Strongest Duo Part 1

Chapter 31- The Tournament (6)

It was now time for my fight with Lycaon. Even though Lycaon is a wolf, he is a bipedal wolf- a werewolf in this instance. He stood hunched over on his furry legs, eyeing me with red eyes brimming with determination to defeat me. I returned his gaze, unwavering. Nevar glanced at us back and forth and carried on as usual.

"Ooooh I can feel the tension between these two! Let the battle...BEGIN!"

I should end this as quickly as possible. I'll hold off on using my magic though.

"What is your wish...?" Lycaon asked in a guttural voice. I was surprised that the werewolf could even speak. Let alone ask me a question that came out of left field.

"Why do you want to know?" I answered cautiously. I made sure to never peel my eyes away from him in case this was a trick.

"My wish...is to become free at last."

I narrowed my eyes at the talkative wolf. "...Free at last? Free of what?"

A flash of sorrow washed over his face, but it was only for a moment, and it was hastily replaced with determination once more. "Of my curse. I will not allow myself to be defeated by those who are content with trivialities..."

With a piercing howl, he bounded toward me at the speed of a cheetah.

"Okay then..."

My weapon was instantly in my hand as the werewolf's claws grazed the rapier, sparks flying. So far, Lycaon specializes in agility and wild movements akin to an animal. All I got to do is match his speed or be even faster than he is while avoiding getting slashed by his claws.

Noticing that I was able to keep up with his speed, Lycaon backed up and paced around the arena, snarling. "So...you're very quick, aren't you..."

"Yea? What about it." Still pointing my weapon at the circling wolf, I thought of the next course of action. Should I just take the initiative or keep playing defensive until an opening appears?

Screw it. There's no use in thinking about it. I'll just go to him instead. I've made up my mind before the match after all.

"Hmph!" With quick steps, I dashed at Lycaon who has been waiting for my next course of action. Since I know that the officials won't let one of us die for sure, I don't have to hold back my attacks. I unleashed a barrage of thrusts at the werewolf, but due to his nimbleness, he was able to dance around my rapier, my aggravation slowly building.

Tch...do I have to go even faster?

Slash!

The werewolf managed to land a hit on me, ripping a piece of my leggings to shreds. I could feel the fresh wound on my leg stinging already.

I glared at the claw that had punctured through. "Those were one of my favorite pants to wear! I'll have to buy myself a new one."

"One shouldn't worry about fabric easily replaceable..." It scowled.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you why it was special..." I looked away from the wolf and at the sky which was now a mix of orange and red. It was getting late, and I wanted to take a fat nap. I guess I'll have to use my magic.

"I'll have to wait for the perfect moment though... Whoops!"

Lycaon tried to get the jump on me while I was engrossed with the sun. He went for a flurry of swipes that were deflected. If it weren't for my rapier being made of Damastril, Lycaon's claw would've rendered it useless. A wide arc swing of his right arm gave me the opening I needed. Before he could recover his balance, I stabbed his right thigh with the rapier.