"This way, General!" The soldier urgently directed General Chatel Chatel towards the gates of the Ahmal station. They both had to make an effort to weave through a crowd too distracted by the ongoing event.
Finally, they slowed down when they found what they were looking for.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWX7E7h472h
"Oh no…" The soldier lamented, gazing alongside his superior at two warriors facing off within an improvised arena, surrounded by spectators.
They've done it. If those idiots wanted to create a scandal, they've succeeded marvelously, the General judged with disgust, immediately identifying one of the twin lieutenants in the arena.
Another familiar face appeared in his field of vision and distracted him.
Docemin? he thought with astonishment and confusion, as he spotted the Sublieutenant among the crowd, tossing her hair, the tips of which emitted small flames. Was she so foolish that she burned herself with her own pyromantic art by accident?
As he turned towards the arena, he spotted something that piqued his interest even more: a fallen warrior among the other two who still stood inside.
That's... the knight who challenged them? he initially supposed upon noticing the full-body armor, but quickly corrected himself upon closer inspection. No, it's one of the Cotores twins!
He blinked a couple of times, making sure he wasn't imagining things. Of all the scenes he had imagined encountering upon arriving at the station, this had been the most unlikely. As much as he despised his former students, he recognized their skills, and the fact that one of them had fallen in action to a total stranger was quite unexpected.
"I have just rendered him unconscious. I aim to impart thee a lesson; thou shalt not grasp it if thou art deceased," someone said to the remaining twin in a firm and impassive tone.
"Hmm?" The General turned his head towards the source of the unfamiliar voice. So, it's him, he thought upon seeing Mavros for the first time. He admired his armor in detail; the unique design details and the craftsmanship of its forging fascinated him. The resolute and gallant manner in which the wandering knight faced his adversary made him look worthy of wearing such equipment.
"I shall grant thee a minute to bear him from this arena. I desire him not obstructing our path. Once thy task is complete, we shall resume." Mavros instructed Cyprain,
The twin could verify that the knight hadn't lied as he saw Renel beginning to show signs of life. Escaping the dread that had overcome him when he believed him dead, he turned towards some nearby soldiers.
"Voú! Prené mon frégre a la infigrmegrie!" he exclaimed in Grianzan, ordering them to take his brother away, whose weak neck and limb movements betrayed his severe daze. They nodded quickly in silence and moved towards him. They then crouched down and interlocked their arms beneath his body to create an improvised stretcher with which they lifted the warrior.
Meanwhile, Docemin continued to watch what was happening, having just extinguished the flames that had afflicted her hair.
Thank goodness... she sighed with relief, seeing her unconscious friend being removed without complications. She looked at the knight with deep resentment, but now accompanied by genuine and respectful fear. Cyprain was right; we should have listened to him. Who is that bastard? He must be a Holy Warrior like us, she supposed. A sudden glance at the charred remnants of her hair in her palms was enough to divert her thoughts to the mystery of its combustion. She pursed her lips as she unsuccessfully searched for clues in her surroundings. I don't understand... How could this crap happen to me? I haven't seen anyone or anything with fire nearby.
With nothing else to worry about, Cyprain turned his attention back to Mavros.
The wandering knight assumed his eccentric combat stance. "The minute hath already passed," he informed. “Surrender thyself and thy companion; offer thy apologies to these men whom thou hast unjustly sought to harm," he commanded. "If thou dost not, prepare thyself to be the next to fall."
The Holy Warrior frowned, preparing his weapons in response.
"Who... Who do you zink you are to give us orders?" he demanded with heightened urgency, pointing at him with his axe. "Who are you? Which Holy House do you represent?"
Mavros reacted with rough nonchalance while maintaining his position. "None," he said to the twin after a while. “I did already proclaim unto thee and thy comrades: I am naught but a wandering sword.
Cyprain's helmet perfectly concealed his tense muscles and bulging veins in response to that unsatisfactory answer. He's mocking me. He's not satisfied with humiliating my brother, he thought, restraining his impulses. His blood boiled with anger, but he wasn't willing to mimic the same impulsiveness that had led his twin to a swift defeat.
The twin raised and tilted his axe slightly behind his neck while using his other arm to place his shield in front of his chest.
"I won't surrender. We have nothing to apologize for to zat petty scum you defend. Zey have no right to be here after all ze misdeeds zey’ve committed in zese lands," he asserted sternly, holding his stance.
The misdeeds they've committed in these lands? Mavros raised an eyebrow, intrigued by those words from the twin that, for the first time, seemed to go beyond the superficial malice he and his group had displayed up until then.
"Come on, prick!" Cyprain continued, pulling the wandering knight out of his contemplation. "If you're so sure you'll bring me down like my brother, come closer and try it!"
The Holy Warrior revived the anticipation of the crowd with his energetic challenge.
"Mavros, shut his mouth," Sheida muttered. He smiled with delight as he visualized the Liutenant biting the dust within seconds in his imagination, just as it had happened to his twin.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKIXKTCC7h
He just saw him beat the living daylights out of his brother, and he still insists on challenging him. Is he that dimwitted? Luciara wondered.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCC3ociRCo
Her bewilderment was shared by many in the crowd who had initially been confident in the twins' comfortable victory. What they had witnessed so far had been enough to change their minds. To them, the knight was already the clear favorite.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcK7naN2Get
However, the young woman wasn't entirely satisfied with that assumption. Her intuition warned her that something was amiss.
Or...? She turned her head and found Docemin, enthralled with her fellow warrior. The fact that her hateful and arrogant smile had returned reinforced her suspicions. ...could it be…?
The resumption of the duel was imminent. General Chatel Chatel watched the arena closely.
"General, aren't you going to stop them?" the soldier accompanying him asked, anxious about the eerie silence of his inaction.
To his surprise, Chatel Chatel merely shook his head.
"No... Not yet. It would be inappropriate right now. We must wait," he affirmed resolutely, never taking his eyes off both combatants.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDmIB1u5Ck
As professional as he tried to sound, Chatel Chatel knew better than anyone that it was a flimsy excuse. If he wanted to, he could have exerted his authority immediately to end such a brawl, but in these exceptional circumstances, his curiosity overruled his sense of law enforcement. Before taking any action, he wanted to have at least a small sample of the martial arts of this strange individual; the wandering knight who had managed to defeat one of his former students.
If he won't come looking for the fight, then I'll have to bring it to him, Mavros thought. In contrast to his impulsive brother, Cyprain awaited him with no intention of abandoning his defensive stance.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ853wlFibmC
Unable to find any other way out of this forced stalemate, the knight accepted the challenge. He moved toward the Holy Warrior with swift strides and, once in range, launched several punches. Those punches missed; the Holy Warrior either dodged them or blocked them with his shield. In the midst of this exchange, he intercepted and caught one of Mavros’s arms with his axe like a hook. Fortunately, the wandering knight managed to break free in time from the unbalancing hold and escaped from his opponent's grasp by jumping backward.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcGPwuxQuS
His defense is quite good. He's responding well to my techniques, he acknowledged, regaining his composure after the brief scare.
"What's ze matter? Are you surprised?" the Holy Warrior taunted, delighted to have forced his previously unstoppable opponent to retreat. "I've learned all your moves. You practiced zem in your 'dances' before coming to face us. Zey were exactly ze same ones you used to defeat my brother."
What? Could he see through the true nature of my 'taka'? Mavros paled a bit at his assertions. He hadn't believed that his rival would have such keen observational skills to decipher a 'taka'—the name of the choreography he had prepared for the duel—without prior knowledge of it. He was realizing how different the two twins were as warriors.
Cyprain has always been the more tactical and calculating one. There's a reason why he made it to the semi-finals of the tournament last year while Renel was eliminated in the quarter finals, Docemin recalled with pride as she watched him. Now I understand why he wasn't helping Renel. I rushed to think he had chickened out, she continued, shifting her gaze towards Mavros with a wicked smile. This poor fool has run out of luck.
The faces of the Ayarian merchants and Luciara reflected their concern for the predicament of their traveling companion.
Mavros… They called his name in silence, fearing the worst might happen.
However, the knight regained his composure quickly. The prospect of a more challenging test boosted his morale rather than the opposite.
"Verily, it doth grieve me that thy brother did not heed thy counsel," he replied to Cyprain, surprising him with a couple of consecutive front kicks that the Holy Warrior could barely intercept with his shield, but not without being pushed back a few steps by their force. "He shouldst have confronted me as a Holy Warrior from the outset, as thou dost," Mavros continued. "Not as a lowly beast whose sole 'talent' is to instill dread in commoners."
A lowly beast?! It was impossible for Cyprain not to take offense at these insults to his identical twin. He went on the offensive with several combinations of axe and shield strikes, which, however, didn't open up his guard as much and were more unpredictable than Renel's. Mavros avoided and blocked several of them, attempting to respond with powerful counterattacks like the one he had used to defeat his brother, but the skilled Holy Warrior managed to anticipate and deflect them.
They're...
At a standstill!
The audience concluded, marveling as the simultaneous attacks of both rivals were intercepted in frenetic clashes, with neither able to gain the upper hand. They were two open books reading each other.
Sparks fly as the wills of men clash with unyielding might. In a fleeting blink, their souls' flames shine their brightest light. recited General Chatel Chatel in his thoughts, his inspiration on full display. He appreciated the beauty of both contenders' techniques. Their power and precision stimulated both his martial vein and his more artistic and subtle sensibilities. He's making Cyprain sweat. Who... Who is this 'knight'? His intrigue about the outlander only grew. His fighting style is very unusual, just like that design of his helmet. It's not the first time I've seen them...
Suddenly, both Mavros and Cyprain put an end to their intense but fruitless offensive with front kicks that pushed them apart. They both panted slightly, recovering their energy. They never lost sight of each other.
Damn, that was close. I did just what he wanted, Cyprain self-criticized, aware of his recklessness in abandoning his defensive strategy. I have to ignore his provocations. I'll frustrate him, defend myself until he starts to tire and make mistakes. There's nothing he can catch me off guard with anymore. He decided and reinforced his stance when he noticed the knight changing his slightly.
He wasn't exaggerating when he claimed he'd learned all the moves from my ”taka,” Mavros acknowledged. The most basic techniques of the Path of the Twin Suns won't work against him anymore. But...
Cyprain watched as Mavros closed in on him with a swift lunge and threw a punch at his face. The Holy Warrior reacted accordingly by raising his shield to protect his head and successfully parried it.
He's not ready for the rest.
"Ugh!" Cyprain groaned in bewilderment. At the same time he parried that punch aimed at his face, the knight launched another equally powerful one at his unprotected abdomen with his other arm, which was enough to break the formidable guard he had maintained up until then.
Seizing the opportunity created, Mavros assailed him with a rain of chained punches that pushed him back a couple of meters. The Holy Warrior managed to recover and stopped the remaining fists by covering himself with his shield, while with his other hand, he tried to counterattack with his axe in a lateral swing. Mavros avoided it by crouching and moving to the side. With an agile sweep, he took his opponent's exposed leg and made him crash hard into the ground. Despite his daze, the Holy Warrior tried to get up quickly, but Mavros, using the remaining momentum from his sweep, jumped and performed an acrobatic somersault in the air.
"Cyprain!" Docemin exclaimed, terrified.
The knight landed with both legs on Cyprain's body like a heavy rock, causing him to cough forcefully as his armor made a violent impact with the ground. His eyes widened in agony, leaving him on the brink of unconsciousness.
Using him as a springboard, Mavros jumped and moved a couple of meters away, turning to face the Holy Warrior with his guard up.
However, Cyprain didn't get up.
"He..."
"… won."
The astonished crowd was still struggling to comprehend what had just happened. A significant portion of them had regained their faith in the twins' victory after Cyprain's promising start. Some couldn't close their open mouths, others exchanged shrugs, and some even brought their hands to their heads in disbelief.
"Très ben," Chatel Chatel thought aloud in his native language, more than delighted.
A few others smiled, revealing their teeth, like Sheida. Even his father Ayman and his partner Jabir, who had remained on edge until then, allowed themselves to express their joy with closed lips.
Even without Nefesh, his mastery in combat is so excellent that it becomes unsettling, Ayman thought, recalling several scenes from the past as he watched Mavros. He's just like Shehor.
On the other hand, Luciara watched him in quiet contemplation. She wasn't really as surprised by his victory as the others, but it provided her with a satisfaction she could only suppress with the bitter memory of their recent and uncomfortable mishap.
Seeing that his opponent had already given all he could offer, Mavros abandoned his stance and turned his back, proceeding to leave the arena with calm steps.
"Cyprain!"
Meanwhile, Docemin rushed past him. She anxiously moved to assist her fallen comrade.
"Cyprain!" she said again, crouching down to support him. "Est que tu vá ben?" she asked in an agitated Grianzan, receiving no response. She urgently turned to several nearby soldiers. "Qué fait voú?! Aide moá a lé deplacé!" she shouted at them.
They nodded timidly, ready to follow her command to help carry him.
But…
"What?"
She and the rest of the spectators jumped in alarm, holding their breath. Suddenly, the Holy Warrior whom everyone had deemed out of the fight, like his twin, had gotten on his knees. His shoulders heaved as he breathed heavily.
Perceiving his awakening with his ears, Mavros turned toward him. The knight shivered as he met the warrior's eyes, filled with a dark determination that far surpassed that of his brother.
"Cyprain!" Docemin called out to him, hoping to finally get his attention, but he completely ignored her, absorbed in the root of his distress.
Driven by his basest instincts, he cast aside the few scruples he had. He was willing to break a fundamental rule of the Holy Warriors that not even the impetuous Renel had dared to disrespect.
He raised his axe above his head. Whirling gusts of hurricane-like air swirled around the weapon.
"It's..."
"Nefesh!"
Fear spread among the spectators as they recognized the nature of this phenomenon, giving them good reason to worry for their lives. Many of them began to flee in disarray.
Using eolic arts in a place like this, Mavros frowned, displeased by the undesirable extremes to which Cyprain was taking this confrontation. That wretch has lost his mind; he no longer cares about the people he is meant to protect. It's what I wanted to avoid the most, but I'll have to use Nefesh to prevent collateral damage. He concluded, determined to unleash the rest of his contained talents and put an end to this dispute once and for all.229Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQLRaPQgOd
The unhinged twin raised his axe, poised to execute a devastating attack on the knight.
Just as he was about to strike...
"Ah!" He felt an overwhelming pressure grip his wrist and stop him dead in his tracks.
The whirlwinds of wind dissipated instantly. Stripped of all his strength, he was forced to release the weapon.
"Enough.” General Chatel Chatel whispered into his ear. Whispers that thundered in his mind like a deafening roar.
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