The sprawling grounds of the compound, a quiet estate nestled slightly outside the city limits on a forested hill, were a strange place for a battle. Yet, the manicured lawn was currently being carved up by two figures moving with grace as they crossed blades. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and freshly cut grass, punctuated by the sharp clangs of metal against metal and the hiss of energy dissipating into the morning air.
Elias dodged low, his body twisting like a viper's. He was a whirlwind of movement, armed with his two trusted Artifacts: the dark, unreflective Obsidian Dagger in his right hand and the bright, shimmering Jade Dagger in his left though he alternated them as he moved.
He was facing Aina and as usual, she was relentless.
She wielded a double-bladed sword, a terrifying weapon that wasn't actually metal but a construct of intensely compressed metal particles, held in shape by her mastery over electromagnetism. It hummed with contained power. Aina was also using an assortment of smaller, short blades—pure metal that she charged with electricity and controlled with gravity —that she launched at Elias with blinding speed, a glittering wave of projectiles aimed to overwhelm.
Elias met the onslaught with a subtle, internal command. As the short blades whistled towards his face, he flicked the tip of the Obsidian Dagger. He didn't physically block the knives; instead, he momentarily shifted the physical reality of the projectiles. Using the dagger's Transmutation ability, he changed the composition of the metal to air. The sharp, deadly blades dissolved mid-flight, scattering harmlessly as small puffs of displaced wind though aina made it such that the slightest contact with her blades would shock him .
Simultaneously, he used his own Technique, 'Construct Flow'. Hardening his own Flow, he sent waves of solid, crystalline shards hurtling back at her. They were sharp, glittering red missiles of pure will, a stark contrast to the elegant chaos of her metal weapons. There was a reason why he had revealed this Technique to Aina.
The memory of the being beyond the veil of the Kitsune mask flashed across his mind.
He needed to train his skills if he wanted to deal with ...whatever it was. He rained down his shards on his opponent.
Aina didn't even flinch. She simply used her subtle gravity powers to deflect the shards, making them curve harmlessly into the earth around her. Then, she was on him, her double-bladed sword flashing, forcing Elias to rely entirely on defense.
'It hasn't even been a month,' Elias thought, his mind racing to keep up.
'And she's practically mastered the first form of the Stellar Aegis Style. Thays a Prodigy for you.'
The Stellar Aegis Style was, as its name suggested, more concerned with defence and counter-attacks than raw offence. It demanded flawless footwork and absolute concentration to remain unbreachable. Aina, in her usual emotionless fashion, was executing the movements with a fluidity that was unnerving. Not only that, but she seemed to have recently trained herself in the ways of the Devouring Edge Style. She effortlessly combined her electromagnetic force with bursts of concentrated gravity, creating strikes that were both physically crushing and electrically charged.
She would use her floating blades to attack Elias and react to his reactions using the Stellar Aegis.
"You need to try harder, Elias," Aina's voice cut through the air, flat and perfectly calm, devoid of any pant or strain as she uswd her blunt blade to smack his thight.
Elias grunted as he parried a second strike with the Jade Dagger, wincing as current travelled through the white jadw and into his arm causing it to shudder slightly from the force. He was faring better than the previous times they had sparred, but he was still struggling to find which of the defensive variations of the first form—the one designed for speed, the one for pure force, or the one for evasion—he should commit to.
Aina saw the momentary hesitation. She shifted her weight, the metallic blade blurring as she feigned a strike high, then whipped it low in a vicious arc. Elias barely managed to shift his centre of gravity, but the flat of the metallic blade caught him hard on the side. The impact sent a searing bolt of electricity coursing through his body.
Elias gasped, stumbling back three paces, his muscles immediately stiffening. The pain was sharp.
Aina stopped, the tip of her humming sword resting barely an inch from the grass.
"Whats on your mind Elias? Whatever ut is push it aside or I won't hold back next time and actually try."
'I can't help it,' he thought, gritting his teeth as the electric charge faded.
His mind was a battlefield of its own. Ever since he had attempted to decipher the arcane Arrays etched into that terrifying Fox Mask, his thoughts were constantly being drawn back to it. That horrifying, soul-deep feeling he'd experienced when the 'Beast Beyond the Veil' had gazed upon him, a fleeting, powerful glance that made him feel as if his soul would be ripped apart. He had felt death, true and absolute, and the memory was a haunting echo that shattered his focus.
A smiled despite himself , deflecting a sweeping blow from Aina's double-bladed sword with the Obsidian Dagger—a purely physical parry this time—and lashed out with the Jade Dagger. Aina, however, was already a step ahead.
A sudden, immense pull of gravity shifted his entire body sideways, yanking him off balance. Before he could recover, a bolt of condensed lightning, crackling blue and pure, fired from the tip of her sword.
Elias reacted purely on instinct, throwing the Obsidian Dagger to intercept. He didn't have time to dodge or use a powerful defensive Technique. Instead, he activated the Transmutation ability again, targeting the energy bolt itself. The blue lightning hit the dark blade, and instantly, the raw energy of the strike was violently converted, exploding into a shower of harmless confetti.
Aina paused, a rare, almost unnoticeable questioning look crossing her face.
But even though the lightning was harmlessly dispersed, some of the force behind the strike managed to pass through the blade and strike Elias. His muscles seized again. He knew that if she attacked now, he was finished.
She raised the double-bladed sword, preparing for the final, decisive blow. But just as Elias jumped back and prepared to counter, he noticed something behind him and turned.
Two figures were walking through the compound gates, making their way up the main House. One was Roric, instantly recognisable by his powerful stride. The other was Lyle. Elias hadn't seen either in a while, and the difference was striking. Roric looked troubled, his whole demeanour heavy with loss. Lyle looked even worse, wounded and moving stiffly, having clearly seen better days.
Lyle seemed to notice them first. He immediately split from Roric, who nodded and continued towards the Keep, presumably to see Lord Alaric and Lady Elara. Lyle tilted his head slightly and waved.
Elias, momentarily forgetting he was in the middle of an active duel, lifted the Jade Dagger slightly in a distracted return wave, confusedas to whay the itinerantexorcistwas doing there.
Lyle, seeing Elias's distraction, suddenly stopped smiling. He shook his head violently and pointed frantically at the space directly behind Elias.
"What?" Elias called out, genuinely confused. He was already dizzy from the electrical shock and the strain of the spar.
Lyle didn't try to explain with gestures. He just yelled, his voice strained and panicked, "Behind you!"
It was then that Elias remembered. He was in a match with Aina. He tried to pivot, to raise his daggers, while trying to reinforce hia body with Flow but it was too late. His body, stiffened and fatigued from the electrical shock was slow to react on time and absorbed the full, crushing force of the blast. Aina, having held nothing back, slammed a massive, concentrated bolt of electrical energy directly into his chest while increasing his gravity causing him to sink into the groud with force that threw dust into the air.
The dust cleared and there he was, laid out, smoke rising lazily from his clothes and hair.
He coughed, a dry, ragged sound, and shifted slightly, the remaining energy in his limbs protesting fiercely.
"I… I concede," he managed to choke out, the words tasting like burnt metal.
Aina stepped over his prone body, her features still frustratingly calm. She deactivated her magnetic sword, letting the particles fall to the ground in a shimmering cloud of dust.
"I told you to concentrate, Elias," she said, her voice a low murmur of disappointment. "If you are distracted you'll die in a real fight."
Elias managed to sit up, rubbing the scorched patch on his chest. Just as he did, Lyle drew close, eyes wide with a mixture of shock and morbid curiosity.
"Well, that was quite the match," Lyle said, breathing heavily. He looked around the compound, taking in the sweeping, immaculate grounds and the distant, towering stone walls of the Keep.
"Didn't expect you lot to be rich kids."
Aina immediately stepped in front of Elias, her slight frame suddenly radiating cold, contained power. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the new arrival.
"What are you doing here?" Aina asked in a dangerously calm voice.
"I accompanied Roric to see the Lord, but going all the way in there would bore me stiff," he explained with a yawn.
"So, for now, I'm going to hang with you two."
Aina's eyes narrowed further, the movement barely perceptible.
"Elaborate," she demanded, the single word dripping with suspicion.
"Why would Roric bring you to the Lord of Blackwood?"