There wasn’t much to prepare for the battle against Tanya. I suggested giving Diane a few Ero Boosts before the fight, but my girl refused my offer.

"Is it because of the side effects?" I asked her.

"No, it’s not because of that," she said to me without any hesitation in her voice. "If I accepted your help, it wouldn’t be a fight between me and Tanya anymore. I know I’m not being pragmatic, but I want to face her without the Ero Boost."

Diane no longer showed any uncertainty. Her calm yet vigorous expression told me she was determined to face her sister using only her own combat potential.

I could say she already had my help because of her class change from the Valkyrie System, but I didn’t think that mattered to her. If she believed she could win this way, I would place my trust in her.

I only said this to her, "I won’t accept anything less than victory, Diane. Go out there and show Tanya your power."

We left our tent and headed towards the ring. I wasn’t surprised by the fact that there wasn’t a single mercenary even near the tent. I thought it was only because of Vulcan’s will, and that his men obeyed out of fear. But that wasn’t exactly the case.

They certainly feared their leader’s wrath, but when I saw them around the ring, excited about the fight that was about to happen, my opinion changed a little.

"Finish that bitch, Jasmine!" a female mercenary shouted at the blindfolded girl.

"Show no mercy!" another mercenary said.

"Split her belly open like a pig!"

"Place your bets!" another mercenary, who wanted to profit from the situation, shouted. It was the least aggressive tone I managed to hear from the audience.

The truth was that those guys, who lived in the underworld, wanted more than anything to see blood.

Thankfully, despite what was at stake in this duel, it wouldn’t be a fight to the death. It was implicit that neither of them intended to kill us, not only because none of Vulcan’s rules said anything about killing the opponent, but also because they had an interest in us.

Vulcan wanted to hand me over to Equidna, and Tanya wanted to enslave her own sister. As horrible as those goals were, for them to happen, both of us needed to come out of our respective fights alive.

The sun had not yet risen, and the ring was illuminated by the many torches around us. Vulcan, who held the audience’s attention, was in the middle of the ring, telling his gang the rules of the fight.

"Competitors, step forward!" Vulcan called.

Diane didn’t look at me one last time, and I didn’t want that either. After what I said in the tent, there was nothing left to say, not even an exchange of glances. All that remained was for her to give everything she had in this fight. My Valkyrie didn’t waste any time and headed into the ring.

While my beautiful woman received boos as she headed towards the center of the circle, it seemed like Jasmine was getting idol treatment. The difference in treatment between them was like the difference between day and night. And of course, as Diane’s only supporter, that crowd bothered me.

Now Diane and Tanya, with the codename Jasmine, were inside the circle, face to face, with a distance of only two meters between them. Vulcan repeated the rules, rules that we had already heard and memorized by heart. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. My eyes were focused on the two girls staring each other down.

I believed that no one in the audience was truly paying attention to what Vulcan was saying. The two girls stared at each other with such intensity that it made it clear to everyone that the moment the mercenary leader gave the signal, they would launch into a brutal confrontation.

Vulcan gave each of them a cup with an elixir. The elixir was capable of restoring health and mana to the max value. That way, they would start the fight on equal footing.

Not wanting to be in the middle of the crossfire, Vulcan moved away from the center of the circle and started to count down.

"3... 2..." It seemed that at this point, the muscular man was enjoying himself by creating anxiety in the audience, and in me.

"Go!"

The ground beneath the two girls’ feet rose, and as if they both had the speed of lightning, the two met at the center of the circle. Their blades met, causing a thunderous sound like thunder. After the clash, each of them was thrown backwards.

Careless eyes might say that the two of them were evenly matched, but those people would be wrong. Of course, neither of them was hurt by that exchange, but Diane had been pushed a little farther back than Tanya. With a difference of 5 Strength Points, I could be grateful that she was able to withstand the blow.

The crowd was going crazy over the display of power happening in front of us. I could see Tanya’s and Diane’s mouths moving, but because of the noise, I couldn’t understand anything. Though the two of them seemed to understand each other, since they were so close.

...

Tanya had improved a lot. When she was little, she was so clumsy and didn’t have a very good physique, but years later, long after the destruction of our clan, she seemed like a completely different person.

There was no hesitation in her movements, and her technique was determined and voracious. The little sister I had known a long time ago couldn’t be seen in the woman standing in front of me with her dual blades in hand, ready to attack me.

"Are you trying to provoke me or something?" Tanya said, noticing the weapons I was holding.

Despite the blindfold over her eyes, it seemed like she could see through the fabric. In my hands were two blades as dark as the night. I hadn’t brought my weapons, so I was using the skill Shadow Blade from the very beginning.

I can’t give a good reason why I did that. My body decided on that form on its own, following instinct, but my blades were two perfect replicas of Tanya’s weapons.

"What are you talking about? I’m the one who taught you how to use dual blades. You’re the one plagiarizing me," I said to her.

Although our father was the main one responsible for our training, I helped Tanya whenever she didn’t quite understand something here or there.

"That was almost 20 years ago," Tanya told me in an emotionless tone. "If you think I haven’t developed since then, you’re mistaken."

"No way. I wouldn’t underestimate you. If you had stayed at the level you were before, you wouldn’t have made it this far." A small smile bloomed on my face.

Tanya’s face changed, as if she had trouble recognizing me.

"You’ve changed, sis," she only told me.

"That was to be expected, wasn’t it? It’s impossible for a person not to change in 20 years."

"Yes, you’re right, but..." Tanya’s voice became more forceful as she dashed towards me. "You’ve become weaker!"

Sparks accompanied the metallic sound of our blades clashing.

"Life in the royal palace must have made you relaxed, but that was to be expected," Tanya said as she unleashed attacks with both hands, and I deflected them. "The life of a member of the Stollen clan is a life in the shadows. It may be something harsh, but it’s something that makes you stronger."

She spun one of the blades in her hand, changing its direction, and with that, a slash I thought I had avoided came back to try to hit my eye. Fortunately, I managed to foresee her movement and escaped with only one less strand of hair.

"Living in the light has made you soft, sis. Spending your days taking care of the little daughter of the man who attacked our clan. I don’t know if Father is alive, but if he were and saw what you became, he would probably die of disgust," Tanya said, resuming her guard stance.

"I don’t think it would be much different for you!" I said forcefully, unleashing several blows against her. "Father would rather have his children die than have to serve someone who wasn’t from the main family!"

According to Rick, Tanya had fewer Defense Points, meaning if I managed to wound her, she would take more damage. That is, if I managed to wound her.

It seemed that an old habit of hers hadn’t changed. A small opening was created when she recovered from a blow she delivered. The opening was a shorter window than it had been 20 years ago, but even so, it existed.

After she pulled her blade back for the last time, the opening appeared right before my eyes. My magic blade was already on its way. I was so close, but—

"You still underestimate me, sis."