Elder Kenneth looked at the two, nodded his head and yelled out, "Contestants! Assume your battle stance!" Claude immediately summoned his katana, while Ian clicked his tongue and summoned his saber, which began trembling violently in his hands.
Elder Kenneth looked at both of the contestants and yelled out, "Start!" And Ian shot forward, instantly swinging his saber. He was so fast that even Claude was surprised. However, he still maintained his calmness and turned his katana over to his side in order to block the attack.
"Hmm?" As the attack got closer to Claude, he could sense that something was terribly off about Ian. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gripped hard on the katana, which collided with Ian's saber!
BOOM!
The resulting explosion was far greater than what anyone expected, and the tremendous amount of force that came with the strike flung Claude backwards, high up in the air.