21

Scima and Tenka enter the ring and face each other, both already holding the hilt of their sword. They face each other down. Scima talks excitedly before their fight truly begins.

“Tenka, I’ve been looking forward to this duel. Don’t run away again.”

“I did not run. I do not fear you, even after that display of yours. My Class is ‘Swordsman,’ I live by the sword. I will not lose to you, Scima.”

“You’re really not afraid? Makes me think I needed to go further for it all to be worth it in the end. But I won’t try that on you, no matter how much I’m looking forward to fighting Sion in the finals.”

“I will not lose to you.”

Tenka dashes forward, lowering his upper body as he runs across the platform. Scima starts to pull his sword from the sheathe at his waist. However, he was slow. Tenka stands right in front of him, still leaning over. Tenka’s blade is slammed against the small bit of metal already exposed by Scima’s draw. They clash like that, holding each other’s blades in place. Scima smiles at Tenka.

“That slash would’ve hit my guard if I wasn’t already drawing. What are you playing at?” Tenka smiles politely back at him.

“This first strike was just a small greeting. You want this to be fun, yes? Be proud you could come even this far.”

“I shouldn’t be proud of anything less than crushing you. And the fun will be in beating you at your most serious. Then I’ll beat Sion too. I won’t lose to anyone.”

“So violent.”

Tenka lets go of Scima’s blade and backs away, allowing him to draw it fully. Scima does so, and takes one strong step forward. He throws one strong slash at Tenka’s side. Tenka parries it as he takes a step backwards to match Scima. His slight smile never leaves his face and his eyes never open. Scima keeps taking steps forward as he swings his sword, and Tenka continues to be pushed back as he parries each one.

“Sion seems strong. Why are you so certain that you will win?” Scima gives a sharp laugh as he slams his sword into Tenka’s once more.

“Because I intend to win. He doesn’t have the fire to beat me.”

“So confident, and so simpleminded. He seemed quite angry about what you had done to Uro.”

“Friends fight sometimes. Something like that isn’t enough to hurt our bond.”

“I’ve only known him for a day, but Sion seems more virtuous than that. Will he really forgive you so easily? Those sorts of feelings of justice could easily drive him to defeat you, I feel.” Scima doesn’t respond. He slashes at Tenka once more, his anger starting to bubble to the surface. “How do you even know he wants to fight you in the finals? For all you know, he is hoping for my victory rather than yours.”

“You—!”

Scima raises his sword above his head. He brings it down in a powerful overhead slash, intending to break through any and all of Tenka’s defenses. He wants to end the match in a single strike. Tenka deftly evades to the side of the slash. Scima, not able to stop his motion fast enough in his rage, slams his blade down into the ground. Tenka pokes the tip of his blade towards Scima’s hands.

Scima lets go of his sword and makes a fist. He throws a quick straight at Tenka, but again Tenka can dodge the blow without much difficulty. Tenka lifts his blade up towards Scima’s stomach. Scima jumps back quickly, leaving Tenka closer to his sword he left in the ground. Tenka takes the opportunity to grab Scima’s sword and toss it out of the arena. The sword plants itself in the grass just beyond the platform, the hilt sticking out over the stone. Tenka sighs as he starts to approach the sword to push it out of reach entirely.

Scima starts running. Tenka speeds up when Scima passes him, but he cannot catch up. Tenka raises his blade just as Scima reaches his and spins it around to face Tenka once more. Their swords knock against each other as Scima tries to slip past Tenka, away from the edge. However, Tenka is too skillful. Everytime, Scima stops himself short of breaking away as Tenka brings his sword down. Each slash would be devastating if it landed, and could easily be more disadvantageous if Scima properly defended against them. He keeps trying and ultimately returning to his original position near the edge. Finally, Scima gives up and charges at Tenka directly, his blade held ready to thrust. Tenka is caught off-guard, having assumed Scima to be wiser than this. He quickly strikes at where Scima will soon be, only to realize it was a feint. Scima ducks to the side and avoids the slash entirely, making his way past Tenka successfully. Scima points his blade right at Tenka.

“Alright then, time for round two.” Tenka faces him.

“If I had read your feint, would you have simply taken the attack and lost?”

“Hah! I wouldn’t lose that easily! At the very least, I’d take you down with me.” Tenka laughs. “Don’t laugh. Come try me if you think I’m not serious! Come on, I’ll give you one clean blow, then we’ll see who’s laughing!”

“Sorry. I was not mocking you. I quite admire that drive, honestly. But you would really give up a chance to fight in the finals?”

“I would. There’s nothing in it for me if I don’t give every fight my all.”

“You will die an unremarkable death on a battlefield that does not deserve you. But I suppose that sort of death is a part of your own sense of honor.” Tenka charges forward, dragging his blade up at Scima. Scima slips Tenka’s blade into the notch between his own blade and the guard.

“I won’t die.”

Scima twists his sword around in an attempt to shake Tenka’s sword out of his hand. At the same time, he also throws a quick jab towards Tenka’s stomach. Scima’s fist sinks into Tenka’s stomach, but even then Tenka is able to maneuver his blade more deftly. Tenka frees his blade and slides it against Scima’s shoulder, leaving a shallow cut.

Tenka stretches out his blade and turns the sharp edge towards Scima’s neck. Although Tenka does not have a large enough range of motion in his current position to actually make the slash, Scima shivers at the intention. Scima pushes Tenka away. Tenka stumbles slightly. As he recovers, he also takes a step forward and slashes at Scima once more. Scima drives his sword down into Tenka’s. With Tenka unguarded, Scima thrusts his blade forward. Tenka quickly fixes the position of his sword, pointing it so that it would pierce Scima’s chest if he moved any further. They both break away, having taken no damage.

Light begins to gather at one edge of Scima’s blade. He lunges forward, the light streaking behind him as he moves. As he reaches Tenka, Scima starts to pull his sword towards him, the edge without light facing Tenka. Tenka quickly blocks the slash, even while puzzled by the seemingly unused magic. As their blades collide, the light spreads forward and shudders through Tenka’s sword. The light blasts into Tenka and slides him away.

Tenka dashes back to Scima and slashes. Light gathers at the edge of Scima blade and hardens. Tenka’s blade slams into the light. The light shatters and fizzles away. As Tenka regrips his sword as it reenters the open air, Scima swings at him. Tenka reaches over himself with his free hand and grabs Scima’s sword between his fingers. Tenka tries to pull the sword out of Scima’s hand, but Scima keeps his grip. Scima grins.

“You think I’d let go that easy?!”

Scima pulls his sword in, dragging Tenka with it. As Tenka lets go Scima headbutts him. Tenka recoils as their foreheads slam into each other. As he lets his body fall backwards, he swings his sword at Scima, cutting off any further attacks. Tenka makes distance between him and Scima to give himself time to make a more decisive approach. He intends to win the match with his next blow.

However, Scima remains vigilant, not letting Tenka get any closer now that there’s some distance. Light begins to gather along the whole length of his blade. Scima’s sword quickly begins to glow brighter than the sun, making it hard for anyone to fully grasp his actions on the platform, including both Tenka and himself.

Scima looks through the blinding light and locks onto Tenka’s silhouette. With the slightest motion behind it, with the smallest flick of the wrist, Scima throws a wide, loose slash in the general direction of Tenka. The blade of light trails after it. With a single blow, nearly all the light of the magic dimmed.

The first thing anyone sees when their vision recovers is Tenka, standing perfectly still, looking down at the blood of his wound flowing down onto his palm. A large cut has now formed in a line from Scima to Tenka in the stone platform. Tenka had tried to dodge it completely, but the flash of light had come too quickly, cutting his cheek. Tenka keeps looking at the blood on his hand with shock. He opens his eyes slightly and shows a smile more real and more sad than any other he had shown.

“I had not expected you to cut me. Scima, you are truly an impressive warrior. This next attack will be the last. Know that it has been an honor to fight you.”

Tenka stabs his sword into the ground and places his hands atop the hilt, one on top of the other. His power ripples and surges, and a shallow pool of water forms around him. The water begins to warp and form into a shape. Tenka forms several tendrils, the same sort of technique that Uro had used. The tendrils writhe, then shoot towards Scima.

Scima laughs at Tenka’s use of the tendrils, knowing he’s already defeated them once. He remains cautious, as Tenka ought to have some plan to defend against Scima’s counterattack, having seen it once before, but does not shy away from challenging them. As Scima tries to cut through the closest tendril, the end of it splits open. Scima tries to cut through the thin tendrils created at that moment, but Tenka reconstitutes them before they break apart. The other tendrils also split, and together they take hold of Scima. Scima is washed away, his body engulfed in the water’s grip, and forced out of the arena. Tenka slams Scima down into the grass near Sion and Eva.

The tendrils lose their form, splashing even more water to douse Scima with. Scima lies on the wet grass, crossing his arms over his face to cover his eyes.

“Sorry, Lady Eva. I lost after all. Sion… Win for me.” Sion takes a step towards the platform where Tenka already waits, already recovered from his match with Scima.

“I won’t fight for you… But I won’t lose.”