Magician's Blood

6-The Anti-Mage

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-6/The Anti-Mage

Magician's Blood-Kisho

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July 18th, 3094 GSC—22:59 Standard Time—07:21 Local Time

Moza—Laric System—Moza Sector

Moza Church Academy—Dueling Grounds

"Captain, I don't know what you want me to do."

Renault stood at the edge of the room, his arms folded tightly. Elicia tapped her foot on the wooden floor, the sound echoing through the room. "I told you. Let me attack you."

He put a hand to his forehead. "I don't know what I did to anger you, Captain, but I urge you not to rely on the death penalty."

"I'm not going to kill you," she said, a note of irritation to her voice. "In the first place, I'm able to hold back my magic. In the second place, you're going to do something to it just like the web, aren't you?"

Renault let out a long sigh. At last, he only said, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"I'm delivering a formal mission report to the joint council at ten. Lyric's going to be there too, but he's still sleeping. Unless you consider me sitting around twiddling my thumbs a better use of my time—"

"I honestly do—"

"—then no, there is nothing better to be doing. Now come over here and work with me."

He pushed away from the wall with another long, heavy sigh. "You're incorrigible, Captain. But at this rate it seems like it'll be easier to just agree and get it over with."

"Glad you're so cooperative," Elicia said.

The Moza Church Academy was a place for training magicians to be great warriors, and so naturally the dueling chambers were an important part of the architecture. The room was rounded, a depression of around a meter in the middle, fifteen meters across. The inside was lined with specially-constructed foam that could be set to different softness levels, to accommodate combatants at different levels. Around the edge of the room were training weapons made from the same material. Ambient lighting was dark, but milky white light shone in a spotlight over the central arena.

Elicia drew her sword and hung it on a rack, taking off a similarly-shaped trainer sword instead. Unexpectedly, when she turned around, she saw Renault had already chosen a trainer and jumped into the arena.

"Champing at the bit, now, Brother?" she asked, jumping in on the opposite side.

"I just want to get this over with."

She inspected his stance carefully. He held a short knife at chest level, angled up and across to cover his body. Left-handed. He kept his knees bent, one foot and one shoulder slightly in front, and he seemed overall to be relaxed. Unexpectedly, it actually seemed like he was ready for her. He was getting more and more interesting.

"Then let's. We'll do critical-region system. Get hit in a noncritical region, you can't use that part of your body. Get hit in the vitals and you fall."

"And magic?" he asked.

"Magic is allowed, of course."

He nodded. "Understood."

"Then let's begin," she said, and talk stopped. She held her sword high in an aggressive stance, the tip pointed forwards, and she strafed as she moved forwards. Renault started to do the same on the other side, and seeing her stance, he lifted his knife to eye-level, holding it flat.