In the past few months, most of the enemies Rita fought were weaker than her.
Even when she encountered strong opponents, Rita cleverly avoided their attacks.
The closer she got to human territory, the weaker the enemies became.
The toughest fight recently was the one against Momoka during their match, exchanging blow for blow.
This period of peace made Rita forget one thing—she had hardly faced any truly formidable foes.
Rita had assumed that Sumiri was already injured and that defeating her would be no problem.
But the reality was quite the opposite.
Rita’s usual reliance on her physical strength and instincts meant nothing against Sumiri, who was also a succubus.
Moreover, Rita had no understanding of combat techniques.
Sumiri, however, not only controlled the Enchanting Aura to maneuver her arms in sync with Rita’s pace, she could also condense that mist into real weapons, launching attacks swifter and deadlier than claws.
At this rate, it wasn’t just defeating her opponent that was impossible—it was difficult even to avoid losing.
During the fight, Sumiri also noticed Rita’s flaws.
This succubus before her was strange.
At first, Sumiri thought she was merely testing the waters, not using her true power—after all, Rita was faster and stronger.
But soon, she realized that Rita’s advantage lay only in speed and strength.
In terms of technique and awareness, she was a complete mess.
So far, every edge Rita had was achieved through brute force alone.
Yes, if she kept going like this, Sumiri could win!
Victory! Revenge!
Until now, she hadn’t tasted the bitterness of fighting one of her own kind.
Thinking about the humiliating, almost human-like expression on Rita’s face, and imagining the sweet taste of victory dripping from her opponent’s body, Sumiri grew excited and launched fiercer attacks.
Here it comes.
Rita felt the pressure surge.
Pushed back step by step by Sumiri, if the latter wasn’t injured, Rita would surely be defeated under this onslaught.
If she could do it… then so could Rita!
Rita gathered thick clouds of Enchanting Aura around her hands, but before she could shape it, the pink mist dissipated like smoke into the air.
Try again!
The second attempt ended the same.
Distracted, Rita was slashed shallowly on her ankle by Sumiri’s Scythe.
Third time, she seemed to grasp some technique, but it still didn’t work.
The mist felt like an impossibly slippery bar of soap—impossible to mold or even hold, let alone use as a weapon.
Time after time she tried, time after time she failed, and the wounds on her body multiplied.
Without mastering this ability, she couldn’t defeat her opponent.
But to master it, she had to keep trying, and in the process would inevitably get hit—and losing faster!
It was a vicious cycle.
The more anxious Rita became, the more delighted Sumiri was.
This girl really was a complete rookie.
How she managed to get close to the princess was beyond Sumiri’s understanding.
Sumiri even started thinking about how she would toy with and torture Rita, breaking her both physically and mentally.
The thought made her laugh aloud.
“Heh, haha, hahahaha. Come on, struggle some more. Make me even more excited.”
Sumiri swung her giant Scythe, slashing down at Rita relentlessly.
But the feedback wasn’t the sharp, satisfying cut of flesh; it felt dull, like hitting a wooden block.
A lump of dough-like Enchanting Aura gathered before the Scythe, blocking the attack.
What a mess! Judging by the state of this thing, it can only last a moment.
Before Sumiri could think further, the pink mist exploded just as she had expected, scattering like countless tiny steel beads.
Sumiri dodged back, but such a wide-area attack was hard to avoid entirely, and her body instantly bore several blood holes as if struck by a shotgun.
Seeing Sumiri get hit, a flicker of joy sparked in Rita’s heart.
If I can’t learn it fully, then I won’t fully learn it.
If I can’t grasp it, then I won’t grasp it.
If I can’t shape it, then I won’t shape it.
As long as I explode that invisible mist with roughly the right strength at the right moment, it’ll have some effect.
That last attack was mostly a coincidence—the force I used was just right to produce that effect.
But such an attack is beyond Rita’s ability to replicate.
She was still far from defeating her opponent.
But… at least there was a turning point.
“Damn it! Always playing tricks!” Sumiri wiped the blood from her face.
The wound on her cheek from Rita bled again, tiny Blood Beads glistening in her bloodshot eyes, making her look ferocious.
Sumiri had never encountered such a fighting style: chaotic, irregular, pure luck!
And yet, she had been hit by such a lucky strike! It was even harder to accept than a straightforward defeat.
Blood dripping from a wound between her brows blurred Sumiri’s vision, filling her eyes with red veins.
“I’ll kill you! I’m going to kill you right now!”
Sumiri roared, charging straight at Rita.
The murderous intent on her Scythe was as if it could cleave Rita in two.
Her frenzied, irrational attack carved savage scars around them, forcing Rita to dodge desperately.
But Sumiri’s speed only increased, as if she were squeezing the limits from her body.
Rita couldn’t keep up and could only watch helplessly as the Scythe swung over her head.
No way to dodge now!
Rita raised her arms in a futile block, but inside, regret flooded her mind.
If only I had practiced succubus abilities earlier.
If only I had trained more in combat.
If only I hadn’t been so arrogant, thinking I could win a one-on-one fight…
It might not have come to this.
The fight with Momoka had already hinted at this.
Back then, Rita comforted herself with the excuse that she didn’t normally use a sword, and besides, she had won against Momoka directly and proved herself. So no need to train harder.
I’m going to be hit!
At this critical moment, a shadow suddenly appeared in front of Rita—so fast she didn’t even notice when it came.
It was as if it had been there from the start.
But there were only two people in the warehouse—Rita and Sumiri!
Rita knew her combat skills were lacking, but she wasn’t stupid enough to miss something like this.
As the shadow appeared, Sumiri’s Scythe struck as if hitting steel, bouncing off immediately.
Sumiri froze, then retreated several meters, staring at Rita with extreme caution.
More precisely, she was staring at the figure standing between them.
Although this person stood right in front of her, Rita couldn’t make out her features—the shadow was cloaked in a thin veil of mist that hid all distinguishing traits.
From the silhouette, it was a woman.
No, it had to be a woman.
Rita now understood what that faint veil was.
It was Enchanting Aura, the simplest kind, shaped into a thin layer like a garment covering the figure’s body.
Only after her recent experience controlling it in battle did Rita realize how difficult it was to manipulate Enchanting Aura so freely.
This person was a succubus, and one far stronger than both herself and Sumiri.
But judging by the earlier actions, she had protected Rita, hadn’t she?
Why? What did I do to deserve protection?
Suddenly, Sumiri’s eyes trembled violently as if realizing something terrible, her voice shaking even more.
“Wh-why are you doing this! Mother!”