- Peter -
Peter was training his fire magic when Lucifer came up to him.
"I want you to have a practice match with Mira. Swords only."
"Sure." Peter was making a flame travel along his arm while speaking to Lucifer. "Any particular reason, or?"
"Careful with your mana." Lucifer said, his eyes following the flame.
"I made the mistake once, thinkin' things might be peaceful, I won't do it again. I have my hands and hair as permanent reminders."
Lucifer looked upset at the statement.
"Back to Mira. She wants a sword for when she walks back to Heaven. My first instinct was to tell her to fuck off, but I thought a duel with you might yield a better reaction."
Peter removed the flame.
"I'm not sure how I feel practicin' swords against someone who has one hand."
Lucifer gave a light chuckle.
"Didn't seem to mind threatening her though."
"Course' not. I still mean what I said. I just wish I could have had a proper match with her."
Peter and Lucifer walked to an area by the campsite that had been sectioned off for the duel. There were multiple torches in a rectangular pattern illuminating the surroundings.
Sabu threw Lucifer two swords as they approached.
Lucifer handed one to Peter and threw the other to Mira who was on the opposite end of the torch covered ring.
"Simple rules." Lucifer started to explain "Cuts are worth one point. Disarms are five. Knockdowns are three. Forced surrenders are ten. First to ten points wins the round. Best of three." Hew went to the sidelines after he announced the rules.
The swords in question were basic short swords, nothing special.
"Let me add to that," Peter said, gripping the sword in his right hand and putting his other hand behind his back. "I'm not allowed to use both hands." He smiled.
Mira had an insulted look.
Peter walked to the edge of the arena that he was near.
"Don't be afraid to attempt hurtin' me. I know you're untrustworthy, but I trust in ya to use a sword properly."
Mira's look was now one of suppressed rage.
"Thanks for the trust," Mira said, holding the sword up to her face vertically.
Peter mimicked her stance.
"The match has begun. Best of luck to both of you." Lucifer said.
Mira stepped in immediately, closing the distance between her and Peter. She brought her sword down lightly on Peter's sword before swiping it down, leaving a small cut on his thigh.
She attempted to backstep but the moment she did the point of Peter's sword shot towards her face. She partially dodged, still receiving a long cut across her cheek.
Mira attempted severing Peter's hand with an upswing of her blade, but Peter dropped his sword and pulled his hand out of the way.
Mira saw her chance and went for a long diagonal slice across his chest. He dodged to her right side, kicked the handle of his falling sword into his right hand, and placed the edge along her neck.
Mira dropped her sword.
"First round goes to Peter," Lucifer said.
Peter walked back to his side of the ring. He turned around and mimicked Mira's stance again.
"I thought using one hand would make this somewhat interestin'. Shame that this is as borin' as I thought it'd be."
Mira's eye twitched. She picked up her sword and changed her stance, pointing the tip of her sword at Peter and lowering her center of gravity.
"Proper angel stance. Good." Peter said, changing his stance so that his sword was pointed at the ground.
The two rushed each other. Unfortunately for Mira, Peter used this match to show his resentment. He dodged, parried, and blocked every attack while nicking her.
The second round ended with Peter landing ten shallow cuts on Mira's sword arm.
"Peter wins. Shocker." Lucifer mumbled the last part.
Mira handed her sword to Peter.
"Someday I'd like a fair match with you."
"Hate to tell ya, but it would be about as interestin' as this one." Peter's tone was more matter-of-fact than arrogant.
Mira held back what she wanted to say and instead went with something friendlier.
"I would hope you'd still consider it." She smiled, even though her tone was clearly angry.
Peter thought nothing of her tone. He had beaten plenty of angels in the past, and the responses were largely the same.
'I swear, half of ya think you're as good as Michael. Speaking of that, I wonder if he'd be up for another match? Probably not now.'
Lucifer went up to Peter and grabbed one of the swords.
"Sorry about that. I thought she'd put up a better fight. I promise she would have if she had both hands."
"It's fine." Peter lowered his head and sighed. "What are you doing?" He looked over at Lucifer.
Lucifer stood where Mira had and placed his sword in a similar stance to hers.
"I think it's been a while. I want to see how rusty I've gotten."
Peter smiled and went to his side.
Mira was having her small cuts healed by Lao when she noticed the two about to fight.
"I didn't think Lucifer still practiced with a sword?" She said to herself.
"He doesn't, usually," Lao said.
The two's swords clashing were loud. Lucifer's strength was clearly superior, but Peter's technique was far better.
There was constant movement. Lucifer would push in and jab the blade towards Peter's shoulders. Peter knew he would aim for those and weaved in-between the hits.
The sound of fast steps against dirt and clanking blades grew louder as the two started moving faster and faster.
Lucifer was receiving far more cuts. It would've seemed fair if any one of his attacks had landed. His greater strength just wasn't enough.
Peter had a clear advantage. He knew the angels' style of swordplay and that Lucifer would be aiming for careful spots.
Mira was awestruck at Peter's performance.
'I guess what I heard about his abilities from the others is true.'
She couldn't believe that Lucifer, who had once been a match for Michael, was losing.
The match wasn't following any rules. If it had, the score would've been thirty-six points for Peter and three for Lucifer.
"I appreciate the thought. Ya really should practice again. Rusty is an understatement." Peter joked to Lucifer.
"Don't undersell yourself." Lucifer looked at his now red-striped arm. "I'll stick with fire magic and daggers. Going back to swords doesn't interest me."
- Lucifer -
Lucifer handed his sword to Peter and walked to Lao. His body was riddled with tiny cuts, none of which were particularly deep.
"I think it's more impressive that he can do this without bloodletting you." Lao chuckled.
"He's always been mindful about live blades." Lucifer shrugged. "I always used to ask him if he'd prefer to use dull ones."
"I think it gives him another handicap." Lao ran his hand over Lucifer's arms. "He has to control himself while also avoiding serious damage."
"Craziest part about that is the difference in durability." Lucifer's eyes switched between his cuts and Peter. "I can take more damage than most opponents he'd practice with and yet he still manages to hold back the same relative amount."
Lucifer's injuries were healed quickly. He rubbed his arms and watched Peter put the swords back into the supply cart.
"I guess I hadn't realized until now how long it's been since I've seen him practice with a sword."
"That's because you're usually practicing with your magic." Lao was looking to make sure he had healed every injury. "Peter can't keep up with you in an all-out match, so the two of you rarely practice together."
Lucifer thought about what had happened with Cytus and Peter.
'You're strong. You just need to remember your limitations sometimes.'
"What's Elijah doing?" Lucifer asked.
"I think he's still reading." Lao pointed at the cart with his index and middle finger together. "He was in the empty cart with a light orb last I checked."
Lucifer went to check the cart and sure enough, Elijah was lying down, holding the guide above him, with the orb behind his head giving him light.
"Why are you reading alone?"
Elijah rested the guide on his chest.
"Things seem tense. I'm new to this group, so I wanted to stay out of it."
"I'm sorry for everything that's happened. This has been a terrible mission to take someone new on."
Elijah sighed.
"Yeah, well, I just hope I make it back," Elijah said in a defeated tone.
Lucifer was disappointed in himself. He had let his desire to find a new recruit override his better judgment.
"Elijah, I want you to know I asked yo-"
"What are you doing here?!" Death's shouting could be heard from across the camp.
Lucifer flew over to Death and was stunned by who it was Death had yelled at.
A white wolf, with an orange ring floating above its back, stood before the two.
"I'm here for peace," Amaterasu said.
Death conjured his scythe.
"Bullshit you are. Your domain isn't close, and you would never come just to negotiate."
"Would you believe me if I said Tsuki forced me?" She tilted her head.
"No." Death and Lucifer both said.
Amaterasu changed forms. She turned in to a tall woman, that matched Death's height. She had long, mostly black hair, the ends of which was white. Her outfit was a short white dress that had red lines running along the seams. Her legs were exposed and her feet were still claws. The orange ring was still behind her back, but it had shrunk to match her new slim figure.
"Believe me now? I wouldn't show this form otherwise." She motioned her hands down her body.
Death and Lucifer looked at each other. Death returned his scythe.
"I'm listening."