Guinevere didn't hit Olivia. Because just as her dragon claw and Olivia's Cross Grace were about to collide, Olivia teleported again, appearing behind Guinevere.
Olivia's mastery of teleportation was exceptionally mature; she was like an elusive ghost, always catching people off guard.
However, even as Olivia appeared behind Guinevere and brought her sword down, she still failed to land a hit.
As the blade fell, a tail covered in red scales suddenly whipped out from beneath Guinevere's nun's habit, lashing out in front of her.
But Olivia wasn't hit either; forewarned by the magic mirror, she had already used a flash to dodge.
In that brief span, the two had engaged in a rapid exchange, yet neither could gain the upper hand.
"What is this? Combat intuition?"
Guinevere turned to look at Olivia, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
Since the Church had designated Olivia as a Protagonist of the Era, Guinevere had naturally sought to learn about her and the methods she possessed.
Yet even the Church didn't seem to fully understand her. At the very least, they couldn't explain why she always seemed to have foreknowledge, so they could only attribute it to combat intuition.
At this moment, Guinevere's right arm had transformed into a dragon claw, and a dragon tail swayed behind her. She appeared half-dragon, half-human, her appearance becoming significantly more ferocious.
Watching Guinevere, Olivia took a deep breath.
Information regarding Guinevere's various techniques resurfaced in her mind.
Guinevere wasn't called a Protagonist of the Era solely because she walked the Dragon Warrior path.
There wasn't a massive inherent difference between various transcendent paths; the Dragon Warrior was simply a bit rarer. The true reason for Guinevere's overwhelming strength lay elsewhere.
And that reason was related to a forbidden artifact.
【Name: Heart of the Dragon.】
【Danger Level: Ruinous-grade.】
【Appearance: A massive, crimson heart.】
【Effect: Naturally emits the aura of a dragon, influencing its surroundings. Flora will be imbued with draconic attributes, gaining higher value. Creatures will be subtly transformed, gaining greater strength. However, ordinary things cannot withstand the power of a dragon; both plants and creatures will explode after absorbing a certain amount of draconic energy.】
【Note 1: The Heart of the Dragon moves on its own without a pattern; wherever it passes, it inevitably causes ruinous disasters.】
【Note 2: The Heart of the Dragon has been fused into the body of the Protagonist of the Era, Guinevere Frost, resulting in unpredictable changes.】
...
This was Guinevere's primary forbidden artifact—a Ruinous-grade forbidden artifact known as the Heart of the Dragon.
The specifications of a Ruinous-grade forbidden artifact were extremely high, far exceeding those of the Calamity-grade Elemental Praise.
Even the danger level of a rule-grade artifact like King's Domain could not compare to that of a Ruinous-grade one.
An artifact of this level was a disaster in itself. For the Church, such items needed to be locked away in the deepest depths of their headquarters, with powerful experts dispatched periodically to manage them and prevent any unforeseen incidents.
Yet such a Ruinous-grade forbidden artifact had actually been fused into Guinevere's body.
No one could understand how she had managed to fuse with such an item. It was a question that even the internal researchers of the Church couldn't answer, and even Guinevere herself didn't know.
To her, she had simply encountered the Heart of the Dragon by chance and fused with it by accident. She couldn't explain why it had succeeded.
Regarding this, the magic mirror had provided an explanation.
The magic mirror's explanation was that Guinevere possessed dragon blood. Although this lineage was so distant that no one knew of it and there were no means to detect it, the fact remained that she had it, which was why she could fuse with the Heart of the Dragon.
In short, because of this Ruinous-grade forbidden artifact, Guinevere—already a Dragon Warrior—had seen her combat power skyrocket to a terrifying degree.
All her abilities had been immensely strengthened. Possessing the physical constitution of a dragon, she was essentially a living, walking forbidden artifact. If she wished, she could unleash ruinous destructive power.
Notably, because she possessed the Heart of the Dragon, she was also capable of wielding many other forbidden artifacts.
For instance, if Elemental Praise were given to Guinevere, she could likewise suppress it and utilize its effects.
The title of Protagonist of the Era was truly well-deserved in her case.
For this reason, Olivia never dared to be careless when facing Guinevere.
Now, Guinevere charged at Olivia once again.
Having noticed Olivia's strange combat intuition—or rather, her unhindered ability—Guinevere raised her dragon claw as she charged and slashed heavily at the air. A powerful Dragon Might flooded the area, blanketing everything ahead in an indiscriminate suppression.
When facing someone who could easily dodge your attacks, the solution was to use area-of-effect strikes that left them with nowhere to run.
Olivia's past opponents had tried similar tactics, but the results were usually lackluster.
As for Guinevere, she was naturally the same.
When the Dragon Might fell upon her, Olivia felt an indescribable sense of pressure, to the point where her body became momentarily immobilized. This forced her to use the teleportation function to vanish from the spot.
Normally, Olivia's teleportation wouldn't work in a place like Morning Light Cathedral.
However, this specific arena was designed for combat and was quite unique, allowing the teleportation function of King's Domain to remain functional.
Still, since they were deep within Morning Light Cathedral, Olivia could only teleport within this specific area and couldn't escape to the outside.
Thus, after teleporting, Olivia appeared at the edge of the arena. Once she had avoided the Dragon Might, she teleported again to appear behind Guinevere, swinging Cross Grace in a heavy downward slash.
Guinevere sensed Olivia's position immediately. With a flick of her dragon tail, she blocked the attack.
Her dragon tail was essentially a hardened weapon, and her movements with it were highly disciplined, as if a master of the whip were attacking. In a short time, she engaged in a series of collisions with Olivia and successfully forced her back.
Rate on N.U.
