The strain of all the duels Henry had fought today were slowly catching up to him.
He gritted his teeth and increased his efforts hoping to catch his opponent off-guard. Unfortunately for him, however, Valia remained poised matching him blow for blow.
She parried, spun, and sometimes even retaliated whenever she found a good opportunity to sneak past his defense.
'Blasted pumpkins! Think, think, think. I must emerge victorious. My family is depending on me!'
Henry opened his eyes wider, the green pupils within darting about the place trying to take everything in.
From Valia's footwork to the minute expressions on her face or even to the way she held her sword. The raven-haired trainee took it all in.
Imbuing the sword in his grasp with the synchronisation method, the weapon sang a song of steel as it collided with its fellow counterpart. Valia, not expecting the sudden increase in power took a step back.
With some renewed hope in his chest, Henry launched a flurry of strikes. He had to capitalise on the sudden opening.
The indigo-eyed female gritted her teeth. She would not lose to a commoner.
As the seconds trickled past and the intensity of the duel rose to a fever pitch, only less than thirty seconds remained. Henry was like a frenzied beast.
He did not let up, in fact, the ferocity of his attacks only increased as time went on.
Valia, meanwhile did her best to mitigate her opponent's attacks. Unfortunately, because of that minor slip-up earlier she was pushed back under Henry's relentless assault.
The female released a furious shout before she threw all caution to the wind and immediately retaliated. Henry's eyes widened, not expecting such a drastic change. If not for his reaction in the nick of time, he would have definitely lost.
The young farmer slid back after he used the power of Valia's attack to propel himself backward, widening the distance between him and his opponent. Henry panted slightly.
His chest rose and fell erratically, the muscles in his body on fire. Sweat was slick on his furrowed brows.
With a deep breath, the green-eyed trainee's eyes narrowed after he witnessed the noble's maddened state. A seed of a plan quickly formed in his mind.
'I can't believe I'm thinking of copying that fool.' A chuckle full of mirth inadvertently escaped Henry's mouth.
'Is he mocking me!?' Valia's features twisted in rage. She released an enraged roar and dashed forward.
Henry who didn't know he had caused Valia's anger to soar to new heights, tensed his body and released a turbid breath. His mind was calm, only focused on one singular goal.
A bright flash lit up the skies, illuminating the duels down below. The blood vessels in Henry's eyes constricted as he poured his all into tracking the movements of his foe.
'Now!'
The farmer instantly spurred into action. Valia was now only a few steps away, her sword outstretched aiming to win this once and for all. Giving one last push from his battered body, Henry allowed his opponent's weapon to scrape his own.
He tilted his body slightly, uncaring that her sword was headed for his midsection.
Instead, with a yell that contained all his accumulated vengeance and gripes with the Nobles, Henry's sword blurred slicing swiftly through the air.
Valia paled. Was her opponent out of his mind?
Phantom's good eye widened before a boisterous laugh left his lips. Oh, how alike his student and this trainee were.
Henry immediately felt a sense of relief and pain wash over his figure.
He placed the tip of his sword at Valia's neck. At the same time, her strike careened into his stomach. Henry suppressed a groan, a triumphant smile split his face.
He had won!
***
"I won! I… passed!" Henry breathlessly exclaimed as he stared at his pale hands. He turned them over, wondering just how he had done it.
His glee was short-lived, however, as a pained grimace took hold of his features a moment later.
Looking at the farmer's profile from the side, Nico just chuckled. Henry had done the same thing as him. It seemed he had influenced his companion.
With another chuckle, Nico spoke leisurely, "You did… well done."
Turning to face Nico, Henry smiled brightly, his face lighting up with two dimples.
The raven-haired trainee smirked suddenly before leaning to whisper in Nico's right ear, "I wonder who you're going to face in your last duel. I bet you a copper coin that it will be Lucas."
Nico clicked his tongue and eyed the farmer, "So cheap…"
Henry chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, averting his gaze.
"I'm only kidding." Nico idly traced some lines in the wet dirt, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "But, more seriously though, I have a feeling you're right. If it ends up being the case, then great! I can get back at him for what he did to me…" his face darkened briefly as his brows scrunched together in a scowl, recalling the events of the beating in the lavatory.
"What makes you think you can beat him?" Henry asked curiously. His interest was most definitely piqued.
He wanted to find out what made his brown-haired roommate so confident.
"I don't have to beat him, remember. I only need a draw to pass…" Nico straightened his posture and leaned forward, his eyes staring intensely at the green-eyed farmer. "... besides, what better way to end the duels than to fight Lucas. It would make revenge all that much sweeter."
"Although, I'm fine with having a different opponent than that snobbish bastard. As long as I pass, I don't really care. Rather, I'm using this opportunity to hone my skills and gain experience with the spear." Nico shrugged nonchalantly, resuming his laid-back air.
Henry hummed vaguely in response.
He shifted his gaze and stared at the duels currently taking place. Among them was Leon's figure. The half-blood was currently fighting against a noble - one who shared Lucas's opinion regarding half-bloods - and went by the name of Zale.
Henry's green eyes followed the clash for a moment, before he asked, "Do you think Leon will win?"
Nico lifted his gaze.
He took a moment to assess the fight before replying in an unhurried tone, "Yes if it keeps up. That Zale guy is too rigid, he's not trying to deflect the power behind each of Leon's heavy strikes. Well, that, and also he is probably ashamed at being pushed back by a half-blood which is causing him to make more mistakes."
Henry issued another non-committal response. His bulky roommate had already passed, so this duel was of no concern. Rather, it was Nico's fight that made him worry.
There was to be no room for error if the brown-haired boy wanted to pass.
The rain continued pelting the trainees from above, with the occasional boom of thunder producing a momentarily flash of light.
Leon had prevailed against his opponent, with a crushing strike that saw Zale's weapon clutter to the ground, out of his grip.
Time passed.
Most of the trainees were now finished with their duels and slumped tiredly to the ground. Exhaustion seeped into their very bones.
Some of the weaker nobles couldn't even muster the energy to send a contemptuous sneer.
Relief spread across the ranks of the youths who had finished. Even if their performance was sub-par and unsatisfactory, they were just glad it was over and done with.
They could worry about William's threat at a later date.
The white-haired instructor, meanwhile, was not paying attention to the thoughts of his bothersome students. He had more important things to do.
For example, announcing the last set of duels.
As William gazed at the paper in his hands, a crafty smirk couldn't help but make its way across his face. 'This should make for an excellent finale.'
While the Head instructor cleared his throat and prepared to declare the participants of the last duels, Nico wore a contemplative frown on his face.
He shifted his gaze and stared at Lucas, the sense of foreboding in his stomach growing stronger with each passing second.
The somewhat scrawny trainee found the arrogant noble also shifting his head and staring in his direction. Their eyes locked for a moment.
That split second, however, was enough for both trainees to feel a towering rage and thirst for vengeance take hold of their figures.
While Nico's desire to get back at the Stanburg heir stemmed from the cruel beating he had received at the noble's hands, Lucas's differed.
The redhead viewed Nico as the source of all his troubles.
If the brown-haired boy had not stuck up for the half-blood at the start of the Camp, nor had he refused to shun him, then Lucas would not have had to experience the degradation of being confined to his cabin.
It was all Nico's fault!
With these thoughts in the duo's mind, they heard William's voice ring out for the last time.
"David and John you're with Phantom. Dixie and Emma, you're with Nix and.... lastly, Nico and Lucas you're with me in the centre."
Instantly, a dark smile adorned the two trainees. It was time for their showdown…
…the showdown where they would get the chance to settle the enmity between them.