Duel Between Rivals

They both went quiet, hearing the strongest wizard in history ask them a favor.

It could've been good, or it could've been bad.

Ludwig was visibly nervous, but Ludra remained stern in her face, asking, "What does someone like you need with a favor? If you wanted something, you could take it, so why should we waste our time helping you?"

Blade frowned at her words... but then grinned.

"Kuhuhu. You're the only wizard in the magus association who talks to me that way, this is why I like you, Ludra Cromwell. So brazen, so unique, any man would fall for you."

"Enough with the shallow compliments, Blade." Ludra approached the wizard, hand against her blade, "Continue to waste my time and I'll sever your head."

"My, you're fairly impatient, aren't you?" Blade stuffed his hands inside his pockets, chuckling at her fierce behavior, "Are you going to attack me again? I'm sure you remember what happened last time."

Wasting no time, Ludra unsheathed her weapon. It appeared to be that of a Caribbean pirate sword, with its hilt made of gold and inscribed with ancient runes.

She swung it at his neck, but Blade merely ducked underneath it.

"L-Ludra!" Ludwig took a step forward to cease their antics, but Blade glared at him, stopping him in his tracks, "C-Can't move..." Fear drowned Ludwig's heart, halting him in place, "If I moved any closer... I would've died."

"You pest!" Ludra kneed forward, attempting to bash him in the face, but Blade moved to the side, leaving behind an afterimage from his speed alone. "Am I gonna have to subdue you again to make you stop, Ludra?"

The Supervisor scowled at his words, looking to the side, saying, "I've learned how you fight. It's a simple pattern that anyone could adapt to. Learn your place!"

She swung her weapon to the side, but he once again evaded it, this time by jumping over it, "What a bore." Muttered Blade, however, "What?" He widened his eyes, seeing Ludra mutate her slash into a jab.

Thrusting her weapon forward, Blade was forced to take his hand out of his pocket, blocking the strike with Kah.

"Tsk!" Sucking on his teeth, he landed on his feet, staring at the visible bruise left on his hand, "Even with Kah, you managed to bruise me. How peculiar—pain is something I haven't felt in years."

"You take my skills for granted, Blade Dagon. I am the daughter of Uriel Cromwell, born and raised to be the world's strongest swordsman."

Many have fallen to her blade. Master swordsmen looked like child's play in comparison to Ludra Cromwell.

There is no sword technique in the world that she doesn't know, and there is no opponent in the world whom she cannot adapt to, even if it was the strongest Wizard, Blade Dagon himself.

"I see why the Magus Association made you the Supervisor of the Safeguard Division. You're fearsome, aren't you, Ludra?" He maniacally smiled, "Strong enough to give me a challenge perhaps?! Kehahahaha!!" An overwhelming aura surged around Blade's body, blowing the two back.

"T-This aura!?" Muttered Ludwig as he slid into the wall. "It's even more dangerous than Sir Alexander's!"

Sweat drastically poured down Ludwig's face, but Ludra remained calm and collected.

"You aren't taking me seriously, Blade. The aura you show is only a small percentage of your power."

Ludwig glanced at Ludra, stuttering in his words, "A-A small p-percentage?!"

"Kehahaha! I don't want my prey to die so early, Ludra!!"

"Then bring it on. I'll force you to greater lengths." The Safeguard supervisor readied herself, glaring at the man in confidence, but Ludwig fell unconscious.

"Yes, that look! It's perfect! It's absolutely perfect!! I love it when my opponents look at me that way, just so I can crush their hope, and bring them despair!!"

"Hey." The door behind Blade opened, revealing a woman with a cigarette in her mouth. It was Guinevere. "You two are always bickering, aren't you?"

The aura around Blade ceased itself.

Gravity seemed like it went back to normal, and Ludwig could now breathe much easier.

"Oh, I got too carried away. Apologies, Guinevere. Have we disrupted your peace?" Asked Blade.

"No shit. You two were scaring the students of MA, so I had to locate the source of the problem, and I'd be damned, it's you two again." She took a puff of her cigarette, stepping inside the small corridor they were in, "Ludwig, you okay back there?" The first thing Guinevere noticed inside the corridor was Ludwig's unconscious body, "Jesus. He's knocked clean out. Do you guys know the meaning of restraint?"

"I apologize, Guinevere." Ludra sheathed her weapon before bowing in a sign of respect, "We got too carried away. I'll take Ludwig into the Health Division to speak to Mona, it won't happen again."

Guinevere snickered, "That's what you guys said last time."

"Well, it's a promise this time." Said Blade, smiling bright as ever.

"Alright." Guinevere closed her eyes, huffing a sigh, "I'll be off then. Whatever you two were arguing about, please settle it, we don't want the government threatening to shut us down again from disrupting public peace." The Combat Supervisor walked outside the corridor, closing the door behind her.

"So you've been training hard to match me, I see." Blade looked at his bruised hand, smirking wide as ever.

"You've played me a fool in the past, but not this time, Blade Dagon."

Blade tittered at her, shrugging his shoulders before saying, "So be it. I suppose I'll take my leave then. The favor involving Emmeline and the Magus Association's future is irrelevant." Turning around, he headed for the door.

"Wait a moment… what did you just say?"

Blade suddenly stopped in his tracks from Ludra's curiosity, grinning from behind.

"It's no matter. It's something I can handle on my own. After all, you said I can take what I want, right?"

Ludra stepped forward, demanding as ever, "Tell me this instance! Things have changed since this favor of yours involves the Magus Association and the prophecy child!"

"I'm afraid not. I'll keep my mouth shut, Ludra. Until we meet next time."

"You… bastard!" Unsheathing her weapon again, she slashed from behind, creating a razor-sharp wind at Blade's back. "What?" But to her surprise, he vanished from thin air.

He was nowhere to be found.

"Was that… Quick Stride?"

Quick Stride. It was a technique that skilled wizards could use in combat by using Ein and Yoh together.

Yoh was something that the awakened, and even sleepers use passively. It keeps Ether stored inside of the brain and prevents it from leaking out, but even basic wizards who train Yoh enough can keep Ether stored inside their bodies, rather than their brain, so they can live for longer periods of time, and prevent internal, and biological destruction.

Ein was different. Using Ein completely shuts off the usage of Ether altogether, causing one to become invisible to Phantasms and humans, but they're vulnerable as a result.

"How did he use Quick Stride so fast? That monster…!" Muttered Ludra.

Quick Stride took immense concentration, and focus. To use it, one must first use Ein, but at the exact moment their Ether disappears from Ein, they must use Yoh, and force the Ether back into their body at the precise time it disappears.

What this does is trick the brain into thinking that their host is in trouble, so adrenaline kicks in, granting the user a tremendous boost of speed, or strength, via fight or flight response. It depends on the user's will.

As a result, one could move at the speed of light, disrupting their foe's six senses, or they could obtain an enormous boost of strength, increasing their overall power by 100x. It was a dangerous technique, feared by many, but it can only be used a few times in battle, for 2 seconds.

"He didn't even bother concentrating, he just used it as if it was second nature." Ludra was sweating, expressing her shock, "If he wanted, he could've killed me and be done with it." Gritting her teeth in anger, she closed her eyes and tilted her head down.

When a Wizard uses Quick Stride, they usually undergo immense concentration, allowing their enemy to realize what they were doing, and prepare countermeasures, but not Blade.

He could utilize the technique as if it were nothing more than walking in the park.

"Damnit, I'm still so weak. He wasn't even trying to take me seriously." Balling her fists, she sheathed her weapon, turning to face the unconscious Ludwig, "I'll have to take him to Mona, immediately. At this rate, he'll die from being exposed to such an overwhelming aura."

Sighing, Ludra calmed herself down and showed that stern expression again. Approaching the council member, she picked him up and tossed him over her shoulder as if he were lightweight, leaving the corridor without a second thought.

Opening the door, she could see Guinevere standing right behind it, smoking her tobacco.

"…Guinevere? So you heard everything, did you?"

"Of course I did, right from the beginning."

"…Even our council meeting?"

"Yeah, I know what's going on—and frankly—I don't like it. That shithead is going after Emmeline, isn't he?"

"That's most likely the case, yes."

Guinevere lowered her eyelids, pissed, but not showing it.

She was unreadable.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch."