"Who do you think will win?" Jonathan said aloud.

"It is hard to say. Neither can break the other's defense." Jin replied.

Alice and Leonhard had been constantly clashing with no result for some time now.

Alice failed to pierce the mech's armor, and at the same time, Leonhard couldn't beat her whenever their blades locked.

"Haven't you two noticed it?" Yulia said.

"Noticed what?" The boys said unanimously.

"Look at the mech's armor." She pointed at the next clash on the progress.

Alice gathered aura and leaped forward, leaving a mark on the ground. Her sword, glowing bright, clashed with Leonhard's mech armor.

At that moment, a thin layer of semi-transparent energy appeared on the mech's body, deflecting the aura.

"He has an energy shield on that thing," Yulia added.

"It should take lots of juice to block each attack, am I right?" Jin asked.

"Sorry for jumping into your talk, but yet, it does." One of the staff answered he was an engineer responsible for the maintenance of the defense systems.

"Does that mean Alice will win if she keeps pushing?" Jonathan asked the staff.

"Yes, that sounds right," the engineer answered.

"But what if Alice falls before?" Yulia asked.

All eyes snapped back to the battle.

Alice looked the same for most staff. Only the advisors and the trio saw the truth.

"She is slower." All thought.

***

Alice took a deep breath. She had been clashing with the mech for a while, yet it wasn't damaged.

"What do I do wrong?" She asked herself, raising her sword for the next clash.

Leonhard was slowly taking the lead. His every attack was like a speeding truck.

When the electrified blades entered her range, Alice pushed forward and blocked them, locking herself and Leonhard.

"I suppose mechs don't get tired?" Alice said, barely keeping her smile up.

"Sadly, no," Leonhard answered before pushing her away. Jet engines of his mech roared, and the flames behind him grew, melting the sand on the floor.

"He doesn't even give time to breathe. I am going to do stupid."

Alice waited for Leonhard's attack, and the moment he got into the range, she rolled forward, passing between the mech's legs.

"Alice, no!" Yulia shouted from the sides, watching her move to the area where flames created by jet engines concentrated.

Leonhard stabbed the ground to slow the mech down.

"Did she-"

Before he managed to turn around, a golden ball leaped into the air and grabbed the back of the mech.

"Finally!" Alice shouted, proudly standing on top of the mech.

She threw her blade away and grabbed the left arm.

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"What are you doing?" Leonhard shouted as he trashed his mech, trying to throw Alice away.

Alice locked the arm and loaded her body with aura. "I know this looks barbaric, but if I can't do it with my sword, I am doing it with my muscle!" She gnarled as she slowly pulled the mechanical parts away from their place.

Broken rivets shot out, metal plates ripped away, scattering shrapnel, and cables ruptured, their tips carrying high-voltage.

When she finally tore the arm from the mech's body, she used it to hit Leonhard and push him away.

It looked like the tides had turned in her favor.

Countless warnings filled Leonhard's HUD. And if it wasn't enough

"I expected much from her, but this was... Rather exciting."

He stopped the mech in its place. "Time to overdrive."

The amount of energy the mech was outputting tripled, with high voltage surge escaping from the torn cables, zapping around randomly.

He bent the mech forward and activated the thrusters.

"Again?" Alice did as before and rolled forward to dodge the incoming attack, but Leonhard stabbed the ground with its remaining blade.

Thrusters on the back changed their direction, and the mech turned around, lifting sand clouds and creating tracks behind.

"This is bad!" Alice concentrated her aura around herself and tanked the mech's bodyslam.

It shattered her shield and threw her across the arena.

She rolled and bounced on the ground, lifting dust and scraps. She only managed to stop herself by summoning her sword and stabbing the ground.

She spit on the ground. Blood mixed with her saliva. Her eyes opened, and Alice quickly checked her arms, trembling. Her armor cracked, and she had bruises but no wounds. "Oh, please don't be internal bleeding." She checked her lips next and took a deep breath. It was just a small wound in her mouth.

"Is there a problem?" A medical staff asked from the side. "All good!" Alice shouted, her arm raised high with a thumbs up. "Now, back to you." She turned to her opponent.

Leonhard slowly approached Alice. His fuel had almost depleted.

Alice followed her opponent's approach. "You know, for someone who called himself not a combat type, you have some good piloting skills."

"Thank you! When you spend your childhood in military factories, you also get to use them frequently."

Both hastened their pace.

Alice readied herself, expecting Leonhard to fire the thrusters, but suddenly, the mech shot away its back panels, and Leonhard jumped out.

"What?" Alice locked on him, and that momentary vulnerability, the mech rushed in and took her into a lock using its arm.

"Damn it!" Alice struggled around, but the mech didn't flinch. It just increased the pressure.

"We have to do this then!" Alice's body glowed blinding bright. So much aura gathered it leaked around as light beams.

"Just hold on, Alice, please."

She bit her teeth to avoid biting her tongue. "It hurts like hell!" She cried inside. Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Wait, is she?" Leonhard stepped away just in time as a golden explosion strong enough to shake the floor appeared.

At first, a blinding light forced everyone to look away, then so much sand erupted from the floor, the steel frames under the arena showed up, and finally, from the veil of sand, burned scraps of the mech and Alice's armor scattered across the training grounds.

Alice, her armor destroyed and limbs bruised, still stood. She held her sword with both hands and looked at Leonhard.

Inside her eyes was a firestorm.

"It is not over yet!" She stepped forward and stumbled when her feet hit the floor, but she pushed.

Leonhard looked at Alice, one hand raised and fingers pointed at her. "I advise you to stop."

"No-

"Yes!" The sword suddenly spoke and escaped Alice's grip, dropping itself to the ground.

"What?!" She tried to grab the sword but failed to lift it.

"Why are you doing this!" She shouted.

"Just take the loss here, or you will get hurt too much!" The sword shouted.

Alice tried to lift it once more but finally gave up. She let herself hit the ground.

Leonhard put his hand down. Sparks appeared around him. He touched the ground with one hand and approached Alice.

"You fought well." He offered his hand.

Alice grabbed it and let the boy pick her up. "Yeah, if I had been more careful, I could even take the win."

Leonhard nodded. "It pains me to admit, but yes, winning against you a second time will be extremely hard. Now, if you allow me to."

He put Alice's hand around his shoulder and helped her walk towards the medical staff.

"I lost." Alice thought on the way. "But I don't feel bad." She smiled.

*** Sometime after the duel.

Leonhard walked through an empty corridor, still mid-construction.

"Sister?" He said, his eyes giving a faint blue glow. He talked through the brain implant.

"Yes, I am finished here." He stopped. "How was it? Well, all kids were good, one more interesting than the others."

He stopped talking and nodded twice. "No, none were as strong as you."

He chuckled. "Not even trying to act humble, huh?" He smirked. "Well, prepare yourself. I will arrive in no time."

He closed his eyes and ended the call.

"Though none of them can be considered a challenge to you, she might put up a decent fight if she grows well." He murmured.