"In your introduction, there was way too much unnecessary information!" Asura smoothly stood up, shaking off Vlad's gaze like dirt. "Do you have even the slightest understanding of an honorable duel between real warriors?"
"ABSOLUTELY! In an honorable duel, warriors can wager anything on the victory, and the loser must fulfill the winner's desire!"
"Eh? Well, at least you know that..." Asura replied with confusion.
"So, regarding this rule. If you lose, I want you to go on a date with me!"
"In fact, if I lose, I'll most likely become your prisoner. What date are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. The Emperor promised to treat hostages well while negotiations are ongoing, so you'll be free to meet me."
"I'm afraid your plans won't succeed. Besides, our duel doesn't make much sense. But alright, I'll accept your conditions. I'll come up with the desire myself."
Asura sheathed her katana at her waist and assumed a combat stance, ready for the battle.
"Wow, cool weapon! I've only seen something like that with Irii; yours is almost the same," remarked the guard.
"Yes, it seems that your leader is from my family, even though she was lost long ago. I would like to talk to her when the opportunity arises," replied Asura.
"Well, then that will be your condition. If you win, I'll arrange a meeting with her."
The guard drew his weapons, two blades of equal size, but the same shape as Krito's.
"Hmm," Asura leaned forward, turning slightly to face her opponent, and positioned her sword behind her back. She prepared to strike, leaving the enemy minimal opportunities for a counterattack.
"Interesting," Vlad was the first to charge, holding his right blade with the edge down and his left up. Asura delivered a swift strike, capable of cutting down any unprepared opponent, but it was blocked by the guard's right blade. "Strong attack, but I already have experience fighting your clan."
Vlad, using his right blade to block Asura's sword, executed a lunge with his left, aiming for her shoulder. Asura, in turn, changed the direction of her attack, repelled the opponent, then crouched down, delivering a sharp upward strike that sheared off a small tuft of the guard's hair.
"Whoa, trying to give me a haircut?" he teased.
"Don't make me laugh. You dodged my attack before I could land it," Asura retorted.
"Yeah, it's a good thing my reaction isn't failing me. However, it seems you know how to fight against my style. I wonder where you learned that. I thought martial arts in your country had degraded long ago."
"Believe me, I have extensive experience battling opponents who use dual blades. Although you are the first with the same shape."
"Whoa!? So, you know people who use similar weapons? In that case, I changed my mind. If you lose, you will arrange a match with that person for me!" Vlad shifted his stance, pointing both blades downward, and approached Asura, keeping his body closer to the ground.
"Sorry, but they have other things to attend to now, and by the time they're available, you won't have a chance," Asura replied, trying to contact Kurone, but her opponent wouldn't give her time to relax.
"Hey! Don't daydream while fighting me, or it'll cost you dearly," Vlad warned, directing his blades in opposite directions and delivering a barrage of strikes while rotating. Asura had to block the strikes with her katana and retreat backward.
"Damn it!" In an attempt to break free from the difficult situation, Asura raised her blade and directed all her anger into a powerful strike. "DON'T INTERFERE WITH ME!!"
Asura delivered a sharp downward strike, but before that, Vlad stopped and positioned both blades with the edges upward.
"And now I'll show you why I need identical swords!" The guard swung both blades from behind, striking Asura's katana simultaneously in the center. "I will break your katana!"
The strike with two blades of equal force on the thin edge should have broken it, but it didn't. The blades stopped at the katana's edge, halting its movement, yet not even a crack appeared.
"What the...?" Vlad was taken aback.
"Sorry, but my blade is not as simple as it seems!" Asura continued to exert pressure on her opponent, and the air in the room grew colder.
"Damn, just like Arthur's armor. It's that cursed metal again."
"I see you're familiar with it, but that's not its only secret!" Asura focused on her katana, and the bluish runes on its surface began to glow.
"What?" Vlad's blades started to frost over, and the cold from his weapons filled the room. "A nice ability, but it seems too weak to use effectively in a real battle."
"Well, sorry that I haven't fully mastered it yet, but it still won't help you defeat me!"
"Haha, that won't stop me!" Vlad attempted to push Asura away to free his blades, but he couldn't. "Now what?"
Asura also noticed the peculiarity in their collision.
"Huh? What have I done?!" Asura tried to pull her katana away, but it was frozen tightly to the guard's blades.
"Darn, couldn't you use something less critical?" Vlad was losing interest in the battle, as he struggled to detach his blades.
"Well, it's not my fault. I only received this sword two weeks ago, and I haven't mastered using it properly."
In the end, the guy and the girl forgot about the battle and just tried to separate their blades. When they finally succeeded, all three edges were covered with an icy crust.
"Wow, my Yuki-chan, sorry, I'll take better care of you," Asura began carefully wiping the ice off the blade with a cloth.
"You named your sword?" Vlad raised an eyebrow.
"So what? It's a very important katana to me, and my good friend made it. Besides, it can crack from the ice."
"Pff, you shouldn't have done that in the first place! AAA!"
"What now?"
"My sword!! Look, a piece broke off because of your ice!" Vlad shook one of the blades in front of Asura. "What are you going to do about it?!"
"Hmph, you were the one who wanted to break my sword just now. I don't care about your problems."
"Problems?! The Emperor himself made these blades for me. You have no idea how much they cost!"
"Can't help you with that, I'm busy."
Asura turned away, continuing to remove the ice from her katana.
"Damn, now it's pointless to fight," Vlad sat down behind her and stuck the blades into the ground. "Let's consider it a draw. I guess we'll have to head to the square soon."
"Yeah, but we can rest a bit for now."
Meanwhile, at the training ground, Arthur and Leira stood facing each other. Arthur still had the girl by the throat, and she, in response, held his other hand.
"I won't let you die so easily," Arthur squeezed Leira's second hand and pressed her against the sword stuck in the ground. The discharge released a second ago had dissipated into the ground, leaving only slight burns on the swordsman's hands.
"Arthur? But we won't win otherwise!" Leira tried to break free, but he wouldn't let her go.
Arthur placed one hand on the guard's neck.
"If you want to die beautifully, then I'll die with you! Don't try to leave me alone!" Determination burned in Arthur's eyes, just like during their struggle for her hand. "We'll always be together."
Tears welled up in Leira's eyes.
"Ah, it's not even interesting anymore," Arthur let go of Leira and stepped aside. He took his sword, drove it into the ground, and sat down, leaning his back against it. "I no longer have the desire to fight you. So what do you plan to do with me now?"
"Let's wait a little, and soon you'll find out everything."
Arthur and Leira sat down next to each other, leaning on each other.