Duelcrest Academy

15. To the last drop of blood

Valentine drew his sword and, as Sophia had done before, ran it over his palm. With a clatter, the steel blade fell to the ground, while a crimson one, created from his blood, emerged from the boy's hand.

Sophia stood still, waiting for her opponent to make his first move.

It only took a moment for Valentine to start his assault. His thrust was deftly dodged with a sidestep. His blade, however, mutated after the failed strike. The blood came to life, taking the shape of an arrow and, flying off Valentine's hand, swiftly darted towards Sophia's side.

But she was ready.
With a backward leap, she moved out of the trajectory. The arrow missed its target, but before crashing into the magical barrier, it halted its course and reversed. With high speed, it headed back towards the girl. Meanwhile, Valentine also lunged towards Sophia, attempting to tackle her: a pincer attack.

The class held its breath.

But Sophia had no intention of losing so quickly.
She quickly turned around and ran towards the blood arrow, dodging it by ducking, while simultaneously avoiding her opponent's charge.

Her movements betrayed great combat experience. But would it be enough to evade every single attack?

Valentine continued to stay on the offensive. The arrow returned to his hand, this time transforming into a blood whip. Valentine wielded it fervently towards Sophia's legs. She jumped to avoid it. Valentine, who must have anticipated that response, liquefied his blood again, which fell to the floor, forming a spiked trap. Sophia twisted her body and managed to leap backward again to avoid landing on it.

Valentine's attacks intensified, but Sophia's physical prowess and reflexes managed to avoid the myriad ways his blood attempted to attack her.

My cheeks were now marked by deep lines, where I had dug my nails in tension.
How long would she be able to dodge?

She had done an excellent job so far. The speed at which Valentine could control his blood seemed to have its limits, which Sophia was managing to exploit.
But in the long run, a small mistake or the onset of fatigue could spell doom for her.
Sophia herself couldn't go on the offensive. Rushing against Valentine would expose her to an undodgeable attack.
Her only chance was to win by attrition.
Despite his power, it was unlikely that Valentine could keep large quantities of blood outside his body without consequences. If Sophia pushed him to use more and more blood, perhaps she had a chance.

"What a shitty situation you have put yourself in!"

If only she had talked to me instead of trying to be so mysterious.

The fight continued for another ten minutes. As time passed, I could see Valentine's attacks becoming slower. Sophia also seemed less agile than at the beginning, but she appeared less worn out than her opponent.
Was there hope after all?

«You weren't kidding... huh?» Valentine gasped. His face had become increasingly pale as the duel progressed.

«What's wrong, not so full of yourself anymore?» Sophia replied, sizing him up from a safe distance.

«Well, I'm certainly impressed that you lasted this long. But I've figured out what you're aiming for and it won't work...»

New blood gushed from the wound in his hand, his crimson blade elongated by several inches. By now, he must have extracted nearly two liters of blood from his body.

«Sure, I admit it's not pleasant. But thanks to my power, I can survive with much less blood than a normal human.»

Valentine's attacks, though slower, gained considerable range and power. Sophia was slowly retreating, soon she would find herself backed against the wall due to the barrier.