Chapter 22: 22 - Princess Knight
The sun began to set over the horizon. The second day of the Hunt soon to be over.
Maria sat cross legged upon a rough, but flat, gray roof
of a mountain. The winds had picked up, the waves down below, and behind her, smacked against the coastline of the island. It was a bit chilly up here, the clouds seemed closer than ever, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle.
As the sound of rocks crunching rang in her ears, and a significantly large mana signature grew closer, Rain spoke behind her.
"Ready?"
"Naturally."
A spiraling red light jumped, descending from the sky, and soon crashing before her, shattering the floor into a concave. She rather smiled, looking up at the raging mana of the man who stared down at her with such an uncaring expression. Like always, the mere pressure of his might was suffocating, the chilliness of the area had been burned away, and his mana felt concrete.
Her smile only seemed to grow.
It was as if she hungered for this confrontation. This moment. As if the hunt had merely been a byproduct for her craving to fight him.
"You should have completed the hunt while you could." He spoke first.
"I would very much like to face you again, would you do me the honor?"
He stared at her with the trickle of time, as if in an effort to gauge her true intentions. Then he looked behind her to see a boy who merely shrugged.
"And what do I gain?"
"The orb. Of course, it should be a bit more fair than you simply crushing me, however. How does a spar sound? 5 minutes. If I manage three strikes on you, I win and you let me 'capture' you. If I don't, I'll give you the orb. Fair, isn't it?"
"Oh?" His mana spiked.
"Alright."
She stood up and summoned her weapon. She was sure he did not take her seriously in the least. She was sure he would absolutely crush her, and she was sure there was no way she could win the spar. However, a grin spread upon her face and ten mana blades summoned behind her.
"I so want to pay you back for that flick," There was a flame in her eyes.
Her hunger for battle reached its peak as he merely stared at her, standing so loftily defenseless and stanceless. He clearly did not take her seriously, and she needn't to care if he did.
She took her stance, sword positioned before her chest as she placed one foot back and—
The ground cracked as she used her full speed, crossing more than a meter and facing the man in nothing but a split second. Her weapon glowed, and the person hurried to dodge.
She smiled. It was merely a feint. Ten mana blades surrounded him and pierced forward.
However.
Gushin Mao merely stopped in his tracks, his overpowering mana radiating as he stamped a foot down, raised another leg, and swerved a kick.
The air picked up and shattered.
Mana blades turned to crumbs of fragments. And Maria found herself blown back.
He was upon her in a moment. He waved his hand without a care and she barely managed a dodge, jumping into the air and landing back on her feet. Her clothing was greatly ripped. She looked behind her, the ocean floor awaiting.
"You're crazy." A certain boy whispered to her.
"Maybe."
"Your plan best work."
"Humph."
Maria readied her blade once more and charged forth.
A fist came for her. She knocked his arm away, feeling as if she had scraped against bronze and winded a fist into a punch forward.
'Got you!'
The man merely stopped his initial attack, took a step back, and grasped her hand—all in one fluid, exceedingly fast, motion. Her scream echoed amidst the dying day as her wrist cracked, the bone twisting and shattering through her skin with spurting blood.
What followed was a brutish assault.
It was as if he were toying with her. Every poke of a finger by him sent pain running through her. He did not take her seriously in the least bit. And, again, there was simply no way she could win a battle or spar against him—skill or otherwise.
By the time he stopped, he merely frowned as he looked down at her collapsing body.
"Your boasting amounted to this much? Already collapsing from a single finger? Did you perhaps luckily survive my flick?" He asked, looking down at her, "Give up."
Maria coughed a mouthful of dry air. Her lungs felt drained and tired, and she wondered if blood was swishing around her body. Her right arm was all but shattered. Her mana constantly ran through it in an effort to heal, but something like that couldn't be easily fixed within the course of battle at her skill level.
She switched her weapon to her left hand, a bloodied grin did not leave her lips as she looked up.
"Got you," She smiled.
A light barrier surrounded all sides of the man but the bottom and top.
"!!"
Try and beat him in a duel? And then trust the man to keep his word? She never planned to keep her own words in the first place!
The ground tumbled as Rain impaled his weapons into the ground.
He was glad he hadn't need to do much work. More specifically, he was glad her plan didn't factor him engaging the man directly. There was a part of him that had wanted to jump in faster, but that part was quenched by the desire to pass the Hunt.
Blue light rolled as he poured the entirety of his mana into his blades, the mountain top rumbling and breaking apart.
"Bye bye."
Maria smiled as a geyser of pressurized water kicked the man into the air.
It wasn't over.
A giant white blade of mana slapped the man from the sky.
Gushin Mao found himself spinning, his field of vision circling before he met eyes with a swirling ocean.
"Gotcha."
His body suddenly stopped.
He looked up to see a girl, bloodied and grinning, holding onto his arm with her working hand as she stood upon a Radiant Sword, floating above the ocean.
"So? How does it feel to be at the mercy of another's strength? To be at the receiving end? How does it feel knowing I can drop you into the sea and fail you at any time?" She smiled as she looked down on him, holding him below and before her, "Of course, you could simply cause us both to fall. However, I believe you must have a reason for partaking in this Hunt, right? You can't afford to lose, can you?"
As his eyes narrowed at her, a sudden rush of euphoria ran through her body. It was like a high. Completely holding this man by a hand, deciding his fate just as he had done another. . .her battle bearing fruit. . . .exhilarating.
'What is wrong with me here?' She wondered, briefly.
Gushin Mal sighed as the mana spiraling the air around him receded. He listlessly glanced at the girl once more, eyes taking a moment to capture her in his mind. His head dropped back down to stare at the ocean.
"Alright," He said, "You win."
Maria's smile widened as she allowed 10 seconds to trickle past. Her marker blinked a black color before returning back to green. With that, the last condition to fully complete the Hunt was over.
The weapon under her feet quickly shuddered before it raced back to the mountain top.
"Like I thought, even someone like you has something you fight for. . .something to use your strength for. . .something you're doing this for? What could it be?"
"None of your business."
She laughed, "Harsh."
He hadn't taken a single hint of damage on his body. In fact, if it was solely based on their battle, he won. However, the rules of the Hunt only required she 'captured' the Hunted—not beat him in a fight.
They soon reached the mountain top, now broken and shattered, as she dropped him back down.
She took out her marker and crushed it. Her figure began to disappear in light. She smiled at the man.
"Could you take him back to his starting zone?"
Gushin Mao merely stared at her departing figure.
Her figure finally exiting this realm, he muttered under his breath, "Thank you."
Rain, on the other hand, looked awkwardly at the man covered in fluttering black butterflies, wondering how the princess was so sure he would provide his services to him.
Their eyes met.
"Would you like my help returning to your starting zone?"
"?"
The boy blinked. The black butterflies surrounding Mao fluttered away to reveal green ones.
'She's amazing.' He thought at that moment.
The stadium quieted. A figure stepped out of the portal. Within moments, the place erupted into cheers as Maria revealed herself. Her clothing was basically scraps now, she was dirtied, filthy even, but no one cared, rewarding her for her performance with praise.
"Spectacular," Lambert Clover clapped.
"That's my sister for you."
At the side of the suddenly proud Prince, Ais showed a small, almost imperceptible, smile.
The odds had been against her. Going up against the strongest in the city? It was already lucky she didn't fail the test right there and then.
"Princess Knight!! Princess Knight!!"
On that day, that cheer covered Kent and the girl received her first Legend.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LotsChrono
LotsChrono With that, the first arc is over. How was it? Any criticisms?
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