Frostfire Legacy

Within Aster's vision, blurry from pain, he saw Kali slip between them, catching the black-haired woman's fist.

*BAM!*

Although it wasn't let out in full, losing more than half of its force, it was still powerful enough to make Kali grimace in pain. She didn't let it get to her, however, and instead let out a swift kick, trying to hit the other party's temple.

"...!"

The black cat saw the attack and did a backflip, followed by a kick aimed at Kali's chin. She quickly placed both daggers in the way of the kick, parrying it away, but still, both sides took a few steps away at the same time.

The encounter was reset!

"You're in collusion with those assassins too?" The black-haired woman frowned, her gaze turning even harsher than before. "Well, no matter. I'll just kill you all the same."

"Huh? Are you delusional? Anyway, fuck off before I get serious!" Kali responded harshly, raising both daggers.

In their exchange, they seem evenly matched. However, that wasn't the real case.

Kali was faster than her and should've been able to easily dodge her attacks if not for her needing to protect Aster behind her. As such, she couldn't bring out her full strength earlier. But now that they've distanced themselves from him, there's nothing that would limit her anymore!

"Shut up, you goons of my brother!"

The woman kicked off the ground, dashing forward in an intense tackle. Kali watched her approach before casually walking forward as if to meet her charge head-on.

However, at the last moment, Kali turned her body aside before waving her dagger, opening a fresh wound across the woman's cheek. It wasn't too deep, but enough that it would bleed for a while—a warning per se.

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Of course, there's no way she would stop with just that.

As soon as she closed the distance with her charge, she let out a flurry of punches, each one carrying unbelievable weight behind them!

"A martial artist, huh?!" Kali growled in a low voice while dodging her attacks. "You've got power, but...!"

Kali sent a kick, taking advantage of the short pause between each punch she threw. It was a perfectly timed attack, making her unable to block it, so she tilted her body backward, evading the attack altogether.

But that was actually a bad choice. Kali predicted such a move and halted her kick mid-strike before jumping, using her other leg, and sending a second kick. It was a multi-layered attack!

The second kick was faster than the first, but the woman had already pulled both arms back. She crossed them before her chest, blocking it dead center!

*BAM!*

However, due to her unstable body angle, she ended up falling to the ground from the force of the kick. Kali didn't show mercy and waved her dagger down toward her right leg, planning on immobilizing her.

"Petty tricks...! Metal Body!"

*TING!*

"...!"

Kali was shocked that her attack merely bounced off of the woman's leg. Rather, she felt like she had struck a solid metal block with full power, which caused her arm to feel numb from the feedback!

The woman didn't let her off easy and followed it with a sweeping kick, turning into a rotating motion almost like breakdancing, sending four consecutive kicks toward Kali until she took a step back.

"Kuh!" Kali groaned in pain.

Her right arm, which she used to block the kick, was refusing to move! "What heavy kicks! Is her body made out of metal?!" She wondered.

The reason behind such a mind-boggling physique was the skill the woman used: Metal Body. It uses one's innate mana to harden the skin, increasing its density and making it heavier. This primarily increases defensive strength, but like she did, it could also greatly impact one's attacks.

The woman followed through her kick, spinning around like a tornado, before rising to her feet in style.

"You think you're the only one with skills?!" Kali roared in anger before readying her left hand, her dagger positioned horizontally. "Dagger Skill! Threefold stab!"

At that moment, Kali jumped forward. However, the next instant, Aster doubted his eyes. He saw Kali split into three!

Each one headed for a specific target and swung their daggers down. It was so fast that the enemy was unable to move to dodge. At best, she could only cross her arms, covering her chest with her elbow, her neck with her forearm, and the sides of her head with her palm!

*TING!* *TING!* *STAB!*

"...!"

Of the three attacks, two simply bounced off, while the last one, coming from the main body, managed to pierce through the woman's hardened right arm. It was a deep wound, with the dagger going through to the other end in one go!

"Ugh...!"

Her face warped in pain before sending a listless kick as if trying to shoo Kali away. Having no choice, Kali let go of her dagger and retrieved the other within the grasp of her dangling right hand, readying it in a reverse-grip stance.

Both sides were extremely battered by then!

"..."

Aster, who had already recovered enough to stand up, watched over their intense battle from a short distance away. However, he noticed that the two were at a standstill.

Neither side was able to find an opening to take advantage of and was instead preparing for a swift counterattack when the other lunged forward!

But from a corner of Aster's eyes, he noticed some movements. A black-hooded figure popped out of a nearby bush, aiming a crossbow toward the two. No, it was locked onto the black-haired cat!

'An assassin?!'

Aster realized it was too late to warn them, as the trigger was already pulled. Instead, he used all his strength to dash forward, each step leaving deep impressions on the ground as he kicked them, propelling himself forward.

'Make it in time...!'

Aster judged that he wouldn't be able to push her out of the way, so instead, he just used himself to block the flying arrow. He extended his arm forward, letting it get in the arrow's path, aiming for the woman's neck.

*SQUELCH!*

"—!"

The arrow, added with a spin using some unknown mechanism, literally dug through Aster's wrist. Since he jumped forward, trying to make it in time, he ended up bumping against the woman, pushing her to the grass as a result.

"Aster!" Kali, seeing what happened, raised a cry of worry.

Her gaze first turned to the assassin, however, who was already turning tail and escaping into the forest. "You think I'd let you go?!"

Kali didn't hesitate to pull out her revolver before firing three times. Of the three, two hit the assassin's leg, and the last on his back. The black hooded figure fell to the ground, immobilized for a good while!

"You..."

The black-haired woman, a moment later, realized what just happened. "You saved... me?"

Aster gritted his teeth, holding back the pain from his arm, and showed a weak smile.

"Well... I can't let you die just because of a misunderstanding."

"...!"

And that was when it began.