Zenia’s sword could change its form according to the user: a knife for those who prefer close combat, a short-sword for those who prefer having distance, a great-sword for those who prefer strength, and many more.

Dunnford stood straight on the sideline, expectant of the duel that was about to happen between Ignes and Freya in the training field. He would have been more absorbed to what was coming, if only Ray and Elaine weren’t squabbling behind him.

‘What you did was unnecessary,’ Ray told her.

‘You think it’s fair for her to fight while she’s still wounded?’ Elaine protested. The staff she was holding now was without a gemstone at the end. The wood end had been cut by one of the Zenists when she wanted to use a type of support magic to help Freya; and the gemstone was now confiscated by the sanctum.

‘She had agreed to go into the fight knowing her wound.’

‘But where’s the fairness? Her opponent is also going to use two swords instead of one. How is that fair?’

‘They both agreed upon it.’

‘How is it honorable when the head of the sanctum knows that she’s going to face a wounded opponent? Is that really what the head of the sanctum should do? Engage in a handicapped battle?’

‘Freya knew and chose to do this anyway.’

‘I could make the duel fair!’

‘How is it fair when you helping her would count as an outside help? It’s essentially two versus one if you help her!’

The argument continued on. Dunnford could only sigh. It made him wonder if they could ever get along.

Freya stood on one side of the training ground. She was just waiting for the battle to begin and she didn’t even bother doing a warmup. Perhaps she couldn’t, Dunnford thought. Her right shoulder was still bandaged and she was still recovering her wounds. Doing nothing but waiting might just be her best way to prepare, Dunnford didn’t get rid of that possibility. She might be conserving her movements for when the battle actually began.

Standing on the opposite side of the training ground, Ignes had just received her metal swords from a Zenist who brought it for her. As far as Dunnford knew, Ignes had liked the concept of the white sanctum uniform that could be easily stained by blood and made her sword had that same white. Those reddened-black colors of her two swords mean more than just colors…

In an elegant movement, Ignes unsheathed the sword one by one and handed the sheathes to the Zenist. Those blades seemingly screamed of vengeance; and the blood it had been drowned in had only served to make it stronger and more vengeful. Dunnford could now understand why Ignes had become a sword mentor for the sanctum and kept those swords away from her: they carried a different kind of weight for the user.

She held the shorter sword in her left hand, and the longer sword on her right. Ignes then closed her eyes and took a deep breath; as if she was absorbing every aspect of the sword into her. By this movement alone, she had created a stillness that drew eyes on her. Then she released two swings.

The swings she made sliced sharp through the air and created a sound that seemingly cut the listener’s ears. So well executed were the two swings, that no voice of awe could come out. Even Ray and Elaine who were arguing were silenced by this performance of hers. A show that instilled fear to the people who watched.

The duel had begun before it even started. Dunnford thought. He wondered how this would impact Freya, but she hardly gave any response. She was still just waiting for the duel to begin.

‘Bet you a pouch of silver on Ignes,’ Wald said in a low voice to Brig. Dunnford could hear that; and so did everyone in the surrounding. When everything was silent, a low voice could be considered loud.

‘Won’t be a bet if we both bet on the same side,’ Brig answered.

‘Maybe violet over there would win. The chance isn’t zero.’

‘Tell your lies to someone else, Wald.’ She implied that Freya’s chance of winning was zero. Little did Brig know, her words had caught the attention of the two people who argued on a daily basis.

‘’Bet you a pouch of gold against Ignes,’’ Elaine and Ray said in unison. They then stared at each other; annoyed upon finding out that they had the same thought process, but instead of picking fights with each other, they made it a priority to pick fights with Brig and Wald.

‘Great!’ Wald said. ‘Easy money. Thank you.’

‘Freya will win,’ Elaine said. Ray nodded in agreement.

Wald shrugged with a smile on his face.

‘Dunn-y, you betting?’ Brig asked Dunnford.

‘No,’ he answered.

While Dunnford personally declined because he was not interested in gambling; for it was a poor conduct, it seemed that his refusal had shifted Elaine and Ray’s attention to him.

‘You don’t think she’ll win?’ Ray asked.

‘Aren’t you her ally?’ Elaine added.

It felt odd and unnatural for the two of them to be working together and agreeing instead of arguing, but that was a thought Dunnford kept to himself.

‘Her opponent is my foster mother it could be said,’ he gave an excuse. Both Elaine and Ray then dropped the matter about him participating in the bet, for they understood that they were putting him on the spot. I’ll also set a bad example for the Hawk squad if I participated.

‘Betting aside,’ Ray shifted the topic and asked Dunnford, ‘who do you think will win?’

‘Didn’t you bet because you’re sure Freya is going to win?’ Elaine complained.

‘I can’t deny that the chance of her losing is a possibility,’ Ray said. ‘I tried sparring against Ignes with Freya’s sword style before and it didn’t work well.’

‘That’s because you’re a bad swordsman.’

‘Says a horrible mage.’

‘I didn’t lose to Ignes.’

‘Which makes you a coward because you never fought her.’

Dunnford would just let them continue with their arguments, but Freya and Ignes were walking toward the center of the training ground and the duel was about to start. He would not like to miss his chance on potentially figuring out the blow that could bypass his Special Magic, especially since both fighters were capable of doing that.

‘Enough,’ Dunnford said it in a strict tone he would use toward undisciplined knight squires. ‘Master Ray, Miss Elaine, the duel is about to begin. I do believe that both of you value witnessing this fight over arguing with each other.’

Realizing that Dunnford was right, their argument went dead. Good.

Back to the training field, both fighters were facing each other. Between them was a man named Jagzak, the witness of this duel. He would be responsible to judge the duel that would happen and to begin this duel by asking the 3 questions.

Right now, however, it seemed that he was letting Ignes have her moment in giving Freya an intense stare. Ignes’ two swords were already unsheathed and held menacingly in her grips, while Freya’s was still sheathed and hung on her waist.

If what Master Ray said was right… about Freya’s sword style not being able to work against Ignes… then this battle will be decided by her answer in dealing with her countermeasures, Dunnford thought.

***

The first question, ‘What is the sword to you?’ Jagzak, the witness for this duel, asked.

The 3 questions were often used for spars; and was always used for duels. The questions were calibrated in a way that would show a swordsperson his or her personality, and remind them of who they were before the fight began.

She’s Ray’s and Dunnford’s ally, Ignes thought as she faced Freya. A young swordswoman who had beaten Dunnford and was stronger than Ray.

There was no order to decide who should answer the question first. Whoever felt like going in could answer first; and whoever felt like waiting could answer second. Normally, the impulsiveness or the deliberateness of answering could portray characters.

Nor Ignes or Freya was answering. And without answers, the duel would not progress.

Ignes had wished to try and spar with Freya because of Ray’s story, but she didn’t expect that this was how they would battle. Her violet eyes did not contain fear, even after the performance she had made. She had hoped that would scare her away, but it didn’t seem to give that effect.

Still no answers. The first question wasn’t a hard question; and was most often a match to see who would cave and answer first.

‘A partner,’ Freya answered.

Ignes had thought that the stillness would continue longer, but more importantly—That’s what the sword is to you…

To Ignes, it was different.

‘A weapon to kill lives,’ Ignes answered. Be it for the sanctum or self-defense, a sword was used for killing. That was always the case. It would be unfortunate if I kill her.

Second question, ‘What does it take to attain victory?’

‘Continuous learning,’ Ignes answered first this time. She wanted to know Freya’s reaction to this. The 3 questions could be used to get a feel of the opponent, after all.

‘Stepping forward,’ Freya answered calmly, not disturbed by Ignes’s quick answer. An idealistic answer, Ignes assessed. You can’t win if all you do is just stepping forward.

Third question, ‘Why do you fight?’

This question was to be answered with a general answer rather than specific ones. If the answer was specific, that would mean that they would just be repeating the reason they engaged into the duel to begin with. That would be pointless. Instead, the question was more asking someone’s general reason to engage into a fight.

‘I fight for the good of the sanctum,’ Ignes answered. The good of the sanctum is for Vod to inherit the sword saint title.

Since Freya gave an impression of not wanting to dwell on answering, Ignes had thought that she would immediately answer after her. Instead, Freya tilted her head sideway and looked toward the sky, searching for answers. She was troubled by the question.

You can’t answer that? Ignes thought. Disappointing. From all the fights Ignes had been in, those who couldn’t answer the third question were all weak because they did not have a reason to fight. Save for Vod, who was an exception.

Freya closed her eyes and touched her right shoulder with her left hand.

‘When I have to fight,’ she answered, ‘I fight.’ No reasons given.

Her answer didn’t count as an answer to the question, but Jagzak didn’t feel like pointing it out and instead carried on. ‘One last chance to yield, should any side want to.’

Is she weak? Ignes couldn’t tell. She heard that Freya could beat Ray and Dunnford, but no matter how she perceived it, she looked weak. Her presence didn’t alert Ignes of any threats, and she showed a lack of interest in this battle. ‘You should take the chance,’ Ignes said. She didn’t want to ruin the sword career of Dunnford’s ally by making her a cripple.

‘If I do, will I get the Stormpiercer?’ she asked.

This again. ‘Why are you so stubborn about the ship?’ Ignes asked. ‘Just wait for the storm to pass and you don’t need to risk your life out there or here.’

‘The skystorm is a battle I have to fight. But I do wish that the ship is not one I have to fight for.’

‘You won’t win this fight. I know of your sword style from Ray; it’s obsolete. Yield and wait for the storm to pass.’

She sighed. ‘It’s unfortunate that this duel is unavoidable.’

Freya took her sword from her waist and held it pointing downward with her left hand beside her. Despite Ignes’s warning, she wouldn’t abandon that style.

‘You should unsheathe your sword,’ Jagzak advised to Freya.

‘I don’t plan to kill her,’ she answered.

Jagzak didn’t say anything toward her response and just let her be. He took a few steps back and then said, ‘Then I hereby announce the battle to begin.’

At that cue, Ignes immediately made a vertical slash at Freya with her longsword held with her right. She aimed it at her eyes instead of her neck, but when she felt the sword hitting nothing but air, she knew that Freya was not as weak as she looked.

She did beat Dunnford.

***

Perfect, Vod thought.

From the sidelines, he saw how Freya had shifted her head backward to barely dodge the swing. She didn’t even blink when the blade traveled across in front of her eyes. Perhaps she can steal the title.

Ignes continued her attacks, controlling the range by only attacking with her longsword. She had yet to use her other sword and was still gauging Freya’s skills.

Initially, Vod’s impression of Freya had declined the moment he saw her sword style. He, however, knew that sword styles didn’t decide everything in battles. And looking at her brilliant evasion skills with her sways which were done with precise and minimal movements, Vod had to reevaluate his impression of her. She was more than his expectations.

But that didn’t mean that she would win for certain.

Ignes increased the tempo of her attacks and was still only attacking with her longsword. While at it, she controlled and adjusted the range toward her liking by matching up her footwork with Freya’s. This truth currently stood: Freya could not counter Ignes’s attack.

Her sword was out-ranged by Ignes’s longsword, and should she step in, Ignes’s short sword was waiting for her.

This wasn’t the weakness of the style Freya was using, but the strength of the style Ignes was using. Two swords allowed for this kind of strategy and so long as this kept up, Freya might not get herself a chance to fight back.

‘Is this all you got?’ Ignes asked as Freya dodged her sword. Vod could tell that she had admitted her dodging skills; and that she was baiting her to attack by riling her up. Although her questioning made it seem that she had control over the fight, Vod knew that Ignes was growing impatient. No one liked it when their attacks weren’t connecting.

Freya wasn’t disturbed from her words and continued observing Ignes. Ignes might seem to have the upper hand, but she was giving away information about her attacking methods.

She’s waiting for her to use her other sword, Vod thought. If Freya couldn’t attack because Ignes’s short sword was waiting for her when she stepped in, then the solution was to wait for her to also use that sword for attacking. That way, she didn’t have to deal with her defense.

Ignes was waiting for Freya to attack and Freya was waiting for Ignes to use her other sword. A battle of attrition.

Though any result had been achieved as of yet, the exchanges both sides were making were high levels. Each slash thrown felt like one that would finally hit; and each sway made felt like one that would be the last. Ignes adapted her swings and upped her tempo to match her sways, but Freya too adapted to her by reading her moves.

Finally, Ignes’s expression showed that she had enough. However, instead of going forward and finally using her other sword, Ignes stopped her attacks and stepped backward, creating distance and then lowering her swords.

Freya stayed where she was in response to her maneuver.

Ignes’s eyes wandered toward a knight near a mage, showing a look of sorrow, as if she was apologizing.

Would it work? Vod thought, knowing what was about to happen:

Ignes was going to capitalize on the flaw of Freya’s sword style.

***

Ray knew what was coming.

He gulped and felt his shoulders tense from the anticipation of what was about to happen.

Ignes crossed her right arm to the left and kept both swords on her left side. She was about to unleash the attack that had got him during the spar against her when Ray had used Freya’s form. He had experienced first hand how effective that trick was against the form and knew how deadly it would be now that Ignes had real swords.

Ray knew this was bound to happen. Part of him believed that Freya would be able to handle this. Another part of him didn’t believe. But Ray was about to get his answer. I can’t miss this.

Regardless of the result, he would learn from this battle.

Ignes dashed toward Freya. Her two swords were kept close to the ground and cut the grass that the blades grazed.

First came the longsword travelling diagonally from below. Because the longsword had more range, Freya didn’t have the reach to strike Ignes. Naturally, according to her form, Freya swayed to her left.

A deadly swish reverberated in the air. The blade failed to claim blood.

But that first attack is only to bait that sway, Ray thought.

Taking another step forward, Ignes now lifted her left arm and threw a diagonal slash from above this time with her short sword.

This was the attack that had gotten him in the spar. The forced swaying only created an opportunity for the short sword to strike. And there was no time to regain the balance from dodging the first attack.

An attack that could not be dodged. Freya had swayed according to Ignes’s expectation, and was brought into a checkmate. The flaw of that sword style.

Ignes’s sword travelled down like a slanted guillotine. Although Ray was determined to not miss this moment, a part of him couldn’t bear witness to what was about to happen. His eyes blinked at that exact moment when the sword was close to Freya.

He missed the moment.

***

Dunnford’s jaw dropped. It didn’t fall, but it certainly dropped.

In that training ground, just when it seemed that Freya had gotten herself checkmated, she was now holding her sheathed sword close to Ignes’s neck.

How did she dodge that?