NOVPUBAfter Megan left the infirmary room with Sophia, they hastily made their way to the inner garden of the mansion, where they spotted a few of the ghouls running around.
Megan took her pistol and shot a couple of the ghouls in the head, with her reinforced bullets blowing them up to make sure they truly died.
"Sophie, stay close to me," Megan said, standing in front of the blonde with confidence.
Still, when Sophia looked at Megan's hand, she noticed that she was shivering a little, so she placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
Nevertheless, Megan sensed someone dangerous approaching them, and her whole body was on full alert.
As the female Death Knight clad in black armor entered the inner garden, Megan swayed Sophia back as if asking her to stay away.
Vesnia scrutinized Megan's appearance, checking for the most noticeable features that she knew about.
'Brown hair, emerald eyes, and most importantly, a green dragon tattoo on her torso…' Vesnia thought as she scanned the leader of the Jade Dragons.
"I'm guessing you are Megan Dunlap…" Vesnia said.
"Oh, you can speak?" Megan replied.
The aura emanating from Vesnia reminded Megan of the Death Knight they found in the underwater cave.
However, Vesnia's aura was way more intimidating and potent, and the fact that she could speak was a testament to her strength, as Dante had taught them that Death Knights who could talk were the most dangerous ones.
When Vesnia opened her palm, a long, curved sword appeared in her hand, clutching it tightly as the blade emanated a shadowy energy.
"I'm only here for my target," Vesnia said, glancing at Sophia.
"Sophie, get back," Megan said to her companion.
Understanding that she would be getting in the way, the blonde ran to the other side of the inner garden, away from the two women who were about to make a mess.
Compared to the other Death Knights, who felt a sense of honor in revealing their names and learning those of their opponents, Vesnia was an assassin, so she didn't bother with such courtesies.
Still, Megan also didn't ask for her name since she didn't care, believing it was irrelevant as they would be fighting no matter what her name was.
After clutching her dagger in her hand, Megan took a deep breath and felt everything going silent, leaving only the sound of the grass rustling against her opponent's armor.
With her gaze sharpened, Megan took a quick step forward and appeared right beside Vesnia, aiming for the small aperture in her shoulder pad. Nonetheless, Vesnia spun with her curved blade in hand and deflected Megan's attack with ease.
The way that Vesnia fought was utterly new to Megan, as the woman didn't hold her sword in a conventional way, and her combat stance slightly confused her as well.
Instead of standing tall with her blade, Vesnia seemed to be on all fours, with the mane of her helmet making her resemble a lion.
She had black claws on her hand that weren't holding the sword, and any time she moved, she dragged her blade across the ground, raising a wall of sparks and shadows with each strike.
Since the Death Knight's stance was low, as she was using her arms and legs to move faster, Megan felt as if she were fighting a wild animal.
When Vesnia appeared right in front of her and spun with her blade, Megan tried to deflect the attack using her dagger, but the Death Knight proved to be much stronger than her, flinging her to the side from the force of the attack.
Megan slid across the ground, maintaining her balance, and shot a few rounds from her pistol at her opponent, hitting her in one shoulder pad and blasting it away, showcasing the light grey skin on Vesnia's shoulder.
One bullet to her armor wasn't enough to stop her, and as she rushed towards Megan at high speeds with her four extremities, the brunette changed her grip on her dagger and waved it horizontally, releasing an invisible slice.
Using her arms, Vesnia vaulted and avoided the horizontal slice that was aimed at her neck, countering Megan with an overhead strike from the air that she barely managed to block with her dagger.
As their blades clashed, Megan struggled to keep up with Vesnia's otherworldly strength, moving to the side and making her curved sword slide down while punching her in the face with an uppercut.
When she landed the blow, Vesnia's helm was blown away by the punch, and as she traveled backward, she kicked Megan in the stomach and pushed her away.
Sophia, who had been watching the fight, widened her eyes in shock when she saw Vesnia's face, as she was expecting the woman to look "dead," like a skeleton or a zombie.
However, Sophia thought that Vesnia was quite beautiful, as her long white hair trailed down her back, and her shiny, teal eyes, which were meant to be a common feature of the undead, looked pretty.
Still, the feature that caught her attention the most was a long scar that looked like a tattoo trailing down one of her eyes.
"Hmmm, it seems the assessment they gave me was outdated…" Vesnia commented as she grabbed her helm from the ground.
"You are much stronger than what I was told," she continued, putting on her helmet.
"Praising me won't make me go easier on you…" Megan replied.
"I wasn't expecting that… Hmm," Vesnia said, humming at the end of her sentence as she delved into her thoughts.
"What…?" Megan pondered, prompting Vesnia to shake her head in denial.
"Don't mind me," said the Death Knight, releasing a vast amount of energy from her body.
In return, Megan also sharpened her gaze as her aura increased in size, and her "Killing Intent" had activated, which made Vesnia flinch momentarily.
'She is still hiding more of her power…!?' Vesnia thought.
'I'll end this quickly,' she continued, but when glancing at Megan, the Death Knight knew that it was easier said than done.
