Chapter 167

A blue streak shot through the body and wrapped itself around Sigurd's sword arm. With a quick tug, he went flying through the air, unable to brace himself in time after the lack of sensation he felt when his sword ran through the Assassin, with no resistance at all as if piercing air.

Twisting his body mid-throw, he landed on his feet heavily as the sand scattered on impact, his sword thrust into the ground to help kill the momentum. In an instant, he grabbed the whip binding his arm and tugged, fully intent on dragging the attacker out.

The hologram he had stabbed flickered once, then disappeared, revealing Assassin below it who had twisted her body sideways to avoid the crushing blow as Gram ripped past her spine and into her jacket, slicing the threads apart and sinking into the sand below her.

Before Gram had even finished pushing all the way through, her scarf was already in her left hand, lashing out like a whip in the out of the hole she had crashed into and wrapping around Sigurd's right arm all the way up to his shoulder. Taking advantage of the brief gap generated by her hologram shroud on top of her, she threw him hard.

He managed to recover almost instantaneously, and pulled hard.

There was no contest in their strength. While she was strong, it was nowhere enough to match one of the premier Sabers in the galaxy, the legend that had crushed the Cartel Dragon of Corellus, an organization said to rival the Intergalactic Banking Clan, also known as F.A.F.N.I.R., and the brothers that spearheaded the criminal society, Nibelung and Schilbung. His fame was on a similar degree to Siegfried, who had dealt with the organizations strongest asset, the planet destroyer cyborg dragon that the organization was named after, and the pillar of their rise to infamy.

Like reeling in a particularly stubborn fish, he felt some resistance, and then his opponent popped out of the hole she had created when falling down, a shower of sand shooting out with her as it fell off her clothes and suit.

She was no longer clad in the school clothes that Gray frequently saw her wear as casual clothes whenever they went out. Gone was the form fitting bloomers and gym shirt with her name across 'Excalibur' written in Japanese across her chest. Instead, she was now sporting an entirely different look, one that was more appropriate to the technology level of her galaxy.

A latex-like material stretched across her chest and back as a skin tight undersuit, her entire stomach exposed, with her legs covered by tights of similar material. Metal clasps went around hips and propping below her budding chest, electrical blue lines running across them, with other neonlines tracing her body's curves across her outfit, the very picture of a sci fi skinsuit, with high rates of skin exposure. On her neck, a collar led to large 'X' at the base of her neck, humming and emitting a faint light as three circles positioned at the left, right and bottom of the X seemed to circulate with blue liquid, a circuit of energy serving as a crucial part of the system that made up her combat suit.

Her slender arms were covered by lavender and royal blue with long neon blue lines running down them, and her shoes were made of an unknown metal, a far cry from the sneakers Gray saw her wearing before. An X just like the one below her neck was marked out on her foot wear, and even her cap had changed from gold to cobalt, glowing like the rest of her outfit.

Looking into her eyes, Sigurd could see the energy running through them, turning their color into cerulean, blue lightning flashing in circles around the irises.

Borrowing Sigurd's strength, she flew towards him at great speeds, her right arm poised to strike the moment she entered his range. The sword in her hand glimmered as it shifted into maximum output, the blade matching her outfits color as more patterns appeared on its surface, the guard segmenting to reveal a blue underlying base all the way up to the pommel.

Raising his Gram one-handedly, he met Assassin head on.

The world around turned into a flurry of sparks, fierce howling and blue streaks from the swords flashing against each other. The scent of melted stone drifted in the air, sand being kicked up by the swings instantly vaporized by Secret-calibur as the plasma blade turned the silicate into slag, Gram pulverizing the sand and melting it through pure friction as it travelled in the air.

Countless arcs of cerulean clashed against light emerald as their blades strived against each other, a heavy greatsword pitted against a plasma blade. In the span of a few seconds, MHX had made dozens of strikes, Gram fending them off and then executing a vicious counter attack that forced MHX to bend acrobatically midair, her suit aiding her as she stretched and contracted her muscles just enough to rotate around the scarf still entwined around Sigurd's arm.

Once she dodged, Sigurd pulled on the scarf again, pulling her back into range of his blow that was now on the verge of cutting her in half. Without missing a beat, MHX pulled harder, dragging herself so close that she was practically in Sigurd's embrace, the edge of Gram completely missing her as his arm completed the swing to wrap her in a pseudo hug.

Slithering across his body with practiced ease, she deftly avoided the spikes and vaulted over his shoulder on the side that was wrapped with the scarf, twisting her arm and wrapping the length of scarf between his arm and hers around his neck in one go. Far above them, in the sky above their head, daggers floating in the air hurtled down as the wind whipped past them, mystic missiles of demonic metal screaming towards Assassin, a single dagger packing enough kinetic energy to tear her arm clear off, combat suit or no.

Metal creaked as Assassin bent, pulling backwards while her legs were braced on the back of his knees, the scarf digging deeply into his metal choker that wrapped around his neck, preventing the flesh from being squeezed. Currently, he was in no danger of being choked to death, but if both he and Assassin pulled, either the scarf would snap, the collar would break and crush his neck or it would shatter and the splinters pierced his neck. Considering the scarf had survived the contest of strength between the two of them, it was more likely the latter two would occur.

With his face towards the sky for his body to act as a meat shield, his entire body turned into an L-shape, his knees bent at a 90 degree angle while his body hung over Assassin.

That brought his arms closer to the ground though, and immediately twisted his body, bringing his free arm onto the ground and allowing him space to leverage as he flipped his body to the left, bringing MHX clinging onto his back with him as he barrel rolled in the air just as his daggers rained down on the spot where they had been, throwing up several small spouts of sand upwards. Successfully dodging his own daggers, he moved on to dealing with MHX while deactivating the runes on his dagger.

For MHX herself, she was ready to run through Sigurd the moment he started moving, but his barrel roll threw her off. Keeping a tight grip on her sword, she wrapped her legs tightly around Sigurd's torso to keep from being thrown off, her left arm entangling deeper into the scarf as she clung on to him. The world spun in front of her eyes as they dodged, vertigo setting in deep within the pit of her stomach, and then they were gliding across the sand as Sigurd shed momentum.

Drawing back her sword, she held it as far away from Sigurd's body as possible, the blade parallel to the ground. The problem though, was that her blade was too long to be suited for close range combat. A dagger could be thrust with minimum distance to penetrate flesh, but a sword had to have enough space to be swung, otherwise she would be just pressing the blade against Sigurd's flesh and trying to push it through.

Of course, Secret-calibur being an energy blade helped to alleviate that problem, but Sigurd's flesh was exceptionally tough, the skin resistant to laser bolts and energy swords. To pierce through, she couldn't do it with a half-hearted attack, forcing her into a large windup motion for the slash.

Giving Sigurd just enough time to trace his runes and cast them.

His finger swiped twice in the air, drawing the figure of an X that manifested physically, the same color as his eyes. It momentarily brightened, then he swiftly traced two more runes, his finger moving down vertically several times, muttering the names under his breath.

"Hagalaz-Isa"

Runes were fast and easy to cast, as long as one had the sufficient mental concentration and proper training to wield them properly. For Sigurd, this was all done as easily as breathing, in the mere blink of an eye.

MHX raised her sword to block the sudden hail of icy spears, each a jagged icicle ready to impale her as they swooped down on her from above, each icicle lance as thick as her thighs, and twice as long as her arm. Of course, Sigurd himself was also at danger from his own spell, but Gram was more than sufficient for him to ward off any projectiles coming at his head, the large blading doubling as protection from the few weak strikes Assassin threw at him while warding off his ice spears.

Keeping Gram in her face to both defend and block her vision, his free hand shot up, grabbed an icicle, and then with one smooth motion stabbed the point behind him where Assassin was clinging on and fighting off the onslaught of ice.

The hail of ice ended just as abruptly as it began, the chill of the ice disappearing as the suns melted them into water, the puddles sinking into the sand and quickly evaporating into the dry air. However, Assassins still felt the cold penetrate her body from the side.

Blood dripped down from her left hip, just below the metal band that wrapped from the back to her belly along the upper contours of her hip. Piercing through her flesh, was the transparent body of an icicle, already melting from the sun and her body heat, but the damage was already done. The tip was only stopped from penetrating to the bone because it was slightly off in aim, scraping against the metal bands before it slid past it and entered her body, helping to disperse some of the momentum and chipping off the tip of the icicle as well.

Nevertheless, MHX reacted instantly in spite of the pain. She immediately brought her whole body up while dropping her left hand down, still wrapped in the scarf bound around Sigurd's neck, the icicle meeting her fist travelling downwards and snapping it in two. While it did tear the wound a little wider, she had at least broken it from the control of Sigurd's hand, who was unable to stab her unless he reached further backwards with his hand with the stub of the icicle left, which would barely inflict any damage.

Yanking backwards, she tugged once more on the scarf, shifting it upwards and pulling his jaw up as he tried to suplex her into the sandy ground. His neck craned backwards painfully as his neck resisted her arm, keeping his other arm loose as he held it close to his head to avoid adding his own strength into the bind and killing himself.

While he was distracted, she twirled her sword and held it up to the wound at her side with the bit of icicle still stabbed in. With a sharp hiss, the ice melted under the presence of the energy blade, and then pressing it even closer, she released a sharp hiss out of her clenched teeth as Secret-calibur cauterized the wounds with its extreme heat. The suit had no built in healing functions, so she had to rely on extreme measures in the heat of battle.

The moment she sensed Sigurd start to move, she moved the sword away from her wound to avoid accidentally cutting herself as he realized what she was trying to do and jerked as hard as he could without making the grip of the scarf around his metal collar, and now under his jaw, any tighter. Feeling her slide on his back, he traced the next few runes, then set to work untangling the scarf from his right arm, which had been ingeniously looped through the hilt of Gram as well to lock it in place and make moving it difficult.

MHX had taken many bounty targets over her years of travel, and had picked up many techniques, methods and strategies to use against different enemies. The 'Saber-killer' that self-proclaimed to be a 'knight', but would perform fair and square surprise attacks under the cover of darkness, sometimes when her targets were taking shower, sleeping or otherwise engaged. Her fearsome reputation was built upon all these successful feats, and her class as an Assassin in the holy Grail War was well-deserved.

A sideways S, a K without the vertical line and another S but this time with three lines and a shortened top and bottom appeared, each multiplying around his body until there were at least one floating near each individual limb, as well as on the front and back of his torso.

The runes of the sun, fire and endurance.

Assassin let out a muffled scream as she felt her bare flesh sear against the scorching hot skin of Sigurd, the acrid smell of melting skin reaching her nose as she leapt off his back and tried to distance herself as much as she could while not letting go of the scarf entwined around his neck. Even with how much she had wrapped around his arm and neck, there was still enough length for her to back off while keeping it securely tied around her left hand.

For Sigurd though, his endurable body, further fortified by Eolh, was able to withstand the immense heat that focused the sun's rays already beating down on them and amplifying the phantom heat that surrounded him, calling forth a semblance of the flames that licked at Brynhildr's body as she slept in that silent hall as part of her punishment. While there was no visual indicator besides the air suddenly turning hazy, the temperature around him had skyrocketed to immense degrees. If it wasn't for his body, armor and experience in the forge with the heat while making Gram, he would have succumbed to it as well.

His hand grabbed the loose end that was just under his shoulder, tugging it and passing it through the rings it had looped through. He had pulled it out and was just about to rip it free of the vambrace it had gotten snagged on when he felt a rising pressure around his neck. Without looking back, he could tell that MHX was pulling on the scarf without all her might, trying to crush his throat before he could break free of the bindings around his arm and neck.

Gritting his teeth, tugged the scarf down to his choker as much as he could, though he could feel his face tilting more and more towards the sky as the fabric slipped upwards and arrive at the tip of his neck where the jaw started, snugly fitting there and bypassing the choker. His face tilted up towards the sky, leaving him unable to see the scarf tied around his arm, but with the memory of what he had seen he moved his left hand back to his right arm and undid the snagged parts even while he felt the pressure on his neck increase.

The moment he did so, he instantly felt the pressure loosen marginally, but then it tightened back again, his head snapping back upwards as Assassin pulled from behind when he tried to lift the scarf from his neck. He could feel his legs shifting against the sand as he was pulled bodily into her direction, the grains under his feet turning to glass from the heat.

Changing tactics, he turned around to face her, the scarf twisting as his neck rubbed against it, then he was charging towards MHX.

Faced by the unexpected charge, she slackened her grip on the scarf, but Sigurd already had a starting boost from her efforts a second ago. Pivoting on one foot, the other kicked out against the sand and shot him forward into a dash that melted sand and sent glass beads flying into the air, heat radiating off him like an open furnace. He couldn't maintain the heat for much longer, lest his stamina run out while being sapped by the heat, but for now it served as a strong deterrent against MHX.

Backpedaling, she jumped back as far as the scarf would allow and lifted her sword to cross it against Gram, keeping it from cutting her scarf apart. The flat of her energy blade came close to the scarf, pressing down it lightly, but she managed to stop Gram in place. Both her arms trembled as she kept a two-handed grip on the Secret-calibur, her seared hands wracked in pain after she had touched his back when the temperature shot up.

The blade of Gram slid around Secret-calibur as Sigurd when low, ducking far below the two blades and slipping close to MHX. Before she could react, his torso was already twisting, his right leg lifting off the ground as he rotated his entire body, the scarf connecting them throwing MHX off balance as his strength suddenly increased, though at the cost of great discomfort around his neck as it tightened.

*BOOM*

An arc of sand floated in the air, little specks of glass glittering in the air, as Sigurd's burning greaves slammed into MHX's left thigh, the edges of her black shorts fraying from the heat as the skin instantly blackened, intense pain flashing up to her brain. At the same time, his twist around made Gram spin around Secret-calibur, diverting the strength she used to block it towards the same direction the scarf and kick sent her, throwing her entire body off to the side.

Tumbling head over heels in the sand, her left arm snapped her body to a halt as the scarf stretched to its full length, her ahoge knocked askew as her jacket fell off her shoulders and lay on the sand. Without thinking, her body reacted automatically, her hands reaching into the miniature portals that her suit could create, similar to the portals that provided supporting fire from the cannons mounted on the Dun Stallion. Withdrawing a flashbang from the storage, was already rolling to the side to avoid the strike she anticipated from Sigurd as she pulled the pin and chucked it into the air above.

A brilliant flash occurred, with even Gray wincing though she was watching at a distance. The old man though, didn't so much as blink, keeping his eyes trained on the two as they fought the whole time.

"Not half-bad, he knows how to use it too. That girl though…"

He muttered to himself as he spectated, stroking his chin in a way that heavily contrasted with his youthful appearance.

Sigurd wasn't as near as MHX believed him to be though. Instead of rushing up to her and slashing at her directly with Gram, he had instead thrown one of his daggers at her and then set to work getting the scarf off him, his hands unhooking the strip of fabric across his armor. While it was true he could use it to his advantage, MHX could too, and it impaired his movements as well, restraining his hand and neck, as well as making it difficult to fight when MHX utilized it to dodge, throwing himself off and letting her move acrobatically as well.

Within his mask, he could feel his breath growing rougher and harsher as the heat sapped his strength and stamina, the combo of his own runes and the suns beating down on his body backfiring as his body grew more and more tired, much faster than usual. While his body was mostly impervious, it didn't mean he was completely unaffected. Wilfully ignoring the deadly temperature, he ducked as his instincts flared, something thrown over his head landing on the sand behind him.

A moment later, the sand exploded, a wave of kinetic force slamming into his back and sending a ripple omnidirectionally in the sand, his body lurching forward like a drunkard as he felt something like a truck crashing into him from behind.

The mask protected from most of the effect, but he was disoriented for a moment, almost falling face first into the sand in front of him. Seizing the opportunity her concussion grenade had created, Assassin ran forward and swung her sword in a powerful downward stroke, the sword a blue streak as it went from above her head towards her feet.

Even so, Sigurd was able to raise his sword in time to parry, his right hand still bound with MHX through the scarf blurring into a wide sweep that aimed at pulling her completely off-balance and opening her up for a counter-attack.

To his surprise, he felt his entire right arm dislocated with a clean 'pop' while his body spun clockwise.

One second, MHX was in front of him, and then the next she was behind his left shoulder, his right arm pulled out it's socket.

Going along with the momentum of his rightward sweep when he tried to imbalance her, she had instead borrowed his strength and sprinted alongside his swinging arm, using him as a pivot point to pull his right arm and dislocate it, if not outright tearing it off his body.

"Khr!"

He took his first injury of the duel as MHX stabbed her sword towards his heart, the blade slitting his flesh as she put in all her strength, along with the residual momentum from her large swing aided by Sigurd with the scarf. It was just enough to pierce his skin, but she soon found her sword stopping place. When she tried to pull it out, it refused to budge, completely stuck in place.

Shifting to the side, Sigurd allowed the sword to pierce him while missing his vitals, instead shearing the flesh just next to his lungs and heart, where his armpit was. Without a second of hesitation, he clamped down on the energy blade, his forearm pinning against his body as he endured the pain from the active energy blade.

At the same time, the daggers broke free from the sand and went flying towards MHX, forcing her to release her grip on the hilt of her sword and dodge, opting to jump up instead of getting closer to Sigurd. Hanging in mid-air, she flipped forward while tucking her legs into her chest, reducing her profile as the daggers zoomed past her body. Sigurd dropped the Secret-calibur to the ground, stabbing Gram upright as well.

In the next instant, Sigurd grabbed his right arm and pulled it hard. The joints slid back into place, the pain over in an instant. Grabbing the upright Gram with his right hand, he drove the point of his sword into the fabric of the scarf, carefully aiming it so he didn't cut himself. The emerald blade sank into the scarf and into the sand, his strength driving it deep like a hammer striking a nail into wood.

The scarf split in the middle, the woven threads parting under the savage thrust of the greatsword. Yet even Gram was unable to completely sever it in half even with the strength of Sigurd's arms, the depleted Artorium strands used to create the scarf holding strong in the face of brute strength and a sword that slew dragons. A gap was created in the middle, but not enough to break it yet.

Raising his sword, he lifted over his shoulder to swing one more time, intent on finishing the job this time. Just behind him, the daggers occupied MHX as she twirled and danced in the air, acrobatically dodging them as they came at her, not all at once, but staggered, forcing her to constantly move as they flitted through the air like swallows, now much more agile and animate than before. Much like their owner, he had created them to adapt to any many, the runes on them now flaring in different forms than they had previously, the knowledge imparted to them from the main sword Gram. By crossing swords with his opponent, he gained more and more knowledge about their style, their habits, their strengths and weaknesses, all that and more, the crystallization of wisdom analyzing every move they made.

It was a simple matter to convert that information into tactics and moves that were capable of taking down his opponents.

In the midst of twirling and spinning in the air, she saw him raise the sword once more to strike her scarf. Then she was blinded by a burst of light, brilliant radiance stabbing into her eyes even as she frantically closed her eyelids, her retinas seared by the sudden burst of illumination that came completely unexpected.

Having deactivated the one of the runes that had sustained the heat around him earlier, he had instead chosen to continue sustaining the other rune that had been fueling the heat, converting it on the fly during combat to serve another purpose, namely to function like one of the very flashbangs MHX had used against him. It worked like a charm, with MHX never suspecting he'd use such a thing, her attention and eyes drawn to him when he left the blade.

*SCHING*

Blood splattered on the sand as her body was slashed by the flying daggers, each one splitting her skin and shedding blood. Her blade only served to defend against one as the rest struck true, sending her tumbling to the ground with her solid state force fields beneath her feet deactivating with her injuries severing the suit that she wore, interrupting the systems running through it.

With a solid 'thump', she came to a rest on the stained sand, crimson lifeblood spilling from her wounds all over her body as she laid there facedown on the sand, her ahoge wavering weakly with the slight wind that blew. Secret-calibur lay loosely in her hand, the fingers no longer tightly curled around the handle, instead relaxed in their natural state.

Calmly, Sigurd tore off the rest of the scarf from his arm and neck, unravelling it and then casting aside as he finally regained bodily freedom, able to exercise his full range of movement without restraint. The scarf fell onto the sand, a large gash in the middle, with one end still wrapped around MHX's palm.

His steps were imprinted on the sand as he trudged towards MHX, only a few meters away. Then he paused.

An armored palm raised in the air, then he brought it down towards her prone figure. The daggers shot forward on command, hovering into the air, then bearing down her, azure streaks let in their wake as they glided effortlessly towards her.

Before they reached her, the scarf flew up like a snake, writhing as it entangled all of the daggers and circled each of the them, brushing across their smooth surfaces as they slipped past the fabric with sheer power, but not before they were knocked slightly off course by the whip-like article of clothing. It was just enough for MHX to contort her body on the sand to further increase the margin of error and dodge the short blades by a hair. Before they could resume their onslaught, she was already scrabbling to stand up, her sword once more firmly in her grasp as she turned to face Sigurd.

Seeing through her ploy to play dead and launch a surprise attack against him, he was ready to strike when his daggers were foiled, this time punching his sword instead, aiming at where MHX's body would be when she stood up.

A chill ran up her spine as her body left the sandy ground, her spine straightening when she realized the left side of her face as she turned around to face Sigurd, was lit up with an emerald glow.

The bolt of light that was Gram slammed into her, producing a sound not unlike that of a lightning bolt, the force carving a path on the sand behind her that stretched for some distance before the energy dispersed. A small explosion occurred on impact, hiding MHX as her figure was swallowed by the corona of light.

Just like the daggers, the sword was capable of moving on it's own, and it traced out a thread of light that zig-zagged and turned sharply in the air until it returned to its Master, manifesting whole on his back.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the result of his attack, his hand reaching for the hilt of Gram again.

MHX glared at him, her body leaning slightly to the right as she favoured her right leg, the various injuries from before accumulating to a point that she was unable to ignore them. The hole where the icicle had pierced into her body was cauterized, but after her frenetic activity while dodging, the skin had split open again, a trickle of blood flowing down her thigh. It stopped at the spot where Sigurd's burning kick had touched her, the skin in the middle sporting a dark rectangular patch, with the edges of the wound pink and glistening. Her body was starting to feel the effects of battle, the adrenaline wearing off as pain started beating in her limbs, the slashing cuts from the daggers weakening her as blood rained from the wounds.

Yet her eyes remained sharp, her body tense and ready for a fight. It wasn't like she had never fought injured before, in her long years as a bounty hunter. She would manage. Though at this point, she couldn't afford to hold back any more.

Resting in her left hand, it's surface devouring the rays of sunlight that were gradually weakening as the suns descended past the horizon one by one, bright white turning into a murky orange, was another sword just like Secret-calibur, save for one thing. The color.

It was a complete palette swap of the other sword, with red and black being the dominant color, a sinister design that completely contrasted with the radiance of Secret-calibur. But when paired together, they formed a harmonious set of darkness and light, a sense of completeness descending on everyone who gazed upon the two swords together.

Gray stood in silence, her face still showing traces of her awe, but even from far away she could see the two lines outlined against the sand dunes, a brilliant blue bordering on white, and a pure darkness that gradually blended in as the sun set in the distant west horizon, with only the red lines serving to differentiate it from the surroundings. In her heart, she felt an indescribable sense of calm at the sight of the swords together.

The ramen chef, who had started sitting down cross-legged a long time, leaned his cheek on his fist as his elbow propped up against his thigh. His disinterested face finally showed a trace of emotion when she brought out the other sword.

"Bout time she finally used it."

During his first inspection, he could tell that there was something missing. While one glance was enough to tell him that Secret-calibur was polished enough as a weapon to be used as a single complete product, his instincts nagged at him, telling him something was off, and when it came to swords, his instincts never erred.

Sigurd too, felt the change in her demeanour, and he was perhaps the one who felt it most keenly. Standing opposite her, he could hear her laboured breathing that steadily evened and tapered out until it was barely audible. Her posture changed, conforming to the two weapons that she held with both hands. He could almost see her fighting spirit sharpening, focusing into one point, her resolve settling in her stomach.

He glanced at the sword, a new quantity in the battle. If it was enough to block Gram punched with a fair portion of his strength, it was surely strong. It looked like he would have to adjust for this added factor.

"Sorry, but you'll have to throw aside everything you learned about me to have a chance at winning."

Her sudden words gave him a pause. What did she mean?

Then he had no time to ponder as he was beset by her twin swords, battling for his life as the planet's day cycle progressed into night.

Far above the two, Brynhildr ascended further and further, her body rising through the skies in preparation for the ultimate strike.