Chapter 5 (part 1)

“I packed everything and bought everything necessary,” Noirxus said in a tired voice. “You really know how to use people Chryisle. When I returned with the supplies I found you already comfortably sleeping on the bed while I was up all night worrying about preparations because of your haphazard decision.”

“Noirxus you sound like a girl so quit it.” I snapped at him. “Besides a little excitement and staying up late for you isn’t all that bad. And did you know planning tends to take away all the fun in a vacation?”

“…I’m really starting to wonder if hanging out with you is a good idea,” Noirxus replied with a heavy sigh, amplifying his gloomy mood.

“Of course it is!” I reassured him, giving him a couple of cheerful heavy pats on the back. “You’ll soon find out that being with me will never get you bored because I always seek adventure.” 


I laughed heartily while he gave me a blank stare in return. I brushed off his reaction and declared, “Well don’t mind that now. This tournament will begin and end today with a bang!” 

As soon as those words left my lips, the emcee walked to the middle of the stage and announced in a loud booming voice, “Everyone this is the first round of the semifinals! We have decided to pit the strong against the strong so there would be more excitement for you audience! With much deliberation from the tournament organizers, we have decided the sequence of the match. First up: Chryisle vs. Noirxus!”

Oh like music to my ears. This tournament really is going off with a bang. Noirxus caught me sneaking a sideward glance at him. From that moment on, our eyes were locked on to each other even as we climbed up the stage.

“You’ve been craving this fight for days Chryisle. I will try my best not to disappoint you.” Noirxus said as he reached the opposite end of the ring.

I smiled playfully and replied, “You better watch your neck Noirxus. This is not a spar nor will I hold back.”

“I would never associate you with the words ‘hold back’. In fact I believe you’ve got the definition of hold back wrong,” Noirxus said returning the smile as he readied his sword. I ignored the audience as a quarter of them shrieked loudly and another quarter fainted, all of them women.

He pulled his sword from its scabbard in one graceful motion and then proceeded to point it at me threateningly with one outstretched arm. It wasn’t his usual defensive stance but quite the opposite - he was totally on offensive.

Waiting for the referee to say the word ‘start’ was the longest two seconds of my life but as soon as his hand fell, Noirxus and I charged at each other simultaneously.

Our swords crossed and were held that way for a while. And then I twisted around and caught his underhand slash. My master taught me how to read body language in battle and blinks meant changing attacks that’s why I was able to gauge his next move.

My turn.

I infused my sword with rion and hacked Noirxus – or at least tried to. He reflexively retreated to midair which reduced me to watching my flashy move cut the useless stage in two. Well that’s a total waste of rion. I wanted to land him a cut!

Noirxus didn’t miss a beat. He gathered momentum by rotating and applied a lot of force and rion to his groundbreaking overhead attack (and yes, pun intended). I blocked his rion attack by stabbing my sword on the ground and cutting it in half but the shock forced me to skid back a few feet. Then using my own rion, I manipulated his rion attack and reflected it back to him.

Noirxus dodges that by a hair’s breadth then proceeded to fire two consecutive horizontal rion slashes.

So using the sword already stuck on the ground as support, I lifted myself with one arm and did a horizontal twirl, slipping in between the slashes. I landed gracefully in a crouching position with the sword clutched behind my back. With a haughty smirk, I lunged forward.

I admit. We’re both (mostly me) badass.