My blade was close to hitting Tanya, but it was quickly repelled by her knife. I was still recovering from the shock when Tanya’s second blade came towards me. I tried to distance myself, but I wasn’t fast enough to avoid the attack.

My blood stained the dirt floor under the torchlight. The audience cheered at my opponent’s successful attack. With all those eyes on me and the spectators shouting, it made me miss the silence of assassination missions.

I stared in disbelief at the cut that had opened on my arm. It wasn’t fatal, but I would be lying if I said I had expected that counterattack from my sister.

"Sis, you didn’t really believe I had the same weaknesses as when I was little, did you?" she said to me.

"That’s true. I was a fool for thinking that, but I have to say," I said, recovering from the shock, "you’ve become quite a cunning woman, Tanya."

There was nothing strange about using all the information you had against your opponent to your advantage, and while I fought against her, the same openings and habits appeared in the middle of combat. But that was a trap.

Tanya knew I would try to do that with her, and that was why she had created those false openings, just waiting for the moment I fell for her bait so she could strike back.

"Cunning?" Even with the blindfold, I could tell Tanya was frowning. "You offend me by saying that. Creating openings to deceive an opponent less experienced than you, isn’t that the most efficient way to win?"

"Didn’t you just say I underestimated you? Look who’s talking."

"But I’m not underestimating you, sis." Tanya’s voice was calm and soft, yet cold. "It’s simply a fact that the two of us aren’t on the same level."

Tanya then ran towards me. My blades weren’t properly positioned, and she was already less than a meter away from me. I raised one of my blades to protect myself, but that was her plan.

With a feint, she changed her attack into a kick. By the time I realized it, her leg had already slammed hard into my stomach.

"Ugh!" I coughed when I felt the impact, as if last night’s food had almost come back out the way it went in.

I was pushed backwards, but I placed my hand on the ground to slow myself down. The friction against the ground was enough to keep me in the ring. My vision was a little blurry after that direct blow, but I was nowhere near unconsciousness. I could still fight.

"Your senses seem to have dulled, but I have to admit you’re quite resilient," Tanya said.

I sighed deeply. Maybe my senses really had dulled, but I didn’t think it was because of the years that had passed since the destruction of the clan. For some reason, my mind wasn’t fully in that fight.

Pathetic. I told Rick I would fight, that I would put an end to this, but I kept fighting as if I were training with my little sister.

My eyes fixed on Tanya. Her hair was different in length and color, and her womanly body was far more defined than it had been back then, but she was still the same person. I wouldn’t be able to fight her if I kept going like this.

I closed my eyes.

Tanya’s footsteps, which had been approaching me, stopped.

"Don’t tell me you’re going to surrender?" she asked me.

Tanya’s tone remained calm, but she was clearly disappointed.

"Tanya, forgive me, but I can’t be your sister."

"Hmm?" A confused sound came from her direction.

"I have people who trust me, who help me, and I protect them in return. Those people are now an invaluable part of my life. My new family."

I opened my eyes and looked at Tanya. It was as if I were seeing her for the first time. But this time, as my opponent.

"And anyone who tries to destroy my family is my enemy."

Now that my mind was calmer, it felt like my body moved better. In a quick and surprising motion, I threw my weapon towards Tanya. As expected, my attack was easily repelled. But that was just bait. An attack meant to create a blind spot.

"What—Ugh!"

While my dagger drew her attention to the side of her body, I ran using Darkness Walker. A deep sound came from her when I returned her kick to the pit of her stomach.

Then I punched her in the face, making her body topple over. Tanya had trained a lot. When her hand touched the ground, she used it to perform a backflip, creating distance between us.

My invisibility hadn’t ended yet, and neither had my combat momentum. I quickly crossed the distance and closed the gap between us. With my skill, I created a new serrated dagger and attacked her arm, leaving a gash on it.

"Ugh!" Tanya gritted her teeth to suppress her pain. She held her arm while blood flowed down.

At that moment, my invisibility ended, and I was face-to-face with my younger sister.

"What a dirty move," she said to me.

"It’s not a dirty move to use a skill you have in combat. I’ll use everything I have to defeat you," I said in a calm but ruthless voice. "If you’re unable to win, then that only makes the difference in power between us clear."

The crowd, which had been so excited when I was losing, had stopped shouting with the shift in the fight’s direction. Only the crackling of the flames echoed in my ears, while Tanya had lowered her head, her body trembling.

I didn’t take my eyes off her, not even to blink. There was a chance she was plotting a surprise attack, like I had just done. Even while taking the fight seriously, I didn’t intend to kill her. I was only going to throw her out of the ring or knock her unconscious.

"Ha... Haha... Hahaha." Tanya suddenly started laughing.

I kept staring at her, but her fit of laughter was truly strange. It looked like she had gone crazy in the middle of combat.

"You really are amazing, big sis." Tanya’s voice held genuine admiration. "In such a short time, you returned to the fight seriously. Truly amazing."

"Tanya," I said in a serious voice, "surrender. Otherwise, I’ll have to beat you up until you do."

Tanya raised her face to me, smiling as if nothing had happened. "Big sis, you’re scary."

I wondered if I had hit Tanya’s face too hard, to the point of affecting her brain.

My posture stiffened when Tanya took her hand away from the wound I had just given her. But her hand made a strange movement. Instead of repositioning herself for the fight, she removed the blindfold from her eyes.

"Don’t look, Diane!" I recognized Rick’s voice from afar.

Tanya had already removed the black blindfold from her eyes. Her eyes were the same color as my father’s, which were the same color as mine. Purple eyes, shining like amethysts.

I had always thought Tanya’s eyes were beautiful, but not at that moment. With her flushed cheeks and malicious smile, the young woman reminded me of the hypnotic gaze of a snake staring at a frog moments before swallowing it.

"Big sis, you only made me want to defeat you even more."

"Eh!" A surprised sound escaped me.

I tried to move my body. Just a little. I only wanted to reposition my foot. Nothing major, something completely natural in the middle of a battle. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t as if the ground beneath my feet had turned into quicksand, but my leg wouldn’t lift, as if my legs couldn’t obey me.

"It’s no use, big sis." Tanya’s tone was almost like an adult speaking to a child. "Your body can only move by my will now."

"W-What?" Fortunately, I could still move my mouth.

"This is all thanks to the skill I obtained. My Puppeteer Eye."

"P-Puppeteer Eye..."

"That’s right. It’s an incredible skill. Now that you’ve looked into my eyes, your body is forced to obey me. Even now, you’re only speaking because I allow it." She explained it to me. Tanya made a quick movement with her hand, as if she were slapping the air.

At that same instant, I felt a punch land on my left side, as if her slap through the air had struck me. But that wasn’t the case.

The pain in my left hand that accompanied the punch made me realize it. I had hit myself.

"That was for the punch you gave me earlier," Tanya said in a cold voice. "It really hurt, Diane."

"Bitch..." I cursed her.

"I wanted to play with you more, but we’ll have plenty of time once I win," she said in a triumphant tone.

And then the pressure that kept my feet in place disappeared, but my control did not return. On the contrary, my feet moved backwards against my will.

"Once you step outside the ring, it’s over."