"Come on, give me an answer!" Seigunfrei begged as he spun away from my incoming blow. It wasn't my dedicated strike, however. And with the help of a sudden blast from the back of my lower leg and right palm. I twisted around and brought my leg down upon him.
With a determined grin he matched my strike and brought one of his wreathed shins up. Knowing full well that he'd bring me down via attrition if I tried to force it. I blew myself backwards in a manner reminiscent of what I have seen Vapooliar do. And from the ground, I built up force into my legs.
I launched up at him, only to be struck aside by our teacher's staff. And, having the lesson drilled into me again and again. I continued to focus on Seigunfrei as our shared teacher never let us forget the danger he posed. His water magic and the sheer strength within his body made him a challenging obstacle. One we had to work our way around.
"Nin, come on, I know you can hear me!" Seigunfrei let out as he tore off the tornadoes around his feet and cast them out. He had tried this before, so I knew what I had to do. And I charged him again and again as our teacher seemingly chose to pick on me for the moment. Because of that, I wasn't able to stop Seigunfrei from completing his makeshift arena.
All around us was a swirling, circular mass of ground-shredding vortexes. The emerald light they let out clashed against the orbital-halo high above and he almost blended in with it all. Though, the keen, practised eye could keep track of the darker mass moving against it. Yet, he had yet to come at me despite the fact I was now against the razor wall thanks to their joint efforts.
So, taking the brief split-second of peace, I took up my usual stance. Our teacher created an air of uncertainty by helping Seigunfrei the way he did. Would he go on to take his aid back and cripple Seigunfrei? Or would he continue to act against me exclusively for now?
None of us within the arena moved or acted. We both considered our options and a tense atmosphere managed to set despite the hungry vortexes around us. I tilted my head up for a moment and considered going into the sky. And I looked down again once the contradictory stable flow of magic was disturbed by Seigunfrei's sudden aggression.
I opened up my palms and built magic up in them as a response. And I unleashed them in a devastating blast just ahead of me. But it wasn't concentrated enough to hurt or boss him about. Instead, it sent me right through the vicious tornadoes and right towards our teacher.
The very thing we were taught not to do. And I intended to capitalise on that by going against the teachings he must've thought were thoroughly drilled into us. Though, while he did not react with shock and jumps, his quick, near-perfect defensive stance gave me a platform. And I built my magic up against him as my bulk began to squash down onto him.
With a sudden, powerful burst that mixed into his reflex to push me off, I shot towards Seigunfrei. My drawn-back right fist crashed against his surprised guard and he shot off into the cloud of erupting magic and dust. Not wasting even a fraction of a second, I chased after him the long way and closed the gap. Overshooting him purely because of his inexplicit surrender before the crescendo.
"Why are you surrendering?" I asked him with mild agitation after I came to a stop in the carved-apart earth. And as he struck the ground with a tumble, going far beyond the fence of our teacher's homestead. I got out of the gouges my feet had made with a couple of sudden, stiff steps.
Our teacher's presence here, this farm he had made for himself... It had led to the soil becoming so much tougher over the years. And were it not for this spell he now sent against me. All of those pieces of dirt, it would've been like metal shavings against my bare skin back when I was still normal.
A grounder of Tobaballe.
As I approached Seigunfrei, I heard him laughing, "Sometimes I wonder how I have been able to keep up with someone as dour as you."
"Why did you surrender?" I repeated as he got up and was washed by our teacher as well. Though, unlike me, he made a point of drying himself off with his magic.
"Because I won't ever get an answer from you about this interview I kept hearing about earlier if we are fighting."
"I admit as well, Nin, it is a distinct stray from tradition." our teacher remarked as he leaned on his staff.
"I am not here to answer questions about what I did today. We are here to train, so I can be-"
"You won't be any more ready tonight than you would have been any other night, Nin." Seigunfrei interrupts me with as he sorts out his collar.
"I can't stop trying."
"Of course." our teacher commented as he seemed to get an aggressive itch concerning why he was helping me.
"I'm... I'm not asking you to stop trying Nin, you know that. Dammit, the reason I have even stuck to this exhausting regime is because I have a stake in seeing that guy dead or in bars myself. I'm just a little, as I just mentioned somewhat, exhausted is all. At the very least, let's try to shake it up a bit."
"I am not doing this for entertainment."
"I know! I know." he lets out with tense exasperation as he bends over.
"Then let's get back to it." I say as I turn around so we can get back to the homestead.
"No." he answers as he raises his head and shoulders.
"Very well." I reply as I turn my gaze towards our teacher.
"Don't look at me, I have chores to be doing." he answers with a rare display of amusement. And, in the sky, his worm came down with a crash and eagerly awaited him. Because of that, I had been left with no options.
If I wanted to train with someone about my level, I would have to put up with Seigunfrei's antics. An unfortunate circumstance, but whatever kept him close by and active was still preferable to nothing at all. Moving to the guild building and taking on a job simply wouldn't do. Local wildlife was weak and predictable and a lot of the harder stuff was more than a day's travel away.
I needed to be here when night comes. I had to be. There would be no slip-up in this regard. That monster would find my claws going against him until his blood stained them thoroughly...
"What do you want to do?" I eventually asked Seigunfrei as he waited patiently for something to leave my brooding form.
"Talk about the interview, again, and, well, do our usual thing with an audience!"
"An audience reinvigorates your interest?" I questioned as I began to follow him towards Suhurlodst.
"You'll understand why when someone actually cheers you on for once!" he cackled as he playfully hit my chest with his knuckle.
"She will when I finally beat him..." I tell him quietly as I think about when Larishazza will wake up. That bastard has her in that coma, taking him out will see her leave it! Hopefully...
"She will be screaming for the whole world to hear." he tells me as he starts to pat my back.
"A quiet hug will be more than enough." I clarify as I feel a twitch in my claws.
"So... About that interview?"
"What about it?"
"I dunno, maybe you could explain it to me, Dark Crow?" he asked with a snigger.
"I was asked to come and help with an entrance exam, that is all." I answered, clearly annoyed at the jab he made at the title. I had not really grown into it, but, it was something that had meaning to me. Even if it was only something that I had thought up this morning.
"Seemed to have gotten a little out of hand, then, just a little." he commented as he face turned towards me.
"Yes, it did." I say back to him with a reluctant nod. It had, in fact, gone that way. The topics worked me up in a way I didn't think was possible. Then again, Larishazza was one of the few things in this world that seemed to elicit any kind of response in me now.
My life felt so shallow without her... It hurt so much knowing that my reason to keep on living was her being bed stricken the way she was. Every day was a reminder of what I had lost. And each day I saw those eyes not flutter, however slowly they might open was horrible.
"I know I have more insight than the average family or gossiping student around here, but, it was nice to hear about it."
"Why?"
"You're always so dour, bitter and full of hate."
"That's how you have always known me." I point out, digging up our past for the sake of it.
He smiled and withheld a laugh because of it, "How you have been over the past few years is a bit different to back then."
"I know..." I let out quietly and miserably. At least back then, I had her. She was there for me. She built me up again every time I had been broken down...
"So, Dark Crow," he let out with a bemused huff, "how does it feel to get that load off your chest?"
"I didn't and don't need anyone to talk about it."
"We both know that is a lie, everyone needs someone to talk to."
"I have hunted a killer for five years going, that is all people ever needed to know."
"And I am sure for all five of them, everyone has spat on you as come hobbling into the daylight."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does, Nin. For five years you have failed, that has broken you, to put it out there."
"I am not... Broken because of that... I broke some time ago." I muttered as I thought back to all that time ago. When my time with the gods was the freshest in my mind. The realisation that came so soon after it was...
"You haven't done much to change the validity of my point, Nin."
I looked at him silently for a moment before I looked around at the curious crowd, "Why do you care so much?"
"Beating you up for five years has made you grow on me." he answers after leaning in with a smirk, "Oh, you lot, spread the word, that I, Seigunfrei of Exceptional House will be showcasing a grand event, for I! Will be defeating the Dark Crow before your very eyes!"
"I hate you." I comment in response to the wildfire he had just started.
"I take pride in not being number one in that regard." he tells me as we alter our course towards a building I once avoided with a passion. The very place I had been led into by him just so he could humiliate me... It made my claws twitch ever so slightly in anger. But, I knew that it would be nothing like it was all that time ago.
If he is still that same person, of course.
"Without a doubt, we'll be waiting for the crowds to pack the seats?"
"Obviously." he answered as he practised a few blows against the innocent air. As he did so, I looked around the open theatre, somewhat intrigued by the magic that formed a barrier around us. But, returning my vision to normal made it clear that it was completely transparent.
"Will you be taking it seriously once we start?" I ask as I cross my arms.
"Obviously." he repeats as he continues to weave about against a non-existent opponent. So, in response to that, I decide to test him. I wanted to see if he was telling the truth. I wanted him to be as serious about this as he could be.
What soon came out towards him was violent and seemingly firery. A mass of raw magic that I had exposed in his general direction. And he responded to it by leaping high above it and driving his weight straight towards me. The magic was so focused, in fact, that I had to back away, lest it skewer me.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked me as he jumped around a little. It was clear he was trying to keep his adrenaline in check for the actual fight he wanted to display. But, that spell he just casted, it satisfied my cravings. I was content to leave him be for the moment.
Though, I was left with a question in my head, somehow. I wasn't quite sure how it got there. But I wanted to ask him about it. And now was a better chance than any.
"How come you are still here?"
"Huh?"
"Everyone in my dorm has left Suhurlodst, but you, you are still here. Why is that?"
"You're only here as long as you want to be, really." he clarifies.
"You want to stay here?"
"Don't see why not, free housing, easy food and plenty of people who would gladly kiss the ground I walk at the mere chance they could speak to me." he pragmatically explains at first before some of his cockiness began to shine through.
"Can you even still learn anything at this point here? You have been training with me under the Worm Rider."
"He has certainly given me a hefty leg up in regards to it, but, I still feel like I have a lot to learn here."
"Your magic is built around fighting, Seigunfrei, you should be out there, playing mercenary."
"It's hard to explain, especially given your mindset. Just know that I have much left to do here."
"Very well, I was just curious, seen as I came here earlier because my old dorm building is now empty. And they were preparing it for new students." I explain to him, more so for the sake of talking than anything else. It was odd, really, as I spent so little time talking to anyone nowadays.
"I am pretty sure a few of them are still here, but I can always check on that for you, if you'd like?" he answered then offered as his face lit up with surprise.
"If Tiyanat hadn't left years ago at the behest of her father, then I'd probably say yes." I tell him before he starts to look up at the stalls and seats as they began to fill up.
And he smiled, "See, what did I tell you? I am pretty big around here."
"All times I have been in here with you, the crowds formed because they hated me, not because they loved you."
"We shall see!" he ecstatically let out as he began to hop around from side to side.
I looked around some more, after he said that, all these faces waiting in anticipation. Yet, contrary to how Seigunfrei was willing to put it, a lot of these gazes were focused on me. I could hear it, too. Rumours and gossip all related to that interview.
"Somehow I never hear a word of what was going on with my homeland and this place until I walk in on it, but the whole world hears about an exam of all things with frightening speed." I quietly mutter as I begin to pace the edges of the arena.
Seigunfrei had noticed how large the crowd has gotten and he had reacted in kind. But, I myself withheld from anything outwardly aggressive. We were here because of his demands, and if I pushed him, he might just walk off again. For the sake of Larishazza, I needed to get stronger.
"Ready?" I asked him after some moments of quiet circling.
And he answered my question with a ferocious spell that tore up the ground in a vicious whirl. Though, it went far and harmlessly detonated against the reinforced walls of the arena. the cloud of dust had barely settled before the crowd roared. With that, it became clear that now we could get back to what mattered.
From that moment onwards, I was on the offensive and we soon clashed at the centre. Strong blows met swift guards and sturdy bodies. Raw magic burst into the air with short-lived excitement and winds lashed out from my opponent. We broke off and clashed up against each other again and again.
For a brief, barely present moment, a thought passed my mind. We were far more aggressive in here. With our teacher not preying on us throughout the fight, we could do so much more. I even started to find myself a little bewildered at what Seigunfrei was capable of.
Spells that I had never seen before...
"Cage of the Greave!" he let out in a rare, grand display as he kicked off a tornado he had been using to move around with. And as that one, small vortex rose up, it suddenly detonated! With shocking speed it grew and grew with Seigunfrei's nurturing touch. And mine...
"My own magic..." I muttered quietly, though still with plenty of shock. This spell reminded me a lot of what that monster was capable of. Strange, esoteric spells which continued to surprise me to this day. A foil with nothing quite like it.
"I can't see your face, but I know you have noticed!" Seigunfrei cackled as he used the tightening walls of his spells as a platform to attack me from. From my level and those above, he struck down at me swiftly and powerfully. It was not enough to overwhelm me. In fact, he seemed to count on my response to the situation to draw me into thinking about his comment.
And he was right, the vortex was sucking in the fireballs my magic naturally made. He was draining my power to enhance this one spell and he was intent on tapping me dry. But to handle a leech, all you had to do was pull it off. So as he came in for his next attack...
I took the blow head-on and grabbed onto him with all my might. Keeping my magic within me, I then leapt up as high as I could with him still in my grip. Even as smaller spells of his began to cut into me, I held on. Once I then felt the limit of my strength, I swapped our positions and positioned a palm skyward.
I was counting on my magic being too high up for him to notice. But that smirk of his, confident and knowing, it made me slip up. I delayed the magic's activation and began to mistake him for something. With a roar the sky lit up a mixture of blues, whites and purples and we impacted against the toughened ground with a thunderous quake.
"Tighter as you go down!" he spat out past my spread-out claw before he grasped my wrist with glowing palms. The sky quickly returned to normal and emerald light began to enclose itself upon me. The ground was even being torn up by our combined, focused power! But despite our position, it was headed for me alone!
With a growl, I found myself torn away from him and I was quickly forced to hunker my body tightly together. All this power, both my own and that of a rival. It was too much for my defences, both layers of it. Blood quickly found itself diluted into the air and the spell continued to tighten.
"ENOUGH!" I roared in fury as I sent my magic out in a burst that overwhelmed the concentrated spell. And I collapsed against the ground as Seigunfrei rubbed the back of his likely aching skull. The crowd were right noisy by this point, yet I could still hear silence among them. It was strange, I had to admit.
But it was hard to ignore, so many nights of chasing that monster... I had accrued all these different skills in my efforts to stop him, to catch him and kill him. Sometimes, he came at me with a howl that made my ears bleed. Other times, he might as well have been a still wind.
I had to learn to focus on so much in such a short period. It was intimidating and it still was. But time and time again I had proven myself capable of perceiving him through it. And as the uproar got louder and louder as the magic from Seigunfrei grew in intensity and strength. I calmed myself and I focused.
One foot ahead, another behind. A rigid but flexible body that ended with a forward-facing gaze. My right claw, my dominant side waited at my side with a half-open fist. And my left claw, scarred again and again, served as my guard; my centremost claw was in line with the tip of my mask's beak.
I then waited, patiently. I waited for him to come at me with what must've been his greatest spell. Whatever it was, I had to play it his way for a moment. And I skillfully made my way to the killing zone he had established in the centre of the arena.
Once I got there, after escaping the forest of razor winds and deadly vortexes, I resumed my stance. For brief moments, I saw him pass through the forest unharmed. Whilst I had to fight my way through and weave with care. He could just charge through it brazenly, and such was the skill he put into this spell, I couldn't pick up a path.
His magic resumed its usual behaviour the instant he left its embrace. He was like Smiling Jhurack, almost. That ability to just disappear from my senses. Once again, Seigunfrei reminded me too much of him.
Thankfully, the last time I saw him before the magic began to enclose itself upon me, he was heading left...
He was going to come out on my right, that is what I predicted as I began to prepare a spell of my own. Into the earth did my magic precisely seep. Up and along my right side with well-drilled ease. Yet, before I felt the last of the circles form, he came out at me with a mass of magic that could change the daylight!
"Rocket Rotation." I recited as my fist closed itself and jets of propellant roared out of me. On the ground, my magic activated and the earth helped me turn around. Stronger and stronger did my magic burn. And as I reached the end of the turn, I met his spell with my left claw.
In a brief lapse of judgement, he followed where his deflected blow went off to. And my fist shot straight into his face. With a triumphant boom, I cleared away his own wayward spell and his body. Yet, before he had even impacted the barricaded walls of the arena, I collapsed against my left side.
That spell of his had a lot of power in it... My deflection had nearly failed had I not been forcing all of my body against it. But, once again, my left claw had prevailed and I had stood up against him. Though, it would certainly not be ready for tonight that being said...
"Ow..." I let out as I began to hobble through the dust. Yet, a green flash suddenly lit up the arena and I found myself presented with another blow. He had caught me completely off guard with this degree of perseverance. However, he only collapsed against me in the final moments.
"If that was a real blow, I would have won..." he chuckled against me as he began to use me for support.
"Get off." I told him as we started to get back onto our own feet as the dust settled. The crowd was quiet for a moment as they looked down at us. But then it was nothing but chaos and mayhem as the hysteria ran wild.
"Told you they enjoyed seeing me."
"Yes." I laconically answered as I picked out the differences between those who cheered. Many of them were calling it out to me or spoke of me. They spoke of how the Dark Crow got in the final blow. It was an odd thing to hear.
He had only really annoyed me back then, but, I could see what Frihdeicalkbr meant. Though, as my magic calmed down, these voices began to blur into the rest of the cheering. And I turned to leave the arena. I had to go and get my injuries sorted.
"Done already?" Seigunfrei asked as he quickly made his way over to me despite the pain he was clearly in.
"I need to prepare myself for nighttime." I answer as I carry on hobbling out of the arena.
"You've missed nights before, no?"
"No." I correct with a stern glance back at him. No such thing had ever happened. Though, I was ashamed to ever admit, even in my head that there had been nights when I lacked the enthusiasm for it. My own failures mixed with a broken body led to dark thoughts on those nights...
"Well, there's plenty of time before it's night, it's not even noon!" he pointed out as we came out into the open.
"What?" I ask as this would no doubt lead to a suggestion from him.
"Just come to the staff area with me." he insisted as he began to drag by my most damaged side so that I would naturally follow him. Thankfully, he relented in doing this and I was able to follow him of my own volition. It gave me a lot of freedom to consider things as well. Primarily, what it was he was bringing me here for.
Though a slight adjustment in our direction made it abundantly clear.
"You want to go on a job, together?" I asked, seeking clarification as we came to a stop in front of the rather modest job board within the academy. I was much more used to it being a whole wall, not some little board a couple of metres wide.
"You're always insisting on pushing yourself as far as you can go, besides, it gives me some money for food later." he explains as he runs his fingers along several of the job listings. And as he did so, the doors to the building next to us opened up and a small group left it. One that I had recently become familiar with.
"Oh, Dark Crow, I'm surprised to find... Thank you for helping us with our entrance exam!" Lorreabry told me in a rushed, messy fashion as her hot drink steamed into the air.
"Oh, so this is the pretty lady who you helped?" Seigunfrei asked as he peaked around to look at her. He seemed to be trying to put on a degree of charm, but his face had swelled up since first contact in the arena.
"Do you need to go to the medical centre?" Lorreabry questioned as she looked uncomfortably at Seigunfrei's developing bruises and swelling. Though, she was more concerned with my bleeding. Something that had become quite apparent, I had to admit. Seigunfrei's magic was good at that, tearing people up.
"Another time." I answer as I pick a job for me and my fellow student to do seen as he was too busy trying to play down his injuries.
"Aw, come on!" he complained as I began to pat him around the nerve-wracked group.
"W-What job are you doing?" Lorreabry asked with an odd amount of curiosity. But, as I had not read the job fully, I could not answer. So I looked at the tablet I had taken off and was about to hand in along with my official details.
"Sightings of a wyvern, they want someone to check it out." I answer, and, peculiarly, she seemed to breathe in relief the moment I mentioned the creature in question.
"Well, good luck with it." she tells me with a quick nod as a small smile forms on her lips.
"Is there something you want?" I decide to ask her as she had been a bit pushy since I finished the interview. But I had been quick to leave and head on out to my teacher's homestead.
"I... I was wondering if I could speak to you in private at some point?"
"If you can find me." I tell her apathetically as I turned to leave.
"S-Sure... Again, good luck!" she weakly responded with as I began to push the reactive Seigunfrei inside.
"She was certainly interested in you!" Seigunfrei knowingly commented about.
"Whatever it is, it can wait." I tell him as I place the tablet on the appropriate desk. And, without a prompt, I got to work putting in my guild information so I could have the job put into my records. There was some annoying things about it, namely fees and taxes, but it helped me get funds to Liadanann or Larishazza with little fuss.
"And here is a map to the job site..." the woman at the desk uncomfortably let out as she gazed up at my mask. Maybe the blood played a part. But the way she looked at my claws as I picked up the map-tablet made it clear that there was more to it.
"With haste now, I will not miss nightfall." I tell Seigunfrei with a slight growl as I begin to force him out the door. We had some distance to go for the moment, but, thankfully, my association with the Grandguard gave me some authority to throw about. Unused as it normally went.
"Alright, alright-ah... Ow..." he groaned as I forced him to put up with the injuries I had given him.