Ruins Of Old, First Area, Great Dungeon
Eleanor, Sword Empress, POV
Eleanor’s sword cut through the air with deadly precision. Elyndra was forced to step back, avoiding the edge of the blade as Eleanor pressed forward.
She didn’t give her opponent time to recover. Her attacks flowed one into the next, forming a continuous sequence that kept the pressure on.
For a brief moment, it seemed balanced.
Then the difference in power began to show.
Elyndra countered, and Eleanor was forced to retreat, sliding back to create distance. She steadied herself, her grip tightening slightly as she reassessed the situation.
A quick glance to the side revealed the larger battlefield.
Zahard and another High Overlord were clashing with Avery. Their fight was destructive, each exchange sending shockwaves through the surrounding area.
On Eleanor’s side, the situation was just as dire.
She and Sera were facing X-019, Elyndra, and two High Overlords. The pressure from all sides made it difficult to find any opening.
Eleanor narrowed her eyes as she adjusted her stance.
At this rate, victory was not possible.
She understood her own limits clearly. She was still a Low-rank human, and a Champion.
The fact that she could stand here at all was already unusual, something only possible due to her Sword Arts and unsealed sword.
A few months ago, she would not have been able to fight opponents at this level. Facing a low-rank Overlord would have been her limit.
But things had changed.
After unsealing her sword, her strength had grown significantly. She could fight against mid-rank species Overlord without being overwhelmed.
And recently, she had improved even further.
A large part of that came from the resources she had been using. Isaac had insisted on paying her salary for her work as his guard. She had tried to refuse him, but ultimately agreed after his repeated insistence.
She had used all of that money to buy resources to strengthen herself.
Now, she could contend with High-rank Species’ Overlords.
If she had enough time to prepare, she could even release an attack strong enough to threaten an Apex Overlord.
That was her advantage.
But it wasn’t enough here.
Her opponents were not ordinary. They were High Overlords capable of fighting Apex-level Overlords, and there were also two Apex Overlords armed to teeth with high level equipment.
If she had a few months to train, things might have been different. With time, she could refine her control further, push her limits, and maybe even bridge the gap.
But that time didn’t exist right now.
"What are you?" X-019 asked. Its voice carried a mechanical calm, as if it was observing something unusual rather than fighting for victory. "You are only a Low-rank species and a Champion, yet you are strong enough to fight us. How is that possible?"
"It’s because of her Sword Art It is at least SSS+, if not Transcendent rank," Beila said, his gaze fixed on her. The four floating gems behind his back shifted slightly, reacting to his mana.
The Floathi team sucked in a sharp breath at those words.
’She might be second only to the Emperor in terms of mastery of sword,’ Beila thought in his heart with a grave expression.
Now, he could tell why the Emperor was paying attention to her,
Perhaps, the Emperor wanted to take her as his tenth wife.
"Less talking, more fighting," Sera said as she surged forward again.
Her movement broke the brief pause. She closed the distance instantly, forcing the others to react. Eleanor followed right after, her sword cutting through the air as she joined the assault.
Together, they formed a strong front. Sera created openings with her aggressive pushes, while Eleanor used those moments to strike precisely. For a while, they managed to hold their ground.
But it wasn’t enough.
Their opponents adapted quickly. The pressure kept building, and the gap in strength slowly became harder to ignore. Several times, Avery had to intervene from a distance, her attacks forcing the Florathi team to pull back just enough to keep Eleanor and Sera from being overwhelmed.
Even with that support, the situation was slipping.
"How long?" Sera asked, her voice carrying a hint of urgency.
"Just a bit more," Eleanor replied without hesitation.
They only needed time. That was the entire point. Emily’s group had to get far enough away, outside the range where Florathi could interfere.
"Is what we are doing even useful? They have someone who can manipulate space," Sera said.
Before Eleanor could respond, a sudden missile launched from X-019’s back, cutting through the air with alarming speed. It forced Sera to step back immediately to avoid a direct hit.
"Oh, no."
The moment she moved, something changed.
Her skill was canceled.
The restriction that had been limiting Florathi’s movements disappeared, and the shift of the battlefield was immediate.
Elyndra acted without delay. She reached out, her control over space tightening as she pulled and twisted the battlefield itself.
Avery’s incoming attacks changed direction mid-flight.
Instead of hitting their intended targets, they curved sharply and rushed toward Eleanor and Sera.
The two reacted instantly, trying to dodge, but something felt wrong. No matter how they moved—running, jumping, even using their skills—they couldn’t gain any real distance. It was as if they were trapped in place.
A sudden surge of aura erupted from Sera.
Her spear shot forward with terrifying force, cutting through the distortion and colliding with the redirected attack. The impact created a violent shockwave that spread outward, shaking the ground beneath them.
When the dust settled, Sera was standing still, her body trembling slightly. Her lips had turned pale, and her breathing had grown uneven.
’The System tightened the restrictions on her,’ Eleanor realized.
It was expected. The System never allowed beings from the Divine Realm to act freely in the Mortal Realm. Sera must have already used a significant amount of her Faith to descend. Even then, every strong action she took only increased the restrictions on her.
If she pushed further, the backlash would only grow worse.
And now, it was showing.
Taking advantage of that moment, Elyndra and X-019 moved together.
X-019 fired multiple missiles in quick succession, each one following a different trajectory. At the same time, Elyndra manipulated space again, bending the paths of the missiles and redirecting them.
All of them converged toward Sera.
Eleanor stepped in without hesitation.
Her sword hummed as Elemental Sword Aura surged along its edge. She moved through the incoming barrage with precise cuts, slicing through each attack before it could reach its target.
The explosions were contained, their force dispersed before they could cause serious damage.
"Can you move?" Eleanor asked, her voice calm despite the situation.
Sera shook her head slightly. "No. I used my skill earlier to block them from retreating and chasing Emily. Since I withdrew first, the backlash won’t let me move for five minutes."
Across from them, the expressions of the Florathi team shifted. The tension that had been holding them back disappeared, replaced by clear confidence.
Until now, Sera had been the main obstacle. Her presence forced them to split their attention, creating openings that Eleanor could use.
Now, that balance was gone.
All four Overlords moved at once.
They attacked together, fully aware that Eleanor couldn’t block everything alone, and that Sera was no longer in a position to block.