Vierenna V. Eirenios [2]

Beneath the soaring spires of Eirenios Palace stretched a secluded training arena—a simple yet imposing circular space carved into stone. Rows of tiered seating surrounded it, their surfaces polished with a precise and balanced aesthetic. Lights lined the walls, casting a brilliant white glow that danced across the intricate carvings of the circular arena floor. Columns stood at even intervals along the edges, their silent forms lending an air of stability and tranquility to the space.

Six figures occupied the arena. Four stood on the central floor, positioned symmetrically within the circle. Two others observed from the benches above.

"The rules are simple," said Old Jan, his voice echoing loudly. "Ana-Accia, Felice, and young Master Deon against young Lady Vierenna. To ensure fairness: If Vierenna takes nine direct hits, she loses. If she fails to defeat her opponents within nine minutes, she loses. Swords only—no spells, no enhancements." The old man reiterated the rules that everyone was already familiar with.

A tense atmosphere enveloped the four figures in the arena, their focus tinged with anticipation.

"On three."

Vierenna, clad in sleek black training gear, adjusted her stance. Her legs were slightly apart, as she held her longsword loosely in one hand—though its tip still pointed toward the pristine white floor. A faint smirk played on her lips, but her eyes burned with sharp focus.

"Three—!"

Felice, with a grave expression, gripped a longsword with both hands. Its slender form and sharp angle gave it a dangerous look. Its tip pointed at Vierenna like a viper, as if threatening to cut through the wind itself.

"Two—!"

Ana-Accia sidestepped toward Vierenna, exuding an air of cold composure. Her sword, identical to Felice's, pointed sharply toward the ground. She held it with a firm grip, Her knuckles whitened around the hilt, every muscle coiled as if ready to swing at any moment.

"One—!"

Then there was Deon. He held a longsword similar to Vierenna's, but loosely at his left side. His stance didn't indicate any form of combat readiness—his footing was unstable, and his balance between his upper and lower body was off.

He stepped back to the left, half-hidden behind Felice. Yet, his gaze remained ahead, a sign of his seriousness, as if he was trying to take in the entire battlefield.

Vierenna felt a slight unease about her baby brother's odd positioning. It looked strange—but also very correct.

"Begin—!"

Felice lunged forward with a left-leaning strike, his sword trailing behind him in one hand for momentum.

Ana-Accia moved in sync with her brother, darting from the right. Her movements were faster, but her approach curved around Vierenna's rear.

Vierenna exposed her sides to the twins, her sword raised in a temporary defensive stance.

'Where's Deon?'

She spotted him lingering behind Felice, nearly invisible.

'A sneak attack? How cute!'

But he was slightly behind, so she focused on the twins first.

Felice was upon her. He halted just before impact, took a backward stance, and slashed horizontally at her left shoulder.

His attack wasn't meant for damage or a direct hit—it was creating an opening for Ana-Accia, whose strike Vierenna expected to come at any moment.

Vierenna adjusted her stance, stepping forward with her shoulder toward Felice. At the last second, their blades clashed, the diagonal angle of her sword reducing the force of his attack allowing her better movement.

She spun in place, driving her knee into his abdomen, before immediately shifting to block Ana-Accia's anticipated strike.

Vierenna stepped away as Felice collapsed to the ground, not sparing him a second glance. Her position was perfect to block Ana-Accia's diagonal strike aimed at her leg.

She was already thinking of her next move, but the sound of a sharp Swoosh cutting through the air behind her alert her senses. It was dangerously close.

Without hesitation, Vierenna abandoned her stance—no time to block with her sword.

She raised her targeted leg and arched her head backward at a sharp ninety-degree angle. her kick slamming Ana-Accia's ribs, while her backward-tilted head met Deon's messy form. His wild swing missed her back and struck nothing but empty air.

Vierenna grinned at his startled face and seized his chest armor. His poor stance didn't help his balance.

She took advantage of that, using his initial momentum to throw him toward Ana-Accia, who had barely recovered from her kick.

The blind girl helplessly stepped back, narrowly avoiding Deon's incoming body.

Vierenna instantly regained her balance with graceful ease. She launched herself at Ana-Accia, who braced for defense, though her stance lacked its usual stability.

With just a slight push, Ana-Accia was thrown backward sprawling, unable to block or regain her balance—dodging was out of the question.

Their blades clashed, the sharp ring of metal slicing through the air. Vierenna sword slid along Ana-Accia's tilted one, locking it against the crossguard.

She pressed down with force, taking the advantage. Her height worked in her favor against the blind girl.

Ana-Accia's legs trembled under Vierenna's superior strenght. Soon, they would give out.

The battle had only just begun, and Vierenna was already about to eliminate her through sheer exhaustion.

She was ruthless.

Deon and Felice were closing in on her, but she remained focused solely on Ana-Accia.

Again, Felice reached her first, swinging his sword in a diagonal arc toward her torso from below, trying to exploit her high stance over Ana-Accia—or at least create an opening for his sister or Deon, who was still lagging behind.

Vierenna noticed. She kicked Ana-Accia out of her way to prevent interference. This time, she didn't make the mistake of ignoring Deon just because he stayed at a distance.

She noticed that he was deliberately slowing down.

'What's his move?'

Her sword met Felice's, but she didn't push him away to exploit the opening in his stance. Instead, she maintained the deadlock, neither giving nor taking the advantage. She wanted to see what Deon would do.

His previous attack had surprised her—a pleasant surprise. She didn't know how he had found a flaw in her defense, but he had done it somehow, nearly breaching her defense.

If he had aimed for her head, she would have had no choice but to block with her shoulder armor—taking one of the nine hits. But he didn't.

'Luck?No. Calculated.'

Vierenna refused to believe that. His attack, despite its rough execution, was precise in its target. It couldn't have been mere luck.

Deon advanced, but he didn't strike. Instead, he moved around her, waiting as Ana-Accia stood on one knee, breathing heavily.

"Get up, you lazy bum."

Ana-Accia shot him a blind glare before obeying.

"Attack her back. I'll find an opening."

Vierenna watched it all unfold calmly. Soon, she would be surrounded again.

She could take down Felice first to create an opening for herself. But her curiosity about Deon made her stay put.

Ana-Accia obeyed, rushed toward her back as Deon had instructed, and he himself attacked from the front, disregarding his own defense.

Vierenna almost felt disappointed—but when she saw Ana-Accia's basic stance, she swallowed her thoughts.

'Not good!'

She prepared to deal with Felice, but before she could adjust her stance, Deon accelerated, sensing her shift.

Vierenna hesitated.

'How did he know?'

Deon slowed down the moment she stopped herself. The situation was shifting out of her control.

Soon, Ana-Accia would strike her waist in a curved attack. If she blocked, she'd be at a disadvantage between the twins—with Deon's unpredictability added to the mix...

'I can't let that happen!'

She allowed Felice to push her back slightly, but she did so unexpectedly, causing him to lean forward into empty space. His stance was now unstable.

Ana-Accia's attack came as expected, a curved strike aimed at her waist. Vierenna leaned further into the attack as if she wanted it to hit her.

Felice's forward tilt turned into a fall. If Ana-Accia followed through with her attack, she would hit her mark—but she would also slash her brother's face.

Her attack hesitated, but she quickly adjusted its angle with precise control.

Vierenna smiled at the anticipated move. She twisted her leg at an unnatural angle and bent over Ana-Accia's sword in a dangerously sharp arc. Her hair brushed against the pristine white arena floor.

Deon finally saw Vierenna's target and increased his speed to pin her down. But she used the momentum she had built with her leg and the steep angle to launch herself toward him.

Unlike Deon's scattered and unbalanced charge, Vierenna's explosion upward was steady and purposeful, colliding with him midair.

Vierenna felt no counterforce from Deon. At their clash, he used her momentum, leaned backward toward the ground, and let himself fall. He had leveraged her explosive speed to evade her.

He was falling, and she stumbled forward over him without delivering a decisive strike.

Deon quickly rose and stood his ground, unwilling to give her an opening. But she did not attack—merely watched him in amusement.

"How did you know?"

She wanted to understand, so she paused to ask.

Ana-Accia and Felice began moving to form a circle around her. They did not attack yet, seeming content to let the time slip away.

But Vierenna didn't care. She had seen enough, and once she got her answer from Deon, she would get serious.

Deon eased his stance, seemingly unconcerned about any attack from her.

"I don't know how to explain it," he said. "But you could think of it as someone ruining my canvas, and I do my best to fix it."

Vierenna tilted her head. She could have used his words to tease him, but unfortunately, they weren't alone.

'Later!'

"You could have aimed for my head earlier. I would have had no choice but to block with my shoulder guard and take a hit. Why hold back?"

Deon's muscles tensed as he looked at her, glancing briefly at both Felice and Ana-Accia. They were frowning at him.

He sighed in resignation and told the truth.

"I didn't think that hit was worth taking if I had to suffer for it afterward."

Vierenna was about to ask what he meant, but Deon clarified before she could.

"Your hair was in the way."

'Ah, that's a good reason!'

She would have been furious if she had lost even a strand of her hair. But her kind baby brother had the decency to give up his advantage for her sake.

"Will you give it back? The hit."

Vierenna laughed at Deon's hesitant question.

"Come and take it."

She assumed an offensive stance.

Time was slipping. And now, it was her turn to attack.