The Stray Smith

by Born of Prayers

"A Sword is not Strength. A Sword is not Skill. A Sword is not Fellowship." These were the tenets of the Craftknight. And for the amnesiac Welf, they became a truth upon his time spent in the City of Swords as part of a story involving eight apprentices, four swords, and what lay at the bottom of the Labyrinth of Wystern.

11. Chapter 10: First Round - Part 1

The day of the Craftlord Tournament came after a week of preparation.

Pacing around the lobby of the Central Tower while her Guardian Beast watched from atop a nearby set of boxes, Pratty couldn't shake an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. In fact, it was almost like her stomach was gnawing on itself. Not from hunger but from being worried about Trish.

Her friend had been a lot more… distant for the last few days. Pratty figured that it was because of their impending match. She knew that the moment they had been declared opponents there might be some awkwardness. But she thought that they would remain friends until the end.

Welf seemed to notice her discomfort and reassured her that things would be fine once the match was over. That Trish was probably trying to do her best to make sure that she could be a worthy opponent. That Pratty should do the same to respect her efforts.

Pratty still had her doubts but felt that he had a point. Trish was probably doing her best in her own way so she should do the same. Then they could go back to the way things were once the match was over… or at least she hoped that they would.

Yet Trish was nowhere to be seen when it was almost time for them to face each other in battle. The Sixth Match was in progress, and they were scheduled for the Eighth Match of the day. Trish hadn't even left the guild when the rest of them had, stating she needed to finish getting ready. Pratty couldn't help but worry that something might have happened to her…

"Is something wrong, Pratty?" She froze in place when a familiar voice came from behind her. "Are you nervous?"

"No, I was waiting for y—" Her words were lost as she turned to see that Trish had dressed differently than normal. She wore a more Silturnian-design that had a darker purple-hue color and had changed her hair from pigtails into a ponytail hanging from the back of her head. In her hands was a long object wrapped in a cloth that was most likely her spear. "What happened to your clothes?"

"Since we're going to be fighting in front of a crowd from all over the world this time, I thought I should dress appropriately." She turned in place and held her arms out for Pratty to take in her appearance. "Does it look weird on me?"

"You look really pretty in those clothes," Pratty reassured her. "Still, I wish you had told me you were going to dress up. I would have done the same."

Hearing the response coaxed a smile from Trish's face. "I'm happy to hear that, but you aren't really comfortable in fancy clothes, right?"

It was true. Pratty never really had that much of an eye for fashion. She just picked whatever clothes happened to be comfortable.

"Still, at least then we would have been able to spend more time together." Her slender fingers brushed her forearm as she looked down to the ground. "I was a bit lonely with you pushing me away."

Trish's expression softened. "I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I just wanted to wait until I was ready for the match, after I had polished my technique to be at the very best. I never wanted to hurt you, but I needed to prepare myself."

"I still wish you would have just told me that, but… I guess I understand." She looked up from the ground and smiled. "So, we're still friends?"

"Of course we are," Trish said softly before reaching over and embracing her gently in a hug. "You're my dearest friend, Pratty. No matter what."

The uncertainty in Pratty's heart melted as she returned the embrace. "And you're mine too."

The two remained as such until the distant noise that was the roar of a crowd could be heard. It sounded like a match had ended. It would be their turn to go out soon. "It sounds like it's almost time for us to fight."

"I suppose so," Trish said before pulling away and giving her dear friend a smile. "Do your best, Pratty."

"You too," Pratty said before watching as Trish made her way through the entrance. Then a gentle mewl was followed by a weight settling on her helmet and a draping of green and white filling her vision. Kutty had changed his perch from the boxes to the top of her head. She readjusted her helmet before saying, "Kutty, I have a favor to ask."

The Magical Beast leaned down and quirked his head with an inquisitive, "Kuu?"

"I want to face Trish on my own since she worked hard for our match," she began. "But I don't want to ignore you. So, to keep things fair between us, how about you help me if Pouso helps her? Does that work for you?"

He bobbed his head in agreement. "Kutty!"

That decided, Pratty went through the final preparations. She confirmed that her Summonite Gem had all its charges for Kutty to use when needed. Her Sharp Dagger was in good condition, and she had gotten familiarized with the additional length and weight over the last few days. She was as ready as she could be.

Then it was showtime as she was called down for her match.

Clapping her cheeks to spur herself forward, Pratty ventured down the stairs leading from her side of the Central Tower. The crowd was much larger than the Preliminaries and she felt the gaze of thousands upon her and Kutty, who was floating next to her. Trish was also coming down at the same time with Pouso floating next to her—an unveiled spear in her hand.

The Yari stood tall and rigid as it managed to eclipse its wielder in height by at least a head. Instead of a diamond-shaped spearpoint there was a single-edged short sword of Silturnian-design. There was also a round guard affixed between the base of the blade and the tip of the shaft.

The neck of the spear was collared by a golden fitting that was about the length of her hand. You could make out where pegs were fixed along the shaft, marking where the tang was nestled between another collar in the shape of the ring. The remainder of the shaft was naked until the end cap, which was shaped into a small, bladed wedge.

It was a far cry from the simplistic design of her Novice Spear. Pratty could tell that Trish had put a lot of work into making it. And it looked so pretty that she was actually sad that it might break by the end of their fight.

The Craftlord of Sapphire waited until they both set foot on the platform itself before he raised his sword in the air as a signal for the crowd to quiet down. Once they did so, he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "We will now commence the Eighth Match of the First Round of the Craftlord Tournament. The match will be between Craftknight Pratty and Craftknight Trish, both hailing from the Silver Guild. Are you both ready?"

Pratty nodded her head while gripping the hilt of her dagger. "Yes!"

Trish took a deep breath before tightening the grasp on her spear. "I am, Master Sakuro."

"Then, as Craftknights of Wystern, fight with honor and dignity—" He brought down the ceremonial blade with a practiced grace. "—FIGHT!"

Pratty drew her blade and rushed forward. She knew that she had a disadvantage when it came to range. Her best chance to win was to get in close as fast as possible.

In contrast, Trish only took a few steps forward before taking on a fighting stance. She kept her right leg backwards and facing outwards while her left leg was forward and facing straight. The Yari was held level to her stomach as she kept her eyes on Pratty…

Then a silver streak split the air the moment they got within three paces between one another.

Trish had made the first move. Her spear was raised as she slid forward and then was swung down in a single smooth motion. It was a vertical cleave meant to split open her opponent's skull.

Pratty's reflexes kicked in. She twisted her grounded leg to pivot her body to the left, leaving the twin tufts of her hair to rustle as steel brushed past her head. Then she shifted her weight to her rear foot to reorient herself in time for a counterattack.

Except Trish didn't give her the chance. She followed up her assault by whirling around and bringing the wedge-shaped endcap up in the process. That sent it on a collision course with the side of Pratty's skull.

The Sharp Dagger rose in time to intercept it and sparks bloomed as steel met steel. Pratty had successfully parried the second attack at the expense of the impact throwing her arms back. It would take her a second or two to get it back into a guard position.

That would be too late as the Yari came for her again. Trish had used a twist of the wrist to flip the blade around before dragging it upwards. It would cut Pratty from waist to shoulder and deal a grievous blow if left unchecked.

Pratty realized that she couldn't block it from such a bad position. The only thing she could do was take a clumsy leap backwards at the last second. She felt the point of the spear scrape past her stomach as she put more distance between them, leaving her to wince before she positioned her Sharp Dagger to guard against a follow-up attack.

Trish chose not to chase her down. She instead flourished the Yari and got back into a different stance. It seemed to be more of a guarding position while she reassessed the situation.

It was only then Pratty noticed the disappearance of the Brim Hat Spirit.

Pouso had completely vanished from sight. Pratty was sure the little spirit was still somewhere around here since a Guardian Beast was rarely far from their partner. But the moment her gaze left her opponent to find it was the moment that Trish rushed her down with the Yari's blade hovering inches above the stone floor and angled for a diagonal stroke.

She could tell that it would carve her up from below from hip-to-shoulder and moved her Sharp Dagger to guard against it with a reverse grip. But that was when Trish pulled another feint and flourished her wrist to shift the blade forward before performing a back spin. The next thing she knew the diagonal sweep had turned into a running silver arch that carved across her chest. "Ow!"

Sucking in a sharp breath as she staggered backwards, Pratty winced from the bleed-through. It had really hurt even though she knew Trish was normally not strong enough to hit her that hard. The only conclusion she could draw was that the spinning motions made Trish's slashes a lot stronger, but before she could even do anything with that knowledge the spear was already coming towards her heart with a piercing thrust.

Fortunately, Pratty knew how to deal with that by twisting her shoulders so that it missed her chest. Then she followed up by bringing her dagger around and hooking it just beneath the guard before Trish could drag it back. That created the opening she was looking for and Pratty wasted no time in closing the distance between the two of them to plunge the point of her blade into her opponent's throat.

Trish twisted as she saw steel closing in on her neck, leaving the razor-sharp edge to only graze her throat in passing. But she knew that Pratty was still too close for comfort, so she pole-vaulted herself away right as Pratty tried to disembowel her with a second slash. She then slipped back into a combat stance—this time positioning her Yari behind her.

Seeing the change from before while preparing to run her down gave Pratty just enough of a pause to listen to her instincts. She sprung herself up into the air rather than forward, which was all that saved her from being forced to crawl as the silver crescent passed beneath her like a scythe. Pratty then used her Sharp Dagger to parry the blade upwards as the Yari came around again.

Trish pushed for a third attack as she reared the spear back before the sparks could finish falling and released an overhead diagonal with a sliding step. Pratty narrowly avoided losing her head by ducking down. But avoiding it only served to feed into the fourth swing as the spearwoman came around once more with a horizontal swipe.

Once more Pratty was ill-footed to avoid it. All she could do was brace her arm as she raised the Sharp Dagger up in time to meet it. Her thin arms quaked from the force of the impact as it sent her staggering back. Pratty barely managed to get her footing under her and prepared to close the distance again—

"Storm Wind!"

—only for Pouso to pop into existence right in front of her. She was unsure if the Brim Hat Spirit had used its spiritual nature to become ethereal or had simply bent the air around it to become invisible, but it had caught her off-guard entirely and left her no chance to retreat. The storm was unleashed with a point-blank blast and Pratty was swallowed up by the spiraling winds.

The gale pressed against Pratty with such force that it robbed her of all senses and the ability to move. The rush of the wind threatened to crush her eyes in their sockets if not for the protection fueled by her mana. Its cacophonous roar pounded at her eardrums so loudly that she thought they would explode. Its stranglehold smothered her screams as they left her mouth. She was completely helplessly within its grasp as it tossed her around…

"Kuu."

Then the storm was drowned out by a soft mewl and Pratty became acquainted with solid stone as she fell onto the ground. Taking a heavy breath as she turned her gaze upwards, she saw her Guardian Beast hovering in the air just ahead of her. The winds that had tossed her about hadn't even rustled his hat as they unraveled against his outstretched fist even before her Summonite grew luminous.

Kutty then began winding his fist like a windmill. The air wove around the limb like yarn being spooled into a ball with such intensity that she could feel the pull of it. Then the Magical Beast unleashed it all with a playful cheer. "Kuuuttty!"

The gale that Kutty unleashed thrashed and snarled as if it were a living thing. It devoured the Brim Hat Spirit and refused to let it escape as it was tossed around inside the cage of wind. Pratty almost felt bad for the little spirit, but fair was fair considering it had blasted her first. Then she noticed Trish getting dangerously close to it. "Ah, you shouldn't—"

Before she could get the words out Trish willingly threw herself into the walls of the twister with her arms outstretched. It became clear her goal was to catch the Guardian Beast being tossed about like a leaf in the gale and by some miracle she had managed to succeed midflight. But the penalty for touching the twister was that it ruthlessly swept off her feet and flung her through the air.

"Trish!" Pratty watched in horror as her friend tumbled against the ground for several meters until she came to a stop right at the very edge, huddled over and holding her partner against her chest. Forgetting the match itself, she rushed over to make sure that she hadn't hurt herself too badly. "Are you okay?"

"That actually stung quite a bit…" Trish struggled to get back up. Her body was pulsating faintly to show that her defenses had been pushed to the limit. Pratty could only imagine how sore she was feeling after that from the bleed-through. "…What about you, Pouso?"

"Pou-so!" The Brim Hat Spirit wriggled out of her grasp as it let out a sound that seemed to be a mix of concern and chastisement. Then it brandished its star-shaped wand and moved to press against her forehead, only to turn its gaze towards Kutty and Pratty warily. "Pooo…"

She caught onto the fact that it thought they were going to interfere after a moment. And she felt a bit offended, to be honest. "As if I would want to win like this! Heal her!"

The Brim Hat Spirit had the decency to look apologetic before bringing the brim of its pointed hat over its eyes. Then it turned back to its Master to use its Healing Spell. "Po-po…"

Kutty, meanwhile, softly whined as he turned towards her with his head hung low. "Kuu…"

Pratty realized the way she had phrased that sounded like she was chastising him for helping her. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that! It wasn't your fault!"

It really wasn't. Kutty kept his word and only acted once Pouso did. It was just that he was far stronger than an inexperienced Guardian Beast and novice Craftknight. Even while holding back, his Storm Wind could have ended things in an instant if he was aiming to do so.

"That's right," Trish said while cerulean light swaddled her from the Healing Spell. "I knew the risks, but I couldn't let you get rid of my partner. I'm sure Pratty would have done the same if the positions were reversed."

Kutty let out an inquiring chirp at that. "Ku?"

Pratty nodded fervently. "Of course I would. I love you, Kutty."

The Magical Beast threw himself against her in an affectionate hug and licked her cheek. Pratty giggled from how ticklish his tongue was until a slight clearing of the throat drew their attention to the Craftlord of Sapphire. He didn't seem annoyed by the sportsmanship on display but the slight incline of his head towards the crowd did serve as a gentle reminder that they still had a match to finish.

Pratty took that as a cue to run back over to where she had been with Kutty beforehand. She could imagine there were more than a few in the crowd who would think that she was silly for giving up her chance to win like this. Especially since there was no guarantee she could beat Trish once she was back at full strength.

But if she was going to win it was going to be in a way that she could be proud of. Trish had clearly worked hard to get this good in such a short time. Pratty owed it to her as a friend and an opponent to meet her challenge head-on and find a way to surpass her fair and square.

[-|-|-|-]

Sanary couldn't help but think that the match would have ended then and there if it had been anyone other than Pratty. The younger girl had chosen to return to throw away the win that she had by allowing her opponent to freely heal themselves. The only reason she didn't consider it insane given what was at stake was the fact that Kutty had taken Pouso healing Trish as a cue to start doing the same for Pratty.

They were effectively resetting the match to a degree. At least as far as how much damage they had taken so far went. It was a different story when you considered everything else involved.

"I didn't know that Kutty could heal," Welf mused across from her. He sat with his blade on his lap and his Fire Spirit hanging over him with her arms draped down over his shoulders. She was keeping her flames in check so the temperature was only mildly warmer around them.

"Kutty belonged to a Craftlord," Sanary reminded him. "You already saw how easily he could blow away a fresh Guardian Beast like Pouso. And if he's anything like Rasho, he can probably use all the standard forms of Magic if he wants to do so."

The difference in strength was nothing to scoff at. Pouso was still getting accustomed to serving as the partner of a Craftknight and battling in general while Kutty had probably seen more action in a week under that man than all the other Guardian Beasts in the tournament combined. Barring her own, of course.

It was only because relying on the Guardian Beast alone went against their tenets that they could not sweep the competition with them (they were not Summoners after all). That and the fact that it would be unsatisfactory for all parties involved. There would be no merit in winning if it wasn't by your own hands and efforts.

She turned her attention back to her juniors as they reassumed their combat positions. Her assessment so far was that Trish had lost the element of surprise and thus she had lost most of her advantages. It would be much harder for her to win now unless she really pushed Pratty into a corner and ended things quickly.

And Trish probably came to that same conclusion as she brandished her Yari into the air while her Guardian Beast cast Enchant Wind upon it. Of course, Kutty did the same for Pratty in response. So now both had the same enchantment that sheathed their blades within a cocoon of spiraling wind.

Then the match began anew with Pratty charging in once more. That last exchange had made it clear the girl was relatively fast compared to her opponent. The lack of a burden from the weight of her weapon and the speed at which she could attack meant that if she got close to Trish then it was over. Pratty could hug and cut away at her defenses until they finally crumbled.

Trish unleashed a fearsome sweeping low slash in response. It was too early for it to have a chance to hit Pratty as she rushed in. All it did was leave her wind sheath to scrape against the surface of the arena. But in doing so it unleashed some of the bound wind in the form of a zephyr towards the onrushing girl, halting her charge as she dug her soles in to avoid getting knocked back. That allowed Trish to whirl around and unleash her next attack in the form of a horizontal slash.

Pratty took a step back with confidence in her footwork, leg chambered to push off. It was clear her goal was to lunge forward once the attack passed her by to get in a stab that could potentially put her opponent down. Yet her eyes widened before her rear leg seemed to give out, leaving her to end up falling backward.

Welf's expression furled in alarm. "Pratty slipped?"

"Intentional," Sanary answered without missing a beat. She recognized from experience and foreknowledge of Rumari's fighting style how each of the stances that Trish used served a purpose. In the case of the rear stance, it provided her with the means to quickly apply momentum by rotating her body and several vectors to attack from—whether from below, from above, or the middle.

But more importantly, it made it hard for her enemies to judge the distance of her attack. That was due to being unable to properly perceive the depth of the blade due to the angle she stood. By being aligned with her opponent she effectively denied them the ability to see how she was adjusting the length she could attack from.

Pratty had already gotten used to the length of the weapon and had been intending to narrowly avoid it before rushing in. It was the only thing she could do when the differences in their blade lengths were so drastic. However, Trish had given it more length by adjusting her grasp so it would connect cleanly since her opponent had misread the distance.

It was only because Pratty had good reflexes that she caught on. And she had already figured trying to hastily block with Sharp Dagger would have only ended with her guard being broken through again before she was sent flying due to the enchantment. Letting herself fall backward was the cleanest way to escape the Yari cleaving through where her torso would have been if she had stayed upright.

Even so, Trish wasn't done. She took the momentum of her horizontal spin and shifted her rear leg behind her before pivoting on it, bringing the Yari back around in an overhead slash. The wind-sheathed blade struck the ground with Pratty barely managing to roll out of the way before it connected with her. The gale that unfurled still sent her tumbling over to the side though, putting space between them that only benefitted the spearwoman who pressed her attack.

No sooner than Pratty got back onto her feet did a jabbing thrust from the tip of the spear fly straight towards her chest. Faster than a swing and with no time to dodge, she used her own Sharp Dagger to intercept it for a parry. The result was a shearing howl as the churning winds wreathing both blades gnashed at one another until they were repelled, sending Pratty staggering back two steps while the polearm jerked in Trish's grasp until she forced it back into a proper stance.

The match continued with Trish acting as the eye of a storm. She wove the steel wind around her as she used elegant motions to keep her opponent at bay. But Pratty was observant in a fight, a necessity given her weapon of choice was a dagger against the variety of enemies within the Labyrinth. She was always watching her opponent and learning to read their movements, so she only fell for feints once before she learned from them and adapted.

The longer it went on the worse it would be for Trish. She would make mistakes as the constant exertion on her mind began to fray at her focus, and that would leave just enough of an opening for Pratty to exploit. The moment that happened Trish wouldn't be able to regain her momentum.

Then that would be the end. Can you win before that happens, Trish?

[-|-|-|-]

Trish let loose another swift slash as Pratty closed in. The spear cut through the space between her and Pratty as a quick reversal of her feet and a slight shift of her upper body are enough for the latter to retreat unscathed yet again. Another failure to reach her target with the blade cloaked by wind despite the best effort she could muster.

Everything Trish threw against Pratty was starting to fall short at this point. Her attempts to keep her on the defensive with feints were starting to falter. Her enchantment would wane soon as well. The only advantage that she truly had left was that her weapon was longer, and that would become a detriment the moment that Pratty closed the distance.

She was faster than Trish. To the point where if she didn't maintain their distance then Pratty would get within stabbing range. That was why she never let her eyes drift from her target even as she noticed that Pratty was getting ready to rush in from a crouching position.

That was something she could deal with. All she had to do was use a low horizontal slash and she could cut her legs out from under her. Even if she avoided that Trish could pivot on her leg to bring the spear around and then down again since Pratty would end up in front of her. So, Trish prepared to intercept her the moment she got within three steps…

Only for Pratty to slash at the ground behind her right as she kicked off, using the burst of wind to launch herself while remaining low to the ground. Just like that the distance between them was devoured in the span of a second. The propulsion was sloppy as it forced Pratty to brake by pressing the sole of her boots and to balance herself using her empty hand so she wouldn't fall over. But it served to allow her to slide past the defensive perimeter that the spearpoint established faster than Trish could swing around to intercept her.

Pratty then pushed off the ground and lashed out with her Sharp Dagger. "Gotcha!"

Trish only had a single moment to position her shaft to block the blade coming in for a diagonal slash. The hasty guard intercepted the steel with a smothered sound of metal scraping metal and small sparks, but the viridian twister shadowing the blade hammered at her chest through it. The next thing she knew the floor slid beneath her feet as she was pushed back from the force until she jabbed the end cap of her spear into it and slowed herself to a halt.

And by then Pratty was already on the attack again.

The Enchant Wind had worn off on the Sharp Dagger after that last hit. But Pratty seemed to have taken a page out of Trish's book and began rotating her body into her swings, adding momentum to each of her slashes. They had enough force behind them to put pressure on the spearwoman, forcing her to take a step back to gain her footing only for Pratty to get right in front of her and do it again.

Trish could barely protect herself. For every stroke of the blade that she somehow managed to block, scattering sparks between them, another managed to slip past her guard. It carved and stung at her flesh beneath her protective veil, tearing it away with each hit. She would suffer defeat by a thousand cuts if she didn't put distance between them again.

She pursed her lips before she stabbed her spearhead into the ground. The Yari violently rattled in her grasp as the wind woven around the blade rampaged against the unmoving stone. The gale unleashed a billowing wall of force that blew them both in opposite directions, giving her only a moment's reprieve as she hurried back onto her feet—

"Kutty, Enchant Wind!"

—only for her head to snap upright in time to see that Pratty was already standing and having Kutty reapply the enchantment to her blade. She had to match it if she was going to have a chance at victory. "Pouso, Enchant Wind!"

No sooner than the Brim Hat Spirit had coaxed the wind into caressing her blade anew did Trish swing the Yari again as fast as she could. It was the only way to intercept Pratty as she rushed in to get back in stabbing range. If she let her close the distance one more time with her enchantment that would be the end of it.

Yet this time Pratty had intentionally swung the Sharp Dagger up to intercept it while bracing her feet and reinforcing her weapon with her empty hand. The viridian winds bound around the blades unfurled on contact with one another and unleashed an enormous amount of force. The chaotic gales threatened to rip the Yari right out of Trish's hands due to the weakness of the spear—the fact that the further out pressure was applied from her hand the easier it was to be displaced by an external force.

In contrast, a dagger had more leverage because it was so short and closer to the body. Since Pratty had chosen to brace her body and reinforce her blade, she had managed to withstand the chaotic gales while maintaining her posture. And so, she could slip through the opening created as the spear was blown to the side to end things.

Time seemed to slow as teal light drew a majestic streak toward her chest once more. She knew that it was over. The moment it connected her consciousness would be ripped from her and that would be the end. Yet...

I want to win! She couldn't let it end like this. She still had to prove to herself and everyone else that she could bloom here in the City of Swords. To do that she needed to weather Pratty's attack and turn the tides here and now.

Trish steeled her heart. Braced her rear foot to avoid giving any more ground. Held her spear diagonally with all the strength she could muster. All to intercept the blow in a desperate final attempt to turn the tide.

It hit her all at once. Her arms trembled as the twister shadowing the blade lashed out in the wake of the cut. Her lungs buckled and her breath was stolen as the backwind slammed into her body with enough concussive force that she felt her hair coming unbound and her clothing yanking against her figure as the wind tried to blow her away.

But she endured it. She endured it all. And in doing so had just enough time and space to act.

With all the strength she could muster, Trish brought the shaft close to her chest. Trying to swing it normally would just give Pratty time to bring her weapon around once more. She used her body instead and twisted it as she brought the Yari down diagonally to cut Pratty down!

...Except Pratty had already slid forward on her angled front leg to slip past Trish's flank, tilting her head in the process. The blade meant to cut her down sailed past her by the thinnest of margins and the whirlwind trailing the blade brushing past her hair tufts. Then, whirling around before Trish could reorient herself, Pratty switched the Sharp Dagger into a reverse grip…

And drove the blade into the spearwoman's unprotected back without a moment's hesitation.

Faster than Trish could register pain from the dagger threatening to pierce her heart from behind there was an explosive shockwave. The remnants of the wind enchantment released everything left to hit her like a sledgehammer. Her world bloomed into one of pain and her head was left ringing as everything in her vision flashed white while agony seeped down into her very bones.

I want... to win… That thought managed to linger despite the numbing fog settling in her mind as she registered the cold stone beneath her. It was probably only because the first blow had been blocked that there was a sliver of her mana still left even as color faded in and out of her vision. But that was enough since it meant she could still fight.

In the distance there was a pink blob standing sideways that was probably Pratty. She was no doubt waiting for her to get back up so they could continue their fight. She tried to rise to meet the challenge, but her entire body felt so heavy… and she was struggling not to close her eyes…

"…" There was a muffled sound that drew her fading attention towards a floating yellowish blob that entered her blurred vision. Somehow, she managed to pull the name of her Guardian Beast from the recesses of the fog. Then she felt a slight push against her forehead before what felt like a cooling sensation numbed the pain and washed the fog away, returning clarity to her body and mind as her little spirit made an inquiring noise while hovering overhead. "Pou?"

Trish rose to her feet even though her body still ached quite a bit. But it was enough. She could finish their fight now.

"The Winner of the Eighth Round is Craftknight Pratty!"

Her mind froze as her defeat was announced and cacophonous cheers went out. She didn't understand why. Even though her mana hadn't been restored completely, she could still fight. All she needed was to find her Yari…

It was then she noticed the remnants of her spear glinting beneath the sunlight and applause. Her Yari lay broken; the blade snapped beneath the guard where the tang had been reinforced by the metal collar. It looked as though it had snapped from being pressed and dragged against the ground before being wrenched free through the metal encasing it.

She had already lost even before Master Sakuro made his declaration. It was just by courtesy that they let her get back onto her feet before making it official. All she could do once she realized that was let out a soft and muted, "…oh."

"Trish, are you okay?" Pratty called out while approaching her with Kutty in her grasp. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"…It seems I wasn't a match for you after all," Trish said after regaining her wits. The match was over. All she could do now was collect the broken remnants of her weapon. "You really are something else, Pratty."

Pratty shook her head. "No, you had me on the ropes most of the time. I wanted to keep things fair, but I had to use Enchant Wind at the end before you did since I couldn't get past you otherwise. You were amazing!"

She should be happy that Pratty praised her. And yet... she felt something tight and ugly within her chest. And the moment she recognized what it was she was overtaken by the overwhelming need to leave right away.

Trish ran, hurrying back up the stairs as the sound of Pratty calling after her was drowned beneath her racing heart. Then, only once she was in the solitude of the waiting room and away from prying eyes, did she allow herself to collapse to her knees. And the tears painfully clawing at her eyes from behind could finally come out.

She had thought she could accept her loss if Pratty had bested her. She had promised herself that she wouldn't be upset if that was the case. Yet she couldn't help but feel so displeased that the match ended that way—that her best friend won.

And she hated the fact that she felt that way more than anything. "I'm such... a horrible friend..."

"No, you aren't." Her eyes snapped up at that to see that Sanary was standing at the entrance of the waiting room. There was a gentleness in her gaze as she made her way over and onto her knees, gently bracing her shoulders. She looked Trish straight in the eyes and said, "It's okay to be upset that you lost."

"I…" She swallowed, trying to pull herself together. "I shouldn't feel this way though. I promised myself I wouldn't. That if I gave it my all I would accept the outcome. Yet, when he declared Pratty won, I…"

"You hated it," Sanary finished for her. "You struggled so hard. You pushed yourself so hard. You got back onto your feet even though you must have still been in pain. All to keep fighting… only to learn that you were disqualified because your weapon broke from a bad fall."

She had weathered the storm. She had taken both of those attacks and managed to barely remain capable of fighting. She still had a chance to win if she could just go on the offense once more and she knew it. Yet, it had been taken right from under. All because she fell onto her spear when she got stabbed in the back.

It would have been more merciful if Pratty had managed to finish her definitively.

"It's okay to feel that way," Sanary reassured her. "I'm sure Pratty feels the same way too. So, don't hate her or yourself. Your friendship is too precious to ruin because of rotten luck. Okay?"

"Yes…" Trish wiped her eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of tears over her unsatisfying defeat. "I also need to apologize to Pratty for leaving the way I did. It must have hurt her feelings terribly. Just… allow me a moment to make myself presentable first."

She would compose herself properly and get her emotions under control. Then she would make amends to Pratty for simply leaving her behind in such a rude manner. She owed that to her dearest friend more than anything else.