Archie, clutching an Arming sword, advanced towards Ralph, his stride echoing his apprehension.
In the meantime, Cody resumed his training in a secluded corner of the room. A skeet shooting machine affixed to the wall initiated its sequence, propelling a solitary clay skeet in his direction. As the clay entered his striking zone, Cody intercepted it with a well-timed blow.
Assuming his battle stance, Cody tracked the clay as it neared him at chest height. With a swift and graceful sweep of his sword, he bisected the clay, reducing it to two equal fragments. The remnants joined the accumulating mound of cleaved clays scattered across the floor.
Suddenly, four additional skeet shooting machines emerged from the wall, each set to fire in divergent trajectories, encircling Cody. The machines discharged their clays in unison, sending them soaring along various paths.
Cody, unperturbed, scrutinized the approaching clays and adopted a stance reminiscent of a swordsman sheathing his weapon. As the clays intersected his field of vision, he sprang into action, his blade slicing through the air in a seamless, fluid arc.
Each clay, ensnared in the gleam of Cody's blade, plummeted to the ground, neatly bisected. The soft patter of the clay fragments hitting the floor reverberated through the room, a testament to Cody's flawless precision and control.
Meanwhile, Archie maneuvered himself behind Ralph, who was engrossed in his relentless assault on the dummy. However, Archie's shadow betrayed his position.
Ralph whirled around in an instant, pressing his sword against Archie's throat. Yet, Archie met Ralph's gaze with an unwavering stare, prompting Ralph to inquire,
"Why are you here?"
Archie had approached Ralph with unease, but upon witnessing Ralph's adeptness with the sword, he comprehended why Cody had orchestrated this encounter. Ralph's proficiency with the sword was the benchmark Archie yearned to reach.
Ralph's meticulous strikes against the dummy evoked memories of Archie's own endeavors to master the Machete. Although Archie's techniques might have lacked the finesse of Ralph's, he had unwittingly established a foundation to mirror Ralph's combat style.
Archie cast a surreptitious glance at Cody, taken aback by Cody's insight into his combat style, a realization that had eluded Archie himself.
However, Archie recognized that this was not a moment for self-reflection. With a resolute voice and unwavering resolve, he queried,
"Can you teach me to fight? What areas do I need to improve and… What am I lacking?"
"Huh!" Ralph retracted his blade from Archie's throat, his eyes smoldering with irritation as he snapped,
"Why should I help you?"
"You don't have to. But will you?"
Archie swiftly bowed before before Ralph, who was startled by Archie's actions and stammered,
"Bastard… Stand up. What are you doing? I won't teach anyone."
"Until you say you will teach me, I won't stand up."
Archie, maintaining his bow, pleaded with Ralph, his words brimming with sincerity.
Caught in the whirlwind of events, the others abruptly ceased their training, their eyes darting towards Ralph and Archie's prostrated form.
However, upon locking eyes with Ralph's livid gaze and twisted expression, they hastily retreated or plunged back into their training, desperate to avoid Ralph's attention or any involvement in the unfolding drama.
"ARGH…" Ralph unleashed an uncontrollable roar.
In a surge of fury, he launched a powerful swing at Archie but swiftly redirected his attack towards the training dummy in his path.
"CRASH!" Ralph's swing didn't merely slice through the dummy; it released such a force that the wall behind it crumbled into debris. The impact of his katana sent a potent shockwave through the air, ripping it apart.
Unsatisfied, Ralph continued his rampage. He brandished the katana left and right with unyielding fury. Each slash further demolished the wall, reducing the once sturdy structure to rubble, and then to mere dust.
The air filled with thick, suffocating dust and smoke, the sound of Ralph's relentless strikes echoing through the room. As the dust began to settle, the spectators cautiously retreated, fearful of Ralph's unchecked wrath.
As the smoke finally cleared, the sight that met the audience was one of disbelief. Archie remained in his prostrated position before Ralph, while the destruction around them bore witness to Ralph's formidable power.
Ralph turned his back on Archie and surveyed the collapsed wall that revealed the adjacent room. But what sent chills down their spines was the sight of ten dummies standing near the debris in the other room. Ralph's slashes hadn't reached them; they stood unscathed, with not a single piece of rubble landing near the dummies.
Ralph pivoted and locked eyes with Archie's prostrated form. With an irritated tone, he declared,
"One hour, I will train you for one hour. Follow me."
Ralph began striding towards the collapsed wall and stepped into the adjacent room, as if he had forged his own entrance.
Archie rose from his bow and was taken aback by the state of the wall, but he quickly regained his composure and followed Ralph with his arming sword.
Upon reaching the other end of the room, Ralph stood before the wall and commanded,
"Do what I did, destroy this wall to prove yourself."
Archie's mind went blank at Ralph's seemingly impossible demand. He quickly stammered in response,
"What do you mean? I can't destroy this wall even if I slashed at it for an entire year."
"Then, you have failed to attend this Academy."
Ralph's tone shifted from arrogant to sincere and straightforward as he explained,
"Everyone here can effortlessly slash through walls… and you just want me to teach you sword techniques?"
Ralph scoffed at Archie and taunted,
"Don't underestimate us, thinking you can catch up to us now. We've been wielding the sword and training hard since we learned how to walk. If you think, you can stand on equal footing with us…"
With a casual swing of his katana, Ralph left a deep slash mark in the wall, cutting through several inches of the material. The blade's arc was smooth, leaving a clear, clean gouge that spoke to Ralph's precision and skill.
Archie gripped his sword firmly, his blood boiling beneath a serene facade. He declared in a steady tone,
"I'm not aiming to be your equal."
Bridging the distance between them, Archie met Ralph's gaze and flashed a self-assured smirk,
"I'm aiming to surpass all of you."
"You basta—"
Before Ralph could finish, he swiftly lifted his right leg and kicked Archie, sending him sprawling onto his back. His voice dripped with scorn as he added,
"I hate cocky weaklings."
"Like you!"
Archie shot back, as he dusted himself off and rose from the ground.
Girding himself for the imminent clash, Archie assumed a stance, extending his left hand as if wielding a shield and raising his sword in his right hand, as though preparing for a shield and slash tactic, except his left hand was bare.
"You're an odd one,"
Ralph jeered as he pounced towards Archie, his body hunched and his face close to the ground. He clutched the katana with both hands, extending it to his right, the blade poised to deliver a brutal slash.
Ralph brandished his katana with both hands, the sheer force cleaving through the air. He aimed the slash from below, clearly intending to sever Archie's left hand and split his sword in two, seeking to gauge his adversary.
However, his strategy would have worked on any 'F' Ethereal, even other students, but his adversary was Archie.
Before Ralph could complete his upward swing, Archie executed an unexpected move. He stomped his left foot on Ralph's katana, disrupting Ralph's momentum. However, the katana sliced through Archie's shoes and grazed his foot.
Ralph had already lost all of his katana's speed. Archie's stomp forced Ralph's katana to hit the ground, but not as Archie had anticipated. Ralph maintained his firm grip on the katana, and more so, Archie's move didn't seem to rattle Ralph, as he continued to swing the sword aiming to slash Archie's leg and behead him.
In the moment of Ralph's slowed pace, Archie swung his sword aimed at Ralph's head. Archie had already prepared to sacrifice his leg if it meant he could strike Ralph's head.
In a matter of seconds, the scene was about to morph into a bloodbath, as one of their swords was about to connect…
"SWOOSH!"
---
"Huh! What just happened?"
Archie was perplexed, feeling a sharp pain in his gut as he found himself sprawled on the ground with his own sword impaled in his abdomen.