Along with the exploding Ice Balls, cold air permeated her surroundings, and the powerful impact caused her feet to plow two shallow furrows in the lawn.
Feeling the sharp pain and bone-chilling cold from her arms, she couldn't help but gasp. Although the skin under the Mana Coverage wasn't broken, waves of numbness were already coming through.
"Not adapted yet? Then how about this move?" Puck's tone remained relaxed as his claws moved in the air.
In an instant, the water vapor in the air rapidly gathered into countless fine water droplets, which, as if guided, floated lightly around Subaru.
Seeing this scene, Subaru instantly understood something. No longer hesitating, she leaned down, supporting herself with one hand while the other grabbed a handful of sand and dirt mixed with grass clippings, throwing it toward Puck.
"Now's the time!"
Dust flew, instantly obscuring a small area of the sky.
Almost at the same moment, Subaru exerted force with the soles of her feet, kicking against the trunk of a nearby tree.
Crack!
The branches shook violently, and she used this powerful reaction force to charge out from the other side of the dust screen like a cannonball. Her legs, covered in mana, were now far faster than before.
However, Puck seemed to have expected it. The moment Subaru charged out, those scattered water droplets suddenly froze into countless Ice Needles.
"Hah!"
Puck gave a light shout.
The Ice Needles didn't directly pierce Subaru but, as his paw gesture changed, they instantly converged and collided around her body again.
Boom!
A small-scale Ice Explosion erupted beside Subaru in an instant.
Although she had turned her body in the nick of time, the flying ice shards and the shockwave of the explosion still sent her flying. She rolled twice on the ground before half-kneeling to stabilize herself. The clothing on her shoulder was sliced open, and a few beads of blood seeped out.
"Cough, cough..." Subaru panted but grinned.
Clearly, she had also realized Tsukasa's intention in this battle. Puck's diverse methods made her feel very troubled, but...
'As long as I get close...'
"Truly surprising, that such an attack couldn't cause you any objective damage."
Puck floated in place, looking at the shallow footprint Subaru had left on the tree trunk she had kicked earlier, and continued, "Not only did you instantly judge the surrounding danger, but you also used dust to interfere with my vision so I couldn't hit accurately, and you even used the environment to accelerate. This kind of combat talent isn't something that can be achieved just with Mana Coverage."
Subaru wiped the dust and bloodstains from her cheek and assumed her fighting stance again, the deep blue mana slowly rising on her fists once more.
"After all, Tsukasa has been nagging in my ear that 'actual combat and training are two different things'."
She looked at Puck in the air with burning eyes. "The warm-up is over. Next, I'm going to get serious."
By the side of the field, Tsukasa floated in mid-air with his arms crossed. Under his black blindfold, the corners of his lips curled into an arc.
"That's enough!"
A clear voice filled with urgency and worry cut through the atmosphere charged with excitement.
Emilia walked quickly to the center of the field, spreading her arms to stand between Subaru and Puck. Her long silver hair fluttered slightly due to her hurried movements, her eyes filled with an indisputable determination.
"The sparring ends here!"
She first gave Puck in the air a look of slight reproach, then turned to the slightly panting Subaru, her tone softening and filled with concern. "If you keep fighting, you'll really get hurt. Subaru, your shoulder is still bleeding."
The tense atmosphere on the field instantly eased.
The ice-blue light surrounding Puck quietly dissipated, and he gave a soft sigh, his tone returning to its usual laziness. "Alright. Although I really wanted to continue, since Lia has said so, let's save it for later."
Subaru was stunned for a moment. Looking at Emilia's worried expression and feeling the burning pain on her shoulder and the unsettled energy within her, she nodded, the deep blue mana on her arms receding like a tide.
"Sorry, Lia, for making you worry." She smiled somewhat sheepishly.
Only then did Emilia breathe a sigh of relief and step forward to carefully examine the wound on her shoulder.
Tsukasa floated in mid-air, watching Emilia treat Subaru's wounds with healing magic with an air of boredom.
His tone carried a hint of laziness from having his fun interrupted. "If someone hadn't interfered, we would have reached the most exciting part by now."
Subaru, who was currently receiving treatment, immediately shot a resentful look at Tsukasa upon hearing his words.
"Tsukasa, I've only just started, okay? It's already pretty good that I could fight like that."
"Barely a passing grade."
Although Tsukasa was harsh with his words, he knew in his heart that Subaru's progress was indeed astonishing.
Suddenly, his aura sharpened, and his brow furrowed slightly beneath his black blindfold. 'It's not an illusion...'
He then turned toward the grand mansion behind him, because at that moment, his Six Eyes had once again keenly captured that flickering gaze.
He had originally thought it was just a maid or servant's accidental glance, but this gaze appeared punctually every half hour, and was especially frequent during combat.
'Are they observing us or monitoring?' A rebellious arc curled at the corner of his lips.
'It seems this mansion is much more interesting than it appears on the surface.'
However, since the other party made no further move, he didn't bother to pay them any mind. As long as it didn't endanger Subaru, he was happy to watch the show from the sidelines.