A/N: I'm not sure I did the fight scene justice. Although I love to write them, I'm still learning. Criticisms are welcomed, of course.
MONSTER
Part 3: Spar (I)
With a battle cry, Elsword charged at me, straight sword held over his head. He swung in a diagonal arc from his upper left to his down right. It was an attempt to prevent my usual parry.
"You applied too much force."
I brought my curved sword up to meet his. But instead of clashing head on against it, I relaxed my wrist and let his blade slid against mine. I wouldn't dare stopping his strike directly. The sheer strength behind it was just beyond my level.
The force traveled through my arm when his blade met mine almost rendered my arm numb. But I pushed slightly, ignoring the slight pain -I had grown a tolerance to it after multiple spars with Elsword- and redirected his attack to my side. His blade passed by my right ear harmlessly as I twisted my body and slipped into his guard. Taking advantage of the additional force provided by the turning motion, I slammed my left elbow into his gut.
I couldn't tell if that hurt me or the kid more. The recoil wasn't pretty for me, but having a metallic arm hit his stomach didn't seem pleasant either.
Despite that, he recovered quite quickly and backed away to get more space for his swing.
I was faster.
Switching my grip to a reversed one, I bolted. Before he could get two meters backward, I had already been behind him.
A kick to the back of his knee forced him to kneel. Before he could properly react, my blade was pressed against his neck.
"Yield."
He raised both of his arm in the air after dropping his own practice sword. With a nod, I also let go of mine and pulled him up, wincing slightly at the combined weight of him and his gear.
"I lost again…"
Elsword mumbled under his breath, frustration obvious in his voice. I smiled and patted him on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, you're doing fine."
"But I lost in seconds again! How could I fight against the demons like this? When I'm this weak?"
"Hmm...did I hear you implying I'm a random mook in their rank?"
My smile widened slightly as Elsword sputtered out quick apology. You're a good kid, Elsword, I thought as I waved his apology off. Keep being yourself.
"Anyway kid-" -I ignored his complaint completely- "-the reason why I won is because you're holding back. I don't think I can face you head on when you're serious, so stop underestimating yourself-" -I paused- "-kid."
He growled in annoyance but the glint in his eyes told me he was thankful. I shrugged. I was just pointing out fact. The kid could create storms and sonic booms with sheer strength alone. I wouldn't stand a chance.
Still, the kid smiled thankfully at me.
"Thanks, old man."
...I admitted I probably deserved it. That didn't stop a scowl from appearing on my face though. Elsword noticed it. An annoying smirk appeared on his face.
"Yeah, whatever kid-"
I almost choked on my words and had to fake a short cough to hide it.
Elesis was walking to us with long strides, a practice sword modeled after her own claymore dragged behind her, its tip digging slightly into the dried leaves on the ground. She flashed Elsword a warm smile, to which he responded with his and a short greeting, then schooled her face into a mask of indifference on seeing me. Still, her eyes bore subtly into mine with cold malice, and there was a flash of phantom pain where she had struck me that night. I averted my eyes.
"Hello Little Bro...and Raven."
She couldn't fully mask the hatred in her voice as she said my name. Elsword didn't seem to catch on though, too busy waving and smiling at his sister.
The sounds of footsteps drew closer. A deep breath. I turned to face her and waited until she came close enough to greet her back. I saw a slight hint of displeasure on her face before the neutral face was back.
"Hello, Elesis."
The smile on my face didn't reach my eyes...maybe. I wasn't sure if my lips curled up enough to be considered a smile.
"What are you doing here?"
...I feel for those demons on the receiving end of Aisha's Blizzard Shower. This frost must've been what they felt before their eventual demise by gigantic ice spikes. Maybe I should make a shrine for them later. I heard those who died in agony wouldn't move on. Then again, they were demons. Who knows if that applies to them?
Point is, her glare was absolutely frosty. As was her tone. So much that the normally slightly dense Elsword (no offense to you, kid) picked it up.
"Eh…? Raven, Big Sis? What happened?"
My right arm shook. Subconsciously, I clenched my fingers around the hilt of my practice sword until my knuckles turned white. It took almost all of my willpower to keep my blank face on, let alone a smile.
Right now, Elesis could tell him everything. About that battle in Velder. About the lives I'd taken. And then, he'd hate me. Just like Elesis did. With every fibers of his being. And the others… beside Rena, no, including Rena, I don't think anyone could turn a blind eye to this.
And then I'd be alone.
It was as Eun said. I understood what it meant to be alone. And I feared it all the more. Without no one to support me… just like when I was left to die in that forest… and when I was locked in my own mind…
I was...hell, I was frightened.
"...Nothing. It's just some paperworks. After this kind of incident, there are always loads of those blasted thing."
I blinked and stared at Elesis, who was growling in annoyance. Elsword let out a snort. I blinked again and stared harder. Their conversation slipped my mind as I tried to comprehend her action.
Heavy footsteps and clinking chains broke my train of thought. Elsword was leaving the sparring field.
I turned to Elesis. There were so many things I wanted to ask her. Most of it about her recent action.
"...Thanks."
In the end, that was all I could say as she made to leave.
Elesis paused. I couldn't tell what she was thinking without seeing her facial expression, though I noticed her clenched hands. If I were to harbor a guess...maybe disgust? That, or anger. Because it was I who spoke.
...I averted my eyes. I shouldn't be staring at her bare back like this. Although most of it was covered by her long red hair, I still felt uncomfortable.
She still hadn't moved. Nor had she spoken a word.
It lasted for some times. I wondered if she had begun to regret covering me.
I didn't expect her to turn and face me. Her own practice sword was brought down from her shoulder and held diagonally to the ground, its tip digging slightly into the leaves on the ground.
"Spar with me."
My mind grounded to a halt. I couldn't believe in my ears.
"Wha-"
"Spar with me."
I...didn't expect this. The sheer surprise left my mind numb. But, although I was still reeling from the shock, I could pick up traces of...impatience(?) in her voice.
...Who was I to refuse her challenge?
Deciding to leave reasons behind for later thoughts, I entered a quick draw stance, with my body bent low, my hand resting on the hilt of my practice sword. Elesis took it as a form of agreement and also lowered her body, blade now held parallel to the ground.
Without any signal, we charged.
"To understand a swordman, you must first understand his sword."
It was one of the first things her father had taught her when she began to learn swordmanship. And it was also something she held onto, even after he passed away in that mission. Initially, Elesis regarded that statement with the skepticism and incomprehension of a child. She was, after all, only seven when her father had told her those , after months of traveling across the continent in search of her father, she began to see the inkling of truth in his words.
Every swordman has a way to express themselves through every stroke, conscious or otherwise. Their personality, their character, their thoughts...all of them could be read from how their blade was swung, or even their choice of weapon. Fast swings, overhead smashes, low slices, feints, each action exposed the wielder to those who looked. Elsword, how his righteousness and self-confidence declared through strong, high strikes. Penensio, pragmatism and loyalty sworn through short, reserver attacks...and his rune magic, of course. And she had heard tales of the frantic, almost beastlike swipes of the Blood Colonel.
In short, she could understand people best through how they fight.
That was why she demanded a spar of him.
Raven. The monster who had slain her father...as well as three hundreds Velder Knights in the renown Velder Massacre.
She had expected him to be a roaring berserker, who had been driven mad by power, or a maniac who enjoyed others' suffering.
The idea of a swordman with both regrets and unbending conviction had never crossed her mind.
Raven...was not what she expected. He was well-liked among the group led by her brother. He laughed, he talked, he ate just like a normal person did. It pissed her off. How dare he just lived on happily, knowing the sins he had committed?
That was before she had seen the will behind his golden -literally golden- eyes. Before she had heard the broken words he managed to make through his mangled jaws.
"Not...now...de...mons…"
She couldn't truly understand him. What drove him forward, what kept him together.
And now, she stood before him, blade held next to her waist. Maybe this time, she could understand the enigma known as Raven better.
The first swing almost became the last.
His sheer speed had taken her by surprise. Before she could take the second step, Raven had blurred and crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat. Only her honed instinct saved her from the finishing blow. It was still a close call for her. The tip of his blade grazed her nose as she leapt backward.
With his first move alone, Raven had nullified a large number of counterattacks. His speed meant spinning and smashing strike would be almost useless and would leave openings which he could easily exploit. It left her with short, fast strikes which wasn't her forte and completely unsuitable to her sword, which was an enormous training sword made to emulate her own claymore.
Her eyes narrowed at the same time a smirk appeared on her lips. Hefting her claymore up, she charged with a quick jab.
The riposte almost grazed her side. He had sidestepped the strike and countered with his own stab. She turned her blade sideway and slashed, which he dodged by crouching and lashed out with another stab. She took a step back, the tip of his sword barely missing her eyebrow, before re-engaging.
The following clash went almost the same as before. She tried to attack him, he either evaded or parried and countered, and she had to retreat.
He was drawing her strength, she realized. He kept his movement minimal while forcing her to expend her strength. His speed complimented his strategy nicely. It allowed him to exploit every single delay in her slash with precision. His thrusts always came close to grazing her. He also moved like a shadow, seemingly flickering while barely moving from his position.
Her smile widened. Oh how she wished to find a swordman as good as him sooner. Even though her main goal was to seek justice, she still wanted to find a good opponent to test the extent of her skill. The closest one was Penensio, and he was a magic knight with...above average sword skill, maybe slightly below Elsword's level.
She shifted both her grip and her stance. Excitement, the kind she rarely felt, if ever, fueled her strength as she hefted her sword and charged.
On hindsight, I should've noticed it sooner. The way her hands moved closer to the handguard, leaving most of her weapon's hilt bare or the slight relax of her wrist. Both of it should've alerted me to her plan had I seen it.
But I didn't notice. And I paid the price.
I staggered backward, air knocked out of my lungs after the painful shoulder slam I received from her.
She had parried my blade with her pommel. Using the momentum of her seemingly over-extended downward swing, she had slammed it against the flat side of my blade and sent it off course.
That...was risky and ridiculous. And also very effective. Not many could pull it off that easily, so not many expected it to be used against them, myself included.
Chest still throbbing in pain, I sidestepped a upward slash hastily and backed away. I was underestimating her. There was a reason why she was called Grand Master after all.
My fingers tightened around the hilt of my sword. Normally, it wouldn't be a good idea as my grip would become less flexible, but this was a special situation.
"Let's go."
Muttering to myself, I re-engaged, an excited smirk on my face.
The next moments, to me, were blurs. I didn't have the time to actually register the exact details. Everything was analyzed, reacted to and then discarded as new information flooded my mind. Background information, on the other hand, was kept. Things like terrain, position and such.
But there were things I could remember as clear as day. The way my heart beat, strong and hastily, pumping adrenaline throught my veins as my excitement reached its peak. How my sword tore through the air, still beautiful despite its inability to create streak of silver like my trusted saber always did. How our swords met each other, hers not with brute force as its size suggested but with elegance worthy of her title. The way we slipped into, and outside of, each other's range, and circled one another in a dance of blade.
My hand shook each time steel met steel. But I held on. I would not hold back now.
An upward slash was parried to my side. My blade was blocked by a pommel, and I caught her fist and denied her of her riposte. A swing slipped past my guard and clipped my hair just as my stab grazed her cheek. I pressed into her range and swung my sword upward, but then had to threw myself to the side to avoid a pommel coming at my face.
Elesis' face was red with excitement and exertion as she evaded my strikes and I hers. This close, I could hear her slightly labored but controlled breathing between the sound of clashing steel. A fire burnt brightly in her crimson eyes as she brought her sword around in short, quick swings that shouldn't have been possible with her stature and the blade's size.
She was devoted. She had done her best to hone her skill while following her own justice. I could feel that resolve in her strikes. Each of them firm and without a single hint of hesitation.
For a brief moment, I wondered what she had seen in my swipes. A quick jab forced me to abandon that thought and retaliated with a thrust of mine after sidestepping it.
Up. Down. Deflect. Thrust. Withdraw. Parry. Left. Up. Down. Right-
There was a sound of a bell. It was the sound signaling lunch time in this camp. It snapped me out of my concentration and caused me to freeze mid-action.
I ended up pressing against Elesis' body, my blade in mid-swing, my face so close to hers our nose almost touched.
And I couldn't even remember how I did it in the first place. The details were lost to me, probably discarded literally seconds before-
-Her blade came down in a crimson arc. I pressed mine against its flat side and caught its edge in my handguard. Supporting my sword with my left shoulder, I charged, twisting my sword and sliding it against the gigantic claymore before swinging it when she was in my range-
Never mind, I remembered it now. My hand shook from having to endure the full weight of her swing. I didn't notice it before, but dark spots was appearing in my vision. Served me right for skipping Rena's breakfast, I supposed. Didn't mean I regret it though. Screw carrots. Still, I needed something for my empty stomach soon, said my rational mind and growled my stomach.
...I couldn't look away.
She was too beautiful. Slightly dark skin glistened with sweat. Eyes shone with pride and inner fire. Chest pressed against my arm. Hasty and slightly shaky breaths shook her frame.
-Take me, Raven-
I let out a hasty gasp and recoiled as if being burnt. In a way, I was. Memories of gold-green hair and pale turquoise eyes appeared at the forefront of my mind. A smile, a laugh, a kiss.
What the hell was I thinking?!
Elesis had already shook off her battle spirit. There was no more fire in her eyes and she glared at me with eyes as cool as marbles. I couldn't see what she was thinking. Maybe her anger had gone all the way past disgust and into dismissal. Maybe not. My mind was still reeling in shock and anger at myself. I wasn't thinking straight.
I needed to get away. Right now.
"Tell...tell Rena I'll eat later."
I breathed the words out, barely loud enough for her to hear. I wasn't sure if she did. I still couldn't look at her.
After that, I bolted like a coward. Leaves rustled under my feet in accusation as I half ran, half stumbled back to my tent.