Chapter 13

With a terrifying blow, Thomas was thrown backwards several steps as he started to cough up some blood in his mouth. Regaining his balance, Thomas stood there looking at Damien as if he made a grave mistake that will cost him more than he thought.

"If you are not going to make a move, does that mean that I can continue?" Damien asked with a sinister smile on his face. Damien was no longer calm and peaceful, rather, a hint of rage was forming in his heart. Waiting for Thomas to answer, the crowd continued to chant in shock that Damien landed such a fierce blow onto Thomas!

"Fine then, the gloves are now off!" Thomas shouted as he spits the blood out onto the stage. "However, it is only fair that we use the same weapon. This is a spar after all and we should be using this as a teaching moment for both of us."

"Hmph." Hearing Thomas's plea for Damien to change his weapon to a sword, Damien's mood became even more serious. If he were to agree and defeat Thomas cleanly, then his position within the same generation would be solidified today. However, if he were to refuse to change his weapon and clash with Thomas with his hammer, others might ridicule him behind closed doors.

Faced with such a decision, Damien decided that it was worth risking himself and to face Thomas with his sword, even though he may lose if Thomas were to land a direct hit. "I agree, this is about learning from one another. I will meet your sword with my own and the winner will be decided as such."

The audience started to go berserk now. In one moment, Damien clearly had the edge due to the weapon he was using to remove Thomas's overbearing advantage in raw physical strength. But now, he was sacrificing his advantage just to prove his true power to everyone watching today.

The faculty members who were watching in the VIP area were not taken by Damien's decision. The reason was that they knew that even if Damien were to lose this match by using a sword instead of his hammer, this match would prove to everyone how dominating of a character Damien was.

Although Damien may sustain heavy injuries whether he was to win or lose, what mattered the most at this moment was that his presence would be made known. The Vice Principle let out a bright smile as he continued watching the match. "This child has a bright future." He thought.

Now withdrawing his sword from his storage ring, Damien was ready to face Thomas with his full strength. In truth, Damien had already grasped a basic understanding of using the sword, so although he was still at a disadvantage, he at least stood somewhat of a chance against Thomas.

A strategy was what Damien needed to come out of this battle victorious and he already had a firm grasp on what steps he would need to take to win this. "If I am able to overwhelm him with my speed, I can possibly disarm him which would make this my complete victory." Damien thought as he rushed towards Thomas now.

"Good, I was wondering when you would stop hiding behind your weapon and face me like a real man!" shouted Thomas as he lifted his heavy sword and swung it downwards towards Damien's direction.

Unable to connect his attack on Damien, Thomas's sword smashed through the ground as Damien used the opportunity to sidestep Thomas's attack to draw closer to him. Thomas was waiting for Damien to do this, as he let go of his sword to land a quick jab with his leg onto Damien, throwing him backwards.

Due to Thomas having such a heavy bearing and being so physically strong, Damien was now the one to cough up a mouthful of blood as he started to try to stand up while his body shook from the hit. Now Thomas jumped towards Damien with his heavy sword above his head.

Barely dodging the attack, Damien started to stumble away, trying his best to reposition himself and get his balance back. Thomas wouldn't let Damien do this as he continued to pressure him.

After several minutes of playing cat versus mouse, Damien finally regained his balance as he slashed his sword onto Thomas's body, causing some blood to leak out of the wound he gave him. Feeling as if Damien lowered himself so much as to use a sneak attack on him, Thomas withdrew a dagger and aimed it towards Damien.

Once again, Damien barely dodged the dagger as it cut his face and flew onto the ground several feet behind him. Both students were now facing each other and they both had a dominating aura radiating from their bodies.

"Watch carefully, this will be their final attack. If we allow either one of them to die here today, it would be a great loss to both our academy and to the Church of Light." The Vice Principal told a teacher who stood next to him.

"Do not worry master, with my speed and healing capabilities, I should be able to save whichever one of them is struck down by the other's sword." The teacher said as she started to focus all her strength into her legs. "Just watch the show as you have been and leave the rest to me."

"I think that this battle has gone on long enough, even the audience is becoming a little impatient," Damien told Thomas as the air around the two students started to become very thin as pressure started to build up between them.

"Then this attack with determining the winner. I just hope for your sake that you are ready for it." Replied Thomas as both students raised their weapons and dashed at their full speed towards one another.