18 It's time to duel

I finished my lunch and could feel my time is coming. There wasn't any way to get out of this anymore, I only hoped for the best. I headed straight for the training room and as I entered, Lisa approached me.

"Yoru, don't worry too much, I am perfectly aware of your capabilities and this duel won't change our relationship in the slightest way. In the end who is my disciple is my own decision. However, I still want you to try as hard as possible, because this might me a good experience for you. Going up against a strong opponent your age may a needed change of pace for you. You are certainly able to learn more from this than sparring against me all the time. To put you on even grounds with her, I will allow you to borrow my old magical sword. You may not be able to use your celestial energy at will but since you are able to subconsciously use it, it will be fine and the sword should be perfect for you. Iris is also able to wield a magical sword but I don't think she has mastered it", Lisa comforted me and handed me a beautifully decorated sword shaft with flames on both sides of it. The sword handle was pure black and I couldn't wait to see what the blade looked like. By the looks of the shaft I could guess it wasn't a regular sword or rapier but rather a katana. Lisa didn't allow me to pull it out right now, so I left it be for the upcoming fight.

Iris noticed us talking but didn't pay attention to it in the end. She waited patiently for me to come up to her. She was standing on an elevated platform on the side of the training room, which hadn't been used by us in class so far. Emilia told me duels would be held on these platforms to avoid injuring bystander. Someone had placed a couple of chairs on three sides of it and on the last side was a huge mirror. I couldn't guess why it was put up there, it looked somewhat out of place.

Iris started to prepare herself on the platform as other students were gathering and taking seats. I also went up onto the platform and while I got my mind ready for what was to come, Iris said to me: "Oh, so you are using a magical sword. This is quite unexpected, I may have underestimated you. But if you are using one, so will I. I didn't want to make it unfair, that's why I went for a normal sword."

Iris climbed off the platform and went to the locker room to get her other sword. It seemed like she really wanted to defeat me on equal grounds. After a while she came back with a huge sword in her hands which was even flashier decorated than mine. The shaft resembled a dragon head and upper body, the handle was shaped like a tail. The sword in the shaft looked like a whole dragon without wings, I wondered if the blade itself was also similarly in looks.

"I haven't used this magical sword gifted to me by my parents before, I only used the regular ones the school borrows. But because you also have a rather unique sword, it is only fair if I give it a spin. I'm certainly looking forward to a good duel. Oh by the way, Lisa will be our referee for today, she will step in before any of us gets in danger", Iris explained as she got herself ready. She took a fighting stance on the platform and waited for me to do the same. Lisa went up on the platform in the meantime and stood by the side. She gave me a short smile to tell me everything is okay.

"Are you both ready?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, of course", Iris answered.

"So am I", I said as I took my fighting stance as well.

"Then let' begin…"

### POV change to Lisa ###

Yoru took a rather defensive stance, it seemed like she wanted to get to know her opponent for now before taking the initiative. Iris was clearly going for it straight away, one could easily tell by her aggressive stance.

"If their intentions are that easy to read, they both still have a lot of training before them", I thought, as I gave the two girls the starting signal.

I just hoped, that Yoru would get out of this unharmed but deep inside I wished for a good fight to help unveil the girl's potential. If things continued like this, she would probably never get a grasp of her celestial energy.

Just as predicted, Iris charged into the fight. She pulled her sword out of the shaft while doing so. Her sword was a huge claymore with a dragon head imprinted on the sword scabbard, however she was easily able to manoeuvre around with it, a showcase of her raw strength. The sword also radiated celestial energy supplied by Iris. A rather brute approach to using a magical sword although lacking a bit in control but one that only hybrids with vast celestial power reserves can pull off.

Yoru changed her defensive stance and pulled out her sword too. The sword I gave her was the one I myself used when younger. It had been a good companion for many years but it wasn't a sword that could easily be used by anyone. The sharp edge was metallic red in colour and the blunt edge was straight black making it look like a demonic sword. It required more refined celestial energy control and could possibly shatter if infused like the claymore from Iris. However, Yoru seemed to be able to use it, the two were a good fit just like I had predicted. She wasn't aware the fact that she had a never before seen talent with magical swords. Holding the sword in both hands, she emitted a different aura around her than usual. One couldn't tell that the girl wasn't used to battles, she seemed like an experienced warrior.

Iris swung her sword to cut down Yoru but she was parried by the katana which wasn't even looking like it could hold a blow from the giant claymore. However, Yoru was still forced to take a step back under the sheer weight of the claymore. Iris backed off from her, seemingly deciding to go for a change in tactics. She underestimated Yoru by a lot and thought she could win with pure force. Her backing off there showed she took Yoru more serious now.

"Not bad, Yoru. I can see why Lisa took you in as her disciple. But don't think this will be enough to beat me", Iris proclaimed and went for another attack.

This time however, she aimed her sword to Yoru's stomach area and as Yoru wanted to parry it once again, Iris used her celestial energy to change the path of the sword to suddenly aim it directly to the head. I wanted to get ready to interrupt the battle but suddenly Yoru did the same thing out of sheer instinct and managed to parry the claymore again. Although this time, Iris was the one taking a step back, making her retreat again. This certainly didn't go unseen by certain people watching behind the mirror.

She went for another attack right after, going all out this time but while she was charging at Yoru, her target let go of the katana and collapsed to the ground.

"And with that the battle is over, Iris is the winner", I announced and ran to Yoru to help her get up on her feet.

However Yoru lost her consciousness and blood was dripping out of her mouth. I immediately rushed to the medical office with Yoru in my hands to let the nurse take care of her. After laying her onto the bed I regretted not interrupting them earlier. Yoru's body was far from ready for using celestial energy and if still she uses it despite of that, this seemed to be the result.

For a short moment I had actually thought she might be able to turn the tides and win the battle. Her parry of the claymore was something I wasn't even sure if I could pull off, although Iris would have never managed to get this far against me.

I sat down beside the bed and waited for Yoru to regain consciousness…