"Master, be careful, okay?" Derek said as he unsheathed his sword. "I'm different from how I was two years ago. If you're not careful, I might accidentally slash you."
"I understand," Thirteen answered as he wore a Crimson Armor that covered nearly his entire body. "I will also fight you seriously."
The teenage boy knew that Derek had improved a lot under Camazotz's guidance. So, he decided to test the swordsman's skills without holding back and see just how powerful he had beco after two years of training.
"Are you ready, Master?" Derek asked while pointing his sword in Zion's direction.
"Ready," Thirteen answered.
As soon as the teenage boy confird that he was ready, Derek charged in Thirteen's direction.
Although he was fast, it wasn't fast enough for Thirteen to not see his movents.
The teenage boy smiled faintly behind his helt because he already understood what Derek was trying to do.
When the swordsman was only a few ters away from Zion, Derek suddenly vanished, taking Erica, Sherry, and Mildred by surprise.
A mont later, the sound of tal clashing against tal, reverberated in the surroundings.
Sparks flew as Derek's sword slid over Thirteen's arm guards, which he used as a shield in battle.
The Swordsman was surprised, not expecting his surprise attack to be deflected easily, but his years of training kicked up, allowing him to regain his calm in a fraction of a second.
Soon, more sparks flew in the air as the two engaged in close combat.
One was attacking steadily, while the other focused on defense.
Derek already knew that Thirteen's Martial Technique, Righteous Sentinel, was not a purely defensive Martial Art Technique.
It was a technique that flawlessly allowed Zion to use his arm guards as shields, while his short swords, wielded by both hands, flowed seamlessly to deflect, parry, and counter Derek's sword strikes.
Erica and Sherry were holding each other's hands while watching the battle with bated breath to see if their lover wouldn't get hurt by the swordsman's relentless attacks.
Although Derek's attacks looked intense from an observer's perspective, the truth was that he wasn't going all out at the mont.
He was simply observing and appraising Zion's movents, checking if his Master was able to adapt to his current speed.
But, after a few minutes of failed attempts to land a single hit on the young man's body, Derek decided to increase his speed by a notch, moving around as a blur.
Erica, Mildred, and Sherry had to use various ans to even see the swordsman as he attacked the teenage boy from various angles, including his blind spots.
And yet, Zion was still able to defend, parry, and deflect Derek's attacks as if he already predicted every move beforehand.
'He really is a tough nut to crack,' Mildred thought. 'But for him to keep track of Derek's movents is simply amazing.'
In the past, they already noticed that Zion seed to have an uncanny ability to predict where his enemy's attacks would land.
Since Zion had the restriction of Skill Ban, their group assud that he had this uncanny sixth sense that allowed him to do the things that other Rookies couldn't do.
"Master, you really are amazing," Derek said as he montarily paused his attacks, looking at the teenage boy with a smile. "Fortunately, I don't have a sister. If I did, I might have wrapped her up in a red ribbon and presented her to you as a wife."
"Fortunately, you don't have a sister," Thirteen replied. "Because they don't deserve to be tied up as a gift to be presented to others as a wife."
Derek chuckled for a few seconds before his deanor completely changed.
His gaze beca cold, and an overbearing aura exuded from his body.
"Playti's over?" Thirteen asked.
"Yes, Master," Derek replied. "Playti's over. Please, concede now while you still can."
Instead of replying, the teenage boy made a co over here gesture, as if telling the swordsman to "give his best shot."
Derek took a fighting stance and breathed softly…
A stillness spread in the surroundings, which made Erica, Sherry, and Mildred montarily lose their sense of hearing as everything beca so quiet, that they were starting to hear a ringing in their ears, caused by tinnitus.
This pin-drop silence that made their ears hurt lasted for a few seconds before they heard Derek's words, which were spoken like a prayer.
"Life is short…" Derek said softly. "Bury, Steady Sword!"
A single flash of light, which made the Copyright God hold a yellow card, lasted for the briefest of seconds.
Derek appeared several ters away from Zion, with a pose as if he had just finished executing a slash.
A faint smile hung on his face as if he had achieved what he had co to do. "Nice slash," Thirteen replied. "You've done well, Derek."
A mont later, the sound of sothing cracking reached everyone's ears.
Zion's left arm guard was sliced in half and fell on the ground, making a thudding sound.
However, before Erica and Sherry could run to Zion to see if he was alright, another thud reached their ears.
Derek, who was standing a few ters away from the teenage boy, collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
Thirteen, on the other hand, was looking at the arm guard on the ground.
This arm guard was crafted from the scales of the Majin King Zion had defeated in battle.
For Derek to even cut such a thing proved that his sword strike had reached a level that could break the defenses of a Majin King.
However, even if that were true, he was still far from defeating a Majin King like the Ancient Eight-Headed Serpent, who could regenerate its injuries.
If Derek were to fight it in his current state, he would only be able to give it an injury, which would heal in the span of a few seconds.
Even so, this improvent satisfied Zion's curiosity, making him give the unconscious swordsman a thumbs up in his heart.
"Okay, Mildred. You're next," Thirteen said. "Show what you got."
The teenage boy's words broke Mildred out of her daze.
But instead of feeling fearful, Mildred even beca excited.
Earlier, she was worried that Zion might not be able to handle her fighting style. But now, she was itching to fight the teenage boy, whom she also secretly considered as the very first Master who trained her properly.
"Zion, I'll just say this, but I'm different from Derek," Mildred stated. "You need to fight seriously from the very start, or you'll miss your chance."
"I think I know what kind of request I will ask of you," Thirteen said with a smirk. "I'll make you do a pose with your tongue sticking out while doing a double peace sign. I will also take a picture of it to commorate our sparring match."
"Wait, that sounds like a good idea." Mildred chuckled. "Very well. I'll make you do that sa pose after you lose. Then I'm going to sell it in an auction and earn millions from it. Thank you in advance for making rich!"
The two teenagers smirked at each other, both of them thinking of making the loser do that shaful pose, which would definitely beco a collector's item. They had completely forgotten the unconscious swordsman on the ground, whose body was twitching from ti to ti after Zion gave him a quick jab on his jaw, knocking him unconscious.
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