Chapter 15

I still had no idea how I was going to win, but... this felt good. It felt right. Even if I lost here, this was me changing.

Lawrence stopped about 5 feet back from me. The wind blew around us in a moment of silence. The sun set in the distance, far behind him, past the ledge of the mountain, over a beautiful landscape. Was my old world this beautiful too? Maybe I had never really looked at it.

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My leg was killing me. The cut wasn't wide, but it was deep. It wasn't broken, but I was pretty sure Lawrence had gouged the bone. It took every bit of my strength just to stay standing while leaning on my sword. I desperately wanted to take even 1 more step. I would give anything to stand between William and Lawrence. Please, any god, any monarch, don't let me watch another one of my students die. I closed my eyes tight as I prayed the words in my head over and over.

The sound of metal scraping on stone made me open them again. William had picked up his sword and held it up. Something changed. He wasn't shaking anymore. In fact, it didn't seem like he was afraid at all anymore.

"AHHH!" William let out a battle cry before charging.

He had clearly been given training and had the basics of form and combat down, but against Lawrence? I wanted to close my eyes again. It was obvious to anyone watching how this was going to go. I'm sure it was even obvious to William. But he charged anyway, without hesitation. And for some reason, I couldn't avert my gaze.

Lawrence lifted his sword and clashed it against William's while flicking it in a way that caused William's sword to be flung from his grasp. He made disarming the boy look so easy. But William didn't let that faze him. He continued with the charge and tackled Lawrence. This surprised him at least. For a moment, he folded over the boy and was shoved a dozen or so feet back, but quickly regained his balance and planted his feet. William continued to push while yelling and trying to grab behind Lawrence's legs to make him lose balance, but gained no more. Lawrence scowled down at him and slammed the pommel of his sword into William's back. William grunted and fell to his knees from the blow, but didn't let go of Lawrence. Lawrence spun his sword, so the blade pointed down towards Williams' back.

A blur streaked into the clearing from the ledges east and slammed into the side of Lawrence's face. A stone had hit him just below his right eye. It stunned him and knocked him off balance, causing him to drop the sword before he could stab William, and he stumbled a few steps back. William lifted his legs from under him, and Lawrence fell onto his back.

The feline beastkin Betty dropped from the ledge above the east side of the clearing where the stone had come from. She was out of breath, and her hands and feet were bare and cut up. Had she been running all over this mountain? She moved with a grace and speed that suggested the scar on her throat may have not been from a simple childhood accident. She sprinted across the clearing towards the two and grabbed Williams' dropped sword on the way.

William had climbed atop Lawrence and was throwing punches at him. He got a few in, but Lawrence caught one of his fists, hit William once hard in the face, and threw him off. William tumbled before coming to a stop a few feet away from me.

I stumbled forward. The pain in my leg was unbearable, so I used my sword as a crutch as much as I could, inching my way toward them.

Lawrence rolled to his side in the opposite direction he threw William, while reaching for the other sword on his belt. During the roll, he drew it free and used its magic at the same time, sending a blade of wind towards Betty. She was quick and dove to the side, avoiding it, but it bought Lawrence enough time to stand back up. Betty didn't stop for a moment, though, and charged again. Once more, Lawrence swung his blade through the air. He aimed higher, for her chest and neck area. Betty slid below where she thought it would be, but it was a feint. No wind was sent forward. Instead, seeing Betty slide, Lawrence stepped towards her and brought the sword down hard. She raised her own sword to block it, and they slammed together. Lawrence leaned into it with both hands while Betty tried to hold, but the strength difference was too much, and she was quickly losing as he pressed his blade harder.

William got back to his feet. He looked exhausted, but nowhere near ready to give up. I hadn't known him for long, but he was a good kid. I just felt it. Kind, tenacious, and braver than he gives himself credit for. There was also a unique kind of strength and compassion that came from a broken past. He reminded me so much of Sasha. I let myself fall to the ground gently and called out to him.

"William! Take this."

He turned to look at m. I slid my sword across the ground, where it stopped at his feet. I wanted to help, but I knew I would only get in the way. He picked it up. I wanted to say something to him. To give him some words of encouragement or advice. But nothing came to mind. He nodded at me like he understood what I wanted to convey. I nodded back.

He ran towards Lawrence, who had almost fully pushed the blade against Betty. Lawrence was forced to leap back and away from her, to deal with William. William charged the same way as last time, likely baiting Lawrence to try the same disarming maneuver. But Lawrence knew better. He deflected the blade to the side and tried to counter. He lifted his blade above William. Before he could bring it down, Betty threw her own sword, forcing Lawrence to use his to deflect it instead of finishing his attack. Before William could make his own counter, he was kicked back and tumbled towards Betty. As he collided with her, Lawrence activated his radiant arms.

No! Not again!

"NOO!"

Betty grabbed William and turned before shoving herself and him apart. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best possible choice. Unfortunately, the angle of the attack and delayed reaction, caused it to hit them anyway. William was hit in the thigh, a deep blow, but not fatal. Betty was struck on the wrist of her left hand. It severed it, and the hand fell to the ground. She fell back, clutching her wrist and screaming silently in pain.

There was a brief reprieve. William stood up and held the cut on his thigh with one hand while looking between Lawrence and Betty. Betty did her best to squeeze her wrist with her other hand to slow the flow of blood, but it didn't look good. Lawrence's sword now emitted a red-hot glow, like the other had. He sheathed it. He was breathing heavily, his eye that had been struck by the rock was beginning to swell and continued to bleed, his nose was bleeding from Williams' punches, and he was without a usable weapon. Despite all that, though, he was smiling. He was loving this, and he was still confident in his victory.

I had never felt so helpless in my life as I watched. The Sword Betty had thrown was lying far to the north end, the one Lawrence had dropped when he got hit with the rock was the closest. It was between them, but slightly closer to William. William looked at it, and Lawrence smiled.

William ran towards it. Lawrence didn't move from where he stood. Just smiling. William picked up the sword and held it while glaring daggers at him.

"Well? Come on, William. Surely a hero can kill an unarmed man, right? Will you charge again? Maybe try one of your pathetic tricks? Or do you have another friend to sacrifice?" Lawrence taunted.

"Don't let him provoke you. Just focus." I yelled out.

"When I take you back, we're going to make sure this doesn't ever happen again. There are a lot of things you won't be needing. Arms and legs will be the first of them." Lawrence continued.

"He's just trying to scare you. Don't listen." I told William.

He seemed to believe what Lawrence was saying. There was a moment of fear on his face, but it turned to anger. He began circling Lawrence slowly while looking him up and down. Looking for any openings or signs of weakness.

There were none.

He continued walking.

Lawrence taunted some more. "Come on, William. You're really going to make me come to you? I don't think you have time to waste here. Hahaha!"

He laughed while gesturing to the badly wounded prisoners around the clearing, including me.

I wanted to tell him not to worry about that, but Lawrence was right. At one point, time may have been on our side, but now? Time was quickly becoming HIS ally.

William stopped after a half circle. His back now to the open ledge with the sun setting at his back as he stared down Lawrence.

"Simon's right. You'll never be a real knight. You can't even beat your worst student, and you're too much of a coward to approach him. I guess it suits you to wait for others to do the hard part of your job. Explains why you became a teacher instead of joining the war. Pathetic." William taunted.

The smile vanished from Lawrence's face as William spoke. Insults that perfectly hit every weak point on his ego. "YOU STUPID, INSOLENT, WORM! You know NOTHING about me! I Should have just killed you the moment you were summoned. You are cattle! You-"

He was interrupted by William laughing. "Hahahah. Sorry. It's just, I can't take you seriously after all your mistakes. Letting us sneak past you and escape, then getting men under your care killed? I guess that last part is also typical for you, though, right?"

I didn't understand why William was provoking him, but it was working. I had never seen Lawrence so angry and silent about it. He spoke as he started forward.

"... I have to thank whatever god or monarch gave you that blessing. Because killing you just once won't be nearly enough."

William backed away from him until he was just a few feet away from the ledge of the cliff. Lawrence may have been angry, but he wasn't going to let his guard down. William took a stance with the sword at his side, partly turned, ready to swing. Lawrence didn't slow. He approached William, daring him to make a move.

William crouched low. The light of the setting sun now shining directly into Lawrence's face. He squinted his eyes when it hit and raised a hand to block his face. William didn't wait for the opening; he expected it and was already moving. Lawrence moved at the same time with his other hand. His fist hit William in the side of the face, sprawling him across the floor near the ledge. Lawrence looked down and gripped the handle of the sword sticking out of the side. William had succeeded to a degree. It was a good blow, but the punch had stopped him before it went too deep.

Lawrence pulled the sword free with a grunt and threw it hard against the ground away from anyone. He held his hand over the wound as he approached William on the ground.

"I should've known YOU would do something so pathetic!"

No response.

"Oh, don't be knocked out. I'm just getting started. It's time for your reward for pissing me off!"

Still nothing.

Lawrence bent down and grabbed Williams' neck before lifting him. William sprang to life and punched him hard in the fresh wound. Lawrence dropped him and recoiled back. William threw another punch at his face, and it landed. He wound up for another. Lawrence yelled and tackled him. He crashed down on top of William, who did his best to guard his face as Lawrence laid into him with punches. After taking a few, he managed to raise himself off the ground and get into a hug close to Lawrence's chest so that he couldn't be hit. Lawrence laughed.

"HAHAH! What's wrong?! WHERE'S ALL YOUR FIGHT GONE?!"

"...it’s .... ...."

"What was that!? I couldn't quite hear you!"

"IT’S. RIGHT. HERE!" He screamed.

The sword in William’s hand was hot enough that it made a sizzling sound that I could hear as far away as I was, as it contacted his skin. He barely had the strength left to pull it from the sheath, let alone make an attack with it. There was only one option for him. The white sword emitted a light from the base of the blade that traveled up the edges to the tip. As it did, the blade itself melted into a molten puddle below, leaving only the steel base, and the handle. The light shot from the end and hit the ground between Williams' feet behind Lawrence.

There was a bright flash of light followed by a deafening explosion.