He was waiting. Avir Fortis was standing at the far side of the training grounds. He too had a half-plate armor on, just like Elise, but unlike her neglected armor, his was shining under the afternoon sun. It was not extravagant or anything like most nobles'. It was a simple but well-crafted, well-maintained armor.
Both of their fighting sword styles were speed-based close combat, so half-plate armor was best for them. Her old sword master at the Vandenberg Household thought her that way because she was most likely to face opponents bigger and stronger than her. But it was weird for someone like Avir Fortis. He was nowhere near small by any means. Warriors of his size was usually depending on their strength and durability. Full-plate armor was the best fit for those kinds of warriors, along with a greatsword, to keep their momentum in a battle without much care for injuries, and crush their opponents.
But Avir Fortis was different. He was using a greatsword, a little longer and heavier than Elise's longsword, with a half-plate armor. It was a deadly combination with a high skill cap that combines strength and speed. Only a few people tried to learn it, because it required a great amount of effort to master. Unfortunately for Elise, Avir Fortis was one of those masters, maybe the best of them.
Elise looked around the courtyard. One side was arranged for soldiers and government officials who wanted to watch the duel. Most of the nobles who were curious about the situation were watching from the walls around the courtyard. They had built giant umbrellas and tents to protect themselves from the sun. Some of them were looking at her like she was some kind of entertainment, but some of them were just curious about her.
On the other side, there was the Royal Castle. Beneath its walls, there was a giant tent hosting the Royal Family and their closest, mostly the ones at the dinner she attended. Her parents were also there watching from their seats next to the Royal Family. Her father's expression was giving away his tension, but her mother was as cold as ever, not showing any emotion.
While checking around, she felt a gaze from an unusual direction. It was different from the ones she had felt until now. It was like someone wanted her to know that they were watching. The intent of this gaze was not harmful or anything negative; on the contrary, more like it was soothing her. She looked up to see the source of this feeling.
It was from on top of the leftmost tower of the Royal Castle. Elise could not identify the white figure on top of it, but she knew who it was. She didn't know how, maybe she recognized him from the feeling he was sending, or something else. But she knew that the Traveler was watching her.
Knowing that strangely helped her to get herself together. She took a deep breath and unsheathed her sword while she took her place in the duel area. On the opposing side, Avir Fortis had a squire next to him to carry his greatsword. He also drew his sword from the hands of his squire and took his place while the squire left the area with the empty sheath. The crowd fell silent as the King stood up to announce the start of the duel.
Even though Elise heard the King's speech, she didn't understand a word of it. She focused solely on herself. This was the time to show everyone what she had. She knew no one was expecting anything from her at this duel. She was just a little girl playing knight, which was what everyone was thinking, just like her mother. Even if there was no way to win, she had to do everything she could. It was Avir Fortis that she was against; anything less would be an insult.
Her opponent's change of stance signaled Elise that the duel had started. Avir Fortis had taken a defensive stance and was waiting for her to make the first move. "Fine," she thought, "let's see what I can do." She drew as much Energy as she could and charged right at him.
***
Avir Fortis was ready. He was going to fight his opponent seriously, but he was also curious to see what she was capable of. So, he decided to stay on defense at the start to exchange a few blows. The young Lady of Vandenberg was looking rather tense and a bit out of it, but her eyes were telling that she was as focused as she could be.
But he also realized she was not focused on him or the duel. What was she thinking in a situation like this? A warrior must always be sharp in any condition. But most young warriors were making the same mistake, and she was not an exception. But then something happened beyond his expectations.
A crushing pressure started to release from her. Avir Fortis had felt the same feeling against some of the formidable foes he fought and some magicians of the Kingdom. After that, she charged at him with an impossible speed. If any other soldier of his had been there, they would have gotten caught by surprise. But Avir Fortis was different. His Blessing had always worked better at times like this. He felt the same old tingling feeling pass through his body, starting from the head. His body moved almost on its own, and he managed to react in time to block the attack with his sword.
The power behind the attack was greater than he anticipated, which made him slide to the side, almost causing him to lose balance. She then quickly followed it up with a high, vertical swing. Her attacks were not the kind to block; they were too strong for that. So, Avir Fortis deflected and redirected her attacks, using her power against her.
She kept pressuring him with endless attacks. She had a great sense of combat; she was continuously trying to attack his openings and changing how she approached him with every attack. It was obvious that she was an experienced fighter. If she was this good at her age, who knew what would become of her when she was fully grown under a capable master? It had been a while since he had fought someone like this young woman. But she had a big flaw.
After exchanging a few attacks and analyzing her, Avir Fortis realized that her sword skills were only above mediocre, and she was not used to fighting against other humans. She most likely trained against various beasts and monsters, just like the barbarians of the North-east. She had no idea how to fight against a composed and experienced fighter.
She was attacking like a wild beast without thinking, and flinching and backing off from even a slight move from him. She was fighting with her instincts without thinking through. Her power and speed were great, but she was wearing herself out with unnecessary movements.
Aside from that, Avir Fortis was enjoying their duel. He can't remember the last time he had this much fun. A fight between two warriors, solely focused on each other's movements. Away from the concerns of the world or anything else. His opponent kept charging, and he kept redirecting her attacks. It was so easy to be hooked on this feeling. And something was telling him to follow that feeling. He dropped the defense and started attacking.
His body was tingling from his blessing all over. His blessing was enhancing his reactions, but somehow it was also increasing his muscle strength tremendously. No magician or priest could answer how the blessings work to this moment. He attacked with a faint and followed it up with a horizontal slash, expecting her to dodge. But she did not. She could not, to be exact. Avir Fortis only realized what he had done after the attack hit. He had lost himself in the moment. He had forgotten he was against a young warrior and had attacked with full strength.
She took the attack to her side and barely managed to guard with her arm. She flew toward the wall at the side of the duel area and got buried slightly inside it. A cry of surprise rose from the crowd. It was a fatal blow. Most of her ribs and right arm were probably broken, and her spine could have been severely damaged from the impact, along with internal injuries. If she were alive.
"Elise!" A man shouted her name. Probably Lord Vandenberg. Avir Fortis was too shaken to notice who it was. The girl was still staying in the wall, motionless. There was a high chance that she was dead from a broken neck or a bunch of other reasons.
How could he do something like that? Avir Fortis, the greatest warrior of the Alethani Kingdom, had lost control in a duel. What was that feeling he felt during the fight? Only young warriors would feel such frivolous feelings. It had been more than ten years since the last time Avir Fortis felt such things during a battle. It had come out of nowhere. Those feelings would blur one's mind and cause them to make mistakes. Just like he did.
But fortunately, the young Lady moved out of the wall and stood in front of it. Her standing meant she had no serious injuries at the moment, but there was a high chance that she was high on the excitement of the battle, that she was not feeling anything. She stood there a moment while looking down and breathing heavily. Then, she started to glow.
***
It was comfortable. Partially sitting inside a wall had given Elise some time to think. It would have been great to just sit here and pretend to faint. It would resolve the duel. Didn't she have already proven herself? Fighting against the best swordsman of the Kingdom, almost on par, was enough, right?
Of course it was not. At least not for Elise. She had come here to give her all, and she had no intention to leave before giving it all. The blow she just took was stinging her right side, and she had a slight back pain from the impact on the wall. She was shaken and out of breath, but other than that, there seemed to be no serious injuries on her. At least, as far as she could tell. It could be the same as the time she ripped her leg muscles and didn't realize it for a moment, but this was not the time to think about that.
With a little shake of her shoulders, she freed herself from the wall. She was incapable of hearing or recognizing her surroundings. Voices and images were all fuzzy and hard to understand, so she took deep breaths to get herself together. After countless blows she exchanged with her opponent, Elise realized she was stronger in terms of raw strength, but somehow Avir Fortis was reacting faster than her. Even though she attacked relentlessly, he always found a way to counter her. First, it was a little frustrating, but as time passed, she started enjoying it. The only thing she could think of was how fun it was to duel someone with great talent. She got hooked on this feeling, and that resolved into her letting her guard down and taking a serious blow.
Avir Fortis was still standing inside the duel area, looking at her with a worried face. And he was not the only one. Her father had also stood up from his seat and got closer to the duel area, but was stopped by a couple of guards. The rest of the crowd was still fuzzy, but she didn't need to see them anyway. They must have thought she would be done for after that blow. That would be the case normally. Such an attack could probably decapitate an ox. He must have been going easy on her at the start if that was his real strength. Then that meant she also needed more strength.
She took a last, deeper breath. And with that breath, she drew in as much Energy as she could. Like the time she was training yesterday, she again started to leak a glowing smoke. The Energy within her was boiling and heating her muscles to the point they were about to melt and begging to be released. So, she charged at her opponent, sure to change the result of this duel to her favor.
***
She was faster. Avir Fortis got ready to clash once again. He was relieved to see she was fine, but this was absurd. After taking a blow like that and smashing into the wall, she at least must have had internal injuries that would slow her movements. But instead, she was moving even faster, and her attacks were way stronger. And more importantly, she was glowing.
A faint glow was emitting from her body. With every move, it was creating a trail after her. With every clash of their swords, she was momentarily shining even more. Her attacks were devastating, and she was giving him no time to think about anything else. He could see the wild look in her eyes. She had left the reason behind and was ready to do anything to win against him. This was not a duel anymore; if he was not careful, this could quickly be a matter of life and death. As a veteran warrior, it was his responsibility to put an end to this.
***
Elise was pressuring him with everything she had. Just one opening was all she needed. Avir Fortis was retreating in front of her, but his guard was always up. She kept attacking without giving him any rest. With every attack, she was aiming to make him lose balance.
But whatever she did, he always found a way to disperse her attempts. Elise was sure that she was way stronger than him now, and they were matched at speed too. So why? Why was she still not able to bring him down?
Whatever the reason, she just needed to keep pushing and keep the pressure up. Eventually, he would fall, Elise thought. But after countless attacks, she felt her muscles start to wear out. Her whole body was burning from the inside, and that warm and energizing feeling had been replaced with a stinging pain. Her body was giving up. She had to finish this quickly.
She rushed in with all she had left for a final thrust and realized something that she should have realized a long time ago, and it was too late now. She was not the only one who was seeking openings. With the tip of his sword, Avir Fortis countered her attack. Their sword slid against each other while throwing Elise off balance due to the strength of her attack. Her opponent's sword pummel landed right at the bottom of her chest and took her breath away.
She had to put a hand on the ground to regain her balance and control of the Energy inside of her, but a shining piece of metal landed right on her nape. Her world started to turn with that blow, and the Energy that was on the verge of disappearing dispersed in an instant.
She found herself facing the ground. With the Energy gone, she started to feel the pain. It was like her whole body was being ripped apart from the inside and was screaming at her. She tried to get up, but her body didn't listen. Before she realized, tears started to fall from her eyes. This was not how it should have ended.
She tried to fight against the pain and get her body up, but it was pointless. She started to hear the sound coming from her surroundings after all that time. She heard Lord Avir Fortis telling her to stay on the ground. She heard her father but did not understand what he was saying. But then, she saw bare feet coming into her view. They were surprisingly familiar. They stopped in front of her and crouched. The strange white cloth stripes touched the ground as he did. Then lastly, she heard a voice before everything went dark.
"You did good, girl."