Blood of the Merciless

Chapter Thirty-Seven

37.

To say that Ivo was confident would be truly and utterly false. He had no idea how this was going to play out. He had spent every waking moment thinking about how to fight this fight. His 'eyes' made casts useless against him. His master will be forced to fight him physically. Despite years of training, he was certain that Jerial had still been better than him at sword fighting. Ivo brought his dao blade, it was his favourite weapon and got one custom made from Arstutia. There was another problem with fighting his master. He did not want to hurt Alaric. He would be forced to hold back. You just have to stall. Ivo walked alongside Cressela, Drustan and Orvyn. The journey to the castle gates had been a silent one. At the castle gate stood Jerial, to his sides were Commander Gregory and Commander Hughes. Ivo stopped causing the rest of his group to stop.

"Have you made your decision, Ivo?" Jerial asked.

"Yes, I have. However, I am not sure you will like it." Ivo retorted.

"I am certain I would enjoy whatever you decided on."

"Is that so?"

"You have always been intriguing, Ivo. You ever wondered why I took you in all those years ago?"

Ivo shrugged.

"You had the potential to become even stronger than me. A frightening concept to most but to me...it had excited me. Alas, you have wasted my time. You could not get rid of your guilt. That can change if you choose to stand once again by my side."

Ivo was about to respond when he sensed the stria build up close to Commander Gregory. Too soon Drustan. He did not have time to scold him as Jerial already attacked. Ivo saw Cressela's aura block the attack. Commander Hughes' aura flared but he was intercepted as Commander Orvyn attacked. Ivo gave up his natural eyesight for something he had thought was much better. The ability to sense stria was useful. It allowed him to avoid casts that were meant to harm him. Everyone's stria had a different feel, Ivo called it aura. It was also how he could tell people apart. This ability granted Ivo the nickname 'The Eyes'. Due to him seemingly having the ability to see while being blind. Ivo unsheathed his blade and rushed Jerial. He could tell the moment Jerial was about to cast by the flare of his aura. Ivo's boots went green as he cast step, an ilium cast that allowed the user to make platforms out of air. He hopped into the air and changed direction, narrowly avoiding Jerial's cast. Ivo used the chance to aim a strike at his master. Auras were shaped like a silhouette therefore he could accurately aim his strikes. He aimed to strike the knee however his blade was stopped by something he couldn't sense. Ivo predicted it was Jerial's sword by the way his aura's hand was positioned. Once Jerial's hand began flaring, Ivo immediately backed away.

"I understand how your new eyes work now, Ivo. It seems fighting you would be more of a pain than a challenge." Jerial said.

"Have you lost your touch, master? You reacted a little late to my strike."

Jerial scoffed. "Still growing accustomed to my new set of bones, you see."

Ivo watched as Jerial's aura flared and he jumped to the side. No cast was made, instead, his master turned to Cressela. He tricked me. Jerial accelerated towards Cressela, who could only manage to block. One attack went through her guard and caught her above the eye. The cut had been shallow due to her dodging at the last moment. Ivo held out a hand and a green roped emerged from his palm. It moved towards Jerial but he had been too fast. Jerial was on Commander Drucker in no time. The commander's armour could not withstand the heat that emanated from Jerial's palm. Ivo could just watch as his commander and friend screamed in pain. Drustan was tossed to the floor. His aura faded slowly.