Princess’s Struggle for Survival

Dust swirled across the arena, thousands of eyes fixed on the two figures standing at the center. Iris felt resistance against the blade in her hand, her slender dark brows faintly furrowed.

Sunlight streamed through the dome overhead, piercing the dusty air and forming clearly visible beams. At the brightest focal point, delicate threads of light converged like rivers flowing into the sea, enveloping the petite pink silhouette.

Arms, shoulders, chest, and abdomen, all skin above the knees covered now in light elements. Lyra stood bathed in holy radiance. Light, which should have no physical form, gradually coalesced around her body, ultimately solidifying into shimmering, silvery armor with a metallic sheen.

Unlike the Frost Armor, which was merely a thin layer adhering to the caster's skin, only resembling armor in shape and offering questionable defensive capabilities, the radiant Holy Light Armor Lyra now wore was a true, solid, and durable defense.

Feeling her sword unable to advance even a fraction against the opponent's shoulder plate, Iris realized she had no more room or distance to apply force. Just as she prepared to retreat, Lyra sharply raised her knees in a powerful strike. The gust that followed fluttered Iris's clothes, forcing the woman to step back several paces.

Through her Mirror Light Reflection, Iris finally caught a full view of Lyra's fully armored form, and a faint surprise flickered in her pale purple eyes.

A pure white shirt lay beneath the sturdy armor, only visible through narrow gaps. Her prominent chest and flat abdomen were seamlessly connected and encased in gleaming silver plating. Even the traditionally open sides of the waist feature similar scale-like designs, forming a unified upper chestplate.

Below, Lyra wore specially thickened white thigh-high socks to reduce skin friction. Her knightly boots, extending past the thighs, allowed ample flexibility at the joints. Near the bottom, delicate feather-like metallic trims adorned the edges, revealing just a sliver of white stocking above.

The blue-eyed girl stood beneath the sun, a blade forged from pure light reforming in her palm. Her smooth pink hair fell gently by her waist, slightly softening the sharp, imposing aura the armor gave her.

Not just Iris, Emperor Hibbort, too, furrowed his brow slightly as he watched, deep in thought.

What was that sword? First, it transformed from solid to ethereal, then dissolved and reformed into armor, and now, beneath sunlight, it had returned to its original form.

Its existence seems to defy the natural laws of this world. Even the most skilled blacksmith couldn't forge a blade without a fixed shape.

Or perhaps... Was it truly a sword at all?

His fingers lightly tapping the armrest, Hibbort pondered silently before gently asking Astrid.

"Do you know the origin of that sword in Lyra's hand?"

Even across the entire treasury of the Valeria Empire, no other artifact possesses such extraordinary power.

Astrid shook her head, her cool red eyes tenderly watching the figure in the arena.

"That sword was retrieved by Lyra from an ancient barrier. She passed the original owner's trial and successfully became its master, making it her fated weapon."

"As for who created the barrier, even Lyra doesn't know. After the Holy Light Sword acknowledged her as its master, the barrier dissolved into particles of light and disappeared."

In the history of the Valeria Empire, there had indeed been rare individuals blessed with extraordinary fortune, those who discovered ancient relics from before the Cataclysm, either through studying ancient texts or venturing deep into buried ley lines.

Artifacts like Charlotte's spatial ring, the teleportation matrix within Duke Charles's territory, and the Imperial Gem embedded in the empire's scepter were all remnants from ancient times, each possessing extraordinary abilities.

Yet even among these, a weapon as unique as the Sword of Light was truly one of a kind.

After hearing Astrid's explanation, Hibbort asked no further. Instead, he focused his gaze on Lyra's dazzling Holy Light Armor, his Elemental Vision quietly activating.

In his sight, the armor was a dense cluster of light element particles, so tightly packed they had solidified. Lyra, utilizing her high affinity and immense mental energy, had integrated them into a stable, solid form possessing genuine durability.

Meanwhile, Lyra exhaled slightly, relieved by the armor's protection. Her wrist, struck earlier by Mirror Reflection, still throbbed with pain, but fortunately, it remained flexible, no fractures or bone shattering that could decide the match's outcome.

This was largely thanks to Elise's past teachings. She had repeatedly urged Lyra to attach mental energy to her wrists and shoulder joints when swinging her sword, this not only assisted muscle power, increased slashing force, but also cushioned recoil and prevented injury.

Had Lyra not maintaining this habit, the double-force impact from Mirror Reflection would likely have shattered her wrist joint.

Outside the arena, students gasped in surprise at Lyra's armor. Even some professors amplified their eyes, stunned by what they were testifying.

The deeper one understood the essence of magic, the better they grasped the difficulty of turning formless elements into solid matter, let alone constructing armor strong enough to resist blades.

It was almost divine.

The audience's exclamations were blocked by soundproof barriers, failing to reach Lyra's ears. Now, she quietly chanted a pain-suppression spell. The next moment, the burning pain in her wrist disappeared, leaving only a faint stiffness during movement to remind her the injury was real.

She could only imagine how painful it would be after the battle ended.

But now was clearly not the time to think about that.

The silver-white knight's boots strike the ground with crisp, metallic sounds. Lyra, radiant like a descending deity, rekindled the Holy Light Sword and, by the end of her second breath, leapt forward.

Although the Holy Light Armor offered immense defense, it consumed mental energy rapidly. At this point, she had to end this quickly.

Watching the blade, seemingly ablaze with solar fire, slash straight toward her, Iris blinked, raised her arm, and met it with her own blade. At the moment of impact, thousands of sparks erupted. Even from dozens of centimeters away, Iris could feel the heat radiating from the Holy Light Sword into the air.

She quickly lifted her sword, using all her strength to push Lyra back. As she dodged the searing light in the air, she changed sideways at her own blade.

At the point of impact with the Holy Light Sword, a tiny nick had appeared, starkly visible against the otherwise smooth edge.

Normally, a knight's blade would be protected by their mental energy, enhancing both sharpness and durability. Yet in that clash, Lyra's sword had pierced through her mental defense and damaged the physical blade itself.

No wonder Monica held this sacred artifact in such high regard, the power was truly formidable.

Planting her feet firmly, Iris made no move to catch her breath. While Lyra was momentarily driven back and unable to launch another attack, she seized the initiative and advanced again.

A vast, wave-like surge of wind flowed along Iris's blade, as if sucking all nearby air into it.

Sensing danger, Lyra didn't place blind trust in her Holy Light Armor. She immediately angled her sword in front, assuming a defensive stance.

The next instant, Iris closed the distance at lightning speed, her blade moving so fast it seemed to outpace light itself.

Right. Above.

A flash of dazzling white light filled her vision. Understanding Iris's angle of attack, Lyra raised her sword to block. The clanging sound of metal hadn't even reached her ears when Iris changed tactics, swinging into a thrust. Lyra reacts instantly, using her blade to deflect the strike.

Finally, Iris's physical attributes as an early tier Master Knight still hold a slight edge over Lyra, even enhanced by Lightfall. Especially now, with Iris on the offensive and Lyra reacting defensively, the latter naturally lagged a fraction behind.

The tip of Iris's blade scraped across the armor with a shrill screech. Originally aimed at Lyra's armpit, the strike was deflected by force. Although Lyra couldn't fully match Iris's offensive rhythm and knock the blade away, the Holy Light Armor provided a safety net, attacks she couldn't avoid could simply be endured.

Staring at the flawless, unmarred surface of the Holy Light Armor, Iris realized her normal attacks were insufficient to penetrate. She accelerated her movements, aiming for Lyra's joints left unprotected by armor. Her blade struck the armor as a feint, then released a burst of wind that scattered like blooming petals, slicing along the armor's curves toward the limbs.

Using her Elemental Vision, Lyra spotted the flow of pale green wind blades. She quickly shifted her legs, twisting her body a quarter-turn to let the sturdy leg armor protect her hazardous knee joint.

Close combat continued, sparks from clashing blades constantly illuminating their pupils. Although Lyra seemed to perfectly defend every attack, the balance of victory was modified tilting towards Iris.

If their strengths were equal, flawless defense might have led Lyra to victory. But her opponent was an early tier Master Knight and two beings whose mental energy reserves were in entirely different leagues.

Iris only needed to slowly drain Lyra's stamina to win, risk-free.

The one in advantage could afford patience, methodically widening the gap. The one at a disadvantage had to seize opportunities, disrupt the rhythm, and turn chaos into victory.

Lyra clearly understood this. After another clash of blades, she forcefully pushed off the ground with both legs, pinning Iris's blade while twisting her body and ramming her sturdy shoulder armor into the opponent.

Iris reacted instantly, shifting her footing, her blade now aimed at Lyra's lower leg.

The sudden reversal of offense and defense caused a slight delay in Iris's reaction. Lyra struck first, and at the same time, Iris's blade sliced across Lyra's lower leg at the unprotected back of the knee joint. A clear bloodstain suddenly bloomed across the pristine white stocking.

Fortunately, Lyra's movement has been slightly faster. The unexpected shoulder charge prevents Iris from delivering full force, the blade only slicing skin, not damaging crucial tendons.

The next moment, using her leg injury as a cost to regain initiative, Lyra pressed forward. Her Holy Light Sword slashed toward Iris's hand, which hadn't fully risen.

But suddenly, Iris was pulled out of Lyra's attack range by an unnatural force.

The sword strikes empty air. Lyra's pupils widened slightly. Before she could even breathe, Iris had already created dozens of meters of distance.

And at that instant, Lyra realized what had just saved Iris, beyond visible limbs, Master Knight-level knights could extend their mental energy as part of their bodies.

The purple-haired girl was no longer standing on the ground, but floating in midair, transparent wings rapidly flapping behind her.

One of the defining traits of a High Knight ascending to early tier Master Knight was the materialization of mental energy, knights could transform their mental energy into wings, allowing brief suspension in the air.

Although not yet capable of full flight, freely soaring like birds, brief hovering was enough to separate them from ground-bound beings.

Iris looked down at Lyra below, her clear purple eyes reflecting the girl's image.

In all her previous matches, no opponent had forced her to reveal Mirror Reflection, a trump card she kept hidden. She never expected that Lyra, still only a Grand Knight, would not only withstand that sudden attack but also handle the relentless follow-ups so well.

To Iris, the greatest respect she could show an opponent was to fight with everything she had.

Just as Lyra estimated the height and prepared to chant the offensive light-element spell Light Scorch while leaping toward Iris, the latter lowered her gaze, her knight's blade resting diagonally beside her leg.

In Iris's eyes, Lyra looked focused and calm, like the quiet before a storm.

No... Iris was casting a spell...

Within her Elemental Vision, Lyra noticed arcane particles rapidly gathering around her.

She tried to raise her sword to interrupt Iris's spellcasting, but suddenly, the Holy Light Sword in her hand felt as heavy as a thousand jin, utterly impossible to lift.

"Click... click..."

A crisp sound echoed near Lyra's ears, so close, yet she couldn't locate its source.

Iris gazed at Lyra, clad in Holy Light Armor, and silently completed the final incantation in her mind.

In an instant, overwhelming weight piled onto Lyra's frail body. At that moment, she suddenly realized where the sound she alone could hear was coming from.

It was her bones.

Under pain suppression, Lyra couldn't feel her body's distress, but in truth, Iris had already inflicted damage.

A Magnus tier-level arcane spell, Kingdom. One of the treasured magics of the Kingdom of Velys, still exclusive to royal bloodlines.

By amplifying the gravity affecting a designated target, it created a crushing force field that rendered movement nearly impossible.

Against heavily armored knights resistant to blades, this spell was perfectly suited.