Time travel || Wonhyuk

9: Duel

Reaching out a clammy hand, Wonho clenched onto the grip of his sword tightly. Hyunwoo didn't give them any more time for friendly handshakes or meaningless small talk. He meant business and Wonho could sense it too. They stood their grounds opposite each other on the edge of the court, awaiting the signal with little patience. Wonho's heart palpitated restlessly, pumping adrenaline till the very tip of his fingers. He could barely keep still.

Hyunwoo's calm demeanour immediately shattered as soon as the ambassador announced the commencement of the final match. He dashed towards Wonho, muscular legs bringing him across the court at break-neck speed. Wonho moved forward to match Hyunwoo, ducking just in time as the other's blade sliced through the air right where his neck had been a few seconds ago. Damn, this was a fight to the  death. Wonho stuck out his right leg and did a low sweep, of which Hyunwoo easily avoided by stepping aside. Following up the attack, Hyunwoo brought his blade downwards onto Wonho. The blonde knight raised his shield in the nick of time, letting the sword clash against the wood. Hyunwoo striked again, and once again, the sword was met with wood. However, Wonho realised that he simply could not continue to merely block using his shield. Even with just the force of one arm, Hyunwoo was rather strong, and the force of his swings were able to pierce through the wood even just a little. Moreover, he did not have the muscles to keep Hyunwoo's attacks at bay all the time. Sending his own blade forward, he was not prepared when the other tripped him, causing him to fall over. From there, Hyunwoo wielded his sword much like a spear, stabbing at the ground as if he was fishing by the river. Wonho rolled away, letting every attack strike harmlessly into the grass. This wasn't working.

A little voice called out to him, panic-stricken, begging him to get up. It sounded familiar, yet it wasn't at the same time. And he was most certainly sure no one in the spectators were saying anything.

Bringing his shield up, Wonho knocked into Hyunwoo's side, forcing him to give up on his relentless assault as Wonho found his footing and stood up quickly. Both of them were cautious, pacing around the area like predators sizing up their prey. The sun beat down mercilessly on them, and Wonho could sense sweat pooling under his eyebags. Oh, how he wanted to wipe them away.

Hyunwoo moved first, charging at Wonho with a composed face, shield outstretched. With trained agility, he swung his sword with a flurry of limbs, cutting through the air towards Wonho. Unexpected, the latter merely managed to move out of harm's way, but the blade still found it's target, it's edge grazing against the skin above Wonho's left brow, drawing blood from a clean cut that was at least two inches long. The blood mixed with perspiration came pouring down onto his eye. With this he couldn't exactly judge distance accurately. He was at his wit's end.

There it was, that voice again.

You can do it.

Wonho couldn't help but snort at that. Honestly, if he could have done it, he would've already been over this fight long ago. Not only does Hyunwoo have long ass hands that reached way beyond Wonho's range, he was also much more experienced. But this voice, he didn't know why, he wanted to believe it. He believed it. He trusted it. He must be going insane.

Hyunwoo lunged forward again, attempting a thrust. A sudden surge of energy urged Wonho into an aerial flip as he jumped into the air gracefully. The armor was weighing him down. Praying fervently, Wonho nearly cried out in tears of happiness when the momentum successfully sent him across and he landed perfectly without breaking a limb. This caused a collective gasp to arise from the spectators, who had been watching the intense match in absolute silence till then. Before Hyunwoo could react, Wonho slammed his shield into the guy's head with full force, causing the other to stagger, eyes dazed and unfocused.

The blow to his head wasn't enough. Though winded, he still managed to block the blonde knight's subsequent attacks. This exasperated the poor knight, who was struggling with his blind spot. If Hyunwoo was to take advantage of it and attack him from his left, he would go down immediately. With a loud war cry, Wonho dived forward, blocking the other's sword with his shield, before sending a kick to his legs and plunged his sword into the dirt right beside where the taller knight had fallen, the edge of the blade lining his neck, close enough to touch, but safe enough to be of any harm.

Hyunwoo could only lie on the floor, a hearty laugh escaping his mouth as he closed his eyes.

"Good job Hoseok. You have proven to be a great knight but you're too benevolent. If protecting means someone has to be killed, be it your friend or foe, remember, don't ever leave any leeway."

Hyunwoo reached out a hand and Wonho immediately responded by pulling him to his feet, before the other pulled him into a quick hug.

"Either way, this is a great achievement. I'm proud of you."