Great Minds
It was supposed to be a week like any other, at least, that's what the cadets thought. Half a year had passed since enrollment, and now it was time for a shakeup. They entered the mess hall to find a large notice board covering the dueling scores, displaying the various weapon classes. However, the names had been changed. The school had been split in half, with all the cadets who had elemental magic removed from the weapon classes to focus solely on magic training, along with some general exercise and staff training mixed in to keep them fit. Anyone with sword, spear, mace, or bow magic, or under special recommendation, would stay in that one class for daily training, with continued shield training incorporated. Those who displayed monk abilities would be training under Sir Kiev.
"It seems you and I will be training under Lady Zodiac in the same class. This is going to be interesting," said Noah.
"Gods be praised," Alexis said, "no more of the shield class. I swear, digging that pit was a nightmare." It was a sentiment shared by every cadet. Beside her, Sophia was weeping in joy.
After breakfast, the cadets split up into their new classes and new garb. Because of the winter cold, their uniforms had been supplemented with leather armor, including gloves and helmets. Noah and Alexis now stood side by side on the training field, facing Lady Zodiac. Usually, she would be armed with her khopesh blade, but today, she had an academy sword hanging from her waist.
"Good morning, all of you. Up until now, all of your training has been basic, each of you being trained in how to use any weapon you might need, even if it's not your first choice, as well as to see who has warrior magic. That time has passed. To truly master a weapon takes decades of dedication and skill, but I'm going to get you as close to that point as I can in the time we have left. It's going to be miserable, painful, and exhausting, but this is the art of swordplay, and when you leave my tutelage, you will be true artists.
At the start of this year, I faced each of you in a sparring match to see what level you were at. That time has come once again. I want all of you to fight me with the intent to kill and the readiness to die. Rather than one-on-one, I will be fighting all of you as a group. You are free to use any sword magic, but just so you know, I will use it as well." She drew her glass sword. "I've been teaching you how to win, but today, I teach you how to lose. I want to see how you face a hopeless situation. I want to see you get up as many times as it takes, knowing you'll be knocked back down. No one leaves here today without drawing my blood or shedding their own. Know that if you come at me with anything held back, you will end up losing something in the process. Now, come at me."
Where once there would have been hesitation, today, there was only courage, and the cadets drew their swords and charged as one. The only exception was Noah and Alexis, his hand on her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"She doesn't plan on ending this quickly. We've got time. Let's watch her moves, get a feel for her style and mood."
"You think we can take her on ourselves?"
"Anyone who goes down in one hit wouldn't have been much help anyway. Besides, I've been looking forward to you and me working together again."
The cadets circled Valia, most, if not all of their blades glowing with warrior magic, both named and unnamed. They closed in and attacked, a single blade fending off a dozen. Valia spun back and forth, knocking the cadets' swords out of the way and sending them sprawling back with sheer strength. She was knocking them down, but her months of tutelage gave each of them the resilience to get back up. Every time they attacked, it was faster than the last, their skills sharpening with their mindset.
One of the most important lessons she taught them was to blend their moves together, wasting no energy on pauses and transitions. Every attack led to another. The longer they fought her, the better they were getting at reading the path of her blade and predicting her moves. They began to close in once more, this time able to resist her attempts to open up space. It was time to step up the intensity. Valia raised her sword, and a magic circle appeared.
"Zodiac: Baom!"
She swung down her sword and struck the ground, causing the frozen earth to be launched skyward as if a missile had just impacted. The shockwave knocked the surrounding cadets off their feet, all but one. Ken Rilgis, still standing, went against her in a titanic clash. He swung at her with all of the speed and skill in his body, a rapid-fire attack that forcefully drew Valia's focus. Their glass blades collided in a horrifying display of edge-to-edge combat that should have destroyed their swords, but their styles were perfect, and their enchanted weapons didn't even chip.
While she was distracted, one cadet held his sword as though it were a baseball bat and began to charge it with mana. It became a roaring torrent, like a jet of colorless flames, and he charged towards Valia for a swing to the back of the neck.
"Zodiac: Udan!"
For all those watching, it was as if Valia existed within a different flow of time, with her movements becoming so fast that she was able to step past Ken's swinging blade, grab his wrist, knock him off his feet, and throw him aside. She then dodged the other cadet's swing, avoiding the mana torrent and then closing in to slash him across the chest. The blow was light, and with these dull blades, his leather armor withstood the force, but it still knocked the air from his lungs and dropped him to the ground.
Their timing was off by a few seconds, but several cadets still tried to take advantage of the opening and attacked her from all sides. They each aimed for her with a horizontal strike with no space to dodge or block. "Zodiac: Sandulam!"
She fell backwards, simply dropping as if she had fainted, and all the blades missed her. However, rather than hitting the ground, she stopped as though frozen in time. The heel of her right foot was touching the frosted soil, but the rest of her body, completely horizontal, was hovering as if on a cushion of air. All the cadets were flabbergasted by the sight, but before they could try to make sense of it, she lashed out. She swerved around like a joystick, slashing at each cadet and sending them sprawling back.
Other cadets took their place, trying to put up a continuous assault. She continued to move without reason, spinning on a single point or moving back and forth from horizontal to vertical. She was like a buoy in the ocean, as no matter how far she leaned back, be it dodging or blocking an attack, she'd shoot right back up and counterattack. As long as her heel or toes were touching the ground, gravity itself seemed to have no effect on her.
Before long, almost every cadet had been knocked down, and the ground was littered with broken blades. Valia turned her attention to Noah and Alexis. "Sometime today, please?"
"I just wanted to wait until you were done putting the kids to bed," said Noah. He turned to Alexis. "This would be better if you had your bow."
She gave a small huff of amusement and punched him in the arm. "Come on, let's have some fun."
She and Noah approached Valia, both of them with swords in hand. They stared her down, all three assuming their stances. Then, in the mere blink of an eye, they were going at it like warring gods. Their glass blades were swinging so fast that all of the cadets were at a loss for words. Noah and Alexis were attacking Valia from opposite sides to divide her attention, moving as fast as physically possible, with Valia once more using her speed enhancement technique to keep up.
She was switching back and forth between them, struggling just to hold them back, let alone send any of her own attacks. For the cadets watching, it was like three tornadoes colliding. Something had to change. Zodiac cast her Baol spell and leaped backward through the air, high over everyone's heads. While she was airborne, Noah drew one of his flashbang cards and aimed it at her. He fired three shots, hitting her with two, and she stumbled on the landing.
"I told you to only use sword magic," she cursed as she rubbed her eyes.
"You also told us that this was supposed to be a no-win situation, in which case, I might as well cheat," said Noah.
He and Alexis charged towards her while grabbing broken blades and throwing them like knives. She blocked and deflected all of the shards, and the two once more went at her. They fought side by side this time, repeatedly trading positions to keep her distracted. The onslaught of their attacks was never-ending and only getting faster and faster. Alexis lacked that natural affinity when it came to using a sword, but her reflexes and coordination still put her ahead of everyone else, making her one of the few people who could keep up with Noah.
Valia reactivated her balancing spell, trying to open up a little more space between her and her opponents. Noah hit her with another flashbang as soon as she was out of their reach. She didn't dare stop moving, for every time she paused, he'd fire another spell at her. She kept running, both to dodge the spheres of light and any cadets trying to attack her while she was vulnerable. She could barely hear or see, and her head was throbbing. Noah wasn't giving her an inch. There were a few spells she could use if she genuinely wanted to make the fight unwinnable for him and Alexis, or even just kill them, but that would mean admitting she was beaten. She'd just have to try a little bit harder.
Valia tore off some bits of fabric from her shirt and stuffed them in her ears, as well as closed her eyes. She finally came to a stop and sheathed her sword, but the battle wasn't over. She assumed a stance, ready for a quick-draw attack. "Zodiac: Avagath. Udan. Enter this killing field, if you dare."
The magic circle once more appeared, but this time, it was around her with a ten-foot radius. Several cadets, gathering what strength and courage they had left, attacked her from all sides. The moment they stepped into the magic circle, though she could not hear or see them, she felt them with crystal clarity. She felt the blood flowing through their veins, the constricting of their muscles, their fearful breaths, and the angles and speed of every move they made. It was not sensitivity to vibrations or any other awareness derived from the five senses, but one completely unique to her.
The cadets entered her reach, and in an instant, it was over. She drew her sword with inhuman speed, slashing one cadet across the stomach, another across the chest, across the legs of the third, and then similarly knocked out another three attackers, taking out six cadets in the blink of an eye. All those watching were shocked and horrified, and for the first time, Noah heard fear in Alexis's voice.
"Noah, I don't think we can top that," she said as the wounded cadets struggled to drag themselves away.
Noah gave a slow exhale. "I might be able to, might not. Hang on." His flashbang card had disintegrated, so he drew a new card from his pocket and aimed it at Valia. "Mist Bomb."
Several spheres of illusory water hit the ground around Valia, just outside her magic circle. Upon contact with the ground, they were vaporized, turning into a dense cloud of fog.
"That won't stop her."
"No, it won't. It's to stop everyone from seeing what I'm about to do."
Noah approached Valia while continuing to fire mist bombs around her, expanding and deepening the cloud of fog. The cadets all watched with anticipation, trying to figure out what Noah had planned. Once he entered the cloud, he cast his invisibility and split from his clone. All he had to do was inflict a wound on her, and she'd hopefully end the fight. Noah readied his sword and stepped into the circle.
"Zodiac: Baol!"
Valia immediately activated her magic and jumped back as high and as far as possible. She landed outside the cloud, hair on end, eyes wide, and heart racing. She pulled the fabric out of her ears and glared at Noah as the cloud vanished. "What did you do?"
"Lazy Zodiac, are you all right?" Noah asked.
She fell to one knee. "What did you just do?!"
Noah sheathed his sword, likewise concerned by the state she was in. "What's say we resume this fight on another day? I think we could all use a break. Lady Zodiac, you should probably go to the infirmary."
She rubbed her forehead, wincing from the pain behind her eyes. "Everyone, work on your endurance training until I get back. I'll know if you slack off."
