Noting how Illustrious let her sword droop, Jelas sneered. "Just a brat after all. Dual professions mean nothing—you'll still fall to me."
"Don't worry. After I cut you down, I'll take good care of the four little girls in the carriage—heh heh heh."
The vile words made Illustrious's brows knit. No—she could not die; if she did, Aircraft Carrier and the others would be defiled by this monster. That she would not allow.
She stared at the onrushing Jelas, forcing her mind calm. Was there any way to beat him? She was outmatched in strength and speed—how?
As her panic ebbed, her right eye shifted from blue to gold. The world dimmed to black; only she and Jelas remained in that void.
His once-blinding speed now crawled like a snail. A golden thread drifted from his body toward her, slow and luminous.
For some reason, she felt that with a light flick of her sword she could sever the golden thread rising from Jelas and kill him in an instant.
Without hesitation, Illustrious gripped her one-handed sword, raised it high, and gently slashed at the golden thread floating before her.
Watching Illustrious raise her sword as though to cut the air, Jelas wondered if she'd lost her mind—yet, inexplicably, he suddenly felt certain he was about to die, all because she aimed at nothing.
Impossible! His strength and speed were at least triple hers! It had to be an illusion. "Stop your parlor tricks—watch me butcher you!"
Jelas closed the distance, his greatsword clenched, every ounce of power channelled into the blade. He slashed upward in a diagonal arc meant to cleave Illustrious in two.
The strike was terrifying; blue light coiled along the edge—an intermediate Professional's weapon-enhancement art that multiplies force a hundredfold.
Where the blade passed, shock-waves burst forth, the edge ripping the air with a sonic boom that sent gusts in every direction.
The gale snapped Illustrious's hair about, yet her face stayed calm; her eyes never even registered the lethal blow. When the sword was half a foot away, she severed the golden thread streaming from Jelas.
The greatsword halted mid-swing. Jelas's eyes bulged, disbelief flooding his face as countless sword slashes erupted across his body, blood spraying in every direction.
His grip failed; the massive blade clanged to the ground. His life dropped from sixty percent to zero—Jelas was now lifeless.
Illustrious had already leapt clear before the blood could reach her. "This is a new outfit—I'm not getting soaked!"
Dying, Jelas read the truth in her expression and stammered, "W-what did you do? It should've been me killing you… how did you kill me?"
Illustrious smiled. "Why should I tell a creep like you? Take your questions to the grave."
She turned and walked toward the Aircraft Carrier's carriage, leaving him her back.
On the way, a new skill appeared on her Professional status panel: a swordsman ability named Fatal Thread.
When she refused to explain, Jelas spat a mouthful of blood, collapsed, and cursed, "Bitch! I curse you—may ten thousand men throw you to the ground! I'll haunt you every night…"
Unable to stand his ranting, Illustrious dashed over and separated his head from his shoulders with a single stroke.
Looking at the pieces, she remembered he'd taken Iks's purse. "Right—need that back."
A quick search recovered Iks's purse plus the Thief's own: eleven gold coins. "Hehe, jackpot!"
Back at the carriage she found Iks trembling behind it. "Uncle Iks!"
"Aah, don't kill me! Spare me! I've an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child—mercy!" He kowtowed frantically.
"An eighty-year-old mother? She died years ago—where's this eighty-year-old?" Illustrious asked, puzzled.
"H-how did you know, Thief? Oh, it's you, Illustrious! Is he gone?" Iks quavered.
"Him? I finished him off," she said casually.
"You beat him? You're kidding! You're only a Professional, levels below him. Even I can see he's higher-level—look at his age!" Iks protested.
"Don't believe me? Catch." She tossed him his purse.
"M-my purse!" Staring at it, Iks had to accept the truth. He'd thought her doomed—yet she'd slain a seasoned Thief at her age. He hadn't dared kill a chicken at her age!
Counting the coins—none missing—he thanked her profusely. "Illustrious, truly, thank you! Without you I'd be dead!"
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