Clashing Ideals

"Zora! How common is Fátimeh?!"

Seraniti kept her stance firm, scanning the chaos for an opening. The battle was shifting constantly, magic and steel clashing in unpredictable rhythms, but her focus was set elsewhere. Finding the mayor or his people was the first step. If she could reach them, she could propose a vow and secure a contract.

And contracts meant—money!

"One in every thousand! Same as telekinesis !" Zora answered witho ut hesitation.

Seraniti narrowed her eyes, searching for anything that stood out. Amidst the fighters, she spotted a tightly packed group moving with purpose. They weren't engaging like the others. Their stance, their spacing—someone was being protected.

"Bullshit!... THERE!"

She pointed directly at them, just as something shifted on the far side of the street. The silhouette of a building coagulating, it was as if something was trying to pierce through. She acted immediately.

With a palm open, she pushed just enough for Svalinn to launch forward. The moment stretched as it closed in on its target, potential building, ready to crash through whatever defenses they had—

Then came the impact.

Or at least, there should have been.Instead, an ear-splitting screech filled the air as Svalinn was stopped mid-flight, sparks exploding from the clash. The force of the touch sent shockwaves outward, the pressure cracking nearby pavement and rattling debris into the air.

Seraniti blinked.

For a fraction of a second, her vision distorted, the battlefield flickering into something completely out of place. Instead of the fight, instead of the impact—

She saw a ridiculously cute cloth.

A bear.

A smiling, absurdly adorable bear design, neatly printed onto the fabric of the person blocking Svalinn.

Her thoughts stalled.

What the actual—

Her mind snapped back to normal just as the silhouette beneath the woman shifted, coagulating into hands that reached upward. They stretched further, moving as they reached for her head from behind.Seraniti pushed harder, her will pressing against the distortion, forcing the hands closer. The shadow struggled, its outline warping violently, flickering between stability and collapse.

It was nearly there—

"Fu—!"

The woman moved.

Seraniti barely had time to drop as something sliced through the space where her hands had been, cutting close enough that the pressure alone sent dust and small debris scattering. The strike was precise, calculated, a move made to eliminate anything within its reach.

She rolled out from beneath the woman's shadow, narrowly avoiding the second strike before lunging toward Svalinn. Her fingers wrapped around the handle as she yanked it free, barely stopping to catch her breath and stop a few feet away.

Then she saw the one who had stopped her.A Maid Knight—not like Zora at all.Her uniform was pristine despite the battle, her stance unwavering, movements crisp and deliberate but with a noticeable unpleasant expression.

Seraniti didn't hesitate.

She threw Svalinn straight at her, sending it straight like a blade toward center mass, but the knight caught it effortlessly, redirecting the force with a smooth pivot before twisting her body and hurling it back at full speed.

Seraniti's grip tightened, bracing herself.

"Zora!"

"ON IT!"

Zora reappeared, her body twisting mid-air, but she wasn't alone. Behind her, a mass of erratic, writhing hands chased her, their fingers clawing through empty space, their movements fast and unpredictable.

She didn't slow.

In one fluid motion, she spun with one of her swords, slashing through the air.

A wave of coagulated shadows surged forward, tearing through the pursuing hands. They disintegrated instantly, fragments breaking apart into faintly glowing particles before vanishing with a soft chime.

She didn't stop moving.

Still in the same breath, she activated Reverse, snapping back toward Seraniti's position in an instant with her ΜΙСΛ chiming once.There were sequences that allowed for faster forward movement too, but ΜΙСΛ's only had so much space to work with.

And right now, they had no room for mistakes—for now at least.

Zora turned mid-air, her body shifting seamlessly before her feet even touched the ground. The instant she landed, she burst forward, sprinting toward her knightly sister, her movements precise, effortless.

The other Maid Knight reacted instantly. She leaped, a sequence forming beneath her, illuminating the air with a flickering pattern. Every step after that left a residual glow, her movement enhanced by a practiced efficiency that only those trained in this craft could achieve.

She raised her palm toward the rapidly approaching Zora.

A soft whistling filled the air.

A dot appeared in the sky above them—then, in the blink of an eye, a screen descended, threatening to crash down atop Zora.

She didn't hesitate.

She activated Reserve mid-stride, her momentum shifting entirely, sending her in the opposite direction without losing speed. Just using magic wasn't enough. If she hadn't adjusted for inertia, the force of the shift could have hurt her more than the impact of her sister's weapon itself.

Her ΜΙСΛ chimed once before letting out NI three times that stayed put like any sequence, signaling the activation of Two Step.

She accelerated, her footing matching the height of the other knight as their battle extended into the air.

They danced in the sky, movements weaving through the battlefield as they avoided the grasping Hands of Fátimeh. Their duel wasn't just about offense and defense—it was a test of foresight, speed, and adaptation, a battle dictated by reflex and understanding.

The knight's screen, which had been hovering beside her, snapped back to her outstretched hand.

For a moment, they ran in looping arcs, their paths intertwining in sharp, unpredictable patterns before their weapons clashed in a rapid exchange of strikes. Their swords met repeatedly, the force behind each impact creating sharp echoes through the air. Sparks flickered as the knight used her screen to absorb some of Zora's blows, its durability holding firm despite the relentless strikes.

Then, in the space of a breath, Zora vanished.

The knight's stance remained steady, but her eyes flickered slightly in realization.

Zora reappeared behind her in the next second, her blade—

It did not strike, nor did it need to.In an instant, both of them vanished, shadows folding around them as the battlefield gave way to something entirely different.They reappeared inside a vast, open chamber, the walls carved from polished marble, their surface reflecting the dim glow of distant light of the town's street littered with patches of flames.

The knight stood opposite Zora, her bluish-white hair partially obscuring her face, a long rapier held firmly in one hand, her screen hovering at her side.

As she lifted her face, her expression was one of cold annoyance, sharp and deliberate."What do you think you're doing, little knight?"

Her pointed ears twitched, and from behind her, a somewhat slim tail, lined with scales, flicked once before settling.

Zora grinned, her own tail swaying lazily as if to mirror the motion.

"Well, Ms. Sauria~"

She took a few measured steps forward, her posture casual but her intent unmistakable."I've been looking for a sister to fight against~ It's been a few months since I've fought my own!"

Her ΜΙСΛ chimed three times, the vibrating faintly felt through the chamber. A sequence took shape above and behind her, forming rapidly in like any other.The first was a white circle, pristine with a missing piece.

Then came the blackish-brown rhombus, shifting slightly as it locked into position with numbers coming into existence before disappearing repeatedly.

The last piece formed directly between them, its main body.

Zora's tail twitched slightly, her anticipation showing through in the tiniest of movements.Then, she spoke the word.

"Carnaval."

The lights within the chamber flickered, the sudden shift sending shadows sprawling across the walls. The windows on the left groaned, their frames whining under as increasing pressure.The knight remained still, her rapier pointing in Zora's direction.

Behind Zora, the shadows thickened, forming into a skeletal silhouette, its frame extending outward, assembling from a coagulating mass.

The knight's eyes followed the beast, but she didn't waver.

The thing did not hesitate—this thing she named Sekitsui.

It lurched forward, pushing through the sequence as two pairs of hands erupted from where its mouth should have been. The structure of its blackened, it was held together by muscles made of black.

Its body was too large to fully emerge, only its head and portions of its vertebrae forcing their way through the shadows, but even that was enough to strike with overwhelming potential reaching for the knight.

The tip of her rapier shimmered, its form distorting as a barrier of wind coalesced around it, the air compressing until the pressure became suffocating.

Then—like clear water cascading over an unseen edge—the force redirected it.

Sekitsui lurched upward, its entire form twisting violently as the compressed air forced it toward the ceiling.

The impact rocked the chamber, a deep, concussive boom shaking the marble walls as debris cracked loose from above.

Zora wasted no time.

She activated Reverse mid-step, shifting herself toward the knight rather than retreating, using the recoil as momentum. Her blade slashed forward, a mass of deep black energy unraveling from its edge as she aimed directly at the knight's stance.

Then—A sharp snap.

A sudden force of wind exploded outward, nullifying the attack instantly, dispersing the black mass as if it had never existed. Zora's hair whipped backward from the sheer force, her feline ears twitching as she adjusted mid-air.

Meanwhile, Sekitsui was already recovering.

The massive construct ripped itself free from the ceiling, momentarily retracting before launching forward again at full speed. The impact should have struck true—But the knight moved at the last second, sidestepping with eerie precision, barely acknowledging the incoming threat. The construct crashed into the marble wall, carving out deep cracks before pulling back into the darkness again.

Zora didn't let the moment go to waste. She flicked her wrist, her ΜΙСΛ's NI's spinning erratically, adjusting calculations on the fly. But before she could press her advantage, the knight's screen detached from her grip, flung toward Zora with incredible force.

Zora sidestepped, avoiding the projectile, but the knight was already moving in.With practiced control, the knight lifted her rapier and pointed straight at Zora. Her ΜΙСΛ chimed, a sequence forming directly behind her opponent's back.

There was no time to react.

A sudden mass of compressed air detonated, sending Zora hurtling forward like she had been struck by an invisible hammer.

The instant before she hit the ground, she disappeared into the knight's shadow, avoiding the follow-up strike entirely.

She re-emerged on the opposite side of the room, stepping out of the darkness with precision. But the knight was relentless. Another sequence flared to life on Zora's left, the telltale hum of gathering force reaching her ears before she could fully adjust.

Her instincts fired before her mind could catch up—She dropped her sword, raising her left arm defensively just as the force slammed into her, the concentrated blast sending her flying toward the window.It was a common spell—Blast. A direct force of air meant for disorienting an opponent.

Then came another hit.

And another.

Zora's body twisted as she tried to correct herself, the repeated blasts keeping her airborne, slamming her off-course before she could ground herself. Her vision blurred, her senses fighting against the disorientation—Then she activated her skill.

A sharp, ear-splitting screech echoed through the room as five copies of her sword materialized, launching themselves directly toward the knight. The weapons cut through the air, moving at unpredictable angles as they surrounded their target from multiple sides.

The knight evaded with flawless footwork, weaving through the blades with a mixture of precision and instinct. But that wasn't the point.

It was just a distraction.

Zora disappeared again.

At the same time, Sekitsui—which had been retreating into the darkness—suddenly launched itself forward with devastating force.

The impact connected, knocking the knight off balance and sending her crashing toward the chamber doors. The marble beneath her cracked from the force of the throw, but she still managed to keep herself upright, her stance barely wavering.

Zora exhaled sharply.

"Tch! I used it for nothing!"

The sequence collapsed, the battle resetting as both of them measured each other once more.

Zora flicked her swords into position, slashing the air in rapid succession, sending several masses of condensed darkness surging toward the knight. The moment she struck the final one, the attacks converged, creating a wave of black energy hurtling toward her opponent.

But the knight was already moving."Can I get a time out?!"

Zora's voice carried an exaggerated playfulness, but she barely had time to grin before she ducked low, avoiding a precise slash aimed straight for her head.

Without missing a beat, she countered with a palm strike, pushing the knight backward before following up with a roundhouse kick—only for the knight to block it with an immovable stance.The fight had shifted into close quarters, their movements precise, both adjusting to each other's style with every second that passed.

"My mashaa wants to make a pledge!"

The knight didn't pause.They exchanged three more rapid clashes before she responded.

"Why should we? If you're like this, I wonder how much of a mess your master is."

Zora froze for a split second, the words digging deeper than they should have.

A smirk twitched at the knight's lips—a small but undeniable provocation.

Zora let out an exaggerated sigh, grinning through the sting."Ah! I can't have fun?!"But there was no time for banter.

They both moved at the same time, their blades clashing once more as the battle continued.

The knight's rapier shifted only slightly before a sequence flared beneath her feet.

Then—Blast.

A focused burst of air struck Zora's calf, its force sending her stumbling mid-step, her balance momentarily compromised. She barely had time to adjust before disappearing, her form sinking into a shadow, reappearing a few meters away—Only to be slammed dead center by the knight's screen.

The impact was brutal.

Zora's body crashed into the marble wall, the force cracking its surface as she felt the familiar taste of iron flood her mouth. A sharp cough escaped her lips, flecks of blood staining the pristine floor beneath her.

The knight didn't press forward immediately. Instead, she adjusted her stance, her grip on her rapier shifting only slightly before she spoke, voice cold, unwavering.

"Why does your master want a pledge, little knight?"

Her ΜΙСΛ chimed, a sequence activating beneath Zora before she could even attempt to move.Immediately, the air in her lungs thinned, the weight of something unseen pressing down on her chest. Her breath hitched slightly, a tightness constricting her ribs as her limbs felt sluggish, distant.

The knight raised her palm.The pressure from the screen increased, grinding against Zora's ribs, forcing her body further into the fractured marble. Her vision blurred, her limbs tingling from the lack of air.

Yet, she smiled.

Because the moment the knight's grip tightened—The shadows in the room shifted.

Like serpents awakening from slumber, they stretched, coiling outward, forming appendages that slowly reached for the screen, quickly, dragging it made an opening for her.

Then—Zora vanished again.Her voice emerged from everywhere at once, her presence scattered like whispers across the marble chamber."We're trying to reach Yamatai."The knight's posture barely wavered.

Zora reappeared behind her, snapping her fingers inches from the knight's ear—but the knight had already moved.

A sharp kick struck the side of Zora's knee, her leg buckling under the force as she let out a sharp grunt.

She barely caught herself, rolling away just as the knight's rapier carved through the space she had just occupied, her form only a fraction of a second too late.

"Yamatai?" The knight didn't sound convinced.

"I wonder how much of that is true."

Zora wiped the corner of her lip, her grin unfaltering despite the slight ache running through her leg."What, you think I'd lie?"

"I think you'd say whatever benefits you the most."

The knight didn't chase her immediately. Instead, she watched, her grip steady on her weapon, the faint light of the active sequence beneath her still shifting slightly, ready to respond at a moment's notice.

Zora tilted her head. "That's kinda harsh, don't you think? I'm hurt~"

The knight's gaze remained unmoved. "You fight without control. You rely on deception, misdirection. You don't care about form, nor do you seem to value discipline."

Zora took a few casual steps forward, her swords twirling lazily between her fingers.

"And you do? What's the point in fighting 'clean' if you're still trying to kill me?"

"Because I fight with purpose." The knight's stance didn't shift. "Every move I make is deliberate. Every strike has weight. You hide in shadows, never meeting your opponent properly. How can you ask for a vow when you don't even fight with the conviction to face me directly?"

Zora laughed, but there was something sharper underneath it."You talk like you're any different. You play by the rules, but you're still standing in this room, still throwing strikes meant to kill. Honor doesn't mean anything if you're dead. I fight to win. I fight to survive. That's the only difference between us."

For a brief moment, the knight said nothing.

Then—She lunged.

Their blades clashed again, but this time, the difference in their fighting styles became even clearer.

The knight's strikes were precise, controlled, measured—a balance of offense and defense, every movement reinforcing her own stability. Her sword never wasted space.

Zora, in contrast, was erratic.

She moved fluidly, never staying in one place for too long, slipping between attacks rather than absorbing them head-on. She never blocked when she could dodge. She never stayed in one angle for more than a second.

And more than anything—she forced her opponent to react rather than follow her own rhythm.The knight's screen snapped into place, deflecting Zora's next strike, but before she could counter, Zora twisted sideways, flicking her wrist.

A thin shadow split from the ground, aiming for the knight's leg—But the knight anticipated it, lifting her foot just in time before her blade shot forward, grazing Zora's sleeve as she narrowly twisted away.

"You still haven't answered my question." the knight said, voice even, her movements unfazed.

"I already did." Zora's breathing was steady, her tail flicking behind her as she grinned. "My mashaa wants a pledge. Do I need to spell it out for you?"

The knight didn't respond.

Instead, the air in the center of the room twisted, forming a dense, swirling sphere.

Zora felt it immediately, her balance slipping as an the wind yanked her off her feet, dragging her straight toward the compact mass of air before—It reversed.

She was flung across the room, her body snapping in the opposite direction as if weight itself had shifted. The force sent her spinning mid-air, momentum barely under her control.

She didn't need to see to know what the knight was planning.The shadows across the room flickered, stretching toward the window, their forms distorting before wrapping around her like a second skin. In the next second—She disappeared.

Then—the lights went out.

The only sound was the rapid clattering of metal hitting the floor, one after another, faster than natural hands could throw them.

The knight's sphere shifted, catching the motion. She adjusted, sensing the shift just before the blades curved, changing trajectory mid-air—instead of falling straight down, they were redirected, arcing toward her at precise angles.

Then, just like before, the blades were pushed away, scattering in directions that left her untouched.

Then—BANG!

The windows exploded outward, shards of glass scattering into the open air. To the side, Zora flinched, instincts overriding thought as she vanished into the shadows again. Then—something massive crashed through the room.

A pillar, impossibly large for the space, embedded itself into the wall, splitting the marble as the entire room groaned beneath the impact.

"What the f—!"

Zora reappeared next to it, gripping the edge of moving shadows, eyes snapping downward.The battle below was still raging, but something else caught her attention.

A hand.

A massive, stone-like appendage pressed against the pillar, its fingers gripping the structure, pushing it forward like it was trying to push something out.

She barely had a second to process it before—

A kick slammed into her back.

The force sent her reeling, her body flipping backward, her vision spinning—

"WHAT ABOUT FIGHTING CLEAN?!"

Zora yelled mid-air, her voice carrying through the open sky as she flailed her arms dramatically, her tail bristling in frustration.

"YOU THROW PILLARS NOW?!"

The knight leaned slightly out of the broken window, her expression annoyingly smug as she watched Zora fall.

"FUCK OFF!"

Zora twisted, trying to reorient herself as the ground rushed toward her.

"Sekitsui!"

The shadows from below the streets convulsed, a shape forming rapidly, its mass shifting and expanding before it shot upward.

Zora met it mid-fall, her boots touching the solid surface just in time to use Sekitsui as a ramp, redirecting her descent into a controlled dive straight toward the battlefield below.