Oh my, are we flying now!?
Boom!
Just when it sounded like an explosive roar was heard, Lilybet’s new model vanished for a moment.
Uh, vanished…?
No, it wasn’t truly gone. Lilybet had shot forward at a crazy speed, evading Shia’s sight. She grabbed Shia by the neck and activated her wing boosters, slamming Shia against the ceiling intricately woven with pipes and conduits.
Kaboom!
“Wow, oh… that’s fast?”
Shia’s face lit up with genuine admiration. She had been a bit careless and momentarily lost track of Lilybet’s speed.
If it had been any other Hunter, they would have been severely injured just by colliding with Lilybet’s speed before being smashed into the wall. But Shia’s body was sturdier than what Lilybet imagined.
“Are you satisfied?”
Despite the enchantments on the underground pipes shattering from the impact just now, Shia bore the grip on her neck and maintained a relaxed expression.
Hahaha, not really…
Lilybet knew that such an attack wouldn’t even scratch Shia, lacking any mercy for her opponent, despite it being a spar.
Is it possible?!
Octa Booster, activate!
Boosters sprouted from Lilybet’s wings, waist, and legs, and the arm gripping Shia’s neck also equipped with one, spitting fire.
Bang!
Kaboom!
Ka-boom!!!
Shia’s body was slammed deeper into the underground, crashing through pipes, walls, and conduits.
With overwhelming power, Lilybet tried to shove Shia even further underground, but Shia wasn’t the type to just take it.
Thunk!
[…!]
Five tentacles sprouted from Shia’s waist, anchoring her firmly to the ground.
Even though Lilybet increased the booster power, Shia didn’t budge.
“My turn?”
And divine power gathered in Shia’s fist.
“Take that.”
Hah…?!
Kaboom!!!
In an instant, Lilybet felt her vision warp.
Something was smashing into her head, and her body, which had just been pinning Shia underground, was now dangling from the ceiling on the opposite side of the cavern.
“Ugh, ah… ah… argh!”
This wasn’t a garbled voice.
It was her real voice breaking through, though it was hard to tell with her jaw likely shattered.
Thud.
Thud.
Thunk!
Lilybet tore off her dangling jaw.
Reconstruction wasn’t difficult.
Her body was a doll and a machine.
If there was metal scrap around, she could recover in no time, but to be crushed so thoroughly by a punch in a body imbued with the power of a fragment of the Demon King and an S-grade enchancer was impressive even to Lilybet.
Hah, huh…
She really doesn’t hold back.
Well, she didn’t expect to be spared.
Lilybet gripped her broken jaw and patched it back with new metal pieces.
Her jaw quickly regrew, and metal protection fully covered Lilybet’s face.
In the meantime, Shia emerged from the underground, her tentacles writhing like blooming flowers.
It might not have felt like a long time, but it seemed Shia was buried quite deep.
What a relief…
Honestly, she never imagined the Seongnyeo Isia would engage her so seriously.
Isia Seongnyeo. You, you… haven’t ignored me.
Because everyone did.
Lilybet had repeatedly asked for sparring matches and to test their powers, but not a single person obliged.
It made sense that A-grade Hunters rejected her requests.
The few sparring matches she experienced were with royal guards who were former Hunters.
Even S-grade Hunters never accepted Lilybet’s challenges.
There were several reasons for this, including the fact that Lilybet was the Queen of England prior to becoming a Hunter, but regardless, this was the first thrilling fight Lilybet had ever experienced.
You truly fought me with sincerity…!
Lilybet’s birth wasn’t ordinary.
It wasn’t merely about possessing the rare S-grade talents found even on Earth.
She was a person who, once she set her sights on a target, relentlessly pursued it, clinging to her whims so closely that she would readily put her life on the line for it.
Once a princess, now the eighth king of the Windsor dynasty and an S-grade Hunter, she was well-packaged, but beyond the glitter, she had always been far from a normal human being.
Perhaps, it was her innate otherness that led her to become a monster, to create paradise-like Green City out of the sewage it truly was.
In that sense, Lilybet’s past days could indeed be described as the darkest and shadowed times.
I know the truth. Everyone thinks I’m a crazy queen.
She approached people closely yet kept her distance.
I know it. I know that nobody would fight me, a queen and an S-grade Hunter.
Even if she approached others with a romantic longing for epic battles, it was ultimately just a fantasy.
She didn’t want to act aloof, but she forced a bright smile and behaved like an unqualified queen.
It was the only way she could sustain herself.
A woman who became a monster out of hatred for monsters wished to assert her humanity by dreaming of romance, practically trying to relive her childhood.
Thus she lived on.
Having ruined much in the process.
Resetting her talents to seek the epic training and power-ups she’d seen in comics and movies was just a delusion.
Her hatred for monsters led her to become a human even more monstrous.
She embedded a Demon King’s fragment into herself to create paradise, but in reality, she had formed a living hell instead.
Encased in the proud shell of the eighth king of the Windsor dynasty and an S-grade Hunter was merely a queen of the sewage.
As the automaton Lilybet, who once danced, had now stopped entirely, caught between reality and fantasy.
Unfulfilled dreams, thirsts, guilt, self-hatred for not being normal, and now questioning if she was even human.
I love you so much!!!
In that life, Lilybet felt the happiest she had ever been.
With a beautiful face and a chest so large it was great, the only romance coming back to her life was the one that said, “Will you dance with me?”
Having rescued the spawn of that sewage who ruined everything, how could she not feel elated!?
Ahahahaha!!!
Wham!
Lilybet’s eyes radiated with green light as she burst into laughter.
Thud!
After all, that Seongnyeo reached out her hand to her in this dreadful world!
When she clenched her fists, thicker and tougher pieces of metal enchanted themselves onto Lilybet’s hands.
The boosters from her wings all transferred to her fists and feet, and she immediately charged at Shia once more.
Thunk!
Lilybet’s heavy strike was parried by Shia with one arm.
Crack!
With all kinds of enchantments and enhancements, Lilybet’s eyes clearly predicted Shia’s next move.
The strength and momentum in Shia’s arms and legs, the direction of her movements.
And even the quakes of her fully powered body coated with divine energy.
Once the trajectory of her punch, the destruction radius, and the anticipated force were measured, Lilybet’s metal-covered hand ripped through the air, slamming down toward Shia.
Lilybet’s speed and strength, granted by being enchanted, were destructive enough to crush mountains in one gulp, but Shia didn’t even bother dodging it.
Without any tricks, she simply retaliated as if matching Lilybet’s every action.
Crash!!!
In the hefty underground cavern, the atmosphere crackled with destruction, and debris from the walls and floor collapsed even without being hit.
Ahahaha! I’m having fun! Are you enjoying yourself too, Seongnyeo Isia!!!
“I don’t really find joy in fighting.”
If anyone loved fighting, it would be Menelapie.
I also enjoy it a bit when I get really excited…
That’s a pity!! Does that mean I’m not a match for you?!
“Not quite!”
It wasn’t a lie.
Thunk!
The sound of Shia’s arm breaking as she blocked Lilybet’s kick echoed.
Shia, able to deflect bullets and blades barehanded, had been struck down by Lilybet’s leg.
Even after enhancing her physique with divine power, this was the result.
Isn’t she really stronger than Yeonseo Unnie?
How could someone like this not hold the world’s number one ranking?
I don’t know who made the Hunter rankings, but this Lilybet before me felt much tougher than Cheon Danaa, ranked second, or Yeonseo.
While exchanging blows, Shia crushed the ground and grabbed Lilybet’s fist under her arm, slapping her chest hard, sending her flying.
It must have been a significant shock, but with her body covered in steel and machinery down to the bone, Lilybet seemed scarcely fazed. While soaring, she twisted and turned almost like an acrobat and, with a vicious grin different from her usual warm smile, activated her wing boosters again, charging toward Shia.
Wham!
With another sonic boom, causing the air to rupture, Shia also leaped and launched at Lilybet.
What followed was another exchange of blows.
They collided in mid-air. If one was knocked back, another would charge again.
Collision.
Charge.
Collision. Collision. Collision. Collision.
Surely both possessed many techniques and skills.
Having single-handedly taken down the Demon King, the Seongnyeo Shia had divine power and miracles at her disposal.
As an S-grade Hunter, Lilybet harnessed the power of the Demon King’s fragment along with her wide array of enchanting and awakening techniques.
Yet they fought as if that were all they knew—like children throwing punches at each other.
Their clashes occurred not just in fleeting moments but numerous times, oddly lacking any true intent to harm.
Neither hostility nor hatred existed. It was simply, “Because you do it, I’ll do it too.”
Like children playing together, the atmosphere was light yet serious.
Once again, their strikes met head-on.
With fists smashing together outright this time.
Boom!
Ugh…!
Lilybet’s gauntlet couldn’t withstand Shia’s brute force and crumbled.
It wasn’t just the external plating made of Gundam-like armor; even Lilybet’s arm’s inner mechanical parts were obliterated in an instant.
Oof…!
Shia, not unaffected by the shock, felt her fist recoil, while her skin cracked as if it were glass.
As their stances slightly faltered, Lilybet and Shia locked eyes.
Want to stop?
Nope!
Hah… okay? Fine.
[Enchant – Regeneration]
[Miracle – Healing]
At the moment their fists collided, less than half a second passed before both Lilybet and Shia’s arms returned to their original state and clashed once more.
Now neither of them fell back.
Both legs were firmly planted on the ground as they relentlessly exchanged attacks.
Actually, it was more precise to say it was solely about attacking.
There was no defense.
They only threw punches, dodged, and delivered counters.
Every strike was a catastrophic revelation with life-or-death stakes for both.
One minute.
Ten minutes.
Thirty minutes.
No, one hour.
Shia and Lilybet engaged in an unending brawl until silence fell in the underground cavern, with only their fierce clashes resounding.
Boom!
Hah, huff…
“Haah… Huh.”
Both had exhausted themselves quite a bit.
Shia noticed her tie had vanished somewhere and threw off the coat she wore.
Lilybet looked worse.
With more broken parts than intact skin, there was significant damage, and the mechanical dress she wore was completely torn, exposing her beautiful skin.
I’ll demand compensation for the damages on my dress!!!
“Are you being petty, Your Majesty? And you were the one who suggested the fight first!”
Did I? Wahaha, I did….
Even her voice recognition seemed damaged, as Lilybet’s speech was now quite choppy.
Maybe the defeat had already been decided long before.
Her arms barely listened.
Her legs felt wobbly.
The shakes from her mechanical body indicated she’d taken quite a pounding.
She had truly given her all.
Even resisting the temptation of the fragment, she achieved the romantic fight she’d longed for.
Hah, hah…
“So, how do you feel?”
What do you… feel…?
“We had the spar you wished for, right?”
Right, feelings…
Haha, ha. @ I feel great! Too! @#You! @#Too$!#@!*
Her speech became even more garbled.
Honestly… I don’t quite feel good either @!$
“Really?”
I lost…!@# I’m frustrated. I want to… fight more. I’m disappointed.
Frustrated.
Disappointed.
Wanting to fight just a little longer.
With you.
With you, just a bit more.
