Reincarnated as the Final Villain's Vessel

Every method and art of fighting, close range or long range, has a common denominator.

Attack and defense.

Whether you use weapons or a mix of abilities... there’s always a cycle between defense and attack, except in special cases.

So logically, when you fight an opponent and try to stab and cut him dozens or hundreds of times, but he defends perfectly, to the point that you couldn’t spill a single drop of his blood or even touch him, putting so much focus into defense that he sacrificed his chances to attack.

Then logically, it’s obvious he doesn’t want to get hurt... or specifically he doesn’t want to get your sword anywhere in his body.

These were Riven’s thoughts now... it was logic.

Staring at the end of her sword after the light of the attacks, she’d unleashed faded... there the cold metal had sunk into Emeris’s breastbone and come out of her back.

There where the blood was supposed to pour from her chest and end this fight, something else leaked out.

The same ethereal blue light surrounded the sword as it broke apart in glimmering sparks from her chest, a part of her body around the place of the stab became just grains of immaterial light, letting the blade pass straight through without resistance... like it’s nothing.

Riven opened her mouth, her eyes meeting those laughing gray pupils, she tried to pull her sword back and teleport at that moment, but like she’d predicted this, Emeris’s hand was already on her wrist.

The slender fingers wrapping around it with a raw strength that doesn’t look logical for her fragile body, a smile formed on her face like she was showing a lot of teeth to be friendly. ”Honestly, that was unexpected.”

For a moment Riven thought Emeris meant her ability to land a stab and get past her defense, but as the words poured out the picture became clear.

”I didn’t even know this was possible, breaking my body apart!... cool! Right?”

Like the time it took her to stab her, the confusion and the surprise faded quickly from Riven, feeling the pressure of Emeris’s grip growing on her wrist.

By the next heartbeat, she was already moving.

She moved her sword along Emeris’s body in a cut that passes through her chest and her lung, but like before, the place around the sword broke apart into ethereal blue sparks, floating like dust and reconnecting to itself again so the girl’s body went back to normal.

The moment the sword left Emeris’s body without any damage, Riven clenched her jaw and turned her hand, twisting her wrist caught in the strong grip and pulling it out in a precise movement.

The moment a millimeter of space formed between their bodies, Riven used her ability, without a sound or any distortion she vanished like she’d never been there.

She appeared safely several meters away, narrowing her eyes at the silver-haired girl who never moved from her place.

Yeah, she’d misjudged this, it turns out even getting past her defense didn’t work... so what the hell would work?

But more importantly, she hadn’t caught her... Riven was sure she wouldn’t fall into that trap again.

But a confusing feeling was framing her, especially since escaping this was easy... like she’d let go of her wrist on purpose.

A big frown covered Riven’s angry face, while the forest around them went silent for a few moments. ”Why the hell are you still smiling.”

Emeris tilted her head, her smile widening. ”Because it’s funny how the fight ended.”

”Huh?... nothing has end—” Riven’s objection cut off when she finally realized... there was a feeling of pressure on her wrist.

At first, she thought it was the leftover feeling of Emeris’s strong grip, but now when she looked at her wrist, she realized it, there was an ethereal blue band wrapped there, putting tangible pressure on her.

Her pupils widened, and her heart froze for a moment, then without hesitating her other hand moved as she flipped the sword and aimed its edge at the ring on her wrist, trying to cut it.

Not that it worked... it didn’t even leave a scratch on it, just a faint ripple that faded quickly.

Riven saw Emeris raise her hand toward her, then she felt the pressure tighten on her wrist, before an invisible force dragged her toward her opponent.

It was so fast and strong that she crossed dozens of meters in a moment, pulled by her wrist, feeling like her shoulder was about to be dislocated.

Emeris took a step to the side, moving out of Riven’s path... then while she was still unaware of what’s happening she felt it.

A foot landing with insane force on the curve at the bottom of her back, right on her ass, hard enough that her spine shook, threatening to twist.

Pushed by Emeris’s kick, Riven flew like a cannonball, crashing into one tree after another, until she landed on the ground, her body digging a long trench far from the earlier battlefield.

”Agha!...” She let out a late groan, lying face-down in the dirt, tasting the wood from the trees, while the sword had disappeared from her hand at some point when she took the blow.

The essence rushed through her body as she tried to get up, but the band on her wrist was pressing on her, pinning her in place, like that small thing weighs a whole mountain.

Behind her Emeris bent down and picked up the fallen sword, glancing at the beautiful edge before she made her way toward her opponent, closing the distance fast.

”I told you I’d give you a smack on the ass... well, I know it’s a kick and not a smack, but you have to accept what life gives you... right?” Her voice was mocking, like she’d gotten the best show of her life.

When she saw that Riven was groaning and trying to get up, bands of blue ether formed and wrapped around the girl’s other wrist, then both of her ankles.

Like she weighed nothing Riven rose into the air, her four limbs bound and spread apart from each other, her white armor full of dirt and dust with bits of branches.

And in front of her Emeris stood, at the same height, the sharp blade shining in her hand. ”Since I’ve been suffering from boredom, I really want to play with you more... but well, there are other things with more priority... anyway, it was only a few minutes but it’s still fun.”

With that the sword spun in her hand, heading toward the bound girl in front of her, at that moment Riven gritted her teeth in anger... she couldn’t believe she was losing in this humiliating way, she’d have to use her last card in front of this girl out of all the opponents in the Hanging Islands.

So, when the sword came toward her to end this, she connected to the anchor she’d left far from here, on one of Luminar’s base islands at the lower levels... then when the sword touched her chest and split her armor she disappeared, only the echo of her cursing stayed behind her.

”Oh... she escaped?” Emeris let out a sound of surprise as Riven’s annoying image vanished from her sight, feeling the sword pass through the air without resistance.

She lowered her arm and closed her eyes for a moment, but she couldn’t feel the restraints she’d put on Riven. ”Tsk... she got too far away.”

Since her power had faded it was obvious the distance between them had become vast.

Like someone who never suffers from high cortisol, Emeris raised her hand and played with the strands of her hair as she blinked at the sword in her hand, before she decided to keep it as a war trophy.

”Hooo.” With a short breath, she looked at the bracelet on her wrist where there were many messages, fixing her eyes on the one that came from Caius’s team.

”They’re under attack? Huh... maybe I should go.” Even though she says maybe she was already planning to go... who would waste this chance anyway.

Suddenly her ears twitched as she heard the distant noise at the edge of the island. ”I almost forgot about that.”

The next moment Emeris turned around, and made her way to the next battlefield, to clean up this small mess before going to pay the neighbors a visit.