The two faced each other like statues, the air seemingly frozen. Suddenly, Hill's silver-white figure shot forward like an arrow. Almost at the same instant, Yavi turned into a streak of golden lightning and charged to meet her.
Clang!
The two iron swords collided for the first time, their piercing metallic clash ringing throughout the great hall. Sparks flew where the blades met, illuminating their stern faces.
Hill turned her wrist, her blade sliding down Yavi's sword like a venomous snake, aiming straight for his wrist. But Yavi twisted his hilt at an incredible angle, blocking the tricky strike before countering with a fierce upward slash.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sword shadows crossed, their movements so fast that their figures were almost impossible to make out. Hill's long silver-white hair traced graceful arcs through the air, while Yavi's golden hair shone in the sunlight. Sparks from the clashing iron burst continually like fireworks, the crisp metallic impacts merging into an unbroken clamor.
Mel clutched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles white. Every clash of blades made her heart tremble, her eyes filled with terror. She saw Hill's sword tip graze Yavi's sleeve, slicing off a strip of cloth, then saw Yavi's blade miss Hill's neck by a hair.
"They're too fast..." a student at the sidelines murmured. "I can't make out their movements at all..."
Loriess narrowed her eyes, her red lips pressed slightly together. The intensity of this match far exceeded her expectations-both were showing their true strength, every strike aimed straight at a vital point. The slightest mistake would spill blood on the spot.
Hill suddenly changed her move, her longsword thrusting straight at Yavi's heart like a silver dragon surging from the sea. Rather than retreat, Yavi charged straight toward her blade. This seemingly reckless move brought a flicker of surprise to Hill's eyes. Courting death! she shouted inwardly, pressing her attack even harder, her sword tip raining thrusts at Yavi's vital points.
Yet to her shock, Yavi moved as elusively as a phantom. Whenever her blade was about to strike, he always managed to turn aside by the narrowest margin or block precisely with his own blade. Killing moves that seemed certain to land to everyone else appeared to become slow motion before him.
How is this possible... Alarm bells rang in Hill's mind. She was forced back step by step, her silver boots leaving shallow marks on the wooden floor. Yavi's attacks rolled on like an unceasing tide, every strike carrying a suffocating pressure.
Clang!
Hill barely blocked another powerful slash, but the web of her hand went numb. She had never imagined a new student could force her into such a predicament. Yavi's swordsmanship had no flourishes, yet it was terrifyingly precise-like a machine born to kill.
The students watching from the sidelines were already dumbstruck. The top swordsmanship student they had placed on a pedestal was actually being suppressed by an unknown newcomer. Mel covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes, both shocked by her younger brother's strength and sick with worry over this dangerous match.
Hill suddenly leaped backward to open some distance, her silver hair tracing a graceful arc through the air. She took a deep breath, her gaze growing incredibly sharp. "Very good... It seems I'll have to get serious."
Hill's gaze abruptly sharpened, and she suddenly changed the rhythm of her attacks. Her blade no longer pursued speed; instead, it became heavy and precise, every stroke cleaving down with immense force. Yavi immediately felt the pressure multiply, his arms trembling slightly with numbness whenever he blocked.
She suddenly feinted, her longsword seemingly sweeping sideways before abruptly changing direction midway, its tip thrusting toward Yavi's throat like lightning. Yavi hastily leaned back. The cold blade skimmed his chin, leaving a thin line of blood.
Giving him no chance to catch his breath, Hill followed with a downward slash, her blade whistling through the air toward Yavi's shoulder. Yavi barely raised his sword to block. The instant the swords collided, Hill suddenly turned her wrist, sliding her blade down his sword straight toward his fingers.
Yavi had no choice but to release his sword. The instant the longsword fell to the floor, he rolled sideways to dodge the lethal strike that followed. By the time he rose, he had already retrieved his fallen sword, but Hill's attacks were upon him again like a storm.
Her swordsmanship had now become strange and unpredictable, sometimes as dense as a raging storm, sometimes as unbroken as a flowing stream. Most frightening of all, she had begun anticipating Yavi's every movement, sealing off his line of attack each time before he could exert his strength.
Fine beads of sweat formed on Yavi's forehead, and his breathing grew rapid. Yet the calm in his eyes did not diminish at all. Instead, he watched Hill's every subtle movement with even greater focus. He noticed that after a series of fierce attacks, her right shoulder would hesitate almost imperceptibly.
Sure enough, after another powerful downward slash, that tiny opening appeared in Hill's shoulder. A sharp gleam flashed in Yavi's eyes. The instant he blocked, he suddenly changed his move, his longsword darting out like a nimble snake from a tricky angle, straight toward Hill's right shoulder.
Hill clearly had not anticipated this strike and could barely turn aside in time. The blade sliced through her silver-white uniform, leaving a bloody cut on her shoulder. Cries of shock immediately rose from the sidelines.
Both retreated several steps at the same time, their sword tips pointing at each other from a distance. Hill's chest heaved violently, a patch of crimson seeping through the shoulder of her silver-white uniform, while a fine line of blood marked Yavi's chin as well. The great hall was utterly silent, with only their breathing echoing through it.
A drifting cloud suddenly obscured the sun, and the light in the hall abruptly dimmed. In that brief shadow, Hill's fingers lightly tapped her sword hilt, making faint clicking sounds, while Yavi rotated his ankles slightly, adjusting his center of gravity. Both were waiting-waiting for the other to reveal an opening, waiting for the best moment to counterattack.
The cloud drifted past, and at the very instant sunlight spilled down again-
Hill suddenly lowered her body, sweeping her blade along the floor toward Yavi's lower body. The instant Yavi jumped, her sword abruptly swept upward, aiming straight at her airborne opponent. But Yavi seemed to have anticipated it. He quickly twisted in midair, his longsword tracing a cold arc of light, not only deflecting Hill's attack but also following through with a downward slash.
Clang!
Hill was forced onto one knee to block, her blade pressed down until it nearly touched her shoulder. She suddenly exerted her strength to throw Yavi back, rolling sideways at the same time to open some distance.
A cold gleam flashed in Yavi's eyes. He gave Hill no chance to catch her breath. Moving like lightning, he closed in before she had fully regained her footing, his blade becoming a silver streak of lightning thrusting straight at her chest.
Hill blocked hastily, her steps slightly disordered, seemingly caught off guard. Just as she turned aside to dodge, an obvious opening suddenly appeared at her right ribs-the opening was far too deliberate, but Yavi's sword was already speeding straight toward it like the wind.
A cold sneer suddenly curled Hill's lips. Her body accelerated unnaturally, and at the critical instant, she actually circled around to Yavi's right. By then, Yavi's sword stroke was already fully committed, leaving him no time to defend.
Hill gripped her sword with both hands, her long silver-white hair tracing a dazzling path through the sunlight as her blade came cleaving down toward Yavi's right shoulder with overwhelming force. The spectators at the sidelines gasped, some even closing their eyes.
"No!!" Mel's face was as white as paper, her pupils widening to their limit in utter terror. The scream seemed torn from the depths of her soul, carrying a heartbreaking tremor. Her lips quivered uncontrollably, tears spilling from her eyes like pearls from a broken string. The face that always held such a gentle smile was now twisted, filled with despair and fear...