A friend to rely on

Breathing in and out in a long, drawn-out motion, Cedric prepares to re-engage. He had hoped not to land the hit, yet Siegward still managed to use the momentum following the strike to his advantage. Happy with the outcome of the exchange, He notices Siegward now quickly disappearing amidst the dense overgrowth, leaving Cedric alone in this small clearing spanning about 15 paces from end to end.

Looking down at his hands gripping the blade tightly, he relaxes his knuckles and lowers the weapon's pointed end to touch the ground with its edge facing up. He prepares himself, lowering his knees and hunching his back.

Closing his eyes again to focus on countering anything the elf might throw at him, he recalls the apprehension in Siegward's eyes. 'He isn't willing to go for a frontal assault. Seems like my blow to his rib did more psychological damage than I anticipated.'

Siegward can be seen observing Cedric, scanning him from a small slit he found among the bushes surrounding his foe. Seeing him close his eyes again, Siegward decides to come up with a diversion. Picking up a stone, he begins to circle his opponent again.

The storm billowing in the background muffles any sounds that Siegward may have been making with his stomping around. Jumping from a tree, Siegward now sees Cedric's back facing him. He initiates his plan, swinging his blade, he embeds it in a tree nearby, before quickly using both hands to throw the rocks he managed to collect while running around the glade.

Swinging both hands while high above his opponent, he throws the two stones at the same time, both gliding along an arc unimpeded by the strong wind to opposite sides of his opponent.

Grabbing his blade while falling, Siegward drops down to the ground. Pushing himself from the tree trunk situated behind him, he sprints forward through the bushes towards Cedric, planning to strike moments after the stones reach Cedric, in a bid to hopefully capitalize on his distraction.

Cedric feels something heading his way. Siegward? 'No, there are two. He might be testing my reaction. I'm not feeling any bloodlust, meaning it's got to be rocks.'

Cedric proceeds to swivel his head back, eyes still closed, focusing on evasion. He manages to avoid the first small rock before feeling an impact land on his temple. The second rock seemed to have more spin to it, resulting in it dipping slightly to the right, and managing to hit Cedric.

Feeling his mind blank for a moment, Cedric takes a sharp breath to clear it. That's when he feels it. "Siegward is right behind me, isn't he?" Opening his eyes while falling on his back, Cedric pushes his hands gripping the sword above him, successfully predicting and managing to block an overhead slash. With one hand placed on the grip, he supports the long blade with his left hand placed along the dull side of the blade.

Siegward, seeing his surprise attack fail, decides to circle around his opponent. "This time, you won't get away." Running alongside Cedric, who is now recovering from his fall, Siegward takes a large step, thrusting his sabre in a bid to puncture his kneeling opponent's lung.

Unknowingly, Siegward has decided to go all-in for the strike. Tired from the mental battle, he wanted to get this over with, feeling as if this was his only shot at winning against his opponent. As he is about to puncture his foe, distracted, he makes the single most foolish mistake he has ever made: he raises his eyes to meet Cedric's gaze. Elated at his blade managing to pierce Cedric's lung, he is surprised to see Cedric's gaze unfaltering, as if he did not even feel the blow.

Taking a second too long to confirm his sabre is lodged properly in his opponent's lung, Siegward thinks, 'There's no way I didn't hit him. Yeah, the blade is firmly lodged in his-' ~Fwoosh. He barely manages to avoid Cedric's swing aimed to decapitate him. Thanking his instincts for warning him of the fatal strike, he retreats. Now standing four meters apart from each other, Siegward takes a moment to reflect upon his mistake. He got flustered. 'He bluffed me. He almost succeeded in his bluff too. Why am I so off-put by him? Here I am sweating like a pig, while he appears to be cool like a cucumber. Does this guy ever flinch?'

Cedric, using his sword as a brace, manages to stand up on his legs. Looking calmly at the thoughtful elf, he thinks, 'It was a decent opportunity to catch him off-guard. I didn't expect him to call my bluff. Now, I can only hope he won't be a sore loser and try to drag this fight out to capitalize on my punctured lung being filled with blood, making me lose the match.'

Siegward, steeling his mind, thinks, 'This is it. No more running around. I have the opportunity to win in a frontal engagement. I won't run off like a coward. This is what I need to become stronger.'

In a matter of seconds, Siegward was already upon his opponent, slightly lowering his stance with his left hand gripping the blade, he swings horizontally from his right, hoping to catch Cedric in his exposed side.

Upon seeing this, Cedric leans back on his left foot, using the slippery grass to slide backward while using his right leg to swing in a spinning motion while gripping his sword with both hands, bringing it around to slash at his opponent, executing the movement named Receding tides. He narrowly avoids the strike, Siegward's sabre scraping his right shoulder. Cedric then swings using his gathered momentum, hoping to land his own horizontal slash.

"Can't you just give up already!" Siegward yells as he quickly drops towards the ground, narrowly avoiding the slash of Cedric's Odachi that cuts his shaggy hair as he falls. As he quickly stands back up, Siegward is surprised to see Cedric on the ground, struggling to breathe, with blood gurgling in his mouth. Cedric had slipped, unable to properly hold his stance on the slippery ground, combined with his inability to leverage the momentum in his swing.

Seeing Siegward mercilessly slashing at his head, Cedric is unable to properly evade on time but smiles instead. "Finally, I found a friend strong enough for me to rely on in battle," he thinks out loud as his vision fades unaware of Siegward's shock. Both opponents now appear back in the arena, and a resounding cheer announces his defeat. Too tired to notice, Cedric takes a seat nearby to regain his focus and analyze his mistakes. 'The next time we fight, you won't be able to get the upper hand on me ever again.'