Chapter 89: The Duel
The owl flapped its mechanical wings and soared upward. It hovered near the arena rafters to secure a perfect overhead angle of the combat ring for the viewers.
Solomon and Marco stepped completely past the boundary line.
"You still have a few seconds to grab a weapon," Marco warned while adjusting his grip on his hilts. "Do not complain to the professors when I carve you up."
"I am fine with my fists," Solomon replied casually.
The Referee raised his hand and brought it down in a swift chopping motion. The duel officially commenced.
Marco instantly kicked off the stone tiles. He dashed across the ring with impressive speed and lunged forward with his right blade.
Solomon leaned back to avoid the strike. The metal edge grazed past his uniform. Marco immediately followed up with a horizontal slash from his left hand, forcing Solomon to duck under the sweeping attack and leap backward to create distance.
’He relies entirely on his speed to overwhelm his opponents,’ Solomon thought while backpedaling away from a rapid flurry of thrusts. ’These basic slashes will not cause fatal damage, but I still need to be extremely careful. If he infuses those blades with his aura, he could easily slice right through muscle and bone.’
Solomon kept jumping and sidestepping around the arena. He intentionally remained on the defensive to carefully observe Marco’s footwork and memorize the exact timing of his strikes. Once he understood the attack patterns, he could easily formulate a counter-offensive.
He also had a secondary, far more important reason for evading every single strike. He absolutely could not afford to sustain a visible injury.
’If Marco cuts me and the crowd watches my flesh instantly stitch itself back together, it will create a massive spectacle,’ Solomon reasoned as he swayed past another dual-strike. ’People will start demanding explanations for the regeneration speed. I could always lie and claim cellular healing is the primary function of Convergence to keep my actual talent a secret. Avoiding the situation entirely is just a much better strategy.’
Marco swung aggressively and missed again. He ground his teeth in frustration. "Are you just going to run around like a coward the entire match?!"
Solomon ignored the cliche provocation completely. He had spent fifteen years trapped in a mental void fighting a legendary warrior so the angry taunts of a teenager meant absolutely nothing to him.
Solomon tracked Marco’s shoulders and mapped out the attack sequence. He had successfully analyzed all the baseline movements, aside from whatever hidden trump card the upperclassman was undoubtedly saving for later. It was time to start fighting back.
Marco stepped into a wide forward lunge, aiming a dual-thrust directly at Solomon’s chest.
Solomon stopped retreating. He pivoted smoothly on his right heel and slipped right past the incoming blades. Translating the fluid footwork of the Imperial Sword Arts into bare-handed combat, he closed the gap instantly.
Solomon drove his fist upward into Marco’s ribs, delivering a punishing strike that knocked the older student entirely off balance.
Solomon stepped directly into Marco’s guard. He relied entirely on his extensive catalog of fundamental combat skills to dominate the exchange. Chaining Basic Footwork with Basic Unarmed Combat, he maintained constant forward pressure.
Marco swung his right blade in a desperate horizontal arc. Solomon ducked underneath the blade and used Basic Grappling to snatch Marco’s wrist. He twisted the arm outward to break the upperclassman’s posture and delivered a solid palm strike directly to his sternum.
Marco coughed violently and stumbled backward across the tiles. He quickly recovered his balance and launched a rapid sequence of thrusts. Solomon executed Basic Acrobatics by planting his left hand onto the stone floor to perform a fluid cartwheel out of the weapon’s reach.
He immediately transitioned into Basic Sweeping and dragged his leg across the ground to target Marco’s ankles.
Marco leaped over the sweeping strike and brought both shortswords down in a vicious cross-slash. Solomon rolled across his shoulders using Basic Parkour to evade the descending blades and sprang back onto his feet.
Marco’s face twisted with intense frustration. A crimson aura suddenly erupted from his body and completely coated the shortswords. The energy visibly flared along the metal edges.
"People should learn to live the way they are!" Marco shouted while charging forward at a terrifying new speed. "They should stop trying to learn things they have no business knowing. People should never be curious as curiosity is exactly what gets someone killed!"
Marco’s voice cracked slightly during the outburst. The angry words felt deeply personal. His earlier interaction with Jasmine at Solomon’s house clearly triggered a painful memory regarding his own hidden past.
The crimson aura drastically increased Marco’s movement speed. Solomon shifted into a more rigid defensive stance. He evaded a glowing thrust that easily sliced the fabric of his academy uniform. The sudden spike in danger forced Solomon to take the encounter completely seriously.
’I have never actually tried this,’ Solomon thought while watching Marco prepare another sweeping attack. ’It should be relatively simple.’
Solomon tapped into the energy reserves pooling near his heart. He guided the power through his arms and pushed it directly into his hands. A blinding silver aura flared to life and encased both of his bare fists in a solid protective layer.
Marco swung his right blade down. Solomon stepped forward and threw a right hook directly at the incoming steel.
The silver aura clashed violently against the crimson energy. The impact sent a massive shower of sparks raining across the arena floor. The thousands of students in the spectator stands erupted into loud cheers.
[BloodKnight]: Flawless integration of unarmed fundamentals.
[LazyCat]: bro is literally punching swords now lmao.
[GamerGuy]: new skill unlocked! aura fists!
[1Fizzy]: swords vs fists.
[GoonLord] gifted 1,000 Points: PLEASE DO NOT LOSE THOSE HANDS AGAIN!!!
[User12]: solo man is putting on a masterclass!
The glowing collision turned the duel into an absolute visual spectacle. Solomon pushed his silver-coated fist forward and easily forced Marco to slide backward across the arena tiles.
"I don’t know what you are spouting about curiosity or what happened with you, but that’s your fault for knocking on the wrong door. Not everything is good nor is it bad. It depends on how you see it. For me, what I do is right and nothing else matters."
