All in all Rean Schwarzer was proud of himself. That he was still standing after his brush with Gehenna served as a testament to how far he'd come as a swordsman.
Fighting against Laura was always a dangerous proposition, but fighting against a Laura who was empowered with an admittedly justifiable wrath? Almost impossible. Each of her blows reminded the intermediate level swordsman of his brush with Magic Knights, Panzer Soldats, or the other implacable mechanical monstrosities he and his friends had faced during the war, but with none of the inherent clumsiness that came with being as massive as those enemies had been.
Basically he had been fighting a monster more dangerous than anything he'd faced prior.
While he hadn't technically won the match, he was still alive when Laura called an end to their fight, which he was more than willing to declare his own personal victory. The survivor took the opportunity to suck in air greedily while wiping the sweat from his brow. It had been a good match and he was ready for a break-
Adrenaline surged through his body as his instincts warned him of danger and he swiftly – albeit gracelessly – dove away from the danger.
Quickly he scrambled to his feet. The spot he had just been standing was now occupied by a different person entirely. A person that caused his spirits to drop as horrible realization began to set in.
"W-W-What...?" He gasped out as he stared at the silver-haired warrior who had just tried to slice him in twain from behind.
"You didn't think you were finished, did you?" Fie asked nonchalantly, gunblades still in hand, "It's my turn to fight you."
"I'll gladly fight you, just give me a few minutes to catch my breath?" He'd have loved a lot more, but he had the feeling Fie's mercy wouldn't allow that much of a recovery period. Hopefully she'd at least compromise on this-
"Nah." Those hopes were dashed by the way she calmly answered without remorse, "We're here to make sure you don't lose yourself to your Spirit Unification, remember? Best way to do that is to push you to your absolute limits..." The former jaeger pointed her weapons at him before feathering the triggers, "...and beyond."
This time Rean was prepared and kept his feet as he evaded one shot while parrying the other with his tachi. Despite his sore muscles he could feel his second wind beginning to kick in.
He could do this!
With that bit of adrenaline and motivation to keep him going Rean once again took his stance. A good thing too as Fie had chosen that moment to launch a charge at him.
Fine. If these girls were going to push him to his limits then he would simply need to show them just how far those limits could carry him. He would not back down!
Rocks tasted bad.
That was the conclusion Rean came up with as he lay motionlessly face-first on the ground. The swordsman wanted nothing more than to move himself from this extremely uncomfortable position, but his body refused to listen to him. All he could manage was a pitiful groan that conveyed his feelings well.
After fighting off Laura he had been attacked by Fie. Thanks to his second wind he had endured her swift, relentless assault. But the second the agile gremlin backed off he had once again found himself a victim to the Arseid's overwhelming force. Mustering every last reserve of energy his body possessed he managed a third wind which allowed him the energy to play keep-away from the ridiculously overpowered and fresh swordswoman.
But although he had managed a meager third wind, no such fourth wind was coming. Something which Fie proved as she downed him in a single attack once she reentered the fray.
Which explained why he was now on the ground. Even if the tired young man could muster the energy to move himself from this humiliating position it was still impossible.
"Stop wiggling around down there!"
...Because Fie had celebrated her victory by sitting on him.
"Why are you doing this to me?" He wasn't sure if the others could hear his words clearly considering his face was still buried in the ground.
Thankfully it seemed the contents of his message weren't hard to figure out as he could feel Fie shift slightly from atop him, "Victor's rights? Plus, dealing with you has left me tired. You're not gonna deny me my break, are you?"
She was tired!? And she got a break and not him!? Rean wanted nothing more than to rage at the unfairness of everything, but he lacked the energy to do so.
"Still, I'm quite impressed." Laura complimented from... somewhere, "You endured for quite some time. I was worried you might subconsciously begin to draw upon your dark energy once your stamina ran out, but it seems those fears were unfounded."
That much was true, at least. Perhaps it was simply because he understood this was merely a spar and not a real fight so the sheer desperation wasn't there, but he'd defended himself with nothing but his own power. Were it not for the complete exhaustion and pain and humiliation he might've found himself taking pride in his performance.
"Rest for a while, Rean. You've earned it."
"Oh, but you might want to get away. Wouldn't wanna be laying there when me and Laura start fighting, would you?"
At least Fie got off him when she said that, but he could still hear the mocking smirk on her face. How was he supposed to get away when he couldn't feel his legs?!
It was as Rean was rolling himself away pathetically from the center of their impromptu outdoor arena that he truly began to understand what he'd signed himself up for with this trip.
The way Fie twirled the gunswords in her hands probably made her seem cool and collected to any outsider, but deep down the silver-haired girl was feeling nervous as she stared down her opposition.
Anyone who didn't feel that way when facing both Laura and Rean at the same time would have to be clinically insane.
She knew that in a straight fight she'd have absolutely no shot at victory. Both of her opponents were as skilled as her, if not moreso, so facing both at once was an impossible task. But winning wasn't her objective. She merely needed to evade.
This day of training was dedicated to her, and while the focus of Rean's initial day had been to push him beyond his limits she had opted to focus on improving upon her strengths. Sure she could've pushed herself to get physically stronger, or maybe learn to weave some arts into her fighting style, but at the end of the day she was Sylphid and Sylphid was supposed to be untouchable.
It didn't matter how powerful an opponent was if they couldn't hit her. Given how things had been going it was almost assured they'd be facing even stronger and quicker opponents in the future, so if she wanted to remain useful to her friends then she needed to get faster. It was as simple as that.
"Are you ready?"
She wasn't. Not at all. And yet that didn't stop Fie from bobbing her head in agreement to Laura's question, "Yup. I want both of you to come at me with everything you've got."
"Alright, then." Rean agreed as he drew his tachi, "We begin on three. One..."
Fie stopped spinning her weapons and tensed herself as she prepped to move. Her focus wasn't on the dangerous weapons opposing her, or the faces of the ones using them, but on their legs. For someone like her, legs were the most important thing to consider.
Laura's legs were coiled tight, ready to spring forth at a moment's notice. The girl was going to charge straight at her as soon as the countdown ended. A simple plan, but sometimes simple was the most effective tactic. And despite her size and power the Arseid was no slowpoke. Anyone who assumed otherwise would usually live to regret it.
"Two..."
Rean was trickier to read. The sheer versatility of his Eight Leaves made him a hard foe to predict. But given the way his feet remained planted in the ground Fie was fairly sure he planned on starting the fight off with an Arc Slash. And she'd seen him fight long enough to know one of his favorite strategies was to fire off a ranged slash to delay and disorient before pivoting over to an Autumn Leaf Cutter or a Gale to overwhelm before they had the chance to recover.
The silver-haired girl envisioned it in her head. Assuming Rean did use one of his quick moving attacks after his Arc Slash that'd put him slightly behind Laura. Having them reach her at about the same from two different angles would make evasion a tricky prospect indeed. But perhaps she could turn their own moves against them...?
"Begin!"
Fie was moving even before Rean finished speaking. Was that cheating? Probably. Did she care? Not at all.
She needed every advantage she could get if she wanted to stay ahead of these two.
The lithe fighter could've grinned at seeing her observations bear fruit, as a hastily launched Arc Slash filled the spot she had just vacated. Instead she focused her attention on the rapidly approaching Arseid. Getting too close to her would normally be a stupid idea, but Laura probably wasn't expecting her to charge right at her like that.
To her credit Laura responded quickly and poised her blade to swat Fie aside, but once again the silver-haired girl flipped the script by going into a roll at the last moment. Not only did it evade the deadly attack, but it also accomplished the main reason she had charged in in the first place.
Fie exulted at hearing Rean's curse as he had to abort his Autumn Leaf Cutter, lest he hit the Arseid that now found herself directly between the two of them.
And as an added bonus that left her free to fire a few low-powered shots from her gunswords into a defenseless Laura. Even at full charge they wouldn't have done much damage to the sturdy girl, but it didn't matter.
Scoring first blood against two extremely skilled opponents? Yeah. She'd take that.
Still, despite her success Fie knew things were only going to get more difficult from here on. It was going to be a lot harder to predict their actions during the heat of combat, and she doubted they'd let her surprise them like that again. Despite that, however, the former jaeger couldn't help but don a cocky smirk as she once again took her stance.
"Well played." Laura complimented with genuine praise even as she tenderly poked at one of the spots where she'd been shot, "I suppose this means we should kick it up a notch, huh?"
Fie's smirk died a terrible death upon seeing her two opponents form a combat link together. With them sharing a connection like that there was no way they were going to be getting in the other's way again. Trying to hide and launch a surprise attack was also out of the question as Rean could sense her out and warn his partner almost instantly.
Yep. She was probably screwed. But honestly?
That was fine with her. Every second she survived against Laura and Rean was a second she'd survive against Xeno and Leo, or Duvalie and Bleublanc, or Claire and Lechter, or any other duo of extremely coordinated and dangerous enemies they'd be facing in the near future.
"Bring! It! On!" She hissed out as the impossible battle began anew.
Fie had opted to focus on her strengths. It was a decision Laura could both understand and appreciate. Even if they'd fought more powerful opponents in the past her rival turned friend turned lover was undoubtedly the most frustrating to fight. Her improving her speed and reflexes would only make her more impossible to fight in the future.
But while Laura could understand the decision she had taken the opposite path for herself.
Fie had chosen to focus on her strengths while she instead wanted to shore up her weaknesses.
There was always room to improve upon her strength, her skill, and her experience with the Arseid's fighting style, but overall she remained confident in those facets of herself. She believed she was at least capable enough to hold her ground against all but the fiercest of opponents, at least long enough for her friends to tip the scales into her favor.
But her situational awareness, adaptability, and reaction speeds were all lacking compared to some of her peers.
While she would always remain true to her Arseid teachings, her time spent away from Legram had shown her that not everybody adhered to the honorable style of fighting she grew up with. She'd learned to accept that reality, naturally, but being tolerant of something didn't leave her any better at responding to it.
Although Rean had a similar upbringing with a sword his nature was far less rigid than hers was, and his Unclouded Eye granted the swordsman a peerless understanding of his surroundings. And Fie of course was practically raised on the ideas that were so foreign to Laura. Sure in a straight duel the Arseid could hold her own, but if she dared to face Fie in a fight with no rules in an area of the former jaeger's choosing?
Which was why she asked the others to fight her in a battle with no rules in an area of Fie's choosing.
In the end the scenario created for Laura was a simple one: She was currently standing at the end of Ymir Valley and she needed to make it back to camp. A short route, but one that gave Fie and Rean had had plenty of time to setup traps and prepare ambushes.
As she began her ascent the blue-haired young woman couldn't help but feel strange about the current situation. It had been... a long time since she found herself completely alone like this. Sure a little peace and quiet was always appreciated – especially since one of the people she spends the most time with is a misbehaving prankster at the best of times – but climbing a mountain had never felt so lonely before.
And yet despite those feelings her senses were telling her she wasn't actually alone. Behind every rock could be a swift strike from Rean. Every corner could be an ambush from Fie...
Every step could be a tripwire like the one she just triggered.
The second her boot met tension she knew she'd made a mistake, but adrenaline spiked as she worked to mitigate whatever trap Fie had set. The first thing she needed to do was to identify the kind of trap she'd just set off. The wire she'd tripped was too thin to follow with her eyes, but she estimated its path as best she could and looked over to see-
Flash bang grenade on the rock next to her. Pin pulled. Probably only a fraction of a second away from detonation.
With eyes screwed shut and hands over her ears to form a feeble defense the swordswoman endured the debilitating explosive as best she could. Thankfully this wasn't even remotely close to the first time she had been subjected to the agony of such a device, so while her ears were ringing and her vision was seeing spots she endured the attack a lot more better that night in Mater Park.
That same experience was also enough to alert her that the trap wasn't the main threat – it was merely the precursor.
Despite her best efforts the flash bang had left her somewhat graceless as she evaded the salvo of bullet fire, but a graceless dodge was undoubtedly preferable to gracefully getting shot. Taking a shaky stance Laura prepared to take Fie's charge head on...
Only for it to not come.
At first she simply assumed Fie was waiting for... something, but what that something was eluded her. And yet as the minutes began to pass with nothing happening save for her senses recovering she finally relaxed her guard a little. And yet doing so caused a jolt of alarm through her body as she began to suspect that might've been what Fie was waiting for.
And yet again no attack came.
Fifteen minutes later and Laura finally came to the conclusion that Fie was well and truly gone. It was so uncharacteristic of her opponent that she still struggled to believe it, but at the same time she could readily accept that the silver-haired girl was having a laugh somewhere that Laura's paranoia had led to her wasting so much time in one spot.
With gritted teeth she once again began her ascent up the mountain. Progress was extremely slow as she expected each and every step to lead her into another trap, but nothing came. In a way the lack of opposition was more worrying than the alternative as her paranoia began to mount.
She finally gained a reprieve about a quarter of the way up the mountain when she discovered Rean barring her way. The Schwarzer native had a sour look on his face, but that didn't stop him from sending her a brief smile as she approached, even as the tension of an imminent battle charged the air around them.
"Fie told me to pass on a message." He stated even as he took up his stance, "She wasn't happy that you broke through her first trap so well, so she's gone back to camp to empty out her stash of traps and explosives. She said she's found herself not making use of them as much lately so she wants to use up what she has left here and now."
Well, that was concerning. While Laura knew Fie didn't bring all of her tools on this trip she had prepared a sizable amount. And if she was going to use them all here and now...
"I see..." She muttered out at last. This was what she had asked for, right? "And what exactly is your role in all of this?"
"I'm the distraction. Or more specifically, Fie told me to throw myself on your sword to slow you down so she had plenty of time to prepare her next ambushes."
Well, that would certainly explain Rean's sour look. Laura could only give a nervous laugh. She definitely hadn't expected for Fie to take her training idea idea so far, "...Please tell me you aren't going to do that?"
"I have as little desire to get skewered as you do to skewer me." He responded as blandly as possible, "Still, I think I can buy her a few minutes before making my escape, don't you?"
"Perhaps, but now that I know you're simply stalling for time you'll have to continue doing so with your blade and not your words." Every second the black-haired youth stood before her was a second that Fie had to create some unholy ambush to make her life miserable.
Thus it was her job to remove Rean from her sight as quickly as possible, even if he would undoubtedly come back over and over during her ascent. She still had a long way to go, after all.
By alternating who was the primary focus of each day's training they had done well to keep the physical and emotional toll from piling up too high on any one of the combatants. Even so, shortly into the second week fatigue began to settle in regardless.
Thus, Rean's idea that they shift the focus of their training was a prudent one. Compared to the full throttle fighting they had been doing the past week the spar he was currently involved in was more akin to that of beginners fighting with little confidence.
The reason for that? "Fifth Form! Crescent Flash!"
"Huh. Neat." Fie – his current opponent – dodged the attack with little trouble, but she seemed impressed regardless even as she lowered her stance, "So the fifth form is all about fast attacks or something?"
"Quick draws, I believe. A technique popular in the east." Laura imparted from her position observing the fight, "I recall you using a similar technique while piloting Valimar?"
"Yeah, you're right. The Fifth Form: Morning Moon is all about using sword draws, both for offensive and defense purposes. I've found the latter to be useful as a defensive tool against large clunky opponents while inside Valimar, but this is my first attempt at using it offensively."
Fie nodded her head in approval, "Makes sense. It was pretty easy to dodge, but that's because you're still unfamiliar with it. Will be a pretty sneaky move once it feels as natural as your other stances."
"That other move you used earlier... Crimson Slash? Was that of the same form as your Arc Slash?"
"Good eye." He praised Laura's observation skills, "It's not as swift as my Arc Slash, but it's significantly more powerful."
"Well, duh." Fie rolled her eyes, "You launched a wave of fire at me! My coat is still warm even though I dodged it by two rege! What is your obsession with fire!?"
While Fie continued to rant about almost being burned Laura's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "If I'm correct than this means you will have achieved proficiency with all of the Eight Leaves except one, correct?"
"I wouldn't call it proficiency just yet... but yeah. All that would be left is the First Form." He let out a sigh, "Of all the forms that's the one I've been struggling to get comfortable with." He was making progress, sure, but he suspected it would still be a few months before he was confident enough in the Helix to make use of it in battle."
"Still, six outta seven isn't bad. You wanna keep practicing with those moves for a while?"
Rean nodded gratefully at Fie's question, "So long as you're willing to keep helping. I'm also closing in on a new Void technique to replace my Termination Slash, but that is something I want to practice on my own."
"That's understandable. I too would like some time to perfect an Arseid technique I have been working on. It is one of the most powerful techniques of my school, and it is something I would like to have ready for my bout against father."
"Huh. And here I thought I was the only one working on a super secret super finishing move." Fie's pout shifted into a smirk, "Still, mine's definitely gonna be the coolest of them all."
The swordsman couldn't help but grin as a rare opportunity to tease the usually unflappable girl presented itself to him, "I hope for your sake it is, because watching you chasing down your gunblades after throwing them was pretty funny."
"You saw that!?" The younger girl hissed, "What the hell! You weren't supposed to see that! Why didn't you say anything!?"
"I didn't want to disturb you since you were so focused on your training that you didn't even notice me. Plus, it was hilarious to watch."
"I've been looking forward to seeing your finished product ever since Rean told me what he witnessed. I only wished I could've seen your progress myself." While Laura's words held their usual warmth the mocking glint behind them was undeniable.
"You told her too!?" Fie's eyes narrowed before she let out a hollow laugh, "If you guys were that curious you should've told me. I'll gladly give you both a first hand demonstration of my new finisher once I've perfected it. As a matter of fact, I think I'll go work on that right now."
Rean watched silently as the silver-haired girl walked off robotically, "It's... nice to see her so motivated?"
He could only give an unconvinced nod to Laura's words. Extra motivation was always a good thing, but that it came from a desire to inflict bodily harm on the two of them with whatever it was she was creating was less of a good thing. And given how skilled and creative Fie was he was quite certain that the finished product would be something extremely lethal.
"It'll be alright... I think."
The Arseid tilted her head in thought, "While I am admittedly quite curious to see what she's concocting, perhaps it would be better if we witnessed it from a distance? We just need to convince Fie that someone else would make a more suitable volunteer for the demonstration down the line."
A good idea. And one name quickly came to mind, "Instructor Sara?"
"Instructor Sara." She confirmed.
Right. In all honesty it wouldn't be hard to focus the former jaeger's ire upon her mentor as their relationship was practically built upon it. And Instructor Sara was really skilled so she would definitely survive whatever it was Fie came up with. A win-win situation for all parties involved!"
"Sounds good to me. Think we should follow her lead and do some practice on our own?"
"Indeed. I am just as curious to see your finished technique as I am hers.
The sounds of blades clashing echoed down the mountainside, but Rean paid it little heed. He was, after all, responsible for one of the swords. And the other just so happened to be a much larger one that threatened to overwhelm him should his focus waver for even an instant.
Battling Laura was always a test of his initiative. Besting her in a contest of pure strength was impossible, so his best bet was to make sure she didn't get the chance to bring her formidable power to bear. Attack, attack, attack, and if that failed retreat and attack from a different angle before she could get a bead on him.
Rean was just about to do just that when the sound of a soft foot crunching a stray rock was picked up. Right. He wasn't just fighting the formidable blue-haired warrior, after all. But at the same time he wasn't the only one fighting two opponents.
Despite being locked in a melee with Laura he did his best to convey his thoughts silently through his eyes. His opponent must've picked up on it as she gave a barely noticeable nod.
A second footfall sounded, this time much closer. In response both sword-fighters broke away from each other, turned to the source of the noise, and launched simultaneous attacks.
"Ack!" While neither attack was particularly strong, Fie was caught so off-guard by the swift change that she was caught flatfooted and unable to evade. The opportunistic girl successfully blocked the twin strikes, but her gunswords weren't enough to prevent her from being launched into the ground, "Ow... No fair, you guys!"
"You said it yourself: There are no rules when we have a free for all, or did I mishear?" Laura asked with a sly smile as she sheathed her blade. Spar or not they both wanted to make sure Fie was alright after taking such a graceless fall.
Luckily she was as the agile fighter pushed herself to her feet and dusted off her clothes, "Doesn't mean you need to gang bang me like that!"
Despite himself Rean couldn't help but flush at her colorful choice of words, especially after the rather busy nights they'd been having. He gave an awkward cough to keep such feelings out of his voice, "It's not our fault you always wait until we're fighting before you make your move. Made you predictable." While Rean didn't see himself as being quite as straightforward as Laura in a fight, his natural instincts were to accept her challenge and engage in a thrilling sword fight.
Which more often than not let the girl whose stealth skills were rivaled only by her opportunism emerge as the victor in their free for all fights.
"Bah. Fine. Let's go again!" The way Fie glared at him left Rean with the feeling that he was about to be her first target in the fight to come. And if Laura followed suit..
Facing down both formidable girls at the same time normally wasn't conducive to a good day, but as the Ymir native took his stance he couldn't help but see this moment as an opportunity to take advantage of. Perhaps it was time to sate his curiosity on if he could pull that off...
When Laura gave the cry to begin he shifted into the second form. Unsurprisingly both girls took their own countermeasures in preparation for the Gale they expected to come. His attack would undoubtedly accomplish nothing...
Or at least that would have been the case had it been a simple Gale.
Unsurprisingly the moment he launched himself forward Fie took evasive actions while Laura shifted to ensure her sword remained between the two of them. As expected his attack didn't land a single hit.
But instead of being deterred by his failure it merely provided incentive to keep his momentum going. Keeping his body going in this state for long was a lot of strain and he could feel his unenhanced body pleading for him to cease, but he ignored that urge as he kept the attack going while focusing on his tachi.
Both Laura and Fie realized what was happening, but it was far too late as Rean finally completed his preparations and launched his real attack upon them. It was a good thing he didn't put his full power into the move as it could've done serious damage when it landed square on both unprepared girls. Even still the damage was apparent as both staggered back from the hit.
As adrenaline faded Rean found himself taking a knee. He hadn't expected it to take so much out of him, especially since it was a move he had used multiple times in the past. The boost granted by his Spirit Unification was truly remarkable.
"Hair's still black. Eyes are fine too." Fie observed as she was the first to approach the downed swordsman, fight forgotten in her curiosity.
"Was that your Arcane Gale!?"
He gave a tired nod at Laura's question, "Yeah. Wanted to see if I could pull it off without using Spirit Unification after everything we've done. Took a lot out of me though." Something which wasn't enough to dampen the wide grin on his face at his accomplishment.
"Makes sense. Going that fast for that long is gonna take its toll on you." Fie said, likely speaking from experience, "Guess that's another thing for you to practice."
"Even still, that's quite the impressive move to add to your repertoire. Congratulations, Rean."
There were still a couple of days left in their training trip, but all in all Rean could freely admit that this had been exactly what he needed. Getting away from everything had done wonders to clear his mind, and the results of those two weeks had left him feeling more powerful than ever before.
Only the Goddess would know if that power would be enough for whatever was to come.
Just a heads up: I've got a special update for this story coming, but it's gonna be released as its own story since it doesn't exactly fit the flow of the narrative... Because it's smut. Nothing but smut. A massive amount of smut. While it is part of this story it doesn't add much narrative so feel free to skip it if porn isn't your thing. But if it is...
Keep an eye out for a new story on the 22nd (hopefully).
