Erica helped heal Caspian's wounds. Afterward, he spent the last half-an-hour of the one-hour break speaking with Cassidy, Derek, and, of course, Erica. Tiffania had fallen asleep with her head in Erica's lap, the sorceress titled "Succubus" tenderly stroking her hair.

When the one-hour break was up, someone came in and informed Caspian that it was time for the final match to begin. He'd bid the group goodbye before following the man back to the arena, where Instructor Murdok and his opponent awaited.

Many thoughts went through Caspian as he stared at Darin Shivals Merikh, his opponent, and the one who, for the past several years, had held the title of first place. But his thoughts weren't on his opponent. It didn't matter who he had to fight. No, his thoughts were on the one that he was doing this for. Regardless of whatever hardships he faced, for her, he would gladly stand against them all.

Just one more battle, Ele...

His eyes could not seek her out, for the viewing box that she stood in was behind him. Yet he imagined her gaze on his back. She was watching this, watching him. He couldn't make a fool of himself by losing now.

The cheering crowd made his ears ring. He did his best to ignore them, and instead returned his attention to where it belonged—on the here and now. His opponent. Darin. The last obstacle standing in his way.

"Are both Knights ready?" Instructor Murdok asked. Darin nodded as he placed a hand on his blade, grasped the hilt, and slowly pulled it from its sheath. Caspian merely unsheathed his sword with an unceremonious yank. "Then let the final match of the Sorceress's Knight Tournament... begin!"

Despite the words ringing out clearly for everyone to hear, neither Caspian nor Darin moved. An unusual silence settled upon the crowd as they continued to stare at each other. Hushed. Deathly still. A tension seemed to settle over everyone.

Caspian eyed the blade in Darin's hands. It was a plain sword. The blade was straight, double-edged, and glimmered with the slight dullness of old steel. The light silver tone shifted into a bronze quillions. Brown leather made up the grip, and a rounded pommel sat at the very end. It was a well-maintained blade. It also told him a lot about the one wielding it.

This is a man who prides himself on his skills with a sword.

Sweat trickled down Caspian's brow, but he ignored it, understanding that to look away now would give Darin the clear advantage. He wished he could see his opponents eyes, but that blasted fedora blocked his view. How could Darin even see in that thing? It should have rendered his vision impotent, yet Caspian had seen proof that his opponent was perfectly aware of their surroundings.

One thing is for sure, Caspian thought as the muscles in his back tightened, this is going to be a hard fought battle.

***

Lady Erica, Tiffania, Cassidy, and Derek had joined Elincia after Caspian left for his next match.

She had greeted them once they'd arrived, and stuck to Lady Erica like glue to keep the foreign dignitaries from talking to her. She felt guilty for using the woman as a shield, and she felt even more guilty for avoiding the nobles, but she still hadn't grown used to being the center of attention. It made her feel like locking herself in her room.

The battle had started some time ago, yet nothing had happened yet. Caspian and his opponent stood on either side of the arena, staring each other down, not moving an inch. It was like they were frozen in time. Elincia was growing anxious.

"What's going on? Why aren't they moving?" she murmured the question to herself.

"He who moves first loses," Derek said as if quoting lines from a book. "It's a fundamental rule of swordsmanship. While many people believe that sword fights are all about action, the truth is that there's a lot more involved. Patience is a necessary component in a sword fight. In this instance, Caspian and Darin are trying to see who moves first, because the one who moves first will be in the weaker position, and thus have to fight an uphill battle."

There was a moment of silence. Elincia, Tiffania, Lady Erica, and Collafloore stared at Derek like he'd suddenly sprouted six tails from his ass.

"I... I don't understand," Elincia admitted.

"It's a man thing," Lady Erica told her.

"Oh... okay."

Accepting those words at face value, Elincia turned back to the battle and was just in time to see the first moves being made.

***

Darin suddenly shifted his left foot. Caspian reacted quickly, taking a step forward. He only realized his mistake a second later when his foe suddenly shifted his footing, and then launched himself into a sprint that quickly took him to where Caspian was standing.

A hiss of steel. Sparks flew as Darin's blade ground against Caspian's. The blades did not stay locked for long, as the two quickly broke apart, and then attacked again.

Caspian swung at Darin's chest, but a blade came up to block it, moving so quickly it almost seemed to have teleported there. Ignoring this, Caspian spun around and attacked from the other side, yet once more, there was a sword standing in his path, blocking him. Realizing that his attack had failed once more, he shuffled backward, feigned an attack from the right, and then reversed his swords course and attacked from the left.

A sword stood in his path. Once more his attack was blocked.

Leaping back, Caspian frowned as he regarded his opponent. Darin did not move. He stood in place, holding his sword in front of him in a basic sword fighting stance. There didn't seem to be anything amiss, yet Caspian felt uneasy.

Something is wrong here...

Leaping back into the fray, Caspian attacked with an overhand swing. His sword came down, screaming as he aimed to slice into Darin's shoulder. The attack was avoided—no, not just avoided. Darin took a single step backwards, allowing the blade to flow past him. Before Caspian could reverse the blade's course and swing upwards, Darin's sword slammed into his, forcing his sword into the ground where it became stuck.

Uh oh.

Caspian ducked as Darin pulled his sword back, and then slashed horizontally over Caspian's head. Woosh! He could feel the wind howl as the blade cut the air. His hair was ruffled, and several strands were cut off, slowly fluttering to the ground.

He stood back up. Clasping his fingers around the hilt of his sword, Caspian pulled it out and leapt backwards. He was just in time to avoid another sword swing, which tried to bite into his flesh. Even so, he couldn't avoid it entirely, and he felt a sudden breeziness near his chest. Looking down, he saw that the sword had sliced straight through his tabard and shirt.

"Tch!"

Moving quickly, Caspian swung his blade, which clashed against Darin's sword. He rotated his wrists, deftly knocking his foe's weapon back in a classic parry. This would've normally knocked his opponent off balance, but that was not what happened here. Rather than trying to regain his posture, Darin simply moved with the parry. He spun around, his feet shuffling along the ground, kicking up dust, and suddenly, his blade filled Caspian's vision.

A thrust?!

Caspian bent backwards, his eyes wide as he barely avoided the sword that nearly impaled him through the face. Blood trickled down his nose where the blade had grazed him. Falling further backwards, Caspian placed his left hand against the ground and bent his arm, cushioning his fall. He then lashed out with a classic heel kick, though it was dodged when Darin took two steps back.

Leaping back to his feet, Caspian attacked again. A swing from the left was blocked when Darin raised his sword at an angle, Caspian's own weapon scraping along the edge before flying off. He was then forced to retract his blade quickly and block Darin's counterattack—a swift thrust that he avoided by sidestepping left and turning to present his profile. He knocked the attack away, and then moved into Darin's guard.

Something is wrong here...

Caspian's swing was blocked again. Darin's blade intercepted his own with laughable ease, the sword appearing as if Darin had known what he would do seconds before he did it.

How is he blocking my attacks so easily?

Spinning on the balls of his feet, he swung the blade upwards from the left to the right. Such an attack would have normally cut a person open from groin to shoulder. Darin had moved long before the attack had come at him, almost like he'd known what would happen seconds before it actually happened.

Is he... predicting me? But how?!

Caspian stepped to the left and tried to attack from an angle. Darin countered, easily knocking aside his reckless swing and coming in with a slashing maneuver that was twice as fast. Caspian barely managed to bring his blade back in time to block it. Even then, his muscles protested as their blades locked.

"I was right," Darin said. Caspian blinked. Those were the first words he'd ever heard come from Darin's mouth. "You're very skilled, but your blade is being held back by fear."

Caspian scowled. He wished that damn fedora wasn't in the way. He wanted to look into this man's eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You can't fool me." Darin laughed. "I know. I can feel it in your attacks. I can hear it in your movements. You're afraid—afraid of hurting others, afraid of having to hurt others, afraid of others hating you for hurting them, and afraid of being hurt by others. You fear disappointing someone important to you. Your blade is ruled by fear, and that fear holds you back."

"Shut up!" Caspian roared as he pushed against Darin's blade, shoving the older boy away. Darin leapt back and landed on his feet several meters from him.

"You're upset because you know that I'm right," Darin observed.

"I said shut up!"

Caspian attacked Darin with greater ferocity. His swings came in harder, his movements were faster. At the same time, they were also sloppy, and Darin wove through his attacks like a stream flowing around obstacles in its path. On Caspian's last swing, Darin moved to the left and stepped into Caspian's guard, then slammed the pommel of his sword into Caspian's gut.

Gasping, Caspian stumbled backwards and wrapped his arms around his torso. He glared at Darin, whose face still remained completely hidden from view.

"It is just as I suspected," Darin said, and Caspian saw his mouth quirk into a smile. "Your kindness and desire not to hurt others is keeping you from attacking me with everything you have. Many of your attacks should have hurt me, but you keep pulling back at the last second. This is why you're on the defensive."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Caspian wore a fierce scowl. "I've killed before. Even recently, I had to..."

"You may have killed," Darin interrupted. "Indeed, I can smell the scent of blood on you. However, you didn't kill because you enjoyed it. You only killed because it was necessary, and even then, you hesitated, didn't you? You couldn't bring yourself to just murder someone in cold blood. I bet killing makes you sick."

Caspian said nothing. Darin was right. Even though he'd killed those criminals who'd kidnapped Tiffania, doing so had left him riddled with sickness and guilt. He'd tried to cover it up, to pretend he wasn't bothered, but he was. That was an undeniable fact.

"Besides, I'm not talking about making a conscious choice to kill someone because you have to," Darin continued. "I'm speaking of how you purposefully hold back in battle to avoid hurting your opponent. Every time you've attacked me, I can sense it, the slight shift in the atmosphere as your blade becomes askew. You're so afraid of hurting someone that you hold yourself back."

Caspian was silent.

"Nothing to say? Very well, then. How about we continue this battle?" Darin slid into a wider, sturdier sword stance. "Come at me with everything you have. If you believe that you're the best person to become the next sorceress's knight, then prove it by defeating me!"

***

"This is quite the spectacle," Lord Fuzen Taiga said. "You have some excellent students, Headmaster."

"Caspian and Darin are the top two students of the entire academy," Headmaster Stratello replied easily. "Both are more than skilled enough to become a sorceress's knight."

Elincia shifted as she heard the conversation. Her ears twitched as she strained her hearing, wanting to hear more.

"Indeed. Both are highly skilled. However... I don't recognize the styles they're using." Lord Fuzen Taiga hummed as he watched the battle. "The commoner boy, Caspian, seems to use many different styles, while that other one, Darin, almost seems to move in whatever way he pleases. Truly intriguing."

Elincia frowned as she continued listening. She had no clue what they were talking about. She looked back at the battle to see Caspian and Darin trading blows once more. Beside her, Tiffania looked up at Lady Erica and pouted.

"Big sis, big sis. I can't see Caspian's fight from here."

"Oh, my. We can't have that, can we?" Erica said. Muttering a quick aria to invoke the strength of Hachiman, she leaned down and lifted Tiffania like she was a feather. "There. Now you can see."

"Yay!"

Elinca smiled as Tiffania let loose a childish cheer.

"I wish Lady Erica would hold me like that," Derek muttered dejectedly.

Elincia really did have to wonder about Lady Erica's knight, though. He was kinda creepy.

***

Sweat clung to his body, causing his clothes to cling to his skin, rubbing it raw. He was tired, exhausted, and on his last few legs. It was like his body had been weighed down by lead. He still continued to fight, continued to attack, but no matter how many ways or methods that Caspian attacked with, none of them worked. Darin either deflected or dodged them all.

He swung his sword with all his might. Darin's blade was already there to intercept it, almost as if he'd predicted where Caspian would attack. He reversed course, spinning around and attacking from the other side, yet the blade was there once more, defelecting him.

"Attacking out of anger and frustration is only going to tire you out faster," Darin admonished. "You should know this better than anyone. Is that not one of your methods for getting under an opponent's skin?"

"Be quiet!" Caspian hissed.

Leaping back, he took several calming breaths. Much as he disliked admitting it, his opponent was right. He was letting his frustration get the better of him. He needed to remain calm and think about the situation analytically.

"That's better," Darin said. "But you're still holding back!"

Caspian was forced to retreat as Darin went on the attack. He tried to use classic blocks and parries to avoid being hit, but when his skin was burned from several nicks, he switched to a more open style. Even with that, however, Darin still maintained the upper hand. It was all Caspian could do to keep from being skewered.

"You need to stop fighting yourself, Caspian!" Darin yelled as he thrust out his blade. Caspian tried to block, but it was only a faint, and instead of a thrust, he ended up nearly having his chest cut open. "You do not have the option of fighting both yourself and me. If you cannot truly let go and fight without fear of harming me, then you will lose."

Darin's words were like swords in and of themselves—they certainly pierced him like blades. He knew that he always held back when fighting. He might have killed those people who'd kidnapped Tiffania, but that had been a conscious decision. He'd weighed the lives of those criminals over Tiffania's life and determined that Tiffania was more important. However, to fight against someone who wasn't evil, who hadn't done anything wrong, as if he was trying to kill them—he couldn't do that.

No, it's not that I can't do it. It's that I don't want to.

He understood that there were times when he would have to take someone's life. He could accept that. However, there was a difference between making that decision and fighting to kill when it wasn't necessary.

Caspian continued blocking the string of attacks that Darin launched at him. His arms quaked as their swords clashed. His legs shook when Darin put his weight onto their locked blades. Even now, he could not see past the man's fedora. He struggled against the older boy, pushed back, gritting his teeth. Darin smiled. Then, quite unexpectedly, he pulled back, and Caspian stumbled right into Darin's knee.

He felt all of the air rush from his lungs as he was struck in the solar plexus, causing him to double over the knee. He wasn't there for long, however, as the knee retracted and then something else slammed into his jaw. His teeth clacked together as his head rocketed backwards.

Stumbling backwards, Caspian was unable to do anything when he felt a foot kick his legs out from underneath him. He landed on his back with a loud whumph! Staring up at the sky, he blinked several times, wondering how he'd suddenly ended up on the ground.

"She's watching you, you know," Darin said from outside of his line of sight. "You and she are friends, right? I've watched the two of you spend time together at the academy. She seems important to you. Are you really going to lay there like that and let me win?"

Caspian twisted his neck to look at the viewing box. Elincia was there. She stood by the balustrade, gripping the rail with white-knuckled hands. Her face was pleading. It was like she was urging him to get up, to stand up and fight with everything that he had.

Ele...

Could he really let her down now? After everything that had happened between, after promising to become her knight, could he truly let himself hold back? Could he afford to let himself hold back?

I... I can't give up now. Ele... I promised Ele that I would win.

That was right. Even if it caused his stomach to twist, he couldn't afford to hold back, not if it meant someone else would become Elincia's knight.

He climbed to his feet. Slowly, pushing himself up at a snail's pace, but still, he stood up. His knees wobbled, his legs shook, but, still, he remained standing.

"Have you decided to stop holding back?" Darin asked.

"Yeah..." Caspian reached down, fingers wrapping around the hilt of his sword, gripping it fiercely. Blood pounded in his ears. "I made this decision long ago. I just... couldn't follow through with it." He looked up and glared at Darin through his fringe of red hair. "Just remember... you asked for this."

"Excellent," Darin said. "I was hoping to see you fight at your full strength. This battle would not be worth fighting unless you gave it your all."

He and Darin stared at each other. Caspian steadied his breathing. He shifted his feet. So did Darin. This was it, his final battle. He would go all out, even though the thought made his stomach churn.

In that moment, just as Caspian came to a decision, the entire stadium was rocked by a massive explosion.