Transmigrated Into A Women Dominated World-Chapter 221: We Will

Zaeryn acknowledged that he had leveled up.

And the effect was very noticeable too. With his hyper cognition now at Rank B, he felt like everything had slowed down, giving him a chance to analyze.

The world didn’t just slow down; it shattered into a kaleidoscope of cold, hard data.

As the notification for Hyper-Cognition [Rank B] burned into his retinas, Zaeryn felt his consciousness expand, stretching across like a spiderweb.

He could hear the individual droplets of water sliding down the tiles. He could track the heat radiating from Viora’s body. Most importantly, he could see the geometry of her intent.

Viora wasn’t just moving; she was displacing the very air.

He saw the atmospheric ripple a microsecond before she vanished. In his old state, he would have been a blind man swinging at shadows. Now, his brain processed the displacement as a vector. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

’Behind me. High angle. Downward force.’

He tried to twist, but knowing where the blow was coming from didn’t make his muscles move any faster. Viora’s boot caught him between the shoulder blades. It wasn’t just a kick; it was a tectonic shift.

The impact drove the air from his lungs. Something cracked with a sickening snap. He went tumbling across the tile like a discarded toy. His golden sword shattered into sparks. He hit the ground hard, rolled twice, and barely managed to get his hands under him.

"Teleportation. Of course," he groaned through the pain.

"You weren’t paying attention." Viora’s voice was flat, clinical.

Pain radiated through his back real, throbbing agony. "You weren’t lying about not holding back," he noted, wincing.

This wasn’t the controlled sparring he’d done with Leia. This was Viora stripping away his delusions. Was she even holding back against him at all? He doubted it. It felt like she hated him, because her attacks really stung. He’d sparred with a few people already and they didn’t hit this hard. This was the most painful.

"Do you yield?" Viora asked, her tone carrying the same detached assessment she’d use inspecting a broken weapon.

"No. Not now. Let’s go for one last round."

Viora nodded. Her expression remained neutral still, but inside she thought, He never gives up. Do you have something to prove to your big sister, little brother? Let’s see about that.

"Alright. Get up," she commanded.

Zaeryn pushed himself up, breathing in ragged gasps. Close range is a trap. She’ll just teleport and counter. He needed an opening she wouldn’t expect. Plus, with three of his abilities leveling up in rank, he was more powerful now than he was at the start of the fight. She wouldn’t expect it.

Zaeryn extended both hands and wove his newly leveled Vitae into twin golden whips, crackling with amber energy. He lashed out in a wide arc, forcing Viora to move. She sidestepped smoothly, but with Hyper-Cognition at Rank B, he was already calculating her next three steps. He whipped the constructs in unpredictable patterns high, low, crossing strikes designed to limit her teleportation vectors.

One whip snapped toward her midsection; the other came in low at her ankles. Viora raised one hand. A wall of ice erupted from the ground between them, and both whips shattered against it in bursts of golden sparks.

Before the ice had even stopped forming, she was moving. Not teleporting running.

Zaeryn’s eyes widened. She crossed the distance in three long strides. She wasn’t as fast as him with kinetic acceleration, but she was still very fast for the average person.

As she moved in, winding up for what looked like a crushing blow aimed at his center mass, Zaeryn activated Kinetic Acceleration and vanished from her line of attack, reappearing to her side in a blur.

Viora seemed momentarily confused at how fast he’d moved. She’d seen his speed already, but he wasn’t as fast as he was now. For the first time, her guard was messy, her focus momentarily diverted by the sheer increase in his movement.

It was the opening he needed.

Zaeryn lunged forward and unleashed a Concussive Blast at point-blank range. The beam more powerful than before struck her squarely in the torso. Even Viora didn’t expect it. The force sent her tumbling forward several feet before she caught herself.

She turned around to face him, ice already forming along her forearms but he was moving toward her at super speed, closing the gap before she could teleport.

His fist, wreathed in golden Vitae, shot forward.

Crack.

His knuckles connected squarely with the bridge of her nose.

Viora’s head snapped sideways. She stumbled back half a step, blinking in genuine surprise.

His punch wasn’t powerful enough to knock her down not even close but a thin, dark trail of crimson began to leak from her nostril, dripping onto her white collar.

The adrenaline died instantly. Zaeryn froze, his hands dropping to his sides. "Shit Viora! I’m sorry. I didn’t... are you okay?"

He took a frantic step toward her, his face pale with immediate regret.

Viora wiped the blood away with the back of her hand and looked at it. Her expression was unreadable. She touched her nose gingerly, testing for damage, then looked back at him.

"You actually landed a hit," she said, and there was something in her voice that hadn’t been there before. Not warmth, exactly. But something closer to... acknowledgment. "A clean hit."

Zaeryn blinked, still tense. "I... yeah. Sorry. I didn’t mean to "

"Don’t apologize." Viora cut him off, her tone sharp but not unkind. She lowered her hand, the blood already stopping. "Apologizing for landing a blow ruins it."

She stepped closer, her glacial eyes studying him with new intensity. "How did you get faster?"

"My abilities... I felt different during the fight. I think they ranked up."

"Ranked up?" Her eyebrows rose fractionally. "Evolution under pressure. Rare, but not unheard of." She turned her head slightly, her gaze shifting to the shadows of the patio. "It seems we have an audience."

"Hmm?" Zaeryn turned to look. Who was she talking about?

It was Kayla who was walking toward them. Zaeryn frowned a little.

The adrenaline from the fight was still humming in Zaeryn’s veins, a pleasant electric buzz, but the sight of Kayla Noctis dampened it instantly. It was like pouring cold sludge over a roaring fire.

He didn’t like her being here. He didn’t like the way she walked, gliding across the patio with that predatory grace, that suffocating arrogance, and he definitely didn’t like the possibility of her and Viora his sister getting along. Two Tier-class Warladies exchanging notes on how disappointing he was? No thanks.

"Kayla," Zaeryn acknowledged, his voice flat. He straightened his posture, wincing slightly as his bruised back protested the movement.

Kayla ignored him entirely, her dark eyes locking onto the princess with a look that was respectful but edged with a challenge. "Princess Viora. I didn’t realize the Royal Guard was running so low on sparring partners that you’ve resorted to playing with the house pets. Surely you have better things to do than entertain yourself with... untrained civilians?"

Zaeryn’s frown deepened at the pet comment, but Viora didn’t seem baited.

She produced a silk handkerchief from a dimensional pocket, dabbing the last of the blood from her lip. She inspected the crimson stain with clinical fascination, as if analyzing a data stream, before vanishing the cloth.

"Kayla Noctis. The ’Void Scythe,’" Viora said, her cool gaze sliding from the empty air where the handkerchief had been to Zaeryn. "It’s an honor. And I must say, I’m impressed. You’ve trained him well, Kayla."

Zaeryn’s jaw tightened, his blood boiling. "She didn’t...."

"He has miles to go regarding his footwork," Viora continued, steamrolling right over Zaeryn’s objection as if he hadn’t spoken. She turned her ice-blue eyes back to him, dissecting him. "His defensive instincts are rudimentary at best, he leaves his left flank wide open, and he relies too heavily on burst speed rather than sustained pressure."

She paused, tilting her head slightly. "However... to land a clean hit on me?" Viora shook her head slightly, a flicker of genuine appreciation in her eyes. "That wasn’t luck. I had no counter for that acceleration because it was timed perfectly. It was a checkmate in a single move. That kind of combat instinct isn’t taught easily." She looked back at Kayla. "Credit where it is due."

"Wait a second," Zaeryn interjected, stepping between them, his voice rising. The misunderstanding was irritating, but Viora giving Kayla credit for his blood, sweat, and near-death experiences was infuriating. "She didn’t train me. I’ve never trained with her. Not once."

Kayla let out a soft, mocking laugh. It was a sound like wind chimes made of broken glass beautiful but sharp.

"Oh, listen to him," Kayla said, tilting her head with feigned pity. She looked at Viora, her eyes dancing with dark amusement. "He denies it with such passionate disgust. Is it really so shameful, the thought that you might have learned from me, Zaeryn? Or does your fragile male ego just hate the idea that a woman guided your hand?"

"It has nothing to do with ego," Zaeryn snapped, locking eyes with her. "It has to do with accuracy. You haven’t done shit to help me."

"True," Kayla responded her eyes cold as she added. "I wouldn’t waste my time."

Viora looked between them, sensing the genuine animosity. "Oh? Kayla didn’t train you?" She looked genuinely surprised. "Who did, then? That kind of tactical movement didn’t come from a textbook."

"Mireille," Zaeryn said, rubbing the back of his neck. "She’s the one who’s actually been helping me."

"Mireille..." Viora murmured, recognizing the name of the Lyceum graduate. "I see."

"Anyways, I’m leaving," Zaeryn muttered, the mood thoroughly ruined. He rolled his shoulder to work out a kink, the ache returning now that the adrenaline was fading. He looked at Viora, offering a genuine nod despite the company. "Good fight. Let’s do this again."

Viora’s eyes met his, and for just a second, that almost-acknowledgment from earlier returned. "We will," she said simply.

Zaeryn turned and walked away, keeping his gait steady despite the pain radiating through his back. He wasn’t about to limp in front of Kayla.

Behind him, he could hear the two Tier-class warriors beginning to speak, their voices low. He didn’t look back.