Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

While Mira was meditating, Maria was lounging around, watching her lover. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry as she could sense an unnatural aura surrounding Mira.

'...I hope she'll be alright.'

Her intuition was telling her that whatever she was doing was dangerous despite her just sitting there.

'Don't worry so much. I'm sure she'll be fine. That woman was able to fight you on even grounds despite all the precautions we took, after all.' A calm, wisened, old woman's voice entered her mind.

'Mmhm.' Maria nodded slowly, turning away from Mira and diving a part of her Soul Sense into her Spatial Ring where Sage Aila and her inheritance space resided. '...What do you think about our fight? Is there anything we could've done better? Or prepared for?'

'Hmmmm….' Sage Aila hummed thoughtfully. 'Your sword skills need some work, and your battle sense isn't as good, either. I can also see that you need to get used to the shield as well. Other than that, I think you could stand to have a few more offensive techniques, just in general. Lastly, improve your cultivation more!'

Maria nodded in agreement. She also felt she lacked in those areas. Unfortunately, only time and experience can fix them.

'Alright, let's forget about Mira for a moment. I doubt we'll have a serious fight like that for a while, so do you think I should try and create another Battle Art other than the [Celestial Yang Sanctity]?'

'Yes, but not because it's not useful. That one focuses on countering various yin concepts like ice, darkness, killing intent, etc. Against such beings, it's the perfect art, but it wouldn't hurt to have both a general-use Battle Art and another that enhances your strengths. Also, keep in mind that Battle Arts doesn't need to have an endless list of techniques.'

Maria nodded and immediately thought to begin working on said 'general-use Battle Art'.

She sat cross-legged not far from Mira, her eyes closed in concentration. However, she kept her Soul Sense active, stretching it as far as she could to react to any dangers

In her mind, she visualized her past battles, analyzing each move, each technique, and each decision. She sifted through her memories, seeking patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. Her goal was clear: to forge a set of techniques that were versatile, powerful, and, above all, adaptable.

The first step was to define the core principles of her new Battle Art. It needed to be flexible, allowing for quick transitions between offense and defense. It should also leverage her light affinity, enhancing her mobility and providing a variety of tactical options.

With Sage Aila's advice echoing in her thoughts, Maria began to outline the foundational techniques.

She envisioned a light-based movement technique that could mimic the properties of light itself but wasn't too costly. This would serve as the bedrock of her Battle Art, enabling her to control the battlefield and react swiftly to any threat.

Next, she considered her offensive capabilities. While her swordplay was decent, it lacked the finesse, versatility, and flow of other swordsmen. The biggest difference was that she couldn't see the sword as anything more than a tool, rather than an extension of her body.

Her light element was an extension of her body; a sword merely enhanced her variability and cutting power.

So, she imagined a series of simple sword techniques that could seamlessly transition between different forms of attack, each infused with light energy to enhance their potency and disrupt her opponents' defenses. She stuck to the basics: cut, thrust, and parry.

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For defense, Maria envisioned a shield technique that was not just a passive barrier but an active component of her combat style, similar to how she's been using it. It would not only protect her from harm but also serve as a weapon capable of reflecting attacks.

The key to this battle art would be its cost-effectiveness and ease of use, which would allow her to use it anytime, anywhere. She should be able to use it without worrying about how much Qi she expended.

Unfortunately, she couldn't begin training now as she had to watch over Mira, but that wasn't a problem. Visualization was a big part of the process as well.

"I want to see my mother." A young voice came from the side, causing Maria's ears to twitch and her eyes to open.

"You said you met my mother, right?" Hana looked at her expectantly, stroking Vulcan in her arms. "Can you take me to her?"

'When did I-Ah!' Maria inwardly exclaimed.

She had woken up a few days before Mira and talked to Hana then, telling her that her mother was doing fine.

Maria chuckled awkwardly and said, "Ahaha… Can you wait a few days? I need to stay here and watch Mira."

Hana's lips twitched into a frown as she turned her head, looking at the two of them in disdain.

"...Mira will never go out of her way for something like this. Even if she did, it'd turn into a month-long journey of her fighting endless enemies."

"..."

"...I don't want to be here anymore."

"..."

"I realize my mistake. I'll never again ignorantly decide to ride on Mira's back without enough strength."

"..."

"I'm afraid that if I stay here any longer, I'll really die. I'm surprised I haven't already."

"..."

"I don't even remember most of what happened as everything was either a blur or I was directly knocked unconscious."

"..."

"...I-I just want to see my mother."

Hana tried to say all that with a stead expression, but Maria could see it cracking. She wondered what the little girl had gone through to make her look like that. No, actually, she had a pretty good idea.

Unfortunately-

"...I'm sorry. I can't."

-protecting Mira mattered more, as much as she wanted to help.

Hana subtly nodded, but Maria could see her hands trembling.

"Th-Then, could you bring my mother here?"

"Oh?"

"You said you knew where she was, right? Just send Rhydian there to pick her up."

"Hmmm…" Maria fell into thought for a moment before she eventually nodded.

It was a bit too dangerous to leave Linnea and Hana, two mortals, on their own especially in this blizzard and with all sorts of crazies running around causing chaos. It was an even bigger waste to leave Rhydian with them as a protector. Not to mention, she wasn't the most reliable guardian.

Hana understood that and hoped they could reach a compromise.

"That's not a bad idea." Maria muttered before shouting, "Rhydian!"

A sigh came from the other side of the cabin, and a tall, animalistic woman came around the corner, chewing on a bone.

"...Yes?"

"Can you pick someone up for me?"

Rhydian's ears perked up. "Where?"

Maria sent her Soul Sense into Rhydian's brain and transmitted the image and location. "Pick up Linnea and bring her here."

"Alright."

Without saying anything else, Rhydian transformed back into a winged wolf and leaped into the sky, disappearing in the distance.

'Damn! Even she's eager to get away from here!' Their lips twitched, but what could they do? They could only trust that she wouldn't use this opportunity as a mini vacation.

'Mmhm! I knew it! My Vulcan's the best!' Maria thought with a proud nod. He enjoyed being around those he trusted, he worked hard to improve and always did as he was told without a fuss.

Satisfied, Hana walked into the cabin with Vulcan while Maria went back to meditating.

***

On the other side of the Continent, Mira's daughter and mount were having their own troubles.

Slash! Spurt!

Dominique cut off the head of a baldy with her dual butterfly swords and extracted his blood before waving her hand. A red arc of blood shot out of her, cutting more baldies in half as she jumped to her next victim.

"Damn beast! Just die and offer your blood to the Lord!" One of them shouted and charged at her, punching. Dominique met his attack head-on, cutting up his arms into little pieces before plunging her swords into his heart.

"Geez! Why are there so many of these guys?!" She grumbled as she looked around, only to see wave after wave of bald monks chasing after her. Most of them were weak, still within the Foundation and Core Formation Realms, but…

Dominique looked up, only to see fire and ice shooting across the sky as Elenei faced off against her own opponents, which were much stronger than the ones she was facing.

They were just exploring the land, picking any treasures they came across and enjoying their time, when these bastards started hunting them down.

'Where'd they even come from?! How do they always know where we are?!'

"That's her! That's the demon who's killed so many of our brothers! Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

"Kill her!"

"For the Lord!"

"Kill her!"

Dominique's expression changed before it eventually morphed into a bloody smile.

'Ah~ Forget it! This is the perfect opportunity to go all out!'

Without hesitation, she hopped headfirst into the crowd of people.