"I do not remember my name. My true name has been forgotten as well as lost just like my memories. This name was given to me by Raiyen, who called it out by summoning me during a fight. I only came to this world with nothing but the purpose to serve my owner."
"You're not keen on serving your owner, are you?" asked Bryan, catching the lie in Tomoe's words.
"You got me there, but I can't go back and I've fallen to submission to serve Mavislin as well. So, I kinda look at her as my owner as well. Besides, my first task was to protect her, since Riayen got himself tangled up..."
"Let's start with a duel. Give it your best shot. No using of Magecraft" instructed Tomoe.
The fox leaped out of the building, landing nicely onto the grass floor. Rina, sensing thee increased Auras, quickly ushered the children to the other side of the Old Chapel. Baldwin and Z looked at each other as they saw Bryan jump out of Mavislin's room.
"For a moment I thought that Mavislin threw both of them out," said Z.
"You're not the only one who had that thought," mentioned Baldwin, focusing back to Tomoe and Bryan.
On the way down, Bryan drew out his sword and landed by clashing with Tomoe. Tomoe smiled as he had his blade out and ready. The Kitsune smiled as he messed with Bryan's balance, causing the Slayer to fall slightly to the left. But before Bryan could land onto the grass, Tomoe smiled.
"No wonder Mavislin wanted me to train you..." smirked Tomoe, as he bared his fangs.
"You've got a long way to go if you are still using your eyes to fight the battle!" added Tomoe.
Before Bryan could react, Tomoe shifted his blade and swung it at full force to Bryan. This caused the Slayer to fly away. But Bryan, being aware of the Kitsune's power, quickly recovered and landed on the tree. He propelled himself once more and tried for another strike.
However, Tomoe had beaten him to it, swinging his katana first before Bryan could even leave the tree. They clashed once more, causing the tree to break. When it did, Bryan dived down and moved away from the swinging blade. Bryan stood up in another place, in an attacking stance.
Tomoe did not blink as the falling tree closed in on his head. He merely looked up and moved his blade in six swift movements. Bryan looked at Tomoe's arm motions in admiration. The blade might have sliced in six strokes but the action was in a single move. Like it was a flowing dance.
The few gestures of his arm had sliced the giant oak tree up in several pieces, landing all around Tomoe. Taking a deep breath, Tomoe shifted his footing and changed the grip of his blade to face Bryan. The fox smiled at Bryan's impressed expression.
"If you read my movements carefully, I do use quite a bit of these pattern or flow. My slashes are all connected the moment I raise my blade. So that's a little nugget of information for you. One single flow, several different cuts," explained Tomoe.
Using the fallen tree to his advantage, Tomoe kicked one of the pieces from the tree towards Bryan, causing the Slayer to duck instinctively. But this caused him to lose sight of Tomoe once more. Before he knew it, the sly fox was on standing on his left shoulder.
Bryan moved his back as Tomoe thrust his sword downwards, nearly stabbing Bryan's head. Bryan tried to attack by thrusting his sword upwards to Tomoe's shoulder. But the Kitsune knew the follow-up and placed his weight onto his step, making Bryan plummet to the ground.
"Are you sure that these two should be training together? Bryan had just finished recovering from the earlier mission. And Tomoe is at full strength," asked Baldwin, worriedly.
Tomoe leaped from his spot, shocking Bryan. But with his hearing being enhanced, he quickly clashed blades with Tomoe, who appeared on his left. The two clashed several times, with Tomoe constantly being the one on the offensive side. Bryan could barely hold up to his speed.
"Yeah, now that you mentioned it... Bryan doesn't stand a chance at a seasoned swordsman like Tomoe. And that's not even accounting that Tomoe isn't human," said Z, agreeing with his friend.
Thinking that Z would stop them, Baldwin wanted to sound out his protests on this duel. But Z's words stopped him.
"But it was from the orders of Mavislin. We have no right to step in. Let's just take a break and see how this plays out," instructed Z, eyes focused on the duel.
Baldwin sighed and continued watching the show.