True Swordsmanship

Sparks flew as their blades clashed with one another. Both Meliodas and Musica appeared to be standing still, with their swords swinging so fast, regular bystanders wouldn't be able to see it.

"You're not bad, brat." Musica commented. For the first time in years, he felt a challenge in a sword fight. A small smile began to form on Musica's face as he continued clashing with Meliodas.

"I could say the same for you geezer!" Meliodas replied with his usual grin.

Eventually the sparks stopped as both Meliodas and Musica swung a fast and powerful hit at each other. The force of their swings, created a shockwave that kicked the dirt up around them and generated a sound unlike no other. It was not the sound of metal hitting metal. One could describe it as a small boom. Meliodas's left sleeve and Musica's right sleeve were both immediately blown off by the force of the attack.

Both Meliodas and Musica were pushed back after the strike, their feet skidding across the dirt as they tried to regain their balance. Meliodas felt his hand shaking after the hit as the force reverberated through his arm.

"You're pretty good." Meliodas complimented. A grin formed on Musica's face and he began to laugh.

"Ahahaha! It's been twenty years since I've met a swordsman as skilled and powerful as you are. You're no ordinary brat. I don't think I got your name."

"Meliodas."

"Very well, Meliodas. I want you to come at me with everything you got. If you can break through my absolute defense, then I'll craft you a sword!" Musica said enthusiastically as he shifted his stance to a defensive one with his blade in front of him pointed diagonally towards the ground. As Musica faced Meliodas, he noticed his Fairy Tail insignia on his arm. 'This young man... so he's from that guild is he? Regardless, I don't expect him to be able to overcome my next technique. I'll still craft him the sword even if he can't break though...but I want to test him at his best. He's far surpassed my expectations.'

"Here I go!" Meliodas responded as he leaped towards Musica at full speed. Both Musica and Meliodas smiled at each other the moment their blades came into contact with one another. Meliodas attacked Musica with a quick flurry of slashes. To Meliodas's surprise, Musica was blocking each one and appeared to not even be breaking a sweat. 'The way he's parrying...it's like…?!'

"You're impressive, geezer. I didn't expect to run into someone here who knew the Dance of Avidya." Meliodas commented as he continued slashing at Musica. Musica continued parrying each blow as he responded.

"Dance of Avidya? No no. This technique is called my Parry Stance: Horizon."

"I see…" Meliodas replied. 'So it's different in name in this world but follows the same concept. I'll just give him an attack that he'll have a hard time parrying.'

As Musica continued parrying Meliodas's endless onslaught of slashes, he felt a sudden change in the air of battle as Meliodas shifted his positioning.

"Divine Thousand Slashes!" Meliodas yelled as he charged straight at Musica. Musica's confident demeanor shifted into worry as he clashed swords with Meliodas, with Meliodas's slashes now being harder to track than ever. 'One...ten...fifty...one hundred...five hundred…I can't block them all!'

After charging straight at Musica and clashing swords, he reappeared behind Musica. Blood gushed from several spots on Musica's body as he fell to his knees.

"You cut me that many times...and you still managed to avoid my vital spots…" Musica commented as he slowly tried to stand back up. Meliodas walked over to Musica and offered his hand out to him. Musica accepted the gesture as Meliodas pulled him up back on his feet.

"You really surprised me there. I didn't expect you to be that skilled!" Meliodas said.

"You brat, don't patronize me. I don't know about your magical abilities, but you're definitely the most skilled swordsman I've ever met. With my experience, I can tell that you held back, didn't you.?"

"Just a tad. Who knows, things might have been different if you were younger ya geezer." Meliodas replied. Both Musica and Meliodas laughed as Meliodas helped Musica walk back to his house.

"If I was your age maybe." Musica responded.

"Trust me, you don't want to be my age." Meliodas said wryly. Musica ignored his comment and began bandaging himself.

---

The following day at noon, Meliodas arrived at Musica's place again. As Musica had no room for Meliodas to stay the night, Meliodas decided it would be better for him to go back to town and stay at a hotel.

Meliodas approached Musica, who was hammering away at some steel.

"Yo!" Meliodas greeted. Musica stopped what he was doing and turned around to face Meliodas.

"Are you ready for your new sword?" Musica asked. Meliodas nodded in response and reached into his pants pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper that he handed to Musica. Musica opened the piece of paper and saw it was a sword design. He stared intently at the paper for a bit, intrigued by its design.

"Hmm…This is an interesting design. You don't want a guard? And it's a short sword. Are you sure you want your sword like this?"

"Yeah, are you able to make it like this?"

"I could make this. But I want this sword to be unlike any other I've ever made."

"Great. That's what I want too." Meliodas replied.

"By the way, I noticed the insignia on your arm. You are a Fairy Tail mage aren't you?" Musica asked.

Meliodas nodded in response.

"Since you're a wizard, I'll make a sword that will complement your magic." Musica said with a grin.

Meliodas was a bit surprised. This would truly be a sword that could rival Lostvayne.

"You can really do that?"

"Of course, who do you think I am? I am the greatest blacksmith." Musica said proudly.

"I don't heavily rely on magic when I fight." Meliodas responded.

"A mage that doesn't heavily rely on magic in battle is almost unheard of." Musica commented, somewhat surprised by Meliodas's statement.

"But when I do, it's mainly this technique called "Full Counter." Meliodas continued. "I can reflect any non physical attack back at the source at double the force just by swinging my sword."

"Full Counter you said it was called...I see…" Musica said, staring out into the distance as he went into deep thought for several moments. Meliodas waited patiently as Musica continued to think.

"A sword that complements the ability to reflect magic…." Musica mused.

"I got it!" Musica said enthusiastically, as if the old grumpy man he once was had disappeared and was now a young man with a new purpose in life. "There is an extremely rare crystal known as "Anti Link." It looks like a ruby and it has a special trait that allows it to absorb and nullify magic in its raw form. However, when properly smelted, the trait changes and instead, it will naturally repel magic. If properly embedded into a lacrima as a holder type magic, it may boost the reflection of your full counter even further."

"That sounds great! But where do I find this crystal?" Meliodas asked excitedly.

"Well the crystal itself is heavily regulated by the council. You won't find it on the market. However, anti link crystal was found in the mines near here up in the mountains. Unfortunately, the council caught wind of it and now they seized control of the mine. And I don't know any other sources of the crystal…"

"That's fine. I think I can get in somehow. I'll leave the sword schematics here with you so you can start working on it." Meliodas said as he turned around and waved goodbye to Musica.

---

Meliodas traveled further north of Clover Town, towards the mountainous region. He had originally gone there to gather iron for Musica so he was somewhat familiar with the area. 'I think I remember seeing a councilman standing outside a mineshaft somewhere here…'

After a few minutes of wandering, Meliodas spotted the entrance to the mineshaft. In front of it was a small stone hut with a couple of councilmen standing guard.

"Yo!" Meliodas approached them.

"State your business here." One of the councilmen said firmly.

"Can I enter the Mine?" Meliodas asked.

"No one without permission can enter the mines." The councilman replied.

"How do you get permission?" Meliodas continued.

"You must be a member of the council. Or you must be here on a requested mission from the council as a mage of a guild."

Meliodas was about to continue speaking when he heard someone approaching behind him. Meliodas turned around and saw a familiar young man walking towards him.

"Gajeel?"