Chapter 6-9: The Howling Winds

Ren placed his hand on the hilt of his tachi as he walked several steps back. He shot a quick glance at Serana, whose smile had already shattered. She looked at him with unbelieving eyes.

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Alicia shouted as she spun her quarterstaff around her wrist. She showed her white teeth with a huge grin.

"Alicia, wait." Serana tried to interfere, but it was Lena who pulled her back. "Don't interfere with the battlemage, Serana!" She quietly said to her friend.

"Shall we?" Alicia asked Ren. He took a deep breath, then nodded. He cleared his mind from all distractions.

A few seconds passed in silence before either Ren or Alicia made a move. They carefully watched each other, looking for an opening.

It was Alicia who made the opening move. She dashed forward and swung her quarterstaff at Ren's feet. The young man jumped over the sturdy wooden staff. Before his feet even landed on the ground, Alicia's next attack was coming. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he rolled backwards, effectively avoiding Alicia's attack and putting some distance between him and her.

Alicia's assault didn't end there as she leapt forward, swinging her quarterstaff seemingly wildly. Ren avoided a few of those swings by simply sidestepping them until he couldn't do that anymore. She swung her staff, aiming for his shoulder, but fainted her attack at the last moment and diverted it towards his head.

Ren unsheathed his tachi and blocked her strike with a single swift motion. As his lips formed a smile, it was he who was on the offensive now. He took a single step forward and swung his tachi, aiming for Alicia's neck. She blocked his strike easily, though she had to step back to regain her range advantage. Ren continued with his relentless assault, never letting her take a breather, never letting her step far enough away, denying her the range she needed for her weapon.

They exchanged blows for a while. Ren's smile never faded while Alicia's grin only widened.

"They're insane." Lena mumbled as she and Serana watched from the side. She glanced at her friend to see her face pale. "Serana, what's wrong?"

"I've never seen anyone actually push Sis back like this." She clenched her fists. "Who in the moon's name is he?"

Lena wanted to tell her; if she's bothered to get to know him maybe she'd know the answer to that question, but ultimately decided to stay quiet. There was no point in saying anything, Serana wasn't going to be persuaded by anything Lena could say anyways.

Ren narrowly evaded an attack aimed for his neck to respond with a strike to Alicia's heart. Of course, the Fourth Battlemage didn't have much trouble blocking it, but by doing so, she left herself open to his next flurry of blows. The sound of metal hitting wood continued to echo in the courtyard as their battle continued without even slowing down.

Neither of them had the advantage right now, Ren knew that all too well. He couldn't win against Alicia as easily as he did against Serana. The woman before him deserved the title of the Fourth – she'd trained for years. She was not to be taken lightly.

As he thought about all this, he deflected her blows with moderate ease. She hadn't left her guard down for even a moment. Even her seemingly wild blows were the result of her years of training and experience. They were the result of her skills honed to near perfection.

As she struck the ground in an attempt to trip him, Ren's smile widened. His eyes shone like a predator finally catching its prey. He had found the opening he was looking for. As soon as Alicia's quarterstaff touched the ground, he stepped on it without a moment's hesitation. As Alicia tried to pull her weapon back, he used the force of her pull to throw himself into the air.

With a graceful roll in the air, he landed behind Alicia. She didn't have the time to turn around, thus the fierce duel ended as the tip of his tachi touched Alicia's neck.

"It's my win." He softly said before sheathing his sword. "You're much stronger than before, Alicia." He smiled. It was amazing to see her incredible progress. Just two months ago, he could beat her within seconds if he really tried.

"Aw, thanks Ren." She said, wiping her sweat off with a handkerchief. "But… What's wrong?" She asked suddenly. "You were slow and… weak. You never fully committed to your strikes."

Ren flinched and averted his gaze.

"What?" Serana shouted suddenly. "Alicia, did - did you really lose to him?" Her face was red with anger. "How? Why?"

"Serana…" Lena said, covering her eyes. "Just stop already, please?"

A momentary silence followed her words as everyone stared at each other. Alicia hesitated, then scratched her head. "So… Care to explain? 'Cause I'm confused." She glanced at Ren, who remained silent and avoided eye contact. "Did something happen, Serana?" She asked, this time turning her gaze towards her younger sister.

"That no name is why I was put in Class II!" The young noble shouted, clenching her fists and glaring at Ren. "If it weren't for him, I'd be in Class I." Her words echoed in the courtyard as Alicia seemed dumbfounded.

"I'll excuse myself." Ren suddenly said, breaking the tense silence. "Alicia, thank you for the match." He bowed, with his hand on his heart. He then nodded at Serana and Lena. "Lady Tesfel, Lena." With that, he left them with long, stiff steps.

With his clenched fists hidden under his cloak; his steps carried him towards the treeline bordering the courtyard. He regretted his decision to fight Alicia, he'd only caused her more problems. He regretted not leaving as soon as he sensed Serana's mana. He should have known by now – she brought nothing but hostility.

Shortly before he reached the end of the weathered stones of the courtyard, he sensed mana spreading behind him. He couldn't hear what Alicia and Serana were talking about. His presence would do nothing but cause more conflict. He motioned to step forward, but a burst of mana blinded him.

A wall of flames erupted from the ground before him.