she hissed.

Kael didn't give her time to speak. He flipped back and hurled a short throwing knife, not to injure—but to draw her eye.

Adele knocked it away—but Kael had vanished again.

She spun only for Kael to appear behind her, sword humming.

Adele's instincts screamed. She blasted her aura outward again in a shock burst—but Kael braced this time, leaping back at the exact moment of detonation, riding the force to create distance.

The moment his boots hit the ground, he dashed in again faster now.

He couldn't overpower her. But he could disorient her.

Their blades clashed again and again, like the song of an angry forge—wind tearing through metal, steel dragging against steel, and each blow leaving scorch marks on the ground from raw aura friction.

Suddenly, Kael slipped low, slashing upward in a feint, and used another volley of Hexgram

Adele deflected and found her footing misaligned.

Kael's knee struck her abdomen.

THUMP!

She gasped, eyes wide but held her ground.

This time, she grabbed his arm.

"Got you—"

But Kael smiled under the mask.

"No. You don't."

He twisted, disengaging with a pivot and bringing down his sword behind him, a backward slash aimed straight at her legs. Adele jumped, the wind pushing her up instinctively—but a second blade, hidden until now, flicked from Kael's belt and struck upward.

It grazed her side—cutting into the armor with a screech.

Adele landed hard, sliding back, eyes blazing. Her armor cracked.

A second blade…

Her voice dropped an octave.

"…What are these weird movement movements…"

Kael froze for a split second.

Adele narrowed her eyes, realization dawning behind them.

"Those steps… those angles… that's not something anyone else knows—"

Kael didn't let her finish.

He rushed forward again with everything he had. The time for stealth was gone.

BOOM.

Their blades collided again in the middle of the ruined battlefield, a soundwave blasting outward and knocking over debris.

The ground rumbled below them.

......…

Smoke lingered over the ruined yard like a choking veil. The steel containers lining the walls were warped and riddled with cuts, and one had even been cleaved in half by Adele's wind blade. Debris was scattered across the ground—splintered wood, a melted mana shield, a shredded cloak fluttering in the dust.

Freya winced, pressing her back to the remains of a broken crate. Her side throbbed with dull pain from where she had collided with a steel pillar. One of her short swords was cracked near the hilt, but she still gripped it tightly in her bloodied hand.

On waking up, what she saw sent her a jolt of shock down her spine

"…He's holding her off alone?" she murmured, watching the storm of clashing blades in the distance.

The sound of steel grinding, aura shockwaves, and crackling energy made her gut tighten. Every time Kael and Adele collided, a pulse of power rippled through the ground like thunder rolling through stone.

Adonis leaned against a broken girder nearby, hand clutched over his ribs. Blood seeped through his tunic, but his eyes—though fatigued—remained sharp, locked on Kael's movements.

"He's not just holding her off," he muttered, "He's controlling the tempo of the fight. That bastard is ten steps ahead of her."

Freya glanced at him. "You think he can win?"

Adonis gave a thin smile, painful and proud. "No… Though that kick—he made her bleed.it isn't enough."

Freya didn't answer.

From the other side, Linda staggered over, her robes tattered and her staff glowing faintly. Her breathing was ragged, her face pale from mana depletion. She collapsed behind the cover and wiped the blood from her lips.

"I tried everything. Barrier magic, elemental suppression, even a disruption seal. Nothing worked," she rasped. "Her aura is… like a storm given will. My spells can't penetrate that density."

She looked up toward Kael. "But he can. He's cutting through it."

Adonis turned his head toward her. "That's not luck. He's planning every strike, every step."

Just a few meters away, Herion groaned as he pulled himself from a dented crater. His great axe lay broken nearby, snapped near the hilt. His arms shook as he stood, dirt and blood smearing across his armored chest. He looked like a ruined statue of war.

Sol sat against a collapsed wall, face bruised and ego shattered. His shield blade was cracked in the center.

"…This is a joke," he muttered. "She was toying with us. I threw everything into that charge. She didn't even move her feet when she blocked me."

Herion spat blood to the side and growled, "We fought like fools. We went in together but didn't coordinate. We were outmatched and disorganized."

Freya sheathed her broken sword with a sharp click. "It wasn't just that. Adele's fighting style… she's evolved. This isn't the same woman we trained with years ago."

Sol barked a laugh, then winced as he clutched his side. "Yeah. I noticed when I was flying through the air like a sack of grain."

Sol stood tall, his chest rising and falling rapidly, the last drops of a healing potion still tingling through his veins. His armor was scratched, his brow furrowed, but his grip on the scabbard of his blade was firm—resolved. He looked at Freya and Adonis, his expression grim.

"All of you pissed her off," Sol muttered, his voice low and steady. "Use this chance to run. I'll buy us an opening."

The others exchanged glances—uncertainty flickering in their eyes—but they saw the determination in Sol's stance and nodded.