Miracle Summoner

The battle between Asuna and Yuuki was undoubtedly intense and thrilling.

The intensity and excitement of this duel could even rival the fierce fight between Rozen and Yuuki.

While this battle lacked the spectacular visual effects of "Fantasy Acceleration" or the ultimate clash between "Mizar" and "Mother's Rosario," the prior duel between Rozen and Yuuki was ultimately a one-sided show where Rozen suppressed Yuuki entirely, leaving her almost no room to counterattack. Rather than calling it a duel, it was more like a display of Rozen's overwhelming skill.

However, the duel between Asuna and Yuuki was truly a balanced fight, where both parties were evenly matched.

In terms of skill level, Yuuki's abilities should be on par with Kirito's, and her reflexes even surpass his. Coupled with her powerful ultimate skill, "Mother's Rosario," even Kirito might struggle against her.

Previously, Kirito had challenged Yuuki, but that duel didn't reveal much. Both of them held back significant cards, and Kirito, distracted by a discovery about Yuuki's situation, let his guard down and was defeated by Yuuki's surprise attack. Therefore, this result didn't conclusively show that Yuuki was stronger than Kirito.

Now, the evenly matched battle between Asuna and Yuuki demonstrated that even if Yuuki wasn't as strong as Kirito, the gap between them wasn't significant.

It's worth noting that Asuna, having undergone multiple training sessions under Rozen's guidance, had improved significantly. Even as an Undine, a class inclined toward support, her current strength allowed her to win three out of ten duels against Kirito. Asuna naturally held her ground against Yuuki, whose expression became increasingly serious, eventually unleashing more power than she did against Rozen and achieving a new peak of her abilities.

Yuuki was undoubtedly formidable. Her reflexes, enhanced by intense concentration, reached terrifying speeds. Her sword movements became so rapid that Asuna almost lost track of her blade several times, nearly losing the fight on the spot.

Fortunately, Asuna, being a genius in her own right, quickly realized Yuuki's reflexes were too monstrous to counter directly. She stopped relying on her eyes to track Yuuki's sword and instead focused entirely on observing Yuuki's body movements. By predicting the sword's trajectory and speed through Yuuki's posture, combined with her mastery of rapier techniques, Asuna managed to push Yuuki into a desperate corner.

Thus, what started as a reluctant match for one and a curious endeavor for the other evolved into a duel where both parties were wholly invested. Their clash produced shockwaves and explosive sounds that reverberated across the hill, drawing gasps and exclamations from the surrounding players.

By this point, both Asuna and Yuuki had pushed beyond their limits, reaching new heights they had never attained before.

As Kirito put it:

"If they're fighting at this level, even if I gave it my all, I don't think I could beat either of them."

Kirito was thoroughly convinced.

This statement underscored how fierce and dedicated the fight between Asuna and Yuuki was, leaving everyone in awe.

Especially Asuna, who at one point read Yuuki's moves and countered using a refined eight-hit rapier combo called "Star Splash" to nullify the first eight strikes of Yuuki's "Mother's Rosario." Through sheer momentum, Asuna evaded the next two hits during her rigid state, suffering damage from only the final strike and losing 30% of her HP.

With Yuuki stunned and wide-eyed in shock, Asuna followed up with her original five-hit skill, "Stardust Tear," reducing Yuuki's HP to the red zone, eliciting astonished gasps from the audience.

Clearly, Asuna had devised a counter-strategy against "Mother's Rosario" after witnessing it earlier. Coupled with the leaps in her skills thanks to Rozen's training, Asuna managed to defeat Yuuki, who had previously triumphed over Kirito.

Ultimately, Asuna emerged victorious from this duel.

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH————!"

As Asuna pierced through Yuuki's avatar with the rapier's top-tier thrusting skill "Flashing Penetrator," depleting Yuuki's HP and leaving her as a flickering remnant of light, cheers erupted from the audience.

"Haa... haa... haa..."

Asuna, her HP in the red zone, stood gripping her rapier, panting heavily as she basked in the applause, her eyes filled with relief.

"She won!"

Leafa, Lis, and Silica high-fived each other in excitement.

"She did it," Kirito said with a smile, unsurprised by the result.

"Well done," Rozen added with satisfaction at Asuna's performance.

Had this been Asuna from the SAO days, she likely would've lost to Yuuki. However, after nearly a year in ALfheim, Asuna's skills had grown to the point that even Yuuki's breakthroughs couldn't secure her victory, allowing Asuna to claim her second win against "Zekken."

"Mama's amazing!" Yui cheered, overflowing with joy.

For Yui, it was only natural to feel proud and thrilled seeing Rozen and Asuna, this soon-to-be-married couple, achieve consecutive victories against opponents admired by all.

"————キ·Ψ·Ч·ㄌ·Л·δ·ゴ·ご·し·な·ぞ·の————"

After the battle, Rozen healed Asuna with a recovery spell to restore her HP. He then cast a resurrection spell to revive Yuuki.

The moment Yuuki revived, she wasted no time rushing over to Asuna.

"You're the one!"

Yuuki exclaimed enthusiastically, gripping Asuna's shoulders with the zeal of someone who had found their perfect prey, beaming with happiness.

"Huh…?"

It was only then that Asuna remembered: defeating Yuuki might mean being invited to join her guild.

Yuuki's attitude made it clear—she had chosen Asuna.

"That duel just now was the most exhilarating and satisfying fight of my life! By the end, I completely forgot about everything else and surpassed myself! Big Sis, you're incredible!"

Yuuki cheerfully patted Asuna's shoulder before turning to Rozen.

"Hey, Big Brother, can I borrow this Big Sis for a while?"

Without hesitation, Rozen answered, "No problem!"

"Eh? Eh?"

Asuna barely had time to react before Yuuki grabbed her and took off into the air.

"Wait… wait a second!"

Asuna's panicked protests fell on deaf ears as she disappeared into the distance with Yuuki.

The group watched as Asuna vanished into the horizon.

"Is this really okay, Nii-san?" Leafa asked, looking uneasy.

"She's really gone, huh?" Lis was dumbfounded.

"Asuna-san will come back, right?" Silica worried aloud.

Rozen didn't respond to their comments, simply patting Yui's confused little head and reassuring her.

"Don't worry. She'll come back."

Rozen firmly believed this.