The entrance to the library was getting closer.

  Nyx had made sure to cut just enough to stop Lina from walking while avoiding anything immediately lethal.

  "I think I'll take you home. We can have so much fun." Nyx wandered around the library, spinning her dagger absently. "You didn't give up yet! I got so lucky." She smiled and grabbed books off the shelves, flipping through them for a second before dropping them to the floor. "Let's see, what else is here?"

  Lina was trying to drag herself to the exit. She knew it was pointless. The girl would stop her just before she reached the door again, just like the last three times.

  But she had to try.

  "This library is so boring! Who cares about fire magic?" Nyx pulled a massive tome on elemental theory and threw it to the ground. "I mean, fire is fun, but it's so... average." She looked at the pile of discarded books and sighed. "It is what it is."

  She glanced at Lina, who was now two meters from the door. Spinning her dagger, she started making her way over, already considering where to cut next.

  "Want to know something fun? Even if I make a mistake and cut somewhere I shouldn't, I can just give you a tiny bit of corruption. It's amazing what having something better than mana can do." She stood over Lina, smiling down at her.

  Lina braced herself for the pain.

  It didn't come.

  Instead, she heard the door opening.

  She opened her eyes and looked forward. Mary stood at the entrance, sword drawn, wearing full combat armor. The polished steel caught the light, ceremonial engravings running along the breastplate and pauldrons.

  Nyx's face lit up. "Another one? It must be my birthday. I'm sure it is." She examined Mary with genuine delight.

  "I'm sorry it took me so long." Mary addressed Lina, her voice steady despite the situation.

  "You're just in time." Lina felt relief wash over her, though her wounds immediately started hurting worse now that help had arrived.

  "Aurelius must be—" A dagger flew at her face. Mary blocked it with her sword, the clang echoing through the library.

  Nyx wasn't there anymore. She was behind Mary.

  Mary tried to turn in time, but tendrils of corruption extended from the doorway, wrapping around her arms and legs. Had it not been for her armor, the fight would have been over. Mary forced herself forward, breaking through the corruption, though she felt the dagger cut across her back. Not deep enough to stop her movement, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

  "Sorry! I was so excited, I couldn't help myself!" Nyx lowered her head apologetically while the thrown dagger rose from the ground and flew upward toward Mary. "Please don't be dead at me!"

  Mary dodged backward and started focusing more on her surroundings. Whatever traps the girl had set, she needed to be ready.

  The dagger flew toward Nyx, who caught it mid-air and hid the second one again. "You survived! We can be friends!"

  "I am sorry, but I cannot be friends with someone like you." Mary responded with practiced elegance, finally getting a moment to catch her breath.

  "Someone like me?" Nyx tilted her head. "It's not my fault. It's just... impossible to resist!"

  She moved forward so fast Mary only had time to raise her sword to block. But Nyx didn't stop. She didn't care about the blade at all, just threw herself onto it with no sense of self-preservation, aiming her dagger at Mary's exposed neck.

  Mary managed to take a small step back. She wasn't sure if it was her own reaction or if Nyx had slowed down at the last second to keep the fight going.

  "No no no, don't die so fast! I know, just give up! Then I can have fun without risking you dying." Nyx stepped back, corruption forming around the massive wound the sword had made in her chest.

  Mary tried to keep her posture, to remember her fundamentals. But she'd never faced anyone like this.

  Normal opponents tried to disarm her. They looked for openings, tested her guard, tried to create advantages through footwork and technique. This girl had none of that. Every strike was meant to kill. No feints, no probing attacks, just pure aggression that ignored her own safety completely. There was no pattern to exploit, no rhythm to interrupt.

  It was like fighting someone who'd never been taught that swords were supposed to kill them too.

  Mary started calculating how long she needed to survive. If she held out long enough, Aurelius would finish searching his section and come check on her.

  Lina had managed to reach the door, only to find corruption sealing it shut. Even if she could walk, she doubted she could break through.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Mary focused and channeled mana into her armor. Nyx's weapons bypassed normal steel like it wasn't there, so she needed magical reinforcement.

  "Say something!" Nyx advanced again, this time aiming for Mary's legs. Mary didn't dodge. Instead, she swung her sword at the same time, a mutual exchange.

  As expected, the dagger didn't pierce the reinforced armor. Mary's sword, however, cut deep into Nyx's side.

  Nyx jumped back, corruption covering the wound and sealing it closed. "No! That's not what you're supposed to do!" She looked genuinely frustrated. "Now I'll have to aim where there isn't armor, and you won't have that to save you!"

  "Then I'll simply have to defend properly." Mary said it with confidence she didn't entirely feel.

  "You don't understand!" Nyx's expression shifted to something almost pleading. "I've been holding it back this whole time. It wants you dead, but I want us to be friends." The corruption began spreading, reaching her dagger and pooling on the ground around her feet. "Now I won't be able to stop it."

  Mary started drawing a magic circle. If she could reinforce her defense with barrier magic, she could hold until Aurelius arrived.

  Nyx went on the offensive again.

  This time was different.

  The corruption amplified everything. Her strikes came faster, hit harder. Her reach extended beyond what her arms should allow, the dagger's edge wreathed in dark energy. And when Mary's sword connected, it barely cut at all, the corruption acting like armor.

  Mary's barrier magic was the only thing keeping her alive, blocking strikes just before they reached her and giving her fractions of a second to avoid lethal hits. But the corruption was staining everything it touched. Her barrier weakened. Her armor's reinforcement diminished. Nyx's strikes were getting closer and closer to vital points.

  The problem was distance control. In a normal fight, Mary could maintain proper spacing, keep her opponent at the optimal range for her sword. But Nyx closed distance like it meant nothing, moving in patterns that made no tactical sense. She'd sacrifice position for aggression, give up her guard for a chance to strike.

  Mary's training had taught her to punish those mistakes. But when your opponent didn't care if they got hit, all those openings became traps.

  Then she felt it. A presence that demanded attention, radiated undeniable strength.

  Nyx only noticed Aurelius when he walked through the door, passing through the corruption barrier like it didn't exist.

  He entered and looked around. Lina on the ground. Mary with her armor stained in blood and corruption. And Nyx, who was ecstatic again.

  "One more! Three is such a perfect number!"

  Mary loosened her grip on her sword, allowing herself to breathe. Everything was fine now.

  "DON'T YOU DARE!" Aurelius's voice was sharp enough to cut. Mary assumed he was talking to Nyx, but his eyes were fixed on her.

  "Prince, I'm—"

  "DO NOT." He stopped her. "Do not dare make excuses. Do not dare be relieved that I'm here." He looked at Nyx with disdain, then back at Mary. "Someone in your position should not be losing to someone like her. It's disgraceful."

  Mary finally understood.

  "What is happening to you?!" He continued. "You lost to Kai. To Erick. And now this? Are you slacking off? Do you think because I'm strong, you don't need to put in the effort?"

  He had a point. Last year she hadn't lost a single duel. Now she was facing her third loss. What was happening to her?

  She knew the answer, though she refused to acknowledge it. She couldn't be hesitating. It wasn't proper for someone in her position to doubt.

  Mary raised her head and gripped her sword with both hands.

  What if the Prince didn't exist? What if she wasn't promised to him, wasn't bound to that future? Would that Mary be losing this battle?

  The answer was clear, both to her and to Aurelius.

  Aurelius picked up Lina carefully and headed for the exit without another word.

  Nyx tried to move forward to stop them, but Mary put herself between them, channeling mana into her blade.

  "I'm sorry. But I have to beat you."

  "No! I want all three!" Nyx lunged forward, but Mary was ready. She cleared her mind. No thoughts of being saved. No hesitation. No questions. Just her and her opponent.

  When Nyx vanished from sight, Mary's mana sense told her where she'd gone. When the strike came, she moved her sword to intercept. Predicting the next attack was simple: it would always aim for the most vulnerable spot.

  It helped that Nyx had lost all focus. She was so desperate to win before Aurelius got too far that her attacks became predictable.

  Mary finally felt confident enough to release one hand from her sword and start weaving magic. Wind to lighten her blade and empower her strikes. Fire to burn away the corruption.

  "Wait wait wait, that's not fair!" Nyx dodged backward from a sweeping cut. "You weren't this good a second ago!"

  "I was always this good." Mary advanced, maintaining pressure. "I was simply distracted."

  "By what?!" Nyx tried to close distance again, but Mary's sword was already there, forcing her back.

  "Things that don't matter anymore." Mary's next strike cut across Nyx's arm. The corruption tried to seal it, but the fire magic burned it away before it could close.

  "Stop that!" Nyx's voice had an edge of panic now. "We're supposed to be having fun!"

  "This isn't fun." Mary cut again, precise and controlled. "This is a duel."

  The difference was becoming clearer with each exchange. Mary dismantled Nyx's offense methodically. Every strike was measured, aimed at joints and tendons. The corruption struggled to keep up, trying to seal too many wounds at once.

  "No no no, you're doing it wrong!" Nyx backed toward a bookshelf, breathing hard. "You're supposed to be scared! You're supposed to need saving!"

  "I did need saving." Mary advanced steadily. "From myself."

  Nyx could accept the corruption completely, give away her body and become it like so many had before. But what would be the point? What purpose would it serve if she wasn't the one making the cuts?

  "You cut so..." Nyx tried one more desperate lunge. Mary sidestepped and struck her wrist. The dagger clattered to the floor. "So beautifully."

  Nyx swayed, her vision fading. She looked at Mary with something that might have been admiration.

  "Thank you for being my friend."

  She collapsed. The puddle of corruption beneath her began filling with blood.

  Mary stood there for a moment, sword still raised, making sure the threat was over.

  Then she lowered her blade and turned toward the exit where Aurelius had gone.

  She had a lot to think about.