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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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The next day, the two girls met in a small clearing.
As Belle stretched, loosening her muscles, she stared intently at Zeta.
Tall for her age, almost as tall as an adult, with a well-toned physique honed over years of training.
It was no wonder Zeta performed so well at such a young age; she possessed the physicality of an adult.
Just as someone couldn’t become an adventurer without the necessary physical attributes, regardless of age, someone who met those requirements could handle the job, even if they were younger.
“It’s been a while since we’ve sparred, hasn’t it?”
The sparring matches, frequent when Zeta first arrived, had become less common.
Likely after both Zeta and Belle realized the significant gap in their skills.
Belle had always been the one to initiate the spars, but constantly overwhelmed, she had gradually reduced her requests.
And since Belle no longer asked, Zeta hadn’t bothered either.
The ‘skill gap.’
Back in Tillasden, a vast chasm of skill had separated the two girls.
“…….”
Belle’s gaze swept over Zeta’s form.
Sitting quietly, eyes closed in meditation.
Zeta often meditated like this.
Belle had overheard her senior mention it was Zeta’s way of honing her focus.
Moving with an uncanny grace, relying solely on her other senses, never using her lost sight.
Zeta seemed vaguely aware that this unusual focus was the source of her unique abilities.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
The man who had agreed to oversee their spar rose and stepped between them.
At his words, the two girls stood and moved closer together.
“I’ll stop the spar when I deem a victor has emerged. No targeting vital areas, and if your opponent shows no further will to fight, cease your attacks. …Understood?”
Belle nodded silently.
Zeta remained still.
The man, glancing between the two girls, sensed an unexpected tension and took a few steps back.
As he retreated, Belle noticed him subtly raise his thumb.
‘He knows…’
He knew Belle saw Zeta as a rival.
He would judge fairly, of course, but the small gesture of support brought a faint smile to Belle’s lips.
“The match begins the moment the coin lands.”
The man placed a coin on his thumb and spoke.
Belle quietly assumed her stance.
Adjusting her grip on her sword, she felt the dampness of sweat on her palms.
Realizing her own unconscious nervousness, she took a calming breath.
‘Zeta, I…’
At first, she had been happy to have a fellow aspiring adventurer.
A companion on the same path.
But that joy had faded in the face of their stark difference in skill, until even the thought of them as peers had blurred.
Despite her blindness, Zeta possessed everything Belle desired.
A well-trained body.
A wealthy family.
Unparalleled talent.
Belle envied, perhaps even resented, Zeta’s fortunate circumstances.
Why only you?
She might have unconsciously harbored such thoughts.
The frustration of never defeating the blind Zeta.
The jealousy of everything Zeta possessed that she lacked.
And Zeta’s accomplishments, always several steps ahead, had stirred a dark, hidden resentment within Belle.
Though she might have smiled brightly in Zeta’s presence, a competitive spirit had grown in the shadows of her heart.
Belle knew it was a twisted emotion.
And she knew how to resolve it.
‘I… I will…’
Her grip on her sword tightened.
“Then…”
Ting!
With a clear, ringing sound, the coin flew into the air.
Spinning, it arced downwards…
Clang!
It landed.
The instant the coin struck the ground, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps filled the air.
Zeta, eyes closed, sword in hand, sensed the speed was far greater than it had been in Tillasden.
The sound of Belle’s charge stopped abruptly right in front of her.
An instant later, Zeta felt the rush of wind against her upper body.
Thwang!
With a sharp clang, her sword was pushed back.
The force of the blow was substantial.
The insignificant strikes she had easily deflected before had become significantly stronger in such a short time.
Recovering her stance, Zeta stepped back, exhaled, and assessed the situation.
She couldn’t treat the girl before her as the same girl she had known in Tillasden.
Based on that single strike, Zeta calmly reached that conclusion.
‘She’s grown stronger.’
Zeta knew Belle felt discouraged by the gap in their skills.
She could vividly picture Belle’s dejected silence after each spar, sitting motionless, lost in thought.
But to Zeta, it was only natural.
Zeta was a genius, and Belle, at best, was merely gifted.
Since childhood, countless children had been compared to her and turned away, defeated. Belle was just another one of them, Zeta had thought.
It wasn’t strange that Belle felt inferior. It was perfectly normal.
Of course, that remained true even now, despite Belle’s growth.
The moment Zeta deflected Belle’s attack, her counter-offensive began.
A relentless barrage, using the contact between their swords to pinpoint Belle’s location and press her advantage.
Each strike, potentially fatal, relentlessly pressured Belle.
With a single parry, the momentum had shifted entirely to Zeta.
Though the pattern seemed unchanged from their previous spars, Zeta couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.
What was it?
As she pressed her attack, Zeta suddenly realized Belle hadn’t made a single sound.
The usual cries of surprise and frustration as Belle struggled to defend were absent.
The moment she realized this and tried to withdraw, a powerful force struck her arm.
Belle, who had been purely defensive, had timed her strike perfectly, swinging upwards as Zeta’s sword descended.
The unexpected force of the blow momentarily disrupted Zeta’s balance.
Caught off guard, a flicker of surprise crossed Zeta’s face.
‘Was she hiding her strength?’
Through their numerous spars in Tillasden, Zeta had become accustomed to the weight of Belle’s strikes.
Though she knew Belle had grown stronger, her body, accustomed to their previous encounters, had unconsciously underestimated her.
Belle had deliberately held back, feigning weakness.
Even that initial strike had been a deception.
The realization that Belle had employed such a tactic startled Zeta.
Belle had grown far more than Zeta had anticipated.
With Zeta’s stance broken, the momentum shifted to Belle.
Thwang! Thwang! Thwang!
The heavy clang of steel on steel echoed between them.
But the sound was far heavier, far more powerful than before.
And it was no longer Zeta pressing the attack, but Belle.
Though Zeta couldn’t see, Belle’s eyes, wide and burning with intensity, were fixed on her.
“You…!”
Forced into a defensive position, Zeta gritted her teeth.
She was better trained, more talented than Belle.
She couldn’t accept being pushed back, regardless of her handicap.
She had honed her senses to a superhuman level, and her ability to fight despite her blindness was remarkable, but that was separate from the outcome of the spar.
She refused to lose to anyone.
“Belle…!”
Belle had grown stronger, that much was undeniable, but her technique and fundamentals were still lacking compared to Zeta’s systematic training.
A slight shift in Zeta’s footwork was enough to slow Belle’s attacks.
No longer overwhelmed, Zeta gained enough breathing room to parry the slower strikes.
But the momentum still belonged to Belle.
‘Keep attacking, Belle.’
The weight behind Belle’s strikes had changed, but her body hadn’t adapted so quickly.
She might have mastered the technique, but her physical strength couldn’t keep up.
Zeta knew that if Belle continued her powerful assault, she would tire quickly.
Zeta, on the other hand, possessed superior physical conditioning from years of training.
A prolonged fight favored Zeta.
As she predicted, after ten exchanges, Belle’s strikes began to slow.
Slower, and slower.
When they slowed enough for Zeta to regain the initiative, she sensed Belle raising her sword for an overhead strike.
Ducking to the left, Zeta felt the blade graze her hair.
‘Now.’
A brief opening, created by fatigue.
Belle’s sword, having missed its mark, left her momentarily vulnerable.
Zeta lunged, her sword a blur.
Thud!
A soft sound, followed by a faint rush of air.
Belle had fallen backwards, dodging Zeta’s attack.
Moving towards the sound, Zeta pointed her sword in Belle’s direction.
And slowly advanced.
“…….”
“…….”
Their ragged breaths echoed in the clearing.
To the motionless Belle, Zeta murmured,
“You should just stay beneath me, Belle.”
She couldn’t see Belle’s expression.
But it was surely the usual dejected look.
That was enough. That was Belle’s place.
Because between them stood the insurmountable wall of talent.
That’s what Zeta believed.
Approaching Belle to finish the spar, Zeta raised her sword for the final blow.
Or rather, she tried to.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
A sharp pain in her shin made Zeta cry out and stumble.
Belle’s boot had connected with Zeta’s leg.
As she staggered from the unexpected blow, Zeta felt arms wrapping around her legs.
Tackled, she tumbled to the ground, Belle on top of her.
“Belle…!”
“Zeta!”
Their bodies rolled across the ground.
Belle, clinging to Zeta’s legs, preventing her escape.
Zeta, struggling to break free.
But Zeta, unaccustomed to grappling, couldn’t find a way to escape Belle’s hold.
Pinned beneath Belle, Zeta found herself in a disadvantageous position.
“Haah… Haah… Haah…”
Motionless, they gasped for breath.
Belle, having subdued Zeta, spoke.
“Zeta, I…”
Belle’s voice wasn’t dejected at all.
She had likely been waiting for Zeta to let her guard down, even as she fell.
Waiting for an opportunity like this.
It was Belle’s unwavering determination to defeat Zeta, by any means necessary.
Belle’s voice, slightly trembling with the thrill of victory, reached Zeta.
With a hint of excitement, Belle declared,
“I… I don’t want to stay beneath you.”
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[Goku VS Vegeta]
