Book Two - Chapter Twelve

“Defeat me?” Gisala scoffed. “You two are in over your heads. I used to be a captain in the Sacred Knights, you know?”

“What?” Ander exclaimed. “How could you do this, then?”

She shrugged. “It’s pretty easy. I just realized I don’t give a crap about hunting demons or saving people. All I want is to live as I please. And this is pretty fun. So, I waited until the Demon King was dead and bailed. Can’t have fun if the world turns to ash, after all.”

Ander snarled. “You’re sick.”

Gisala shrugged again. “Maybe. But you don’t stand a chance of beating me. Flishil.”

She held out a hand and a shield materialized for her to grab. In many ways, it appeared as an unremarkable gray kite shield, only notable for its unusual polish. The surface, however, undulated as it moved, as though it were made of liquid. Despite that, it did not seem in danger of dripping or spilling, even as it was held vertical. More mundane appearing, though still unnaturally clean and lustrous, metal served as bonding at the sides and the edges of the front.

“Let’s see whose Blade is better,” she said, staring at Lusya. “The boy can watch and see.”

Ander scowled and rushed forward. In an instant, he was upon her and striking. She did not move until he was right in front of her, yet she put her shield between them with ease, allowing his blade to scrape harmlessly along the surface. Undeterred, Ander raised his sword for another blow.

Before he could strike, part of the shield seemed to leap out, the liquid of its face forming into a blade and slashing at Ander in a mirror of his own strike. He leaped back, but he was just a hair too slow. The imitation blade dug into his flesh, slashing along his lower chest, sending an arc of crimson spilling onto the ground.

The woman closed in for a follow-up attack, but Ander hurried back out of reach, until he was behind Lusya, where he fell to one knee, clutching at his wound. Gisala chose not to pursue, watching Lusya from a distance. She did not stop smiling, but her eyes were wary and calculating.

“Sorry,” he said, voice thick with pain. “She got under my skin.”

The blow had not been fatal, and Ander’s wound was treatable, but fighting with it would not be smart. It would aggravate the injury and hinder his movement, leaving him open to worse attacks. Considering it was likely his first time receiving an injury anywhere near that severity, it would have been even harder for him to fight.

She shook her head. “It is fine. I do not need your assistance. Wait there until I am done.”

“You know, your cockiness is actually starting to piss me off,” Gisala said, though she was still grinning.

“It is not confidence,” Lusya said. “You simply are not powerful enough to defeat me.”

Going by Lusya’s senses, Gisala was slightly weaker than Kadel had been, and Lusya was stronger than when she had fought him. Blade abilities could turn the tide, but Lusya doubted this woman had anything she could not overcome. Maybe it was confidence, of a sort, but founded in the facts of the situation. The only danger was if the woman had a Full Release, which seemed unlikely given that she was weaker than the wielder of the weakest Full Release Lusya had ever seen.

“Then go ahead and try me,” Gisala said, holding her shield ready to defend.

Waiting and forcing her to attack may have been the best move under ordinary circumstances. Lusya had no doubt she could have done it. She was more patient than most mortals by a significant margin. Gisala’s Blade obviously favored letting her opponent make the first move, and the way she waited made it obvious she knew that. However, outlasting her patience did not serve Lusya’s purpose. Allowing the village to be destroyed would have upset Ariya, and Lusya did not want to waste time here anyway.

She rushed forward, weaving around Gisala and striking at her back with Lunera. Gisala whirled and caught the blow on her shield. As anticipated, the surface of the shield formed into a sword and mirrored her strike. Lusya moved back, but let her sword trail, allowing the mirrored strike to hit it just enough to gauge the attacks power without any large impact on Lusya.

Based on the strength, the blow would have overpowered her if she had tried to guard it. It seemed to somehow have more force behind it than the original attack, despite emulating the exact shape of Lunera’s blade and moving at the same speed.

Gisala surged forward with the shield still up, aiming to ram Lusya with it. Lusya kicked the shield and sent a shockwave into it, stopping Gisala’s advance and sending her skidding back. But she surged forward in an identical attack a moment later. When she got closer, a copy of Lusya’s foot shot out of the shield. Lusya dodged it, noting there did not appear to be any shockwave, and struck at Gisala from the side. Unfortunately, Gisala moved fast enough to block the attack.

Lusya moved away before Gisala could mirror that last attack. From observing her movements so far, it seemed that this Blade, Flishil, could only emulate the last attack that had hit it, and only once. However, it was too soon to be sure.

Still, Lusya was confident she could figure it out. She had fought as part of her father’s forces in the war. Kadel’s Blade had been too straightforward to warrant much probing, but deciphering the abilities of unknown Blades was not new to her. This one’s powers were troublesome, but that was true for many Blades. And most were not so hindered by their wielder.

“Don’t feel bad,” Gisala said. “Everyone struggles. Flishil is pretty amazing, isn’t it? It is my Sacred Blade.”

“I was not feeling bad,” Lusya said. “I can see how many would be caught off-guard. However, it’s abilities are quite simple after some observation.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

Lusya slashed Lunera and was behind Gisala. Gisala was already turning to raise her shield. She had started before Lusya had finished her strike. That wasn’t surprising. Gisala had already seen Lunera’s abilities earlier. That was why Lusya had left herself enough room to strike again without hitting the shield.

She was behind Gisala again. Gisala’s body twisted awkwardly as she tried to stop in the middle of her rapid turn and reverse, but she had no chance of making it in time. Lusya attacked, aiming to cut the woman in half shoulder to hip. At the last moment, Gisala threw herself forward. Lunera cut through her armor, bit into her flesh, and sliced down along her back, leaving an angry red line in its wake, but she avoided death by a hair’s breadth.

She rolled on the ground and stood and turned to face Lusya in a single motion. Lusya was already upon her, stabbing out. She was too close, Gisala didn’t have time or room to raise her shield. She sidestepped the blow, and Lusya threw a vicious kick into her stomach, launching her away, through a wall and into one of the buildings lining the square.

Lusya pursued through the new hole and slashed down at the prone Gisala, but Gisala got her shield up in time to block the blow. Lusya moved away as a mirror of her sword slashed up. Gisala stood as Lusya moved back out the hole in the wall and into the open square.

Gisala charged, but Lusya erected a barrier in the mouth of the hole. Gisala recoiled as she collided headfirst with the invisible wall, clutching and shaking her head. She snarled at Lusya.

“This isn’t going to hold me,” Gisala said.

Lusya did not expect it to. She was simply buying herself a few seconds. Now that the fight had reset, it was time to proceed to her next test. She released Lunera and allowed it to dissolve into nothing.

“Miudofay,” Lusya said under her breath. Between her volume, the distance, and the distraction of his injury, she did not think there was much chance of Ander hearing the name.

The jet-black blade of ruin appeared in her hand to replace its snow-white counterpart. Gisala punched the barrier, shattering it, and walked out of the building. She froze, however, as her eyes locked on the sword.

“What? Two?” she exclaimed.

Lusya raised Miudofay and slashed down, sending a wave of violet flame at Gisala. Rather than block with her shield, Gisala ran to the side, dodging the attack, allowing it to incinerate most of the building behind her, and moving around the square. Lusya would have to be careful about that. Collateral damage did not bother her, but she had two companions who would throw a fit over it. Lusya slashed again, horizontal this time, giving less room to dodge to the sides. Gisala leaped over the attack, and Lusya sent another one at her while she was in the air.

Gisala raised her shield and blocked the torrent. When it passed her by and she emerged from the flames, she was unharmed as she fell back to the ground. She did not attempt to counterattack.

“Boss,” one of the other bandits called.

“Stay out of this,” Gisala replied. “You’re no match for this one.”

Lusya did a brief mental review of what she could be reasonably certain about. The shield could reflect the last attack that hit it once. It could only defend from the front. That was important. She had encountered defensive Blades that worked from all directions, even when it did not logically seem they should. And, while the shield could reflect an attack from the physical weapon of a Soul Blade, it could not do the same with attacks born of another ability, though it could defend against them. At the very least, any normal shield would have been so hot as to burn its wielder’s hands after blocking those flames. It also did not seem capable of reproducing most products of motomancy.

How that would have worked with Blades like Kadel’s, where the physical weapon was the entire ability, Full Releases, or attacks like fire from more mundane sources was unclear. Those ambiguities were also unimportant. Two were avenues of attack she did not even have access to, while the last wasn’t something she had any intention of using.

“I see,” Lusya said. “I think I have learned everything I need to know about your Blade. Now I can simply focus on killing you.”

There were a few other minor details, but she was sure they would resolve themselves soon enough.

Gisala snarled. “I’d like to see you try.”

Lusya surged forward. Gisala raised her shield. She was much too reliant on its abilities. Lusya kicked the side of the shield, driving it aside and throwing Gisala off-balance. Gisala moved away as Lusya followed the momentum of her kick into a slash, but Lusya released a torrent of fire from Miudofay to chase Gisala.

Gisala leaped up into the air to avoid the attack. Lusya unleashed another wave to chase her opponent, then jumped up into the air herself. Gisala blocked the flames with her shield. By the time they had cleared, Lusya was upon her. Gisala’s eyes widened, and she air jumped backward, away from Lusya. She was not trying to counter with her shield. As Lusya had suspected, only the main, liquid surface had the reflective properties. The solid parts and sides were nothing more than sturdy metal.

Lusya stopped herself in the air. She could stand on air for just over a full second now. She released Miudofay and summoned Lunera once again.

Gisala was allowing herself to fall back to the ground, perhaps thinking she would fare better there. Not an unreasonable conclusion, as movement with air jumps was less flexible than movement on the ground, despite the additional dimension.

With a slash of Lunera, Lusya was behind her. Gisala used a short air jump to whirl and raise her shield, while Lusya slashed once again. Realizing the attack was not aimed at her, Gisala leaped back, obviously anticipating the same sequence as before.

However, Lusya had not expected her to fall for the same trick twice. Gisala was arrogant and handicapped by her own fighting style, but she was a skilled combatant. Lusya had opened a connection between the space before her and the space behind Gisala, but Lusya herself had not traveled through it. Gisala passed through the rift, emerging with her back wide open right in front of Lusya.

Lusya stabbed out at Gisala’s throat. At the last moment, Gisala created a foothold and used it to lurch to the side. Instead of piercing her throat, Lunera sliced off her left ear, the flap of flesh plummeting to the ground below. Blood poured forth from the wound, and Gisala howled in pain. She used an air jump to keep herself airborne, and turned, trying to bash Lusya with her shield in a wild blow.

Lusya jumped over the blow into a flip, and brought her heel down on Gisala’s head, unleashing a shockwave to strengthen the blow. Gisala flew down to the ground like a shooting star, crashing through the roof of a building before finally stopping.

Lusya allowed herself to fall to the ground outside the building and waited. Gisala was—as was to be expected, since Lusya hadn’t felt anything break under that last blow—still alive within, though Lusya could not be sure of her exact condition. She did not think going into the enclosed space of the building to check was a good idea. There was no way for Gisala to leave without her knowing anyway.

After several seconds, Gisala jumped out of the hole she had made and landed several feet in front of Lusya. Clutching the back of her head where the blow had struck, Gisala stumbled on landing, and she was panting so hard her entire body heaved with each breath.

“Looks like you were right,” she said. “What do you say you let us go and we call it even?”

“I refuse,” Lusya said. “I have companions who will be upset if I allow you to leave, and you have already inconvenienced me too many times.”

Gisala took a deep breath and, with obvious effort, forced herself to stand straight. “Guess…guess it’s time to stop plying…playing around, then.”

Even if Gisala hadn’t still been swaying on her feet and struggling to speak, it would not have been a convincing bluff. It was doubtful Gisala had concealed her abilities at all. Some fighters did that, though Lusya was not among them. She did not give every fight her full effort, but that was because it was not always necessary, not because she wished to hide something. That said, catching an opponent off-guard with a sudden increase in prowess or a new ability was a valid, if dangerous, strategy. In the long-term, it could even allow one to benefit from a lack of information on their abilities, exploiting fatal errors a more knowledgeable opponent might not have made.

If Gisala was trying to use any of that, the time to reveal her true power had passed long ago. Still, Lusya could not discount the possibility that the woman had some other tricks up her sleeve, so she did not lower her guard.

“Stop right there!” a voice shouted from behind.

Gisala’s eyes widened, suggesting that, whatever this was, it was not what she had had in mind. Lusya had no choice but to turn to look. Now that the fight had stopped, she had noticed. Ariya’s Malice signature was behind her.

A wiry man stood, holding Ariya against him, a knife pressed to her throat.

“I’m sorry, Lusya, I got caught,” she whined, her eyes watery. “Help, please.”

“Don’t move,” the man said. “I was the lookout. You didn’t see me, but I saw you. Now, no matter how fast you are, you can’t beat my knife when it’s right on her skin like this, can you?”

It was possible. It was also not worth the risk. It was hard to imagine a worse situation than this. There was no way she could have known about this man. She had sensed plenty of others near where they had started, but knowing one was a hidden lookout was beyond the scope of her abilities. Still, she wished she had done a more thorough sweep of the area.

“Bastard!” Ander exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

“You stay put too!” the man replied.

Lusya sensed Gisala closing in from behind and moved to the side to dodge a punch.

“Guess you’re not just gonna let me beat you, huh?” Gisala said. Despite her confident tone, her voice was strained and raspy, blood covering the side of her head. “But I bet you won’t fight back, will you? That puts us in a bit of a stalemate.”

She moved away, back toward her group of bandits, never taking her eyes off Lusya. Gisala’s footing was still precarious. She almost seemed ready to topple with each step. “Get over here, Rojer.”

The wiry man moved to join her, dragging Ariya along with him.

“Now, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Gisala said. “You’re gonna let us leave, nice and peaceful. With your kid, of course. Don’t worry, we won’t hurt her. And if you’re really so brave and strong, you can just come get her later, right?”

“She will!” Ariya shouted.

“Shut up, kid!” the wiry man said.

Gisala chuckled, then winced. “We’re not gonna make it easy for you, though. Dereo, give the signal.”

“Right,” a human man with curly black hair among the bandits said. He pulled a horn off his belt and blew into it. Its call echoed out, no doubt audible throughout the village.

“Well then, this is goodbye,” Gisala said. “Or maybe ‘see you later.’ Oh, but do give us a head start. Maybe a couple days. If we see you following before then, Rojer’s hand might slip.”

She and her entourage cleared out with Ariya, leaving the corpses of their comrades behind. Lusya couldn’t do anything. She had no choice but to watch them leave. And she could not pursue even after they had gone. It was not worth the risk of them following through on their threat. By the time the grace period was over, who knew where they would be?