“She said that you are a mage with close combat experience? If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to take your measure. A little match with swords or knives as you like for checking out your skills. Perhaps I can give you some pointers for your own development. I’ve done this for some time here.”

“Yeah, I thought so. You seem to have lived here before your ascension to an avatar, but I thought that this is prohibited by the rules?”

Razell nodded and answered.

“That’s right. But Levato is a supernatural creature himself and all his people here know this and therefore it’s no problem for me. And I didn’t especially made an announcement that I returned if you know what I mean.”

They now went inside the compound to an open place beside a building that was build like a bunker. The walls were black and smooth and no windows were to be seen and the only door was made of solid steel.

“That’s the weapon chamber. Only the people of the compound are tolerated inside, so you have to wait outside until I can gather a weapon for you. What would you like? A longsword, a katana or some other blade? We have quite a collection in there.”

Iranueel thought to himself, that he didn’t agree to the test fight but he was eager to learn and an swordmaster like his companion could surely help him with his skills.

“If you have a bastard sword, I would be pleased. I like to have a hand free for a spell or use both hands for a hard strike. Therefore I like the diversity of this blade.”

Razell nodded and grinned. He was a blade nerd and liked any discussion about his favourite fighting style.

“You are right but someone with two blades can easily cover you with his strikes so that you only can defend yourself without a chance to counterattack. Your footwork decides such a fight. Having a favourite sword style isn’t something bad, but you should be experienced in all the other styles as well to counter them. Also training in other weapons than swords and knives is recommended if you ask me.”

Iranueel fully agreed.

“Yeah, Misako and I decided that we would try to enter one of Gaia’s portals to live some time in her magical world to gather some strength and experience. I don’t think that modern weapons are common on the other side.”

The older avatar shrugged and answered.

“I’m not certain but as far as I know, you are right. Everyone I talked with said that there are no modern weapons allowed by Gaia. You only can use magic or medieval weapons over there. Do have weapon skills other than sword and knive?”

Iranueel shook his head.

“No, that’s all I have for now. I haven’t had much points after investing most in my magic skills. I am an elemental mage and after buying the needed abilities I only had some spare points for getting the knife skill. I was trained in sword fighting before my ascension. Before my premature death I belonged to a medieval club and trained sporadically with some friends. With real blades and not those fake plastic chunk some idiots throw around for fun. I liked the sound of the clashing blades and the kick you got from the danger of real pain and injure if you didn’t get it right.”

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“Yeah, there is nothing better to sharpen a man’s instincts than a good blade dance. I always enjoyed the thrill and the chance of being killed or being the killer. Perhaps that’s the reason why I never had a chance with the girls. They seemed to feel my darker side and stayed clear of me.”

Iranueel took a look back to the house Misako went inside.

“It seems to me that there is a girl you like here.”

Razell gazed furiously at him and Iranueel felt Razell aura getting darker immediately. He raised his hands in defense.

“No hard feelings from me. She’s all yours. I like Misako but only as a friend. She’s not in  my strike zone so if you want, you can take your chances with her.”

All of a sudden Razell became coy and pale. His steps faltered and he almost ran into a latern post at the side of the path they went on.

“Don’t mention this to her. I’d like to take this slow and steady and not take any unprepared steps. She is high class and has never looked at me in a special way before. I’m just the generic guy from the road she can find anywhere.”

Iranueel snorted and responded.

“You forget that you were a mortal before. She herself said to me that I should only search for other immortals if I looked for more than a quick enjoyment in the bed. You never stood a chance before but now you should take your chances. She has been beaten hard in the last weeks and could use somebody like you. Hell, I would like you to accompany us on our journey.”

Razell was silent for a moment and thought about it. His eyes closed and in deep thoughts he stood still before the black building.  After nearly a minute he opened them again and gazed serious at Iranueel.

“She could stay here with me and the master. We can protect her and give her time to get back her bearings. She doesn’t need to follow you right into the danger of Gaia’s world.”

“You are right, but I think she will come with me. Perhaps if you come along, I will tell you the reason for it after some time to get a feeling for you.”

Razell watched him closely and with caution in the eyes.

“What do you hide? You must have some kind of leverage against Misako that she would follow you into the unknown. She has never been someone that trusted other people easily and took nothing for granted.”

“You are right, I have something in the my hands, but it’s not something to suppress her. She’s a friend of mine and if she wants to stay here then I will not coerce her into leaving with me. And I will be leaving as soon as possible, because the triads will come for my head just because I helped Misako survive long enough to escape their clutches.”

Razell nodded and went shortly into the weapon chamber, returning only seconds later, holding a bastardsword made of an almost white metal.

He threw the weapon to Iranueel who catched it nimbly at the hilt.

What took him for a surprise was the lightness of the blade. If it would have been made out of steel the sword would have weighed about 4 kilogram but if he judged right it was around the half of it. The metal itself was milky white and a bit flexible like steel.

And it was sharp when he tested it against his thumb. A clear cut was visible after he put some force against the blade. Curious he looked to the older man.

Smirking and a bit laughing Razell said.

“It’s called Mithril. Yes, lord of the rings has got it right. It has some connections to titanium, somewhat the magical version of it. Use it for our sparring match. Any other normal blade wouldn’t survive long enough against my weapons and I don’t want to change mine.”

With that said, Razell turned and went to the training spot, where a circle was painted on the ground with a diameter of 10 meters. The circle was totally black and the space outside white.

“Over stepping costs one point. Everytime one gets hit an additional point is accredited. For starters we begin with 5 points for each of us. You can use your whole repertoire if you like. Surprise me at bit. Don’t hold back because inside this ring we can’t kill each other. But it will hurt nonetheless, believe me.”

Iranueel took some probing swings and tried to get the balance of the blade. It was a real masterwork. Its weigh perfectly distributed between the blade itself and the hilt. There was only a little bit more weight on the blade, just enough for a good hit but not too much as to hinder smooth movements. He took position 4 meters away from Razell.

“Where is your sword? Do you fight barehanded to give me some leeway?”

Razell smiled slightly and shook his head.

“Believe me when I say that I’m not unarmed. First rule when fighting. Try to be ready for everything. Surprises can end a fight faster the bullet to the head.”

With that said he suddenly grabbed back above his shoulders with both hands in a smooth movement and closed his hands around two now appearing black swords. One a katana and the other a wakazashi. They seemed to be made out of shadows and red menacing runes danced along them.

“I wanted to give you a warning before I smack you down for the first time. Most people only recognize my blades when they are already dying. So, let’s dance!”

And Razell moved.