23. Duels and Dances

Not even having been given the adequate time to figure out what was going on, Yumino found himself in the middle of an improvised arena, facing the girl whom he was supposed to find at home.

On the other side of the arena, Nima gripped sharp daggers in both of her hands, throwing different kinds of daggers at Yumino through her gaze.

"Ready?" asked Averin, who had quickly taken the role of a referee.

"Ready for what? Can someone tell me what's going on?" the panicked elf asked.

"Come on, Yumino! Even you can recognize a duel when you see one!" Gavin answered with a spirited laugh.

"And how did I get into a duel all of a sudden?"

The answer should have been obvious, so for the sake of Nima's pride, nobody responded to his question.

"Don't worry, little guy! Velmira's potion should keep you alive!" Garron added.

Before the two entered the arena, Velmira handed both Yumino and Nima a potion each, telling them that it served to heal wounds for the next couple of hours.

"Wait, was I really supposed to drink tha—"

"Fight!"

Upon Averin's signal, Nima didn't waste a second and closed in on her archer.

Yumino reacted with a loud "wow," barely dodging the first strike that came from the girl.

But Nima was just warming up. Without giving the elf any time to regain his footing, she continued to attack, slashing away at Yumino's clothes as he was barely dodging her strikes.

Overwhelmed, Yumino took a second to look at the eyes of the girl. There was not a sliver of doubt in her gaze. Convinced that he had drunk the potion, she was intentionally going for his vitals.

Realizing his life was in danger, a sudden jolt ran through Yumino. It felt just as when the drakes were about to do him in.

For a moment, Yumino's vision turned red as his survival instincts kicked in once again.

He found an opening—just enough to kick Nima. Once she was far enough, Yumino readied an arrow and shot at her.

After receiving the kick, Nima quickly regained her balance and moved out of the way. She escaped mostly unhurt, but she was now far from the elf.

Fortunately, Yumino had not lost his sanity like the last time. He was able to quickly calm himself down, grab the potion he kept in his clothes, and drink it.

"You know, a duel is pretty unfair for a bowman!" he shot back, now full of confidence.

The arena was frozen still in astonishment when they realized how close Yumino was to losing his life. This included Nima, but she quickly regained her game face and lunged at him.

"You're an idiot!" she screamed, more so angry at herself for not noticing that the man had not drunk his lifeline until that point.

Thus the fight continued. Now, both of them, full of confidence, exchanged blows in close proximity, making the fight seem more like a dance.

Before long, their expressions turned to smiles. Neither of them gave any ground, but they seemed to be having fun. Getting closer to one another with every strike, their moves filled with passion and unexpected elegance.

Yumino dodged every strike Nima delivered. In return, he resorted to throws, grabbing the lady whenever she would get careless and tossing her to the other side of the arena. Every single time, Nima would land gracefully on both of her feet and prepare herself for an incoming arrow.

"Ahh..." Velmira sighed from the grandstands. "Look at them... I really don't stand a chance..."

"Come on, Velmira!" an excited Garron intervened. "You're underestimating yourself too much!"

"Well, someone here seems to be itching for a fight, too! How about we release some steam later then?"

While the three heroes were sitting and enjoying the show, tensions quickly rose because of the heated yet beautifully executed duel. Especially for Garron, who had a passion for fighting and would always feel his blood boiling when he was left out of such a spectacle, he was barely keeping himself from jumping in.

"Be careful there, Velmira!" Gavin also intervened.

"Don't forget gladiators are pretty bad at holding back!" he said, reminding her of the harsh past the giant carried on his back.

The banter between the three continued for the next five or so minutes while the two elves were fighting; that was until a bright crimson flame flickered in the arena.

"That's my boy!" the sorceress screamed, proud that the potion she gave Yumino before had fulfilled its hidden role.

For a second, Yumino was held back by the new yet familiar color of his flame, but the heat coming out of it was no joke.

"I'll have you answer later for this, Velmira..." he said to himself while readying his shot.

Nima was already prepared to dodge, as Yumino's moves had become too predictable for a fiery arrow to make a difference, but something felt wrong.

"Now!"

As another elven voice screamed inside Yumino, the one arrow held on his bow became two, then four, and by the time he released them, eight crimson arrows flew towards the unsuspecting girl.

She clicked her tongue as she realized she couldn't dodge all of them, so she prepared herself to take one of them in full, deflecting the body of the arrow with her dagger and letting only the fire touch her.

Once the fire dissipated, Yumino let down his bow. His morals made his heart scream at what he had done to the girl who fell to her knees. He wished he could have found another way to calm her down, but the sudden challenge left him with little room to maneuver.

In truth, he might have also let himself loose a bit too much.

But Averin didn't declare a winner. Yumino looked at her confused, yet the girl's stoic expression remained unchanged.

That's when the thought crossed his mind: Yumino had never confirmed the winning condition of the duel.

Time seemed to have slowed down for the elf as he hurried to ready another arrow. At the same time, he shifted his gaze to his adversary, who was already back up on her feet.

High above Nima, one of her daggers was falling. It distracted Yumino, earning her the time she needed to ready her strike.

The girl turned around, put all of her force in one leg, jumped off the ground, and kicked the knife with all her might.

Yumino managed to ready a piercing shot—the strongest arrow he had ever learned—and he aimed it at the flying dagger.

As both weapons flew towards one another, the crowd held their breath. Only when the dust settled did they let out a gasp.

Once the victor had been decided, what followed weren't standing ovations, but worried looks at the state the loser was left in.