The tall man in red robes gripped his sword with one hand and pointed it. He channeled a high current, firing it like a bolt of lightning.

"Raycaliburn! Puntura fulminea!"

In a long charge, he thrust like a flash of light, forcing the young lady to launch herself upward. Using the momentum from the height, she finished with a flying kick.

"Effondrement du mortier!"

Twisting his face, he lost his balance momentarily, though he still managed to stay on his feet. He tried to punch her ankle, but she pushed his cheek with her foot, leaping backward in a somersault. After several tumbling cartwheels, she returned to her original stance.

The knight charged again, holding his sword with both hands and leaping for a downward slash. She ducked and then jumped into another hook technique.

"Ancre haute!"

The punch struck his sword perfectly, sending it flying away. Then she executed a two-foot flying kick to his chest. Blocking with both arms, both of them were flung to opposite sides, landing on their feet.

The young woman reached under her dress and put on two red rubberized leather gloves. She stared seriously, trying to steady her breathing. She took a deep breath, steadying herself in a martial stance.

The lord reached out toward the fallen sword, pulling it back to him. He raised it above his head, quickly discharging high voltage onto the blade, making it explode again in a shockwave.

Crossing her arms, the young lady tried to defend herself.

"Raycaliburn! Campo di tempesta!" — The attack expanded through the area, colliding with Karin, who screamed in pain.

The girl looked back worriedly and ran to her.

"Karin!"

"I'm fine, my lady, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out..."

"I'll finish this quickly. Your mother will be here to help soon, hold tight!"

Karin nodded slowly in agreement. The young girl walked forward, and with a quick motion of her hands, she took a deep breath. She faced the opponent with fervor.

In a quick reaction, she charged forward. Mid-charge, she leaped and positioned one foot aimed at him, conjuring the technique in a flying kick.

"Lutte impériale, quatrième forme, Briseur de barricade!"

He put his sword in front of him, defending himself. She jumped over it, kicking him with one foot, continuing the flying kick attack.

"Invasion des troupes!"

Being pushed against a pillar, he was cornered, his ribs crushed. He spat a bit of blood onto her. With his right hand, he grabbed her ankle and stared at her over it. He planted his foot on her chest and spun his body into a spinning kick, twirling and trying to hit her head.

"Tour de fusil!"

With his left hand, he caught her and kicked her stomach, sending her flying far away. She spun and bounced off the ground, stopping against a wall.

"Alice Leblanc! I'll finish you both!"

With his palms, he punched the ground, injecting a massive amount of electrical energy onto the wet floor.

Alice looked fearfully toward the refugee, trying to get up but falling again. A swift shadow—a paper seal—was thrown and stuck onto Karin's back. A dense bluish energy covered her, and the electricity dissipated around her.

A figure appeared above the window. With a quick sword strike, she broke the glass, climbed up, and jumped down to where they were.

"Mother! Is that you?!" — cried the girl, agonizing on the ground.

Her long brown hair fluttered through the fall. She picked up her daughter and placed her on her shoulders.

"We'll talk later, Karin. We need to get out of here."

Alice got up quickly and ran over. The woman opened her leather pouch at her waist and grabbed two seals. She threw one at the ceiling above. The seal's letters glowed orange.

*"Bakuhatsu!"* — she shouted in a restrained voice.

The seal ignited, exploding the ceiling above and shattering enormous chunks of rubble. The large rocks separated him from them, but a sharp pain struck her stomach, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

"Alice! Let's get out of here."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The princess approached, touching her right shoulder. The lady used the last seal she had grabbed, bringing it close to her face. She closed her eyes as it glowed green.

*"Modoru..."* — she whispered.

The three disappeared and materialized on the ground floor above the dungeon. Still with her daughter on her shoulders, the two of them began running toward the exit of the vast field. An enormous army surrounded them. The crowd of guards were huge brutes, all of them having at least one metallic part on their bodies.

With the hall destroyed, a gaping hole behind them, and an army ahead, Princess Alice grabbed a device similar to a communicator from her waist. She clicked a red button.

"It's your turn to shine, 'Most Important Person in the World'!"

A shrill sound came from afar. Gunshots and explosions cleared a path for their escape. An orange car approached at high speed. In a controlled drift, the back door swung open.

Everyone got in and shut the doors in the blink of an eye. The gentleman floored the accelerator, and with a quick gear shift, he rapidly clicked several buttons, activating a gravitational shield to protect the car from external threats.

"Mother... What happened in these two years?"

She was emotional, almost stuttering, wondering if everyone was all right and what had happened after watching her father die in her arms. Her mother closed her eyes and held her daughter's hands tightly.

"Karin, unfortunately, all the feudal lords and the territory of Tsugaki were taken. Fortunately, no one else died besides him..."

She looked ahead, feeling skeptical, and asked the passenger.

"If you please, miss, who exactly are you?"

"You, Lady Karin, even though you're royalty, you don't know her?" — he said, intervening in the other's response.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hunter. We haven't managed to teach her about that yet..."

"Who is he, Mother?"

The girl looked at the gentleman quite curiously. The short golden strands of his hair gleamed in the morning sunlight. Looking at her through the central rearview mirror, he stared at her seriously.

"Lady Karin, my name is Hunter Rutherford... Apologies for my rudeness earlier—it's just a habit." — He finished with a quick cough. — "And, young lady, be very careful how you speak to me in public places. I am considered 'the most important person in the world.'"