Dimensional gap, Team DxD Base.
Shortly after Scathach slapped suppression seals on James and Cu Chulainn, Cu Chulainn rested his spear over his shoulder and began walking toward the clearing that was designated as the battlefield for this set of friendly spars. At the same time, Arthur also made his way toward the battlefield.
When both young men were ready, Scathach gave the signal to begin the spar.
Wasting no time, Cu Chulainn shot forth with his spear reeled back, ready to thrust it forward. Arthur, with his sword, Caliburn, took a defensive stance. Then, just before Cu Chulainn's spear could strike its target, Arthur's left shoulder, Arthur swiftly made a half-circle with the blade's tip, redirecting Cu Chulainn's spear down to the ground with the flat of his blade.
Off in the distance, when not only James, but all the sword wielders of Team DxD saw this, they all narrowed their eyes slightly.
"He's better than I expected." James said with battle intent starting to burn in his eyes. "He's probably even better than Uther."
Although his first strike was redirected rather easily, Cu Chulainn was not deterred in the least. Instead of fighting against the momentum created when Arthur deflected his strike, he used it to make his next strike. After repositioning his left hand, Cu Chulainn swept his spear at Arthur's right leg, causing him to step back.
After stepping back, Arthur thrust his sword forward. However, from what Cu Chulainn could tell, Arthur was too far away to land that thrust. To Cu Chulainn's surprise, however, a tear in space opened up in front of Caliburn's blade. A moment later, another tear in space opened to Cu Chulainn's right, with the tip of Arthur's blade passing through the two tears and aiming at Cu Chulainn's right thigh.
"Damn..." Cu Chulainn muttered as he pulled his right leg back.
Arthur's sword, Caliburn, also known as the Sword of Selection is the fabled sword from the tale, the Sword in the Stone. The same sword that the original Arthur Pendragon drew before he was named the king of Britania, was not only the world's most powerful holy sword, but also had the ability to manipulate and tear through space.
After missing his sneak attack, Arthur drew his sword back. At the same time, Cu Chulainn rushed forward once again.
'I can't let him take distance like that.' cu Chulainn thought as he neared Arthur once again.
Once in range, Cu Chulainn launched a barrage of thrusts and sweeps with his spear. Arthur countered this assault by deflecting nearly all of Cu Chulainn's attacks. The few that he dodged, however, were followed up by attacks of his own.
As time went on, the speed at which the two young men exchanged attacks continued to increase. Eventually, everyone below the ultimate-rank was only able to see a pair of blurs shifting around the battlefield.
Eventually, Arthur was once again able to take some distance. From that distance, he began a sword dance. However, with each swing or thrust of his sword, a tear in space would swallow his blade. An instant later, a second tear would appear somewhere around Cu Chulainn.
Thrusting his instincts, Cu Chulainn began twirling his spear, similar to the way Bikou fought Mizore. With his instincts honed over the years with Scathach, Cu Chulainn was able to block or deflect all of Arthur's attacks. Then, once he thought he figured out the pattern behind Arthur's attacks, Cu Chulainn tried something risky.
After dodging one of Arthur's thrusts, before Arthur could pull his sword back through the tear in space, Cu Chulainn thrust his spear into the same spatial tear and withdrew it much faster than he had throughout the rest of the spar.
Naturally, Arthur was caught off guard. However, he was able to side step the spear thrust. Unfortunately, he was unable to close the tear in space before Cu Chulainn could retrieve his spear.
"Tch!" Cu Chulainn clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I missed. And that won't work a second time."
After Cu Chulainn's sneak attack, the fight returned to the state it was in before. The major difference being that Cu Chulainn did not dare to stab his spear through another one of the open tears in space. He knew that if the tear closed before he could withdraw his weapon, the chance of his spear being destroyed was quite high
Eventually, as Cu Chulainn felt he were being painted into a corner. He even considered using his more destructive and deadly techniques. However, remembering that this was just a spar, he decided against it. Even if there was a chance that Arthur would survive the [Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death], the wounds that he would inevitably receive would be extremely difficult to heal.
'And don't even get me started about using the [Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death].' Cu Chulainn thought to himself while defending from Arthur's onslaught. 'He's simply not powerful enough to defend from that attack.'
After a few more minutes, Cu Chulainn came to the conclusion that he could not win without going all out. But going all out would result in either serious injuries or death for Arthur. The story would be different if his powers were not suppressed to the peak of the ultimate-rank, but that is irrelevant at the moment.
"You win!" Cu Chulainn shouted unwillingly. "I can't win without going all out, but I don't want to kill you, so you win."
As Cu Chulainn declared his defeat, he lowered his spear. At the same time, Caliburn had just pierced through space, toward Cu Chulainn's left shoulder. However, Arthur stopped his thrust just before it could pierce Cu Chulainn's skin. Even so, Cu Chulainn could feel an uncomfortable sensation on his skin.
"Holy swords really are nasty pieces of work." Cu Chulainn said, moving Caliburn's blade away with the shaft of his spear.
As soon as Arthur withdrew his sword and sheathed it, Erza dashed out of the crowd with her own sword drawn.
"Now, fight me, Arthur!" Erza shouted.
Before she could get to close, though, Irene appeared behind her and dragged her back by the collar of her armor.
Even though neither of them was hurt, can't you see that Arthur is exhausted of his magic power?" Irene asked in exasperation.
After hearing her mother's words, Erza concentrated on Arthur. Then, she noticed that what Irene said was true.
"Please forgive me for being so inconsiderate." Erza said while still being dragged away. "If it pleases you, you may strike me as recompense."
"Seriously? Did she just ask him to hit her?" Cu Chulainn asked, watching Irene drag Erza away from the battlefield. "Where does James find these chicks? Isn't one Ayame level pervert enough?"
Although Cu Chulainn was unaware of what his off-handed comment had sparked, Ayame, unbeknownst to everyone, looked at Erza with a sharp gaze.
'No one will take the role as James-Sama's pet away from me.' Ayame thought to herself with fierce determination. "Just you wait, Erza Scarlet. I will show you what it means to be a masochist.'
Naturally, no one was aware of the fierce resolve Ayame had just built for herself. Even so, it would take the Alaverus Estate by storm in the near future. Though, James would receive the brunt of the mental damage it would bring.
"You did well, my disciple." Scathach said as Cu Chulainn left the battlefield area.
"*Sigh* But I lost." Cu Chulainn replied in a frustrated tone.
"That was almost inevitable." Scathach said. "All of your advantages were sealed in that match. Though I am disappointed that you did not use your runecraft before things became dire."
"Even if I had, I would have still lost." Cu Chulainn said while shaking his head. "The spells that I have that were strong enough to finish that fight would have done too much damage."
"That is true, but you could have used runes to disrupt him." scathach reminded. "Then, he would have not had such an easy time trapping you with his spatial abilities."
"*Sigh* I guess you're right." Cu Chulainn said after reflecting for a moment. "Either way, I'm just glad that you're not gonna increase the intensity of my training after that defeat."
Instead of responding, Scathach stared at Cu Chulainn with her usual expression.
"I mean, you said I did well, right?" Cu Chulainn asked, finding himself nervous thanks to Scathach's silent stare.
For another few moments, Scathach continued to Stare at Cu Chulainn. Eventually, Cu Chulainn could no longer take the pressure, and spoke once again.
"Master?" Cu Chulainn asked, afraid to hear the answer by now.
"You lost, did you not?" Scathach asked emotionlessly.
"*Sigh* I did." Cu Chulainn replied.
"Then, you should be prepared." Scathach said as she turned and walked away.
As Cu Chulainn also turned away and began to walk towards the rest of James' first peerage, Scathach's voice travelled into his ear.
"If he had not brought it up, neither would I have done so."
Immediately after hearing those quiet words, Cu Chulainn slapped himself in the mouth.
After the rest of James' first peerage saw Cu Chulainn's actions, they knew he had said something stupid once again.
"*Sigh* he's never gonna learn, is he?" Moka asked while shaking her head.
"If he did, he wouldn't be Cu anymore." Mizore replied.
"I guess that's true." Moka said with a wry smile. "I mean, what would life around the mansion be like if he wasn't putting his foot in his mouth every other sentence."
"I wonder what he said this time, though." Flora said curiously.
"Who knows, but I'm sure we'll find out later." James replied with a shrug. "But that's not all that important right now. Instead, Shuna, are you ready?"
Taking a deep breath, Shuna looked into James' eyes. Then, she nodded with determination.
"Good." James said with a smile. "But don't underestimate Kuroka. Even though she acts like lazy cat at home, she's good at what she does."
"I would never." Shuna said with a shiver. "Just the thought of the hell Master Scathach would put me through if I lost because I underestimated my opponent... Is horrifying."
"Hahaha..." James laughed a bit hollowly. "I guess that's true. Anyway, come here for a second."
Following James request, Shuna took a few steps forward. Then, James wrapped her in a hug and kissed her on the lips, causing Shuna to blush in embarrassment.
"That's for good luck." James said with a smile.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Arthur was congratulated by the rest of Team Vali. He, however, did not feel much about his victory. He knew that Cu Chulainn was heavily restricted in their fight. On top of that, he also knew that Cu Chulainn's most powerful techniques could not be used in a spar.
"Congratulations, Big Brother." Le Fay said with a big smile.
"Thanks, Le Fay." Arthur replied, returning a smile of his own.
"Young Master, allow me to help you wipe your sweat." Elaine said, approaching Arthur with a clean towel.
"that's not necessary." Arthur said with his face reddening slightly.
"Of course, it is." elaine protested. "As your maid, it is my duty."
Then, before Arthur could protest any further, Elaine closed the distance and began wiping the sweat off Arthur's face and neck.
"Oh my, quite the dutiful wi... *Cough* I mean maid." Leona said, appearing next to the trio without any of them noticing her approach. "You two make a picture perfect cou... *Cough* example of a maid and her master."
By this point, not only Arthur, but even elaine was blushing. Meanwhile, Le Fay smiled at her brother and Elaine. Then, before anyone could disagree with her words, Leona vanished with the [Flash Step].
After Leona left, Arthur, Le Fay, and elaine fell silent. A few moments later, however, Le Fay broke that silence.
"You two really would make acute couple." Le Fay said with a cute smile on her face. Then, she ran away.
"Don't tease your Big Brother." Arthur said; as he chased after Le Fay, taking the opportunity to run away from the awkward situation.
Meanwhile, Elaine watched Arthur chase Le Fay half-heartedly. Then, she smiled brightly.
"So, you have the same thoughts as I do, Young Miss Le Fay." Elaine said to herself while her eyes never left Arthur's figure.