Shangri La Pt. 1

47: Monsters

"He's gonna deal with the big guy behind you, and I'm gonna kick your ass." the blond proclaimed as all his fellow knights were in awe by how unfazed he seemed for what was about to come. 

And because of such a proclamation, Ray's lips pursed as he twirled his spear in his hands and then did the exact same as the Captain and pointed his spear at him. 

"Sounds fun, let's see if you can."

( Note: This fight is mainly gonna focus on Katsuki and Ray, not Gin and Uma's fight! )

And without a second of hesitation, Ray dashed from where he was standing and plunged his spear towards the blond, only for Katsuki to block with his sword and for a strong wind to erupt from both sides. Katsuki was instantly reminded of the last time he had a fight against Gin and how the same thing happened with such brute force coming from both sides and how the wind pushed everyone watching away. 

'No way– He's... He's using the same kinda technique Gin uses.' 

"Heh– So you managed to block, but can you dodge or fight back?" Ray teased as he moved his spear away for it to twirl in his hand. He did a complete 180 degree turn as he swung his spear just in time for Katsuki to take a few steps back and miss him completely. 

'He's fast, just as fast as Gin. Looks like this guy ain't messin' around.'

As Katsuki and Ray began their spar, Gin was a bit worried for his Captain, as he knew that the blond wasn't going to leave this fight unscathed. 

'He doesn't know what he signed up for.' 

"It seems those two have already begun, so shall we do the same?" Uma requested, making Gin turn to face the tall burly man. 

"Hah~ Uma, you remember the last fight the two of us had against each other, right? You clobbered me to the point I couldn't even stand." Gin tried to remind him. 

"Yes, but in case you've forgotten, that was over 5 years ago, which means things have changed and you have most likely gotten stronger. And as much as I could walk away before this fight ever begins, I must see just how much stronger you have gotten." Uma answered as he tightened his grip on his large polearm.

As though the silver haired Vice Captain didn't want to partake in this, he did know a few things about his opponent that couldn't have changed from the past. 

So right before Uma could even take the time or chance to start the battle, Gin used the opposite end of his glaive and plunged for the end of his polearm to stab right into Uma's stomach and force him to go sliding back a few feet. Uma breathed as it felt like something heavy hit his stomach and panned his eyes up to see how serious Gin had become. 

'Though Uma is known for his strength and brute force, there's one thing that he doesn't have, and that's speed. Because of his weapon–and how heavy it is–it slows him down to the point that fast moving attacks are almost impossible for him to dodge. That's the one thing I've learned when fighting him in the past, but I just hope that doesn't mean he just gave me an opening.' Gin thought. 

"I see, you are quite serious just as I hoped you'd be. Very well, you are my opponent that I must have dropped to his knees."

While the 2 intense duels were going on, Izumi was off carrying an entire basket of dirty robes of the Great Pisces that needed to be cleaned, and she just kept thinking of what happened the day prior.