Sebastian Gloom

Duel in Heaven

     The answer, Gloom saw, was very well indeed. Mercurius launched himself at the Japanese blademaster, the holy sword leaving a trail of fire behind it as it swung through the air, but Miyamoto dodged nimbly to the side and both of his opponent's blades passed harmlessly by his head. At the same time he swung with his own sword. If he’d been armed with a katana the duel might have ended there and then, but the European sword was heavier and balanced differently and it hit low, striking the top of his breastplate with a shower of sparks instead of lopping off his head, as he'd intended.

     Mercurius spun around to attack again, swinging the holy sword and holding the other sword back to stab with as the blademaster parried the first attack. Miyamoto ducked again, though, saving his sword to parry his enemy's second attack. He doesn’t want his sword to touch the holy sword, Gloom realised. He's wary of its power. A moment later the blademaster launched another attack of his own, this time compensating for the weight and balance of his blade, and it flew unerringly for the saint's throat. Only a desperate parry with his ordinary sword saved the defender.

     Miyamoto recovered quickly enough to meet the Roman saint's next attack and launch another attack of his own, and Gloom noticed that the blademaster missed an opportunity to run him through, striking instead with the edge of his weapon. That was the weakness of having trained only with katanas, he realised. A sword that lacked a point and that couldn’t stab. In the intensity of battle there was no time to think and plan. He was acting entirely according to his trained instincts and they kept telling to use the edge only.

     They also told him that he only needed to defend himself against the edge, and that was almost his undoing a moment later. Mercurius swung the holy sword again and Miyamoto dodged it again, leaving him in a position in which no possible swing of the Roman saint's other sword could touch him. Mercurius didn't swing, though. He stabbed with it, and the tip of the blade pierced the blademaster's side. The Catholic dignitaries cheered in delight, but the injury was a minor one and was already healing as Miyamoto dodged away to a safe distance while he recovered from the shock and the upset.

     The blademaster only needed the lesson once, and he didn't ignore the point again. He also started attacking with the point of his own sword and a moment later Mercurius was entirely on the defensive as both his swords were fully occupied fending off one attack after another. At one point Miyamoto's sword made contact with the holy sword and the divine, flaming blade sliced cleanly through the mundane steel of his own sword. Fortunately the point of contact was high up towards the tip and Miyamoto only lost three inches of his weapon, leaving him with enough to continue fighting with, but it brought another cheer from the Catholic dignitaries and a groan of dismay from the invaders.

     Miyamoto didn't see it as a setback, though. To him it was an education, an opportunity, and he made use of it immediately. He made a full on attack, this time making no effort to avoid crossing blades with the holy sword. Mercurius brought the flaming sword up to parry it, a sneer of contempt on his face, and another groan of horror went up from the invaders as they foresaw their champion's imminent defeat. As the two blades met, the holy sword once again cut neatly through the mundane steel of the blademaster's weapon, this time just a few inches from the hilt, but Miyamoto didn't abandon the attack. He continued to thrust his blade inwards, now inside his enemy's defence, and plunged it deep into the meat of the saint's upper arm.

     Mercurius cried out in pain, a cry that was echoed a thousand times over from the watching Catholic dignitaries. Miyamoto dropped the now useless weapon and snatched up the holy sword before it could hit the ground, spinning away to give himself time and space before his opponent could recover enough to stab him with his second sword.