"After successfully graduating, knights join the Celeste Dispatch Division."
♣
Chapter Thirty-Three ♣ Roaring Tiger
Her heart hammered in her chest as she took long, slow steps into the familiar arena. She fought here before against Courtney, but it suddenly felt very large. Its walls looked high and everything seemed so . . . distant.
Valeriana eyed her opponent who was standing with the same smile she last saw on him that day he challenged her. He held a lance over his shoulder, its length probably matching his own height. It consisted of a very long shaft and a blade on the end that resemble the pincers of a crab. It was painted red with an elaborate design on both the shaft and the blade, as if custom-made solely for its user. It looked somewhat heavy despite its thin frame. It was a wonder how he carried it like that as if it didn't weigh anything at all.
He nodded towards her, his grin getting wider. "Give me a good time, will you? I was really bored these past days from the lack of a worthy opponent. Not to mention I had to go through that horrible probation, so you better give me what I want—if not more."
Trying to hide her anxiety, Valeriana drew her weapon and flashed him a small grin of her own. "Exactly how did you even behave?"
"Nah, even though I hate it, I can control myself. I just don't like doing it most of the time.
"Oh, really."
"Anyway," he replied. "Be reminded that I'm looking for a fight worth winning. Lord Corvan gave me quite a past time. He's one of the very few that forced me to use my strongest cards, but in the end, he's just like the many others I fought. I wonder if you're the same?"
"Cocky jerk." She spat. "Underestimate me and it's your loss. Looks like the probation did not teach you any lesson at all."
He shrugged, raking his hands through his midnight blue hair. It had a dark tone, somewhat like the color of a midnight sky decorated with stars—the color of the galaxy. It might look like a shade of black at first, but its color became more evident under the light of the sun. His electric blue eyes matched his hair perfectly.
"Let's shut our mouths," Zion said. "And let our weapons do the talking."
Valeriana frowned, but tightened her grip around the hilt of her weapon nonetheless.
The girl made a mental note to teach him his place—but she doubted that would be easy. Right. More fight, less talk. If she tried saying something that was way over her head, then she would probably be pressured in doing something she couldn't do. She would not take risks.
At least, for now, keep your damn mouth shut, Valeriana.
"The fight will start when the light signal has been launched," said a ceremonious voice.
Lord Aeron raised his hand and pointed it to the sky, letting it linger in the air for a good few seconds before a ball of light shot out from his palms and illuminated the whole area with an eerie glow.
Valeriana circled Zion. She began to size out the place she would be fighting in the next few moments and examined the things that would give her the advantage. Valeriana knew she possessed the ability to win, she just had to play her cards right.
While the girl acted all cautious and wary of her opponent, Zion stood there casually in the same position he was in before the fight even started. He showed no signs of movements or interest in doing anything at all.
Seraphina's voice suddenly echoed inside her mind. 'Get the flow of the battle in your favor by making sure you fight in your rhythm. Do not let Zion control the fight. You have to make the first move. Land the first strike.'
Zion eyed Valeriana mockingly, raising his brows as if urging her to make her move. The girl didn't think twice and dove forward, making sure her guards were properly put up.
With a swift clang, their weapons crossed. Zion moved much faster than she would've imagined. He was like a swift blur. Heck, she didn't even realize he moved! She was a little startled at first, but tried to make up for it by regaining her composure quickly.
"Is that seriously the best you can do?"
"Oh, shut it."
"You'll be disappointing me then," he told her.
"Then you shouldn't have challenged me, idiot," she spat at him before briefly withdrawing. The girl then made a quick barrage of attacks. Zion blocked all of them effortlessly as if he was only fighting a child. It frustrated Valeriana to no end.
The way he held that lance impressed her. The girl heard from Lady Seraphina that a lance was heavy since it was used by mounted knights on their horses. It was unheard of to use it in hand-to-hand combat. Lancers usually bore swords when combating, but Zion didn't. He was planning to use it as his weapon—which was not commonly done.
She watched as he gracefully twirled the object between his hands, letting it circle his body to ward off her attacks.
"Valeriana!" Tamara screamed. "Win this fight! If you don't, I'll kill you myself! I'm seriously not kidding! I'm gambling something important here!"
Valeriana's expression creased with annoyance.
With a fast hit, he struck. His lance clashed strongly against Valeriana's sword that the force sent her shaking to her very toes, and although her hands trembled from the strong impact, she clung tenaciously to her weapon. Zion was taken aback by her determination, but smiled nonetheless. Valeriana had been pushed back by the strength behind Zion's strike, but she had managed to plant her feet to the ground and prevent herself from falling over.
She thought back and recalled the lady knight's words. 'Whatever happens, do not ever let go of your sword. If you do that, it's all over. Do you understand?'
Seraphina's advices were the only things she could cling to at times like this.
"I take back what I said," he told her. "You're interesting."
"How many times did I hear that already?"
"I can't exactly say it's a lie, so it's the truth," he said with a smirk.
"That's the lamest line I've ever heard," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Valeriana! Do your best!" She heard Keelan cheer. "I want to eat your cooking again!"
Valeriana's frown deepened, feeling her mood worsening. "Damn. Everybody wants me to win for something stupid. I don't really understand these people."
The fight continued and the arena was filled with the sound of the duelists' clashing weapons. There was a small chatter among the audience while Lord Aeron, Lady Seraphina, and Headmaster Kylon watched everything unfold silently.
"Hm." Lord Aeron hummed. "I may not be an expert swordsman, but I can see that Valeriana improved a great deal—far better than anyone and even I would expect. Very intriguing."
"What exactly did you teach her, Lady Seraphina?" the Headmaster asked. "For someone to be able to move that way in such a short amount of time . . . I wouldn't believe that she just started holding the sword a few days ago."
"That's a question which answer I seek," she said. "I made her do advanced exercises to see how she would fare. I know rushing was a bad idea, but the priority was to let her learn as much as possible in the short amount of time given. I never actually thought she would improve so fast."
"So the girl has a natural talent when wielding a sword. I wonder what else she can do?" Lord Aeron thoughtfully stated.
Clang.
Valeriana skillfully brought her sword to meet Zion's lance and felt weight of the force sent her way. A swift cut from the right sent her body flying to the opposite direction. She fell down painfully on the ground and rolled a few feet away from where she originally was. The impact her body made as she landed made her gasp. She was somewhat nervous when she thought about the sword falling out of her grasp, so she clenched her already fisted hands and when she felt a hard object between her fingers, she managed to sigh with relief.
"What the—" Elfre stopped in the midst of her sentence, her jaws slacked open. "She's still holding that goddamned sword!"
Corvan felt his eyes widen at this.
No matter how disheveled Valeriana appeared, the glint of defiance and determination in her eyes never ceased to glow.
"Valeriana . . ." Seraphina muttered. "What in the world . . ."
Valeriana buried the sword's blade on the ground and used it to help herself back on her feet. She clung to it for support and assessed her exhaustion. The girl exerted her best efforts through and through, but no matter how good she fared for the first few minutes, she still didn't have enough stamina to last long.
She clumsily lifted her sword and pulled a stance. Breaths came out from her mouth in short puffs as she stared at her opponent daringly. Her hands hurt a lot. Her limbs and some bruising somewhere started to hurt as well.
Zion stared back at his opponent. He didn't particularly like hurting women, so he admitted that he was holding back. However, he was surprised when he found himself gradually putting in more effort while the fight lasted. Time seemed to make the girl even stronger.
He had a foreboding feeling eating away at his guts. There was an unrecognizable emotion that swelled inside him. He managed to push her back for the third time. No matter how the events turned, she never allowed her hands to lose her sword.
Zion eyed her shaky grip on the sword. The continuous impacts that would've normally knocked a sword from someone's hand brought a great deal of damage on Valeriana. She didn't want to let the weapon go, so she was absorbing a lot of injuries. The skin of her hands was tinged pink, and for a moment he thought he saw a trickle of blood drip from the hilt of her sword. He brushed away the thought and stared at the girl before him.
She was panting heavily, sweat sliding down her face. Valeriana caught Zion's look at her and saw that he was no longer smiling. He had on a pretty serious look on his face, one which she didn't expect to see from the likes of his personality.
Even so, despite the pain throbbing from her hands, she tirelessly continued attacking him. She was gritting her teeth, trying hard not to mind the pain. Fighting Zion never proved to be easy from the start. Their continuous exchange of blows was slowly tiring her out, but lethargy was a luxury she could not afford.
"Are you really this serious about proving your worth?" Zion asked, feeling his weapon vibrate as Valeriana struck her sword against his lance. "Going this far? You don't have to feel the need to satisfy other people. They don't care about you one bit."
"I'm not doing this for other people! I'm doing this for myself!" she said. "Do you think I like being in this situation?"
He went silent for a few moments. "Then I'll feel bad if I don't fight you seriously, seeing how much effort you're putting in this."
"For someone like me," she paused, a small spark escaping from the clash of their blades. "All I want is for people to see what someone like me can do. I might've been a nobody in somebody else's world, but that doesn't make me any less than what everyone is. You don't understand anything."
Zion sensed her annoyance rolling off in waves. He wouldn't deny that she was right. To be in another world far from where she originally came, and being the only human . . . it was a horrible situation to be in. He couldn't help but wonder how she lasted this long.
"Why go so far for something trivial?" he asked, feeling the need to aggravate her further.
"It isn't trivial," she told him, growling. "Like I said, you don't understand anything. You're repeatedly cutting classes, barely attending any of it. A lot of other people would like to have been able to attend this academy, yet you're wasting the opportunity."
They exchanged blows. "I don't even need to attend the classes."
"Then why not do it for courtesy's sake?" she asked. "To say that you are too good to even attend any of the classes feels like a slap to someone working hard to catch up. You don't have to work your ass off every night to read tons of books and juggle the responsibility of being one of the Twelve. I may not be called worthy for the position of fifth-ranker, but I still took the title when I luckily defeated Courtney, so I must take responsibility."
"Those classes are a pain."
"A pain or not, you entered an academy, so you're supposed to study with the rest! If you're not going to, then get the hell out of here."
"Quite audacious of you to say that to me, fifth-ranker," he said. "When I can easily snap your neck into two."
"Then do it," she snarled. "I'm already getting tired of all this."
The increasing cadence of the fight initiated a serious, heavy, and uncomfortable air around the arena. Everyone who watched grew uneasy. Lady Seraphina clenched her fists apprehensively while she examined Valeriana's condition. She could tell that the girl was seriously doing her best. Never minding the fact that she was bruised and beaten, she continued to give it her all and never once let go of her weapon. It seemed that everything she told her became engraved deeply in the girl's mind. Although she was supposed to feel happy about it, she couldn't help but feel the total opposite.
"There is no need to worry, Lady Seraphina." Kylon stated comfortingly beside her. "Valeriana is exhibiting an impressive performance. That fire and determination is something to be admired."
"I'm worried," she admitted. "Should I have not told her not to let go of her sword no matter the situation, she would never be in this condition."
"You would've done the same thing, wouldn't you, Seraphina?" Lord Aeron casually queried. "I think Valeriana is the type to heed an advice regardless of the consequences."
"I completely agree with Lord Aeron," Headmaster Kylon said. "So do not blame yourself."
Not sensing the lady knight's worry for her wellbeing, Valeriana continued with her unending cycle of assaults. Zion blocked them off with little effort, staying on defensive mode the whole time. When he decided that he got tired, he gave her another strong hit that sent her tumbling once more.
She got up much slower than the last time.
"How are you faring, Valeriana?" he asked. "Have you finally decided that you'll give up?"
"No . . ." answered her weary voice.
"Why do you go so far for this?" he inquired. "I simply cannot follow. . ."
The whole time they were fighting since their last argument, questions endlessly kept popping into his mind. He was able to comprehend the fact that she was doing this for the sake of proving herself worthy, but what he didn't get was why she was willing to go to these lengths of doing it.
"You're already in no condition to fight. Why do you still go on?" he asked again.
Although he was originally only after the fight, he found himself finding the urge to give his best as well. Valeriana's drive was infectious.
He noticed her hands were bleeding. Blood fell like rivulets, making visible stains on the sand. Seemed as though it wasn't his imagination.
He waved his lance in the air, creating a figure of a circle. Fire erupted from the blade, causing Valeriana's eyes to widen. The roaring flames licked at the weapon's sharp edges, but it didn't seem like it was being burned.
"You know what?" He said. "This might just be the fight I'm looking for—a fight worth winning."
"Huh?" The girl was more than shocked.
"Get yourself ready, Valeriana," he said and smirked, addressing her by her name for the very first time. "Because I won't be holding myself back."
The girl almost slapped herself. Now that he said that he was going to be serious about the fight, she felt more than anxious of what was coming. She stared at the golden flames that crackled on his lance.
"MISS VALERIANAAA!" a voice screamed. "YOU CAN DO IT!"
She recognized that voice which belonged to Poulette. Another chorus of voices echoed, all which belonged to her aides. Valeriana was glad that she had them. They really lifted up her spirits.
Holding back the tears that threatened to fall out from her eyes, she fixed her gaze on Zion and determinedly tightened her loose grip around her sword. Her hands ached and trembled unsteadily. Still, she wasn't going to let it get to her.
"Bring it on."
Her opponent stared at her incredulously. One moment she was oozing with determination, and now she was tearing up like a stupid fool. He truly did not understand her. Was it because she was a member of the opposite sex? Or was it because she's a human?
"What is with you, woman?" He sighed problematically. "Why are you so confusing?"
"Not my fault." She sniffed, wiping her tears away. "I was born this way. Maybe you can ask my mother."
Zion burst into a fit of laughter while everyone around them looked utterly confused. What exactly was going on? They could see their lips moving, but could not hear what they were talking about.
"What the hell's going on down there?" Corvan asked, crossing his arms and brushing back a long, stray lock that wandered onto his face.
"Who knows?" Tamara shrugged, clueless as well.
Zion didn't look like he would stop laughing any moment. He was bent over, clutching his stomach with his arm. The bladeless tip of his lance hit the sandy ground, letting a small thump reach his ears. Instead of a weapon, he used it as a substitute for a cane to prevent himself from falling over.
"Sold!" he exclaimed. "I like that joke!"
"Don't you think Valeriana has a habit of making unlikely characters to laugh?" Charles queried.
"Seems like it," Tamara answered.
The two eyed Valeriana, who looked beyond annoyed. She was biting her lower lip, face red from anger.
"Stop laughing." Valeriana said. "There's nothing funny."
"But there is," he told her. "You amuse me to no end. You're highly intriguing."
She blew off the hair that fell on her nose. "I don't get it. What's so interesting about me?"
"You."
"I heard this line before," she muttered.
"Valeriana Kerrigan, quite the funny girl indeed," he said, laughing.
Valeriana sighed. "I can't wait until this fight ends."
"Now don't be in such a rush, fifth-ranker," Zion told her. "I want to savor every moment of it as much as I can. It's people like you that I love to defeat."
He then repositioned his weapon in front of him and got into his fighting stance. The flames that were lively beating on his blade seemed even more intimidating than before. The look in his eyes visibly changed. Valeriana felt a shiver run down her spine. Those eyes looked like they belonged to a hunter . . . and she was the prey.
Despite the fear that pooled inside her stomach, she took a huge calming breath and held her ground. Her hands were shaking. She didn't know if it was because of the fact that they were already trembling since a while ago or because of fear.
She recalled the lady knight's advice once more. 'In battle, you'll find yourself in very dangerous situations, Valeriana. Though you may feel that you are the prey, it doesn't always mean that you'll end up getting eaten. Just make sure you don't go down without a fight.'
She now knew where his alias came from. At first, she didn't entirely get it. But, now that he was looking at her with those eyes, she finally understood. Those electric blue orbs seemed to turn into slits and the smile that showed his teeth appeared like he was baring his fangs . . . and the flaming blade made him look the part all the more.
Her steps stuttered.
He grinned dangerously which made the girl swallow hard.
Gritting her teeth, Valeriana got into position as well. "Ah, damn it all to hell."
Zion shifted his feet and shot forward without warning. The crowd gasped at the speed he displayed, which in turn made Valeriana even more nervous. Instead of worrying, she decided to brace herself for whatever was coming. She had a feeling in her guts that everything would turn for the worst-case scenario.
Her opponent appeared in front of her in a flash and their weapons collided with an unbelievable intensity. Valeriana clenched her jaw from the sudden pain that shot out from her hands but planted her feet on the ground to avoid being driven back by the force. This action, however, caused her feet to be buried in the sand, which then served as an evidence of how serious Zion really was.
It was only then that she noticed her hands were injured. They were bleeding profusely, making her grip on her weapon somewhat slippery. It was made harder for her to have a firm grip on her sword. Still, she wouldn't let this be the cause of her defeat. It would be a trivial excuse.
Grunting, she threw Zion back with all her might. The challenger skidded a few steps away from her, but it did not stop him completely. He moved with the same speed as before and started attacking her relentlessly.
Valeriana tried blocking each and every one of his attacks, but her skills proved to be inferior to his and she received a big gash on her shoulder. The girl cringed at the smell of her own flesh burning and realized that the swiftness of his movements made it even harder for her to keep up with the pace of the fight. Valeriana began to block his attacks mindlessly, depending on luck and instinct to help her.
Damn it.
Valeriana backed away, staggering. Her breathing was ragged and her heart thumped inside her chest. She held her sword wearily, its tip pointing to the ground. Zion did not allow her to rest. He pulled his weapon back before swinging it hard towards Valeriana's direction, maintaining the current distance between them.
The girl's eyes widened when she saw balls of fire coming her way. She hurriedly eluded them and jumped out of the way before they could hit her. The attacks resembled streams of pure fire.
He pointed his weapon at Valeriana. "You better watch out."
"Oh, holy crap!" She shrieked, watching the building up of energy that seemed to fuel the fire's flames on his lance.
She speedily jumped out of the way as a roaring ball of fire bigger than her flew towards her direction. She hit the ground painfully, landing face first on the dirt while missing the recent attack by a hair's margin. The fire crackled passionately as it flickered, gradually diminishing. The ground was marred with soot, flames of the surviving blaze decorating the ground of the arena.
"Whew," she whispered in relief but yelled and scrambled to move when another one came her way.
Seraphina, who was watching the sudden turn of events, tried to stop herself from screaming. "This is not good. She won't survive at this rate. The flow of the fight is completely in Zion's favor."
It stayed like that for a few moments before Zion suddenly decided to stop and finally began to cross blades with the girl. Another wound appeared on her thigh, cutting through the cloth of her pants. Valeriana truly did not know where he was throwing his blade, but all she knew was that she was clumsily retaliating. She could feel her weapon slowly slipping from her hands.
"I . . . will not . . ." she grunted. "Let go of this sword!" She tightened her grip on her weapon further it hurt her fingers.
With a battle cry, she stepped forward with all her strength and fired a barrage of attacks his way, completely reversing their positions. Zion was smiling while skillfully parrying her blows. He jumped from toe to toe gracefully, like a gravity-defying, dancing sprite. Valeriana was more of a bird with a broken wing.
The flames of his lance roared from each strike, causing the girl to sweat from the heat being emanated.
She shook the bad thoughts away. "I am not going to lose, damn it!"
Never minding her remark, the fight continued in its current pace. Her rhythm became disrupted. She let Zion control the fight and she knew it was one of her biggest mistakes. Things were bound to get awful if Zion got serious. Wasn't this what she wanted anyway?
"I'm going to enjoy this victory," he said.
Valeriana already knew from the very start that she would lose. She was panting heavily, blood soaking through her clothes. She never felt so miserable her entire life that she wanted to just pass out and sleep through everything. Yet, through all the hardships of the duel, she knew that she couldn't and must not back down.
"Not if I can help it."
She hopelessly tried to fight him. Zion could tell she was already at her limits. Her attacks were getting weaker and she wasn't exactly in the same condition before the fight started. She moved clumsily on her feet, waving her sword around unthinkingly.
"You're still saying that? With the state you're in?" Zion quirked a brow. "Come on, I'll give you a chance." He stopped and jumped away from her, lowering his blade. "Give up. Maybe I can change my mind and we can continue this fight another day."
She couldn't help but notice how weary her whole body felt. Her knees quivered that it took a lot of her willpower to remain standing. "You think I will believe you? This fight has already started. I might as well finish it."
"You really are stubborn, aren't you?"
"Who says I wasn't?"
"Ah," he paused and looked at her thoughtfully. "This is what I like. I must admit you impress me, Valeriana."
"I don't need to impress anyone," she muttered. "I . . . just want to get this fight over with."
The battle continued and Valeriana shakily responded to his attacks. Zion looked as if he was having fun at first, but the expression gradually faded from his face and was replaced by a look of total boredom. The light from his eyes disappeared and his mood turned dull.
Valeriana noticed that he started to move slower than he did from the past few minutes. The human girl couldn't but think that they were back to square one. "What the hell's wrong with you?" she asked. "I thought you were going to fight me seriously."
"I changed my mind. This is pointless."
"You're seriously confusing," she told him. "One minute you do this and the next thing you do that."
She was starting to think he was suffering from bipolar disorder.
"I can't help it." He lowered his lance and gazed at the girl, who looked pitifully bruised and beaten. "I can't help but think I'm beating up a poor kitten that can't fight back."
"What?" Valeriana hissed, anger smoldering in her eyes. "Who's a poor kitten?"
"Just look at you." He gestured to her form. "You're not even in condition to fight anymore. Although I admire your determination and spirit, you just can't keep up with my pace."
Valeriana gritted her teeth and felt her face going red from anger. "So what are you planning to do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Zion lowered his weapon and the flames flickered before disappearing. "I'm throwing it away. It doesn't amuse me anymore."
"So it's only like that? After everything?" she asked. "You won't even try and actually defeat me?"
"I don't need to," he said. "And I don't want to. Like I said, I only want a fight worth winning. I don't need to waste my time here anymore. I should start looking for a more worthy opponent."
"So are you saying that I'm not worthy?"
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Not that I care anymore."
Valeriana's blood boiled and she began to chew on her lower lip.
"I even heard Lady Seraphina's personally coaching you. To think you were her student . . . how regrettable." He stopped and watched the girl's shoulders shake with anger.
Valeriana didn't make any sort of retorts. She kept quiet from where she stood, trying to control her anger. That proved to be impossible though, as Zion's words sunk in.
"Don't freaking underestimate me, you ass." She lashed out at him her grip tightening around her weapon. "I can very well cut off that swollen head of yours and feed it to the dogs. I'll savor every minute of it." For once, she could not believe those words just came out of her mouth.
He sighed. "Your insults can be pretty unnerving alright."
"That's more to where that came from." She growled. "I don't give a damn about what you think. I won't let you out of this fight until it's over, do you hear?"
"But it is already over," he grumbled.
"Not until I say so!"
With that said, Valeriana attacked, but she was only pushed down by Zion. He competently evaded her attack and forced her to the ground, pointing the tip of his lance at her neck. She sat on the sandy floor, hands buried in the rough grains. Her grip was wrapped tightly around the hilt of her weapon still.
Everyone looked uneasy seeing Valeriana at the mercy of Zion. Lady Seraphina, Lord Aeron, the Headmaster, and the Celestial Circle were anxiously mute. There were a few people who looked like they were rejoicing, though.
That was it. Valeriana didn't know what to do anymore. She was just . . . too weak. She never really stood a chance against him from the very start. She was nothing compared to Zion. She was a fool to think the fight would turn out like it did with Courtney.
How naïve she was.
No matter her hard work, it wouldn't be enough for her to win.
There was a strange sensation that surged through her and her heart pounded. She never felt this way her entire life—the strong need to prove herself mixed with a flare of built up anger and annoyance. It was painful and frustrating. Her heart was crumbling to pieces and so was she.
What exactly did she get herself into? Why was the world so unfair?
She then realized. It wasn't easy.
Valeriana never felt so defeated her entire life. She should've just become a slave like Lord Aeron suggested. Perhaps everything would be easier. Maybe she would've been saved from this cruel place.
She wanted to surrender. She wanted to succumb to the desire of being freed from all these hardships weighing her down. She wanted to have the old life she had before she saw Seraphina slaying those stupid demons.
She wanted to go back home.
Tamara was literally on the edge of her seat. "Damn it, Valeriana!" she screamed. "YOU ARE NOT LOSING THIS FIGHT! AND I MEAN THAT SINCERELY! NOT BECAUSE OF A STUPID BET!"
"So are you calling it off, then?" Charles remarked beside her.
"What?" She flashed him a pair of shocked eyes. "No way!"
A few seconds of silence, a choir of voices echoed in the arena as well.
"MISS VALERIANA! GET UP AND FIGHT!" the three chorused together.
At long last, a song which she never thought she would hear permeated the area. The three's voices didn't blend that perfectly, but their words were loud and clear. It sent the whole arena silent, even the Headmaster, Lord Aeron, and Lady Seraphina's attention were taken.
'You held her down, but she got up. Already brushing off the dust. You hear her voice, you hear that sound. Like thunder, gonna shake the ground. You held her down, but she got up. Get ready 'cause she's had enough. She sees it all, she sees it now.'
At first, no one seemed to know what was going on, but the girl caught on to what they were doing.
They were cheering for her. The idea itself brought more tears to her eyes.
She silently chastised herself for berating her own person. This wasn't the time to actually lose spirit, right? She was in the middle of a battle. There was no backing out. No retreating.
Zoel, Poulette, and Quincy continued to cheer from the background. 'She's got the eye of the tiger, a fighter. Dancing through the fire. 'Cause she is the champion, and you're gonna hear her roar! Louder! Louder than the dragon! 'Cause she is the champion! And you're gonna hear her roar!'
It clicked in place. She realized that that was what they were talking about earlier this morning. The song of Katy Perry became the instrument for their cheering. She didn't actually expect them to actually do it, though.
"You can do it Miss Valeriana! And you're gonna hear her roar!"
The long strands of Valeriana's hair fell on her face, shadowing her expression. Zion didn't know where she was looking, but he was certain she was staring at the ground. She was unusually quiet, contrary to his expectations.
"Catchy song. Too bad." He started to lower his weapon. "Don't worry though. It's not like I want to win or anything. I'll surrender soon. I just want to let you know that—" He was cut off.
"What's the use if you gave this fight away? If I'm going to win anyway, I might as well do everything in my power or else I'll be living off a stupid lie," she stated. Her voice was low but held a dangerously sharp and threatening edge. It sounded daunting, and the pause between her words seemed like the eye before the storm. "This fight isn't over until I say so."
"Hm?" He tilted his head to the side, questioningly gazing at the girl. The tip of his blade pointed tenaciously at Valeriana.
Zion gazed at his fallen opponent as if she was the oddest creature he saw in his entire life—but of course, that wasn't not true. He sensed something different around the girl. For some reason, the air around her changed suddenly. She became . . . different.
"What's wrong, Valeriana? Where's all the spirit you had a while ago?"
He knew it wasn't about the spirit though. She was exuding an aura that the mere sight of her made the hair on the back of his neck stand on the very tip. The threatening air she gave off gave him an ominous feeling pooling in his stomach. He grew somewhat uneasy just being near the girl and he wasn't able to discern the reason why he was feeling that way.
"There's no way I'm going to let you win. Do you think I'll let you walk away that easily? You challenged me to a fight. You might as damn well see it through. You stuck up, goddamned bastard."
The whole area grew quiet and all the noises that permeated the air vanished. When all eyes landed on Valeriana, a bunch of shivers ran down their spine. No one knew what was going on, but instincts told them it wasn't good.
"That . . . can't be . . ." Corvan trailed off in disbelief. "It's . . ."
"This is unexpected," he said. "This," Lord Aeron made a dramatic pause. "Is what you call killing intent, right?"
Seraphina stood from her seat abruptly. "Valeriana!" she hollered. "Use that technique! You can use that technique!"
Valeriana twitched at the sound of the lady knight's voice. Technique? Her body was on fire. She felt numb from the pain and her mind went blank.
She wanted to win.
She never felt so strongly about doing something before. Every fiber of her being screamed and urged her to defeat the man before her and mind the consequences that would come with it later. With a loud, enraged roar and newfound strength, she moved.
Her eyes darkened but somewhat glowed, burning like a pair of twin flames that made the air surrounding her grave and solemn.
To hell with it all.
"Victory is mine."
Valeriana then stood from where she fell and fired a seemingly endless onslaught of swift strikes towards Zion. She started moving by instinct alone, her assaults executed without rhythm.
She glowered at Zion intently, hell bent on pushing him down.
"This is the right moment, Valeriana! Use that technique! Now!" Seraphina bellowed from where she was, but Valeriana didn't appear to have heard her. "This is no good," she muttered. "I think . . . she lost control."
"Valeriana!" Tamara yelled. "Snap out of it!"
I must win. She chanted inside her mind, completely oblivious.
"Miss Valeriana!"
Win.
"This is a disadvantage of killing intent. When one succumbs to that desire, nothing else comes into mind. I was foolish to think Valeriana would be able to subdue that so easily," Seraphina said. "I should've taken into consideration that she was human as well."
"What is this killing intent?" Keelan wondered aloud.
"Basically a form of adrenalin rush," Aneeka told him. "One is fueled with unbelievable strength to survive a particular situation. But, while in the state, it is no different to losing yourself to your primal instinct. You lose control of your body and you become reckless."
Zion grunted. "Damn."
Her opponent was apprehensive of her impending moves. He took a few steps back from Valeriana warily. He called upon the flames and his lance was set ablaze.
He hastily jumped back and shot a stream of fireballs Valeriana's way. She dodged his attacks, evading them while one grazed her arm. The girl made an audible hiss as she felt her skin burn, but didn't stop.
It wasn't long before she reached him and they started to engage in combat once again. She continued her unremitting assault. Their weapons clashed repeatedly, the incessant sound vibrating. Zion felt a surging feeling of distress coming over him as the girl's insistent attacks continued without letting either of them breathe.
The challenger gritted his teeth and parried another blow from Valeriana. He twirled his lance between his fingers as if it weighed like a feather and swung down at the girl, only to be repelled by an equally strong force.
"What?" He gasped as he was pushed back. He might've been wrong, but did she just predict his move?
Fight. Win.
Zion made a quick swing from below but was easily warded off by the girl. He tried moving in again to get back the upper hand which he lost a few moments ago, but Valeriana managed to stop and destroy the pace he was trying to build up.
Tension grew and he stiffened.
"Fine! Be that way if you wish!" Zion bellowed, hopping a few steps back before skillfully letting his weapon spin between his fingers. The fire that clung to his blade seemed like beams of light moving in circles.
Zion held the shaft of his lance with his right hand, the blade pointed to east of where he was currently facing. Slowly, a stream of fire erupted from his weapon. He moved the blade around him, creating a ring of fire with him and Valeriana inside.
"You cannot step outside this ring," he said with a wicked grin. "If you try, the fire will burn you."
The girl didn't say anything and continued glowering at him. Charles paused for a moment and tried to discern the challenger's plan. He massaged his chin with his thumb, lips curling thoughtfully.
"According to my calculation," he started. "The radius of that circle limits to Zion's best fighting range which leads to the conclusion that—" He was cut off when Tamara piped in.
"He's trying to win by putting everything to his advantage. He has the upper hand as long as the both of them stay within that circle," she finished.
Zion started assaulting Valeriana in his best fighting range as Charles predicted, and slowly, the tide of the battle could be seen flowing to Zion's favor.
The human girl felt herself getting pushed back. His speed and the force he exerted increased dramatically.
Valeriana anchored her feet to the floor to prevent herself from getting pushed back even more, but that strategy was futile. As her ankles went a few centimeters close to the fire making up the figure of the ring, the flames immediately roared, as if cautious of her sudden closeness. She instinctively dove forward to avoid the eruption.
She could hear the challenger chuckle but did not mind it. Instead, she decided to try and adapt into the sudden change of environment. Even with her current state, a part of her seemed to be conscious enough to be aware of the dangers.
Fight. Win.
Valeriana tried fighting back, but Zion proved to be more powerful than what he seemed and completely overpowered the poor girl. The challenger was overcome by anxiety and anticipation from a while ago, but with everything playing right to his victory, his uneasiness disappeared. He, instead, continued to enjoy the torment he was putting upon the current fifth-ranker. She started to appear less and less a threat.
He pulled back his lance and struck her leg, wounding the flesh of her lower calf. Valeriana staggered from the pain and gritted her teeth, maintaining the current position she was in.
"Valeriana!" Corvan exclaimed, fists clenched.
Everyone stared at him questioningly.
"Just finish the damned fight already and use that technique! Come back to your senses! You stupid witch!"
It took a few moments until those words sunk in.
Stupid witch. The words echoed.
Something inside Valeriana awakened.
"I . . ." she muttered. "Am NOT a stupid witch, you idiot devil!" she screamed from where she stood, facing Corvan with a face flushed with anger.
Tamara guffawed. "That brought her back alright!"
Shaking her head, the girl finally regained control of her own limbs. "Damn it."
She looked around.
They were standing inside a ring of fire. Her instincts told her not to get close to the line that drew the circle. Her memories were foggy, but she could recall focusing solely on Zion and the strong desire to defeat him.
"The technique, Valeriana!" a voice behind her shouted.
"The technique?" she muttered questioningly. "Technique? Wha—oh."
She willed her face to stay serious and the air around her solemn. The pain around her fingers started to throb and intensified each passing minute, but she tried her best to ignore it. She gnashed her teeth together.
Even though Seraphina told her to use the technique she was taught, she still didn't know how to execute the so-called killing intent which was an important factor when trying to perform it. She strained her mind to think of something.
Control yourself, Valeriana, she told herself. Then bare your fangs. This time not as a cornered rat, but the tiger in the wild.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She managed to pick up the scent of the fumes that curled from the fire. The wind whispered in her ear ever so gently that she would've not noticed it at all.
Get your emotions under control, but keep your goals set and clear, she mentally noted. Let the fire burn, but do not let it burn you.
Killing intent was the fire, she realized. There was always a risk it would burn her, but she must manipulate it to get it under her control instead.
If her assumptions were correct, then now was the best time to apply what she learned. She willed her eyes to open, her pupils dilating at the sight of Zion in front of her. He didn't move, just staring at her cautiously. He still looked unsure if he had to attack or wait for her to make the first move.
I am no prey, she chanted. I'm the predator.
She walked forward, making her steps slow and daunting while her eyes stared straight into his. She wanted him to feel her fire—the intimidating flames that burned with her thirst for victory. Inside, she was hoping she was doing the right thing and that she managed to call upon her killing intent willingly.
Needless to say, she was successful.
"Did she lose control again?" Keelan curiously asked.
"This one is . . . different. This is not the aura of a wild, untamed beast, but . . . one of a predator's," the lady knight said.
Lady Seraphina could only look at the fight in front of her with mouth open and eyes wide in utter disbelief. Everyone else beside her had the very same reaction, save for Lord Aeron who was openly laughing. She did not know why he was laughing since nothing was funny, but kept it to herself and instead concentrated on the duel at hand.
"Does this mean humans have killing intent, too?" someone asked.
Lord Aeron stopped as he thought of something. "Or . . ."
Seraphina gazed at Valeriana as she made quick strikes with her weapon, applying the technique she was taught a little bit clumsily at first. She managed to remember the timing—when she had to apply the feints and when to land a real attack.
The Ghost. A technique made up primarily of feints backed up by threatening blows. It was a technique developed by Dantalion Wisperia. The movements consisted of quick strikes in all direction, some mostly fake moves to confuse the enemy. But of course, feints did not usually work on skilled weapon handlers so it needed to look real in the eyes of the opponent. Killing intent, if controlled upon will and worked successfully on the enemy, could make even the smallest feints look like real moves.
Valeriana raised her hands and thrust her sword forward only to suddenly swing to her right and land a quick blow on Zion's side. She was surprised when her challenger did not make any attempts to block her attack and brought his lance up to shield his front. It was too late when he realized that he was actually bleeding.
Valeriana moved back from her previous position and got into stance, dust springing from her tracks.
"What did you just do?" He growled.
Zion stared at the girl with slightly wide eyes. She suddenly made an attack from the left, so he brought his lance up instinctively to meet hers. Contrary to his expectations though, nothing came. He was holding his weapon out into thin air while Valeriana moved from his right and swiped down, wounding him on the cheek.
Valeriana assaulted him head on, letting their blades clash noisily. He gritted his teeth and tried not to let her disrupt his rhythm, but every time he managed to pick up his pace, she would attack so suddenly from a direction, her sword visibly moving to cut the air but then disappearing the next second. Next thing he knew, she was right beside him, slicing his skin open.
She moved but he didn't even know when she did.
"What . . . was that?" he asked. "A feint? What the hell's going on?"
He moved to parry her attack, but he then saw her sword coming from above. Instinctively, he brought up his lance to shield himself when her strike actually came rushing from the original direction. Shocked, he attempted to react as fast as he could, but it was too late.
With a battle cry, Valeriana mustered up all the force she had left and struck at his weapon hard, causing the lance to fly out of his hands. He grunted and attempted to reach for his weapon, but was stopped short when he realized that the girl's sword was aimed at his throat. He seethed.
The moment the object flew out of his hands, the fire on the blade was extinguished and so was ring of fire he previously created.
Valeriana was shocked.
She used that technique, and now, it really did lead to her victory—although she had to go through hell and fire quite literally before she did.
"Somehow, I have a feeling that wasn't something Zion did on purpose," Aneeka said in her seat, narrowing her eyes at the scene.
"It wasn't," Charles answered. "It's a genuine victory. Damn."
"So it's an actually, really winning victory stuff!" Tamara howled before looking down at Charles with a triumphant grin. "YOU LOST THE BET!" Shooting out from her seat with an excited jump, the third-ranker cheered at the top of her voice while doing an unsightly victory dance.
When Valeriana recovered from her shock, she looked at Zion to see an impassive expression. "Surrender," the girl said, panting heavily.
In order to win the duel, one must be able to subdue the opponent and make them admit defeat or knock them out. That was the rule.
Instead of having a look of defeat, he grinned. A skin-crawling smile crept up on his lips and showed his perfectly aligned white teeth. "You are an interesting fellow, Valeriana. More interesting than anything I have ever seen."
"Are you gonna surrender or not?"
"Why would I?" he asked her, making her freeze and hold her breath. "This fight just got even more interesting."
She panted. "You . . ."
Zion gazed at her tauntingly before smiling. "But let's end it here at the moment. I underestimated your worth. I lost because of that. I'll challenge you again someday, but before that day comes, I'll make sure I'm ready, so you get yourself polished up good."
"You mean . . ."
"For this time, for real, I surrender," he said, before he held both of his hands up to symbolize his admission of defeat. "For now. This fight is not over yet."
Lord Aeron leaned forward to whisper something in Kylon's ears. The man nodded in reply to whatever he told him and stood to make the announcement. From this point on, the whole arena was filled with silence.
"The duel ends here!" The Headmaster exclaimed from his seat, his voice resounding fiercely. "This duel's officially, actually, really winner! Valeriana Kerrigan! Roaring Tiger!"
"I sense something wrong with how that grammatically sounded." Charles seethed, fixing his glasses.
"Oh, come on! You're just bitter!" Tamara replied, patting his back while cackling exultantly.
A chorus of laughter from the Twelve echoed, mingling with the resonant cheers from the audience. Her three, little aides were screaming and shrieking from utter happiness that they were literally crying out her newly established theme song with tears. A few, however, were befuddled from the recent declaration that they could not help but scratch their scalps.
"I'm confused. So is this an official victory, or an actual, real victory?" A spectator among the crowd questioned.
"Haven't you heard the Headmaster? It's an official, actual, real victory so get over it!" Someone replied.
"How do you know it's an actual, real victory?"
"Well, Zion always walks away after he humiliates his opponents and says stuff such as I don't want to anymore. But this time, he admitted his defeat and didn't walk away at all. Besides, the fact that they gave her an alias means that her recognition is officially, actually, really genuine."
While others gave a positive response, there were still a few from among audience who felt dissatisfied with the recent conclusion. Some in particular had unprepossessing frowns on their faces.
With that, the sword fell from the girl's hands. She kneeled over in relief and looked up, meeting her opponent's eyes.
"I won."
Zion smirked. "I just realized. Winning battles is losing them as much. Don't you agree?"
"What?"
"How much did you sacrifice to achieve this victory?"
She looked at her bleeding hands and began to laugh. "I guess you're right."
He looked up and eyed the sky as the healers started coming in. "Is it really worth it? To lose so much? Just to win once?"
"You win once, but you gainsomething along the way." She found herself smiling at the emotion that bubbledinside her. "You lose something, but something even bigger replaces it. That'sexactly what makes it bittersweet."