“Havin’ fun, Albert?!” Serrulata’s entire body was in motion. She was not only captivatingly muscular—she was flexible too. Her arms moved like whips with swords attached to the ends. Every attack was precise, heavy, fast, and shockingly lax. And because she was using two swords, it felt endless.
On top of that, she wasn’t limited to just the left and right. She thrust and slashed in every possible direction, sometimes striking from both sides at once, and sometimes delivering consecutive strikes from one direction. She even incorporated subtle changes in direction and feints.
The number of swings I had to parry in the blink of an eye was dizzying. The clack of wooden swords striking each other assailed my eardrums. The unknown holy woman the other day had described Serrulata as a storm, and her onslaught was every bit as destructive as raging winds.
With her strength reaching heights beyond what met the eye with Physical Enhancement and her bold offense backed up by her confidence in her holy woman’s Physical Protection, she was a picturesque example of a formidable warrior born in the modern age. Their position as one of the top pairs in the academy wasn’t just for show.
“Ha ha ha! Can your eyes keep up, Albert?!” I could tell Serrulata’s excitement was reaching its peak.
“I can see everything just fine.” Perfect. In an instant, I deflected her right attack with my wooden sword and repelled the left with my elbow.
“Whoa!”
Even Physical Protection had its limits, so it couldn’t be used recklessly, but it could function as an invisible shield at key moments. It was my first time using it as such in this battle, so Serrulata was caught off guard. Taking advantage of that, I leaped straight at her.
“Nice try!” Serrulata lowered her shoulders and unleashed two thrusts aimed at my eyes. It was the same tactic I had used against Palustris and Ozias of Gold during the entrance exam.
Physical Protection covered your body in faint particles of light, but it didn’t cover the eyes for a very simple reason—the light would make it difficult to see. This would become quickly apparent to any saint, making it a weak spot when fighting other saints. It was the one area that would always be exposed, so Serrulata’s decision to target it made sense. I couldn’t rely on the protection to brute force my way through like I had before. Whether I tried to dodge her attack or block it, I would inevitably be one step behind—so I decided not to dodge it.
“Wha—?!”
It was the only way to catch her with her guard down. The faint light that had been blocking my field of view deflected her twin swords, then faded away. In my now clear vision, I saw Serrulata’s swords recoiling from the unexpected impact. By then, the tip of my broken sword was already pressed against her neck.
“I give.” Serrulata relaxed her arms, dropping her wooden swords. Her surrender marked the end of our match.
“You sure? You could probably block a strike to the neck with Physical Protection,” I said with a smile.
Serrulata gave me a bitter look. “Are ya really gonna make me say it? If you were ready for me to attack your eyes, then I’m sure you were ready for the follow-up too. Your attack was strengthened by Physical Enhancement enough to break through my protection, right?” For all her wildness, Serrulata had a good head on her shoulders. That was probably the source of her strength.
“That’s not all, Serrulata. He could have aimed for your eyes as well,” Euryops added, walking over to us.
“Yeah, true. People don’t usually cover their eyes.” In a real battle, that was more efficient. Even with healing magic, stopping just short of striking the eyes was dangerous.
“I have no qualms with the outcome, but I do have a question,” said Euryops.
“Ask away.”
“Protecting your eyes is dangerous because it blocks your vision. Proper implementation requires perfect timing, like you had just a moment ago. How did you achieve that?”
“That’s easy. We had a signal. Right, Princess?” I turned to look at Astrantia, who was walking over to us.
“Yes, it’s as Albert says. Although, this time, we also got lucky.”
“You had a signal? Wait, luck?” Serrulata tilted her head in contemplation, then realized something.
“I get it. When you said you could see everything just fine, that was the signal, wasn’t it?” Euryops asked.
The princess and I nodded. “Exactly.” Our signal was a phrase involving the eyes.
“We were fortunate that our signal phrase fit so naturally into Albert’s conversation with Lady Serrulata,” said the princess. Although I could have just said “I can see” whenever I wanted, they hadn’t suspected anything because it had flowed with the conversation.
“Was that just one of many strategies you two have, or is it something you prepared specifically for this mock battle?” asked Euryops.
“We haven’t been together for very long, so we don’t have that tacit understanding of each other like you two, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t in sync. We’ve put a lot of thought into what it means to fight as partners.” That said, I’d only started genuinely treating her as a partner after the battle with the Pestilent Guardian Dragon, so it had been pretty hastily prepared. “We pulled it off perfectly this time, Princess.”
“Still, I thought my heart was going to stop. I’d prefer to avoid doing this often if possible.” I’d end up with a hole in my eye socket if we messed up, so I understood the feeling.
“Aha ha ha, glad we got to practice in a mock battle then.”
“I understand it could be a useful strategy against certain opponents, but...” The princess had a troubled look on her face.
“Gaaah! We lost!” Serrulata scratched at her head in frustration.
“I’m impressed you were able to keep up with Serrulata your first time going up against her, Sir Albert.” The referee, Myra, joined the conversation.