My dagger twisted under her blade, dragging it just a fraction off its deadly line.
Clang!
Steel sparked against steel, the shock running up my arm, but the opening was there—her stance slightly broken, her balance faltering.
I drove forward without hesitation.
"—Kh!" Alice's breath caught as I slipped past her guard, my shoulder slamming into her with just enough force to disrupt her footing.
For a heartbeat, the conjured swords hovering behind her wavered, their movements no longer perfectly in sync.
Good. That meant her focus had cracked.
Seizing the moment, I thrust my blade forward.
Alice's eyes flickered in realization, her body jerking to withdraw—but too late.
The essence of a parry wasn't just defense. It was the art of exploiting a single heartbeat of carelessness, turning it into an unstoppable counter.
I had baited her perfectly.
Steel rang as I twisted her weapon aside, redirecting her thrust into empty air. My own strike surged in its place—fluid, inevitable.
