Chapter 275
She wondered if the boy was still holding back against her.
Was there still something he had not shown yet? Something lurking beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to strike? Something that could threaten her very life?
But if it was really him who was associated with the earlier feeling, then… what was stopping him from using that on her?
Or, was it truly him who did it?
She did not know.
But she would find out—even if it meant putting herself at risk.
The curved sword dissolved into dark mist, fading from her grip as she turned, her sharp gaze locked onto the distant silhouette of the boy.
She waited as the smoke quickly started to settle down, swirling in the air like ghosts reluctant to leave.
She could tell the boy was still in the place where he originally was. He had not moved since, which made her feel uncertain of her own assumptions.
Oliver saw her looking at him; his expression was unreadable, his gaze like cold steel.
Maintaining a safe distance, he took another talisman out of his storage ring, but this time, it was not something simple.
A spare rapier appeared in his hand once again; he carried some spare weapons with him all the time —a lesson carved into his bones from the last time he had been caught unarmed in the forest.
Although the quality of this rapier was not high, it was not a problem for him.
The talisman would be the one playing the major role here.
It was a Light-Sealed Talisman that he had asked Evelyn to make for him. This talisman, unlike the explosive ones, stored a portion of Evelyn’s pure and holy light power.
It was a fragment of Evelyn’s holy power—one of the deadliest forces against demons
Upon its activation, it would seal away a portion of Sera’s demonic espera for a short duration, slightly weakening her and giving him the perfect chance to make his escape and accomplish his other ‘goal’ that he had just made a few minutes prior.
He had been saving this talisman for the future, considering it took Evelyn a lot of her power to make it, but as long as it could help him accomplish his goal, then the price was irrelevant.
He remembered how he gave her tens of different elemental designs for just this one talisman. Although she had offered it to him for free, he had refused to take without giving back. He had not wanted to be in debt for her generosity and thus gave her something in return.
Anyways…
He put the talisman smoothly against the surface of the rapier and adjusted it properly. The fine lines of runes shimmered faintly before settling into dormancy.
Now, as long as he channeled his espera, the talisman would activate, and he would have one golden moment to use it on Sera.
He traced the rapier’s body with his fingers and exhaled slowly, steadying his focus. Then, he narrowed his eyes, locking onto the demoness before him.
He saw her being silent and not asking any questions about the destruction of her mark; he felt curious if she knew that he was the one behind it.
But no matter; she would never know how it happened. He made sure of it beforehand. Using Abyss energy was something he was always extremely cautious and alert about.
Seeing her in a dazed-like state, he didn’t give her any time and drew out a talisman from his storage space, aiming in her direction. He made a motion towards her and started channeling espera into it, which instantly alerted her, and she quickly prepared countermeasures. But Oliver this time was pretending to use it and wasn’t actually using it.
Given the dust was just settling down, Sera could not clearly see him, but she had felt him use the espera and was preparing to counter a direct attack.
However, what happened next stunned her a little when she saw him retreating back.
He was fleeing!
Her reaction was instant. Her form blurred, the wind cracking as she surged forward. She had always been the aggressor since the start and had already landed multiple hits on him; she would not let this boy slip through her fingers.
Seeing her closing in, Oliver shifted his stance deliberately—then, with an exaggerated motion, he made an overly obvious thrust with the rapier.
Too obvious.
Too direct.
It was a mistake no skilled fighter would ever make.
And she reacted.
She moved to counter—to dodge, to strike, to intercept.
But at the last second—
Oliver’s other arm flicked forward.
The talisman was not on the rapier.
It was in his hand.
And it was already activated.
Her pupils constricted.
‘A feint—!’
The talisman flared to life, blinding in its purity. The air crackled with divine power, and then—
Sera felt it.
A violent pull deep within her core, an invisible force wrapping around her espera like chains. Her energy stuttered, then wavered, as though something sacred was suffocating it.
Holy light.
Her greatest weakness.
She twisted, her body reacting on pure survival instinct, but it was too late.
She dodged—exactly as he had expected.
Oliver had orchestrated this moment from the start.
She had no room to defend herself.
The rapier found its mark.
[Sovereign Strike of Infinite Freedom]
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Oliver, without hesitation, unleashed his ultimate rapier technique—his form fluid, his strike an unstoppable blur of motion.
The light-sealing talisman flared, compounding the force of his attack.
And then—
Bang!
As soon as the sealing talisman fully took effect, Sera felt it—a foreign, invasive force disrupting her very essence. Her entire balance tilted, an unnatural weight pressing against her power.
She was momentarily vulnerable.
Since Oliver lacked raw strength against her, his only option was precision.
He adjusted mid-strike, his wrist flicking just slightly—
And instead of aiming for obvious points—the head, the chest, the arms—
He went for something more insidious.
His rapier slipped past her defenses like a whisper in the wind, piercing through a weak point in her stance.
A single strike—
Straight to her ribs.
A gap in her armor.
A point she had not anticipated.
Boom!