In the brisk, cold room, the lights would flicker before turning the once bright room into a dark red glow.
The hard black stone floor lets off a quick steam through tiny cracks, leaving the floor clouded and foggy.
With heavy, nervous breathing, Albus readies his blade, waiting patiently for Elysia to make her first move.
…..
On the other side of things, however, Elysia was growing impatient, wondering why Albus was hesitant to attack first.
"Damnit, will you two make a move already!" Cassiel growls, his voice filled with impatience and anticipation, as if he was excited to watch them fight.
Brushing off a quick wince, both Elysia and Albus grip their blades tighter as finally, they both dash forward.
As they're about to clash blades, Albus quickly stops himself in his tracks and takes a defensive position, which completely throws Elysia off as she dashes backwards.
Feeling pressured by Cassiel, Elysia dashes around Albus, circling him to look for an opening.
Making her way around him multiple times, Elysia finds multiple openings, only assuming however that they are all bait trying to lure her in for one, clean swoop.
Albus, on the other hand, would begin to panic, as he was unable to track Elysia's movements.
With his eyes darting around frantically, he continues to only see Elysia's after-image.
Trying his best to think, Albus blocks out the sound coming from Elysia's speed, focusing only on his own thoughts.
'Damnit... what do I do, she's too fast... I need to think back on what Cassiel taught me and the others.' Albus thinks to himself.
Digging deep in his thoughts, he remembers what Cassiel said about fighting a faster opponent, which immediately drives him into a corner.
"If you ever find yourself in a fight with a faster opponent, you will more than likely die."
"Your only option is your instincts."
Albus begins to panic.
He was never able to tap into his instincts as he's never believed in himself to be a true warrior.
Up until this point Albus has only survived based on what little skill he has, and at this moment, he had to make a part of him emerge that he has never used before.
The thought of doing this alone made Albus begin to tremble, his legs began to buckle and his grip loosened.
Elysia had caught onto this, and without a moment's hesitation, she dashed straight towards Albus, slicing his leg and bringing him to the ground on one knee.
Elysia then laid the blade across Albus' neck, deeming her the winner of this round.
Cassiel glared at Albus, disappointed in his pathetic display of power.
"Again, both of you, get to your original positions." Cassiel orders.
As Albus goes to stand up, still shaking, the steam from the ground seems to go towards Albus' wound, which then instantaneously heals it back to normal.
…..
Both reaching their spots, they steady their blades once more.
Albus' shaking has stopped, but his head was still in a jumble.
Elysia grew more calm and collected, starting to understand Albus isn't as strong as she thought he was.
Staring at each other from across the room, they charge one another once again as Cassiel yells for them to begin their second match.
…..
Clashing blades for the first time, Elysia kicks off Albus' leg, making him drop to one knee.
Landing on the ground, Elysia tightens the grip on her daggers as she dashes back in.
Albus brings his sword up to guard her attacks, but Elysia dashes past Albus, slashing one of her blades across Albus' sword, which using the momentum, drags his blade off balance, and as she turns around, she puts her other dagger across Albus' neck, deeming her the winner of the second round.
Cassiel sighs, before announcing Elysia as the winner of the second round.
"Both of you, positions."
Elysia and Albus both look at him stunned.
"You said best of three though?" Elysia questioned, confused.
"No, I said three rounds, that's final." Cassiel answered, glaring at Elysia.
Elysia clears her throat awkwardly, moving to her position.
Albus, however, continued staring at Cassiel, wondering if this was to humiliate him.
"Albus, you are a warrior, fight like one." Cassiel said in an uplifting tone while smiling.
Albus' white eyes gleam in the red room before he turns back to his position, his body no longer shaking.
…..
As the two stood in their positions, Cassiel's eyes lay across the room, looking at the both of them before announcing their final spar.
"Now, begin your final round!" Cassiel orders.
Elysia immediately charges forward, the exact same as she did in the two previous rounds.
Albus, however, took a different approach.
He stayed in his position, immediately taking up a guarding stance.
Getting ever closer, Elysia decides to use the same strategy she did in the first round.
As she continued to dash around Albus, she would eventually get faster and faster, gaining speed the same as she had previously, the only difference however, was that Albus was no longer in his own head panicking.
With his blade laying vertically across his body, perfectly gripped and tightened in his own hands, Albus stayed still, waiting for Elysia to dash forward, waiting for his instincts to take over his body.
After a little longer of Elysia dashing around and buying time, she would finally dash straight forward, bending towards Albus, aiming right for his throat.
Just before connection, despite the blade being only a couple inches away, Albus ducks under her dagger, tucking his shoulder in before bringing his own sword up, driving it straight towards Elysia's head.
Moments before the blade would cut her head off, Cassiel appears, stopping the blade with his bare hand, causing a shockwave to bounce straight towards the ceiling.