"At least this place looks decent enough compared to the rest of the areas I've seen," said Bryan as he arrived at the giant wooden doors.
As he pushed through the doors, the Slayer's jaw dropped as he witnessed the most awkward thing he had ever seen while stepping into the enemy's dungeon. The Black Knight was sitting at a stone table, with her helmet off and stuffing her face with food.
The stone table was huge, similar to the legend of the Knights of the Round Table, and was littered with excessive amounts of food and drinks. The Knight of Treachery... The one who killed the famed King Arthur... Was it a glutton?! Bryan could only react with shock and amazement.
As Mordred changed her food from a drumstick to a pork rib, she finally caught sight of the intruder. But the Black Knight's reaction wasn't what anyone would've expected.
"Hey there! Are you feeling hungry? I've got plenty of food for both of us, so feel free to join me! We can chat as well!" yelled the Black Knight, waving the drumstick in the air as if to beckon the Slayer to join her for dinner.
Bryan could only stare at her with bewilderment as his stomach rumbled, betraying his battle virtues. The Slayer shrugged his shoulders and decided to play along. What's the harm? Even if she springs an attack, Bryan would be ready to block the Black Knight's move.
Hang on... Why was he giving into the enemy's request so easily?! Bryan halted in his tracks and summoned up his twin scythes. Mordred raised a curious eyebrow and sighed as she swallowed the food in her mouth. The Black Knight stood up and snapped her fingers.
"I thought we could have a proper conversation first, but I guess you are keener for a physical brawl," said the Black Knight as the stone table vanished with the food.
"I would love to eat now but am pressed for time since we are set to fight Fabian Brookes very soon. So let's get on with the chore, shall we?" asked Bryan, twirling his scythes around.
Duncan didn't get his twirling techniques from the Ankou. He learned it from the Slayer first. Mordred started chuckling as the place turned into a proper arena, with the Black Knight summoning her sword. A solid black longsword with red markings.
Bryan crouched down, ready to lunge at his opponent. At the next Tick, the two Mages clashed, with sparks flying everywhere. The Slayer tried his best not to show any emotion but failed since the Black Knight was overpowering him by a landslide.
"Hmm? Not cut out for brute force despite initiating the battle first?" taunted Mordred as she quickly swung her sword to flick the Slayer away.
Bryan flew towards the side of the arena, landing on the walls and ready to jump back into action. But, if sheer power doesn't work, it's time to resort to Tomoe's favorite tactics; Flexibility and movement. And Mordred didn't like the first one at all.
As Bryan returned to engage the Black Knight, Mordred quickly threw up her sword, causing Bryan to get distracted for a moment. Mordred took advantage of the situation to deliver a solid kick to Bryan's right shoulder to disarm his dominant arm.
However, with experience under his belt, Bryan quickly used his left scythe to defend himself from the kick. Much to the Black Knight's surprise, the Slayer backed away when she wanted to catch her sword falling back down to the ground.
But because she had already grabbed its handle, Mordred was forced to stab the sword into the ground to get Bryan in the process but missed. Then, as the dust cleared, Mordred slowly stood up and pointed her blade towards Bryan, also at full height.
"Not bad... Whoever your mentor is should deserve such a title for teaching his students this well in combat. Not only did you deduce our strength difference within a single clash, but you were quick enough to switch another fighting style to combat mine."
"And to have the sweet cherry on top, you were focused on my distraction of throwing my blade upwards and still blocking my attack and dodged the follow-up move. Impressive... This battle was truly worth the wait, dear...?" praised the Black Knight, squinting at Bryan.
"Slayer Verna, I am the First Seat Slayer of the Barren Pillars within the Arks. And I thank you for the words of compliment. You'll be surprised to find that my mentor is a mere Familiar," Bryan said, bowing down.
The Black Knight lowered her sword with a face of shock. But that emotion only went by for a mere Tick as she quickly grinned, with a small fang coming out from her upper lip.