P: "Here you go, little missy."
Pybuit presented the object covered in a sheet to the girl.
R: "What's with the cloth?"
It was a surprisingly large object, about 1.7m in length. It was shaped similar to a long keg barrel with a hollow shaft that could fill multiple beer mugs at once, a broad and cylindrical blade accompanied by a thick grip. At least, if the cane-looking object could be considered a blade.
P: "What do ya think?"
R: "... What is that?"
The blacksmith pulled the draped cloth backward and revealed a baffling marvel – A huge sword. Or, from its appearance of a crumbling pillar solidly bound together...
R: "You can't be serious. This is a weapon?"
... It looked like a stone pillar with a stick for a handle.
P: "Don't be shy now, try it out!"
It had been a while since Roberia was injured by a branch stabbing through her side. She inconvenienced her target by using his groundsheet to rest for three days in a row and even had a comfortable blanket for the most recent night. The humiliation was too much for her to bear and she quietly slipped away while Katachi was asleep.
She did not realize that the child was awake the whole night in pure tension over her presence in the room. Katachi wasn't the type of person to sleep soundly knowing there were others around, his natural distrust given form after receiving innumerable scars. When she left, he packed his belongings and quickly headed off on his journey.
R: "This... How is this thing supposed to help me fight against the magus? It looks ridiculous! It looks like it's in shambles! How heavy is it anyway?" (It looks so stupid. Is this really the work of Rugnud's Pride?)
P: "Little missy, I wouldn't underestimate this weapon. It's been tailored to your needs so you could at least give it a shot. You'd be delighted at what it's capable of."
Pybuit turned his back to Roberia and continued tending to the whetstone and shears.
R: (I can't believe tying a weird and cracked column to a rod can even be called a weapon... Whatever. I trust Pybuit enough to know that this... Thing, must be good in its own way.)
P: "Oh, a word of warning, little missy."
Pybuit honed the edge of the shears against the whetstone over and over again, its screeching sounds masking their conversation quite thoroughly.
P: "Care not to take any iron on you."
R: (Iron- ! Magnetism?) "... I see."
That small hint gave Roberia everything she needed to know about the weapon.
*** ***
The lack of apothecaries in Rulid delayed Katachi's journey in more ways than one. He spent unnecessary time on his search for herbs fruitlessly. He wasted valuable daylight tending to a wounded lady that for some as-of-yet known reason, wished to fight and kill him. The impediment to his progression was becoming more and more severe.
Katachi closely observed his surroundings for any useful medicine to grind into pulp. He took detours of all sorts – Climbing up ledges by the sides, walking full circles around countless trees and rocks all to look for the coincidental miracle. No such luck befell him and so he continued his journey searching high and low.
What he didn't expect to find was Jaanthro growing behind a mossy rock. Though the medicinal herb was commonplace around the south side of Findel, it was a rarity in the northern regions where the air was more humid.
K: (It's just Jaanthro. That won't help a lot, I still have plenty with me. I have to look for Mestiel-)
R: "There you are!!"
Something choked up his throat and churned the moment he heard that nostalgic voice.
K: (That voice... It's her again. I don't want to turn around, but she's going to attack my bag if I don't so I might as well be prepared to fight her.)
With repetition came experience. Katachi set his luggage down next to a mossy tree. He reluctantly turned around to face the familiar, slender figure of the lady with something new in her hands once again.
K: (What... What's that supposed to be? Is that... Is that a broken marble column tied to a rod with a handle? Where does she even get these weapons? Where does she even get the coin for the- No, more importantly, why would she even pay gold for that? Did she make them herself or something? And why is she still following me?)
R: (I should make sure that he's fighting me seriously.) "I won't hold back, and if you so much as loosen up on me I won't forgive you!"
K: (Is she... Trying to, to scare me or something? What purpose does that serve? She wants me to fight her, but she also wants me to be afraid and run from her?) "... Okay?"
Katachi wasn't old enough to understand the purpose of intimidation. He understood the pain of being bullied but such treatment only placed him in an inferior role. To have him come to terms with a psychological tactic like intimidation, which raised the opponent's guard when he was of an equal role, was far too early for the immature child. Such was the nature of his darkness stirring deep within, a misery that honed his perception and cynicism at the cost of his own growth.
R: (No response from him. His eyes aren't looking at me, but at this, this... Stupid-looking thing. He doesn't even have his dagger out.)
Roberia elevated the large, heavy weapon up vertically to a striking position and Katachi's eyes followed suit just as she predicted.
K: (All things aside, that looks like it'd hurt a lot... Maybe I should prepare myself? 恒定! Constant status – Self! Constant status – Dagger!)
R: (He's like a dumb animal. Just looking at him staring at my weapon and not watching the opponent carefully makes this really awkward.)
Roberia readied the blunt object on her right shoulder and prepared to swing it in a diagonal. She planted her foot against the ground and shot forward at Katachi with a celerity that kicked up the leaves.
*** ***
K: (Fast!)
Katachi quickly swung the dagger to the front, intercepting the pillar's attack. A powerful grinding slam struck him from above and tiny pieces of rocks attached to the weapon came off and showered him. He felt the huge strength behind the swing from both the sword's weight and the girl's arms pressing down on him.
K: (It's a type of weapon that deliberately chunks off to bypass the opponent's defense? I can see how viable it is for those dust-like pieces to enter the opponent's eyes or nostrils when they lock blades... That's pretty troublesome. I'll have to stop it in place.)
Katachi pushed the pillar sword away and a golden word formed on the huge weapon. But in response Roberia forcefully pulled her weapon backward, leaving a piece of the pillar the 定 was placed on suspended in the air.
K: (The stone piece has 定 on it instead? In a sense, I guess that is a way to overcome the fixation since that rock is counted as a detachable part of the weapon. If the weapon breaks apart like this, even I can't lock it and just walk away from her. I need to attack the core somehow.)
R: (He must have noticed that his magic is useless against me. How will he react now?)
Roberia ran forward and spun her body about, swinging the pillar in a wide arc and forcing Katachi to dodge towards her left. She slid on the grass with the rotational force and advanced her positioning to a strong and assertive position, her back unexposed. He ran toward the suspended rock and pushed against it as a support to charge at her.
K: (A battle of strength won't work in my favor. I've seen how strong she is so I need to end it with speed. Take advantage of the fact that her weapon is heavy and bulky.)
Roberia, who was already prepared to offset the weapon's weakness, swung the pillar sword at him hard. There was no advantage for Katachi to use at all. He held his hands up to cushion the impact and was sent flying backward – Into the rock fixated in mid-air.
K: (!! My shoulder!) "Guhkgh- !"
He collided his left shoulder onto the fixated pillar fragment.
R: (His face changed! He definitely felt that!!)
K: (This pain... I'm pretty sure I was sent flying towards that rock I fixated. I remember taking attacks far more severe than this, like the time I fell from the scaffolding- !! Wait... It can't be... !)
Katachi wore a gobsmacked look upon his face.
K: (Two objects with the same precedence level, like the fixated rock and the constant me, function as normal... Is she using that against me? I was wondering how I managed to feel the rock on my palm when I pressed against it to lunge at her, but this...)
Naturally, the most obvious result would be the Word of Power with a higher precedence level overcoming the inferior, but there were cases where the Words of Power with equal precedence levels clashed against each other. It boiled down to two possibilities – One, when the two Words of Power had inept users with the scarce knowledge they had about them.
R: (It's a window!)
K: (A diagonal swing!)
And the other, when the Word of Power was used against itself. Katachi held up the dagger into the trajectory of her attack and received the earth-shaking blow of the pillar. Once again the realization painfully paralyzed his arm. The dagger he wielded had, too, been grinding against his body the whole time. He was simply ignorant of the fact that he could 'feel' the dagger in his hand because it was natural to hold an object and feel its presence in his own hands.
R: "Kh!" (He's still strong enough to block and his mobility is higher than mine. I should avoid close range fights when I have a bulky weapon or he will lunge at my face again.)
K: (This dagger is redundant!? No, maybe I can use the dagger somehow – Just not in this situation. She's the careful type – I should confuse her first to stall for time.)
As Roberia leaped backward to distance herself he quickly sheathed his dagger and readied his bare hands.
R: (He sheathed his dagger? And he wants to fight me bare-handed? What is he thinking? It may not differ much from the wooden dagger, but I won't go easy on him just because he is unarmed!)
Roberia lunged forward with the pillar sword leaning on her shoulder and swung it down on his hand. The magnetic stones on the sword cracked and a loud, deafening sound of the stone smashing against something tougher was heard.
R: (He splintered the pillar with his fist!? Does he have some sort of magic that exponentially increases his power when the odds are against him?!)
K: (I didn't even feel my fist punching that! The dagger has indeed been hindering me. How did I not realize that?)
Katachi stumbled backward on the mossy earth and knocked his body against the fixated rock again.
K: (Ah, what- Oh, this is still here. I should undo the bind.)
The 定 on the pillar fragment faded off. But, while Katachi turned towards Roberia's direction the rock suddenly retaliated. It sprung to life and knocked against the back of his knee, causing Katachi to stumble slightly. It then 'flew' back to the pillar sword and simply attached itself to the pillar sword's surface without refilling the small hole it made. For the child who knew not of magnetism, it was a true shock.
*** ***
K: (That rock can fly?! It flew, didn't it!? It definitely hit my leg there! Then, all those rocks are alive!?)
It was the first time Katachi witnessed a mysterious flying rock like that. The rocks on the pillar sword all looked like they were made from the same marble stone substance so it wasn't an understatement to assume that all the rocks could glide like that.
R: (If he has magic that makes him stronger the more unfavorable the battle is, then I have to beat him at an equal level? But, that blow just now... That's the first time I've seen his face show pain. I can't believe it, but as stupid as this weapon looks it's actually effective.)
K: (Those rocks look pretty menacing... What kind of spell do they possess? Is it derived from the true history of another country? What should I do, then? I won't have the luck of disarming her like the first two times – Her reach is much longer than mine and she should have already prepared against that by now.)
R: (No, wait! Think! What he's trying to do is to force me to his level to make me throw this weapon away. That's his goal – He must be trying to make me remove this weapon which is actually effective against him. He's not strong or fast enough to beat me, but I'm not powerful enough to break that defense of his neither. I need to trap him somehow and make him draw his dagger!)
K: (That tree to her left seems like a good place to take cover behind. If she smashes through that, maybe I can get to her back? Then... Get her tangled in the branches of the tree and fixate the whole tree, perhaps?)
R: (He's looking at the surroundings. Is he trying to use the surroundings to his advantage? I can't give him time to think about that! I'll taunt him if I have to!) "Are you so confident that you can take me bare-handed!? Don't underestimate me!"
Roberia lunged forward and thrust her pillar sword at Katachi. He dodged it just barely, forcing him to ram against a tree.
R: (I can't give him time to think. I have to choke him out. He'll have no way to hurt me from my reach and he'll be forced to cut the tree behind him!) "Dodging?! What, is that the only thing you're capable of!?"
K: (! Only thing... Capable of? Wait a minute, I'm not restricted to 定 alone. I have 解, 安 and 信 as well! I only know 安心 for 安, and I know 相信 for 信. But I know ample about 解, don't I? 解释, 解决, 解脱, 解开, there's a lot of options available.)
She heaved her whole body weight towards her right, sandwiching Katachi's neck between the tree and the blade. For some reason, his flesh itself felt like the face of a mountain and the rugged surface of the pillar sword did not seem to affect his skin. She slowly shifted the pillar sword by twisting it in alternate revolutions towards the tip so the distance between them was the greatest, but oddly enough his neck was unscathed from the friction.
R: "Dodge your way out of this!!" (What is this nonsense!? He's tougher than a boulder! It's as though he turned the pillar into waxed cobble, or soap or something!)
K: (I feel... Strangely moved. My neck is being pressed against, but it doesn't hurt like my hands or my back. This inability to feel anything... So this is what using the Word of Power properly feels like.)
She continued to clamp Katachi and inclined her body weight against the tip of the pillar. The tree briefly shook at the pressure from the hold.
R: (What's he planning? Isn't he going to use his dagger to cut his way out? Come on, take the dagger out already!)
K: (The most appropriate words to release the rocks from its core would be... Ah, I got it. 解散! Disband rocks on pillar sword!)
The rocks on the pillar sword explosively bolted out in directions away from the weapon's core.
R: "!" (What the-)
All Katachi needed was a single glance at the dull black rod within.