Duel of Fate

CLANGGG!

The sound of blade and spear clashing against one another crackled throughout the arena. The two weapons shrieked and sparked as their wielders were in a standstill in the middle of the battlefield.

Hoshi's face was strained, he concentrated on keeping the flow of mana coursing through the pathway in his body whilst Valtros pushed his weapon against him.

Valtros: "You seem to be struggling quite a bit already…!"

Hoshi: "Shut—up!"

With that defiant yell, Valtros moved forward and threw Hoshi from the deadlock, he landed with a thud onto his back. Valtros took no time in leaping high into the air, crashing down with his spear pointed at Hoshi's leg. 

Hoshi rolled, pulling mana from his core into his fingers, he threw himself to the side by pushing off the ground with his hand. The sudden CRACKKK of the spear landed where Hoshi once was cemented the reality of this fight.

Valtros pulled his spear out of the ground and flew forward at blinding speeds, dissipating into a blur from the crowd's point of view. Hoshi raised his sword and deftly parried the attack with the midsection of his blade, spinning around clockwise only to narrowly graze Valtros's chin with the tip of his sword.

At this pace I can keep—

Hoshi: "Hnghh!"

He was met with a boot to his abdomen, skidding backwards and clutching his midsection. His chest reeled in pain from the attack, he needed to compose himself quickly before another attack. Valtros simply looked forward with a blank expression, his stare sharper than his spear.

Valtros: "I was expecting more out of you, it's a shame you can't even keep up when I'm holding back so much."

Right…he's still holding back, I can't believe I'm already being pushed back this much.

Hoshi calmed his breathing and let his mana steady, the droplets of sweat that dripped off his brow began rising up his forehead. Magic swirled around the swordsmen, veins tensed at the sides of his face.

Valtros widened his eyes as Hoshi's next movement caused him to vanish from plain sight, his speed was akin to lightning as only a dark blur burst forth. Hoshi extended his leg outward and landed a powerful kick to his enemies side.

Valtros was sent flying to the edge and pushed his spear into the ground, stopping himself from going further. He wiped the remnants of dust off his face and looked at Hoshi, whose stance was visibly sharper than earlier.

The crowd loudened their cheers of Hoshi's name, Alkia seemed content with Hoshi's style of fighting so far. His aim was to parry and counter, not letting Valtros get the upperhand with his superior skill in stringing attacks.

Valtros: "Fine then, if that's how you want to fight then two can play it that way!"

Valtros vanished, the ground he stood on broke and a dustcloud blew forth, the force of his movement caused cracks to spread all throughout the arena. Hoshi acted just as quickly, matching the spearmen's speed with adept control over his mana as sparks flew all over the arena. The two fought at speeds which the crowd could only look at in awe too.

Hoshi parried and weaved the onslaught of strikes that Valtros threw, his grip on the handle of the blade wavering. Valtros used the opportunity to feint a strike toward his chest which Hoshi tried to block, swiftly changing the direction of his spear and slicing Hoshi's cheek.

Hoshi grunted and retaliated, driving his feet firmly into the ground and throwing his shoulder into Valtros's gut, knocking him off balance. He used the opportunity and drove his blade forward, aiming for Valtros's wrist to disarm him of the spear. 

Valtros slammed the bottom of his spear into the blade, sending the strike away, hitting Hoshi with a kick that caused the air to fly out of his lungs. The two fighters raised their weapons in anticipation of the next attack.

Valtros (thoughts): He's…weak, his attacks can barely land and his control over his mana is pathetic—but, for a week of training..

Valtros spun his spear in his hand, his mind elsewhere. Hoshi found himself not being able to move, his muscles felt stiff and the sword in his hands felt heavy. The dawning realization that he was outclassed was settling in, his hands shook and his legs threatened to buckle at any moment.

I'm…scared—! What is he thinking about? Who the hell did I think I was trying to battle this guy, he's a monster! I'm not some hero, why did I make a promise I knew I couldn't keep?

Valtros spoke up to pierce the continued silence.

Valtros: "They should've ordered it from the start…it's not ideal, and I'll likely be in trouble. But I'll deal with those issues when they're present."

Hoshi: "W–What? What are you talking about?"

Valtros: "It'd be foolish for me to keep someone who can react to me with only a week of training alive."

THUMP.

Valtros: "You have to die, Hoshi Saito."

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP.

The crowd gasped—murmurs already spreading if Valtros was actually serious about killing what they considered a child. Hoshi could barely hear what they were saying under the weight of his own fear, this duel had somehow turned into a deathmatch. 

Hoshi found his arm instinctually flying up for a parry, his survival instinct overriding any conscious thought, mana surged through his weakened body. Hoshi's arms were pushed against his body as the spear was thrown forward with blazing speed, he successfully blocked the spear's edge from flying straight through his chest.

He's–gonna kill me!

The spear flew back to Valtros and he launched ahead, torquing his body around to send a whirlwind of mana rushing toward Hoshi. Hoshi yelled out and thrummed his blade with magic, slicing the whirlwind in the opposite direction it spun and unraveling it.

A sharp object whizzed past his ear—aimed straight into the crowd. Time itself seemed to slow down as Hoshi witnessed the target of the dagger.

LYRA!!

Hoshi timed his throw, his blade flew from his hand and narrowly intercepted the object from piercing through Lyra's eye.

He couldn't believe it, this was supposed to be a one on one fight and yet here Valtros was attacking the crowd. His head whipped back to the enemy at hand, only to be met with a swift kick into his jaw that sent him reeling backwards. The ache spread through his face. 

Hoshi laid on the ground, blood trickled down his lip and onto the cracked floor of the arena. He could feel his ears ringing, arms and legs begging for rest and the faint steps of his impending doom walking toward him.

His eyes averted toward a face in the crowd, they were saying something but he couldn't tell what. 

The voice pierced the constant noise in his ears—

Alkia: "GET UP!"

I…can't.

I'm weak.

I'm—

The sounds of hammer hitting steel. The scent of ash, fire and grit. The pained grunts of overexertion. 

They don't have power…

But they have belief.

So I'll try and let that belief drive me forward too.

As Valtros's boot grazed Hoshi's cheek, his hand flew over and caught it. Hoshi's finger struggled to stay flexed, Valtros pressed down harder with his leg, eliciting a groan from Hoshi.

Valtros: "Make this easier for yourself and die, or should I throw my spear into that crowd and kill all your new friends?"

Hoshi strained the muscles in his body and burst a field of mana outward, throwing Valtros a distance back to regain his bearings. He stirred to his feet and held out his hand to the crowd.

Alkia took the sword and threw it into Hoshi's hands, he spun it around and braced himself.

Alkia: "Hoshi, you need to focus! This is no longer the duel I prepared you for, it's a matter of life and death. You have to fight Valtros like you want to kill him!"

Kill…him?

Despite his hatred for Valtros, the thought of actually ending him never crossed Hoshi's mind. Simply put, Hoshi didn't think he was capable of taking another human's life no matter who they were.

An exhale left Hoshi, he focused on keeping his mana under control so he wouldn't be outclassed as badly as he had been through this fight. Valtros slammed his spear against the ground and sighed, his fingers trailed across the handle of his weapon.

Valtros: "Ignorant—child! I tried to warn you to stay put and let me end your life, and now I'll make your death as painful as possible."