Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

By the time the dust settled, what the girls watching saw was Mira and Celaine face to face with each other. The blade of Mira's scythe was pressed up against Celaine's neck as if she was trying to cut her in half diagonally.

On the other hand, Celaine's saber was pressed against the left side of Mira's chest where her heart should be…

Celaine stared at Mira for a few seconds, then said with a big beautiful smile, "It looks like it's a tie, huh? I'm honestly surprised that you were able to tie with me while only relying on your scythe skills."

Hearing this, Mira smirked. Seeing this smirk, Celaine felt like something was off, but she couldn't quite figure it out. Luckily, Mira didn't wait long to explain.

"Ahhh~ A tie, huh… You're right. This would've been a tie if my heart was actually in the location your saber is pressed against."

Seeing how Celaine didn't understand what she was saying, Mira decided to explain further.

"You see, my body right now isn't exactly human. Therefore, a lot of my internal organs have either moved, evolved, or been removed. The same goes for my heart. While there is still a heart in my body, it isn't in the same spot as where it used to be. So, technically, the area you would've penetrated, although it would leave me with some serious injuries, is not something that would kill me," Mira giggled as she explained.

Hearing this, Celaine's expression changed numerous times from disbelief to unwillingness to acceptance.

If it were anyone else, Celaine surely would've called them a liar and refused to believe this nonsense, but Mira isn't one to lie about something like this. Even if she was furious to tie in a duel with her, Celaine knew Mira wasn't the type of person to come up with something like this to avoid losing.

Mira is more mature than that, and Celaine trusts her words.

"I can prove it to you if you want," Mira said with a slight smile, but Celaine just shook her head.

"No need. I know you're not lying. You wouldn't lie about something like this. So, I guess it's technically my loss since you were able to land a killing blow while I wasn't." Celaine said with a hint of disappointment.

She thought she had finally reached a point where she and Mira could be considered equals, but it seems she's still too naive to deal with someone like Mira so soon.

"There's no reason to look like that, Celaine. That was an amazing fight. You've worked hard, huh? It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a fight like this so much. So, thank you for sparring with me today." Mira unconsciously gave one of the brightest smiles she's ever made in her long life.

That smile thoroughly entranced everyone who was looking at Mira. It was like Mira was a blindingly bright light that, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't look away from.

That smile dazed even Maria and Celaine, and a blush unconsciously crept up on their faces. They couldn't help it! Mira was just too beautiful!

It also didn't help that Mira is part 9-tailed fox! Or, maybe she is a 9-tailed fox. Honestly, Mira's not sure what race she is exactly, but that's beside the point.

Right now, the part of Mira that was a 9-tailed fox influenced her smile, enhancing her beauty and charming everyone in the vicinity.

Mira's face slowly returned to being neutral, but when she looked around, she was a bit confused.

'Eh? What the hell happened to everyone? Are they that stunned because of my smile? I mean, I know I'm extraordinarily beautiful, but they seemed fine earlier. How peculiar…' Mira thought to herself before walking up to Celaine and tapping her on the shoulder.

"Ah! M-M-Mira?!" Celaine yelped and jumped back with a face as red as a tomato.

Her yelp caused everyone else to regain their bearings, but they were equally as confused as Celaine.

"W-W-What the hell happened?! Did… Did I just have l-l-l-lewd thoughts about Miss Mira?!"

"Haaa… Haaa… That smile… Huehehehe~"

"I… I never knew Leader Mira could be so… beautiful."

The crowd had various reactions to Mira's smile, but the most shocked were definitely Asami, Maria, and Celaine.

"Mira!! I never knew you could smile like that!! You should really learn to smile more often! You look much more… captivating~" Maria shouted while running over to her and planting a passionate kiss on her lips.

Asami and Celaine, on the other hand, were too busy dealing with some internal issues.

'What the hell? Was I really just dazed by her smile? And why is my face so hot?! Don't tell me… am I seriously into girls?!' The two of them inwardly thought.

However, whether they are into girls or not has nothing to do here. In truth, with how high Mira's natural beauty is combined with the charm of a 9-tailed fox, if Mira wanted, she could charm anyone regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation.

A few minutes later, Mira decided to announce something which greatly excited everyone present.

"Alright, everyone, listen up! Now that we've all been reunited and since I'm in a good mood right now, over the next few days, I'll be evaluating everyone's skills. Go tell the other girls that no matter the time or occasion, they are free to attack me with everything they've got. You can come at me in the middle of the night, during a spar, when I'm resting, or whenever you want. You can also team up against me if you want! Anything goes! I'll be offering pointers to anyone who wants to attack me during this time! Maria will also be on standby, so if any of you get hurt, just run to her, and you'll be fine! That's it! You're all dismissed!"

"Yes, Ma'am!!"

With that, all of Mira's subordinates left the area to inform their comrades.

After Mira said that, Maria gave her a look saying, "you better reward me properly for this," to which Mira nodded with a predatory smile.

Then, Mira turned to Celaine and asked, "Want to go another round? However, why don't we ditch the weapons and fight with our fists? I think I might be able to learn some sort of Fist Intent or something if I go all out. What do you say? Actually, you can join in on this too, Maria. Knowing how to fight with your fists could be extremely beneficial for you."

Celaine and Maria cringed at Mira's words and immediately backed away. Their bodies unconsciously shuddered, remembering the times Mira drilled them on hand-to-hand combat. They were lucky to come out of those training sessions alive!!

Mira was just too brutal during those training sessions, as it was almost like she was incapable of holding back. In fact, they'd rather be hacked and slashed at than beaten like a rag doll with Mira's fists!

All of her attacks are meant for breaking, crushing, and destroying her opponent. One mistake could lead to a broken leg or arm. If Mira ever put you in a chokehold, no matter how hard you tapped, she was putting you out cold. It didn't matter if you were on the brink of death. If Mira said you were good to go, then you were good to go.

Actually, that's what was so horrific about those training sessions, was that Mira would seem like she was trying to kill you!

They never wanted to go through that experience again if they were given a choice, but based on the look in Mira's eyes, it seems like she wasn't asking for their opinion. Her asking was merely a formality, or maybe it was some weird sadistic desire to see their bodies unconsciously react to those words.

Nevertheless, whether they agreed or not, Mira was going to fight with them. Disagreeing would only make their fate worse.

".............................Sure..."

"....I'd....love.....to."

The two of them said through gritted teeth, but when Mira released another bright smile, they were caught off guard and immediately charmed again.

"Hehe~ It seems you two are really looking forward to it. Don't worry. I'll be gentle as long as you do your best. Why don't you join in as well, Asami? You must be getting bored sitting over there." Mira chuckled.

Celaine and Maria almost screamed out "NO!" but when Mira narrowed her eyes and smiled maliciously, they didn't dare say anything. In fact, they didn't even dare to look in Asami's direction, too scared that Mira might actually beat the living shit out of them during their upcoming spar.

Asami was extremely puzzled by their reactions, but before she could say anything, she felt someone appear behind her, grab her by the neck, and then she suddenly appeared next to Celaine and Maria.

"Ah! It seems you also wanted to join in on the fun as well! Good choice, Asami. I guarantee you won't regret it." Mira said with a slight smile, sending a chill down their spines.

A few minutes later, the four of them were around 10 meters away from each other, waiting to begin the 'spar'.