Elsa adjusted her posture and charged forward again, Adam meeting her head-on with equal determination.
Sparks flew as their blades clashed with thunderous force. In their deadly arena, they traded fierce blows targeting vital points, their weapons dancing in lethal rhythm as neither yielded ground.
Even Natsuki, an outsider, could see that while the two moved in an intimate dance of blades, every movement carried killing intent — each fighter determined to strike the other down.
"Are these two even human?"
Felt and Old Man Rom wanted to help, but witnessing such an intense battle, they wisely stayed back to avoid hindering their ally.
In his duel with Elsa, Adam gradually gained the upper hand through his Mark state's explosive power. Having analyzed and copied her assassination techniques, he knew the timing of her attack intervals perfectly, allowing him to seize the initiative repeatedly.
Gradually, Elsa's wounds multiplied. Though her minor injuries healed quickly, she was clearly being suppressed and couldn't mount a counterattack.
Her form-fitting clothes, now torn, revealed patches of snow-white skin, making her appear dangerously alluring.
An opening! His left hand struck from an unexpected angle.
With one precise palm strike to Elsa's wrist, he snatched one of her short blades while simultaneously kicking her away!
"Beautiful!" Natsuki shouted excitedly.
In the previous four loops, they had always gone directly to the warehouse to face Elsa. Each time, Emilia would suddenly appear, and he would die protecting her from a sneak attack, leading to another loop.
But this time, they had arrived slightly later, and Adam was able to suppress her.
He didn't dwell on it — defeating this gruesome woman was all that mattered.
Victory was within reach!
Elsa was kicked into the broken shelves by Adam's powerful strike, but she burst from the dust mere seconds later.
Short blade and upgraded Nichirin sword clashed once more!
"That hurt, young man." Elsa said playfully, though her movements grew sharper as she mercilessly targeted his lower body.
"Sorry, I should have been more gentle with a lady."
But her attacks proved futile!
Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless!
Adam had completely analyzed all of her assassination technique patterns — they could no longer affect him! Thanks to Puck buying time, he had been able to focus on analysis and suppress her.
Now was the time to defeat her in one go!
◈ Water Breathing, Twelfth Form ⫸ Transformation of Time Rain ◈
Massive magical power burst forth, creating a domain of slowness that enveloped Elsa, restricting her superhuman speed.
◈ Water Breathing, First Form ⫸ Water Surface Slash ◈
A merciless double strike! A straight slash aimed at Elsa's neck, intending to end the battle with decapitation!
Though uncertain whether the Nichirin sword would work on Curse users in this other world, that didn't stop Adam from attempting beheading!
Whether it would work or not, he had to try!
"Heh." Even at this most dangerous moment, Elsa merely gave a light laugh.
Then, to his disbelief, she took half a step back!
Are you serious with that half-step backward?! No way — this is my proudest sword technique! How can everyone dodge it? Don't I deserve some respect?!
But that half-step turned what should have been a decapitating blow into a strike across her elegant collarbone, making a chilling grinding sound!
After taking this hit head-on, Elsa took a large step back and retreated from the domain.
"It hurts, it hurts! This feeling of being alive is so wonderful!"
She caressed the huge diagonal slash across her collarbone. Blood gushed out, staining her snow-white skin from chest to waist red, but as she stroked it, the massive wound began healing rapidly until it returned to normal.
Such terrifying regeneration!
Adam frowned and asked, "May I ask a question? Though you might not answer."
"How did you move within the domain?"
"Domain? Ah, your domain is truly powerful, young man. I almost died." Elsa gave a light laugh and praised him before answering, "Your domain probably uses massive magical power to invade and control the enemy's body and mana flow, achieving infinite slowdown of their movements. But unfortunately, I'm a half-vampire with special energy in my body. While my mana was restricted, that energy wasn't."
"So that's how you dodged at the last moment?" His frown softened.
Anyone would be frustrated when their best sword technique gets countered so easily.
"But even so, I nearly died. If I hadn't concentrated all my energy in my feet to break free of the domain's control, I might be dead now."
Though she spoke casually, her lightning-fast reaction in that moment was truly terrifying.
Elsa touched her perfectly healed skin, her flushed face gazing at Adam with growing affection.
"Ah, this feeling is wonderful! I've fallen for you, young man."
"I'm truly blessed to be liked by such a beautiful older sister. But unfortunately, I must defeat you." Taking up his stance again, he declared, "Bowel Hunter Elsa Granhiert!"
"Sword Master Carter!"
They announced their names to each other before clashing once more.
The others could only watch anxiously from the sidelines. Adam maintained the upper hand — after all, he had analyzed all of Elsa's attack patterns!
"I've been curious since earlier — young man, you seem to know me very well." As the battle intensified, Elsa's gentle smile vanished.
Her cold expression transformed her into an icy serpent, her intelligent eyes barely masking the madness as she stared intently at Adam.
"My attacks, my defense, my movements — everything seems to be within your expectations." She spoke with equal parts question and confirmation, "Young man, could it be that you've even figured out my thought process?"
"Who knows? But I can say for certain that there's no room for you to show your skills here, big sister." Adam gave an ambiguous response before firmly stating, "I'm sorry, but you alone cannot stand against us. Of course, if big sister were to retreat now, we might let you go."
His final words carried both warning and certainty.
She responded defiantly, "A Bowel Hunter won't give up over such a small setback. Completing the mission comes first, even at the cost of my life! That's the Bowel Hunter's rea—oh?"
Elsa, who was about to declare her dignity, suddenly collapsed to her knees, looking pathetic.
"What's happening..."
"Ah, the holy water finally took effect. I was starting to think it wasn't working after all this time."
Before coming to " Re:Zero ", Adam had specifically asked Aqua to prepare three vials of holy water for emergencies, and unexpectedly used it so soon. He had secretly applied it to his blade earlier.
Aqua's holy water had special damage effects against undead. As a half-vampire and Cursed woman with extraordinary physical regeneration, Elsa favored a reckless fighting style of trading wounds.
Adam had targeted this weakness precisely. By applying holy water to his blade and trading blows with her, he had introduced the holy water into her body — a strategy she never anticipated.
The effect had taken nearly an hour to manifest. Was it because this was another world, or because Elsa was only half-vampire?
Perhaps Aqua had simply given him inferior holy water. The more he thought about it, the more likely that seemed.
Regardless, the result was clear: she now knelt before him, powerless to resist.
"I'm sorry, big sister, but it seems I have no choice but to end you here permanently." Adam slowly walked up to her, pointing his Nichirin sword at her, "But I still want to prove that my attraction to mature women like you isn't a lie. Rather, big sister is exactly my type."
"My, such sweet words even at the end."
With her mana sealed and her vampire body paralyzed by the holy water, Elsa could only wait for death, completely immobilized.
"Young man, if there is a next time, shall we try dating?"
"Sure, if there is a next time!" Adam exhaled softly.
◈ Water Breathing, Seventh Form ⫸ Drop Ripple Thrust ◈
One strike pierced through her chest!
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