Cid - Gaslighting 1

As soon as the match starts, she steps forward, then stops.

“…What?”

A tiny cry of confusion slips from her lips.

For some reason, Mundane seems farther away than he did before.

Has she misjudged the distance between them?

That’s her first thought, but she knows she didn’t. Still, it feels like the gap between them has widened.

She doesn’t know why. Maybe it’s just nerves.

Whatever the cause of her confusion, though, it definitely stops her.

She tries starting over.

She resets her emotions, readies her sword, and goes for a simple feint.

When she’s sure she’s drawn Mundane’s gaze, she rushes him.

However…

“…?!”

Once again, she stops in her tracks.

She leans backward as though dodging something, then leaps back.

She had seen a sword.

She had seen Mundane’s sword severing her neck.

However, Mundane’s actual sword hadn’t moved an inch.

And of course, her neck was still attached to her shoulders.

“Why…?” Iris can’t keep the question inside.

She’s sure she saw Mundane’s blade.

The moment she advanced, she saw his sword and the colossal power lurking within it cutting her throat.

She thought he’d read her like a book. And she’d seen her own defeat…no, her death.

However, Mundane is still just standing there. His sword isn’t even at the ready. It’s as though it had all been just an illusion.

She can’t comprehend what just happened.

***

Volume 2, Chapter 8