“I said I would, so here I am.”

Lara poked Jade and whispered.

“How did he get here so fast? I didn’t even see him come in!”

That was the question on Jade’s mind as well.

“Father, should we begin? I do not wish to waste my time here for longer than necessary.”

Draven, who had left the entire courtyard and his opponent waiting, pushed forward. Blaire was impressed with Draven, who, for some reason, was radiating confidence.

“…Fine. Begin whenever.”

Jarrett snickered.

“Well? Pull your sword from your sheath. Unless you want your head removed from your body, because I will wait no more.”

Draven looked at Jarrett prestigiously, with a bored and tired expression.

“I will remove my sword when necessary, Jarrett. It is not necessary right now.”

Jarrett snapped. He dug his back foot into the dirt and darted forwards.

“Fool.” Garm had tried to warn him about losing his head in battle, but he knew that Draven’s taunts had worked. Jarrett, by nature, was a hot head.

Jarrett’s sword came from above- a descending strike. Draven focused on the momentum of the blade. This swing was polished over years of training under the swordsmanship expert, Garm.

“A fine strike!” Blaire nodded in approval. Jarrett’s constant training with Garm was paying off.

Draven, while preparing to dodge and sunk to the ground, suddenly rose. He observed the blade coming, slicing through the air, and knew that it would hit his left shoulder for a potentially fatal wound. Without removing his gaze from the blade, he twitched his wrist and flicked his hand upwards.

“Gah!” Jarrett’s vision went dark just before the moment of contact with Draven’s shoulder.

cling

Blaire rose from his seat. Jade and Lara couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Ugh…!” Jarret blurted out as he fell to his knees while holding his right hand. His vision returned as he wiped his eyes on his shirt. He saw three fingers on the ground in front of him.

“Wha-!” Before he could speak, the tip of a blade touched his neck.

“Draven, you-!”

“It was dirt. You fell for my taunt, and in your rage, you failed to realize that I was not taking a low stance to dodge, but to hide myself clutching a handful of dirt. Your lack of battle caution was your undoing.”

Blaire had still not gathered himself.

“You… threw dirt in his eyes? In that instant- with a blade coming at your body?”

Jade walked over to Jarrett.

“His fingers! Servants, gather them quickly and reattach them. With his healing abilities, they should be back to normal in a few weeks.” The servants gathered the fingers and tried to help Jarrett up. He quickly pushed them off of him.

“You no good, rotten cheater… This isn’t fair! I only lost because of-!”

“Jarrett.”

The guttural call jarred his soul. Garm continued.

“It is your loss. Draven is correct- you fell for his taunts and showed a lack of caution in the critical moment. You fell for his plan, and now you must accept your defeat.”

Draven covered his face. Lara, Jade, and Glow glared at him out of confusion. Suddenly, a heckling laugh filled the courtyard.

“Ha… Hahaha…. Hahahahaha… It’s just… too funny…!”

Draven could not control his laughter. He grabbed his stomach as he threw his head back.

“To think you would fall for such a basic plan… You truly are a fool, Brother.”

Jarrett’s veins popped. The air around him began to swirl as he gripped his sword. Just before launching his assault, however, Draven disappeared. Immediately after processing that Draven was no longer where he was standing, the tip of a black boot cracked the underside of Jarrett’s jaw. Blood flew from his mouth has he sprawled onto his back in an unconscious state. Blood trickled down his face as silence loomed throughout the courtyard.

“Do you think I will just stand here and let you cast a spell before attacking me? Fool.”