Butler vs. Butler [1]

Roberto and Luka both took a wooden sword and stood opposite each other.

The private training area was quite isolated from the outside, and it even had a magical barrier for added protection of privacy.

Roberto channeled his bright blue Aura. It was bright, almost fiery. It signified his undying loyalty toward Flora Hepburn. Nothing mattered to him. Only the glory of his master was first and foremost in his heart, mind, and soul.

Luka felt anxious the moment he saw the Aura of his opponent. He was a Neophyte fighting against a Chromatic. Winning would be something incredibly difficult, if not nigh impossible. But he didn't back down. His golden eyes burned with fighting spirit. Memories of that fateful day flashed in his mind, reinvigorating his resolve. His anger fueled the flames of hatred for the killer of his family, and by extension fueled the power of his Aura.

It burst bright, like a white flame intending to burn everything in its path.

The wind swirled around Luka like a mother's gentle hug. Then it sped up and increased in intensity, becoming a cyclone of violent wind.

Before meeting Anianya, Luka was only capable of producing a blast of wind. But being in the presence of a wind spirit familiarized his soul with the essence of the wind. He did not notice it until now, but his control over the wind became stronger. The wind was now a part of him.

With this newfound dexterity with his abilities, he felt confident in at least holding his own against a Chromatic Stage Aura user. If he was lucky, maybe even win.

The two inspected each other. Looking for weak points to exploit, and openings in their defenses to break through.

Rebecca raised her hand, watching the two closely. Then she brought her hand down and shouted, "Begin!!"

Roberto and Luka blasted if the ground, flying into each other at similar speeds. Roberto's speed was of course thanks to his Chromatic stage Aura, but Luka was boosted by the wind. His body was being pushed by the wind, helping him match his speed with Roberto.

Roberto struck first, his weapon already imbued with bright blue energy.

Luka didn't try to block it. Other than the gap of raw power between stages, he hasn't mastered the technique of weapon imbuing itself. So he did the first thing he ever learned in combat: dodge.

Conjuring a blast of wind, Luka pushed himself out of the way and successfully evaded Roberto's attack.

Seeing his slash miss, Roberto followed up with an upward diagonal slash.

Luka deflected the attack, twisted his body, and using the momentum from the twist, he counterattacked with an elbow to Roberto's solar plexus.

A booming sound echoed in the training grounds. Roberto was able to block the elbow with his free hand.

Sensing danger, Luka conjured a strong blast of wind to push away Roberto, separating the two of them.

As the two butlers gained distance, they quickly analyzed the movements of their opponent and decided on their next move.

Before Luka's feet landed, he blasted wind and launched himself back into Roberto.

Roberto saw this and molded his Aura into a shield-like structure, intending to defend against Luka's advance.

Luka reached Roberto at blinding speeds, but before his sword made contact with Roberto's defense, Luka blasted a strong burst of wind beneath him, sharply changing his trajectory.

In an instant, Luka was above Roberto. He slipped past the defenses of the Aura shield, and with an Aura-imbued weapon, Luka swung his sword at Roberto's head.

The sudden change of direction caught Roberto off guard.

The wooden sword made contact.

*BAM*

Roberto was sent flying. But he reoriented himself and dug his sword into the ground to slow down his flight.

Luka's attack left him with a concussion. He was dazed and quite weakened, but it wasn't enough to bring him down.

Roberto took another stance, fighting against the dizziness.

Luka saw an opportunity to strike, and he took it. With another burst of wind, he whizzed through the air and delivered a piercing thrust.

He intended to finish the battle right here and now, and so with the small weapon imbuing mastery he had, Luka imbued his sword with as much Aura as he could.

Roberto grit his teeth. Because his opponent was a mere child, he had underestimated Luka. But after being caught off guard, he's never going to make the same mistake again.

His sword moved in a gentle motion, his flaring Aura turned into a gentle glow, and then muttered a set of words, "Klujic Clan, 3rd Art, Gentle Creek."

Roberto's sword made contact with Luka's. Luka's sword was sent off course as if Roberto's sword only guided Luka's attack to purposely miss. It was very much unlike a normal deflection, where the attack is simply pushed out of the way.

Luka was baffled by this. He didn't even notice it until after it happened.

As Luka's mind was stuck trying to analyze what just happened, Roberto made his move and counterattacked.

He swung his sword toward Luka's head, right around the area where Luka hit him in the head.

The power behind Roberto's Chromatic Stage Aura sent Luka crashing into the ground.

The dry soil cracked beneath him as a few of his ribs cracked from the sudden impact and knocked the air out of his lungs, almost rendering him unconscious.