By the time Vanitas thought of bringing his sword up, the tip of Olivia's long sword was already in front of his eyes.
He was sure that he wouldn't be able to bring his sword up fast enough to deflect that pointed strike so instead, he quickly dodged to the left. He managed to avoid getting hit anywhere vital, but, the tip did brush against his cheek, scratching it a little and sending a few strands of his hair flying. A little amount of blood dripped from his cheek.
With her first shot missed, Olivia didn't let up. She quickly spun around and the sword sliced a horizontal arc through the air as it inched closer to his neck at blistering speed.
This time Vanitas had expected it and thus managed to block the strike with his sword. The sound of two metals scraping so close grated in his ears.
His blade was starting to lean toward him. With the position he was in, he couldn't manage to generate more force. Realizing that if he continued this stalemate for long, he will eventually lose, he kicked the ground with his right foot and bounced backward to gain distance.
Olivia immediately followed with her expressionless face, her mind only focusing on defeating the foe in front of her.
She held the handle of her sword with both hands and brought it vertically down.
Vanitas had not yet managed to get his feet to the ground when a heavy blow from above hit him.
The blow was so strong that it sent him to the ground at once and his knees buckled. The sword in his hand was shaking and her sword was slowly forcing Vanitas's sword down. There was very little distance between his head and the edge of his blade.
'This is bad. She is really strong and her skills with the sword are top-notch. She has not given me a single opening since this spar began. Every time I move to dodge or parry, she follows immediately with no time for me to even catch my breath. I will eventually lose without being able to do anything if this continues.'
Realizing that Olivia was trying to settle the match here, Vanitas stopped pouring force into his sword. He held his sword loosely for a moment which allowed Olivia's sword to come crashing down above his head with all the force behind it. But before the sword could split his head in two, Vanitas rolled to the left. Olivia's sword lodged on the ground below and kicked up dust.
Still on all fours like an animal, instead of trying to gain distance from her, Vanitas leaned in and moved forward for an attack.
Vanitas had been having a hard time dodging and parrying. He figured that he wasn't getting much leeway being on the defensive. So, instead, he decided to go on the offensive and see what happens.
With his sword held horizontally, from a low angle, he brought his sword up diagonally.
Olivia parried his blow with her sword. But Vanitas had expected as much. He applied more force and deflected her sword away. He took the small moment that was created as a result to take one step closer to her and up his stance.
He immediately followed with another strike right from where he left the previous strike. Olivia once again parried it. Vanitas held the sword with both of his hands and managed to overpower her. Her sword was this time deflected down.
Vanitas didn't let up. He swung his sword at her constantly without giving her any moment to be on the attack. The situation was the same as before, only the roles were reversed. This time Vanitas was the one attacking and Olivia was the one defending.
Vanitas had marveled at Olivia's offensive swordplay but even her defenses were strong. She would defend head-on with her sword in front and her legs solidly planted on the ground.
The two were once again in a stalemate, with their swords locked.
"You are pretty good with the sword," Olivia said without taking her eyes off him.
"So are you." Vanitas, from the current memories he had, was sure that she was without a doubt the toughest swordswoman he had faced as of yet.
Vanitas noticed the long sleeves of her blouse move and thought that she was once again going to distance herself from him. He was ready to follow her immediately but he was surprised by what happened next.
Instead of moving back, Olivia had used her left hand to punch Vanitas square in the gut. The force behind it made him wince and curl his body instinctively. The thought that she was cheating by using her hand didn't cross his mind. In a battle, everything was fair. He should have expected surprises like this. The fact he hadn't was his own shortcoming.
Olivia used that opportunity to attack him instead. She was apparently done being on the defensive. But Vanitas was also not going to give up his position so easily. So he also went in for the attack.
Now both Vanitas and Olivia were dancing and running around the space they had attacking each other. Neither let up and neither thought of stopping their attack even once. They both attacked and attacked.
From the left. From the right. From above. From below. The attacks came from every angle and from every possible direction. But they each parried it with attacks of their own.
The violent clash of the swords continued unabated and by now both of them were out of breath. However, the will to fight was still there. With their competitive spirit lit on fire, the thought of stopping didn't even cross their mind. The rest of the world didn't matter. They focused solely on the one person in front of them.
Vanitas brought down his sword from above and Olivia moved from below to meet his attack with her own destructive force.
The two swords connected and Olivia's momentum overpowered Vanitas's blow. His sword was sent flying above his head towards his left.
Olivia closely watched him. His right hand was moving to grab his sword again. But Olivia was sure that she would be able to get him before he grabbed his sword.
Olivia firmly placed her left foot on the ground and drove her sword in. That was when she felt her hair stand on end. When she looked at Vanitas, her eyes widened in realization.
Moving his right hand towards the sword was just a feint! She realized that a tad too late.
With her immense momentum, she wasn't able to stop her body from leaning forward immediately.
Her sword sliced off the lower half of Vanitas's black overcoat. She immediately retracted her sword back but by then Vanitas's sword was already making its way down to her exposed right flank.
With his feint worked, Vanitas gripped his sword on his left hand and brought it vertically down at her right side. Olivia seemed to realize what was going on and brought her sword to defend herself.
She managed to deflect the blow but the position didn't favor her and her sword was knocked down to the ground. Vanitas's sword went smoothly down and cut her long pink dress into a slit that exposed her long, white legs.
Before Olivia could even think of getting her sword back or doing anything else, she felt the coldness of Vanitas's black sword on her thighs. If she moved, her legs will be cut. That was Vanitas's message and that meant only one thing.
"I lost." Olivia surrendered.
Vanitas finally let out the breath he had been holding for a long time now.
"Phew."
This was one of the most intense battles he had ever fought, as far as his memories served (which wasn't that far).
"That was a wonderful match," Olivia said.
"Yes, it was. I had fun." And he meant it.
"I have never seen someone hold or use a sword with both hands. Where did you learn it?" Olivia looked intrigued. The reason she fell for Vanitas's sword was because she had never seen or heard of anyone capable of using the sword with both of their hands. Swordsman used only their dominant hands - which could be either right or left hand depending on the person - to wield their sword and used the other only for support.
Vanitas had been using his right hand all this time so she had thought that his dominant hand was right. She had mistakenly assumed that he would wield his sword only with his right hand. That was what led to her loss this time.
"I would rather not say about it, if possible." It wasn't that Vanitas didn't want to or it was something to be kept secret. It was just that he didn't know where or how he had learned it. His body just knew it, as if it had been ingrained in his body and muscles. That was why he didn't want to speak about it.
"It is unfortunate but It is alright."
Olivia did want to know where he had learned such unique swordsmanship from. However, she didn't feel bad about it. She had learned something new from this battle and that was more than enough for her. More opportunities will definitely be there to learn in the future.
"Let's have another match after this battle ends."
"Yeah. I would love to."
That was the first of the many sparring matches that the two would continue to have afterward.