As Melina charged at me, her sword flaring with fiery golden mana, I raised my own shinai and parried her strike.
"Hmm?"
At the moment of contact, there was a huge explosion, and the ground beneath my shoes cracked. The sheer force that Melina put behind her blow shattered concrete and almost blew me off my feet. Even so, I managed to hold firm and tried to fling her off, but she did a back flip before counterattacking. I barely managed to dodge her thrust, and I retaliated with a riposte that almost caught her by the back of her neck.
"!!!"
Melina twisted around and fended off my strike, and then she reversed the grip on her sword and tried to strike me. Despite her swift, precise movements, it was too predictable. I had read her movements almost accurately and blocked her strike.
At first I thought she was trying a feint, but she wasn't. Consequently, when my follow-up defense forced her back, she stumbled and fell.
"Whoa!"
