“In this world, there are those who dedicate themselves solely to the study of magic,” Aliana began, “And then there are those, like me, who choose to focus their magical affinity into their physical abilities, particurly their swords.”

  She tinued. “Someoh Sword Magic style reach a state where swordsmanship and magic bee ohe bde bees an instrument of unparalleled precision and power, a duit for ic to flow through. It allows us to unleash devastating teiques with every strike, making us formidable oppos in both close bat and magic.”

  She tinued, her eyes fixed on her icy bde.

  “A Swod is someone who has mastered this art, the fusion of swordsmanship and magic, to the point where their bde bees aension of their body. The title of Swod is not given lightly; it’s only bestowed upon those who have achieved true mastery of the Sword Magic Style. The name you give your sword must beore than just a bel. It bees a symbol of your strength, an embodiment of yical prowess. When a true Swod unleashes their bdes power, it’s a dispy of the highest level of mastery.”

  As Aliana finished her expnation, she g her sword, a sense of pride evident in her eyes. The chilling aura around her on seemed to pulse with newfound iy.

  Risebelle looked with curiosity, but said, “This will be valuable information for Dr. Kintovar.”

  Aliana’s eyes narrowed at Risebelle’s remark, and without warning, she swung her icy bde at the young mage. The strike came dangerously close to Risebelle, the freezing edge of the sword passing inches from her face. Risebelle, unfazed by the near miss, maintained her posure.

  Aliana focused her magical energy with her sword in hand. She decred, “I will show you the first level of Sword Magic style. Kori Tengoku, Frostbite.”

  As she spoke the and, a surge of iergy enveloped her sword, Kori Tengoku. The bde glistened with an even colder radiance, and the air around it seemed to drop in temperature. Aliana’s movements became swifter and more precise as she prepared to unleash the power of Frostbite upon the sisters.

  As Aliana’s swift and deadly strike approached, time seemed to slow down for Risebelle. The world around her began to lose its color, everything fading into a dull gray as her senses honed in on the oning threat. She fixated on the shimmering bde of Kori Tengoku, whied very close to her neck.

  With a surge of adrenaline and a desperate instinct to survive, Risebelle mao duck just in the nick of time. However, Aliana’s strike was so swift that it still grazed her, and a chilliion coursed over her forehead as a cold shiver ran down her spine.

  Risebelle’s heart raced as she narrowly avoided Aliana’s deadly strike. She felt a chilling breeze brush against her forehead as the bde grazed her skin, leaving a cold, stingiion in its wake. Her swift rea had saved her from a potentially fatal blow, but the close call left her shaken.

  Aliana began to form a circle of blue energy with her sword. Risebelle quickly rolled backward to create some distaween herself and the relentless ancer. Her heart was still pounding from the close call.

  Aliana unleashed the six giant spikes of ice, ung them at Risebelle with deadly precision. In the midst of the chaos, Runebelle acted swiftly, summonihree pilrs to block the ining projectiles. The ice spikes collided with the fiery pilrs, causing a violent csh of elements.

  Runebelle turned her attention to her shaken sister, calling out to her with . “Risebelle, are you okay?”

  Risebelle, still reeling from the earlier close call, found herself momentarily unmoving. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then replied, “I’m fine, Runebelle. Just need a moment to collect myself.”

  As Risebelle caught her breath and took a moment to collect herself, her mind raced with thoughts of what had just transpired. The near miss with Aliana’s bde had left her shaken, and the realization that this was only the first level of Sword Magic Style was a daunting one.

  As Risebelle caught her breath and found a momentary respite behind Runebelle’s protective pilrs, her mind raced with thoughts of the near-miss she had just experienced. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of vulnerability and unease.

  ‘What the hell was that?’ Risebelle asked herself silently, her heart still pounding in her chest. ‘I almost lost my head there... Literally.’

  She took a deep breath, attempting to steady her thoughts.

  Risebelle, while still on guard, asked Aliana, “How many Swods exist in the world?”

  Aliana’s momentarily revealed a hint of uainty. “I’m… irely sure,” she admitted. “Before I was stranded on this isnd with the others from the magic academy, there were only seven of us who had attaihe title of Swod. However, I ’t say for certain how many might exist in the broader world.”

  She paused for a moment before tinuing, “But on this isnd, as far as I know, I am the only one who holds that title.”

  Aliana, surrounded by a visible blue aura, regarded the sisters with an enigmatic smile. “You two are surprisingly amusing,” she remarked, her tone carrying a hint of amusement. “I’ve decided to share a bit of information with you because, well, I find your preseher intriguing.”

  The aura surrounding Aliana seemed to shimmer with power, and the temperature in the viity noticeably dropped as her icy magic emanated from her body. The sisters couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease as they faced this formidable ancer.

  Aliana’s , cold as the frozehs of a winter’s night, cut through the air speaking from her cealed position, “But it ends here, creations of the foolish.”

  As those words hung in the frigid air, Risebelle felt a chilling sense of dread wash over her. Everythi gray once more, and she frantically sed her surroundings, trying to find Aliana’s location.

  Aliana had moved with a swifthat seemed almost unnatural. Risebelle felt a sudden and sharp pressure on her shoulder, but it wasn’t her own arm. In a moment of sheer terror, she realized that Aliana’s sword had found its mark on Runebelle’s shoulder, and the ancer was dangerously close to severing her arm.

  Risebelle’s heart pounded in her chest as she desperately aimed her on in Aliana’s dire, firing without a clear target, hoping to disrupt the ancer’s deadly i. Only after the shot did Runebelle bee aware of Aliana’s presence, her eyes widening in arm as she felt the bde’s chilling proximity.

  Runebelle, now aware of the danger, reacted swiftly, pulling away from the lethal strike and stumbling back, clutg her wounded shoulder in pain. The bde had grazed her, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

  The world returo its vivid colors, and the forest seemed to exhale a collective sigh of relief as the immediate danger passed. Risebelle’s heart raced, and her mind raced with thoughts of how close they had e to a devastating loss.

  Risebelle, her breath ing in ragged gasps, couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of unease.

  ‘What is this power Aliana possesses?’ Risebelle thought, her mind rag. ‘It’s as if she move so fast that she slips through the very fabric of reality itself… I ’t afford to let my guard down, not even for a moment.’

  Risebelle, determio gain the upper hand, swiftly pced a blue, slippery energy on the ground around herself. This precautionary measure would make it challenging for Aliana to approach her and catch her off guard.

  With her defenses in pce, Risebelle raised her on and fired a series of precise shots at Aliana. Each shot surrounded with water magid she aimed with precision, hoping to disrupt Aliana’s movements

  Aliana gracefully sidestepped the ining shots. She moved with an otherworldly agility, her form blurring as she evaded the projectiles. Risebelle’s attacks missed their mark, leaving Aliana unscathed.

  With a wry smile, Aliana remarked, “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to nd a hit on me, dear.”

  Aliana formed the ice spikes ahem hurtling toward Risebelle, the young mage attempted to protect herself. However, her water magic didn’t respond quickly enough, and the ice spikes struck her with critical force.

  Risebelle let out a pained gasp as the icy projectiles pierced her defenses and inflicted severe damage. She stumbled to her knees, clutg her side where one of the spikes had struck. Her breaths came in ragged gasps, and she fought to maintain her posure despite the intense pain.

  Aliana, her demeanor as cold as her magic, observed Risebelle’s dition with a hint of satisfa. “It seems you uimated me,” she remarked, “But worry not, little one. Your suffering will be over soon.”

  Risebelle, grittieeth against the pain, struggled tain her footing. Risebelle’s heart raced as she watched Aliana vanish from her sight, only to reappear within the swirling blue energy she had created.

  Aliana, caught off guard by the sudden shift in her surroundings, found herself swept off her feet. She stumbled ao the ground, her icy aura briefly flickering as her trol over her magic wavered.

  With a triumphant gleam in her eyes, Risebelle seized the opportunity she had created. With a quick motion, she fired a shot from her on directly at Aliana, who was momentarily vulnerable on the ground.The shot struck Aliana with a burst of water-infused magic, causio cry out in pain as she was knocked backward. Her icy aura vanished, and she struggled tain her footing.

  Risebelle, though still in siderable pain herself, mao rise to her feet.

  “It seems you’re the one who uimated us,” Risebelle decred. “We’re not just foolish creations of Dr. Kintovar. We have a body, we have a mind and we have a soul. We are living beings just like you, but you humans refuse to admit that so you just want to kill off any stist you please... but it’s always been that way...that’s why you are all filthy!”

  Risebelle’s words rang out, and her mind briefly fshed back to a different time, a different life. She remembered a girl with blue hair, dressed in tattered sve clothes. The memories of her past life, of the pain and cruelty she had endured, fueled her attacks of the present.

  Risebelle, her body ag from the battle and her injuries, turo her sister Runebelle, who reparing to use her Healing Shot.

  “Don’t bother trying to heal me right now,” Risebelle said.

  “But...Risebelle...”

  “Runebelle, I’m about to do something, and it might get dangerous. You o get back, find a safe spot, and be ready to provide support if I then. I ’t have you getting hurt in the process.”

  Runebelle nodded, etched across her face. With a final, sad but reassuring look, Runebelle stepped back, keeping a watchful eye on her sister as she prepared to take a.

  Risebelle began to el an overwhelming surge of her Water Magiergy, her thoughts raced, and a flood of emotions washed over her.

  ‘These two... Roselle and Runebelle... they’re so different’ she mused silently, her mind rag. ’Roselle’s headstrong, but she still carries some human passion, and she sometimes be reckless. And Runebelle... she’s calm and thoughtful otlefield. I helped Roselle get along with the others, and Runebelle... well, she helped by just being herself.”

  Risebelle felt a warmth in her heart as she thought about the bond that had formed between them.

  ‘They bring out the best in me,’ Risebelle admitted to herself. ‘Couldn’t have asked for better sisters…’

  Her body trembled with strain, but she was resolved to do whatever it took to protect her sisters.

  ’This might be my st moments,’Risebelle thought, ‘But I’ll make it t. For Roselle, for Runebelle, and for all the others who’ve suffered at the hands of humans...’

  The energy surges around her and her surroundings seemed to blur, Risebelle’s st thought echoed in her mind: “For Roselle and Runebelle, I’ll give everything I have!”