Elegance Versus Evolution

A priest walks to the middle of the arena, to begin the countdown of my and Uzarai's fight.

"3…2….1… Commence!" The priest yells in a loud monotone voice containing no will of its own.

Cheers erupt as I look towards Uzarai. A man that I honestly don't know very well yet do not wish to kill despite that.

'I've literally killed 60 plus people to get here, and now I'm doubting myself because I talked to him once?' I scoff at myself, blaming my lack of resolve and the hypocrisy that I live by.

The total opposite of my first fight happens as instead of rushing each other we both walk towards the center. I carry my black spear with red outlines created from my mana whilst he carries 2 different colored swords, yellow and silver, unbroken and broken. Walking towards the center, new thoughts flood my mind.

'Would I feel better if you were not being forced? When did I become invested, and why did I? If you weren't forced, would we still fight?' My head rambles with these useless thoughts as we both arrive facing each other. An air of carelessness and confidence surrounds Uzarai, meeting my own calm and controlled aura.

Standing in the center facing each other, the crowd has turned silent. A sudden sound breaks the silence, the first clash of my spear against his swords. The sounds reverberate throughout the entire arena as a sequence of clashes follows. Neither he nor I moved a step as we continue to clash our weapons against each other.

His movements and fighting style are surprisingly elegant. The look on his face resembles that of a professional dancer focusing on his most masterful performance. His swords redirect every strike I make, leading me in this dance of his.

'I can definitely see why they call you the dancer of the battlefield.' I think, noticing Uzarai's skill and graceful movements.

The sound of metal clashing against the buzzing sound of my mana continues to be the only noise traversing the arena. A minute passes of our "dance" when another sound could be heard. The sound of his short sword slashing me across the shoulder. The dark red blood that spurts out is immediately absorbed by the broken silver weapon.

'He suddenly got faster, it's probably that second step he has.' I think to myself, recalling all the information I appraised from him. I move back in response to the slash, trying to create a distance between the two of us. Moving back I get immediately chased by Uzarai, he chases me in this elegant manner, closing the distance to one where swords are more beneficial.

Getting pushed back, I create a circle of dark magic around. Spikes created from my combined blood and dark magic rush out, trying to impale my opponent. Uzarai seemingly gets another boost in speed as he easily dodges before rushing in once more. Using his retreat, I force him to fight at a distance suited for my blood-bound spear. Seeing a potential opening on his left, I decided to try and actively focus on it. I send a faint to his right before spinning around, making him unbalanced as I strike the spotted weakness in his stance. Blood spurts once more, Uzarai dodges my attack in a move that resembled a free-flowing freestyle dance. He manages to get unnaturally quick towards the ground whilst swiping an upwards strike with his Armsword that cuts me diagonal across my abdomen.

'His movements are too differs, it's almost impossible to predict.' I think, lamenting my own inability and applauding his superior skills in that regard. The clashing of our weapons resumes as I get slowly pushed back against the wall. My back pushed against the wall. I decided to try to hit him with a powerful downward strike. Uzarai easily dodges with a slight pivot he moves aside which exposes my back towards him. He strikes as blood gets spilled once more, using his shadow, I used it to put my spear through it and connect it with the shadow on the wall. My spear manages to pierce his spine, drawing his blood for the first time in this duel.

'However, not being able to predict your moves doesn't mean I have no tricks of my own.' I think to myself, content that my spear managed to make contact. Uzarai quickly dislodges the spear, trying to minimize the damage that I'm ravaging in his spine right now. His reptilian mixed with obsidian armor did quite well, if he didn't have any the spear would have even pierced his chest. He jumps backward, seemingly surprised that I managed to land a clean strike on him.

"It seems you're the better wielder, however, I'm far more superior in mana." I call out towards the retreating Uzarai.

"It appears so." He answers in a dismissive tone, not really listening to what I said before rushing in, closing the distance again. His speed boosted by his second-step ability again. Influencing my blood flow, I give myself a physical boost that could be compared to extreme blood doping. Matching his speed, My blood-bound spear clashes with his silver English cutlass-looking short sword. My spear weakens as the silver short sword appears to be absorbing the blood magic. Raising his other sword to strike, I divert my spear to block it. It shatters as its weakened state seems to be no match for his long sword. It pierces me right in the shoulder blade as a sizzling sound could be heard from the wound. Using my enhanced physical state and the adrenaline rush from the pain, I grab him by the throat before throwing him into the arena's wall.

A loud bang follows, similar to that of brick crashing with a high velocity on some stone pavement. His body recoils from the power of the shock as the ancient, hardened travertine limestone around his body almost completely shatters.

I pull out his sword from my shoulder blade and look at the wound it created, I see an acidic substance burning my body. My body's regeneration is more of an enemy than an ally as the acid continues to burn and devour the new, weaker flesh.

My mind is no longer clouded by doubt, as the rage of pain becomes my primary emotion. My calm and collected aura changed to one of complete bloodlust and true murderous intent. I see Uzarai stand up once more, not mentally, but physically shaken from my attack.

"You were holding back after all." He says in a pained tone, noticing the difference in our abilities.