First Meeting and Battle

They stood facing each other just a short distance from the merchant wagon. Natalia had somehow produced two wooden sticks to serve as weapons. A small crowd of curious adventurers began to form, wondering what it was that the Blade Princess was doing.

“I’ll go easy on you,” Natalia smirked. “Winner is determined if the other one can’t fight or yields.”

“Sounds good to me,” Will said. “And I don’t need you to go easy on me.”

“Will stop!” Mina protested.

“Yes, you too, Natalia!” Liandra added. “This was my fault, you were only humoring me. Let’s bring you back to your tent.”

“Will, she’s the Blade Princess,” Mina continued. “You don’t just duel the Blade Princess!”

“I have to do this!” Will and Natalia said in unison, each looking annoyed that the other said the same thing.

“This idiot thinks I’m messing around! I’m going to show him just how outmatched he is!” Natalia pointed her wooden stick.

“That idiot thinks it’s so easy for us to just quit! Like hell I’m going to let that go!” Will pointed his stick as well.

“Come on then,” Natalia mocked. “Hit me if you can.”

Will rushed forward, readying his stick, aimed directly at Natalia’s head. Natalia’s Attack Anticipation activated, placing an image of the stick smashing into the side of her head. Without bothering to look, she blocked the attack. Several blue thread lines formed after Blade Mastery activated. Natalia selected the one that would do the least amount of damage, smashing her weapon against his thigh. He bucked in pain, collapsing right at her feet.

“Give up yet?” Natalia asked, a smug look in her eyes.

Attack Anticipation. Block. Attack Anticipation. Block. Several more images appeared in her mind, multiple attacks from different angles. Natalia parried and blocked each attack. She traced another line, smashing her weapon in his stomach and sending him rolling backwards.

“That should’ve knocked him out,” Natalia gasped.

Attack Anticipation activated.

“What?!” Natalia barely managed to take an overhead strike.

The crowd responded with a roar of excitement. Will wasn’t going down without a fight.

“What’s with your pain tolerance?” Natalia questioned. “You’re insane!”

“I told you!” Will yelled back. “It’s not that easy for me to quit.”

“Dammit!” Natalia feet slid back as Will pressed his stick against her’s. “Fine! I gave you a chance!”

Natalia anticipated another attack, easily brushing his weapon aside. She selected a blue thread that connected to his ribs. A broken rib should put him down. With that, she struck, shattering bone. Will rasped in deep pain, stumbling past Natalia. She turned, kicking him on the butt and knocked him to the ground.

“Aaa…” Will moaned. He tried to get to his feet, but collapsed.

“Told you, I was going easy,” Natalia fumed, looking down on the fallen adventurer. “I’m in a bad mood now, let’s go, Liandra.” She turned to look at the Priestess.

Attack Anticipation activated, an image of the stick bashing the back of her head entering her mind. Natalia spun desperately, barely managing to parry the attack aside. Will had a mad look to him, as he readied himself for another attack. The crowd cheered even louder as he crouched, taking a fighting stance.

“That’s it!” Natalia ground her teeth as she raised her stick. “Don’t blame me if you die from this!”

Natalia charged mana into her weapon, causing it to crack and glow from the overwhelming power. Steam burst from the weapon, the smell of burning wood permeating the air. Will charged, unwilling to back down.

“Truly amazing. He really is worthy!” The same voice from before spoke in Natalia’s mind. She ignored it.

Swinging her mana infused weapon, the attack sent a massive shockwave of energy that kicked up a plume of dust and earth. The force of the swing was too much for the already unstable stick, causing it to shatter in several splinters as it hit the ground. The shockwave traveled several feet, smashing into a merchant wagon and destroying it.

“Yes. It’s decided,” The voice said again.

Natalia was on her back, a sharp pain erupting from her nose. She put her fingers to it. There was blood. Will stood over her, defiant.

“Attack Anticipation failed?” she rasped, covering her bleeding nose with one hand.

“He hit her!” Someone in the crowd yelled.

“She actually went down!” Another cried.

“Surrender.” Will pointed the tip of his stick at her.

Natalia rose, still covering her face even as blood leaked out. Her stick was now just a scorched stub. It crumpled into ash in her hand. An image flashed in her mind. A sword over a coffin as it went down into the ground. A little girl stood in the rain. And she was all alone.

“Blade Ballet,” She muttered the command.

Six blades manifested in the air near her. Each was made of mana, golden, and nearly translucent. She grabbed one of the blade, replacing her stick. Tears began to well in Natalia’s eyes. She ignored them as they fell down her face. For the first time in the fight, Will hesitated. A look of concern was in his face. She let go of her nose, grasping the mana blade with both hands. She was nearly sobbing now. On instinct, she began looking for the blade threads. There were none.

“Divine Magic!” Liandra screamed, casting a spell. “Disarm Aura!”

A field of silver energy engulfed the two of them. Suddenly, she lost the will to grip her blade. Will too dropped his stick. Natalia deactivated her sword technique, falling to her knees. She was crying hard now. Will looked guilty. Shisa appeared from the crowd. She was shouting. Natalia didn’t hear what she was saying. Suddenly, her version began to grow dark. Shisa caught her as unconsciousness took her. As her vision faded, she thought she saw an unknown silver haired woman standing next to Will. She was frowning.