The Hydra Sin (SDS)

Chapter 11-Training

Durendal whistled as it cut through the air and I panted; I had been training for several hours, and I was finally getting to the point of being tired. Unexpectedly, my sword met metal as I swung it and I stopped myself just as I was about to counter-attack.

Meliodas stood on the other side of my sword, holding his own in a defensive position as he smiled gently at me. "Hey Janis, do you want some help? I've found sword training on my own is never very effective."

I simply nodded then moved into position; this was the first time Meliodas and I had really talked ever and I was more than a little nervous, thank heavens for Durendal. He swung first, and I blocked, which smoothly moved into a jab at him; He blocked that and for a moment we just sat, testing the other's strength by pushing as hard as we could. Finally, he jumped back and ran at me again, delivering a flurry of punishing blows; I fended all of them off, then jumped at him, aiming for different parts of his body as I swung in precise, controlled motions.

We fought for what felt like hours, neither of us gaining any ground, while the ferocity of our attacks grew by the blow until the land shook under us.

Elizabeth's POV

I walked towards the pub with Diane, we had been gathering some food in the forest, which had quickly turned into regular girl talk. "So, Elizabeth, what do you think of Janis?" Diane asked me curiously.

"Well," I said, then paused, trying to gather my thoughts, "She seems really sweet. When she found me on the hill after I passed out, she didn't have to save me, but she did. From what I understand, she's done a lot of kind things that she didn't necessarily have to do; I'm actually really looking forward to getting to know her." I smiled shyly and Diane nodded.

"Okay, I was just curious, you've spent some time with her outside of the suspicion we treated her with, so I just wondered. There is just something about her though that seems odd, I can't really explain it, but I'm having kind of a hard time trusting her entirely." She said quietly, which was odd for her, her usual happy smile was nowhere tp ne seen, and her eyes were very serious. I sighed and nodded, then paused as I heard rumbling coming from the direction of the pub.

"Diane, what's that sound? It almost sounds like thunder." I asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure, we're too far away, let's go in case everyone needs us!" She offered me her hand and when I climbed on, she began running; the sound became louder until Diane called to me, "Elizabeth, it sounds like swords!" She exclaimed with worry in her eyes and ran even faster until we burst into a clearing near the pub; what we saw made both of our jaws drop.

There were two figures flashing around the clearing, only becoming identifiable when their swords clashed, then they disappeared again with how fast they were moving.

"Incredible." I heard Diane murmur and I looked up at her.

"What is it, Diane?"

"Meliodas and Janis are sword fighting. I have never seen Captain fight with a sword at full power, from all the stories, he has never crossed swords with his equal and has to hold back or he'll kill his opponent. However, he seems to be holding nothing back and yet he and Janis are almost equally matched."

When she said this, I remembered what the old man Cain had said to me when he gave me a sword for Meliodas that had once been held by someone that Meliodas loved.

Flashback

"Do you know the reason he won't carry a decent sword around with him?"  I shook my head and he continued, "He's too powerful, no one who has crossed swords with him has lived to tell the tale; he doesn't like to put himself in that position."