There was no way she could forget - The short, brown, thing in his hands...
It was the very dagger he attacked her with, when they first clashed.
R : "... Are you insulting me?"
She felt utterly insulted. The sword by his side that was not withdrawn, almost in a deliberate act of declaring her incompetence... It angered her greatly.
K : "... I use this dagger when I do not wish to hurt my opponent."
R : "There is no such need. Draw the sword by your side, and face me properly."
The boy seemed to hesitate a little at that request.
R : "Or do you mean to sully my pride further, insinuating that I am so inferior that you have to resort to a weapon of mercy?"
Reluctantly, he withdrew the short, brown wooden dagger and pulled out the sword attached to his side.
... It was a peculiar weapon, to say the least.
It was... Whatever it was, it was definitely not a weapon anyone would call normal.
It had an unusually large cross guard, which matched its considerably long handle. But the blade in the center... It was relative short, and took up a very small amount of space. Though it was broad and flat, the length and its thickness did not match the grip and cross guard at all.
Almost as if to say...
... That there was a trick behind the weapon itself.
R : (... How disorienting. Such a cumbersome-looking weapon... It's as if he hammered the hilt of a two-handed sword onto a broad dagger. There must be some secret or trick behind the weapon that I'm not seeing now. He would prefer the dagger over a weird weapon like that... ?)
Despite that, her opponent held the weapon with such calmness and control that proved his proficiency, if not mastery with the joke of a weapon. If there ever was one thing affirmed from this, it was that Kotsuba Katachi had changed considerably since the last time she met him.
She must not be dragged into her opponent's tempo. Roberia raised her guard further, watching her opponent carefully for any sudden movements.
The bald boy simply stood in a passive, tranquil stance. But... Though it seemed as though he were unprepared, there were no openings and gaps in his stance.
R : (... What... Happened to him? He looks completely different from the time I fought him before. Facing him now feels so different, so... Dangerous.)
She knew that the boy meant business when that blade was drawn. As he had claimed, the pressure he released currently was savage compared to the passive, merciful feeling from when he held the dagger.
But she could not back down.
R : (... I must confront him.)
She was in no position to refuse any longer. She had demanded he draw his blade, and as an honorable warrior herself, she must now respond to the boy- No, the warrior's consent.
And so, she tightened her grip on the sword in hand, and approached the warrior carefully.
*** ***
Roberia thrust forward to prompt the boy's response. By nature, thrust attacks were powerful, but dangerous - They were fast, and they would prove fatal if the attack connected, but if one anticipated the attack and calmly avoided it, the window of weakness from outstretching herself could be abused by her opponent.
To start with a thrust, when her opponent was on the defensive to scope her strength, was incredibly risky. But Roberia had trained herself specifically to reduce that window of weakness against the man who was exceptional at parrying, Ian Bloodcrust.
A thrust was so risky that using a second one immediately after the first was often an unwise move. It made the attack predictable, and the enemy would be able to approach and riposte the attack with greater ease. She withdrew the blade, and thrust once more, pouncing off her attack and creating a lunge. She re-positioned herself behind the bald warrior, and swung hard at where his calves ought to be.
KLANG!
A clash of metal. The boy had foreseen her attack during her recovery, which would be swung from the inside of the body outward. Roberia wielded the sword on her right hand, which meant the attack would swing outward towards his left. A failed attack and a successful defense made both warriors step back calmly to analyze their respective opponents once more.
R : (Gh! I figured he would be good at that. Even when we first met, he would defend and retreat like a turtle and carefully observe his enemy's behavior.)
She knew her opponent's behavior from the start. He would keep defending, as if to deter his opponent, as if chanting the fact that their attacks are completely futile.
But the sword in his hand was screaming a different message altogether. It was not a good weapon at all, she thought. A short weapon like so with such a large and cumbersome hilt would never work together. It was designed with such a jarring flaw that it was almost like it had been intentionally designed that way.
It was taunting her to attack even more aggressively, as if to tell her that it's okay to attack recklessly.
Had she been less experienced against fighting multiple opponents, she would have taken that window blindly without considering the circumstances.
R : (... But... Assuming he speaks the truth, he is the vessel of the Wolf of Fear. The weapon was designed like this almost on purpose. For all I know, it may be a trap altogether - While I am distracted by the weapon's obscure design, Hraxiif will probably attack me from behind with an underhanded attack.)
Roberia shifted her focus from Katachi to his sword.
R : (... As Milos taught me, poking and attacking while maintaining a safe margin is the best way to defeat a defensive opponent. I simply need to hit long enough to see what he would do when he wills himself to an actual attack.)
She rushed forward with a powerful kick. Roberia primed the sword at the chest of the bald warrior, to which he used his sword to deflect the attack with ease.
She kept the assault up. Roberia continually advanced forward the more steps Katachi retreated - His evasive efforts barely held up to even against her aggressiveness, and Katachi was forced to concentrate on defense.
And then... She saw it.
Katachi's free left hand suddenly shifted in to hold the obscure sword two-handed.
Roberia took that as a cue to kick backwards and retreat herself to a safe distance.
When one holds a weapon with two hands, it becomes more maneuverable and its strength is increased, with the only weakness being that the shoulders are forced to move in a rhythm that can be easily gauged. At point blank range, the shoulders can't be observed easily, so it would have been very dangerous to stay in that effective range against a short weapon like his.
As she guarded herself against the potential attack...
The boy released his left hand and increased the grip strength on his right.
It never came.
R : (As I expected... Did he really think a cheap and simpleton-befitting tactic would work on me?)
The boy's fighting tactic was absurdly simple - So simple that Roberia felt disgusted.
He would simply block, deflect and avoid attacks until his opponent slips up and stops holding back, and then thrust his own sword at the enemy cleanly when they least expect it.
It was similar to retrieving a pearl from a clam's mouth, without the proper tools for prying it open. The small window of weakness purposely revealed to blind the opponent with the success of victory, was quickly followed up with a deathly counter-attack. Thankfully, every single strike and attack from Roberia was positioned in a way that allowed her to retreat at any given moment, so having her commit to a series of attacks was near impossible for him.
But, the bald warrior... He seemed so used to dodging that he would likely be able to avoid attacks even in his sleep. He had simply raised his evasive and defensive ability to the highest state possible, and gained a way to hurt his opponent.
But, his stance and style of fighting was not much different from the time he wielded the dagger when they first fought - And Roberia had trained herself in preparation for that.
But, his stance and style of fighting was not much different from the time he wielded the dagger when they first fought - And Roberia had trained herself in preparation for that.
Roberia recalled the vision of victory. If his only chance at victory is that one tactic, then he would be forced into a battle of attrition if he no longer holds the sword.
She lunged forward and thrust the sword at his heart with the speed of a rapier - The boy was likely astounded by the sudden increase in speed, and hurriedly tried to block the attack.
Her opponent's not the only one who can use two hands.
Roberia used her left hand to push against the pommel, changing the trajectory of the thrust-
K : "!!"
-Onto the boy's arm. Her blade had slashed him, while her wrist narrowly avoided the obscure weapon.
-Onto the boy's arm. Her blade had slashed him, while her wrist narrowly avoided the obscure weapon.
A beautiful arc of sticky blood spurted forth from the blade that connected with the boy's arm as she slit the forearm of the boy. He leaped back, trying to reduce the damage, but this was the perfect window to attack him.
Roberia chased his steps, filling the space where he once resided, and aggressively stuck to him. The window of weakness was wonderful - His right forearm had been slashed at, and his left forearm was open and clean.
She slashed vertically from head down at the boy, who had retreated fast enough to avoid a fatal blow to the head, but-
*zfhlchwcchhhh*
-not fast enough to avert a sacrifice.
R : (Success!-)
But the boy did not scream.
He simply stood there, staring at the left hand that rested upon the floor.
R : (... He's not screaming, or panicking?...!? He's... He's not... He's not normal at all...)
But, in that act, where she expected her opponent to be engulfed with panic or fear...
K : "... Creeping."
... She felt an irrepressible, unspeakable shock overwhelming herself from his gaze of indifference over the severed appendage on the ground.
*** ***
Even the strongest warriors would feel a shred of sadness if they lost an arm or leg.
Even the toughest men would break down if they were to bid farewell to something important to them.
But, to the bald boy who had given everything in his life to his mission...
He had no such concept of fear.
He had no sense of anxiety.
He had no need to mull over strategies that failed and weaknesses that were exploited.
For, unlike others, he was a simple man, with only one wish.
He simply wished that the Words of Power could be collected together, and then destroyed.
That was it.
And the simplicity of that wish, like a child dreaming of something naive...
... Had regressed far enough into a form unthinkable for humans.
His body was human, but his mind had become something else altogether.
The left hand.
The left hand that lay, quietly upon the floor.
Looking at it, that was the left hand he held water pouches with.
The left hand that gripped on a bowl, so that his right hand could scoop food into his mouth.
The left hand that held the wallet open such that he could fish for a few coins with his fingers on his right hand.
The left hand he rested his head against, when the stone floor was chilly and uncomfortable on his face.
The left hand that had supported him in his everyday actions.
It was gone.
It was now rotting on the floor, slowly turning pale.
But the concept of pain did not cause him to flinch.
After all, just as a lizard which performed autotomy to survive, if this lingering pain could preserve one's life longer, it was worth receiving this pain.
Rather than worrying about what one had lost, there was more logic in planning what could be done to remedy the problem.
Hraxiif was right.
It did not matter at all.
*** ***
At the beck of his whisper, the pebbles on the floor, the decor of shields and swords, and even the gems on the king's crown...
X : (Wha- Magic!?...)
... produced many transparent drops of water.
Xelfur observed as the boy performed the Lotz spell with a single mutter.
X : (This... So, his affinity object is water...)
It was truly terrifying to face an opponent like the mad warrior - Especially because of the fact that his affinity object was able to change into any form.
Water poured into a bowl takes on the shape of a bowl. Water poured into a jug forms a jug's shape. Water tossed on the ground as a puddle became as flat as the surface of the Earth.
In essence...
Where most magi have to carve tattoos of their affinity objects on their skin or a summoning sheet, he could freely use his Creeping without restraint.
In that instant, Xelfur knew that his liege would likely lose this match.
For the mad warrior glaring at her was anything but an easy opponent.
*** ***
K : "... Draw."
At a whisper, the water droplets that formed in the air joined together and drew a shape on the ground.
It was an unfamiliar circle, one Roberia shouldn't approach without caution. Could it be a trap? A summoning circle? Could it be something else altogether? She didn't feel like gambling against an opponent like him. If there were any one thing she understood from her opponent's actions, it was that the bald warrior always analyzed the situation calmly.
Then... What happens after her opponent had observed his foe... That was the part that she did not have the slightest of clue. This was the first time he had revealed this magic to her... To put it in another way, everything before was a mere warm-up, a greeting between two foes who have not met in a long time. The battle truly starts from this moment henceforth.
Then... What happens after her opponent had observed his foe... That was the part that she did not have the slightest of clue. This was the first time he had revealed this magic to her... To put it in another way, everything before was a mere warm-up, a greeting between two foes who have not met in a long time. The battle truly starts from this moment henceforth.
The magic circle formed itself, and then... Katachi stabbed his sword onto the ground.
X : "... Fuegil arts... !"
K : "By my command, Kotsuba Katachi, return to your former glory."
With a powerful blast of light, the water-drawn magic circle illuminated the entire throne room.
And when that brilliance had faded...
The bald warrior stood quietly in place, with sword in hand and-
R : (!! What-... I don't believe it.)
-His left hand restored.
The left hand on the floor was rotting away so quickly that it almost vanished immediately. And in the center of her vision stood the boy in full recovery.
K : "... Let us continue this rondo."
What purpose had cutting his hand off serve?
What purpose had attacking him in a match of attrition served?
Roberia didn't know anymore.
His opponent would stall the battle for an extended period of time, and wear down his enemy by accumulating the fatigue in their minds.
In that regard, it did not matter if that were the only tactic he had for fighting. The fight was wrong to begin with - Instead of attacking her opponent with the intent to maim, she should have attacked with the intent to kill. As long as the warrior lives, he could easily regenerate everything, as he just had with that spell.
It did not matter that his style of fighting was incredibly simple and plain.
After all, he could simply outlast his opponent-
K : "Collate."
Another whisper.
Roberia watched as the bald warrior in the center held his palm against the fuller of the blade, and uttered that word calmly.
As if under a spell, the water formed from the ground once more, and condensed upon his obscure blade.
K : "Extend."
With that one word, the weapon before her, which she had looked at in confusion, finally made sense.
R : (The water...!)
Where the sword was missing in length, it was now replaced with a blade made of the purest water, with the original sword as its metal core.
The design of the blade had changed from a fat, short blade into a long, fatter and incredibly dangerous greatsword.
*Cozy's Notes : Refer to the Bluemoon Great Sword from DkS2, except the 'light' is completely transparent. and the metal blade core is a lot shorter.*
R : (That... He was concealing that?)
The stance the boy now took changed completely from before.
*** ***
*** ***
K : "... I pray this ends quickly."
As if he were warning himself, the warrior began his first attack.
*** ***
The bald warrior rushed at Roberia, and swung the water blade at her face.
Roberia skidded back, and let the blade be hit by the weapon on purpose, to spin her sword and apply the momentum on her opponent.
But...
As the water blade scratched her sword lightly, the impact of the collision was not there.
There was no 'klang!' as there would be when she crossed swords with others. There was no resistance in her arms, though her wrists felt the sword's vibration as the water blade gracefully passes through.
Of course, she thought. Flesh, wood, fruit and stone, those were objects that were solid. Those were objects that could be felt, picked up and thrown, and by extension, those were objects that could be cut.
But, no one in history has ever cut water.
Roberia leaped backwards again in the nick of time, barely avoiding the lunge follow-up.
R : (The water passes right through armor and metal alike. Defense is useless - Evasion is key!)
Roberia stretched her neck out and leaned forward to initiate a charge.
In response, the bald warrior retaliated, slashing at her neck once again.
R : (Repeating such a wide attack... It's only obvious that it would be avoided!)
Fools who attacked with a simple attack deserved to be punished.
Roberia ducked down and slashed at Katachi, but he had let go of the hilt with his left hand, and extended his right as if he were punching the air. The sword's position allowed him to block her attack properly, the metal core of the sword colliding with hers.
R : "!!" (Not good!)
Roberia quickly rolled back, and Katachi used his left hand to push the pommel upwards.
The water blade on the sword scarred the marble floor almost effortlessly. With a fluid motion, Katachi pulled the sword back to his side, raising it properly to his face by the side.
K : "... A hollowed blade. I see..."
R : (... So that's what he had been aiming for.)
Her opponent had deceived her.
... No. He had simply been hiding his power, and lulling her into a false sense of security. After all, this was the first time she had ever seen him take up a proactive offense.
R : (That was close. Had I continued staying in my comfort zone, the water blade would have had me.)
That was the nature, the true strategy of her opponent's attack.
Assume a defensive position to give the illusion that he was weak offensively. Creating a giant water sword, to pretend that his power comes from his magic. Switching to an offensive style and making a predictable move to feign his ineptitude at offense. It was all a trap to make the opponent relax, and feel that the battle was within their control.
... But he slipped up. He had already hinted at his abilities in a melee when he had attempted to thrust his sword into Roberia from before. Though it was a simple tactic, Roberia saw through the determined stance that had shown his honed infighting skill and deemed that she should continue to remain defensive.
Roberia had gotten off lightly from her sword being weakened by the water blade. A sword like hers, designed to be hollowed out and swift as a rapier, would never stand against the undulating currents present in the water blade. It was great fortune that the sword in her hand had become fangled, not broken.
R : (Had I not been careful, I would have lost my head there.) "How ingenious. The water blade of yours deters your foes from using swift, fragile weapons. But, that deception will not work on me."
Roberia tossed the sword in her hand to a side, and walked towards Ian Bloodcrust. With her hand outstretched, she requested for his weapon.
I : "... As you wish, my liege."
She drew his sword from his sheathe, and gripped the heavy blade tight. With a weapon like his, Roberia was sure that the sword would hold out against the water currents.
R : "En garde!"
Their swords clashed once more. The sturdy blade designed with durability in mind held out against the water, but she could feel the disastrous results of the water blade clearly with the vibrations from her palms and wrists.
The water blade on that sword was truly dangerous - It was a weapon that deterred the opponent from standing at mid-range. If the sword does not strike the metal core, the blade cannot be blocked properly. That would force one to fight from afar, using long weapons like spears and polearms to distance and strike the enemy from safety.
Roberia skidded back, and let the blade be hit by the weapon on purpose, to spin her sword and apply the momentum on her opponent.
But...
As the water blade scratched her sword lightly, the impact of the collision was not there.
There was no 'klang!' as there would be when she crossed swords with others. There was no resistance in her arms, though her wrists felt the sword's vibration as the water blade gracefully passes through.
Of course, she thought. Flesh, wood, fruit and stone, those were objects that were solid. Those were objects that could be felt, picked up and thrown, and by extension, those were objects that could be cut.
But, no one in history has ever cut water.
Roberia leaped backwards again in the nick of time, barely avoiding the lunge follow-up.
R : (The water passes right through armor and metal alike. Defense is useless - Evasion is key!)
Roberia stretched her neck out and leaned forward to initiate a charge.
In response, the bald warrior retaliated, slashing at her neck once again.
R : (Repeating such a wide attack... It's only obvious that it would be avoided!)
Fools who attacked with a simple attack deserved to be punished.
Roberia ducked down and slashed at Katachi, but he had let go of the hilt with his left hand, and extended his right as if he were punching the air. The sword's position allowed him to block her attack properly, the metal core of the sword colliding with hers.
R : "!!" (Not good!)
Roberia quickly rolled back, and Katachi used his left hand to push the pommel upwards.
The water blade on the sword scarred the marble floor almost effortlessly. With a fluid motion, Katachi pulled the sword back to his side, raising it properly to his face by the side.
K : "... A hollowed blade. I see..."
R : (... So that's what he had been aiming for.)
Her opponent had deceived her.
... No. He had simply been hiding his power, and lulling her into a false sense of security. After all, this was the first time she had ever seen him take up a proactive offense.
R : (That was close. Had I continued staying in my comfort zone, the water blade would have had me.)
That was the nature, the true strategy of her opponent's attack.
Assume a defensive position to give the illusion that he was weak offensively. Creating a giant water sword, to pretend that his power comes from his magic. Switching to an offensive style and making a predictable move to feign his ineptitude at offense. It was all a trap to make the opponent relax, and feel that the battle was within their control.
... But he slipped up. He had already hinted at his abilities in a melee when he had attempted to thrust his sword into Roberia from before. Though it was a simple tactic, Roberia saw through the determined stance that had shown his honed infighting skill and deemed that she should continue to remain defensive.
Roberia had gotten off lightly from her sword being weakened by the water blade. A sword like hers, designed to be hollowed out and swift as a rapier, would never stand against the undulating currents present in the water blade. It was great fortune that the sword in her hand had become fangled, not broken.
R : (Had I not been careful, I would have lost my head there.) "How ingenious. The water blade of yours deters your foes from using swift, fragile weapons. But, that deception will not work on me."
Roberia tossed the sword in her hand to a side, and walked towards Ian Bloodcrust. With her hand outstretched, she requested for his weapon.
I : "... As you wish, my liege."
She drew his sword from his sheathe, and gripped the heavy blade tight. With a weapon like his, Roberia was sure that the sword would hold out against the water currents.
R : "En garde!"
Their swords clashed once more. The sturdy blade designed with durability in mind held out against the water, but she could feel the disastrous results of the water blade clearly with the vibrations from her palms and wrists.
The water blade on that sword was truly dangerous - It was a weapon that deterred the opponent from standing at mid-range. If the sword does not strike the metal core, the blade cannot be blocked properly. That would force one to fight from afar, using long weapons like spears and polearms to distance and strike the enemy from safety.
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