It really was you

Keita was infuriated. He couldn't believe that he, the great general Pride couldn't find an opening against Wrath. He attacked again and again, being blocked each time. He didn't lock blades with Wrath anymore. It was a useless effort. He couldn't overpower her and just end up being pushed back again.

He was angry about everything. Wrath's attitude, his failure to taunt the most hot headed person he knew, his lack of strength and that ridiculous ability of her axe.

Wrath strategy was obvious to Keita. Simply defend. Keita couldn't back away because of the stone spikes and couldn't find an opening in Wrath's defenses. He had no hands to play.

'Should I just also just stop attacking?' an idea flashed through Keita's mind. He sneaked a peak at the Orcs behind Wrath who kept pouring out of the gate and overflowing the battlements. They were loudly cheering and shouting things in Orcish. The moment he stopped attacking and started a staring contest with Wrath, what would the Orcs do? It was obvious these warmongers would not enjoy the show. Some of them may even take his party as hostages in order compel Keita to fight. He was the one who made the challenge after all. The challenger couldn't just stand around and refuse to fight.

'I've got no choice then...' Keita made his resolve. He needed to utilize Haste in this close fight. Mana gathered at his feet. Using Heaven's Path: Statue, used more magic power than he thought but he understood that he needed to use everything for this fight. He needed to make every drop of mana count.

Keita started dancing in front of Wrath. Faints, thrusts and kicks flew towards Wrath from every direction. He tried to attack her head as much as he could but it was difficult for him to reach the top of the giant and maintaining his speed, not to mention he couldn't use one of his hands. Finally, a hit with the pummel of his blade made Wrath stagger and for the first time since he started attacking, she was pushed one step forward.

'Chance!' Keita thought and slashed with all his strength at Wrath's sides. The power on his legs from Haste carried him forward a dozen steps in front of Wrath and he turned around sliding with one hand in the mud to stop himself.

Wrath Kept one hand on her sides and flesh blood was gushing through the armor. The wound wasn't too deep but it was the first time Keita made her bleed since their first fight.

'Shroud can penetrate her armor!' he thought in a daze.

Wrath's armor was one of the strongest plate-mails in the continent and it was enchanted with magic. A simple Skill could not penetrate it in a thousand years. The fact that Shroud could meant, that Keita vastly underestimated the Skills strength. Or maybe he just didn't completely understand it. After all he couldn't even scratch the stone spike. None the less, his blade right now was vastly superior to a regular magic weapon.

'Still worse than Ma-clayar though...' he thought as he pictured the glorious weapon he once held. With it's ability to turn everything the blade touched to molten lava, that attack would have ended Wrath.

As he was reminiscing about past glories, Wrath once again raised her axe overhead and was about to use the magic weapon's ability.

"Shit!" Keita shouted. How could he get distracted and let his guard a second time in this fight? He was too happy that his attack connected that he forgot all about the reason he stayed so close to Wrath.

He charged as fast as he could, before it was too late and he made it right in front of Wrath. She brought her axe down and Keita barely managed to dodge to her right. At that time Wrath let the axe go from her left hand and prepared for a horizontal swing.

Keita immediately understood what was happening. Wrath was suppressing her reflexes to attack him all along but this time she made a mistake.

'I'll duck and go for the gap bellow the helmet' Keita thought as he prepared to end this fight. Letting go of the axe after an overhead swing into a horizontal one was an old habit of hers. A habit Keita was all too familiar with and even had warned her about in the past.

he warned again and again but Wrath never changed. That was before. When they could spar as fellow generals of the Seven Deadly Sins. As brother and sister. As friends. Before the battle that changed Pride forever.

Keita ducked before the attack came and rolled in front of Wrath. He pictured himself stabbing Wrath in the neck and being victorious. Just before he raised his head to attack, he felt something pushing at his guts. He tried to look but the world started fading into a white mist. He couldn't breath. Not long after, his felt his back hit something flat. And then the pain came.

"Aghuhhh!" Keita screamed while clenching his teeth as hard as he could. It felt like a building fell on him. He let go of his sword and held his stomach. His inside were on fire and he could taste blood in his mouth.

'What...?' he had no idea what happened. Why was he injured? Why was Wrath so far away? Why was he on the ground covered in mud and coughing blood?

He was hit with a pummel strike. With Wrath's strength that's all it took. One pummel strike to the stomach and Keita couldn't even breath, let alone get up. He felt like his soul left his body behind the moment he was hit. He turned to the mud and hurled his supper with bright red blood mixed in. He was unable to draw a breath.

"What did you...?" he tried to ask, looking at Wrath with half opened eyes. His state truly was pathetic. His face was covered in vomit, blood and mud. He could barely keep his eyes open and all he managed where these three words.

"So it really was you." Wrath responded. Her eyes shined but she wasn't smiling. It seemed more like she was on the verge of tears.

"Pride."