This was the sole reason they had chosen to meet in the middle of a desolate wasteland.
Perhaps Soleil had already expected this outcome despite the brimming hope in her eyes when she'd first arrived, but Morgana already knew their discussion would devolve into nothing more than senseless violence. A duel where witch hunter and Paladin exerted their full power against each other in the hopes of realizing their respective wish.
Soleil's light-laden blade clashed against the steel of Morgana's sword once more, producing a harmonic ringing not unlike struck glass. An enormous explosion of wind and pressure tore apart their surroundings, reducing the smaller rocks that lined the ground into nothing more than gray dust. The hill Morgana had been standing upon mere minutes ago had disappeared completely, blown away and pulverized by the residual force of her violent exchanges with Soleil.
"Just what do you hope to achieve, Soleil?" Morgana asked, her breath even and measured despite the ferocity of their fight.
In stark contrast, Soleil's breathing came heavy and ragged. It had taken everything she had to stymie the relentless tide of attacks that Morgana unleashed, each of her blows striking with the force of an avalanche.
With Morgana holding her sword in a relaxed grip and an air of supreme nonchalance, it almost seemed as though Soleil was nothing more than an infant flailing around with a weapon she barely understood. Soleil was outmatched and she knew it, yet she refused to surrender.
"I will rid these lands of her tyranny, Morgana!" Soleil boldly declared, pointing her sword at Morgana. Seeing as her opponent had no intention to advance, Soleil held her position as well, recovering her stamina as best she could.
"Will you now?" Morgana scoffed, shaking her head. "You are not even a match for me. What makes you think you stand a chance against the Witch Queen?"
Soleil grinned. "Because I'll have you by my side."
At that, Morgana couldn't help but laugh. Soleil's statement hadn't been inherently humorous, nor had it been intended as a joke, but the blonde witch hunter's current state was so pathetic that Morgana simply couldn't take her seriously. After all, the only way she would ever follow Soleil into battle was if she somehow managed to lose this duel.
As it stood, Soleil was simply one well-placed strike away from biting the dust. The witch hunter was bleeding from several wounds on her body. None were fatal, but all of them served to inconvenience her severely. As a technical fighter, Morgana's greatest strength was the ability to create opportunities and advantages for herself, deliberately inflicting wounds on Soleil that would give her a permanent edge throughout the fight.
A shallow cut marked her brow, robbing her of vision in one eye. Another gash had been opened in her right leg, deep enough to cause pain every time she moved, but not enough to cause any serious damage. The worst part was the blood that pooled around her feet every time she moved. Though she had shown up dressed in full plate armor, it did little to protect her from Morgana's vorpal blade.
Logically speaking, there simply wasn't a way Soleil could win. But Soleil didn't operate on logic.
With the odds stacked against her but her energy recuperated, she advanced toward Morgana, sword at the ready. A golden light enveloped the entirety of her body as she called upon the power of her Sigil, Cross Radiance.
A Sigil capable of replicating the searing heat and light of the sun itself, Soleil's Cross Radiance caused the air around her to distort as golden flames wreathed around her body, snaking up her wounded limbs and toward her sword. There they stayed, enveloping her already glowing blade with fierce flames that licked across the length of the weapon.
With a clarion cry, she charged toward Morgana, her sword at the ready and her eyes fixed on her target despite the Paladin's unimpressed expression. A loud clang echoed through the air, their weapons colliding violently as Soleil's blade described a scything horizontal arc that left a trail of flames in its wake, only to be stopped immediately by Morgana's deft parry.
"Perhaps you have forgotten already, but you have attempted this previously, Soleil." Morgana said, undaunted by her opponent's flaming blade. In the presence of her cold glare, even the brightest bonfire would wither away.
Yet, the fire sustained by Soleil's Sigil did not dim nor flicker. Instead, it only burned brighter, intensifying as Soleil drove herself to strike faster and faster in the hopes of breaking through Morgana's ironclad defense. The ground shook with each strike Morgana parried, craters bursting into existence as she blocked heavy downward swings from Soleil without so much as batting an eyelash.
"Hah! That's what you think!" Soleil smirked, leaping into the air as Morgana deflected her latest strike. She raised her flaming sword above her head, preparing to crash down with a mighty blow. "I've picked up a few tricks since last time! Burn brightly, my Chivalric Arts!"
Soleil descended with the force of a falling star and the ferocity of a golden dragon, her body wreathed in a golden conflagration that resembled the shape of a double-helix. "First Ember: Prominence!"
At her command, the flames around Soleil's body leapt free, shooting down at Morgana like twin serpents, twisting through the air as they fired themselves at the Paladin who issued a retort with her blade, its bloodstained metal slicing through the air as it cut through the flames and reduced them to nothing more than embers.
"Here I come! Third Ember: Incandescence!" Soleil roared, the power of her Sigil and Chivalric Arts combining to produce a brilliant, multi-colored flame that shot forth in the form of a blazing beam as she thrust her sword toward Morgana.
The sheer heat emitted from the beam of light and fire caused the very air around it to combust, leaving a swarm of explosions in its wake as it raced toward its intended target. Even Morgana would not be able to survive a direct hit from this attack, nor was it feasible for her to parry it. She could feel the beam's heat even from a distance, and she was sure that attempting to dispatch it like she had done with Soleil's earlier projectiles would likely result in her sword becoming a melted lump of steel.
Instead, Morgana was left with the only option of retreating. For all its destructive potential and impressive visual effect, the beam that Soleil fired was actually quite limited in its area of effect, making it easy for Morgana to leap backwards and avoid the attack. It was exactly what Soleil had wanted.
"I've got you now!" Soleil smirked as she twisted in the air, maintaining the beam even as she fell. Allowing the beam to rapidly propel her toward Morgana, she readied herself to finally land a blow on the retreating Paladin. "Fourth Ember: Convection!"
At once, the beam dispersed, causing Soleil to land in front of Morgana with a thud, the stone beneath her feet bursting into dust from the sheer force. Her blade at the ready, the flames around it circulated at an incredible pace, spinning fiercely and turning the sword into a blazing drill. It was an attack without equal, sacrificing all defense for an immensely powerful strike that could pierce through any defense, no matter how impenetrable.
Without hesitation, she thrust it directly at Morgana, intending to impale the Paladin in a single strike. Against any other opponent, she might've paused, but she knew that would be a fatal mistake against Morgana. A warrior without equal, Morgana's defensive bladework was second to none, and Soleil was sure even a moment's worth of hesitation would allow the Paladin to slip out of this attack.
It was something that she simply couldn't allow if she wanted to claim victory, especially after expending so much energy through the continued use of her Sigil and Chivalric Arts. In fact, she wasn't even sure if this attack would manage to end the duel even if it connected.
After all, she hasn't even used her Chivalric Arts yet... And there's still her Oath to deal with. Soleil grit her teeth even as she felt the tip of her sword strike its intended target, vaporizing Morgana's breastplate through mere contact. Victory was at hand, and there was nothing Morgana could do to stop it.
†
"W-What!? Did Miss Paladin lose!?" Medrauta pouted. "That's so unfair!"
Morgana smiled, shaking her head. "The battle isn't over yet," she chided. "Do you remember what Miss Paladin's secret power is?"
"Yeah! Does she use it, mama!?"
Morgana nodded. "Mhm. Do you remember what it's called?"
"Clarent! It's her super special Oath, right!?"
"You've got a great memory, sweetie." Morgana grinned, patting her daughter on the head. "That's right, Medrauta. The name of her Oath is 'Clarent', passed down to her by her parents. It was an Oath meant for preserving peace, not to inflict harm. An Oath meant to protect."
"Aww... The witch hunter's powers sound so much stronger..." Medrauta said, pouting again. "Why did she get stuck with such a lame Oath?"
Morgana could do nothing but smile and shake her head. One day, that same Oath will protect you too, Medrauta.
Seeing her mother's lack of response, Medrauta piped up once more. "So what happens after Miss Paladin uses Clarent? She wins, right?"
"Ah..." Morgana pursed her lips, recalling the moment from over a thousand years ago. It seemed so distant to her now, but she could still feel the lingering bitterness that had yet to disappear.
"M-Miss Paladin wins, right...?" Medrauta urged.
"...Yes. That she does." Morgana plastered a smile on her face, silently apologizing to her daughter for the deception.
I'm sorry, Medrauta... But mommy didn't win that one.