I Have the Sacred Sword?

Eleonora’s mind wandered back to her days of glory, when every confrontation was an opportunity to showcase her power, to taste victory and humiliate those who thought they stood a chance against her.

The long period she had spent inactive, centuries without feeling the heat of battle, had made her miss those moments more than she was willing to admit.

As the humans exchanged words, Eleonora smiled arrogantly.

Now, she was no longer interested in protecting her candidate as she used to; at this moment...

What she sought was amusement.

Eleonora wanted something that would remind her of who she was and what she was capable of.

Darius, with his axe in hand, approached, determined to test his strength. Perhaps he had noticed that the body she possessed was not particularly imposing.

Camila, her current candidate, had the physique of a healer, more accustomed to using healing magic than physical combat.

However, when Eleonora took control of her body, she quickly noticed certain developed muscles, especially in the arms and legs.

Camila had trained with the sword at least a couple of times a week, giving her body a latent strength that, while not outstanding, would be enough to surprise anyone who underestimated her.

As Darius advanced with his axe raised, Aiden tried to stop him, mentioning that Selena was nearby.

But Darius didn’t listen, confident that he could easily defeat the girl Eleonora was controlling.

Eleonora raised a hand, signaling Isuke, her summon, and the rest of the group to step back.

She moved away from where they were tending to Marta, clearing the area for the duel.

Darius smiled. He understood perfectly what Eleonora was suggesting.

A fight, a test of strength.

This was the kind of challenge a warrior like him couldn’t refuse.

“It’ll be a friendly duel,” Darius declared, smiling confidently. “I promise not to hurt Camila too much.”

Eleonora chuckled, a low, amused laugh, as she took a relaxed combat stance.

“I’ll let you have the first move,” she offered, smiling with superiority.

Darius didn’t waste any time. With a swift, powerful motion, he swung his axe in a lateral strike.

Eleonora simply took a step back, dodging the blow effortlessly.

She noticed the immense strength behind his attack and knew that physically, this man was much stronger than Camila.

But a fight isn’t won by brute strength alone.

Quickly crouching, Eleonora scooped up a handful of snow from the ground with her free hand and, in one fluid motion, threw it into Darius’s face.

He laughed at the unexpected attack, wiping the snow from his eyes. But his laughter was short-lived. Before he could react, Eleonora, with precision, cut one of the tendons in his foot.

The warrior fell to the ground with a grunt of pain, and as he tried to turn to counterattack, he froze at the feel of Eleonora’s sword blade against his neck.

If he had moved just a bit more, he would have died.

“You’ve lost,” Eleonora declared in a cold voice.

Silence fell over the group.

The ease with which Eleonora had defeated Darius left everyone dumbfounded.

Despite his imposing physique, Darius had been beaten with a move as simple as it was precise.

“I expected more from you,” Eleonora murmured, disappointed.

She had imagined that someone his size would be a more entertaining opponent, but in the end, he turned out to be just a big kid with little more than brute strength.

“What about you?” Eleonora asked, turning to him with a smile. “Would you like a friendly duel?”

Leo, who had been watching in silence, nodded before Alexia could warn him not to.

As the two prepared, Thorne went to help Darius, aiding him to his feet.

Leo, though he didn’t have his own sword, was using the one Alexia had lent him since they arrived at this place. It wasn’t the weapon he was used to, but it was better than nothing.

“I’ll let you have the first move,” Eleonora repeated, this time in a calmer voice.

Leo advanced determinedly, launching a frontal slash with his sword.

Eleonora responded with equal speed, blocking the attack. To her surprise, Leo’s sword broke in two under the pressure of the clash.

Before he could react, Eleonora brought her sword to a millimeter from his neck, stopping just in time. However, Leo activated his aura at the last second, allowing him to quickly duck and throw a low kick, almost making Eleonora lose her balance.

Eleonora straightened up quickly, but Leo was already raising a hand in surrender.

“I give up,” he said, breathing heavily.

“Why?” Eleonora asked, frowning.

The truth was, she wanted to know more about the energy Leo had used to make her stumble.

Leo showed her what was left of his sword, now broken and unusable.

Clicking her tongue in disapproval, Eleonora threw the sword she was holding aside, surprising everyone.

Leo picked it up, impressed by the weight and quality of the blade. Despite having been hidden for so long, the sword was in decent condition.

With a pained gesture, Eleonora slowly materialized a new sword from her hand, this time completely black, with a flawless blade. The sword, despite its ancient appearance, was perfect, sharp, and balanced.

“Will this do?” Eleonora asked, indicating the weapon.

Leo, despite his confusion, nodded with some excitement.

Alexia, on the other hand, watched with growing bewilderment at what had just happened.

‘Can Eleonora... duplicate herself?’ Alexia wondered, unable to comprehend how an ego-sword could materialize... another ego-sword?