Martial Arts Competition (Part 5)

The amount of competitors dwindled down to the last 8. Since there was an odd nunber of competitors, the person who was able to pass the round was a boy named Bryant. He is a commoner from Nova Lunes with a strong attribute to wind. I believe his family specializes in carpentry and blacksmithing. If he is accepted, he would be one of the recipients for a scholarship.

Liliana and Falcyn also made it this far too so I know I would probably have to fight one or the other. Maybe even both depending how the competition goes.

Speaking of, Liliana skips her way over to me. She is as bouncy as ever. She was not alone, however, since the aquane noble walked beside her. He reminds me of a babysitter and I couldn't help chuckle at the thought.

"We meet again, Freya," she greets me casually. I wonder if she will talk nonstop again. I glance at the boy beside her, not hiding my curiosity. Liliana notice before placing her hand on his shoulder. "This is my dear cousin from the Aquane continent."

The noble shakes off his cousin before interjecting. "Falcyn Windsor. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I politely reply. At least I can finally meet this elusive character that has been watching me. I can't help the sense of familiarity as if I met him before which I clearly have not.

"You both don't have to be formal," Liliana huffs. She brings us closer. "Let's all do our best in the coming rounds."

Falcyn and I stare at her with [.....] faces. Liliana is an interesting person that I wish I have not met. Eventually, I was going to bump into her since she is the emperor's daughter and my mother being close friends with the empress further emphasizes the inevitable, but it would be nice not to have to deal with her enthusiasm all the time.

"Number 12 and Number 13," the announcer called. Liliana and I jump up when we hear our numbers. She looks at me in surprise as if she didn't expect us to fight against each other already.

"This must be what they call fate," Liliana mutters. I shrug my shoulders. I might as well warn her that I won't go easy on her. Just as I was about to, she turns to me and smirk. "I might want to be your friend, but I won't lose against you." She bounces to the stage before I can say anything just like the other times I met her. I can't help but sigh. This girl might be the death of me with the amount of energy she has.

Falcyn chuckles lightly. "I wish you luck, Freya. Perhaps we will fight against each other in the last round." My eyes blaze with anticipation. It might not be his intention but I am suddenly full of energy from his words. I blink as I come to the realization. How can this boy effect me so much by just his words? I look back but found that I was alone. He has already disappeared.

I roll my eyes. I feel that most of the upper class are made of strange people.

I walk up the stairs to the arena where Liliana was standing with the announcer. She smiles widely when she sees me. "You finally decided to show up." It has only been a couple of minutes.

The announcer clears his throat. "The competitors can now choose their weapons." Liliana and I go to the box and immediately choose our weapon of choice. I take out the twin swords while she takes out the other set of twin swords. "This is going to be an interesting match," she says with eyes shining in excitement. I cannot help but feel the same way. I have a feeling that I will enjoy this match very much.

"Begin," the announcer decrees. Liliana makes her move right away. She kicks off with her legs and uses quick footwork to reach me. She has her twin swords in front of her, eyes gleaming and a smirk on her face.

I wait patiently with my own twin swords in front of me. Liliana rushes left, right, left, left, right. She is trying to confuse me and find a weak spot in my defense. I have to admit she knows how to strategize well. Unfortunately, she does not have much experience in actual combat so I found her faults immediately.

She slashes out which I immediately block. Instead of moving back, I crouch and pounce at her, slashing out with my own sword. She was forced to dodge, and in the process, her sword twisted out of her hand and lands on the ground. She brings out her other sword in front of her in her crouched form.

I stare at her briefly before making my move. I start slashing away her defense. Sweat flows down her face as she takes my attacks with her one sword. She and I both know I am toying with her.

She tries to stand and dodge my slashes but I was already one step ahead of her. It's been a while since my bloodlust got tapped since my reincarnation. My moves are a bit clumsy from my small body, but the familiarity of battle thrums in my veins. I focus my energy into one full attack.

Instead of using the blunt edge of the swords, I deftly flipped the swords so that the handles were aiming at Liliana's body. I knew if I attacked her, she would not be making it unscathed. The force of the handles caught her in the stomach, causing Liliana to puff out her breath in pain. She uses the rest of her energy to stop from tumbling toward the edge of the arena. She winces in pain and coughs.

I take a moment before standing and walk slowly in her direction. Liliana knows she has lost. "You... win..." she says between breaths. It came out more like a whisper. The announcer arrives with a medic.

The medic places her on the stretcher. Liliana looks at me with a soft smile. "Do your best," she whispers. I almost feel guilty for causing Liliana pain. I nod at her in acknowledgement.

The crowd was silent as Liliana was sent away. Tension filled the air as people stared, even glared. I take a look at the emperor amd empress's direction. The empress looks worried but she doesn't seem angry. The emperor looks calm. He notices my stare and gives me a sharp nod as of saying it's alright.

The crowd sees the emperor's nod and starts cheering loudly. The tension disappears as if it wasn't there. My family watches me with different expressions but cheers along with the crowd. I notice that my mother was not among them. I wonder where she went.

The announcer taps me on the shoulder. He gestures for me to leave. I look out at the crowd once more and slip away.