More Fighting

Sarai and Nickel lunged forward with incredible speed. The combined power of the two Masters would have ended any Awakened and overwhelmed most Masters.

But Noble was not most Masters. A smile crept onto her face as she darted away.

"You didn't count or say go," she chided.

"All's fair in war," Sarai moved the polearm mercilessly toward her friend's pauldron.

Effortlessly, Noble rolled her shoulder to save it from the piercing blow. The Zenith caught the light from the high windows as a hint of green ran the length of the xiphos's leaf-shaped blade.

'Ah!' 

Barely able to pull the weapon into place to block Nickel's bone-splitting greataxe, Noble noted how the front-weighted weapon inhibited her usual rhythm. Once again, the Zenith needed to be adjusted. 

She ducked backward, allowing her two opponents to let the dueling axe blades to collide. A spray of sparks skittered across the floor from the hit, but Noble was too distracted to notice. 

Gripping the pommel tightly, Noble focused on the Zenith. 

Using her new Ability, she altered the weight of the blade to compliment her smaller frame. It was even easier than the first time she had done it because she did not need to experiment to find the right distribution. The sword was instantly balanced. 

'Perfect.'

The distance that Noble had created between herself and her opponents was closed in an instant as the two forces of nature descended like a storm.

The Zenith moved with precision to block Amber, deflecting both Sarai and her weapon. Simultaneously, Noble stepped into Nickel's attack, countering with one of her own to avoid the King's Defender.

Noble's [Clarity] seemed to have grown exponentially with the merging of her body and soul. Even though both of her opponents were moving at blinding speed, she had no trouble discerning their motions and intent.

Nickel had put a vast amount of force behind his swing. Was his new Ability somehow related to strength?

Thankfully, Noble had deftly kept the axe from cleaving her helmet. Instead of coming down on her head, King's Defender crashed into the floor with a resounding clang.

A small nick appeared in the stone ground, but the room was otherwise unfazed.

'When the Spell rebuilds something, it builds it to last!'

Nickel did not stop to note the mark he left on the floor, he was already hoisting the axe for another chance to cleave Noble in two.

"No murder!" Noble cried, but her voice was playful. 

The Zenith was more than capable of absorbing the blow. The steel of the two blades slid across each other before disengaging in opposite directions.

Both battle experts used the momentum to reverse their swings. The other edge of both weapons clashed, sending a shockwave through the room.

The collision would have shattered the bones of a mundane human, but the Masters easily withstood the catastrophic interchange.

They not only withstood it, they used the energy to attack with even greater force.

Noble hovered slightly higher, careful not to let her feet touch the marble. The professor did not want to lose this match on a silly technicality like her flaw getting in the way. 

And since she wasn't using any of her Abilities, the small addition to her height was not cheating either. If anything, it brought more fairness to the match because she came closer to the heights of her companions. 

Nickel also made sure not to brush the ground again...with his greataxe. That was good. Noble suspected the next mark would be more than just a small divot.

Sensing Sarai to her left, Noble used the residual motion from her assault to force Nickel forward. The redhead passed behind them, her polearm grazing the back of Noble's armor as it went. The thin blade etched a line across the pristine metal, leaving a warning with it. 

Even without any fire to augment it, Sarai's Amber was a dangerous weapon. Noble didn't want to discover what it would do to her Ascended skin.

"Impressive!" Noble nodded. "That thing will be unstoppable with your Aspect added to it!" 

"You think?" Sarai dodged the Zenith, rolling away. "I got it from killing the Tyrant!" 

Noble had also gotten credit for the kill of the Lord of the Mountain, but she had not gotten a Memory. Noble wasn't upset. Sarai had done the heavy lifting on that kill. How could she not be happy for her friend?

"That's wonderful! You deserve it!" Noble nodded before quirking an eyebrow. "Does your new Ability have to do with agility?"

Sarai laughed musically. "Guess again!"

"I will as soon as I collect more data!"

Noble lunged at her two opponents. She struck experimentally at the feet, legs, and torsos of the others, using various movements and techniques to test out what would work best with the Zenith.

Each move gave her more information on her capabilities as well as the benefits and limits of her new blade.

The Xiphos moved even better than expected. The air parted before it like it was afraid of being sliced in two under its mighty power.

With each stroke, Noble's grip became more familiar with the intricacies of the pommel. Was it her imagination or was the weapon slowly accommodating the grooves of her fingers?

The small adjustment in the balance by altering the weight made all the difference in the way it handled. It still had all of the punch without causing Noble to compensate for its reach. 

'It's not Unlikely End, but it is still a beauty,' Noble admired her new toy as it raced toward Sarai's cuirass. The redhead spun out of the way while tilting the shaft of her polearm to intercept the sword's blade. The Zenith ran along its length, leaving a scratch in its path. 

Sarai's eyes opened wider as the pommel came close to her face. She simultaneously leaned her head back and put the full force of her body into pushing the staff into Noble's chest. 

The two women separated. 

"The Zenith is powerful and beautiful!" Sarai commented with a small smile, "Just like the owner." 

"Thanks!" Noble smiled. "Seems we have all come out with winning weapons. Nic's axe could take down most creatures without ever losing momentum."

Both women ducked as the weapon in question sliced through the air overhead.

"I agree. Such fine craftsmanship." Sarai didn't even seem bothered by how close she had come to getting a haircut.

Shaking his head, Nickel rolled his eyes. "What is with the running commentary? Are we chatting or fighting?"

"Both!" the ladies answered in unison, their brows furrowed in confusion. Why would Nickel make them choose? 

In the small respite, Noble took a deep breath. 

The first part of Noble's experiment was a resounding success. Her weapon would stay weighted the way she wanted without her having to focus on it.

It seemed that unless she released the object from her command—or ran completely out of essence—the change would remain.

That was good. She filed the information away to analyze in more depth when things were through.

'Now for the next phase of discovery…'

A smile bloomed on Noble's face.

The fun was just beginning.