The girl who got smacked.
Ruxian's powerful yell echoed through the battleground as she unleashed her chained dagger, aiming it with deadly precision at Ava.
With a swift motion, Ava skillfully deflected the projectile with her gleaming sword, the clash of metal resonating in the tense air.
"Tch!" Ruxian scoffed, frustration evident in her narrowed eyes as she observed Ava attempting to close the distance.
In a sudden, calculated move, Ruxian stomped her leg on the unforgiving ground. The warrior transformed, going on all fours, her lower half arching up, and her chest hovering mere inches above the battlefield terrain.
It was a fluid motion, reminiscent of a predatory cat ready to stretch, an unexpected and agile maneuver that added a feral edge to her combat style.
As soon as Ava saw this position, she knew something was up, so she pulled out another sword, making an addition of two elemental swords in her grasp, fire and wind.
Ruxian, still maintaining her cat-like pose, began to coat her body in lightning, from head to toe she was covered, the ground shaking from the impending attack.
"Try dodging this… accelerate…"
Booooom!!!
Her body shot through the air and in a matter of seconds, she was right beside Ava, her mouth close to her ear before she whispered,
"Too slow…"
Paaaaaw!
Ruxian's blow connected with Ava's gut, her face contorted in strain as her body went flying backwards.
But she instantly found her footing, her feet glading on the ground, before she could even catch a breath, Ruxian landed another blow to her cheeks.
Ava stumbled backwards, her cheeks bruised, but it didn't stop there, she kept receiving, and receiving, and receiving multiple punches to the face, and not once was she able to tell where they were coming from.
No, she wasn't,
Because Ruxian was moving so fast around the arena, the only thing people were able to make of her was the blue lightning blur moving around, and even that was hard to keep up with.
Aether who was watching from the trees branch utterred, fascinated by what he was seeing,
"Oh? Ruxian can actually be this strong when she sets it out?" He spoke, taking a bite of his apple pie before he continued,
"Her speed is something, she might even surpass Aniel in that category, that said… she lacks form… moving in the same pattern can only help you so much… but once the enemy figures this out…."
Ava gribbed her blades tightly, her eyes moving left and right, trying to see if she can follow Ruxian's moving.
"If you give up now… I'll pretend this never happened." Ruxian voiced out while she was speeding around.
Ava chuckled in response to Ruxian's words,
"Give up?" She spoke, "This is barely something I should consider giving up on…I know better than to cry over something I can't fight for… but in this case… I am going to win." Ava smirked.
"God you piss me off!!!" Ruxian increased her speed, the whole place vibrating from the intensity of her movements.
Ava on the other hand, appeared calm, returning her flame sword to the slot, she gripped her wind sword with both hands, taking a samurai stance with her eyes closed.
She listened.
Concentrating hard enough that she was able to sense the tiniest of mana around her, just enough for her to predict where her opponent would be , and once she got it…..
"Found you."
Like a skilled cricket player anticipating a fast-paced delivery, Ava wasted no time. She swung her sword to the left with precision, catching Ruxian mid-run.
The impact reverberated through the air as the blade slammed heavily against Ruxian's stomach.
With a powerful push, Ruxian was sent airborne, her body hurtling through the air before crashing forcefully against the barrier encircling the arena.
A heavy silence descended upon the arena, the audience seemingly frozen in shock, grappling with the sudden turn of events.
The collective gasp of realization filled the space as they tried to process the gravity of what had just transpired before their eyes.
"Wowu." Utterred Aether.
Ava sighed, standing straight, dispatching her weapons, before turning her gaze to the professor supervising the fight.
"A-And the winner is… Ava Richardson." Announced the professor, who was clearly also in shock.
As the announcement dropped, so did the cheers of the students, each one of them chanting her name even though they had no idea what the duel was about.
...
Sobs! Sobs!
"I hate her ….I really hate her…"
"I don't think you have to…"
"She slammed a sword on my stomach… now I'll never be pregnant… she's… evil, very evil." Cried Ruxian on my lap.
"I don't think it works that way either." I responded, my hand rubbing her hair gently, I guess you can say it's me trying to console her.
The fight, though pathetic at first glance, was actually very impressive. Ruxian really caught me off guard with her last attack.
If she was even a little bit serious, she would have been able to knock out Ava on the spot… then again, I don't think Ava was serious about the fight either.
"Hey… Aether…" Ruxian called out to me.
"Yeah?"
"I changed my mind, I don't want to see the school nurse again, I want you to take care of me instead".
"I'll pass".
"What do you mean you'll pass?"
"I have this thingy I have to get done, it's a very important thing, so I can't babysit you." I replied.
"What thingy?"
"A job"
"Which job?"
"Business stuff".
"You do business?"
"Yes, I do business"
"What business do you do?" She asked.
"An important thingy".
• • • • •
Without much of a warning, Ruxian grabbed me by the neck, tugging me back and forth as she yelled,
"Is it such a pain to take care of your cute friend that you feel entitled to lie about a fake business!!!".
"I'm sure if you asked Orland, he'll help you, I'm… very busy." I replied, my eyes turning to the side to avoid unnecessary eye contacts with her.
"Hmmmmm~"
Eh? Is she pouting?
"Fine then, I'll keep you here instead, good night." She fell back down on my thigh, her head resting on it and then she went completely silent.
Sigh! Nurse, coming in any second now will be much appreciated.
"Aether?"
"What is it now?"
"Would… you really join big boobed Ava if she asked you to join her group?" She asked me.
"I tend to follow through on my decisions, since I joined yours first, I'm not leaving, it's that simple." I replied the best way I knew how to.
"You promise?"
"Y.. yeah".
"If you did go with her… I'll drag you back … even if I have to fight her again, you're stuck with me."
Paat!
The door to the infirmary opened, and then came the familiar voice,
"Are you the patient I have today?"
As I looked up at the person, it was more of "You've got to be kidding me" than actual shock,
"Are you for real right now?" I blurted out.