Sometimes, people were normal. That's what Diego truly believed in. Sure, there were the special, the monsters, that rose in level all the time. Where there was not a single moment of boredom, as every minute of living was an adventure to them. Well, he himself was not one of them. He didn't have some backstory like his family being wiped out, having some massive dream of greatness. No, he was a son of two simple merchants, travelling around. Some might think that'd be exciting, but eventually things started to blur. A river was a river. A city was a city. After a while they weren't that different. He truly believed that was his life. One day taking over for his parents, selling stuff, buying stuff, rinse repeat.
During his uneventful life, he tended to watch people. Seeing them smile, listening to their stories. It was amusing enough, but there was always this aching in his heart. As if the stories were lacking in some way. Still, he just pushed those thoughts away. It wasn't his place to criticize adventurers and the like. He was just a normal civilian. Not that he enjoyed but something he accepted. That was until the crazy lady approached him. He was just minding his own business, moving some crates under the scorching sun of summer. Then someone tapped him on the shoulder after clearing her throat. When he turned around, he couldn't help but blush a bit at the beauty looking at him. It was a simple dress, something he could've afforded with one or two months of saving up. Yet it seemed to be elevated by her mere existence. She giggled playfully, covering her mouth with her hand before tilting her head with intrigue.
"Hello, little godling! My name is Eris! Want to join my Familia?"
The spell was broken on him. Even with such a smooth voice, the words made no sense and tore him out of his dreams. He blinked before scoffing, turning away with a dismissive wave of his hand. Great, a god pulling a joke on him. Just what he needed that day.
"Lady, I'm not a god."
"Yes, which is why I call you godling, duh!" The goddess commented, as if she was talking to a child. Which he probably was to her. He sighed. Cracking his neck, he turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Can I help you?"
Suddenly her playfulness seemed to disappear. She sat down on a crate, crossing her legs as she folded her hands, her eyes half lidded as she seemed to stare into his soul with a soft smile.
"It's boring, isn't it? Just watching? Those that seem to lead fulfilling lives? It's not that you hate them. It's not that you dislike their stories." She tilted her head, almost coyly. "You just want to be more involved, isn't that right?"
It was as if lightning struck him. He wanted to deny it. No way it was that simple. But the moment it was brought out into the world... he knew it was the truth. He truly felt like an observer. Someone who wanted to be exciting as well. But he was just a merchant son. Yet... this goddess really wanted him? It almost felt like a trick, as he looked away once more.
"...Maybe," he muttered, mostly to himself.
"That's why I call you godling! We're the same!" Eris paused before wiggling her hand."Ignoring the whole cosmic might difference."
That earned her a laugh from him. She smiled warmly, nodding her head in approval before twirling her hand at him.
"Well, I am bored as well. Want to have some fun together~? It's the whole reason I came down here!"
Diego raised his eyebrow in response.
"That sounds like the start of you selling my body."
Eris blinked for a moment before turning away.
"Pfffhahahahaha!" She wiped her eye before putting her hands on her hips. "Seriously though, want to be my first child?"
"What makes me so special?" He asked, unable to help himself. It still sounded rather shady. After all, there were plenty of actual warriors out there. Yet Eris pointed at him with a smirk.
"Your eyes. I wonder what they will look like when you enjoy life instead of going through the motions."
It sounded like a foolish answer. But Diego couldn't say he disliked it. It almost sounded like flirting. Shaking his head, he crossed his arms, staring at her with expectation.
"So, what's the first thing on the agenda?"
"Let me worry about the money. You just go ahead and do what you want, alright?" She raised her thumb with a cheeky smile. "I'll be your sugar momma!"
"What the heck is a sugar momma?"
"God term, don't worry about it."
/
"Wow, am I seeing double?!"
"This is unexpected…!"
Diego was perhaps ten centimeters taller than Bell. He had slightly better reach, while the White Fool was just a bit faster. That's not even taking into account their appearances. Yet against all odds, many in the audience thought they were seeing one man fighting a mirror image. Their power seemed to be equal after clashing with crossed blades, knocking each other back at the same time. When Bell moved to his right, Diego chased after him. The White Fool narrowed his eyes and came to a stop, at the same time as Discord. He grinned at the smaller person, leaning forward just like Bell. Bell's left leg twitched, something that Diego mimicked before the latter flicked his right wrist at the same time as his opponent, katana smashing against katana for an instance, sparks flying in the air.
Bell took a deep breath. Same as Diego. Then he unleashed his flurry. Yet the storm was met with another storm, accurately hitting each other in the middle. A stab was met with a stab. A slash met with a slash. Their arms were blurs but some could actually see lines connecting the two fighters. Then the two fighters utilized their footwork. Lightly stepping off the ground, Bell lived up to his unofficial nickname of 'rabbit'. Yet there was something slightly different about it. He even utilized the rocks and the walls to slide over, as if his feet were glued onto them. Alise whistled at the sight, glancing at Ryuu. So he managed to pick up some of that forest style Ryuu was using. To use three dimensional space properly instead of relying on a flat surface.
For a moment it looked like Bell could shake his opponent off, as Diego's eyes widened at the way he moved. For the first time, the mirror image broke and Diego was forced to defend himself when a blade aimed for his neck. The force combined with the speed forced Discord back a bit. Ryuu smiled proudly at that but that was quickly replaced by a frown. Diego himself smirked a bit, muttering something under his breath. Then he cracked his neck and chased after Bell. The latter's eyes widened before he narrowed them in determination. If there was one thing he was proud of, it was his agility. Picking up speed he zig zagged away, bouncing off and sliding across the environment. However…
"Discord is keeping up?!"
"Just a moment ago he couldn't follow the White Fool, what changed now?!"
He was a bit slower, but it wasn't enough. He was able to stay in range the moment Bell attacked back, recreating the mirror image once more. No matter how sharp the turns, no matter how weird the terrain Bell used, he couldn't shake him off to gain an advantage-
"How can someone copy another person that well?!" Hestia asked in outrage. Riveria narrowed her eyes, sharing a look with her fellow executives.
"That's not a skill you get from fighting in the dungeon."
"What do you mean?" Raul asked, tilting his head. To everyone's surprise however the response came from behind them with a soft voice.
"It's anti human."
Everyone turned around, looking at Aiz with wide eyes. She on the other hand only had eyes on the screen, intently focusing. Tione was the first to look away, biting her lip. Yet Aiz ignored it, frowning at the screen. Or rather at Bell. It seemed like he wasn't noticing. That was bad.
It was in that instance that it happened. Bell swung his right blade forward. Diego's smile slightly widened. Then as if it was the easiest thing in the world, he didn't hit Bell's attack head on. Instead, almost casually, he parried it off to the side. Bell's eyes widened but it was too late. He couldn't bring up his left hand in time, as Discord moved past him, his wrist twisting ver so slightly before cutting across his stomach. Steel met chain mail underneath his clothes but Bell still grit his teeth. His defense gave away and a wide gash appeared on his sides.. He frantically cut after him with his left blade but at that point Diego was already out of range. The audience gasped at the sudden turn in events.
"Discord has first blood!"
"But why, they moved exactly the same?!"
"Bell got caught," Lyra muttered, rubbing her chin with a frown. Hestia snapped her head at the Pallum, worry clear in her expression.
"In what?!"
"Discord's rhythm." Lyra tapped the ground in demonstration, her ears twitching a bit. "He was subtly changing it, without Bell noticing."
"And that messed with his senses. What he thinks he's doing and what he actually was doing got out of sync."
"Leaving an opening," Alise agreed with Finn's words. Ryuu pressed her lips together as Bell checked his sides, blood seeping out of it as it stained his cloth.
"Bell... !"
He hissed before removing his hand. It wasn't too deep. The chain caught most of the damage. Still, he realized he needed to mix things up. He didn't like to admit it, but in terms of swordplay, he was losing out right now. With that in mind, he focused, on the image of returning home, of bringing his Familia back. The moment the thought entered his mind, Argonaut activated.
"Ohh, shiny lights!"
"It looks like the White Fool is pulling out a card from his sleeve!"
Immediately after, he went back onto the offensive, not wanting to give the momentum to Diego. Once more, they danced around each other, swords cutting away at their opponent. This time however, Bell strained himself mentally. To focus on his grasp on Argonaut. To focus on his own movements, to make sure he doesn't leave an opening like before. Yet it didn't help that much. Bit by bit, Diego's blades got past his defenses. Slight cuts here and there at most, but it build up, the stress and the damage as his skin was turning red. Yet he grit his teeth and increased his speed, trying to make up for quality with quantity. Finally he was actually hitting back as he turned into top speed. Diego's eyes widened in surprise when he barely tilted his head to the side when Bell's right blade aimed for his eye. With a grin, he dodged and weaved like Bell as they gave each other insignificant cuts, Salamander Wool fluttering with some damage here and there. Eventually, the time came. He was glowing with white energy. Diego backed off, eyes narrowed.
Yet the instance he backed off, Bell gave chase. He raised his right hand, swinging upwards. Yet his lips didn't move. No, he focused solely on the image in his head. The spell he needed to use didn't need a chant after all. It only helped to focus. But now he was different. He didn't need it. In close range like this, there was only one spell he could use and his opponent should know it.
However, the predictions turned out to be wrong.
A violent burst of white fire and lightning shot into the air, powerful enough to engulf even big monsters. Steam and smoke escaped from Bell's palm. The audience was utterly silent at the sight, yet none were more shocked than Bell as time seemed to slow down.
His arm was outstretched, right next to Diego's head who tilted it away. He actually stepped inside, moving past his arm that went from an upwards movement to a straight push with his palm. He smirked at him with both of his arms raised, slowly backing off.
"It missed!"
"There was no chant and Bell Cranel is known for two attack magic spells, how did Discord predict that?!"
If Diego had been wrong, he would've been hit by the maws of a dragon. His action was tailormade to avoid Firebolt. If his counter was a more general one, one that could've been applied to both spells, it would've made more sense. Yet in this instance, he accurately saw what was coming. He ignored the fact that Bell got close to use a long distance spell. It only led to one conclusion. There was something in the motion of Dragon Fang that gave it away, beyond the upwards or downwards hit. That lack of knowledge cost Bell.
"Too bad~!"
He couldn't bring up his defense in time. Discord slashed down once he backed off far enough, cutting his chest open and causing blood to spill into the air.