Chapter 31: Yuki

"This place is..." Aria looked left and right to search for clues that would tell her more about the place.

The building had a melancholic feel to it, like it has been standing there nonstop for countless years. No signs of dilapidation were present and it looked well-kept.

"You will have to test your power here," Hana said, opening the doors with a golden key.

She stepped inside, pulling off her shoes and storing it in the cabinet nearby.

The interior resembled a normal home. A place that one could live in. Very homely.

"Who is that?" A woman's voice called out from within the rooms. It was sharp, cold, and had a domineering tone to it.

Upon entering, Aria was able to tell that the house temperature seemed to be considerably lower than that of the outside.

"Yuki-nee, we will borrow the training area for a bit~" Hana replied.

The other party recognized Hana's voice. Not long after, a certain figure came out of the corridors and greeted them at the entrance.

She wore a tight black suit, with her black hair tied up with a red ribbon in a ponytail.

She had sharp features that went along with her voice perfectly.

"The training area? For what?" 'Yuki' asked.

"Arin brought a new kid to me. She wants to borrow [Magnolia]'s name, but I've never heard of her. Of course, it's mandatory for her to show what she can do before I give my approval, eh?" Hana placed her hand on her hip as she took off her shoes and put on slippers instead.

Arin and Aria followed the woman's actions and wore indoor slippers too.

"I don't mind, but.." Yuki swiped a glance over Aria, who wore a nonchalant expression. "The kid seems confident. I wonder why she wants to borrow your team name?"

"Same old stuff. [Golden Insignia] wants to get in the Gangnam A-ranked gate, but none of them have clear records, so that's probably why they sent this girl here. I don't think even Sung-ha would do good inside that shitty operation, not to mention..." Hana met Aria in the eye. "This girl isn't registered yet. An unknown being,"

"Hmm..?" Yuki looked at Aria with interest. "Why not let her fight me? I'm itching for an opponent anyway. If Arin brought her, then she should have some considerable power, no?"

"I must say, I haven't actually seen her in combat yet. But Sung-ha approved, Yoo Jin and Jin-kyung too," Arin corrected her. This would be the first time Aria openly displayed her features.

"So.. like a sparring session?" Aria contemplated. The woman before her, 'Yuki', had the aura of an expert. She couldn't gauge her abilities in detail, but she knew that the other party had skills to match her inlaid arrogance just by feeling.

"Yep. What do you think? It'd be a friendly.. exchange," Yuki offered. "You will have to battle with me. Not everyone gets to experience that, so you should savor this chance," Yuki said, giving a complacent smile.

"How will we do it?"

"With blindfolds on. Magic, skills, weapons, anything is allowed, but your vision is going to be gone," Yuki explained, walking away from Aria to approach a nearby cabinet.

From inside the furniture, Yuki pulled out two black stripes of cloth.

It was the blindfolds mentioned.

Yuki handed one over to Aria, letting her take both of the articles for fairness' sakes.

"No rules attached?" Aria glanced at the blindfold, confirming that there was no foul play in the two objects. She handed one back to Yuki.

"No rules attached. No deaths, though," Yuki clarified, nodding as she put her blindfold on.

Following her, Aria also wore her own blindfold.

"How well can you fight with your vision stolen away from you?" Yuki asked in a taunting voice.

"Well to the point where you wouldn't be able to believe it," Aria shot a remark back. Did the woman think that vision was going to affect her much?

If so, she would prove them wrong.

Nodding in satisfaction, Yuki told the group to follow her to this training area.

After walking around a hundred meters around the house, they finally made their way into the supposed room.

It didn't have any special qualities, but Aria noticed that the surfaces were all reinforced with magic, allowing it to withstand possible brute force applied to it.

"No rules attached," Aria repeated.

"Yes, yes," Yuki stretched her body, looking forward to what the woman would pull out.

Inside her mind, Aria called out Dianthe. Summoning the Spirit, she made Dianthe spread out as a mist.

In actuality, she could just use Dianthe as her eyes, but that would be too unfair. That would render the handicap placed on the battle void- no meaning at all.

"A Water Spirit? Ho-ooh, a pretty nice creature to have. Is that it?" Yuki cracked her knuckles, sensing the change in environment and determining the new presence as a Water Spirit.

No longer holding back, Yuki charged like a cheetah to Aria's side.

Punches and kicks, power plays, and usage of external help on Aria's part.

Both were equally matched. Blows were blocked, attacks were sent to the air or just had their force absorbed by the other.

But then, one thing changed. Yuki's dynamic switched.

From her originally already aggressive plays, she turned more vicious.

Her blows became heavier and quicker.

In a moment of incorrect positioning, one blow passed through Aria's defense.

Stab!

'Huh?' Aria made a confused sound. 'But she didn't have a weapon... Wait, it's not a weapon.'

Aria's hand placed itself on top of her waistline.

She didn't get injured except for a certified bruise. However, the stimuli she received was akin to a sharp blade cutting through her skin.

"..That felt like a knife," If she hadn't known that Yuki didn't possess any weapons, she would've believed that a sharp object went through her stomach, cutting her like butter.

"Fufu~ Now you know my power. A battle without vision is the best territory for me~ Do you still want to continue?" Yuki took five steps back regaining the distance and trailing over a similar path with her first attack.

"Of course," Aria charged one more time, this time coordinating her attacks with Dianthe. With Dianthe's help, Aria was able to tell where Yuki's location was.

Another fight ensued.

A perfect balance between defense and offense, with the two switching over the roles back and forth.

Every strikes were blocked or dodged, and even if one did hit, it was only by a sliver of depth, grazing them a few millimeters deep.

The two fought, but due to the grace and magnificence the displayed, it looked like two dancers setting up a performance. Enthralling and alluring.

Meanwhile, by the side, Hana was determining Aria's worth as she ran around while fighting Yuki.

"She has great potential," Hana commented. Indeed, she would grow up to be strong, but still, she hadn't even gone close to the A-rank.

High A-ranked dungeons were, in name, A-ranked, but there was no way that only A-rankers would suffice in the subjugation.

"Unfortunately, she wouldn't beat Yuki with just that Water Spirit,"

"..I wonder," Arin flashed a meaningful smile, placing her tender gaze on Aria's eloquent moves.

The blow exchanges were tight and clean.

'I need something.' Aria knew that she would not be able to escape from a potential successful blow if she kept going at it without launching her own different set of surprise.

Yuki was able to switch around her dynamic. That would shake Aria's chain of actions.

'If that's the case, I'll just do the same thing back at her.' Aria smirked.

"Rallaka, fire your shot," Aria commanded.

In a flash, a sturdy rock came flying, aimed at Yuki's head.

Yuki, who was busy deflecting Aria's other strikes was caught off guard.

She clicked her tongue, sensing the incoming stone and preparing to dodge the attack.

However, this too was predicted by Aria.

"One more,"

By now, Aria knew that she had won the battle.

When the battle started, she summoned Dianthe and Rallaka at the same time.

Dianthe was asked to become a mist to surveil the surroundings, whereas Rallaka was told to become one with the Earth and do as she say.

Aria ordered the spirit to prepare three projectiles in total. One for the opening shot, the other for the distraction, and the last for the one that would finally hit the vital spot.

One stone flew towards Yuki, this time hitting her in the ankle bone and eliciting a sharp pained sound from the woman.

"Last one,"

This strike would seal the deal.

The finishing blow.

The last stone was once again, aimed at Yuki's head. This time, unlike the first one, the shot hit perfectly on the mark.

It created a loud shock.

"Oww oww.. That hurt like hell!" Yuki complained, banging on the floor as she massaged the place where she got hit.