The White Blade Beneath Crimson Eyes
She had only brought Akeno with her when she fled.
No guards.
No royal banners.
No imperial escort.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Rias wore a veil over her face. Even so, her presence drew glances wherever she went. If her beauty were fully revealed, she doubted she would have left the restaurant in peace.
An hour later—
On a lonely plain where dry grass swayed under a bruised sky, her carriage ca to a slow halt.
The wheels gave a tired creak before settling. The horses snorted uneasily, stamping their hooves as if the earth itself made them nervous.
The wind carried a faint tallic scent.
Not strong. Just enough to linger at the back of the throat.
Akeno stiffened first.
Her long purple hair lifted slightly in the breeze as she peered into the wasteland, fingers tightening around the hilt at her waist.
"I think we’re in trouble, Princess..."
Her voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.
Rias pushed aside the curtain and leaned out.
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" she asked quietly.
Akeno didn’t answer imdiately. Her gaze stayed fixed ahead, posture rigid, like a drawn bowstring. "We’re being watched."
From the depths of the grassland, sothing watched them.
Two glowing, amber-red pupils—low to the ground. Unblinking.
The air grew heavy.
Even the wind seed to hesitate.
"Why are there beasts here?" Rias murmured.
It didn’t make sense.
Experts from Celestis Academy, Powerful Sects, and even the three great empires had recently swept through this region. The Forsaken Domain had supposedly been cleared of dangerous creatures.
They had traveled safely this entire journey.
Until now.
Akeno shifted her stance slightly, placing herself half a step in front of the carriage door without even thinking about it.
"Maybe one slipped through," she said. "Or maybe it’s been waiting."
"For what?" Rias asked.
"For soone alone."
That earned her a sharp look from Rias.
"We are not helpless," Rias replied, though her fingers curled tighter against the carriage fra.
The grass rustled again.
This mont, the figure moved ahead.
A shadow moved, low and silent - it was one of the few remaining Bloodspine Night Lynxes. Not often seen on the open flats eastward, where grass bends under wind but rarely hides such shape.
Out of the shadows ca a creature, moving without rush but full of purpose. Sleek form, stretched long, covered in dark fur marked by red streaks - soft light throbbed within them. Along its spine rose jagged ridges, pale and bony, catching what little glow hung above. The tail twitched. Again.
Venomous claws.
Terrifying speed.
And eyes fixed solely on prey.
The horses panicked first, jerking against their reins. One let out a strained whinny.
Akeno’s blade slid halfway from its sheath with a soft, threatening whisper.
"It’s assessing distance," she said under her breath. "It hasn’t committed yet."
Rias stepped down from the carriage despite herself.
"Princess—" Akeno warned sharply.
"I won’t cower inside," Rias replied. The veil fluttered around her face, but even covered, there was sothing regal in the way she stood. "If it charges, the carriage will only slow you down."
Akeno exhaled slowly through her nose. "Then stay behind ."
The Bloodspine Night Lynx lowered its body slightly.
Muscles coiled.
The grass around it flattened from the tension of its stance.
Rias felt her heartbeat grow heavier.
The tallic scent in the wind thickened.
It wasn’t just the beast.
It was blood.
Old blood.
"This region was supposed to be cleared..." she whispered again, more to herself this ti. "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Akeno asked without taking her eyes off the creature.
"Unless sothing drove it here."
The lynx’s lips peeled back, revealing elongated fangs slick with saliva. A low growl rolled across the plain, deep and resonant, vibrating through bone rather than air.
Akeno’s expression hardened.
"If it leaps, I’ll aim for the spine ridge," she said calmly. "The veins glowing along its body—that’s where its blood venom circulates. If I can sever that flow—"
"Don’t let it scratch you," Rias interrupted. "Even a shallow cut—"
"I know."
Akeno finally smiled faintly. "You taught ."
For a heartbeat, the world felt strangely still.
Then the lynx shifted again—slightly to the left.
Testing.
Circling.
It wasn’t reckless. It was intelligent.
Rias swallowed.
"We can’t outrun it..."
She understood at once.
Akeno was at the ninth stage of Mana Requirent. Fast—but not fast enough to guarantee escape against such a beast.
And Rias herself...
She had never cultivated.
Born into royalty.
Raised as a political asset.
While her brothers trained in cultivation halls, she was taught etiquette and alliances.
That was why she ran.
Why she sought Celestis Academy.
Why she refused marriage.
The Bloodspine Lynx crouched lower.
Its muscles coiled.
"Princess, run. I’ll stall it." Akeno’s voice was firm, though her sword trembled faintly in her grip.
Her breathing grew shallow.
She was afraid.
But she stepped forward anyway.
Ever since her family sent her to the palace, she had followed Rias.
Rias treated her not as a servant—but as a sister.
Protected her.
Shielded her.
Today—
It was her turn.
"Princess, hurry and leave!"
She drew her blade fully and stepped down from the carriage.
But Rias did not move.
Instead, she smiled faintly.
Calm.
Too calm.
"We won’t be able to leave," she said softly. "The Bloodspine Night Lynx is extrely swift and deadly. Once it locks onto prey, escape is nearly impossible."
Her gaze softened.
She did not regret this.
Returning to the cold Drake Empire palace—
To kneel before destiny—
To marry a prince she had never t—
Perhaps death was kinder.
"Akeno, leave. Don’t worry about ."
If Akeno ran with full strength, she might survive.
Rias had already accepted her end.
But Akeno’s eyes reddened.
"No, Princess! Even if I die, I won’t abandon you!"
Her voice shook.
Her sword shook.
Her legs wanted to retreat.
But she stood firm.
In front of Rias.
The grass whispered.
Then—
The lynx moved.
A blur.
A streak of crimson and black.
Akeno raised her blade to strike—
But before she could—
A white streak of light descended from afar.
Sharp.
Precise.
It pierced through the air like frost slicing silk.
The Bloodspine Lynx shrieked mid-leap, its body twisting violently as sothing struck its flank.
It crashed into the earth.
Dust exploded outward.
Rias’s eyes widened.
She had closed them, ready for the end—
Yet the world did not end.
Instead—
A white figure approached swiftly across the plain.
As she drew nearer, Rias realized—
It was a woman.
And a beauty at that.
Long silver-white hair flowed like moonlight behind her. Her snow-white robe was fitted at the waist, tied with a pale blue sash that accentuated her slender fra before falling in clean lines over long, graceful legs. The slit in her robe fluttered lightly in the wind as she walked.
Her skin was like polished porcelain.
Her eyes—
Blue.
Clear.
Cold.
Pure.
Completely different from Rias’s warm, royal aura.
If Rias was fla—
This woman was frost.
She held a sword casually in one hand, its tip faintly glowing. Her other hand rested calmly behind her back as she advanced.
Every step steady.
Every breath controlled.
She stopped between them and the fallen beast.
Standing straight.
Elegant.
Unshaken.
Like a female Sword Immortal descended from the heavens.
Rias gasped softly.
Her crimson eyes widened in genuine shock.
This woman...
Her beauty rivaled her own.
But more than that—
Her aura was extraordinary.
Sharp.
Unyielding.
Unattached.
The Bloodspine Night Lynx attempted to rise—
The silver-haired woman flicked her wrist.
Another beam of white light flashed.
The beast collapsed fully.
Silence fell over the plain.
Wind rustled the grass again.
This ti—
It felt gentle.
Rias stared at the woman’s back.
For the first ti since leaving the palace—
She felt sothing unfamiliar.
Hope.
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