A/N: Chapter 8 of Mystical Eye of a Savage Hound
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OC. Revenge of the Sword Clan's Hound belongs to the rightful owner.
Chapter 8: Joint Training
Inside Hugo's room
"Hiccup." That was a sound I wasn't expecting Hugo to make from where he sat on the sofa, a response at my quick action to draw the knife – I actually was internally surprised he was able to make such a thing since he had a reputation to upheld as the head of the iron sword clan – but my focus was currently on Camus as she looked at me terrified and trembling; she was like a lost lamb about to be devoured by a big bad wolf and I was so close to her that I could see pupils of her eyes shaking in fear.
"Are you ready, Princess?" I repeated my question in a low voice, raising her arm into the air and threaten to severe the limb by pressing the knife close to where I want to cut it off, either at the elbow or a little bit before. It will be quick and painless as most of my strikes are, I doubt she'll even feel a thing…at most a pinch if I had to haggard a guess. "I'll be nice and gentle with you."
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She let out a frightful squeal when she realized I wasn't joking, tears springing forth and tumbling down her face as she couldn't fathom the pain of losing an appendage or just enduring the pain in general. Her eyes were squeezed tight and continued screaming, it was only natural in this situation; for the first time in her life she was facing this sort of crisis. "Save me, Uncle!"
"Damn brat! Step away from my niece." Adolf's dominating and intimidating presence as he involuntarily increased his mana soon appeared behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder at the enraged diplomat as he towered over me. He noticed that I hadn't released Camus' arm from my grip and he barked out another command, "Now."
I didn't say a word but I released my hold and Camus snatched her arm back quickly, glaring at me with absolute hatred. She took cover against her uncle's body and buries her face in the hem of her uncle's cloak, terrified by the experience and refusing to be consoled. Adolf himself placed a protective hand over her, running his fingers through her hair to calm her down as he turned his attention to Hugo who hadn't said anything.
"Clan head! What is the meaning of this?! How dare your insolent brat threaten a child of Morgue in such a barbaric manner!" Hugo briefly glanced at Adolf, met the angered gaze in silence before ignoring the protest and looked at me as I still held the knife in my hand, waiting for his words.
"Viktoria."
"Yes Father?" I responded politely as I was trained to do.
"Your joke just now went way too far. The Morgue Clan children are not accustomed to the Baskerville upbringing. Next time restrain yourself."
"Very well, I apologize for my behavior. These sort of jokes are normal between brothers in our clan, of course I am no exception to such treatment even if I was born female, so…I played with the princess as if she was one of our own." I said a hint of sincerity and to prove that I was sorry I bent the knife slightly with just a finger, feeling material cave under my strength. What I held was just a crude rubber toy knife, anyone could tell that it was a fake.
It was a mistake to not see the quality of the knife properly since I whipped it out in an instant. However, Adolf who was known for being meticulous and calm in everything, was startled and panicked when he looked at the item closer.
"A toy?!" He looked befuddled at the now bent toy as he kept a tight hold on his niece who had calmed down a bit. She peeked out to see the bent object in my hand, but immediately hid her face when she caught me staring at her. Oops. "Why is there even a toy like that?"
"With all due respect it wasn't my intention to make the girl cry, Clan Head Representative, so I apologize for scaring her." I bent at the waist and bowed my head respectfully. I would never do such an act, however to appease the representative and get him off my back I had no choice but to act submissive and humbled. "We play with toys such as these before our first birthday here so there's nothing more I can say on the matter."
"To treat something like that as a joke…!" Adolf growled, still angered and no doubt trying to burn a hole in my skull. "Someone will ultimately end up hurt by your neglectful actions."
"Don't you think you're being too overbearing for a joke between children? Morgue Clan Head Representative…my daughter has said she's sorry, and is even lowering her head to you. That is something a proud hound never does unless the other person deserves such action." Hugo asked as he had already accepted my apology, but Adolf did nothing but scoff, unsure if he should forgive me for my behavior so quickly. "Now then, while the children were having their discussion I've already thought of something on my side from the Ruby Mine situation."
"Hmmm? Is that so?" Adolf questioned as he turned his attention away from me, and I carefully sheathed the bent knife back into its cover; I didn't want to correct him in thinking that the knife was just a toy, all the blades wielded by the Baskerville hounds were real. However, because my body was strengthened by the River Styx any weapon with a sharp edge is useless against me.
"I can attest that the Morgue Clan will benefit with this proposal as well. So let's hurry up and finish the friendly competition."
"You…!" Camus growled at me after whining and blowing her nose in an unsightly manner a few minutes ago against her uncle's clothes. She shakes a fist at me for good measure, still feeling humiliated by my antics as well. "I won't forgive you. You won't get away with this!"
Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess. I merely smiled in response and prepared myself for the competition.
Outside arena…
The friendly competition between the two clans began as soon as our brief encounter ended, with Adolf and Camus in the lead followed by Hugo and me. There were a couple of small stages set up for fellow members to compete against one another, along with a couple of tables for older members to judge and keep an eye on things. Children ages eight to fifteen gathered in one spot to test each other's skill, and of course it was one Baskerville hound against one Morgue mage.
Compared to the eight year olds who compete on mana sensitivity or theory, the practical spars between the fifteen year olds receive a lot more attention. But this year, the attention was directed elsewhere: the two geniuses Camus Morgue and I, Viktoria van Baskerville. We followed the Morgue Clan's proposal and used the practical training rules to have a spar between the two supernovas.
I stood as I did in the colosseum with my sword tied against my back and my hair slightly blowing into my face; my jet black hair, as wild and messy as it looked, only reached below my ears for now, but I knew that in the future I allowed it to grow out so long to be tied into a ponytail. At my current stage in life my hair was short enough that I didn't need to tie it up. I still wore the classic black uniform and pants of the Baskerville family while a pair of brown shoes that covered my feet.
Across from me on the battle stage was Camus standing tall and regal like the princess she is, and it looks like she was eager to show me the capability of a pure mage. Her eyes were shining quite brightly like any ruby in a mine, any source of tears that I had seen earlier were nowhere to be found. It's to be expected, we were fighting as the poster children of our respected clans and we can't be seen as weak.
Since we were waiting for the bell to start ringing, indicating that the match can begin, I tilted my head up to glance at the sky. It was already in the early phase of a sunset, the sky still an orange-red. I took a deep breath, allowing the crisp air to fill my lungs. I kept my aloof attitude, not too worried or bothered by the prospect of participating in these kind of fights but by comparison Camus' attitude was full of poison; I swore she was trying to burn holes into me with just her dagger eyes alone.
"Be prepared, you. I never go easy in real battles." She planted her foot down firmly as we both heard the ringing bell. She immediately started to chant in a language so foreign to me, raising her mana as a bright orange circle shimmered into view before her filled with all sorts of weird symbols, characters, and patterns. Her fellow magicians could only watch on in amazement but since it was my first time seeing this type of fighting I stood to watch.
Soon she had four magical circles in existence – the original orange circle slight above her head, two circles on the side, one was white while the other was blue, and a final one beneath her feet – and I could only wager a guess that they were elemental circles. The first one started having rings of fire, the one on its left was chilly with icicles, the one on the right was crackling like lightning, and the last one seemed to be related to the earth with its murky yellow color.
Quadruple Casting is what my ears picked up from the chatter, some muttered the words like 'Fireball', 'Ice Spear', 'Thunder Ring' and 'Mud Wall', which I interpret are the names of those spells. Clearly this girl's talent was truly amazing to be witnessing first hand.
"Simultaneous arithmetic substitution of as many as four of them is a talent beyond imagination…" I murmured to myself, and then I blinked when my mind caught up with what my mouth said. Huh…why did I say those words?
"To think she cast four spells that even fifteen year olds struggle with simultaneously…!" Adolf turned to Hugo from where they sat in front row seating, a grin on his face. "I guess it's to be expected from the Morgue Clan's genius magician!"
"Don't space out now!" With a wave of a hand she sent the first three elements at me, a wave of fire, lightning, and ice each the size of a child's fist. I tilted my body forward as if to intercept them, but instead ended up bobbing and weaving to dodge. I knew in my head that even if I allowed these spells to hit, they'll do little damage to my body.
"Those sure are some flashy moves you sent my way," I said as I used a hand to sweep my hair back a bit, "but wouldn't it be better for you to focus on each spell individually? What's the point of doing so much casting if your opponent isn't going to let you hit them?"
"Hmph! Then don't dodge them in the first place and get hit! A worm like you who knows nothing about magic has no right to say those things to me!" She snapped angrily. Oops, it looks like I wounded her pride a bit.
"Aren't you dumb? The whole point is to not get hit by your opponent." I retaliated nonchalantly and went on the offense, running towards her with my blade still attached to my back. I figured it would be a nice exercise to hone my close quarter fighting, maybe even have a chance to best her without using a weapon. But deep down I'm sure she'll find a way to get me to use my sword.
"Mud Wall!" The ground rumbled and a massive pillar of mud shot out between us, acting as a shield for her and an obstacle for me to overcome.
"Name calling, is that what you've resorted too?" Planting my left foot down, I spun around and lashed out with my right, demolishing her wall with a well-placed kick. "Every worm on this planet should be offended."
"Kugh…!" I can't believe the wall broke so easily with a single kick! Is this the power of the Baskerville Clan's River Styx…?! Camus' thoughts were running high as I closed the distance between us, and she closed her eyes waiting for impact of possibly a fist to her cheek. I was careless!
For a moment nothing happened, no pain, no sound, not even the slightest breath. So she slowly opened one eye before realizing that she was looking straight at my left hand held slightly higher than her face, the middle finger pulled back and tucked underneath the thumb. I smirked at her in an arrogant way, almost laughing at her.
"Never close your eyes in a fight, Princess. It's dangerous." I let my finger go and it flicked against her forehead with a resounding smack. Her head snapped back and she grunted before tumbling back.
"A forehead flick?! How absurd!" Adolf voiced while Hugo just smirked at my antics.
"Grrr, grrr! A-A flick to the forehead…? I'm not a child!" Camus held her head, no doubt feeling a lump forming where I hit her. "Don't tell me you're going easy with me as your opponent?! I won't let you get away with this!"
"C'mon Princess, use your head a little. Aren't you supposed to be a genius?" I tapped my own forehead with a finger in the exact same place as her wound. "It looks like what I did still hurts."
"You dog…"
"Be lucky I only gave you a flick, it'd be a better end to this battle with my victory. Unless," I tilted my head to the side mockingly, "you want to keep going and end up a little worse?"
"Kgh…! I hate you!" She slammed both hands to the ground and shouted, "Mud Wall! Double!" True to her word two massive pillars shot up between me and her, around the same height as her first use of the spell but I somehow feel like the second one is a bit smaller. "Hahaha! It's two-fold this time! Bet you won't be able to break this!"
"Well I can see that, I'm not blind." I shouted to her, not holding back the sarcasm because honestly it is just too much fun messing with her. "And isn't it pointless if I just walk around it?" I did as I said and peeked around the corner, watching her yip with embarrassment when she noticed me. "Seriously, if you're going to stop your opponent at least cover the whole area. You're just asking to be hit again."
"D-D-Don't come over here! Go back over there where I can't see you!" She jabbed her finger at me in an accusing manner. Shrugging my shoulders in response I pulled back and shuffled to where I was on my side of the wall, imagining the red-headed princess holding back her embarrassment. She really is too much fun to tease.
"Okay, Princess I'm back on my side of your wall. And now I'll play with you and see if I can smash through your two-folded walls!" Pulling my right arm back and curling my fingers into a tight fist, I grinned before throwing the punch forward. The material of the first wall crumbled underneath the force like a sheet of paper and so did its other layer right behind it. Now my arm was outstretched and in Camus' face.
"Gulp!" She swallowed, eyes widened at the fingers who invaded her space in an instant.
"Now, let me ask you this. The hand that broke through the wall….who do you think it belongs to?" I asked her and waited for her to answer. Should be a very simple question to answer, but she was startled from my quick movement that she couldn't find anything to say. Therefore I smiled and answered for her, "The answer is the stronger one!"
"Gah!" She yelped as I flicked her in the same area, and she tumbled back to rub her forehead as the walls all crumbled around us. With tears in her eyes, she threw her infamous tantrums and screams loudly. A genius girl who grew up like a golden jade leaf couldn't stand this reoccurring humiliation. "I'll kill you!"
For a genius she sure is spoiled little brat, much like a princess. I thought as I merely avoided a fire ball to the head, although she definitely misfired so I didn't have to dodge this last attack. She must be a handful to handle though, with this kind of personality…
"Who dares to play this this – aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Cancelling her offensive magic she summoned four mud walls to surround herself and all I saw was a massive cocoon. It's quite the creation if I do say so myself so I took the time to admire it. Then I heard her smug voice from within her shell, "How is that? Amazed aren't you? No one can pierce this so you can't either! Hahaha!"
This girl…even when cornered she still remains strong. I snorted with laughter at her confidence.
Camus didn't mind being shielded on all sides even if her vision was completely blacked out. She took the time to rub her throbbing forehead with both hands this time and dried her tears. Once she was sure she could be presentable she sat in silence, waiting for me to make my move. So far there wasn't any sign of movement. Just impending silence.
"Hohoho, what a loser! There's no way she'll be able to penetrate these walls." She sneered to herself, almost patting herself on the back. There was no answer and after some time passed she rubbed her forehead in thought. Ummmmm, but if I do this…I won't be able to leave right? What should I do? With my vision completely blocked I can't see or hear what's going on outside. I can't try anything else except maintaining these walls…
"Should I make a hole to see what's happening?"She started to become a bit restless, and slowly got to her feet. Making her way over to one of the sides she relaxed for a moment and made a small hole to peek through.
"There you are." My hand thrusted its way through the hole and smacked her in the forehead once more. "And here I thought you'd be a lot more careful than that."
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Y-You bitch!" Camus squealed, immediately removing the layers of mud while tending to the pain and boiled anger. Her eyes were burning like a never ending flame and I just smiled in return; that kind of reaction just spurred her to go on the offensive, and she forgone defense magic to focus on offensive magic. "I'll kill you!"
"You already said that and yet here I stand without a scratch. Looks like the Morgue Clan's children have more bark than the Baskervilles yet we're considered the actual hounds here. Except when we bark we follow up by biting back, not tucking our tails between our legs." I goaded her and she took the taunt immediately, her nostrils flared up indignantly. Hook, line, and stinker!
"Shut up shut up shut up!"
"With the way you're yelling like that you sure aren't saving face for the Morgues. It's an ugly look on you."
"Shut the fuck up!" Casting all four offensive magic at once the anger the red-haired girl felt flowed over and she sent all of them my way. I played the same game and dance with her, dodging her attacks while thinking about her wrath and behavior.
You know, if I put some thought into this, I could kill her in the blink of an eye…and that's only if I felt like it and used Beelzebub. However, the repercussions along with the hug uproar and showing Hugo this special power I have is something I rather not take care of. And it seems like the princess will be like this for a while, I did tease her a lot during this fight and delivered pain to that forehead of hers three times already. Such a hassle…
There! "Five layer Mud Wall!" Camus narrowed her eyes at the small window of opportunity, immediately switching between her magic and placing both hands on the ground once more.
"Hmmm?" The moment I stopped moving the mud walls closed in around me, sending me into pitch darkness. I stood in the middle and observed my situation calmly, although there wasn't much that I can see anyway. So I used my voice to try and get some response from the outside, "Well look at this, Princess, you finally caught the big bad wolf. Now what's your plan? Suffocate me to death?"
No response which is unusual since I was certain that she would like to get final word in. I waited a few more minutes before I started to feel the change in the atmosphere. It was miniscule but I felt the beads of sweat appearing on my skin, no doubt the temperature was rising and I saw that the mud wall was beginning to turn red.
Oh I see what she's up too. Trying to roast this lowly dog alive.
"Be burned to charcoal!" Camus, while maintaining the mud wall with one hand albeit with a bit of difficulty, she simultaneously casted her fireball to surround the mud walls with the other hand. The flames surrounded the mud structure, lapping eagerly at the cocoon and turning the material bright; the genius of Morgue kept the temperature under control, not wanting the mud walls to melt too quickly.
From the audience the members of the Morgue Clan were cheering on the young genius with loud voices, chanting for my demise and the defeat of Baskerville. Those of the Baskerville Clan were silent as they watched the match as the flames slowly grew bigger and bigger till it covered the cocoon, not making a peep as they followed their training.
"It seems like your insolent pup won't last in that oven forever, a tragedy I'm sure if we wait for a few minutes." Adolf mused as he glanced at Hugo who didn't bother to respond or give any indication of expression. "Even the strongest flame practitioners of the Morgue Clan fell unconscious due to this strategy."
"How is it in there? Are you burning yet?" asked Camus as she kept the magic going, watching as the flames continued to burn before her eyes. There's no way she'll survive another five minutes…even Uncle's best of the best lost consciousness for staying too long in there.
Sounds like she's already proclaiming victory from me even though I am still very much alive, and these walls feel like they're hot enough to burn my hands if I carelessly touch it. I thought as I had covered my nose and mouth with a hand, the lack of oxygen was stifling and the space around me soon became filled with carbon monoxide; if I breathed in anymore I would no doubt blackout. Hmmmmm, perhaps the Swordsmanship's 2nd Fang is enough against her and I won't have to use any other fancy tricks to fool Hugo…if anything happens I'll at most lean into using the 3rd Fang to blindside her. But to get myself out of this predicament, the 2nd Fang should be enough!
Pulling my weapon off my back I took a stance and poured mana into the blade, its steel surface soon covered with the familiar red Aura. I didn't bother to pinpoint the weakest area of the wall because the whole thing was my target to take down, and I lunged forward. The sword, guided by my arm, soared in an arc as I performed the technique, two solid lines that looked like a hound's fangs dug themselves into the red wall.
"Wh-Wha..!?" Camus gasped as her mud walls crumbled under pressure and combusted, quickly throwing up a shield to protect herself from the flying debris as it littered around her feet and off the stage; some even flew towards the audience but Adolf was quick to throw up a protection spell that covered them. The flames that surrounded it was extinguished from the technique, leaving only a charred line on the ground. "That's im-impossible…H-H-How did you survive that…?"
"I'm surprised Princess, you nearly had me beat." I took a deep breath from where I stood, thankful for the fresh air that entered my lungs. Some parts of my hair clung to my face due to sweat, and my uniform was a bit scuffed from being cooked. "I almost blacked out if I had waited. Is that what you were waiting for, Princess? I can see your irritation and disappointment from here."
"Argh!" She snapped and launched an ice spear this time.
"Where the hell were you aiming? Missed completely, that must be great on your pristine record." I whistled in amazement as I watched the spell whiz a full foot past my face, disappearing into the sky. I decided to tease the red-haired girl just a bit since she looked incredibly tired after all those spells, smiling when she puffed up her cheeks with frustration, "Look, Princess, I don't mind if you mess up the rest of me but if you wanted to avoid harming my pretty face all you had to do was ask."
"You shitty mutt…how dare you provoke with me with your nonsense." Despite feeling fatigue and the toll of throwing out spells after releasing constant spells one after the other, she stood firm and casted some more circles, some of which I recognized now that I learned her pattern, but there was a smaller circle that caught my attention hidden within the shadows of the others.
"Oho? What is that small spell you got going on over there? Something that helps you adjust the timing between all the others to fire more accurately?" I grinned with interest before I frowned in mild confusion. How did I know that? I shouldn't have, Baskerville Clan doesn't delve in magic since they're masters of the sword…Morgue Clan is the top notch clan for magicians. Is it possibly one of the perks of my other eye? How and why?
"As if I'd tell you what that spell is, but it seems you have some inkling of what it does." She retorts loudly, pointing both hands at me with anger, "You may have been able to avoid all these attacks–"
"Didn't really have to avoid that last one you fired, you just had terrible aim." I remarked jovially and she growled at my taunt.
"You shut your dirty mouth! I won't allow you to dodge everything anymore and make a mockery out of me!"
We're both getting spent on this mock fighting, and she's running on fumes and possibly adrenaline just to hit me. Her wounded pride won't let her roll over and take this insult of a match. I mused, weaving and dodging her attacks as they came in droves; there were points where I couldn't dodge but I used the surface of my blade to either deflect or use the 2nd Fang to counter attack. With each dodge or counter attack, Camus' temperament was rising and I took noticed of how sloppily she was using her energy, her tunnel vision focuses solely on hurting me.
"Why won't you stand still and get hit?! Goddamn it!"
What can I do to appease her and calm her down? I briefly glanced over my shoulder at the combatants on the other stage and smiled to myself as the gear within my mind turned. Now there's an idea. In these sorts of situations, the cleanest way to handle things is to not use your hands and nothing is more interesting than watching Morgue Clan take out one of their own.
"I'll cut all of this shitty magic!" The Baskerville boy proudly proclaimed and taunted his opponent, his cockiness nearly made me gag when I heard the words. Seriously, the battle was between a stupid magician overusing fire magic and this idiot dog cutting the magic all willy-nilly. But even if it was stupid I will use it to my advantage.
"Stand still and let me hit! Don't think you can get away with thinking you are invincible!" Camus' voice cut through and I simply smiled while backing up, keeping an eye on both her and the other fighters. The genius of Morgue prowled forward like a predator, a fireball sparking in the middle of her palm with my face written all over it. "You bitch! Why don't you stop running away like a coward, grow a pair like the other males in your stupid clan and fight me!"
"Then let's see if you can cut this, too! You damn bastard dog!" The other Morgue boy snarled as he formed a fireball between the palms of his hands. Based on what I saw it seemed to be a massive spell, these boys were hoping to end everything in the matter of minutes.
"Come at me! I'm not scared of some shit fire!" The Baskerville boy responded with confidence as I avoided a fireball of my own, jumping backwards and knew that the end of the platform was just a few centimeters behind me. "I'll prove my worth in front of my Clan head!"
"Camus Morgue."
"Hmmm?" Camus blinked in surprise at what I said, not sure why I spoke her name in the midst of battle. In fact this is perhaps the first time I said her actual name.
"You may want to throw up a protection spell." I smirked as the massive fire spell summoned by the Morgue boy on the stage over consumed everything including his Baskerville opponent and roared towards Camus whose eyes widened in surprise. What happened was a massive fireball that consumed the entire area, expanding into a flame explosion before covering the whole stage in thick smoke.
"No!" Adolf stood up abruptly as he looked in the smoke-filled arena, the sparks of ember billowing up into the sky. The other members watching the sequence of events were all on their feet with astonishment and worry. "Camus! Answer me!"
"Lord Camus!"
"How can this be?!" The other members of the Morgue Clan spoke amongst each other with worry while the Baskerville Clan members were also worried about my own well-being. Some were debating on whether to rush onto the stage to help or hold back, others were waiting for the mediators to step in but they seem to be waiting for clear orders.
This voice…Uncle? What do I do about this situation? Camus had heard the worried voice of Adolf through the smoke but she couldn't respond properly. One of the ponytails had come undone from the blast so her long hair ended up tumbling down her shoulders. She was able to block the damage by throwing up a protection spell thanks to my forewarning, but she looked at how most of her clothes had been burnt to ashes by the spell.
She hurriedly took off the articles of fabric that were still sizzling with the fire so she ended up sitting in the middle of the stage in her underwear and a small piece of her shirt that covered her breasts, her stomach however was left exposed. Her skirt was also in tatters and her leggings were also filled with holes. Fortunately the remnants of the blazing flames along with the soot and dust around the girl shielded her naked body from the others. But she felt the slight wind against her skin and knew that with enough blows the smoke would dissipate, leaving her exposed for all to see.
I'll be more humiliated than this whole fight…! I can't let the others, much less Uncle and those hounds from Baskerville, lay their eyes on my body. She quickly wrapped her arms around her body, trying to maintain as much modesty as she could and squeezed her eyes shut tight, hot tears threatening to fall down her cheeks; in this moment nothing else mattered except preserving her dignity, her mind recalling an incident where her mother kicked her out of the gate naked after an argument. Thus her trauma was coming to the forefront of her mind and she refused to go through it again. Someone, anyone, please, help me…!
In that moment something soft fell on top of her head and down her bare back, the familiar coat of a Baskerville hound. She looked up tearfully as I stood before her with my weapon embedded into the ground with my hand resting on the hilt. My pants were scuffed from where I tumbled off the stage, the edges were slightly smoldered by the flames but weren't worse for wear. The undershirt I had worn underneath my coat for this fight didn't escape the flames; the bottom edges were burnt black and exposed the lower abdominal muscles. Overall I had escaped with minimal damage and was willing to give up my coat for her, it was the least I could do.
"Wear this at least, Princess, it should keep you covered until you're able to get replacement clothes."
"Wh-Why are you being nice to your enemy?" She stuttered with suspicion in her voice, although the blush on her face and the way she adjusted my coat a bit so it covered her head and both shoulders, her fingers tightening against the fabric betrayed how she really felt. "Aren't you worried that I'd attack back?"
"Well if you're gonna be unappreciative of what's given to you then I'll take my coat back since you clearly don't want it." I responded and watched with a knowing smirk as she gripped the cloth even tighter. "So you do appreciate what's given. What a good girl."
"Sh-Shut up! Th-That's not it…." She grumbled in a soft embarrassed voice, adverting her eyes a bit before glancing back at me. "You aren't wearing much either, and I wouldn't want you to be humiliated either in front of the two clans…"
"Honestly, I'm in a better position than you are in terms of clothed." I told her nonchalantly and shrugged my shoulders, not at all bothered as the wind blew past and slightly lifted my damaged undershirt, allowing the Morgue child to peek at my toned torso some more. "It is only the children's privilege that their honor will not be damaged even if they expose their naked bodies to the whole world.
"The tendency to regard it as shameful to show the skin underneath the clothes is rampant regardless of gender, but those are the stories of adults to last. It is not a big problem or flaw emotionally for young children to go around naked, of course the child's opinion may differ."
"To be in this shameful position before you, in front of my enemy…" Camus uttered bitterly, holding my coat tighter in hopes of comfort. "I'd rather be dead then show you any part of me…but that's no longer possible. I can only imagine the horror once the smoke disappears."
"Be at ease, Princess, you won't be mocked or punished for how you are." Stepping my left foot back behind my right I bent my knees a bit while taking a half bow, removing my left hand from the hilt of my weapon to fold it in front of my chest, the right index finger raised in front of my lips. My right arm was bent at the elbow and placed behind my back. "This image of your shame will stay between us. It'll be our little secret."
She smiled a bit from what I said as I straightened my posture before her mouth turned into a frown. "You're bleeding from your arm!"
"Hmmmm, well now that's interesting." I looked at the mark on the forearm of my left arm with an interested expression on my face. A scratch on a body strengthened by the River Styx…did that idiot's sword fragment still have some aura left on it? I should report to Hugo and let him deal out the punishment…
"Lord Camus! Are you alright?!" The sounds of the moderators sounded and we turned our heads to see a group of Morgue members rush towards us. The wind took that chance to blow and alleviate the smokescreen, allowing everyone to witness the end of our fight: Camus wrapped in the Baskerville family's training uniform, and I standing in only half an undershirt and pants, slightly bleeding from my arm.
The atmosphere was no longer one filled with fighting spirit, so it was evident that we were finished. I glanced back at Camus and saw in her eyes that she was done and wished to not fight anymore; if anything she was more anxious to get back and redress.
"Oh Camus, y-you're fine…what a relief…" Adolf uttered when he saw his niece, exhaling a held breath out of a sense of calmness. "What a relief indeed…I don't know how I'd face your mother if you ended up hurt or worse, dead."
"Waaah! Watch out!" There was a frantic call from the other side and a fireball from the stage further down was launched out of control, heading straight towards us. It seems that even though the flame explosion was large it didn't deter one set of fifteen year old combatants out of their fight, and the fire spell that was unleashed was slightly smaller in size. "Runaway fireball!"
"Camus!" The representative of the Morgue Clan shouted as he watched the out of control fireball rocket itself towards the defensive girl, all the calmness that had surrounded him was immediately replaced with worry and anxiety. Before he could utter a spell to defend his niece, I picked up my weapon and stood before her, the blade raised and pointed at the ball of fire. I could feel her gaze glued onto my back, but I didn't face her as my weapon was immediately coated in the dark red aura.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Using the remnants of my own strength to unleash the 2nd Fang, I sliced the fireball into pieces once it was close enough and used the surface of the blade to deflect any pieces as it exploded around us. My face was covered in soot and dirt, and I quickly raised a hand to pat my hair to make sure it wasn't on fire; there were some tips that felt as though they were licked by the flames, but I figured a quick hop in the shower would get rid of that issue.
"Amazing, such flawless movement and control of the blade…I don't have doubt that the young hound of Baskerville had be diligent in her training, those muscles are definitely a result of her hard work."
"So that is the prowess of the Baskerville genius blessed by the River Styx…my eyes nearly couldn't follow its movement clearly."
"To think she was quick to shield the daughter of Morgue from where she sat vulnerable on the ground…what do you think Hugo would do in response?"
"This fight is over and perhaps the rest of the matches of this joint training." I spoke calmly as I stuck my blade into the ground and rested my hands over its hilt. "Father," Hugo blinked in surprise as I called for him but I didn't move from my stance from where I protected Camus. "What are your orders?"
"Well done, daughter, it is as you said." The Clan head of the Baskervilles spoke as he stood up to his full height while Adolf made his way to Camus and wrapped his arms around her, sobbing uncontrollably as he smothered his niece with his worry. "This event is over and ended with your victory."