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Last embryo Volume 6 Chapter 3 Part 2

But what was happening here was definitely not just a matter of her face alone. Even if she thinks back to that time or every time when she is looking in the mirror, the sensation that she felt was always different from what she felt at that time. And it was the same right now. The atmospheres around Faceless, The Queen’s Knight who was always quiet and always emanated a peculiar aura of calmness around her and the one that Kudou Ayato has around herself were fundamentally different from one another.

Queen’s Knight Faceless was like a stoic and proud warrior filled with an indomitable fighting spirit and whose prowess with a sword, spear and a bow as well as other kinds of martial arts was so great that she could only be described a true demon when it came to them. When compared to her, the only words that Asuka could have describe Kudou Ayato with would be, well . . .  that she was too cute to be an actual human being. But even then, the same things that Asuka thought before could still be applied to her, and the most prominent example would be all the things that she said when her secret has been outed by You and she had no choice but to come clean with it herself. It might have been done under extreme pressure, but even though the two of them possessed the same kindness, she would have never said any of the things that she said so straightforwardly if she was still Faceless, and she was not hesitant at all to tell the truth. So if she were to compare only their humanity, then Asuka would have to say that it would be impossible for her to recognize the two of them as the same person, and that is why she still could not shake off this feeling of strangeness whenever she looked at her.

「Fuh. . . .  ! ! !」

The segmented sword in Ayato’s hand continued to expand and contract in accordance to her will. Its flashing blade drew another curved trajectory, this time aiming for Byakko’s neck. Even though right now it was running at her at full power, that also gave her a unique opportunity to attack, and she was not going to miss that opportunity in the slightest. Changing the course of the sword at the last possible moment, Ayato targeted Shen Gongbao’s right arm, the one that was holding the spear, and the wound that she inflicted upon it caused her to grit her teeth as a hissing sound escaped her throat, which she then sliced open as well. This Atayo right here, the one that was pursuing Shen Gongbao and Byakko without giving them even a moment of rest now that they have lost their posture and have been pushed into defensive position, was exactly like the masked female knight from Asuka’s memories.

By precisely controlling the distance between herself and her enemies, she was able to take complete control of the battlefield, becoming like a predator that has backed its prey into a corner with a series of relentless attacks that showed no sign of stopping. It was a fighting style that suited her to such a degree as if it was made specifically for her, the one that could fend off Giants and crush even the sharpest of demonic claws into powder. And when Asuka looked at the spectacle that was playing right before her eyes, she could not help it but to feel as if the silver-masked Queen’s Knight, the one who has fought with her, saved her and suffered beside her was back in front of her.

「Well, well, well, color me impressed. Compared to how she fought against these guys back atop of the Giant Spirit Train, she seems like an entirely different person. Could this be her true character?」

「So she has already fought against these guys before?」

「Yes, back when {The Bull of Heaven} attacked the Giant Spirit Train while we were departing from Underwood. . .and I have to say, her fighting style is as unpleasant for her enemies to deal with as ever.」

「Yes, I can definitely see that. The style of fighting that combines the precise control of distance and denial of movements coupled with something that borders on predicting the future simply by observing her enemy’s movements is definitely not something that I would like to find myself at the receiving end of. In other words, this is something that can be called the ultimate swordplay, or the culmination of precise swordsmanship that deserves to be called the pinnacle of sword-fighting.」

Uesugi was very much impressed, while Asuka continued to watch Ayato’s display of swordsmanship with her mouth slightly agape from admiration. But considering who Ayato was up against right now, anything less than jaw-dropping swordsmanship might have just not cut it. Byakko, just like Shen Gongbao, is one of the most well-known figures starring in 「Investiture of the Gods」, a white-furred mystical tiger that could run wherever he wanted in the sky almost as if he was riding the winds themselves, and both his fangs and claws were said to be the ones capable of killing every wicked spirit and magic in existence as well as stopping natural disasters from occurring. He is a Divine Beast that is almost invincible and unrivalled when it comes to dealing with magic, even those utilized by the Sages of Chinese Mythology. And speaking of Sages. . . .

「Nh. . . . . . . . ghaaaaaaaa. . . . . . . . ! ! ! F-Fuck, my carotid artery has been cut again!?? Oi oi, Byakko, what in the goddamn hell are you doing?! Why in the screaming fuck we are getting bodied so much here?!! Why can you not avoid any of that blonde bimbo’s attacks??!! And while we are at it, why is it that I am getting slashed more than you?!! Are you doing this on purpose, you giant furball!!??」

{It is not that I cannot do it, but our enemy is just too skilled with her weapon! It takes everything I got to just barely keep her from knocking my own head from my neck, and between you and me, I will always prioritize my own safety!}

「So you were protecting only your own neck just now!」

Shen Gonbao screamed at Byakko while she tried to deflect Serpens Scorpius’s blade with her spear from atop his back. However, all that Ayato had to do in order to correct its trajectory was to just twist her wrist ever so slightly or order it to intercept Byakko on the path he was currently dodging into. . . . . and that same pattern of Shen Gongbao getting hit despite her and Byakko’s best efforts not to get hit has already repeated itself three times in a row with exactly the same outcome. And with every passing minute, Shen Gongbao was getting more and more frustrated at being unable to find a solution that would have allowed her to break free from this hopeless situation in which they have found themselves despite them being the ones who started the fight and Byakko even going as far as claiming that the odds of victory were stack in their favor.

(She is reading through our every move with such perfection! This is not normal. I do not care what everybody else might be saying, what this bitch is doing is clearly not. Normal! I do not know if she possesses Mind’s Eye, Future Prediction or straight up Clairvyance, but if she keeps reading our movements like she has done until now, then we are as good as done for if we do not do something, and fast!)

Gifts that allowed their users to gain the ability to see far into the future like Future Prediction or Future Sight are extremely powerful and valuable Gifts, but that also makes them one of the rarest kind in Little Garden, but the ones that allowed you to see what would happen in the near future were maybe not common, but it was certainly not all that unusual to see people with that kind of ability pop up here and there, and most importantly, such Gifts could be substituted if only one was willing to use their head for a bit.