Foreword: Sorry for the delay. I had to binge through the final volumes of ZnT Light Novels just so I can ease my mind about the setting there. It gave me great ideas on how to use it but nothing substantial, but at least now I can work out some details about those for later arcs.
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter.
Zeroes of Two Worlds
Chapter 5
The atmosphere is tense since the symbolic gauntlet had been thrown by the lowborn familiar. This action had caught everyone by surprise especially Guiche who likely wasn't expecting to be one to receive the challenge.
Guiche, for his part, is incensed at the audacity of the commoner and at being denied the right to declare the challenge. But this also elated him since it had put him in a position of strength. His magic would ensure him victory while the commoner will have the choice of either conceding to victory to him, or to be defeated by his hand. His honor would be restored and his name will be cleared.
He started chuckling loudly which caught everyone's attention, and addressed his soon-to-be foe. "I must applaud you for having the courage to challenge a noble to a duel. I do hope you are prepared to face the consequences."
"I am prepared to do what is right and protect those who can't fight." Jaune responded with a firm voice.
"Hmph." Guiche scoffed at the bravado displayed before him. "You seem to be incapable of understanding the trouble you're in. But if you're so eager to be beaten by myself, then who am I to deny you that privilege."
"Stop this nonsense this instant!" Louise shouted after making her way through the crowd. "Duels are forbidden in this academy."
"Tsk. Tsk. Duels between nobles are forbidden. But your familiar isn't a noble, Zero." Guiche reminded her with a light shake of his head. Louise grunted at that, knowing that he's not wrong. He then had a thoughtful look and sincerely asked. "Are you perhaps worried about your paramour?"
"What!?" Louise cried out, both in anger and embarrassment.
"Don't you worry, Zero. I'll make sure not to harm his face so that you may join him in bed as he recovered." Guiche informed her in faux assurance. The onlooking students laughed after hearing that and jeered Louise for it.
"Why you!" Louise sneered at him for making such accusations.
"But I won't retreat from this challenge, Zero. Your familiar had insulted me and he had made the declaration. If you wish stop this duel, then I suggest you put your familiar under control and apologize to me." Guiche told her.
Louise reeled her emotions under control before leaving Guiche behind. She then approached her infuriating familiar and spoke to him.
"Familiar..." Louise started before she was interrupted.
"I won't apologize to him until he stopped threatening Siesta here and apologize to her." Jaune told her as he gestured to the frightened maid behind him.
Louise sighed irritably at both the interruption and insubordination of her familiar. She would have to punish him later after this.
"Will you just listen?" Louise angrily ordered before she continued. "You can't fight a noble and commoners don't have the strength to fight against magic. For your own safety, withdraw your challenge and apologize to him."
"I will not. And I won't apologize to someone who had no qualms of falsely accusing someone to cover their backs." Jaune strongly refused.
Louise growled at him and shouted. "Why won't you listen to me?"
Guiche laughed jovially at the display and stated. "Well if your familiar won't listen, maybe a lesson will put him to heel." He elegantly flourished his rose and declared. "I will wait for you at the Vestri Court. Be there within the hour."
Guiche turned around and left the circle of students. He is also followed by his circle of friends and other students, who excitedly chatted with each other about the upcoming fight.
Jaune, for himself, also left and made his way towards the dorms to make his own preparations.
The door to Louise's room swung open as Jaune entered. Louise tried followed behind him as she tried to convince him from backing out of the fight. Siesta also entered the room after Louise, trying to stop Jaune.
"You will get yourself killed. Why can't you understand that?"
"She's right, Jaune. You can't fight a noble even if he's just a student." Siesta said in support as she tried to warn him of the dangers.
"I'm well aware of the danger. But my answer is still no." Jaune said to the both of them as he stopped before the basket where his armor pieces are stored. "I won't back down from this fight. And I am not afraid of him."
"You should be! He's an Earth mage, and he is known to summon golems." Louise informed him, vainly trying to dissuade him.
"Good to know."
Jaune started picking pieces of his armor from the basket. He then began the process of putting on each piece of armor on him. He started with his vambraces and locked them in place over his forearms, followed it up with his segmented pauldrons over his shoulders, and then finally put on his breastplate over his chest and back.
Louise and Siesta watched him put on his armor before he checked each of them if they're secured. They had apprehension about the upcoming fight and feared for him for different reasons. Louise feared for losing face, if her familiar lost the duel, and for losing him, the only evidence of her capability to cast magic. Siesta feared for possible repercussion against her and her family, and she didn't want Jaune to come to harm because of her.
Jaune checked each of his armor pieces, making sure that they're secured properly, and nodded in approval. He looked down on his sword that is laid by the wall where it had remained untouched since he got here. It's a simple hand-and-a-half sword that was given to him by his father for his training and class.
You're not strong enough to become a Huntsman, Jaune.
He remembered how hard he begged his father to train him but was refused. It was only because of support from his grandfather that his father even allowed him to train. He felt that he made progress and he could defend himself. That's until he entered Anselm Combat School where he faced his classmates.
"I will show them all." Jaune mentally said to himself as he grabbed his sword off the wall and secured it to his belt.
Jaune turned around to see both Louise and Siesta looking at him with dismay and resignation respectively. Though both couldn't deny that Jaune looked ready for a fight with his pristine white armor over his brown tunic and blue pants.
"Come on. I need to get to Vestri Court before that pompous snob decides that he won the match." Jaune told them as he walked past them and headed for the door.
"You're insufferable. You know that, familiar." Louise chided him as she followed after him.
Jaune merely grunted and made his way down the staircase. The trip from the dorm and towards the western side of the academy took some time to get there, and that's in addition to the time it took to put on his armor.
It's not hard to know where the Vestri Court considering the flock of students that are gathering there. He passed under an arch of the covered walkway that connected one of the towers to the main tower. The students took notice and pointed at him as they excitedly chatted. They also made way for him and allowed him, along with Louise and Siesta, to pass through.
Jaune entered the field that the rest of the cape-wearing students had left open, and he could see the slim pompous blonde is already waiting for him. Guiche took notice of his presence and greeted him with a dramatic flourish.
"Ah so you came. I would have thought that you'd already left." Guiche flamboyantly said out loud. "Not that I could blame you." He haughtily added.
The other students murmured in agreement and nodded with each other. But Jaune made himself heard along with his response.
"I challenged you to defend of innocent whom you have wronged. You think that I would be afraid of the likes of you who abused people around them."
"Hmph. An admirable cause but it means nothing for it is I who had been wronged." Guiche scoffed dismissively. "You will suffer for the insult you have made against my honor and my name."
"So you keep saying." Jaune quipped as he placed his non-dominant hand over the pommel of his sword. "But I'll say that you're just full of it and is just trying to save face."
"Very well, familiar. But know that you chose this path instead of the proper path." Guiche forebodingly said to Jaune. He brandished the rose in his hand and said. "Now prepare yourself!"
With a swipe of his rose, a petal flew out of it before it started falling to the ground. Jaune watched it carefully as he made his observation. The petal touched the ground and the ground around it started to shine. A metallic armored figure rose from the ground and Jaune is surprised at how fast it is formed, though he didn't show it.
"So this is a golem. It's like those robots from Atlas but looking better."
The said golem has an obvious feminine figure with a very thin body but completely covered in full set of armor. It had large pauldrons, likely allowing it to protect its head from either side, so Jaune could only realistically hit it with a thrust. It also had large gauntlets with one holding a tall metal broad-headed spear. And it had a large wide tasset, giving it more hip figure, and its legs are covered with a skirt.
"My name is Guiche the Bronze! Son of General Gramont of Royal Tristania. And this is my bronze golem, the Valkyrie!" He proudly proclaimed and pointed his rose wand at the golem. "As with my name, this will be your opponent! I hope you see the folly of your challenge, commoner."
The gathered students clapped and cheered at his display and, louder still, for his Valkyrie, as they enjoyed watching the spectacle. The other students started looking at him expectantly, likely waiting for his own response.
Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself for the coming fight. He opened his eyes as he slowly drew his sword and merely said. "I am Jaune Arc. Son of Jason Arc. I am your opponent."
The crowd was disappointed at the commoner's simple introduction, but Guiche found it amusing. It should have been expected that the plebian had no real history like his family name, so he wasn't really surprised with how there was to proclaim.
"Let this duel begin!" He proclaimed for the benefit of the crowd and declared the start of the duel. "May the Founder grant his justice to the victor."
With a flourish of his rose wand, he silently commanded his Valkyrie to begin its attack. The majestic bronze maiden leveled its spear and charged the plebian swordsman. He felt some pity for Zero's familiar but alas his honor and name needed to be cleansed of the filth that had been leveled against him. The only mercy he would only be giving is a swift defeat.
The familiar was quick on his feet when he dodged and deflected the spear thrust. This is repeated as his Valkyrie failed to hit his foe, and the familiar made its own attack. He willed his Valkyrie to defend itself but the familiar had closed in and began swinging his sword.
Louise is surprised at how well her familiar is handling the fight against Guiche's signature bronze golem. She could see that he had trained well with the way he weaved and dodged from the golem's attacks while he made his own attacks. This gave more credence to her familiar's story about his family serving a king in its army. She watched the duel more closely and hoped that her familiar would score a victory.
Siesta is surprised with Jaune's fighting skill that she had only read in her novels, and the few times she watched knights trained when they're in Tarbes. She still feared for Jaune's well being as he is still fighting a mage, but she is now hopeful in light of his skill. She silently prayed to the Founder for Jaune's favor.
"Now this is a pleasant surprise. Louise's familiar looked more competent than he looked." Kirche remarked as she watched the fight between the young blonde and the bronze construct.
She initially didn't have any confidence in his ability to fight a mage, even to someone against the young Gramont. So she is pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong and watched the fight more closely.
She turned to her side and asked her blue-haired friend about her thoughts. "What do you think, Tabitha? Do you think he has a chance to win this duel?"
Tabitha remained stoic aside peeking over her book for a moment. She returned to her book and made a soft hum at her.
"Probably. But unsure if he can win. Good work though." Tabitha spoke with a small and soft voice.
"At least you gave him your seal of approval." Kirche nodded at her friend before she continued watching the fight.
Guiche watched the fight with growing irritation at how the plebian swordsman was able to stand against his Valkyrie.
Unbeknownst to him, his foe had been slowly dismantling his hollow bronze construct. The armor thickness is more than enough to deal with various creatures and common soldiers, though it would have trouble against stronger creatures like orcs and trolls. But this turned out to be not enough to stop a fighter who trained to fight against the creatures that had dominated most of his world.
The sword continued to bite as the steel clashed against bronze with every swing. That is until first blood was taken by the familiar when he cut off one of the Valkyrie's forearms, much to surprise of Guiche and the onlookers.
With a shout, the familiar took advantage of the momentary opening and swung his sword down upon its head. He used the large pauldron to guide his sword down to its neck, and the blade cleaved through its neck and its head flew off into the air.
Guiche looked on with shock as the head fell to the ground. He watched his Valkyrie dropped to its knees before it collapsed to the ground entirely. He couldn't believe it, a mere swordsman had his beloved Valkyrie.
The crowd cheered in excitement at the display of swordsmanship and that the commoner had put on a show despite his lackluster introduction.
"H-how?"
"So... Does that mean that I win?" The familiar asked with a cheerful grin.
Guiche angrily grumbled at being overshadowed by a lowborn, and he wouldn't accept defeat in such a manner. "Ha! If you believed that defeating my Valkyrie is enough to earn you victory. Then you are wrong." He raised his rose wand once again. "Come forth my Valkyries! Show this lowborn the folly of facing Guiche the Bronze!"
He swung rose wand once again and three petals flew off before the fell to the ground. Three Valkyries are summoned forth and held their spears at the ready. The familiar took a step back and raised his sword, preparing to block attacks against him.
"Time to end this!" Guiche declared and willed his Valkyries forward. The Valkyries charged in unison with every intention to exact rightful punishment upon his foe.
The Valkyries came at the familiar from different directions, and had placed him on the defense. The familiar parried and dodged each attack but it was clear to everyone that he is being pushed to his limit.
Jaune was having trouble dealing with his new opponents and he chastised himself for not taking the obvious winning blow. He made the mistake of allowing that prick to gloat and make his move.
He dodged to the side, letting the spearhead fly past him, and then saw another Valkyrie swinging its spear towards him. He jumped away and the spear barely missed him but he didn't see the other spear coming his way.
He kept attacking the Valkyries where he deemed to be weaknesses, such as the joints, the exposed arms and the waist in order to hinder their movements and to weaken their attacks.
He deflected a spear thrust against him, and hooked the spear with his sword's guard. He then moved one of his hands to hold the blade which is not dissimilar to a spear, and lunged his sword into the Valkyrie's head.
The tip of his sword pierced its neck and yanked it as he pulled out. The head is barely attached to its body while its large slitted eyes seemed to glare at him. Jaune kicked it away and the bronze golem drunkenly fell back. The shaft of a spear then slammed against him when a Valkyrie swung its spear at him, and was thrown off his feet before rolling over the ground.
"Damn it. That hurts." Jaune mentally groaned as he gritted his teeth. He pushed through the pain, unwilling to be deterred by it.
He stood up and scanned his surroundings to see that there are now four golems. It looked like the bastard had replaced his defeated golem and added a new one. He readied himself for another round.
Despite the growing fear in his heart, he charged with all the courage and strength he could muster. He had faced the Grimm. These golems are nothing compared to the creatures that haunted his home.
Underneath his shirt, the runes began to glow... And pulsed.
Guiche was growing impatient with how the duel is going. The familiar kept fighting on despite being outnumbered and his own mind's will was being stretched out to his Valkyries. It was not stretched to the point of his limit but it was infuriating him that he did so for a mere commoner.
A single Valkyrie should have been more than enough to deal with a commoner, maybe two for a skilled soldier. But the familiar was able to keep pace with his Valkyries and defeated another one. Though one of his Valkyries managed to hit him, likely injuring him. This was why he had summoned another Valkyrie, in addition to the one that needed replacement.
"Zero's familiar is quite good. I haven't seen Guiche summoning that many golems before."
"Look at him go."
The crowd seemed to be enjoying the spectacle and is focused on the familiar's performance. This irritated him as he should basking in glory, not the commoner. The crowd cheered again once another one of his Valkyries got taken down.
It looked like he needed to truly punish this commoner for not only sullying his name, but for also insulting his pride as a mage. He noticed that the familiar had changed tactic and headed straight for him. He summoned three more Valkyries before him and formed a defense line.
The Valkyries deterred him from approaching with their spears, learning from his earlier mistakes to not let him get to close. Two other Valkyries attacked the familiar from the flanks. One was blocked along with the next. But his remaining unengaged Valkyrie was successful as it struck the insolent familiar from behind.
The familiar cried out as he is knocked over before one of his Valkyries swung at him, throwing him across the open ground that is their arena. Guiche smirked when he heard the groaning pain from the insolent familiar.
"Had enough, familiar!" Guiche taunted him.
The familiar seemed to still have strength in him as he stood up once again with labored breath. Guiche saw the familiar looking at him with defiance in his eyes despite his injuries.
"Hmph... It seems you still haven't learned." Guiche scoffed as he raised his rose wand once more. He swung his wand and willed his Valkyries to attack.
Jaune hissed when a spearhead slid across the side of his belly, tearing through his shirt. He dodged another attack and disengaged as he put distance between himself and the Valkyries. He then placed a hand over where the wound is supposed to be, but he only found a thin wound on it instead of a slash wound.
This surprised him as he was sure that attack would had hit him. But he didn't have time to speculate any further as the Valkyries charged at him. He swung his sword to intercept one of the spearheads and made his own counter.
With labored breath, he fought to the best of his abilities and endured the injuries that he had incurred. He pushed through the pain and kept up the fight. He managed to cut the leg of one of the golem, sending it tumbling down, and sliced off the arm of another.
A spear struck him at his torso, knocking the air out of him, and the butt of another spear slammed into his head. The world swirled around him and lost grip of his sword, before he dropped to the ground.
Through blurred vision, he saw a Valkyrie calmly approaching him with spear in its hands. He struggled to move his body as the Valkyrie raised its spear to deliver the final blow.
"STOP!"
A long pink hair filled his vision as someone stood in between him and the Valkyrie. the Valkyrie took a step back and held up its spear.
"Ha! So the Zero came to the defense her failure of a familiar." Guiche mockingly said.
"Enough of this. Don't you see he's already down." Louise tried to reason with him.
"I'm... Hrk... I'm not out yet." Jaune coughed as he started moving his body. He could feel his body aching as it tried to protest against his action..
Louise turned around and knelt beside him. She looked very worried and tried to dissuade him. "Don't move. You've done enough."
"I... I will not let that prick have his win. Not unless he apologized." Jaune argued back as he slowly pushed his face off the ground.
"Stay down please. It's over..." Louise pleaded with him, which surprised him. He never heard her like this since he arrived here. Except for last night. "Please... Stop it. It's not worth it."
Jaune stared at her, unsure how to answer her. A part of him wanted to just let go and let Guiche have his win, but more of him refused to do so.
"I suggest you listen to you master, familiar." Guiche advised him as he looked down on him, assured of his victory. It reminded him of his bullies back in Combat School during sparring.
Jaune fought with all his strength against his opponent, swinging his sword to strike and block. He needed to end this fight before his stamina is spent. But his opponent took his time and enjoyed the toying with him.
He swung his training sword at his opponent and struck at his aura, protecting him from serious harm. His opponent quickly took the opportunity to strike back at him and slammed his training sword into him.
Without aura to protect him, he received the full force of the strike. He felt the wind knocked out of him and dropped to the padded floor. He struggled to catch his breath and tried to get off the floor.
"Haha! Look at you. Some Arc you are."
"What are you even doing here? Go home to your mommy."
"You're a shame to your family."
Jaune felt anger in him and tried to hold the tears as the jeering continued.
Jaune gritted his teeth as he pushed himself off the ground and tried to stand. Louise tried to help him but he waved her off. He then took a step and fell on all fours as he felt his strength wavering.
"I won't surrender. I won't give you that satisfaction." He hoarsely said to Guiche.
Guiche frowned at his response, and clearly didn't appreciate it. "You have no chance to win this duel. You're strength has left you and I still have Valkyries. You have no choice but to concede."'
Jaune let out a rough laugh, which angered Guiche who prompted. "What's so funny, familiar? Have you finally lost your senses."
Jaune stood up once again and defiantly looked back at Guiche. He looked messed up with some blood on his head, haggard breath, and torn clothes as he placed a hand under his chest where the spear struck him.
He clenched his free hand as he mustered what remained of his strength and made himself heard.
"You think that you win if you defeat me..." Jaune chuckled and grinned. "You're dead wrong."
"What's this nonsense you're prattling now? We stand before the Founder and this duel will determine who is righteous." Guiche retorted.
"Righteous? What do you know about being righteous?" Jaune shot back at him. "I stand here to protect the innocent from YOUR cruel actions." He pointed at him.
"I accepted this duel to clear the slander that is made against my honor and my name." Guiche hotly replied.
"No!" Jaune quickly interjected. "You came here to show that you can abuse your power so that you can play with any girls you want." He rebuked him with a wave of his free hand.
"You dare to tarnish my name once again?!" Guiche furiously said, and pointed his rose wand at him. "Do you have a death wish, familiar?"
"Was I wrong?" Jaune argued back with a loud voice. "Was that not the reason why you tried to harm an innocent maid? You got caught by two girls whom you proclaimed your love to."
A murmur began to spread amongst the crowd, many agreeing with Jaune's statement. Guiche looked around him with worry as the gathered students began to regard him disapprovingly. Most especially the girls who made their feelings known with glares sent towards him.
Guiche hissed with anger, and couldn't believed that the commoner had turned the crowd against him. He had to do something in order salvage the situation.
"My love was never in question and that situation is merely a misunderstanding." Guiche proclaimed, mostly to the benefit of the crowd. "The real reason for this duel is the attack on my honor and I have every intention to right that wrong."
"Ha! You still cling to that re-" Jaune is interrupted when he saw one of the Valkyries raised its spear before it threw it at him. He didn't enough time to react and could only dodge the best he could. He cried out as the spear pierced him just under his left chest, but it didn't pierced as deep as it should have.
Louise and Siesta looked on in shock along with the rest of the crowd. Kirche shook her head at the display with clear disappointment while Tabitha looked on with a stoic face.
He stumbled back as he held the spearhead. He growled loudly as he pulled the spear out of him. He fell down to his knees as he pressed his hands over the wound. He raised one hand before him and saw that it is covered in his blood. His body felt like its trying to give him what it could but it's wavering, and his wound stung painfully.
"Surrender now, familiar."
"N-No." Jaune answered and grunted. "I will not yield."
He looked around and saw his sword near him. He reached for his sword and pulled it towards him.
"You already lost, familiar. You have no more strength to give." Guiche told him with a look of contempt. "Yield."
"Strike me down if you want. But I won't surrender to you." Jaune plunged his sword to the ground as blood dripped from his bloody hand around the grip and down along the blade. He looked up to Guiche with a glare. "You already lost this fight."
Guiche gritted his teeth in anger at the commoner who continued to defy him and deny him his victory.
"You claim victory yet you're the one on your knees! You think this is some kind of tale where you're the hero. You're not. You are nothing!" Guiche angrily remarked and Jaune didn't respond but continued to glare at him. He snarled at this final defiance. "Just who do you think you are?!"
"My name is Jaune Arc. Son of Jason Arc." Jaune slowly answered as he pushed his body to stand.
He had grown up with tales of heroes and adventure as had many people his age. It was his inspiration for why he took up the sword in the first place, and try to become a huntsman.
"Grandson of Meridius Arc. The First Huntsman."
There is a look of confusion amongst the students who had no idea what he meant, especially with Louise and Siesta. Guiche is even more confused as why is the familiar babbling about his family.
"Great Grandson of Decimus Arc. The Lord Commander of the Last King of Vale in the Great War."
The thing about tales is that many of them are based on real events, and the tales he had grown up with are the chronicles of his family.
The other students in the crowd started to understand his declaration and it finally dawned on them that he is more than just a commoner.
"My family had faithfully served the Kingdom and its people for centuries in an unbroken line of knights and heroes."
Jaune remembered the times his grandfather taught him the history of his family in the old estate, and he drew inspiration from those memories that had driven him for so long.
" I want to be a Huntsman, grandpa! I want to be as good as you and dad" A much younger Jaune excitedly said.
"I'm happy to hear that, Jaune. Just remember, being a Huntsman or a Knight is more than just being good with the sword." The old Arc patriarch, Meridius, gently told him.
"But grandpa. All the stories about our family is full of battles and deeds of glory." Jaune replied back. "I want to be a great warrior. I'll be Jaune the Grimm Slayer."
"Not every Arc is known as a great warrior, Jaune. Many are just as accomplished in other things like my uncle Ned who led the first Council of Vale."
"But I don't want to be like those old men in suits. I want to be a great warrior like you and great grandpa." Jaune complained.
Meridius shook his head in amusement.
"Even my father didn't just take up the sword to be a warrior. He defended the weak and the oppressed from the others who would do them harm, and brought them justice." He had a thoughtful look and a soft smile. "He worked to uphold the code and live by it, so that others may follow in his path."
He looked at Jaune and spoke in an serious but gentle tone.
"Just remember Jaune that if you want to be a hero, either as a huntsman or a knight, you will have to take a stand and protect the people around you, even if the odds are against you. So you must learn to hold fast and give your heart and soul to it, even if your strength fails you."
"As long you hold on to this, you will find strength to fight on and you will prevail against anything that stand against you."
"That is the Way of the Arcs."
"We served as the shield of the kingdom, stalwart defenders of the people. We are the sword of humanity, protectors of the lands against our foes."
He pulled out his sword from the ground, and held up it up before him as though in a solemn vigil. The runes, hidden under his shirt, began to pulse once again and started to glow.
"We stood fast against the Creatures of Grimm that had roamed beyond the bastions of civilizations and had laid siege against all of humanity!"
He remembered his first foray against the black beasts that are the Grimm. He remembered the fear while the Grimm charged at him. He then remembered the determination when he made his own charge with a cry.
He remembered his first victory as he slew his first Grimm and he felt the courage lifting his spirit. It filled him with strength to fight on and faced the rest of the pack.
He was victorious.
"I took up my sword to become a Huntsman, just like my father before me. I have faced foes far more dangerous than you. And I will not stand idly by when I see you sully the honor of nobility with your actions."
The runes glowed brighter with another pulse which then filled Jaune with renewed strength, and the pain across his body started to fade.
With newfound vigor that flowed through him, he swung his sword to the side with a flourish and the sword seemed to shine brighter under the light of day. The pupils of his eyes started to glow like the blue sky as he looked at Guiche. He raised his shining sword towards him and proclaimed.
"I am Jaune the Aspiring Huntsman! I will not be cowed!"
Sounds of shock and surprise reverberated among the crowd around them as they chattered amongst themselves, expressing their disbelief. But one look at his sword doused the doubts in their minds, and eagerly awaited the upcoming conclusion of this duel.
"Wha... How?"
Guiche, for his part, stumbled back in shock, and unable to believe that this commoner, beaten and bloodied, now stood before him with power that seemed to emanate from him. He wasn't given enough time to think as Jaune charged towards him.
Panicking, Guiche willed his Valkyries forward to attack to stop him. He then swung his rose wand and summoned more Valkyries for his defense.
The first group of Valkyries struggled to hold back Jaune as he hacked and slashed at them with more power behind his swings. Empowered steel clashed against bronze, and broke through them. Jaune found it easier now to dismember the golems before delivering the killing blow by either slashing across the waist or beheading them outright.
He pushed through the first group and ignored the remaining ones as he charged ahead, not wanting to make the same mistake. He didn't know for how long this can last and he had no intention to find out.
With a battle cry, he charged into the next line of Valkyries and fought them. He dodged and weaved under and around their attacks as he struck back against them. He was also hit by their spears but his body seemed to resist it better. Slashes against his side failed to draw blood, and hard bludgeons from the spearshaft only left him a light bruise.
He blocked and pushed aside a spear before he slashed down at it, cutting off the spearhead. He raised his sword and brought it down upon the golem's helmet, cleaving it in half. He quickly pulled out his sword and moved past it before he is met by a pair of Valkyries.
Jaune dodged the spear that was thrown at him and swung his sword to deflect another one. One Valkyrie charged him and he swung his sword at it. Surprisingly, the Valkyrie took the attack willingly and his sword is buried deep into its body. With its remaining strength, the Valkyrie turned its body as its remaining hand yanked the sword out of his hands.
Jaune is surprised by that move and soon learned why as the other Valkyrie came at him. It then reared its fist before it threw a punch. He crossed his arms and gritted his teeth as blocked the punch. It didn't hurt him as much but he set it aside as he threw back a punch of his own. The bronze face caved in as it met his fist, and stumbled back.
He turned his body around towards Guiche who, for the first time, looked frightened. Even better, there were no Valkyries beside him. He took the opening and rushed towards him.
Guiche nearly pissed himself as he watched the commoner, no beast, charged at him with bright bluish light burning in his eyes. He didn't have enough time to summon a Valkyrie so he opted to summon something simpler. He summoned a sword of his own and picked it up before swinging it at Jaune.
Jaune took the sword to his shoulder, bruising it but failed to draw blood, and tackled Guiche to the ground. Guiche tried to struggle against him, but his strength kept him in place. He quickly wrestled with him and snatched the rose out of his hand.
He heard metal crashing behind him, and he turned his head around to see the Valkyries collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. He looked down at Guiche who trembled under him.
"Ah I-I..." Guiche gulped as he stared into Jaune's still glowing eyes. "I yield."
Jaune thought about it for a second before answering. "No."
Guiche blinked and tried to say something before Jaune punched him in the gut. He gasped and spat spittle out of his mouth. He coughed again when Jaune punched him for a second time, this time at his face. He tried catching his breath while gasping in pain. He then saw Jaune rearing his fist once again.
"Please... I yield..." Guiche wheezed as he pleaded for mercy.
Jaune slammed his fist down on the ground beside Guiche's head, and Guiche stared at is arm in fright before he looked back up to Jaune.
"I accept."
Jaune stood back up and slowly turned around to face the crowd who looked at him in silence. One started clapping and other soon followed as they applauded him. He gingerly gave them a theatrical bow which the students appreciated as they cheered for him.
He looked for Louise and quickly found her with Siesta, looking at him. He made his way towards them, his steps starting to stumble as his eyes started losing their luster. He soon stopped before the two of them and stood up as he placed a fist over his heart.
"I won." He looked at them with sincere eyes. "I won for you two."
Siesta cried tears and thanked him profusely while Louise stared at him with confusion and uncertainty on her face. Louise opened her mouth to speak when Jaune suddenly collapsed to the ground, the last of his strength having left him.
Siesta quickly ran to call for the nurse while Louise knelt down in panic as she called for her classmates for water healing.
"That was an interesting duel. Am I right, Colbert?" Osmond remarked as he watched the fight through the Scrying Mirror in his office.
"Very interesting indeed. The same light that appeared during his rune marking had appeared once again. I was correct to assume that it's some sort of dormant power in him." Colbert deduced as he watched the display.
"Are you sure allowing this duel is alright, headmaster? The others might complain and raise a rabble about it." Miss Longueville asked, concerned for the potential fallout of this fight. "Not to mention that a commoner defeating a mage, even if he's a mere dot mage."
"Nah! There's nothing to worry about, Miss Longueville." Osmond dismissively waved a hand before he waved his staff at the mirror, ending the enchantment. He then smiled through his long white beard and cackled. "Besides, I believe I have some bets to collect from the other teachers!"
Colbert and Longueville sighed and shook their head in disappointment, not surprised that the headmaster had taken the opportunity to gamble.
"What should we do about the young Gramont? I have no doubt that he wouldn't let this slide and would likely inform his father." Longueville asked.
"Bah! There's nothing to worry about. If anything, the General would be highly displeased with his son for his actions." Osmond answered as he sat on his seat. "Besides, Valliere's familiar is correct. The young Gramont already lost that duel and only reinforced that fact when he tried to silence him." He then had a serious look on his face and said. "But I will be having a talk with the young Gramont about his actions and abuse of his stations. We raised nobles in this academy, not vagrants."
"I will make the arrangement once the young Gramont had recovered." Longueville responded with a curt bow.
"See that you do." Osmond nodded at her before turning to Colbert. "I believe it's also time that we speak with Miss Valliere and her familiar. Be sure to inform them of my invitation."
"Of course." Colbert nodded.
Jaune groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, seeing the bright white vaulted ceiling above him. He blinked his eyes and tried to move but gasped from the pain that raised across his body. He also could feel that he is on a soft bed, not like the hay bed that he slept on, and opened his eyes to look around.
He seemed to in a sort of infirmary with the curtains around him, along with a table of bottles and glasses on them. He slowly sat up to get a better look around him and saw pile of pink hair beside his bed. That turned out to be Louise as she sat on a chair and rested her head over the side of his bed.
"She must have been waiting while I was healing. I wonder how long has it been." Jaune thought and had no doubt that Louise was worried about him.
He slowly reached for her and tried waking her up. Louise stirred and wearily woke up from her rest. She then turned towards him and greeted her.
"Hello, Miss Valliere."
"Hello..." Louise wheezed as she rubbed her eyes. She jolted and blinked as she stared at him. "You're awake!"
"Yes, I am." Jaune nodded.
"You... You..." Louise's shoulders started to tremble before she screamed."YOU IDIOT!"
Jaune winced at the assault on his ears and whined. "Not so loud."
"Not so loud. Not so loud! You idiot! You got yourself infirmary because of your stupidity!" Louise angrily shouted at him. "You should have yielded when I told you to. He could have killed you!"
"I know. But I won didn't I?"
"That's not a good excuse!"
"I know." Jaune conceded. "But I did what I believed is right, and I can't stand by and let that jerk harm a new friend of mine."
"The maid would have been fine and the headmaster wouldn't have allowed it." Louise retorted.
"Maybe." He shrugged. "But I doubt he would have let it go especially with how he treated you."
"What do you mean?" Louise looked at him questioningly.
"I didn't fight for just my friend Siesta. I also fought for you." Jaune told her.
"I don't understand."
"I know how it feels to be alone, Louise." Louise looked at him with a surprise and skepticism. "I know what it feels like where no one believed in you. Mocked you for your failures. When Guiche insulted you in public and treated you like... like a prostitute... I couldn't stand and let that slide. I had to fight him."
Louise closed her eyes as her body trembled. "You idiot..."
"I'm sorry."
"You idiot!" Louise angrily jumped at him, forcing Jaune to lie down as she saddled him. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
She weakly her fists at him, aggravating his remaining bruises but relatively unharmed, before she grabbed his shirt and buried her face into it.
"You stupid dog."
Jaune didn't know how to react to that and was unsure what to do until Louise started to cry. Louise lifted her head above him, tears flowing from her eyes, and slapped him at his cheek.
"Ow..."
"That's for worrying your master." Louise chided through her tears.
"I'm sorry." Jaune sincerely replied to her.
"You idiot..." She buried her face into his shirt once again and sobbed. "I could have lost you."
"It's alright, Louise. I'm here." Jaune assured her as he wrapped his arms around her back in an embrace. "Just know that I'm here for you. I won't leave you."
"You promise?"
"I promise. Arc's word."
A/N: Well holy macaroni, that was a long chapter. i didn't think that it would be this long. What am I doing and made this fight?!
I hope you enjoyed this one heck of a spectacle and please leave a review. I would really love what your thoughts about this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this.
And yeah, Jaune is able to partially access the benefits of his aura and as you can see, it is not perfect. But far better than what he normal humans could achieve, not to mention Jaune having trained to fight the Grimm.
Next chapter would be a talk with the headmaster and some of the fallout of this duel especially in light of what Jaune had revealed about himself. A trip to the city of Tristania soon after that for shopping.
See you next chapter, have a good day.