Murmurs and groans spread across the soldiers, old and new. From those returning from morning training, to the non-combat staff slowly setting up for early lunch.
Both military and mercenary groups tend to avoid allowing all their recruits to dine together, instead they would eat in waves. And by the concerned looks we received while walking, this fight could easily sway morale.
***
Together, we walked in unison, our footsteps echoing against the hard floor.
After exiting the stone underpass, we saw an entire staging village, complete with sharpened wooden log walls, covered in wet monster and animal hide.
Thatch roofs and whitewashed walls created a common theme amongst the architecture, but these buildings did not exist only to be burned down in training exercises.
They had been designated as storage, accommodation and other use cases by distinct signage. This included the widely adopted red blood drop on pure white bandage flag for medical purposes, to which seemed rather busy as of late.
Near several fort entrances along the high wood walls were stables for those brave enough to attempt to tame monsters, alongside holding basic carriages and carts.
Our destination was off center, yet near the middle of the military outpost. Wooden logs arranged in a large circle next to tables with stumps for extra chairs gave off the impression that this was a place to observe, rather than settle grudges.
"Albedo Squad! Bring us the bronze duel barrel!"
"Ah- Yes General Sir!"
Orth barked orders at a nearby group of six recruits that had just finished setting up their open field tent for the nearby catering staff.
Gold? Albedo? They're named after alchemical reagents…
"Captain Stathon will handle this duel once he returns shortly. Any questions?"
"Do I have to fight?"
"Have some confidence in yourself my boy! I'd wager you know a bit more about combat and magic than these young-bloods. Otoha-"
"Ota!"
"-This Oni brat has barely touched her magic studies, the prideful little shit"
"Jealous old fart"
Otoha muttered her insult under her breath as a gust of wind swept through, carrying her message straight to the General's ears. As punishment, he gave me more hints on how to achieve victory.
"Oni are stronger than humans, with greater constitution, however my boy, they're rather hard-headed. Your brain must overcome her brawn"
If she's so stupid, then why be so cryptic?
"Do not worry about the boy, Orth. Lambs have conquered Lions before"
"Hahaha! I feel honored that you believe me old enough to know what animals those are"
"...You're right. In this day and age, it would be a Satyr besting a Griffon"
"Those fiendish creatures? Hmmm. I'd hope the boy hasn't aligned himself with Devils"
"My my, is the 'Great General Dare' afraid of fairy tales?"
"You and I both know those tricksters are anything but the machinations of old women spewing gossip"
The General lowered his voice, yet there was vitriol behind his words, as if he had a dark history dealing with the myth.
"Enough of that. You two, I trust the head biting will wait until the duel starts. Wait in the center, Enda and I have matters to discuss. The good Captain will be back shortly"
With that, both Orth and Enda walked away, discussing plans. All I could gather was their concern how the Eternal Empire would retaliate with Boree breaking the non-aggression agreement.
By the time that we arrived in the middle of the dueling circle, Stathon had returned carrying supplies over his back that he handed off to the squads setting up the field stoves.
Instantly distracted with a goal in mind, Otoha wandered over to a pair of new Wulf recruits brushing their hair. All she had to do was present an open fist and they forfeited their grooming apparatus.
At least the Oni gave it back once her messy bob cut had been somewhat straightened, but the fear in their eyes was apparent. 'Ota' didn't belong here.
Stathon had to enter the ring and drag her back by the ear.
"Ow! Let go of me!"
"You know what kind of person demands others to hand over their valuables? A bandit Otoha, a bandit"
Captain Stathon kept his voice low, hissing at the Oni to get his message across while making sure he held a firm grasp on her ear.
"I-I'm sorry okay? I just wanted to fix my hair…"
"Good grief. This nonsense over the past couple of seasons has shown the whole garrison that you're a brute unworthy of respect. Do you truly believe Otamaru would act in such a manner?"
"Well it's not like-"
"When I met your grandfather, he gave me advice and encouraged me to be a man worthy of the light I wield to save others. People greeted him with a smile, not fear! No man, woman or child cares if your hair is straight if you had to steal a brush in front of them to make it so!"
Why he felt the need to ensure his dispilary lecture was kept private seemed counterintuitive. I'd have thought he'd want to make an example out of her, instead, only I, and the copy holding Arisu heard it.
"Understood?"
"Y-yeah"
"Good. Eyebore, you may wish to sit down on the ring as they'll be using the entire circle to fight"
As the Priest explained how our fight would function, the named copy carefully lowered Arisu onto one of the logs that made up the large training circle, rolling up some of the hide covers as a makeshift pillow and adjusting her head to the side.
She seemed somewhat confused after laying the Kitsune's head down and began to check her temperature. 'Eyebore' did little to hide her intent, despite wearing a large brown cloak, her personality seemed different from the woman who created her as a copy.
The black haired trainee Paladin sat on the log beside them, keeping her head down.
"I take it both of you are at the stage where your Aura is irrelevant, however, in case either of you are hiding any tricks up your sleeves, then any enchantments of any kind will result in your disqualification"
"As if, nobody our age can pull that stuff"
Aura was not a matter of if, but when. All that got strong eventually grew a second layer of invisible skin that seeped into any clothing or equipment to make it stronger.
In some tales, it's claimed that intrinsic abilities can only be accessed if their weapon has that 'skin' stretched over their blade, hence why swordsmen run their fingers over their blades before battle.
I'd yet to see it myself. Although Arisu moved so fast she could have easily fit that into her routine before slicing through thick Paladin armor. That ability of hers was something else, even if it looked like she couldn't slice through skin while doing it.
Then again, she did manage to cook food impossibly fast as well.
"Yes, well, my lived experience proves otherwise Otoha. As for the duel, you may not attack without a weapon in hand. Pinning your opponent down will count as a victory. Either of you may verbally yield to confirm your defeat"
After being recently scolded, the Oni did not protest the use of her name. Instead, she chose to bring her attention to me.
"Can I punch him?"
"Not without a weapon"
"Can I cast magic without a wand or staff or something?"
"Athena, grant these kids some wisdom. Yes, you may cast magic, so long as you have a weapon. Although, no mage in their right mind would recommend casting without some sort of instrument"
Stathon was already sick of our questions by the time two members of Albedo Squad interrupted, carrying a large barrel of mostly wooden tools of war.
As if right on time to watch our fight, one of the large wooden fort doors slowly opened up to let in a batch of soldiers covered in sweat, who found themselves slowly wafting over towards the puffs of smoke and roasting meat.
"Otoha, young man, this duel may be a little different to what your expecting"
"'Young man?' You protecting him too?"
What are you on about?
Ignoring her, Captain Stathon started to pick weapons at random from the barrel lined with bronze hoops and tossed them around the arena.
Many of the returning soldiers took up residence on the tables nearby, however, every single person took a seat as far away to Otoha as they could.
Even the Beast-Kin distanced themselves once they had their hairbrush back, retreating to the tables being set up for dining.
"We will start by having both of you interlock arms and spin until I give the order to distance yourselves. At that point, it's up to you to win. This is a test of agility, strength, and rather importantly, versatility. Understood?"
"I- I guess?"
"Just forfeit and I'll spare that privileged little face, human"
'Privileged'?! Who the hell does she think I am?
"Now-now, save the trash talk for when the duel begins"
"Shouldn't we be wearing armor?"
"For someone so boisterous, you often surprise me with strange concerns. Alas, this fight will go on without such protection"
"Yeah but what if he has enchantments and stuff?"
"He possesses no such clothing. Now, back to back and hook your arms around each others"
The Oni made certain to follow Stathon's instructions aggressively, like a handshake firm handshake taken too far. She decided to denigrate me while grabbing my arms, making sure I didn't try to escape.
"Let's see those fancy moves you damn blessed"
"What is your problem?"
"Silver spoon asshats like you deserve to be put in the dirt"
"Enough! Spin clockwise, and when I say release, the duel starts!"
Stathon interrupted the berating, then pushed us in the right direction. We shuffled on the spot, spinning round and round and round again. After a solid five rotations, he shouted and stepped back.
"Begin!"
With an ear piercing shout, we let go and immediately ran forward. Both of us stumbled and fell onto the ground, dizzy from the spin.
Pushing myself back off the ground was futile, and resulted in a tumble back down. Luckily, I landed on a plain leather sling.
The moment I picked it up, I cast Sediment, a basic spell to create a small pebble, one grain at a time, while looking for another weapon.
Basic spells had no visual magic circle and often had rather unimaginative names with straightforward effects. The downside was weak throughput and limited effects.
Unfortunately, as the Sisters only used Faith magic, nobody could teach me beyond the lowest tier of magic. All except for Rider, who gave me a scroll for Calegriss, a spell for 'heating and cooling metals'.
That said, with so much time spent casting basic spells, I achieved what I call 'true mastery'. Not just silent casting, as defined by the term 'mastery', but size, speed, direction, all manner of adjustments.
Within a second, I created a stone worthy of a king's sling as I stumbled to my next objective. Rock in spinning pouch, the moment I turned to aim, I saw nothing but fire in the Oni's deep purple eyes.
In the time it took me to grab a single weapon, she had recovered and armed herself. With a wooden bulker and bludgeon in hand, Otoha was quickly closing the gap.
"Shit!"
I let the rock loose and panicked, landing on my behind, head still spinning slightly.
Kicking up dirt, the small stone ricocheted off the ground and straight towards my opponent, who barely managed to block it from hitting her shin by whacking it with her small shield.
"Erghg"
Thanks to the strange bounce, while the Oni thwarted the attack with a mighty whack of her shield, shei lost her footing and fell forward straight on her face.
Otoha let out a gargled shock through clenched teeth. In an attempt to get back up quicker, she lunged forward and tried to roll, keeping a slight amount of momentum.
As this occurred, I let the sling flick around my hand and scrambled back, grabbing a wooden Longsword with the very same hand. When it came to magic and weapons, I was ambidextrous with most things.
Thus, slowly but surely, my left palm cast a spell of elemental output.
Stream, a small bubbling mass of water, following like a bottle of rum into an ever increasing ball.
"You're a coward!"
Otoha shouted, knowing full well the easily evaporated magic would not damage her, but that wasn't the point. Larger and larger it grew over my head to a size bigger than me.
Strangely enough, blood began to run down her face from her broken horn. It was enough to get me to lower the amount of strength I put into a one-handed swing from the left out of pity.
"DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!"
I stood with my feet perfectly parallel for this exact outcome, and enraging her benefited me greatly, although it wasn't intended.
The Oni used her small club to bash my weapon back and crash into my chest with her shield. At that exact time, when I felt my heart could burst from my chest, I let go of the spell and jumped back in a rather idiotic way, sliding along the dirt on my back.
Zero hesitation, Otoha followed up with a vicious overhead leap that I barely managed to block while lying on the ground. Quickly, I created a small ball of air in my left hand.
Vortex was its name. Sucking in dirt and dust for no other purpose than to be adjusted with my true mastery into a cone, spraying debris all over her we body.
"Fucker!"
She screamed, striking rapidly while blocking the dirt with her buckler before they could completely disrupt her vision. I still managed to cover her in filth, which was my plan, all for a combo.
I used the chance to roll to my right into her blindspot, and bounce back up off the ground with a pirouette.
"You silver spoon asshole!"
It made as much distance as I could between us as we both took deep breaths. I hadn't spoken a word, but inside, I was just as angry as her.
She really thinks I'm a nobel? Are you fucking KIDDING ME!?
Having spent years fighting to survive, trading labor for food to feed my fellow orphans, working any chance I got, her remarks rightfully pissed me off.
She may not have been present until after Enda had already introduced me as an Orphan from Tyrants Rest, but still. All because I was blessed.
My eyes opened wide, and I focused on her next move. The intent within her heart, where she would strike next. It was nothing but rage, with my head as a target.
Like a hot wind blowing on a cool day against my face, I felt her plan.
Now, my path to victory was clear.
I began to cast two spells for a final combo.
She charged, head down, horn pointed at my skull.
One last time, I cast Vortex in my left hand. Using my right hand's index and middle finger, I let freezing air flow into the ball with a spell called Chill, using only two fingers so my longsword remained at the ready.
Her shield protect face, and her bludgeon was ready to strike if I ran, so instead, I met her challenge.
Running forward, spell at the ready, I leapt as high as I could while slamming down my longsword horizontally to push her down, with my left hand forearm for extra force.
Nobody in their right mind would try such a stunt against an Oni's horns, but that was the point.
On contact, I released the spell and we tumbled to the ground.
"Why can't I- How?!"
My wooden blade pressed against the back of her neck. I'd both pinned her and made sure my position could make a strike that could have killed any opponent.
"Stream is so weak it doesn't even freeze with Chill right? But throw some dirt, and it becomes solid as black ice"
"Who the hell would know such a thing?!"
"Someone who made arrows using the two spells so he could practice archery with a shoddy bow and a few feathers"
"Enough! The boy wins"
Stathon wandered back over from the sidelines, where the Paladin recruit, copy and an unconscious kitsune with an oddly red face were sitting.
"Get up"
I did what he asked, and the Captain pulled out his grimoire that was chained to his belt. Somewhat hidden thanks to his coat. Then he began a small chant to free Otoha from her predicament.
"By Athena we rise, to fight a surging tide, ensure our blood dries, Goddess be our guide"
Golden light enveloped both of us, healing our small wounds and dispelling my snare. His holy magic sounded like it was missing a few words, typical of talented priests.
"Now, as custom, look each other in the eye and shake hands. Leave your grievances in the dueling ring. There are far more pressing matters to attend to"
He didn't even bother to wait for Otoha to stand up before turning around and walking back to Arisu. Although, looking at the sweat rolling down her forehead and swelling in her neck, it appeared to be urgent.
"Happy? You won"
"I'm not smiling, nobody's clapping. They so afraid of you-"
It all happened within less than a second.
Otoha had pulled a small knife from her boot as she got up, and thrust it straight at my heart. There was nowhere to move, no way to avoid it. I was going to die. She didn't even plan it, only acted out of rage.
Aggravated, my heart cried out. Too weak to push forward, yet it sent a spark up into my brain, allowing me to witness my last moments on Father Earth.
*BANG*!
The next thing I saw was the partially cloudy sky. Ringing and numbness filled my senses. Soon after, the pain of falling brought me back.
"*Cough*-*cough* Urgh…"
A sizzling noise rang out at my feet. The blade Otoha had wielded was cut just above its hilt by a Yokai leaning on a Tachi, throwing up over a log.
Arisu reached into her robes to pull out a red rock. With a crack, it shattered against her neck, immediately quelling the swelling of an allergic reaction.
"Damn, that's one less card up my sleeve"
Whispering to herself with a raspy voice, she appeared unbothered by the feat she had just performed. Neither did Eyebore for that matter, who ran straight passed and started climbing the wooden battlements to gain height.
Otoha suffered the brunt of the blast caused by Arisu.
The Oni had been flung straight into a log, smashing it in half, yet somehow she was still alive. Each grasp for air as ragged as the next.
"Wha-what happened?"
"Congrats, both of ya. I've only seen a few, even so, two at the same time is a first"
"?"
Somehow, knowing full well what was quickly approaching, the Kitsune wiped her mouth and offered applause while looking towards the horizon at a small grey and blue dot. If I had to guess, it was a building in Dragon's Mort, far off in the distance.
From that location, two streaks carved their way through clouds, side by side, roaring past the speed of sound. Within seconds something crashed besides Otoha and I, creating a crater in its wake.
"Aargh!"
Eyebore screamed out in pain. She'd tried to catch, no, stop what landed next to me. Her right arm had been blown clean off along with her cloak. Her physic was nearly the exact same as Enda, only slightly more muscular.
The only major difference was in hairstyle, as she had spiky short crimson hair without any white streaks, tied back into a tail, and her right eye was made of glass.
However, my attention was quickly drawn away from her wound and arm that appeared to be bleeding ash, and towards the dark green object next to me.
A perfectly symmetrical wired grip brimming with power, whispering something so soft it was inaudible. Fit for what looked like a longsword, yet without a blade, hilt or pummel.
The Oni had her eyes barely open to see a glowing red shard, shining like a ruby on fire. Entranced, we reached out to grab what had been granted.
"Wait!"
By the time my hand touched the Relic, I didn't notice Enda shouting out with an arm missing, reflecting the copies damage, pleading not to take hold of the mysterious power.
But it was too late. I lost consciousness.