Lady Fiona's eyes widened with interest as she set her gaze on Evan.
"I can see the Blood of Frost coursing through your veins. You must be a descendant of my brother." As she spoke, her long eyelashes fluttered delicately, like the wings of a butterfly, revealing her fascination. The clone was created using Lady Fiona's genes, memory, and soul shard. It was unsurprising to hear it speak in a manner that resembled her own.
"You're right. The First Generation Imperial Lord of Frost is my great great great grandfather." Evan nodded.
"What type of soul plate do you possess?" she inquired, her voice laced with curiosity.
"I have a control-type soul plate," Evan replied confidently, meeting her gaze.
Immediately, a sly smile played on Fiona's lips.
"Ah, I see. I was looking forward to a fun fight, but I guess I won't be getting it," she murmured, the brightness in her eyes dimming. "As a control-type cultivator, breaching my defense would be an impossible feat for you. You might as well surrender now. At least then, you'll walk away with your life."
Evan stood tall, unfazed by her words.
He was well aware of Lady Fiona's abilities. He knew that her skill crystal, Inevitable Death, allowed her to launch an unavoidable attack, but it required a 1.5-second channeling time. He also knew that her special-type soul plate allowed her to flip the effect of her skill crystal, turning it into an absolute defense skill that allowed her to dodge any attack. She could deactivate its effect anytime she liked.
She seemed like the final boss that one would encounter at the end of a video game. However, he had a plan that could potentially help him emerge victorious against her.
'I can win if I goad her into a rage. I guess I gotta act like a rascal to achieve my goal.' Evan thought to himself.
"You underestimate me, Lady Fiona. I am not like those control-type cultivators you have faced before. One hundred years have passed since you have ascended. A lot of things have changed since then. For example, unlike them, modern men believe in equality between the two genders. I won't hold back my punches against you." he retorted.
Lady Fiona's expression soured at Evan's retort, and her features contorted into an unattractive scowl. His words seemed to be implying that all the fights she had won so far were because her opponent held back because she was a woman, and it pissed her off.
However, despite her effort to appear menacing, her beauty remained undeniable. Her sharp, striking features only emphasized the twisted expression on her face, making it all the more incongruous.
Lady Fiona scoffed, "I already warned you, but you're too arrogant to recognize the obvious difference between us. Don't blame me for putting you in your rightful place."
Immediately, Lady Fiona's hand darted towards her belt, her fingers deftly undoing the clasp. Held in her hand, the belt transformed into a dazzling white sword. Its white blade shimmered in the blue light emanating from the surrounding walls, radiating an otherworldly energy that was palpable even to Evan.
Whoosh!
Her movement was swift and graceful as she leaped towards Evan, her white sword poised to strike. As she closed in, Evan braced himself for the attack, ready to implement his plan to provoke her.
"About time we fought," Evan smirked.
Lady Fiona was a force to be reckoned with, her lithe frame moving with the grace and precision of a predatory cat as she unleashed a barrage of sword strikes. Her blade flashed in the light, glinting with deadly intent as it sliced through the air. Each strike was executed with a fluidity that belied the immense power behind it, her movements almost mesmerizing in their ferocity.
But even as her sword moved like a living thing, Evan was unfazed. Thanks to his past life memory and his recent dreadful battles, he was like a seasoned warrior, and his years of experience had honed his reflexes to a razor's edge. He moved with a fluidity of his own, each motion calculated and deliberate as he dodged each of her strikes with effortless grace. His eyes never left hers, his focus unbroken even as he evaded each of her attacks with ease.
He winked at her as he dodged her attacks.
In that moment, it was clear that he was flirting with her!
How dare he! Lady Fiona exploded in rage.
"Little rascal, why can't I hit you?" Lady Fiona asked angrily as she attacked him.
"It's because in my eyes you're swinging that sword of yours like a drunkard, Lady Fiona. It's too easy for me to read. So naturally, it's too easy for me to dodge." Evan grinned mischievously, ducking under another one of Lady Fiona's furious sword swings.
Lady Fiona rolled her eyes at Evan's taunts. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that you can effortlessly decipher the intricacies of my Serpent Sword style?" she scoffed. "It's a highly complex technique, and yet you claim to have it all figured out. You must be kidding me." Evan's arrogance was getting on her nerves, especially since he seemed to underestimate her abilities.
"Well, you did a good job calling out my bluff. If only you had a few more brain cells, you would have recognized that my speed makes me an elusive target. With your current strength, you won't be able to do any damage to me." Evan taunted.
His words only served to anger Lady Fiona further. It was exactly what he wanted. A visible tick appeared on Lady Fiona's smooth forehead, her patience wearing thin at Evan's persistent taunts.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds," she retorted, her voice laced with annoyance. "You underestimate my skills and overestimate your own. I may have failed to land a hit on you using my sword style, but it's not the only offensive technique I know. I will keep on changing my methods until I succeed."
In the very next moment, sapphire blue soul energy emanated from Lady Fiona's body and flowed into her sword, illuminating it with a vibrant blue hue. In an instant, several serpentine forms burst out of the tip of her sword as she swung it, their movements swift and lethal as they shot towards Evan like arrows.
"Hmph! You aren't the only one with a magic weapon." Evan said as he reacted quickly, activating the effect of his magic sword. Instantly, sharp ice shards materialized in the air, raining down on the snakes and impaling them, causing them to disintegrate on the spot.
"Let's see if your Absolute Defense can truly live up to its name," Evan remarked with a sly grin.
To test the waters, Evan launched an attack of his own, but despite the Frost Bullet incredible speed that would have made it nearly impossible to dodge, Lady Fiona evaded it effortlessly, as if the universe was conspiring in her favor.
Seeing this, Evan clicked his tongue in annoynace. 'Probality type skill crystals are really tricky.'
"You are far worse than I thought you would be. I guess the only thing you got going for you is your beautiful self. You suck as a souk cultivator."
Evan, the rascal, didn't forget to hurl another insult at her. One must understand that as long as Lady Fiona's Absolute Defense was on, she couldn't be hit. He could only win if she shut it down. And she would only do that if she wanted to use the real effect of her skill crystal to kill her target.
"So far I have only been playing with you. But now I'm done holding back. I will crush you with my full strength!" Lady Fiona said as she deactivated the effect of her Soul Plate in order to unleash the true might of her skill crystal.
Little did she know that Evan had been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the fight, patiently biding his time.
"Finally, my chance has arrived," he thought.
Lady Fiona was entirely focused on channeling her move when, in the blink of an eye, Evan vanished from his spot, and before she could react, he appeared behind her, his blade whistling through the air. She was caught off guard. She never knew that he had a skill like that that allowed him to instantly appear behind his enemies as he had never used Phantom Shadow Step against her until now. She turned her head, too late to evade the lethal blow.
Puchi!
With a sickening sound, the blade sliced through Lady Fiona's slender neck, severing her head from her body in a spray of crimson blood that splattered across the ground.
Her body slumped to the ground, twitching and convulsing in its last moments of life, while Evan stood over her, his face twisted into a cold and triumphant smile!