While Seth ran east toward an unknown place as ordered by Raiden who said to run without looking back, a fierce battle began.
With swords imbued with mana in their hands, both parties drew their first attack on each other.
Keith's blade slashed downward with force, speed, and blazing heat toward Raiden.
The opposite was what Raiden did as his sword came from below, slashing upward wrapped in water.
Pssh~
Both swords clashed and steam covered the area with both parties retreating just as quickly as they had clashed.
"Tsk! This is becoming overly used. Steam for stealth." Keith clicked his tongue and conjured a ball of air which he tossed forward.
It quickly grew into a tornado that sucked all the surrounding steam dispersing it upward.
Raiden became visible again as he appeared behind Keith. "I wouldn't miss a chance given to me." He slashed his sword, aiming at Keith's arm.
Clang!
His sword landed on Keith's metal sheath which appeared before Raiden's attack could land.
Keith knew it would be too late to swing his sword to deflect the attack so he went for a better option.
Raiden was a bit surprised by Keith's method of defense but he didn't waste time as his next strike rained down.
The nature of the mana around his sword changed, shooting out tiny bolts of lightning.
"I can only face you with all I have," Raiden spoke and attacked a second later, slashing his sword violently, yet accurately at Keith.
"Then come on," Keith replied with confidence and pride, his sword going on to block Raiden's attack.
A mistake that would lead to a scary outcome in the battle.
Clang!
Bzzzt!
The recoil from Keith's overwhelming strength pushed Raiden a few feet back while the lightning discharged from Raiden's sword channeled into Keith's weapon and then into his body leaving him stunned for a moment.
That single moment was enough to turn the tides of the fight. "Here I come," Raiden uttered and wasted no extra second to act on his words.
He dashed at Keith, his sword stabbing toward his throat.
'Dang it!' Keith cursed as he hadn't expected a Class Five was capable of keeping him stunned even for a second.
His opponent was of lower class so it shouldn't have been possible but it happened just now and was bound to happen again.
At the last split second, Keith regained control of his body and moved to evade the sword aimed at his neck. He was faster so he replied on his speed.
Woosh~
The lightning-coated blade sliced through the air, narrowly missing Keith's throat.
Or so he thought. Blood trickled down the left side of his neck as a shallow cut appeared there.
Like that again, he was stunned for a moment as Raiden wouldn't waste any opportunity he found.
His sword, which was just over Keith's shoulder after the stab, turned vertically as he planned to slash Keith's left shoulder.
The sword which remained covered in lighting dug into Keith's left shoulder but before it could go deep, it came to a stop.
Keith's blade has silently appeared beneath to put a halt to Raiden's sword's descent.
Still, it was a second too late as blood flowed down the sword toward Raiden.
Clang!
Keith hit Raiden's sword from underneath, sending it flying out of his shoulder into the air while Raiden, who still held the hilt, pulled back his weapon.
"That was amazing." Words escaped Keith's mouth but instead of sounding like praise, they were covered with anger.
He was angry that his previous mission had failed.
He was angry that his current mission wasn't going as expected.
He was angry at the injury he had suffered due to his overinflated pride.
He was angry at the opponent standing in front of him who was a class lower but gave more trouble than most.
He was furious and needed to pour it all out.
Keith's left hand began glowing red and only got hotter. He then pressed it onto the cut on his neck and gritted his teeth painfully.
He glared at Raiden with fury visible in his eyes. When he removed his hand from his neck, his neck was burnt but the cut was now covered.
Without delay, he approached the cut on his shoulder in an attempt to repeat the process. Raiden quickly understood what he was doing and attacked.
Burning the injuries would definitely hurt but it would stop the bleeding out since Raiden had cut him in places that bled out a lot.
"Give me a moment, will you?" Keith asked, swinging his sword seemingly in a normal fashion to deflect Raiden's strike.
Bang!
It seemed like an ordinary swing but the force behind it sent Raiden flying and crashing into a nearby tree.
"Gah!" He coughed up saliva as his back slammed into the tree trunk.
He rose to his feet and charged at Keith once more with even more vigor.
By the time he arrived to continue the fight, Kith was done with the burning of his cut over his shoulder.
"It's my turn now." Keith said and the battle turned upside down.
Fully utilizing his mana to amplify his strength, speed, and even defense, Keith unleashed strike after strike.
Raiden could easily deflect the attacks at first but it got faster and faster. Soon, only his eyes couldn't follow the movement as his body became unable to.
While Raiden held a higher level of expertise in the sword, in the end, the mana level was more important. The amount of mana one could utilize superseded every other thing.
Higher battle prowess or sword expertise was only favored in a battle between two people of equal mana output.
Swing after swing, slash after slash.
Keith's attacks rained upon Raiden who did his possible best to dodge and block when necessary.
Soon, he couldn't keep up and cuts began to appear on his body.
His arms, his legs, his chest, and even his abdomen got a taste of Keith's weapon.
Thud!
After a series of injuries, Raiden's legs gave in and he fell to the ground.
Keith smiled and walked toward his utterly weakened opponent. "So where's the kid?"
"Like I should be aware of his location." Raiden snorted.
His snort was met with a stab in his thigh.
"Argggh!"
"Where did you send him off to?" Keith asked again.
"You weren't deaf when I sent him off. The only thing I told him was to run without looking back. As for where he went, even I am not aware." Raiden replied genuinely. He wasn't aware so he answered and even if he was, it wasn't like he'd just tell Seth's location to their enemy.
"Well… I won't be needing you then." Keith sighed as he brought his sword to hover just above Raiden's abdomen, aiming for something there that couldn't be seen but if stabbed would spell the end of a magic user. Raiden's core.