The Crown's Entrapment

As soon as her husband called out the start of the fight, Xenia did all that she could to brace herself for Pinra's onslaught. And sure enough, her opponent wasted no time in charging at her.

"Die!"

Her blade clashed against Pinra's hardened claws, sparks flying between them as Xenia did her best to push her opponent back.

"Come on, Princess!" Pinra cackled. "Let's give them a show!"

Xenia grimaced as she kept her mouth shut. Talking in battle was a sin, and she had also made sure that Darius would remain quiet in their Bond just so that she could better focus on her fight. Bracing her feet against the ground, she let out a yelp of effort as she managed to push Pinra back. Already, she could feel her arms straining just from defending, and she really didn't want to get into a contest of raw power again.

'Right… I'm fighting a werewolf with inhuman strength,' Xenia inwardly took note as she skidded across the ground. 'How do I proceed?'

As if answering her own question, Xenia promptly began strafing to the side, keeping her distance from her opponent as she rapidly took in the woman's stance. Like last time, she could see very few weaknesses she could exploit. Despite Pinra's lackadaisical poise, her stance screamed power and technique, and she could only thank her lucky stars that she had managed to raise her sword just in time for another one of Pinra's charges.

"You're really just going to run away from me?" she mockingly scoffed, her claws almost coming close to her chest as she barely managed to hold her back. "Where's the bravado? Where's the woman that managed to redirect my lightning?!"

Xenia held her breath as she felt her legs buckle underneath the strain. Her arms were also starting to tire, and there was no time to think of a proper response.

Relying on her instincts, Xenia rapidly relaxed her body, making Pinra overextend as the sudden lack of resistance made her sink far lower than she should. Using her superior agility, Xenia then twirled around and struck Pinra on the back with the hilt of her sword, forcing her opponent onto the ground without a second thought.

****

"Woah! The Princess has Lady Pinra on the ropes! And just after a ferocious showing from the homegrown Lady!"

The crowd cheered and roared through the announcer's words. Seeing the masterful technique employed by the Princess had even her hardest skeptics looking for excuses. Already, some were writing off the fight before it had even reached its conclusion.

"I guess Lady Pinra's all talk…"

"And to think that she started out strong…"

"Maybe she has endurance issues?"

They were all valid criticisms. Unfortunately, none of them were of any value to the competitors below.

After all, the fight was still far from over.

***

'Damn it!'

Pinra cursed herself under her breath as she tasted the feel of dirt for the first time in a very long while. She had been overconfident with her clearly superior strength, resulting in her stupid move of overcommitting for an attack that she really shouldn't have done. Even now, the damn princess had her at a disadvantage, and she'd rather die than have her chances of achieving her goals slim to less than none.

'I'm going to win!'

Before the princess could even manage to put her foot on her back, Pinra quickly rolled away from the bastard before quickly twisting her body and delivering a leg sweep on the fool's open feet.

"Wide open!"

She couldn't help but smirk as she felt her attack connect, the princess falling on her side right in front of her in a way that made it impossible for her to get up quickly enough.

Taking it to her advantage, Pinra stood up and lunged at the downed princess with bared claws. Aiming straight at her opponent's chest, Pinra was aiming for the kill right then and there.

Unfortunately, the bastard had managed to roll away just in the nick of time, forcing her right hand to bury itself deep into the dirt.

Pinra quickly raised her head to the princess's location, her mind already whirring as she did her best to free herself from her blunder. Likewise, her opponent was already upon her, the bastard's sword at the ready as she raised the glinting stick of metal right at her body. And it would've been a debilitating attack too if it wasn't for her quick thinking.

Using her feet, Pinra forced her body to flip into the air, using her stuck hand as an anchor as she then aimed her airborn legs right at the princess's face.

And to her own sadistic glee, her attack landed with a resounding thud.

"Didn't expect that, didn't you?!" Pinra couldn't help but gloat.

Now having the advantage, she quickly wrapped both of her legs firmly around the princess's neck, using the bastard as an anchor to pull her hand out of the solid dirt.

"L-Let go of me!" the princess grunted, her hands resting against both of her thighs in an effort to escape her hold.

"Oh, now you talk?" Pinra laughed as she tightened her grip on the princess's head and neck. "How does it feel to be on the brink of death?"

Pinra smirked as she heard the sound of a sword hitting the ground below them. It would seem that the princess had let go of her sword, which meant that it wouldn't be long now before she could kill this woman and be finished with her goals. One quick twist of her body would surely snap this b1tch's neck, freeing her from this mortal realm and serving her purpose as a stepping stone for her own ascension to the throne!

"Get off!"

But just before Pinra could enact her plan, she was taken off guard as she felt her back land back down on the ground, her breath leaving her chest as she gasped in pain.

***

Xenia took a deep breath as she finally felt Pinra's legs let go of her neck. She would've probably died if not for her quick thinking, and she even felt Darius try to go back on his word of not disturbing her during her fight.

[I told you I have things under control,] she inwardly smirked. [She's just tougher than the rest, but I've fought worse.]

Grabbing the sword that she had dropped due to Pinra's grapple, Xenia assumed a ready stance once more, watching and waiting for her opponent's next move.