Final Showdown

It was time for the final matchup between Jien and Bernard, and Jien couldn't be happier to almost be done with this. From his perspective this entire show had been a pain and though he understood the purpose he disliked the path chosen to fulfill it. Still, he was just about done, and his mana reserves were just enough to let him use the Vine Guard to overcome this last hurdle. This was truly to his benefit since he figured that he wouldn't have been able to cast any substantial spells in his current state. At this point, from Jien's perspective this would be a battle of skill rather than one of magical prowess.

As he stood across from Bernard with his rapier in hand, he looked at his opponent standing across from him. Bernard, unlike in his other matches met Jien's eyes before giving a bow of respect to his host and the reason for the advent of the celebration. Jien responded with perfunctory business smile that he had been trained in since youth and gave a polite bow back. It wasn't that he didn't think that Bernard was worth a genuine smile or a polite interaction but more so that he found doing so in a battle was not necessarily proper. This was to be a battle, not a duel. Would Bernard bow to his opponents on an open battlefield? He was caught himself overthinking and decided to refocus on his match.

The others watched as Bernard drew his sword and readied himself for what they all felt was to be the penultimate round of the round robin competition. Everyone saw this battle as the deciding factor between the two who were most likely to be leadership material out of the gathered children. Though Jien was a little unsociable and quiet it was clear to everyone that he had the makings of a leader in the way he strategized. Then there was Bernard, whom almost anyone would be able to envision as a charismatic and noble leader.

Jien and Bernard readied themselves for the start of the match, Jien calmly observing Bernard as the other took a running stance, ready to charge forward and close the distance as soon as the match started. Just like the match against Olivia they were both close combat fighters which meant that they would most likely both wish to reduce the distance and duke it out in their area of comfort. Bernard though, was weary of what Jien may do when they were up close. Would he use his alchemical agents like with Olivia or would he end it in an instant like with Rosalind? He didn't know but he had to be cognizant of everything that happened and make quick but accurate decisions along the way.

This would be a battle of skill and planning, and it started as soon as the adult overseeing the match dropped their hand. This time it was Rosalind's parents, Alexandra and Johnathan that were there to ensure everyone's safety. Johnathan brought his hand down from its raised position with such force that it looked like mere blur but both Jien and Bernard knew that it was their signal.

Bernard burst forward with all of his strength, the horse on his breast plate glowing slightly and that glow spreading to his body, driving him forward faster yet. He was making a beeline toward Jien in the hopes of covering the distance before his opponent could make any decisive moves that could lead to trouble. Jien was still largely a mystery, and he didn't want to be at the receiving end of another one of his surprises if he could avoid it at all.

His muscles strained and veins popped from his skin as he pushed himself to be just a bit faster with each step to make it to Jien. He had no experience with magic like what Jien had used to speed his way toward Rosalind and wouldn't want to risk injury, so he focused on his mana manipulation to force his body into a higher state. Just as he closed three quarters of the distance, he used an earth-based spell to jettison himself into the air, creating an earth pillar under his forward foot and pushing off it to close the distance with long jump, his steel blade shining with the reflected sunlight as it pointed down at Jien. 

Jien watched this entire course of action without moving from his current location. He saw no reason to waste his energy if his opponent was going to come to him anyway. There wasn't anything particularly strategic about meeting halfway anyway. It was less than half a minute before Bernard was upon him, his dark brown hair fluttering wildly as he jumped forward at a speed that the average person would never be able to reach without a horse. He didn't make any moves as he waited for Bernard to close more of the distance, only taking a swift sidestep right as Bernard was close enough to stab into him.

Jien calmly raised his blade and made a simple thrust at Bernard as the other boy landed on one knee with a thud loud enough to sound like a slightly muffled thunderclap. Bernard, knowing that his attempt had failed pivoted on his knees, swinging his blade horizontally to try and catch Jien mid action, only to see Jien cut off his thrust by pushing off with his front foot, gaining a short distance. This was followed by Jien pushing himself back into his prior position with his back leg and going for another thrust toward the other boy's throat.

The exchanges from this point became very controlled, almost like they were performing a dance. Bernard had gotten to his feet after Jien had attempted his second thrust, using the movement of his legs to force himself back and defending against the thrust before counter attacking. Each would strike while the other would defend, they moved gracefully, Jien with a smoothness that belied his use of the wind element and Bernard with the fine-tuned mana manipulation he had trained for years. Neither made significant progress, always aiming more to probe each other than to actually strike for victory.

Jien was testing what he had learned from Mark and Emily while both attempting to hone his skill and learn a bit of Bernard's patterns to claim victory while Bernard was simply probing Jien to see how deep his training ran and his habits. This lasted for several minutes, until Jien decided that he had seen enough. These matches had been tiring and he wanted to get this done sooner rather than later. He would have time to spar with them later and improve himself then, for now he would end it and rest before the remainder of the event.

He moved in, parried a blow by Bernard, aiming to cut him from shoulder to hip and locked their blades together at close range catching Bernard completely off guard. Then he used a small amount of mana to open the seal on the Vine Guard to the point that it was a quarter open. He was going to end things here and now and then figure out the rest later.