章 17: Second Step [6]
[Cerus' POV]
*Clench!*
'That man...!'
Seeing the spectacle in front of me, there was no way for me not to get enraged. But I also wasn't surprised. Because I had seen how he reacted to our classmate's spars, his dull eyes looking at the fight as if he was watching two children arguing.
'But to think he would do something like this... Bastard!'
It hurt. It was painful to see my longtime friend desperately swing her sword in earnest while Ray reciprocated with slow, nonchalant movements while still being able to dodge her every attack.
'And he still hasn't raised his fists yet! He is just dodging with his hands in his pockets!'
Ray had already revealed yesterday that he was a fist fighter, proven by his 'spar' with Mr. Folm yesterday. At that time he had very quickly raised his fists, showing that he at least thought our teacher was worthy of them. So what did that say about what he thought about Celine?
'And she knows it as well...'
Celine wasn't stupid. In fact, she was in many ways a lot more intelligent than me. So if I understood Ray's actions and what they symbolized, there was no way she didn't. And it showed in the desperation that grew in her sword.
"Ha!"
*FWOOSH!*
Celine threw another powerful attack, an upward swing containing all of her strength and passion, while still being able to uphold proper form. Yet, just like before, Ray simply rotated his body by sliding his left foot backward, making her hit nothing but air.
*Swing! Swing! Swing!*
Over and over, Celine's attacks missed their mark, as Ray continued to dodge them with no more than inches to spare, showing his extreme confidence in his abilities. Ultimately, as she noticed that what she was doing wasn't working, Celine paused her barrage and stretched her back.
"Huff... huff..."
Taking a second to breathe, Celine allowed Ray to create some distance, his feet lightly bouncing off of the ground, making his body move up and down in a pretty straightforward rhythm.
I had never seen anything like the footwork that Ray was using, but somehow I also understood that it wasn't anything special. In my eyes, although it seemed pretty efficient, it also appeared to be a very basic set of movements.
Nonchalant and disrespectful. Those were the best words I had to describe the way Ray was fighting. Even though I realized that he probably had a reason to fight like he did, I couldn't accept it. To me, it didn't matter who I was facing, I would still always raise my sword and fight with courtesy, even if I didn't always go all out. But to not even raise your weapon? It was like spitting your enemy in the face.
Unfortunately, there was one more word to describe him, a word that I very rarely used to describe someone.
'He is strong.'
[Celine's POV]
"Huff... huff..."
'Shit! Why can't I catch him?! He is not even that fast!'
Perring up at the man who was bouncing up and down with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face, I felt my detest grow stronger for the black-haired man for every second that passed.
I disliked him from the start, even before he said that he wanted to fight Cerus, and although I couldn't quite pinpoint the reason, I was pretty certain that it had something to do with his eyes.
The pitch-black eyes that never seemed to blink, which never permitted me out of his sight. It was a disgusting feeling, truly, the way he somehow appeared to see everything about me, how he appeared to know what I was going to do even before I knew.
What was worse was that he hadn't even attacked me once, no... he still hadn't even raised those god-damned hands out of his pockets!
'Damn it! I don't want Cerus to see me like this! I don't want to be left behind!'
I had enough trouble as it was trying to keep up with him so thinking about what he would think seeing me struggle like this made me feel sick to my stomach. And it was all because of the tall man in front of me.
'Why did you have to show up?! Why did you have to challenge Cerus to a fight?! Fuck!'
The main reason why I wanted to fight Ray wasn't because I hadn't gotten a chance to spar yet, it was to show him his place! Show him that he was far from qualified to fight with Cerus, and I would prove it by convincingly defeating him.
But now I was struggling! I was struggling against someone who was obviously weak, against someone who didn't look like he had trained a single day of his life while at the same time presenting himself as a melee fighter.
Gripping my sword even tighter, making my knuckles go white with strain, I focused on my heart and permitted my mana to flow freely throughout my body.
'No... I refuse. I refuse! Fine! I'll use it! I'll give it my all! Don't regret it, Ray!'
[Ray's POV]
'This.. this is fun! I can move! I can fight!'
My whole being was consumed by dopamine as I moved around, acquiring a taste of what I had sought my whole life for. I hadn't ever expected to be able to win, and I still wasn't, but I was still fighting to win, even if I had picked a bit of an orthodox way of doing so.
The only reason why I kept my hands in my pockets was to get a chance to focus fully on my legs and feet, not wanting to accidentally make a mistake by taking too big of a bite when I was still inexperienced.
And it had paid off. By only honing in on mobility I had slowly but surely been able to execute the basic footwork that my father had taught me, a feat likely possible due to the new, improved specs of my body. Footwork that was now serving me more than well, letting me feel things I had never felt before.
It was exhilarating, seeing Celine's sword barely missing my body and feeling the intense wave of air it created, hearing the whistling of death in my ears as I moved with a bizarre calmness.
'Hahaha! I might get addicted to this!'
Right now I wanted nothing more than to raise my fists, as they were both itching to go, but I knew that it was still too early. Nothing good would come of me becoming impatient and reckless. I also knew that if I released them from their prison, even if I didn't have any intent of using them, I wouldn't be able to stop them.
Therefore I kept them sealed in the pockets of my pants, tightly clenched with excitement, raring for a fight. Celine was still fully caught in my gaze, currently taking a bit of a break to breathe and prepare herself for another round.
If it wasn't for the fact that I had to hold myself back, this would have been a golden opportunity to strike, making sure she wasn't allowed to recuperate. However, there was nothing I could do about it. Not yet, at least. Not before I got more practice.
Unfortunately, Celine did something that made me think that maybe I wasn't going to get to practice for much longer.
*Bzzzt!*
A red hue of energy suddenly enveloped her body, with intervals of small streaks of bright red lightning emerging. Her brown eyes changed colors as well, now tinted with a red glow as all the muscles on her body slightly expanded and contracted.
'This... might be dangerous?'
I had no idea what exactly she was doing, but I could at least assume that it had something to do with mana and activating some sort of skill.
'Seems like some kind of reinforcement technique? Is she powering herself up?'
"Gnnnrrr! Raaa!"
With a roar, Celine had completed her technique with a shout, her brown hair now fluttering around in response to the red energy she continually produced. This in turn made me prepare myself, making sure to bend my knees slightly while not allowing myself to fully plant my feet on the ground, instead continuing to bounce in my comfortable rhythm.
Celine, on the other hand, put her sword to her side, similar to that of a samurai readying himself to draw a katana from its sheath. And then, she took a step...?
*BOOM!*
The ground behind her exploded as she flew forward many times faster than she had ever moved before, fast enough that despite time being slowed down for me, I still wasn't able to fully react. Maybe it was because I had somehow let my guard down, or maybe she had just gotten that much faster. No matter what, there was just one thought in my head;
'Shit! That's not fair!'
But Celine didn't care. Instead, her right hand grasped the sword even harder, making it shoot out like a bullet toward me, shining red as a result of the dyed lightning streaks dancing around it.
Just like when I had fought against Mr. Folm, time slowed down even more, gifting me one last chance to struggle for survival.
'Flicker...'
Faster than I had ever done before, I circulated my mana, starting from my heart to every single cell of my body. Then, like an emperor giving orders, I forced it down to my right foot, the instant heat reminiscent of catching on fire. And with this burning right foot of mine, I took a step forward.
"Take thiiiis!"
'...Step!'
*Zoom!*
My body... no, my whole being, my entire entity, disappeared for a fraction of a fraction of a second, with the world going completely black for me. Then, before I even got the chance to realize that I had disappeared, the world was lit up again, with Celine completely gone from my sight.
'Shit! I went too far!'
Inadvertently my fists rose from my pockets, as there was no way for me to control my surging instincts, and I turned around in an attempt to survive the coming onslaught.
'Focus! Here she... comes?'
*Clang!*
Yet, as I did so, there was no sword coming for me. Instead, I simply got to hear the sound of a sword falling to the ground as well as see the sight of that sword's master with her hands on the ground.
"...the winner is Ray Flowers."
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