- Blunt knife once honed could be as deadly as a sword...

24 hours before The Triplet's Vow...

"This is it, Fate. This is the day before The Triplet's Vow takes place," Caeruleus coldly said, "This is the day where you will see the results of blood, sweat, and tears you have drained to train under me."

Fate felt a cool, gentle breeze coming from the west. It gave him a moment to think about what he had gone through. Fate still can't believe it, though. He's in front of a government official, about to fight with Caeruleus one on one, and there's no holding back this time. All the sweat and the pain are all worth it.

"Fate, I am reminding you, and please, always put this inside your mind.

"The Triplet's Vow is a life-and-death situation. The odds are stacked against everyone. Rely on luck if you want. Rely on skill if you want. Rely on both if you want, but The Triplet's Vow is your biggest enemy.

"You need to trust yourself if that day comes. You can form groups, but you only have yourself. In the end, your only ally is yourself and only yourself."

Caeruleus raised his hand in the air and there appeared the sword almost as tall as him. It appeared as if it was generated into the thin air. It was a broad, longsword. He held it using both of his hands. It also appears that a weaker, thinner armor is generated on his very own body. At that moment, Fate also went for his sickles on his back and grasped them tightly.

Caeruleus gazed into Fate's eyes, and it gave Fate chills as it is something he had never seen before. Caeruleus' eyes were cold dead, yet you could feel something from them. An unknown, unexplainable feeling. His eyes were cold but is burning within.

"Let me see everything you have learned under me. Let me see the results of our hard work..."

Caeruleus leaped before Fate could even react. A leap faster than a blink of an eye. It is strong that it left a crater from where Caeruleus originally was.

"...bring it on, Fate... Never let me down."

In a split second, Caeruleus is already in front of Fate. A point-blank distance. Caeruleus' arms were raised along with the longsword he holds. His eyes locked into Fate's, and Fate couldn't help but stare back into Caeruleus' eyes, too. Caeruleus' eyes had a very clear intent, and they told Fate one thing: to make him fight against Caeruleus, to fight until his death.

The amateur and the experienced fought for the last time. Caeruleus and Fate exchanged blows using their weapons, clashing with each other every second that passed. The bang of their weapons reverberated throughout the surroundings. The bang of Caeruleus' sword and the shriek of Fate's sickles echoed throughout the field, filling the silence with their weapons colliding.

...

Fate and Caeruleus' weapons clashed with each other for the last time. The moment Caeruleus' longsword and Fate's sickles collided, it released a burst of shockwave accelerating at a tremendous velocity.

They stood their ground after that, attempting to overwhelm each other, but Caeruleus is exerting a huge amount of strength in his longsword. Fate had heard a slight cracking on his sickle, an indication that Caeruleus is not holding back anymore.

Caeruleus stared deep into Fate's eyes. "You have made an immense improvement ever since I have trained you, Fate," Caeruleus told him. "Fighting you is something special, but you have to remember..."

"Enemy or friend, does it matter? Push yourself to your boundaries when fighting," they both said to each other.

Fate screamed at top of his lungs and used their situation to push Caeruleus away, attempting to make him lie on the ground in a vulnerable position. It was not an easy job to do considering Caeruleus' body mass, but somehow, Fate succeeded. It made him exhausted, though.

Caeruleus is in a vulnerable position, and Fate used that opportunity to attack him. By dashing towards Caeruleus, he attempted to reach for Caeruleus' back - his vulnerable part, for now. Fate leaped and he delivered a blow using his sickle, and he gave Caeruleus a severe scratch on his back. If it wasn't for Caeruleus' armor, though, Fate could've killed him already, but Fate knows that this is just the start, and he should never put his guard down.

Suddenly, Caeruleus' armor regenerated by itself. It happened shortly after Fate delivered a slash on his back. "What an impressive strategy, Fate," Caeruleus remarked to him, "But did you really think I did not know what you were up to?"

"W-what do you mean, sir?" Fate stuttered. "What is he trying to say?" he thought to himself afterward.

"Realize it yourself, kid," Caeruleus coldly said. Shortly after, he vanished again. Like a bubble being popped, he was gone in an instant.

Suddenly, Fate had heard a whoosh to his east, and it got louder over time. Caeruleus suddenly appeared in front of Fate. He should have known that in the first place. Fate had let his guard down, and there's nothing he can do about it knowing that he is still in mid-air.

Caeruleus bashed Fate using his shoulder, and Fate defended himself by crossing his arms in front of him. Fate blasted away from Caeruleus like a rock being thrown. It is predictable, but Fate thinks he was too stupid to not realize it.

The moment Fate reached the ground, he rolled like a ragdoll, and all he could do is to strike his sickle onto the ground while holding it. It made Fate stop, but the next thing he knew was Caeruleus rushing toward him. Fate only has a matter of seconds before he could do something. Standing up will be a waste of time.

Caeruleus leaped into the air, about to strike his longsword into the ground, and it is aimed at Fate. He rolled to the left to dodge it and immediately stood up, completely avoiding Caeruleus' incoming attack. Caeruleus' attack released a burst the ground up into the air, leaving a crater where he struck his sword.

Caeruleus' sword appears to be stuck deep into the ground, and it took him time before he pulled it out. Again, Fate took the opportunity and threw one of his sickles toward Caeruleus aimed at his head. The moment Fate threw it, Caeruleus stopped struggling to pull out his sword. Instead, Caeruleus just stared into the sickle incoming at him, as if it was just a mere housefly.

"Very resourceful attack, Fate," Caeruleus again remarks Fate, "But you have to do better than this."

Caeruleus disappeared into the thin air again, nowhere to be found. It is different this time, though. He never reappeared in front of Fate shortly after vanishing. "Perhaps he's planning to do something," Fate thinks.

Suddenly, Fate has heard a voice whispering to him. It was somewhat similar to Zelth's voice. It's as soft as a silk. "Behind you, Fate," it told him.

[Zelth: The leader of the solitary wolves that trained Fate].

[Solitary Wolves: The wolves that can conceal themselves, including their magical aura].

Without any second thought, Fate immediately looked behind him, and he saw an incoming dagger flying straight toward him. Fate was about to dodge it, but he failed as it dug deep inside his shoulder. Fate tried pulling it out, but he couldn't help but shout in pain. Fate found out that the dagger had reversed barbs on its sides, making it harder to pull out. He had no choice but to leave it be. It will be harder for Fate to bear the pain of it ripping his flesh as he draws it out.

Fate saw his sickle he threw lying on the ground so he tried reaching for it, but the moment he started going for it, he saw another dagger incoming towards him. Using the remaining sickle Fate is holding, he deflected it successfully. Fate thought he could finally get the sickle he threw towards Caeruleus, but it was just Fate's thoughts. On his left, he saw the same dagger that dug inside his shoulder, so he tried diverting it to his opposite side.

18 hours before The Triplet's Vow

The daggers flying toward Fate seems it doesn't end, and he still hasn't seen Caeruleus. Over time, Fate became exhausted and worn out, slowly becoming out of shape as he deflect the daggers incoming at him. Not to mention that another two daggers dug inside Fate: inside his left and his right arm. It weakened Fate's grip on his sickle, enfeebling him slowly. All of that for no solutions made. It seems that Caeruleus wants Fate to realize something. Something that Fate should've realized from the start.

"Sometimes, letting your guard down is better than fighting back," a voice inside Fate's head told him. "Give up on your physical strength and focus on your mind."

That is one of the instincts Fate always had ever since he started going to the Teran Academy. He had a lot of fights and quarrels with students whose level is higher than his, and it always worked like a charm.

"But... how?" Fate asked himself. "This is something where I am literally fighting death himself."

"You will realize it soon," the same voice Fate has heard inside his head replied. "The real enemy is your mind, and he will be always your enemy."

Fate snapped back to reality and he saw a dagger incoming in front of him. As such, Fate diverted its direction. Shortly after, he saw another dagger incoming behind him. That's the moment Fate realized something.

"Dagger in front... dagger behind me," Fate carefully analyzes. "Dagger to my left... dagger to my right. Hmm, I am missing something, am I not?"

Suddenly, Fate's face smiled at itself. It is already in his habit. That's what happens when Fate has finally realized something he is trying very hard to think about. Fate had a hard time thinking of every solution possible, and he had now acquired one.

Fate had heard a whoosh behind him, and he saw a dagger flying toward him. He should deflect it once it's within his reach, right? No, Fate didn't. Instead, he just evaded the dagger shortly after it was about to reach him. The dagger did not stop flying, so Fate took the chance to leap and reach for it.

Fate exerted every force he could put on his legs to leap as far as he can just to reach that dagger, and once he had caught it, he threw it in the direction where he originally saw it. Fate threw it as hard as he could, and it traveled faster than he had expected.

Suddenly, the dagger stopped flying. It stopped as if it was frozen in mid-air. "Wow, Fate," a voice similar to Caeruleus remarked to Fate, "I never thought you would never realize it."

Unexpectedly, a man wearing worn-out armor holding a broad, longsword as tall as him revealed himself gradually. It was Caeruleus himself, holding the dagger Fate had just thrown.

"Let's do it again, shall we?" Caeruleus asked Fate as he threw the dagger up into the air.

Fate sighed in satisfaction and gave Caeruleus a smirk. "We could do this all day, sir," he confidently replied.

"You got that line from me, didn't you?" Caeruleus asked Fate for the last time before catching the dagger Caeruleus just threw up into the air.

"One month of training with you, and do you think I won't adopt something from you, sir?"

The moment Caeruleus caught the dagger he threw up into the air, he immediately shot it at Fate at an incredible speed. Fate inhaled and relaxed, trying to 'slow' down the time. The dagger is about to reach Fate, so he reached for it and threw it back to Caeruleus, and he did the same thing too, repeating the cycle over and over again.

15 hours before The Triplet's Vow

For the last time, Fate threw the dagger back at Caeruleus, but he did not attempt to catch it. Instead, Caeruleus diverted its direction opposite of him.

"Huh?" Fate thought to himself, wondering why Caeruleus did that.

"Be ready for the last part, Fate," Caeruleus told Fate as he gazed into Fate's eyes. "Bring it on."

Fate was surprised as Caeruleus threw something into the ground. It is round, about the size of a baseball. Violet color covers it with some strokes of grey. The ball exploded, covering the surroundings with smoke, and Caeruleus slowly vanished as the smoke gradually covers the environment.

The sense of familiarity trickled down Fate's spine. "A test of my perception, huh?" he thought to himself.

On top of his head, Fate knows something like this did not happen, but for some unknown reason, he felt a strong sense of familiarity. It gave Fate chills the moment he realized it.

Fate still hasn't got the sickle he threw earlier, and he is afraid his defense will be weakened at this moment. Fate cannot navigate his surroundings well due to the smokescreen Caeruleus just threw, but deep inside, Fate is confident he will be able to pass this easily.

Fate had heard footsteps in front of him, and he knew he had to defend himself. Fate suddenly lowered his torso and held the remaining sickle in front of him.

"Wait, what?" Fate asked himself, wondering what happened. The footsteps suddenly vanished. What happened? Where did it go?

Unexpectedly, Fate had seen a shadow under him. Knowing that the smokescreen covered the surroundings, the rays of the sun won't be able to reach inside the radius. As such, Fate looked up and saw Caeruleus with his arms raised along with his longsword, about to slice Fate in half. Fate knows he won't be able to defend himself knowing Caeruleus' sheer strength, so Fate leaped to a safe distance.

The same thing happened: Caeruleus was gone. He disappeared inside the fog and smoke. Is he creating an illusion? "Perhaps I overestimated myself," Fate realizes.

...

Another realization kicked in. Fate should have known. This is the moment where it's safe for Fate to say this: his mind is his biggest enemy.

Fate is overthinking everything. Fate is overthinking how he will be able to surpass this and remain in one piece. Fate is overthinking the fact that he won't be able to outperform Caeruleus this time.

"The smoke, it is the thing that conceals Caeruleus," Fate thought, "No, the smoke doesn't conceal Caeruleus. The smoke... is Caeruleus."

The time Fate realized that fact, he started to lower his body. Fate lowered his body to gain momentum, to gain enough strength to do something Fate has been planning.

At that moment, Fate started spinning in circles. Fate spun around, gradually increasing the strength of his spin. Fate started to hear running footsteps incoming at him, but he ignored them.

Fate had realized something: that the attacks of Caeruleus are fake. He is trying to catch Fate off-guard, where Fate is at his most vulnerable.

Finally, the smokes started to spin along with Fate. His plans are all coming together now, but he must remain vigilant. Fate cannot celebrate early. What is not finished is still unfinished.

The footsteps were gone. It is finally gone. The smoke starts to fade away and Fate's plans are slowly being executed. He started to cough blood, and he is feeling dizzy, but he must not stop until he sees Caeruleus.

The smoke finally vanished, and Fate saw Caeruleus standing on the ground, watching everything Fate did.

"So... this is it Fate, huh?" Caeruleus asked Fate. "This is where we part ways, kid. It is a pleasure to train someone that has met my expectations."

Fate never replied and suddenly released his sickle when he js still whirling. Fate also made sure he aimed it at Caeruleus. The moment Fate stopped spinning, he collapsed to the ground, but he suddenly laid on his back to see what will happen.

The sickle Fate had thrown traveled at a high speed. One could estimate that it could decapitate someone, but Caeruleus stood his ground as if the sickle isn't there.

"I... I did it. I... I have finally shown someone what I am capable of..."