My father was right. I had to go all out with my powers, and not just physical strength. It was especially so because I was still growing, and it was obvious that I would be weaker than him even if he went easy on me.
I had to compensate it with a bit of magic to even things out for me!
Infusing mana into my blade, the black jewel glowed brightly with an eerie black and purple light.
Suddenly, an aura of black and purple light encompassed my entire blade.
My father's attack was intercepted by my blade once more as sparks of darkness were released around me. I suddenly felt as if the darkness was rushing through my arm and spread through the rest of my body.
What is this? It's actually… enhancing my physical capabilities! So, that was it! Did he know of this ability within the blade?
The darkness began to encompass me soon after. It was very cold, but it was still rather comforting, seeing how hot was today all of the sudden since every single day previous to this was very cold.
My father was surprised as I began to slowly overpower his swings and parry them with even grater strength. My balance suddenly became way more precise, and I began to be capable of fighting back rather well.
I moved my small legs around, using my agility and little body to my advantage. In fact, sometimes I just evaded his swings and aimed to attack him right away.
"Oh! Good! You're finally understanding! Why parry if you can always evade? Use every capability within you, even your small body!" he said as he began to move faster to respond to my determination.
"HAH!" he roared, quickly moving his feet while evading my swing with incredibly agility. Then, while in midair, his blade was suddenly enhanced with a bit of fire, and began falling down on me at incredible speeds.
The heat produced from his flames was unleashing a strong pressure on me, but I countered it with the darkness coming from the blade. As both forces clashed against one another within our blades, an explosion of flames and shadows spread around us like a shockwave.
"Oho!" my father said, finding my strength surprising.
I gritted my teeth as I tried to counter his strength, but it was way too overwhelming even with the blade… it felt as if I was going against a titan! No, a mountain itself!
His aura continued to grow larger and larger. His strength continued to pressure over my blade. It was as if I was really facing something that could easily crush me like an ant.
"Ungh… aghhh! HYAAAA!"
I roared with all my soul put into it as my mana exploded out of the depths of my very being like an endless ocean of energy, encompassing my entire blade and body. I suddenly gained an enhancement to everything within me as I managed to push upwards and parry my father's attack, forcing him to take a step back!
"A-Amazing!" my father exclaimed. A fascinated smile typical of a battle junkie emerged on his face.
"RAAA!" I roared. Without wanting to lose my momentum, I unleashed flames from my feet and used them to help me jump above the ground, then I suddenly fell over my father, pointing my blade at him as if I were a blazing meteor of darkness!
My explosive blow clashed against his blade, as my father's eyes suddenly unleashed blazing fire out of passion for battle. He gritted his teeth as he resisted my attack with his sheer strength.
"T-This… Sylphy, how much mana do you even have?!" he asked in surprise.
"Not even I know…!" I said rather cockily as I suddenly infused even more mana into my blade. With that, my father was forced to use even more of his strength and parry me away with a strong blow.
The enormous attack sent me flying through the air like a little bird.
My body fell over the floor quite roughly.
I felt like I almost broke my ribs…
My father rushed back to me with a worried expression.
"Sorry, did I go too far? Are you okay?" he asked rather worried, about to bring a potion for me. I could tell he was regretting what he did.
"No… it was fine, daddy… it was a lot of fun! Don't worry… I'm super tough anyways!" I told him as I quickly stood up. The pain went away after a bit.
"Y-Yeah… I can tell… you're a robust girl despite being so small, aren't you? But still, I don't like throwing you around like a ragdoll… for now, this should be enough. How about we go back and have some lunch?" asked my father as he petted my head.
"Sure!" I said as I hugged him while he was kneeling.
"Haha… my little princess, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he said with a warm smile.
"I just wanted to hug you… I'm just happy to have an awesome father like you," I replied.
"A-Awesome? R-Really?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't you be awesome?" I asked.
"Hahaha… I guess I'm quite amazing… but I really don't like to feed on my ego… I like to stay humble," father replied.
"And that's why you're the best," I responded.
"Geez, you really like to flatter your father, don't you?" father could not help but ask.
"You're also handsome!" I told him.
"E-Eh? Okay, no more flattering… what do you want now?" he asked while looking at me with a hint of suspicion.
He thought I wanted a gift! I was just being honest this time around. I realized I haven't been as lovely as before with my parents, so I just wanted to show them that I loved them.
"Nothing, father, I'm just happy…" I said as he held my little hand and we walked back home.
"I see… I will do everything I can to protect your smile and that of your mother…" he said with a determined look on his eyes.
Hmm… I wonder how he'll react when I tell him that mother is pregnant…