Sword of Salvation-Chapter 75: - Gods of Seven Sins (2)

Celinee had understood from the start the difference in strength between herself and the doctor. Watching how he effortlessly dodged her barrage of shurikens only reinforced that gap.

The ninja had no delusions about defeating Lergen on her own. Not only was the doctor stronger and faster, but he was also far more experienced. His status as a doctor gave him an in-depth understanding of human anatomy. If she let her guard down, a single strike from Lergen could render her unconscious.

Even so, Celinee had no intention of turning back and running away. Nor did she consider calling Mariel for help. The young man had already said he would catch up—there was nothing to worry about. Celinee’s focus remained solely on her opponent. He had just deflected the last shuriken she had thrown.

Long-range combat was no longer an option. The storage seals on both her shoulders were empty—her supply of kunai and shuriken was depleted. Using ninjutsu again would be like falling into the same trap twice. She had no choice but to engage in close combat.

And that was exactly what she did.

With both hands elongated and transformed into double-edged blades, Celinee shot forward, closing the distance between her and Lergen. The room they were in wasn’t very large; she was upon him in less than a second, her arms swinging in a crossing slash.

Lergen blocked her blade-like arms with two kunai—her own weapons.

However, Celinee’s skin had become much harder than it had been three months ago. The kunai cracked and shattered in half. Even though Lergen had predicted her attack, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. Unfortunately, that brief shock wasn’t enough to throw off his focus. He leaped backward just as Celinee’s arms slashed through the air.

Celinee had anticipated that he would retreat. The moment he jumped back, she spat out a water bullet from her mouth. Although the doctor could absorb prana-based attacks, his position wasn’t ideal. Even if he could still absorb the water bullet under such circumstances, he would be momentarily distracted. That was the opening Celinee planned to exploit.

Or so she thought.

But Lergen didn’t attempt to absorb the water bullet. Nor did he dodge. Instead, he let the attack pierce through his left chest. He was thrown back, crashing into the wall, and spat out a mouthful of blue blood. Annoyingly, he didn’t even wince in pain—he laughed instead.

"Wow, I’m wounded!" the doctor exclaimed after his disgusting laughter subsided. "Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Does this fill your heart with joy? Kukukuku."

Celinee had been trying to keep her anger in check, but his mocking words pushed her over the edge. She shot toward him without hesitation. However, before her blade-like hands could reach their target, she was blasted away by a wave of fire conjured by Lergen.

Celinee managed to land safely, but by then, Lergen had fully regenerated and was already at her side. Instinctively, she used a substitution technique. The moment Lergen’s sharp claws raked her shoulder, she vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by a shuriken. Meanwhile, the real Celinee appeared behind him.

But once again, the doctor evaded her attack. This time, he ducked. Not only that—he simultaneously spun around. Just as Celinee’s slash cut through empty air, Lergen’s right elbow shot forward, aiming for her stomach.

Celinee had no time to dodge. The doctor’s elbow strike pushed her back a few steps. However, she felt no pain—her skin was harder than diamond. Because of that, her focus remained unshaken. Lergen had been about to follow up with another attack but had to rethink his move when Celinee swung her arms again.

Even though he had already lunged forward, Lergen managed to stop himself in an instant and leap backward. His reflexes and body control were highly impressive. Yet, Celinee’s left blade still managed to graze his right cheek.

"Kukuku. It seems I have to take back what I said earlier," Lergen remarked, wiping the blue blood trickling from the cut on his cheek. The wound healed, but the bloodstain remained. "Your body is harder and stronger, Experiment Subject 811. Will you tell me your name?"

Celinee had never known what number she was assigned as a test subject. She didn’t care. She also ignored Lergen’s question. With a single breath, she lunged forward at full speed, attacking him with relentless aggression—her strikes were tight and left no openings.

Lergen could predict movements, so he dodged every swing of her arms with precision. However, the ninja’s aggressive and nearly flawless assault forced him into a defensive position. He could see three seconds into the future, but Celinee was a ninja who used sensory techniques—though inferior, she could predict movements as well.

Lergen released a wave of fire to try and push the ninja away from him. Although he was faster and could dodge all attacks well, he would be in trouble if he remained in a defensive position. More than that, the fact that Celinee’s skin was extremely hard left Lergen with no way to injure her.

Celinee attacked but couldn’t land a hit; Lergen couldn’t wound Celinee despite being faster. Even when Celinee used the duplication technique and created three replicas, Lergen successfully evaded them. He even managed to destroy all three. Their situation could be considered balanced.

"Feeling it up close like this, I’m now certain my assumption back then was correct." Lergen spoke while maintaining his distance from Celinee. "You have a spirit similar to mine. Our spirits are both gods that represent the seven deadly sins—the guardian deities of Tartaros."

Celinee ignored Lergen’s words and continued to close the gap between them.

They were inside a room, and their distance couldn’t be too far. However, Lergen’s efforts and his superior speed ensured that the gap remained. At this moment, Celinee realized that she had to use her spirit’s power if she wanted to change the situation.

"It would be a shame if I had to kill you. Kukuku. How about you just surrender and become my underling—"

Lergen’s mouth shut tight as the situation suddenly changed drastically. If before they had been several steps apart in the middle of the room, now they were near the edge, face-to-face at a distance of less than a step. Lergen was shocked; both of Celinee’s hands had successfully slashed his left arm and chest.

The pain that surged through him immediately snapped Lergen out of his surprise. He instantly leaped away, widening the gap between himself and Celinee. However, before he could fully retreat, Celinee’s left hand managed to slash his lower right arm. Blue blood poured from his chest and both severed arms.

"An interesting spirit power," the doctor said, showing no sign of pain—his arms and chest had already regenerated. "You don’t fully control time. If you did, you would have stopped me completely and stabbed my heart. Your power... you can frame time, am I wrong?"

Celinee didn’t respond. Her eyes remained locked on Lergen’s hands, which had returned to normal.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t heard him, though. Because of that, she admitted Lergen was quite intelligent. Ah... if she fought Mariel using her spirit’s power, she was certain Mariel would reach the same conclusion. So, she wasn’t too surprised. Her mind was more focused on the doctor’s regeneration speed.

"You can frame past time and project it into the future. That’s why I suddenly appeared right in front of you like earlier. Kukuku. Now I’m worried—what would happen if you could use unification mode? Would you be able to stop time and kill me with ease?"

Celinee didn’t bother answering. She dashed forward to attack again. She had to pierce the doctor’s heart—that was her objective. At the same time, her mind recalled previous moments, projecting them to make it easier to strike that heart.

"Kukuku. Too bad for you, Subject 811. I won’t be fooled like before."