Genetic Ascension
chapter-446

Sylas was inwardly shocked. This world had surprised him many times, but this was truly the first time his understanding of the world seemed to have overturned.

He was certain that this blade had driven right through her head. He wasn't enough of a fool to take something so important for granted.

That meant that either this woman had just come back from the dead, or something even more inexplicable than that had just occurred.

Unfortunately, Sunniva wasn't going to give him the time to try and figure it out.

The blades that dotted her body flashed out and formed a net around the already small space. They circled around in odd, hard-to-grasp patterns before attacking in a rhythm that was hard to track.

At the same time, Sunniva seemed to weave in and out of them as though they were a part of her. She closed the distance, not allowing him the chance to try and escape.

Sylas' gaze flickered. He was certain. Just now, one of the daggers had gone through Sunniva's body.

'Is this telekinesis? No, it can't be...'

Sylas barely dodged a blade, but a deep wound was drawn across his back. His healing factor seemed to lag as there was a violent, shredding sort of Aether left lingering behind.

Without a choice, Sylas summoned as many pieces of General Aleen's armor as he could sustain, clashing with these blades as he tried to deal with Sunniva's relentless strikes.

She was exceptionally skilled. It felt like she had been playing with blades since she left her mother's womb, and considering she was a core member of the Ravenclaws, maybe that was precisely the truth.

The wounds on Sylas' body were only becoming more numerous, and he had had a close shave with death more than a single time.

'... I see...'

Sylas seemed to finally understand after several exchanges.

This wasn't telekinesis; this must be a rare Class-based skill or something of the sort. The blades weren't real.

Well, they were real enough to cut into him. But the point was that their blades weren't formed of metal, but rather Aether. By some special method, these Aether blades were made to look like real blades.

The reason Sunniva wasn't dead despite one driving through her head was that she could make herself immune. She had allowed Sylas to think that she was dead despite having perfect control of the situation, before attacking, gaining the initiative, and pressing it.

Unfortunately, understanding didn't make things much easier. That was because the moment she saw that Sylas had an understanding, she became even more brazen.

She no longer hid the fact that the blades could pass through her body, and her flood of attacks became more relentless and violent.

Even so, there was a flicker of shock in her eyes. There were very few people that could possibly last so long against her in such close quarters, and from what she could tell, at least on average, Sylas' Physical stats were weaker than her own.

She had to end this quickly. Or else...

Sunniva froze.

BANG!

It was too sudden, and all she felt was a dose of cold and a flash of white.

A tail slapped into her side, shattering through her defenses and sending her spiraling into the wall.

It felt as though all her bones had been fractured at once, and the confusion on her face was palpable.

She barely had the wherewithal to see the appearance of a large snake's tail before she passed

out.

...

Sunniva awoke to find a pair of cold, green eyes staring at her. She was confused at first, but then the fact she was naked hit her, and then all of her memories came flooding back. Feeling the state of her body, she thought that she had just been violated. But then she recalled that she wouldn't really be able to tell the difference one way or another.

She was over-thinking things, however. Sylas was only taking the precautions he should in this world. There were too many treasures and hidden items. Even now that she was stripped naked, he was still on high alert in case anything happened. This was the same woman that had just escaped a blade through her head, so he didn't dare to underestimate her.

If not for the Arctic Emperor Cobra, that battle would have truly pushed him to the edge.

Of course, he could have just fused with the Basilisk King, but relying on fusion so early while deep into enemy territory when it would likely be needed soon was foolish.

It was a bit difficult, though. The Arctic Emperor Cobra was too large to fit into this small clearing. Luckily, Sylas could decide exactly where it would appear within the range of his visualization, so he had its body appear in one of the exits behind Sunniva with just enough room for its tail to peek out and deal a blow.

Plus, this was the perfect opportunity to use the Arctic Emperor Cobra... because there was no one around but her to witness it.

On top of that, though she was likely quite the looker usually considering she was a fit woman in her prime... it was hard to care about such things when she was covered in bruises and signs of internal bleeding.

The Arctic Emperor Cobra had over a thousand Strength while Constitution was Sunniva's weakest stat at barely 400 or so.

What chance did she stand against a sneak attack?

Still, the wounds over Sylas' body told of her valiant efforts. Though they had already stopped bleeding and were on their way to begin the healing process despite the fact that he had yet to use his Aether.

His Dual Class Constitution and this almost excessive State of Wealth he was in was certainly no joke. It made his healing factor superhuman.

Now, he had caught someone even more useful than the hostage he planned to take. Sunniva would certainly know a lot more than Mysteer would.