The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 348 - A Spirit Once Whole, Combat Conducted, & The Lie Maybe Told

Chapter 348: Chapter 348 - A Spirit Once Whole, Combat Conducted, & The Lie Maybe Told

The memory of cold stone beneath her knees after she collapsed to them in two very different locations had never quite faded, even after so many millennia. For the first place... it had been her own home. When ’irrefutable’ proof was allowed in front of her that her most promising disciple had been seducing her partner.

The man’s scheme had accomplished its purpose... keeping her away until the attempted sacrifice was complete. By revealing something so timely and devastating as how he was leaving her, through letter, that she had to sit there and process it - reading the letter over and over... while they ’got away’.

And the second place of bone chilled knees was a distant ruin, where Elua could still recall with perfect clarity the moment her past self had finally broken through the defensive barriers meant to delay her. Only to find the large scale ritual chamber silent and still.

’Too late. To stop it. To kill her myself.’

Her disciple’s body had lain at the center of an elaborate sigil array, blood channeled and drained into precisely carved grooves... from wounds inflicted while bound tight. That woman’s eyes were still open and had held neither fear nor regret like one might hope to find on a betrayer so betrayed.

Only a final emptiness that had denied Elua even the satisfaction of confrontation. Of explanation or lies spoken through the voice of the one she would have never forgiven anyway. Not after the situation had been fed to her in careful morsels by her partner. freewёbnoνel-com

What remained there had been only the echo of power and the absence of the one who had wielded it. Her partner and his trail, gone. Her disciple and her own revenge, dead.

The woman who would one day be the reborn young girl sat there glaring at such a ’near’ reincarnation... and knew she had been left with nothing but fury that had nowhere to go but inward.

So it did, for the longest time. So long that it still existed - judging her choices.

’I never questioned why she would seduce him so readily, when there had been no signs to me they had begun to do anything behind my back...’

Elua reflected on this, now that the busted spirit of her former disciple had a sense of ’protectiveness’ to it toward herself. The presumed seduction and betrayal had seemed so crystal clear at the time... but that was because the evidence was so carefully arranged - to a now suspicious degree when she allowed herself to doubt.

She wondered what other details she may have missed in her blind rage... back then and now. During the competition, she had interpreted Leysah’s attempts to ’apologize’ as merely remnants of an ancient guilt. The subconscious seeking of *approval* that followed such disloyalty.

But there was something more complex in those spiritual echoes this morning. Perhaps even suggesting that some choices had been made not in ’treachery’, but in some misguided attempt at protection. From a partner who was not as they seemed.

As Qatrand took a step in the training yard, Elua found herself rapidly cataloging the differences between her current partner and that ’mistake’. Where her husband-wife’s movements were straightforward and honest... time had shown her that the other had moved with calculation designed to be witnessed.

Each protective gesture, each seemingly selfless act, carefully positioned where Elua would notice. That long-ago partner had perfected the art of appearing so very ’good’ - something she would even admit that she drew inspiration from in her own actions to this day.

Not a fully altruistic protector, just as she was not, but one who sought to sacrifice a single disciple - to sacrifice Elua’s love itself all for the sake of becoming stronger. The contrast with Qatrand’s transparent and excellent nature couldn’t be more stark.

Because she had been tricked at the time, she spent centuries alone and unwilling to bond perfecting her control. Precision to be able to tell such minutiae that she spiritually gazed at in Leysah right now, against her will or knowledge.

And while her precious gem still had a long way to go, she had been training her how to do the same. By letting the swordswoman look inside a stronger spirit with the slightest increasing resistance over time, for so long.

Making it someday impossible to keep anything at all from her loved one who walked toward the center of the field while pulling her blade free. Impossible to ever be considered anything like that man had been, for all the lessons she took from him. Even if it maybe made it possible to be fooled the same way again.

"Then let’s see this martial ability of yours. I need to understand exactly what you might bring to this strike force."

But as it was now? Elua was certain such a possibility was infinitesimally small. And if her Qat ever did have a need to betray her, she was starting to think that her beloved would have the utmost solid reasons!

Curved blades met heavy sword with a resounding clash that echoed across the training yard. Leysah had not held back, making some use of her Element in the motion. Fluid slashes had left invisible tracers of the essence used to adjust the Kinetic forces as it cut through the air.

Mint eyes watched the fighting pattern, so close but so different from her disciple in the past. The cultivator wielded the mix of martial skill and elementalism with higher than average control for the continent, manipulating the momentum of her strikes to create unpredictable attack vectors.

But Qatrand countered with measured power, her Gravity-enhanced blade providing the perfect counterbalance to Leysah’s mobility-focused style. Lessening the impact as the unusually defensive Yecine accepted the quick and elusive slashes.

Tracking the exchange of techniques, both sword and essence, an illusionist’s senses extended further. Monitoring the subtle shifts in spiritual pressure as the two fighters engaged. She noted how Leysah’s spiritual energy seemed just as underdeveloped as most cultivators, on the surface.

Relatively impressive physical capabilities and essence control seemed improved by even that imbalanced state. Yet, somehow it seemed like the lack of spiritual accumulation was more pronounced in Leysah’s case. What was broken in it clearly resisted full expression.

"Your Kinetic control is exceptional."

Qatrand commented after Leysah deflected a heavy overhead strike, pressing her essence toward the large blade to steal the energy of its momentum. While their essence cultivation actually was not that far different, the swordswoman had still needed to ’allow’ it to see what would happen.

The woman disengaged, stepping back to reset her stance and letting out a hot breath. It was clear to her already that it would have been a close match at best if she had made it to the end of the competition to face this young man.

"Thank you."

"Your Physique seems to be aligned with your Element."

Making the comment was to reveal that Qat had in fact read through and memorized the dossiers. It was another reason she wanted the order to be random - and for the candidates to know so. An idea proposed by her wife to make her seem more ’leader’ like.

"Yes. Conductive. It allows me to absorb some of the energy that comes in contact with my body and redirect it. But it sounds more impressive than it is, being only a Peak Enchanter."

To demonstrate, she invited Qatrand to strike her open palm with a controlled blow. When the Yecine took her up on the offer and slung a fist into the spot, she could feel that there was a strange sensation to it. Almost like being cushioned with Gravity, but not.

"It makes me think of hitting something a little softer than I thought it would be?"

"I can also store the energy temporarily and release it when advantageous."

Pigeon blues looked a little surprised, even if Elua had told her this ahead of time. Because the dossier hadn’t mentioned it... and Qat truly was startled that the woman both knew this fact and was willing to tell her.

"How much can you absorb?"

"It taxes me significantly, so I’ve never tested it. It’s more useful to steal small amounts from everything and use it immediately. To augment and make a swing a little faster without always using my Element, for instance."

They continued the assessment, moving through the various combat scenarios Qatrand had devised to test every participant with. Variations of Yecine training that most Guild members would be familiar with to make it all fair. Throughout it all, Leysah adapted to Qatrand’s style and orders.

Displaying the kind of battlefield intuition that couldn’t be taught. Only learned through experience. Yet periodically, her attention would drift to where Elua sat pretending to pay them no mind - and each time, she would catch herself and refocus her concentration with visible frustration.

’Well, if I were going along with them, she would be a liability thanks to me~’

"Your Astralism wasn’t listed in the dossier, was no one familiar with it where you were tested?"

The ’sweet’ voice called and attracted both warriors. Leysah replied after a moment’s hesitation and a look toward the one assessing her, who only nodded their head.

"It manifests... unusually. I know what it does, but not what to call it. I can project thoughts outward."

"Oh... so like Telepathy?"

Hearing that name brought a frown to the woman’s face, having heard the same line more than once. But she was sure that it wasn’t what it was. Even if it felt like it was related.

"Not exactly. It is one way, only me to another person. I’m told that Telepathy works... bidirectionally."

"Interesting limitation. But it still sounds useful."

A low, firm voice observed neutrally, leading Leysah to return a slight shrug. There was an agitation deep below the surface at having it praised. She’d never really liked cultivating spirit, because it didn’t seem to come naturally to her like everything else.

"Ever since I broke into Enchanter and gained it, I haven’t experimented with the best ways to make use of it. Or gained enough skill to use it as second nature as I can my element..."

"Well, your combat proficiency itself is undeniable. It’s understandable to focus on that. But I’ve found that meditation and improving my spirit has aided me everywhere else."

The woman was surprised to find that it was Qatrand who acknowledged this while sheathing her blade. Without even looking over at the heiress, she could feel her heart telling her this sort of sentiment was born from Elua er Goltbred instead.

"From what I can see, you would indeed provide value to this team. But you are the first of the day, so I won’t make a promise."

Leysah bowed her head while offering something close to the Ironclad Order’s salute.

"Thank you."

She hesitated while starting to turn away, then her eyes flickered involuntarily to Elua once more. But the heiress didn’t bother to take her face out of her notebook. And the woman huffed, conflicted over whether she was happy or not that this assignment contained no non-combatants.

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