“Wow! You’ve improved indeed!” Despite her excited tone, Layla’s face seemed indifferent, hidden behind the steel pipe. The improvised weapon seemed as dangerous as a sharp blade in her hands. Her esoteric swordsmanship was still unexplainable to Edward. At least this time, he managed to react a bit faster than the last time they fought.

Even still, he was sure his skills improved lately, but facing Layla he started doubting his abilities a bit.

The hard metal object tried to sneak past his defense once again, Edward moved his guard to the side, interrupting its path. At this moment, his opponent’s armament turned in a weird angle, somehow going back towards the middle and hitting his solar plexus.

The impact made Edward hunch slightly, and take a step back, but the bruise would heal quickly. A couple seconds of respite signified the beginning of the next round.

This time Ed went immediately on the offensive, slashing horizontally from the left. His ‘sword’ bounced back from the opponent’s parry. He used the rebound to swing back downwards. Layla easily intercepted the attack.

As the young warrior continued his assault, he still couldn’t find a gap big enough to go through. It was as if the woman was covered in an invisible but impenetrable defensive net. The net didn’t exist physically of course, it was more of a net of possibilities, of all the moves she could use to stop his attacks.

There was no doubt about who was controlling this fight. But Edward didn’t quit easily. He kept bombarding the opponent with constant strikes, thrusts and slashes, hoping to take advantage of his near limitless stamina. Each time their ‘blades’ met, a golden aura became clearer around their bodies.

One attack followed the other, the youth wasn’t even bothering with defense anymore, and suddenly his blade seemed to pass through Layla’s weapon, barely halting before the side of her head.

A clank of metal hitting the ground followed, and the fighters stopped moving. Their eyes directed towards the broken part of a metal pipe in Layla’s hand.

After a moment of silence, the woman turned her back towards Edward. She threw what was left of her weapon on the floor, and started walking outside the arena.

“This one doesn’t count, my weapon broke,” she said coldly.

“Oh no, we both had the same weapons, it definitely counts.” Edward was not going to let his first victory just slip between his fingers.

“He’s right, you know? You should’ve been more careful Layla…” Marcus crossed his arms.

“Shut up, both of you.”

Outside of Layla’s view, Marcus grinned widely, showing Edward a thumbs up.

After cooling off for some time, Layla approached Ed again.

“I don’t recognize the last round, but good job. Your swordsmanship is still unsure, but it seems a bit more inspired than before.”

Whether that was supposed to be a compliment or a critique, the young man wasn’t sure. Maybe it’s both? In any case that was the best he was going to get.

“Thanks Layla. But what do you mean by ‘inspired’ and how do I make it less ‘unsure’?”

Edward thought he noticed a small trace of satisfaction on his friend’s face. Who didn’t like to show their expertise to someone younger after all?

“Inspired means you’re finally getting out of the basics, slowly building your own fighting style, something like your personal sword philosophy… At least that’s how I like to think of it. You can sometimes get different answers, when asking different swordmasters.”

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Edward decided to ignore how the woman referred to herself as a ‘swordmaster’, already used to her ego. He waited patiently instead, hoping to hear her continue.

“And why is it unsure? That’s obvious. Because you aren’t sure what you’re doing.”

“Huh…?” Edward was struck by this blatantly useless advice.

“As you wield your sword constantly, over time you will feel closer to it, at some point the use will become completely instinctual and there won’t be any doubt in your strikes… That’s what I mean.”

“You could’ve said that immediately, that’s something I can understand!”

Layla just shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Alright anyways, can we finally get a bit more serious? Why are we fighting with some shitty metal sticks instead of normal training swords?”

Marcus and Edward looked at each other confused.

“What, you didn’t think they would be prepared to host the Marked in this facility?”

“Come on, did you even listen to Thompson? Make use of your position, we’ve worked hard to earn it.”

Layla brought out her phone, pressing some buttons and bringing it close to her ear.

“Thompson? Send us some training equipment. Composite swords and shields… hangar E6”

“Great, thank you.”

After saying all that in an authoritative tone, she waited patiently with a sly grin.

And not even 10 minutes later, under the shocked gazes of Edward and Marcus, some soldiers brought in the cases with the required gear, saluting respectfully and leaving quickly.

“Now, let’s get the real duels started!” Layla announced proudly, smoothly drawing a long carbon fiber sword from the container.

The trio of friends, messed about for a bit longer. They started a couple more duels, threw some jokes, before splitting up, and going to prepare for the next meeting. Today they would hear their next orders.

After changing to the military uniforms in their rooms, the group met up in front of the elevator, ascending together to the command room. There they were welcomed by commander Alvis, who stood up from his chair, brought out of his thoughts by the guests’ arrival.

Since everyone was already familiar with each other, and there was no one else present, they casually nodded to each other in greeting.

“Hey friends, I’m very sad to announce that you’ll be leaving us soon. But you Marked never stay long, do you? Always busy, that’s the life of a warrior during war…”

“It was a pleasure nonetheless,” Marcus said, his friends nodding in agreement.

“Alright, I won’t draw it out. You’re being transferred north-east. You’ll be stationed there for a bit longer, they are currently preparing for our own push forward over there. As usual you’ll know more when you’re there.”

“When do we leave?” Edward straightened his shirt.

“Today, in the evening, Thompson will get you. You’re supposed to report tomorrow morning, so I recommend getting some sleep during the flight.”

“Alright, no problem. It was good meeting you Alvis.” Marcus reached out with a handshake.

Layla and Edward followed suit, squeezing the man’s rough hand firmly. Soon after they were back on their way towards their quarters, ready to start packing once again. Even Edward was already getting used to this lifestyle, swiftly preparing his humble belongings for the flight.

He spent the rest of the day relaxing, thinking about his time back home. He hoped to see Katrina soon, although if it was supposed to happen on the frontlines, Ed would rather wait for their reunion.

The warrior also decided to meet up with team Echo. They were still patrolling the surroundings of the battlefield at this time, walking over the fallen trees and avoiding large holes in the ground. Unfortunately Joseph wasn’t with them, and by the gloomy faces Edward could guess the man’s fate.

The goodbyes were short and very official. They didn’t get to know each other that well after all… But who knows, maybe they would meet again on a different occasion, maybe even fighting together under his lead once more.

When the sky started turning an orange hue, Edward knew it was time to go back. He went back towards the facility, riding down underground. He grabbed the bag he prepared on the bed earlier, and continued on his way towards the main landing pad.

The tall jagged walls of exposed rock, and the ceiling hidden by the darkness didn’t seem as imposing as the first time. When he walked towards the far away chopper, Marcus and Layla waved towards him, as the pilots loaded their luggage in the back.

The team was up and ready for their next assignment.