Our battle continues, but with each exchange, my insight into Sylvia’s fighting style grows. My counter-attacks are guided by my predictions, and they have hit their mark more than once by now. Sylvia is still much more skilled than me when it comes to combat, but I am able to at least offer a challenge at this very moment. I must state that I have won against her before in our small spars, if the usage of [melodies] was allowed. When they are not, Sylvia keeps up her act by limiting her pureflow usage, letting it be only at the level where it is the best of our group by a small margin. In these specific instances, the score is twenty to one for Sylvia. My only victory occurred when I sprayed dirt in her face using my sharpsong, obscuring her vision. She never once fell for that trick again. I somewhat expected her to call the result of the duel invalid due to my use of trickery, but she sincerely congratulated me and claimed that I helped her learn a lot.
While it is her greatest asset, even without her otherworldly physical abilities, she is still a force to be reckoned with. Her sheer skill leaves many other newly [enlightened] at a loss when dueling her. They have no choice but to fall for the traps she lays which leads them to a swift defeat.
As the duel progresses, small wounds decorate both of our bodies, but there are many more on mine. Thankfully, due to our enhanced constitutions, they will not scar. The most notable of those wounds is a small incision above my right eye which drips with blood especially abundantly, blurring my vision. It originated from a calculated series of attack, the finishing move aimed at that spot. I had been unable to fully evade it. The reason was simple: even if I see the attack coming, it is useless if its speed exceeds my own, and Sylvia has begun to rely on that principle. Of course, even she cannot perform every movement at a speed that I am unable to process, but she does not need to. Only a few strikes need to be done in such a way.
Steadily, using her understanding of my current abilities, Sylvia starts sacrificing finesse for power and her attacks become deadlier. The feints disappear, creating room for simpler, but more devastating attacks. Still mixed in with some weaker ones, a few blows threaten to take my life as they fly through the air. For now, I am able to save myself, but how long will that last? Most are relatively harmless, but the mental pressure I receive from evading the ones that threaten to incapacitate me accumulates, rendering my movements more sluggish. The smallest mistake could cost me an arm, a leg or even my head, the weight on my psyche is tremendous. I can predict these killer moves, but the problem comes when I need my body to move out of the way. As I fight for my life, I think to myself,
‘Did she seriously come here to kill me or what?!’
After a few more clashes of our instruments, Sylvia stops her onslaught. I pant heavily, attempting to recover my stamina during this brief interruption. She observes me, sets her warchord down to lean on it and conveys her thoughts.
“You’re definitely doing something different but it’s not enough to say you’re not Alden. You still make the same mistakes…”
‘ouch…’
She continues, a look of confusion plastered on her face.
“Here’s the weirdest thing however, why aren’t you playing your [melody]? I don’t mean anything by this, but you know you won’t be able to win if you restrict yourself in such a way, even with this new… thing you’re able to do. It bugs me because you’re the type to make use of everything you can to win a fight, you don’t generally care about the sanctity of a duel or whatnot, which I respect.”
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My face twitches, but I instantly let go of my discontent. I then wear an awkward smile and answer.
“...Are you still thinking about the dirt incident?”
Her face contorts, remembering it.
“No, well, maybe. Though it was well played, I had a difficult time washing my hair that day.”
I shrug, looking away.
“Haha… Sorry?”
Her expression radiates warmth and sincerity.
“I already told you it was fine back then, really!”
‘Does she ever get angry… Wait! she totally does! That one time when Rowan left us and then at Calliope when she wouldn’t listen to her, though that instance was more to protect Calliope so it doesn’t really count. I wonder what it would take for me to make her angry… I don’t know if I want to test it out. Don’t wake up a sleeping bear they sa-’
Pulling me out of my thoughts, She makes sure to bring the conversation back to its initial point.
“Answer my question, Alden.”
I anchor my sharpsong to the ground and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“How can you say that when you won’t even play yours Sylvia. Let me remind you that you said this would be a ‘real’ fight. I was kind of looking forward to finally seeing what you were really able to do and here you go, pretending once again.”
Her face morphs into a deep frown and she utters her few words.
“Wait, what do you mea-”
But I interrupt her.
“Listen, I’ve known for a while now, there’s really no need to pretend. My aegis is a bit special so I have known ever since we fought that [echo-blessed] bear.”
The frown still defining her expressions, she replies.
“I… I have no idea what you mean. My [melody] allows me to increase the weight of organic and inorganic objects…”
I unload my chest, and say everything I have been wanting to say every since this duel had started.
“If you can’t fight me properly, then there’s no point to this duel. Let’s admit it, this was never really meant to confirm whether I was Soulweaver or not, you already knew I wasn’t , didn’t you? I’m not sure what happened with Calli, but you believed her and the fight up till now should have confirmed her claims. You just want to fight, Sylvia, and I was kind enough to indulge you.”
It may sound as such, but I do not dislike Sylvia, far from it. I simply find it incredibly insulting that she would call me out here for a duel, refuse to use her [melody], then have the gall to ask why I do not make use of mine. I know that she must have her reasons for her decision, which is why I never asked about it before, despite being aware. However, tonight, her hypocrisy baffles me and I am unable to contain myself, I catch my breath and continue,
“You, however, decided that you would not have the courtesy to come at me with all you have, and yet, you think you can ask me to fight with all my strength? It’s a bit weird to say, but I know you’re not doing it with bad intentions. I know that… you care about me. I appreciate that you took the time to look for me in that forest and that you found where I live to inform my siblings… even if that was a bit creepy… but you’re wasting my time today Sylvia.”
She lowers her gaze, bites her lip pensively, then she meets my eyes once more with a determined look.
“You’re always correcting me Alden aren’t you…? You’re right, that was wrong of me. While I do have my own reasons to not use my [melody], I’ll make an exception today, as a show of respect… to a friend.”
Hearing her reply, I tense up. I had never expected her to actually give in. My hair stands on end, expectant to finally witness Sylvia’s real might. As she prepares to unleash the full extent of her abilities, the ‘core’ within her fluctuates, much more fervently than when she exerts pure flow and in a much more complicated way.
‘...Is this what happens to the soul when someone plays their [melody]?”
The blond haired woman inhales deeply, filling her lungs to the brim. I expect some sort of powerful ability related to that action. I raise my guard and prepare to summon my aegis at a moment’s notice.
‘Something with her breath? A sonic wave maybe?’
Against my expectations, all I hear is a soft, enchanting hum, and Sylvia slowly makes her way towards me.