Transcendent Gene
Chapter 130: Unresolved Grudge [2]

Chapter 130: Unresolved Grudge [2]

The girl turned around to look at Gio with darkened eyes.

Her reaction was justified. The "Lune River" was not a real river that existed anywhere as far as anyone was aware. It existed only within the minds of those who understood its meaning.

And all of those people...

She knew the faces and titles of all of those people.

None of them would approach her like this. They certainly wouldn’t do so by hiding themselves in such a strange disguise.

The person in front of her looked like a child around her age, but his voice was hoarse as if it hadn’t been used in decades. His stature was made stranger by his colorful robe and the strange demonic mask on his face.

He looked like more of a comedian than an enemy, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think that anyone so unimportant would know of the Lune River’s existence.

When she looked through the eyes of his mask and into his own, her gaze was icy. Killing intent rose from her body along with a great aura of hostility.

"Who are you?" she hissed, gripping the hilt of her sword.

However, Gio didn’t plan to answer her.

"So it is you...the one from back then..."

"What are you talking about?"

It was a good thing that she so rudely spoke. Otherwise, Gio wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from displaying a killing intent she couldn’t imagine.

"Huu..."

He’d met a lot of people and interacted with a lot of forces since returning to the past. He’d already met threats that could be considered some of humanity’s future bane.

The one this girl represented was the worst of them all, but no matter how significant the presence of the influence behind her was, it was not Gio’s primary focus.

’This is the first time.’

He closed his eyes and reopened them, calming himself.

’This is the first time I’ve met someone who ruined my world directly.’

He remembered that day very well.

He was twenty-two when it happened. The girl in front of him was also a grown woman by then, but as her hair fell out of her hood and as her glowing purple eyes stared into his soul, he found their faces overlapping perfectly in his mind.

"Huu..."

He took another breath.

"I’m not here to fight."

He looked at her sword, avoiding her eyes so she didn’t sense the fury he was concealing. No matter his thoughts or desires, the mission came first.

’I can’t ruin this.’

Even his life was only a medium for its execution.

The girl didn’t respond kindly to his words at all. Such a declaration meant nothing to her.

She raised her sword and pointed it at him.

"The only reason you’re still alive is because of that mouth of yours. If you don’t start using it again, it won’t stay that way for long."

"I know that too."

He would be foolish to believe the current him could stand against her when she’d undergone special training since the moment she could walk to turn her into a weapon.

If he had another year, it would be different, but battle was not the answer this time.

"I came here to ask you only one question. Once I receive my answer, I’ll be on my way."

"As if you can leave as you please."

"You can concern yourself with that when the time comes."

Gio’s eyes sharpened.

"Tell me, Draconian. Is your presence here related to Starbearer?"

Any thoughts of peace flew out of the girl’s mind. In a split second, she was in front of Gio with her sword inches from his neck.

But even if he didn’t want a fight, he was always ready for one.

Shing!

A blade moved from his hip and rose to meet hers. The girl moved her arms strangely and snaked her blade around his, turning her slash into a stab towards his chest. However, Gio was prepared for it. He shifted his body to the side and allowed the blade to pass by him.

The swordsmanship he utilized next was completely uncharacteristic of him. He pulled his sword into the air and did a powerful slam down on the girl’s blade.

Bang!

His sword made contact and crashed through, forcing her wrist to twist unnaturally against the pressure.

She wasn’t expecting his strength to be so high considering his build. She hadn’t put nearly enough strength into her arms and had no choice but to let the attack through.

She pushed off the sand and flew back, but Gio wasn’t done either.

He allowed his body to spin along with the blade’s momentum. When he was facing her again, he brought it up from the lowest point of its arc and swept it diagonally back up. Hekat’s energy flowed into the sword and empowered it, sending a slash of pure energy from its blade.

It swept across the grass, just barely missing the girl. The look in her eyes had changed, but it wasn’t enough yet. He’d only made a single move.

’Is this...?’

The girl charged at him again and drew another blade from her hip, wielding a shortsword in each hand. Both blades moved together when she reached Gio, twisting apart from each other like coiling serpents.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Tens of moves were exchanged between them. As the girl brought out more of her techniques, Gio did the same. His swordsmanship was strong and brutal, giving off the impression that it was full of holes.

Only, when one aimed for those openings, one would find that they never existed at all. The large blade wielded by one who understood this technique was not barred by the same properties that its peers were.

Gio’s movements could also be compared to a snake despite the massive difference in the way the two fighters used their blades.

And as those serpentine attacks clashed over and over again, the battle between them started to look more like a performance than a fight to the death.

It was as if the techniques they used were made to complement each other.

Whoosh!

A rush of wind passed through the environment as the girl jumped back and made distance.

Gio didn’t follow. He never followed her and only ever responded to her initiative. She knew she would not be attacked once she put down her blade.

"Who are you?"

She asked the question again, but her tone was far removed from what it used to be.

"How do you know my Master-Uncle?"

Gio shook his head with a frown, unwilling to reminisce on where he learned the technique he used.

"That’s none of your concern. Your actions were enough of an answer for me, so there’s no need to continue this interaction."

"Nonsense," the girl hissed, some anger in her voice.

"Nobody has ever escaped the range of my blade."

"That’s only the case because they don’t know your blade."

The girl frowned.

The sword style Gio used was made to manipulate enemies into killing themselves on his blade. Conversely, the girl’s technique was made to manipulate blades so they could kill enemies at any position.

They varied heavily in many aspects, but their roots were in the same place.

The same technique was the basis of both of their creations and they were created as rivals.

She knew very well that if Gio understood that style, he could indeed see all the weaknesses of her own.

"You can’t leave," she forced through gritted teeth.

"Not until you tell me who you are."

Her curiosity was not satiated. She was feeling a sense of loss after being defeated at every turn. She wouldn’t allow this interaction to end without winning at least once.

Her answer to those feelings was to draw her blades again and fight.

’It’s the only thing she knows.’

Gio watched with cold eyes. He responded to her attacks the same way he did prior, not allowing her a single moment of respite.

’Pathetic.’

They both knew that if she used her energy and Sequences properly, the nature of this battle would change, but she wouldn’t accept a victory that wasn’t based on swordsmanship alone.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of swords clashing filled the desert for almost another minute.

If the battle went on for a bit longer, perhaps the girl would have achieved her goals.

After all, her technique was "complete," and Gio’s was only an "imitation."

However, she was alone, and he was not.

She did not know his identity, but he knew hers.

As they clashed, Gio felt several strong auras approaching from the distance, a sign of Sequencers who weren’t bothering to hide their energy.

And if he could feel it, the girl could feel it too.

"Tch!"

She clicked her tongue and stepped back. Her eyes turned to the distant sands as she peered past the lengths Gio could perceive and found the source of those auras.

She glared at Gio again.

"Are you going to run?"

"I don’t have to. Do you think I’m wearing this mask for you?"

She frowned deeply.

"You are..."

"If you stay here, you’ll either die or be captured for interrogation...but that also means death for you, doesn’t it?"

Her expression worsened, but she couldn’t refute him.

No matter how adored she was by her master and her peers, they would not hesitate to cut her loose if she became a liability.

"I...I’ll find you again," she said, forcing herself to turn away.

"Next time, I won’t lose."

With that, she ran. She rushed away from the scene of the crime and erased all traces of her involvement.

Well, all but one.

’That’s right. Run.’

The last thing Gio wanted was for her to be captured by the authorities.

Humanity’s vengeance required the aid of many. It was a feat that took an army to accomplish.

However, Gio’s own revenge...

"My revenge will be carried out by my hands alone."

The blood of his enemies was his to bathe in.

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