SWORDTAIL vs STABULOUS
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It took a bit of time to clear the space of holes and debris after all the summoned magic rocks and ice and explosions from earlier. Linze had woken up and looked so terribly embarrassed. She was being congratulated for being such a vicious young miss and she was hiding her face in her hands going "Noooooooooo…!" in mortification.
But certain people liked that sort of woman. Case in point: why Monika. Normal people would be turned off from choosing a hyper-possessive yandere as their waifu, rarer still those who didn't fall into gibbering terror when she turned into a real person.
"Please tell me you're not doing this just to get the notice of a man…" Cynthia Aurbell almost begged Yae as they finally faced each other on the ring.
She basically looked much like Lucina from Fire Emblem. She had long straight black hair and a headband to keep her hair neat and out of the way, and the modest leather chestpiece she wore was actually a decently protective brigandine with metal plates sewn on the inside. She wore tall riding boots that ended over the knee for protection. Her gloves were fingerless, but had metal on the outside to protect her forearms. All in all prim, stylish, confident and beautiful. She had a refined and well-organized demeanor.
Contrast this with Lydia, who wore a steel breastplate and looked much more like a female knight, but despite her more expensive wargear had a perpetual look of weary frustration that undercut her dignity.
Yae shook her head. "In some way, I must admit that I do this for a man."
"That's… disappointing."
"But it is the Viscount Sordrick. I cannot not rest easy until I beat his teeth in, that is so!"
Cynthia beamed. "… That's fair. I know of the Viscount, he's the strongest swordsman in the land, but he's not really one for the niceties."
Yae nodded. "Before we begin… please tell me, do you know of the darkness behind the sword?"
Cynthia smirked and drew her rapier from its scabbard. Unlike the thin sporting and dueling blades favored by aggressive youths, it was a battle tested blade that could cut and block and thrust. (1) "Why concern yourself with that? Embrace the light in front of the sword and never fear anything ever again!"
"… My apologies, I have no idea what you are talking about, that I do not."
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("Oh this is nice. No offense, Elze, Linze – but it's nice to see some professionals on the field. In a way, you both fought under inability to gauge the opposing force's strength. Elze, you were underestimated until it was way too late, and Linze… well, your terrifying character as deathfreezesaberlightmage sapped your enemy's focus and you yourself had no care whatsoever to any disparity in power.
("But two well practiced swordswomen can more accurately gauge each other's strength. So we're in for some excellent swordplay where skill is the most important quality!")
("Nnngh.")
("Lady Zorah? What's wrong with you now?")
("You will regret saying that.")
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The two swordswomen bowed to each other and raised their swords. Everyone held their breaths. This was not just a battle between two fighters, but two differently perfected ways of fighting, two vastly different blades. One optimized for the slash, the other optimized for the thrust. Two perfectly opposing philosophies. If there was a moment where one could converse through fighting this was a long-awaited debate.
Then after a few tense minutes, they moved at the same time.
Yae was a touch slower. That was because the fencer's great advantage was the lunge – by using the whole body in the attack, she has better reach and thus attacks at her maximum range while the slash must move in to make contact with the body.
Tink. Yae deflected the thrust and then leaned in to slash at the now exposed body of her enemy. Since they were facing each other, and both were right-handed, their swords were aimed toward their opposite shoulders.
Cynthia smirked. If that alone was enough to prove a weakness, no one would use the rapier at all compared to sabers and longswords.
She flicked her wrist and that small movement was enough to send the tip slicing down towards the inside of Yae's arm looking to sever a vein. A rapier that weighed very little also meant that it was the fastest sword possible.
Yae had to pull her arm back. She paused and thinned her lips in concentration. Against normal arm guards that would not have worked, but they were fighting mostly unarmored. The two-handed hold on a katana added power, but power was not needed here. She shifted her grip to hold her sword almost by the end of the pommel to emphasize its own thrust.
But the katana was the heavier sword, and that had its positives too. She tried to slap away the sword much more forcefully and stepped into her opponent's guard. But Cynthia, rather than retreating to extend the range and keep on safely harassing Yae with swift contacts that in a real fight would look to make small bleeding wounds, instead stepped in to meet her halfway.
She parried and drew the katana blade away, ducking under the sweep –
Then she punched Yae straight into her right boob.
The samurai girl only frowned slightly as she recoiled away from the hit. The pain was slight. Grappling was heavily involved in real combat, specially since katanas were not meant to be used with a shield and rare were those who used a wakizachi or tanto in their off hand, much like the defensive pair of sword and dagger in the West.
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("Yeah okay that's fair. That's the difference between sport fencing and real fencing, the open hand does more than just hang there.")
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Then Cynthia opened her hand out and grabbed Yae's chest.
"Whu-?!" Yae quickly moved to try and break the hold, flashing back to the holds and throws of martial arts related to karate and aikido. That was just to be expected from where everyone voluminous wore robes and kimonos that made for excellent clothing grabs.
Cynthia squeezed.
Yae blurted out "This is not-"
"Honk! Honk!" the swordswoman said with a catlike grin even as she squeezed again. Then taking advantage of Yae being frozen in outrage, she stepped in deeper past Yae's arms and punched the samurai girl in the face with the basket hilt of her rapier in her other hand.
Yae grunted and fell back. Her eyes glittered with rage and shame.
Cynthia grinned. "I know what you're thinking. Am I trying to make you angry, or do I like you that way? Why don't you come closer again and find out?"
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("…")
("…")
("… *thunk* *thunk* *thunk*")
("Mistress, please. Do not try to break your nephew's table with your face.")
("Zanac, interfering with any of the duels is an immediate forfeit, right?")
("Um, yes? I believe so?")
("Elze, Linze, let's go! We're up by two anyway, the worst that could happen now is a draw. FACESMASH TIME IS UPON US.")
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"Everyone, DO NOT!" Yae shouted back hurriedly.
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("Yae, friends don't let friends be molested. Even a pretty girl can be skeevy.")
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"T-that's…." Yae coughed and only gave a quick glance aside. She kept her attention on her opponent, her sword still held out in a guard position. "T-thank you, but that is not necessary, Playa-dono."
Then in a calmer voice, completely devoid of emotion, she said "Dishonorable as it may be, it is true that in the middle of battle, a samurai must have a heart clear as glass, as brilliant as the moon and unshakable as the march of time. My opponent may sully the sanctity of a duel, but I have my own honor. Forgive me, but I do not need your… assistance, that I do not."
"Ooh? So you think it's just to fluster you into making a mistake? How disappointing. You should have more confidence in your own womanhood."
"That was careless of me, to be too relaxed. A duel is an echo of the battlefield. I was underestimating you, that I was."
Cythia shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The swordwoman smiled thinly and stood up straight, raising her blade out at eye level. Again she looked so full of poise, almost regal in stature. Then her lips opened out into a shameless leer and her eyes glittered with darkly erotic glee.
Everyone shivered. So creepy.
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("… What even is happening here, seriously.")
("She is a depraved lunatic. Cynthia is indeed an incredibly talented swordswoman… but she makes too many enemies by her lack of any delicacy.")
("... What a familiar situation.")
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The two swordswomen clashed again.
For a two-handed sword, the katana was not really all that long. Compared to a typical arming sword, it was even slightly heavier without any extra blade length. When swords are crossed, all it would take is a few more inches in the lunge to drive straight into the opponent's heart. (2)
Cythia had almost no defense. Her sword style was geared towards attack and dodge, very little parrying, and swift unpredictable footwork. Suddenly, she was much faster. Her swords strikes flashed like sparks under the sun, and Yae was caught on the back foot. Her blade was good for parrying, but this was a duel under touch rules.
"Point for me," said Cynthia.
Yae nodded. She exhaled and remade her stance. In a flurry of strikes, she managed to tag her opponent in the shoulder.
"Point for you," said Cynthia.
But for all that the rapier was longer and faster, a saber-like blade user could and in fact should confidently push in with fast, powerful swings because a rapier could not parry so effectively. Letting the one with the longer weapon set the pace was no good.
And of course both swords were not actually very good against armor.
But that would be the amateur's view of the sword, where metal must clash against metal. An empty hand was very potent in real sword combat. Two-handed holds were very open to wrist grabs on a missed swing.
Grappling was an excellent way to beat armored foes and stick sharp things into their vulnerables.
The tip of Cythia's blade, though capped with a blunt piece of metal for safety, flashed in the mid-afternoon sun. She angled the reflecting rays to bedazzle Yae's eyes. Yae was wise to such tricks and continued her slash even as she pinched her eyes almost shut. It was a perfect diagonal cut from shoulder to hip, executed swiftly –
Cynthia tilted her body aside so that that blade, once committed to its course, passed by her body in a perfect parallel diagonal with barely a centimeter to spare.
Such were the reflexes of a Red Rank adventurer, one who was almost a part of the Royal Knight order. This put her in the perfect stance to stab up into Yae's right armpit. Even if puncture wounds aren't so immediately debilitating as a wide bleeding cuts, such a stab into vital muscle and nerve points would disable that arm – and then she could follow through with a stab to the neck.
The foundation of all sword styles was footwork. She pivoted on her left heel and reversed the facing of her right wrist, flipping the sword up towards a reverse upward cut.
Cynthia stopped that cold by pushing away on Yae's wrist with her open palm while simultaneously angling her rapier for a neck stab. So Yae stepped forward to turn the blocked arm into an elbow strike, letting go with her left hand to turn her sword too into chest stab. Cythia leaned into her attack and soon enough they were in a blade lock with their faces so close together.
So smooth were their movements, the two swordswomen flowed like water - like two raindrops coming together.
Cynthia grinned and whispered huskily "So, you're not involved with that suspicious young man over there, right? Then why don't you have dinner with me after this?"
"I refuse."
"Aww, why not? Do you know how rare it is to find a pure swordswoman here? An adventurer can be anything, but even then many gravitate towards bows and spears, and most women adventurers have magic and prefer to use that instead. There's so few that want to take the pains and the risks of close combat against monster beasts and men.
"I was trained in the Restia Knight Kingdom, and there the only thing that matters was martial virtue… but when I came home, there was no real route to my advancement without grabbing onto some young master's thigh."
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("The reason you were kicked out was not because of that, but because you were seducing their wives!")
Begone thot?
("Wait, isn't that… dangerous?")
("Of course it is. The only reason she's not dead right now is that compared to cuckolding with a man, there's no risk of children happening to stain the bloodline and steal the inheritance.")
("I mean mostly in how seeing their target of their lusts just blithely dismiss them and have success of her own somewhere else… it would be terribly emasculating, I think. People are also strongly driven by spite. This almost sounds like the start of a mindbreak hentai plot.")
("I have no idea what that means, but if the Royal Army chooses not to have such an excellent sword, then the border will accept this addition to its combat power.")
Then Zorah raised her arms and angrily shook her fists at the heavens. ("But not happily…!")
("Frankly, mistress, I don't understand why you even considered taking Cynthia's advice. Just because she has traveled all over the world and seen so many useless young masters, doesn't mean everyone who has young women hanging off his arm is a reprobate.")
("Most of them though. A degenerate recognizes another degenerate.")
("Ehh. Where I come from this isn't all that unusual. As long as you all obey the law and pay taxes on time, I don't care what goes on in their private time. I'm a results-oriented boss. The commonfolk ask for only one thing, not to be bothered needlessly when they harm no one.")
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"… That is surprisingly open-minded of you," Cythia said to the side. "May I call you a comrade, then?"
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("But sexual harassment is still a crime, so we'll certainly have fun watching Yae beating your ass like a drum.")
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"That's fair," Cynthia nodded.
She nodded and turned back towards Yae, who politely didn't take the opening in the conversation to attack. "Then how about a bet? If I win this fight, you owe me a kiss."
Yae scowled. "Must you behave so dishonorably?"
Cynthia grinned shamelessly. "Must I? Why must I conform to your expectations instead of asking you to move outside of your limited view of the world? If you are annoyed, then I win. If you accept, then I win."
Yae narrowed her eyes. She had no interest whatsoever in these licentious exchanges. It was sullying the way of the sword, the purity of killing purpose.
"As women, though it is a pain to be badgered by men, it is still a good feeling to know that you are desired, is it not?" Cynthia continued. "I believe that to express honest adoration is a kindness."
Regardless of her opponent's motivations, she could only lose if she allowed it to disturb her focus.
She drew the other sword from her belt.
"See, that makes no sense to me," said Cynthia. "The blade in the off hand is usually lighter and shorter to defend effectively. But another full length sword can't do that as well, and it will just tire you out faster."
Yae exploded into action.
"Kokonoe Sword Style –Twin Moon Light and Dark Crescent Blade – [Futago no Tsuki no Hikari to Yama Mikadzuki Ha]!"
There was no thought of defense either, she used the momentum of one sword in the swing to drive the other in the follow-through. She spun in place putting her whole weight into the slash, but so fast that there was practically no time to counter. But she would then break through any defense.
No more prancing around, Yae just blasted out and handed her opponent her own ass.
"Dohohoho~!" Cynthia laughed merrily as she was forced off the ring. She slammed on the ground, flat on her back.
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Yae looked very dissatisfied.
But she chose to just pointedly ignore Cythia's indecent gaze following her back. Her pink kimono and voluminous hakama hid most of her body's shape, free roaming samurai clothing was mostly unisex. But even so under that gaze she felt naked. It was a very uncomfortable feeling. She was used to the lustful looks from men, but from someone of her own gender it was highly disturbing. She felt her opponent could certainly have fought harder, but she would not give into the trap of asking for a rematch.
Though she thought that perhaps this wave of lustful intent might possibly work to dilute the pressure of false intent via the darkness behind the blade?
She shook her head and sighed as she sat down next to her... friends. "Thank you for your praise, but it was nothing special, Elze-dono."
She supposed they really were her friends after all, she no longer felt like a stranger in their midst. Though she was a stronger combatant than Elze or Linze, she felt like she was already nearing the apex of her abilities while they were still growing towards their potential.
Yae was acquiring a bit of an impostor syndrome (3) about her place in the team. The more praise she was given, the more she felt it was undeserved. She was an excellent swordswoman, but Elze and Linze could offer something of value more than just their fighting arm. She was the best fighter she could possibly be, but beyond that- Yae felt that her own smarts and her own womanly charms were… somewhat underdeveloped. .
Cythia's catlike grin seemed to say /'No, that's not true, let me show you.'/
Yae huffed faintly and looked away.
And speaking of Impostor Syndrome…
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It was time for CHARNAME and CARRYBURDENS to show their mettle!
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AN:
(1) wikipedia /wiki/Spada_da_lato
(2) youtube /watch?v=TpK0K-0s1TI
(3) wikipedia /wiki/Impostor_syndrome