Reciprocal Victory

"Clang!"

Accompanying the sound were tiny sparks, vanishing in an instant under the morning sun.

As on any other day, the black-haired boy and the golden-haired girl were swinging their blades in the courtyard of the Loki Familia.

The sparks struck from the clashing swords and the crisp sound of metal hitting metal appeared in rhythm with their shifting, weaving figures.

Liber was still engaged in sparring practice with Ais.

The weapon he was wielding now was no longer the standard broadsword from before, but a regulation longsword.

The blade was about four feet long, an inch wide, straight, and double-edged.

He held it in one hand, thrusting it directly toward Ais, who stood before him.

Ais responded with her usual calm expression, the Rapier she used for practice flicking upward to parry the incoming longsword aside.

Backhanding the blade, she swept her Rapier along the length of the longsword toward Liber's waist.

Seeing Ais's swift reaction, Liber stepped backward.

He leaned his entire body back, extending the distance between them as much as possible to evade the Rapier.

The gap between the two widened abruptly under Liber's maneuver.

Ais had been mid-swing with her Rapier, intending to slash at his waist.

Because Liber had shifted his entire body back, the hilt of his longsword blocked the strike.

Feeling the force of the parry, Liber used that momentum to tip his body backward.

Seeing Liber tipping over, Ais lunged forward, preparing to press her advantage.

Suddenly, Liber kicked upward with force, aiming for Ais's chin.

Feeling the rush of wind, Ais halted her advance, her body shifting slightly as she watched the sole of his shoe pass before her face without taking further action.

As Liber leaned back, he used the momentum of his kick and the strength in his waist to perform an aerial rotation.

He flipped through the air, touched the ground with his free left hand, and then used his waist to pivot once more, landing on both feet and completely resetting the distance between them.

With the distance restored, the intense atmosphere of their battle cooled for a moment.

Liber stood his ground, caught his breath, and then lunged at Ais once more.

The swift battle unfolded again.

Just as Ais had parried the incoming blade aside during their exchange, she suddenly felt someone lightly tap her shoulder.

Her expression shifted slightly, and she snapped her gaze toward the spot where she had been tapped.

She saw a hand floating in mid-air above her shoulder; the floating palm seemed to sense Ais's gaze and slowly curled its fingers.

"Snap."

The fingertips crossed, producing a crisp sound right in front of her.

Caught off guard, Ais stared at the hand snapping in front of her, her usually placid face frozen in a daze.

Her entire body ceased movement, and immediately after, she felt a faint chill against her neck.

"I win."

Then, she heard the declaration of victory from Liber beside her.

Ais remained in her defensive stance, though her eyes followed the longsword resting against her neck to look at Liber, who held it.

After declaring his victory to Ais, Liber withdrew the longsword from her shoulder with a smile.

As he lowered the blade, Ais noticed that his left wrist, which had been obscured by his body, was empty.

She sheathed her Rapier, looked at Liber's missing left hand, then back at the palm still floating beside her, her face full of confusion.

Seeing the usually calm and composed Ais wearing such a silly expression, the corners of Liber's mouth curled even higher.

Then, she watched as Liber raised his wrist; the vanished left hand slowly reappeared, and the floating palm in her line of sight gradually faded away in sync with his movements.

"Huh?"

Ais let out a surprised sound at the strange sight, looking back and forth between Liber's reappearing hand and the spot where the floating palm had vanished.

Her small face gradually scrunched up.

Seeing her dazed look, Liber finally couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Haha, surprised?"

Right in front of Ais, he raised the longsword in his right hand and slowly thrust it forward, his shoulder extending gradually.

The longsword began to disappear starting from the tip, and then, several meters in front of him, the tip suddenly emerged from thin air.

When Liber fully extended his arm, only the hilt remained in his hand.

In the distance, the metal blade hung suspended in the air.

Ais curiously approached Liber, tentatively placing her hand in front of him.

She gently waved her palm, yet she never touched the vanished blade in front of the hilt Liber was holding.

Ais pondered for a moment, then slowly walked behind the blade that had appeared out of thin air to try and find the hilt.

When she failed to find the corresponding part in the empty space between the two, she slowly paced back to his side.

Ais looked at Liber with confusion and asked, "How... did you do that?"

Seeing her bewildered expression, Liber began to repeatedly retract and extend his arm, causing the longsword's blade to appear and disappear with his movements as he spoke to her.

"This is a new trick I suddenly thought of these past few days; I just happened to try it out today.

This move can not only appear at a fixed point like before, but it can also do this."

As he spoke, Liber swung the longsword, and the blade in his hand vanished instantly.

The blade that suddenly appeared in the air not far away followed his swing.

It carved an arc through the air, and Ais, who was watching Liber's movements, witnessed the scene.

"Well, interesting, isn't it?"

After demonstrating the move, Liber slowly pulled it back.

The floating blade in the distance began to vanish, and the longsword in his hand returned to its normal state.

"Shall we spar again?"

Liber raised an eyebrow at Ais and said confidently.

Hearing this, Ais thought of her unexpected defeat and nodded at him.

The two put distance between themselves again, took their stances, and began a new round of combat.

After crossing blades with Liber a few times, Ais prepared to thrust diagonally toward his chest, but a glance with her peripheral vision caught his left hand quietly clenching.

She thought rapidly; if Liber were to throw a punch at her, the distance between them was clearly beyond his arm's reach.

Thinking of the previous outcome and his demonstration of techniques, her expression turned solemn, and she slowed the speed of her sword swing.

She lowered her body slightly, guarding against a fist that might appear beside her.

Liber observed Ais's somewhat cautious offensive and a cunning smirk touched the corner of his mouth.

The fist he had been clenching with his left hand suddenly opened and pushed forward, while his right hand used the blade to parry the incoming attack.

Ais, who was guarding against Liber repeating his old trick, noticed his open fist and raised her vigilance to the maximum.

Feeling the parried attack, she prepared to pull Liber into close-quarters combat to accelerate her offense, leaving him no time to use his previous methods.

Suddenly, Ais felt a slight chill behind her; she instinctively exerted force with her parrying hand, pushing Liber away.

She turned and swung her Rapier, striking the half-blade that was attacking from behind her.

Just as Ais blocked the attack from behind, she sensed something pressing against the back of her head.

"Whew~ I won again."

Liber, having been pushed away by Ais's force, urgently lowered his stance, caught his breath, and then straightened up.

The position from the tip to the middle of the longsword in his hand had vanished, and his left hand was also empty.

Looking at his left hand resting on the back of Ais's head, with the blade he had teleported pressing against her Rapier, he declared his victory once more.

Liber returned his palm and the sword tip to their original positions, feeling his wrist ache slightly from the force of Ais's sudden, powerful parry.

He rubbed his wrist, looked at the somewhat dejected Ais, hesitated, and said, "Let's call it a day here; you should get some rest too. Since the Guild issued a notice yesterday saying that all the Floor-Jump Monster sightings have been cleared, I'll head to the Dungeon early."

"Mm." Ais replied softly, watching Liber turn and leave after greeting her.

She gazed at his departing back, recalling the defeats in their two bouts.

Her hand, resting at her waist, gripped the hilt tightly.