The Level of Tithe’s (Ryuma)

Ryuma pulled his blade out of his back causing Geneo to fall to the ground, too limp to move or be affective any longer.

Without missing a beat or hesitating in the least. Peko used the mountain terrain and bounced off the stalagmites surrounding them.

Their own single katanas were poised and ready to cut him down. Ryuma dodged by a hair's breadth away on both strikes.

He grimaced at the narrow escape. He meant to take them off guard, but they reacted faster than he expected and did not succumb to confusion.

Course they didn't. They were priests who spent their time in constant danger traveling the lower world. It stood to reason that even if they're just tithe collectors, they would be ready for anything at any given moment.

He would be a fool to think that just because he had the ability to skip this job, he was better than them.

Ting…

His katana clashed with the katana of Peko's, pushing him back. At the moment of impact, Ryuma could swear that he heard a bell go off. He tried to ignore it and focused on the fight. During a time like this, why would this distract him of all things? Was there a third person he had to be aware of in the vicinity?

Arvent was flying in from his left using his Wind Artes and coming at an incredible speed.

While both of his blades were deadlocked, Ryuma removed his black blade from the clash to block the incoming attack.

Peko smiled deviously.

As soon as Arvent's blade came into contact with Ryuma's, he noticed the hand holding the black katana started vibrating, and the blade itself was being cut into like butter offering little resistance.

"Wind Artes: Wind Walker," Ryuma used that moment, to wind walk out of there.

{What the hell was that?}

Ryuma lifted his black blade up and the katana snapped itself in two at the point of impact with the other sword.

Whatever this guy had with his blade, he could melt other blades this easy. Not even Toga's greatsword could do that. It had to be something more than just strength that allowed him to. Whatever the ability he used, Peko must not be accessible to. None of his blades were affected when both were in contact.

He tossed his black katana to the side and held his white one in the same one-handed style they did.

If this is how it was going to be, then it was obvious that he was going to have to dodge all of Arvent's attacks, while blocking Peko's. His already unfavorable situation just became a near impossible one. Not to mention, he was down a katana.

"Ahh. The weakness of duel wielders. They're used to using two-weapons all the time, they neglect their styles on one-handed weapons," Peko taunted. He launched himself at Ryuma again and clashed weapons.

Ting…

There goes the sound of that bell again. He was sure of it. Every time he clashed against Peko, there would be a bell chime that followed.

They swung their swords at each other, each time barely missing the other. Right when Ryuma would least expect it, Arvent with his vibration sword would come swooping in for the kill.

Despite the clear dodges Ryuma managed, there were still spots of blood starting to stain his clothes. They were all on the spots that Arvent targeted his blade at.

That vibration sword must have another ability to it. Aside from cleaving anything it comes across easy, even with things it hadn't completely touched managed to get damaged in some manner.

If this kept up at a pace like this, Ryuma could tell that he'd eventually lose.

Even the smallest of wounds on a body could cause bleeding that would sap a man of his stamina. Lower stamina causes fatigue. Fatigue causes a lapse in judgement, speed, and reaction. This would especially be the case when there are multiple wounds on the body.

"Did you think we were just fodder?" Arvent asked.

"Either way. It was smart that he targeted Captain Geneo first. This battle would be way easier if he hadn't," Peko said.

Despite his situation, Ryuma smiled. He faced down twenty-nine of his classmates already. Sure, these two losers shouldn't be anything more than a cakewalk.

"Something funny?" Arvent asked.

"Nothing really. I was in a similar position with my classmates. I'm sure I'll make it out of this just fine," Ryuma said.

Peko slung his katana over his shoulder. "I see. You're another one of those cocky son-of-a-bitch's who think they can compare academy students to working adults. Too bad kid. This'll be your one and only lesson from us," Peko raised his katana high above his head.

Ryuma gave him a confused look. What was he planning to do from that distance?

"Wind Artes: Wind Walker"

He was upon him in an instant swinging his sword down on him like a giant hammer. Ryuma reacted instantly and blocked his attack with enough force to push him back off.

Ting…

There was that bell again. Ryuma put his hand on his head in frustration. Hearing that thing was starting to give him a migraine.

Before he knew it, Arvent was already on him with his vibration sword thrusting ahead of himself. He was flying right past Peko who was falling back from recoil. It's like he was seeing the event in slow motion. Arvent was coming in close, and he was in no position to dodge him. Their teamwork was almost flawless.

Ryuma spin his body away from the direction Arvent was coming from and forcing the blade to miss his heart. It slowly dug into the skin of his shoulder before he was able to turn in time. He dropped his own blade and used the momentum of his torque, to grab Arvent's arm.

"Wind Artes: Whirlwind Spin!"

Ryuma used the increased speed of his spin to slam Arvent into the rock-hard bedrock of the mountains. Having no time to follow through, he quickly forced his sword to fly into his hands and retreated to a safer distance. Just like he predicted, Peko was already on him swinging his katana. Ryuma bounced off any and everything in the mountains to avoid his blows. His acrobatics helped when he'd find himself cornered and he'd flip over his opponent. But having a handicap of not clashing weapons at all made it difficult to get a swing in. Not only did he have to worry about blocking the man's weapon, he had to make sure his own attacks weren't in the position to get blocked, otherwise the same thing would happen.

"You're a smart kid. Most people don't figure it out this early," Peko taunted.

He had to be talking about his weapon. His behavior alone must've tipped him off, so there was no reason to be coy about it. "That bell sound only appears whenever we clash. Of course I'd figure it out,"

"Bell sound? I don't know what you're talking about kiddo, but you're right about one thing. The more we clash, the more disoriented you get. Most people don't get it until it's too late,"

{He's not aware of the bell sound…}

if so, then it might not be a sound at all, but information being transmitted directly into his brain. His sword was giving him a migraine both literally and physically. This was an annoying weapon to deal with. Not to mention…

"Wind Artes: Wind walker!" All three of them shouted and they started gliding on the ground and against the side of the mountains.

That vibration sword was also a deadly thing to have to deal with. With every clash of Peko's sword, he could risk getting more disoriented. With any clash with Arvent's sword, then he had no sword.

It was clear which was the more dangerous one and which had to go first.

Thinking about their weapons and abilities and behaviors, Ryuma was thinking of the best plan to catch one of them off guard at least once.

He kept dodging as they kept sliding around the mountain until Ryuma saw an opening Peko left. He immediately took it and swung his sword towards his midsection.

Peko smiled as he swung completely around and blocked the attack creating another clash.

Ting…

There was the bell sound for the fourth time. This time instead of a migraine, it was a headache Ryuma caught. It was like the ground became a little lopsided.

Just like he predicted, Arvent came flying in with his vibration sword. This would be the only time he felt safe to attack. It was an unstoppable tag team ability.

But there was one flaw.

Ryuma summoned his black katana from wherever it was, and it flew into his hand. Even under slight disorienting circumstance, he could see the bewildered face they made. That blade was cut almost at the hilt. It wouldn't be any use in that situation.

Ryuma bet his win all on this maneuver knowing full well he wouldn't be able to use it again. He side-stepped the katana and used his black blade to knock it out of the way from its side.

Although the vibrations sword was technically more powerful than that bell sword, the bell sword had one advantage over it. Clashing with the weapon itself would cause its effect.

The vibration sword, however, was only affective when the blade side was hitting. The back, or the flat side were safe.

Ryuma let himself be caught by the bell sword to draw Arvent in. Once he realized the weakness in his sword, he could fend it off and use his own momentum against him.

And the plan proved successful when he stabbed Arvent straight through the gut with it.