Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 167

Chapter 167: The Clash of Silver and Gray

 

Two wings, one pure white and the other pitch black, spread out against the night sky.

 

Before Sora stood a girl who appeared to be in her early teens, with a beautifully delicate face.

 

Her long gray hair reached down to the back of her knees, and her almond-shaped eyes were strikingly different: the right was golden while the left was blue.

 

Clad in a pure white battle dress that left her back largely exposed. She wore no armor at all, revealing an unnaturally slender body that was almost frightening.

 

What drew immediate attention was the gray one-handed straight sword she held in her right hand, more an artwork than a weapon.

 

With her ?Insight II? skill, Sora could discern neither its name nor its true nature. She was an unidentified angel.

 

Cautious of the formidable foe before her, Sora first activated her ?Perception? skill to assess the surrounding situation.

 

On the deck, there were no signs of struggle. All the crew members on night watch lay unconscious.

 

From the corner of his vision, he briefly caught sight of them, seemingly in a state of “unconsciousness.”

 

Could it be that this girl had carried out such stealthy work, akin to an assassin, without anyone raising an alarm?

 

As the question lingered in her mind, Sora placed her right hand on the hilt of her beloved sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

 

Despite the obvious hostility directed at her, the gray angel watched her with an expression of delight, swaying her body from side to side as she leapt from the bow of the ship and landed about ten meters away.

 

At that point, her wings had disappeared.

 

Standing upright, the girl looked at her with her two differently colored eyes and spoke the first words that came to her lips.

 

“It’s been a while, beloved companion of Eve.”

 

“!?”

 

Just as Sora’s perception skill foresaw the activation of ?Sonic Sword X?, the gray angel closed the distance, rushing toward her.

 

What an instantaneous burst of acceleration!

 

As the enemy swung her one-handed straight sword from the lower right to the upper left, Sora reacted with extraordinary spinal reflexes, drawing her sword and activating ?Sword Guard V?.

 

The silence was shattered by the intense clash of attack and defense skills.

 

Unable to fully absorb the force, Sora’s body slipped back a few steps.

 

If she had reacted just a moment slower, she might have been split in two.

 

The gray angel smiled happily at the sight of the silver adventurer blocking her blade.

 

“Oh, how amusing. Those foolish people couldn’t react to anything except the ‘Golden One’, but you’re a whole different story…”

 

“Golden… you mean Ilya?”

 

Switching five enhancement slots to ?Attack Power Boost Enchantment V?, Sora managed to stabilize the blade lock that was leaning against her, causing the gray angel’s smile to vanish.

 

“Do you know that detestable ‘Golden One’?”

 

“What do you mean I know her? She’s my top disciple.”

 

“Hmmm, that’s an interesting story. When I meet her next time, I’ll make sure to tear her apart and take one of her lives.”

 

“Try it if you can. But before that, you might just end up defeated by me right here!”

 

In the midst of their blade lock, he activated the intermediate enchantment skill ?Strength?, which boosted her attack power.

 

With a sudden surge of amplified force, she pushed the enemy away and prepared for a horizontal dual strike, ?Dual Nail V?, aimed at the gray angel.

 

“Haaaa!”

 

The girl laughed gleefully, positioning her sword similarly and activating ?Dual Nail X? with the same motion as Sora.

 

A dazzling green effect radiated from their blades as the silver and gray swords collided head-on.

 

However, it wasn’t a perfect stalemate.

 

In an unexpected turn, Sora found herself outmatched in power. Her initial stance was slightly disrupted, and she was subsequently flung backward by the intersecting second strike.

 

For the first time, Sora felt she was being pushed back head-on, sending chills down her spine as she regained her footing.

 

This girl is stronger than I anticipated!?

 

The enemy’s strength was beyond what even her Insight skill could analyze.

 

The only thing she could deduce was that her skill level was at [10], leading her to forcefully estimate that the gray angel possessed more than double her strength.

 

That would mean she was at least level 150 or higher.

 

“Indeed, discussing through the sword is the best way. It allows me to understand you better.”

 

“Yeah, I get it. You’re incredibly strong.”

 

“Yes, I’m quite surprised as well. Normally, with that attack, others would have lost their balance with the first hit and died with the second.”

 

“Too bad for you. I’m feeling just fine!”

 

“Then how about this?”

 

The gray sword emitted a dazzling light with the effect of the skill.

 

The gray girl hoisted her sword onto her right shoulder and made a motion as if gathering strength, then she stepped forcefully forward with her right foot.

 

—!

 

Sora, using her Insight skill, predicted the attack and quickly activated ?Perfect Protect Call? to nullify the first hit’s damage. As the enemy swung down her sword, Sora used her defensive skill to block the crescent-shaped flying slash that she unleashed simultaneously.

 

It felt like the same pressure she experienced when she faced a massive airship over 100 meters long charging straight at her.

 

Naturally, this was not something that could be halted by human leg strength. Her footing slipped backward against the force of the flying slash.

 

“Gah…!”

 

Just like when Alice couldn’t nullify it before, her HP was reduced by about 50% despite using a defensive skill.

 

So, the enemy must have a special ability that nullifies defensive skills.

 

Thinking quickly, Sora activated ?Sonic Sword V? to forcibly apply the brakes against the slash’s momentum.

 

Her body screamed from the strong forces acting from both front and back, causing her HP to drop even further. However, Sora held her breath and utilized all the techniques she had honed until now to fully deflect the flying slash upward.

 

“…Ha!”

 

Barely escaping from a dangerous situation, Sora found herself kneeling despite the enemy still being present.

 

Yet the gray girl, seeing this as the perfect opportunity, clapped her hands together joyfully in praise.

 

“I can’t believe you managed to deflect one of my ultimate techniques! Truly, you are Lucifer!”

 

Sora realized.

 

There was no doubt that she was holding back.

 

The fact that the enemy still had energy left, evident from her earlier behavior, was the best evidence of that.

 

I’ve been underestimated, Sora thought, igniting her fighting spirit.

 

Fueled by anger, she channeled her killing intent into her sword.

 

Activating the intermediate enhancement skill ?Accelerator? to increase her movement speed, Sora took advantage of the momentum from standing up and dashed forward like a bullet.

 

“!?”

 

Taking small steps to the left and right while utilizing ultra-acceleration that even creates afterimages, Sora feints and maneuvers behind the enemy.

 

However, the enemy likely possesses a perception skill as well.

 

Suddenly turning around, she unleashed a horizontal slash aimed at slicing Sora in two.

 

Reacting just in time, Sora performed a backstep to narrowly evade it.

 

With that momentum, she swung her sword from a low left stance to a high right stance and unleashed a crescent-shaped flying slash, ?Angriff Fliegen?, as a counterattack.

 

The gray girl intercepted it easily with ?Sword Guard X?, effortlessly deflecting the attack.

 

Utilizing the brief moment created by the defense, Sora planted her feet firmly on the ground and dashed forward with such force that the deck cracked beneath him.

 

As she closed the distance, she readied her sword and ruthlessly thrust her ultimate piercing technique, ?Strike Sword V?, directly toward the enemy’s wide-open chest.

 

Just before the striking blue effect could pierce the girl’s skin, she demonstrated equally impressive reflexes and used ?Sonic Step? to perform a short emergency dodge, causing Sora’s thrust to miss.

 

“I got you!”

 

Seeing Sora expose her unguarded side, the gray girl unleashed a powerful strike from below, ?Rage Slant X?.

 

—This is it!

 

Just as the blade approached, Sora activated ?Quick Change?.

 

She stored her ?Silver Magic Sword? in her storage and summoned silver gauntlets adorned with dragon emblems that covered her arms up to the elbows.

 

This was one of her trump cards.

 

It was the ?Gauntlet of Pride?, acquired from the last attack bonus in the previous battle.

 

The blade approaching from below was slower compared to Shino’s slash.

 

Having trained countless times in barehanded defense techniques against her master in fighting games, she executed the technique using ?Sword Guard V?.

 

With precise timing, she deflected the slash with the side of her right gauntlet while lowering his waist.

 

In that moment, she unleashed the ?Burst Charge? she had been building up in her left arm.

 

With her left foot driving powerfully into the ground, she poured all her might into her left fist, piercing the center of the gray girl’s body.

 

“Gah!?”

 

The girl, receiving Sora’s full-powered blow, bent over and was sent flying toward the ship’s railing, slamming her back hard against it.

 

One of her three HP bars vanished.

 

Breathing heavily, Sora said to the fallen and motionless enemy, “Huff… huff, I’ve returned the pain that Alice and Satanas suffered, exactly as it was…”