Seven days have passed since they left Fitonwich. They were already in the middle of the trip to the capital.
Elaine was sitting on the ground, still teaching Layla how to read and write.
Alaric was in the carriage.
On the other side, Electra and Orion were sparring with wooden swords. Lancelot was watching them, memorizing everything.
Orion stepped forward, swinging the sword at her waist.
Electra parried the sword, countering with a thrust to his stomach.
Orion fell to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. "This hurts so much! You didn't need to go so hard!" He groaned.
Electra sighed, shaking her head. "Listen, hatchling. You are obviously holding back, and I don't want you to hold back because that won't help you grow, understand?"
He stood up, helping himself with the sword. "But I'm not holding back! I'm trying my best! I swear!"
She softly hit the top of his head with the sword. "No, you are not! You need to try to kill me! Not to mention that you intentionally swing the sword in the wrong places!"
"But I don't want to kill you! That's the point! I don't even want to hurt you!" He rolled his eyes.
Electra smirked. "I can assure you that I am out of your leg and even if you tried, you wouldn't be able to kill me~" She then scowled. "You're just a worthless and stupid brat that doesn't deserve any love from the world or anyone!"
Orion shook his head. "You have already insulted me so many times that I can tell when you are honest and when you are not, you won't enrage me like that." He said smugly.
From out of nowhere, Electra lunged at him, swinging her sword horizontally.
He parried the sword and responded with a quick slash towards her neck, catching her off guard.
She stumbled backward, touching her neck softly. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! GOOD!" She yelled in excitement.
Layla looked at them with envy. "Hmph... I also want to play! It's so mean!" She looked down at the piece of coal she was holding. "It's so boring here!"
Elaine smiled poking the piece of paper that was on the ground. "Practice! You wanted to learn how to read and write, so I am helping you. You shouldn't be paying attention to anything else but practicing!"
She then looked at Electra with surprise. "On the other hand, I've never seen her so happy before."
"You're right!" Layla pouted. "Lately, they've been close to each other, and it's very weird! Electra was always mean to him... I've never seen her as an actual foe... but now..." She gritted her teeth and gripped the coal so tightly that it snapped in half.
Elaine grabbed Layla's hands, caressing them softly. "I know how it feels to be jealous, Layla. I have a younger brother... even worse..." She paused dramatically."...an annoying and childish one."
"At first, I was really happy when we signed up for the guild... I was told that I'm strong..." She paused for a moment. "But now... I feel that it's unfair... I was gifted with power, but I never did anything to deserve it... on the other hand... Orion has nothing after struggling for his whole life... yet he still tries his best... that's what I love him for... his determination, which shines through his grey eyes..." She looked down at the ground.
Elaine's smile widened, and she grabbed Layla's shoulders. "Layla! You finally managed to say it out loud!"
Layla looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You've never actually said that you loved him, until now!" Elaine shook her head in excitement.
Layla blushed and looked away. "I... Shut up...!"
"Hmm... Oh, I understand... She cannot talk about her emotions because for many years she had no one else to talk to other than Orion... Poor girl..." Elaine said to herself, nodding softly.
Elaine laughed, clapping her hands in excitement. "Alright! Let's get back to studying!"
Layla looked at her, disappointed. "Ugh! No! I don't want to!" She pouted.
Lancelot leaned against the fallen logs, still watching Orion and Electra as they practiced swordplay.
Electra raised a brow while dodging and blocking Orion's attacks gracefully. She was dumbfounded because of how fast Orion was adapting to her fighting style.
"Too bad! You're still holding back! Come on! Do more! Give me all you have, hatchling!" She yelled, changing her grip from two to one-handed.
Orion was already sweating and panting out of exhaustion. He gripped the sword tightly, taking a step back. "I'm... giving my best! I can't... do it anymore!"
"Oh, you're not~!" She smirked. "Let me ask you a question."
"A question? Right now?!" He sighed.
"Who do you think would win in a fight to the death, a pacifist or a professional assassin, both on the same level of skill, experience, and power?" She smirked smugly.
"That question makes no sense whatsoever! A pacifist doesn't even fight!" He rolled his eyes.
"That's the point!" She lunged at him, swinging the sword so fast that Orion couldn't even react, driving it into his stomach.
He was blown away and hit the nearby tree, spitting out some blood. "Are you insane?!" He yelled in anger, gripping the sword so tightly that the hilt cracked.
Lancelot's eyes widened with amazement. He clapped his hands as if he were watching a performance in the theater.
"Orion!" Layla dropped everything and immediately ran towards him.
Elaine couldn't help but smile wider when she saw how Layla acted.
"Oops! I guess I overestimated your abilities!" Electra chuckled.
Layla kneeled down next to him. "Are you alright?"
Orion stood up from the ground, his eyes filled with rage as he glared at Electra, not even noticing Layla.
Electra saw the fire in Orion's eyes and made a decision. Two purple portals appeared- one directly next to him and the other next to her.
The two of them have pulled out an iron sword from each portal.
Orion was lost in the moment, not even thinking about his actions.
"Something's good is cooking up!" Lancelot said as Elaine pulled him a few steps away.
"Orion?" Layla uttered.
He didn't answer, his glare still locked onto Electra. His hands were shaking, but not from fear but rather the immense amount of rage he was feeling in that moment.
Electra's smirk widened. Her instincts were screaming that she should stop, but she rejected them like always.
Without giving any warning, without any signs, Orion charged at her with immense speed- a lot faster than previously.
Electra's eyes widened, and she barely blocked the first swing. The impact made the ground shake. "What the fuck...?" She muttered under her nose, blocking another swing.
Orion swung the sword with no hesitation at all, thinking only about winning this exchange.
He wasn't fighting to defend himself anymore, he was fighting just to fight. As the battle progressed, he kept getting faster and stronger.
"You never...!" She parried another swing that was meant for her head and quickly countered with a vertical slash, which he barely dodged. "...moved like this before, hatchling!"
Electra finally realized what was going on. "Wait a second... no... no... It's impossible to use it after such a short time since the Soul's Core Awakening..."
The blades clashed, creating sparks of fire. A red line ran through Electra's cheek.
Layla watched everything with both worry and excitement. "Go! Orion! Show her where her place is!" She yelled proudly.
They fought so intensely that it looked like a dance. There was no time for thinking, no time for listening, not even for breathing.
"You're trying to kill me, you fool!" She laughed, trying to take a breath. "HOW LONG WERE YOU PLANNING ON EDGING ME?!"
Alaric walked out of the carriage, rubbing his eyes. "What the hell is all this commotio-" He paused, staring at the scene in confusion.
"Who?" He asked.
"Electra." Elaine said softly, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Sooner or later, it had to happen. She's been treating him too harshly." Alaric sighed deeply, shaking his head.
"Shh!" Lancelot stared at the fight. "I'm watching!"
Orion swung the sword at her shoulder. Electra moved out of its way, making it pierce into a tree.
She countered with a swing to his back, but Orion used the stuck sword to stand up on its hilt with his arms, kicking her jaw.
She stumbled backward, wiping the blood from her cheek, smirking widely. "I love this!" She yelled, charging at him as he pulled the sword out of the tree, leaving a slit hole in it.
Their blades clashed once again. She was smirking, he was scowling. Both of them went all out and were getting faster and stronger as the fight progressed.
"I'd never think..." Electra said between the swings. "...that you can use this technique..." She kicked him in the stomach gracefully, but also with a lot of force, sending him into a tree.
The tree collapsed, and he quickly jumped back into action, continuing the slash barrage.
"IT'S AMAZING! I WILL SAVOR THIS!" She screamed.
"T-They're both trying to kill each other..." Layla muttered under her nose. "And yet..." She covered her mouth, a dark blush on her cheeks. "I can't help but be excited by it~!"
The swords clashed, and clashed, and clashed repeatedly. Drops of sweat and blood dropped to the ground. The fight was even more intense, but then... both swords shattered.
The pieces of the sword flew away with such a powerful impact that they made a few trees collapse.
Orion and Electra looked into each other's eyes, both of them knew what was coming next. They both clenched their fists.
"It's coming! The final strike!" Lancelot said in amazement.
Layla smiled widely, swallowing saliva as if she were looking at a tasty meal.
Elaine and Alaric both sighed, looking straight at each other.
And then they charged at each other, raising their fists above their heads and hitting each other straight in the jaw.
They both fell to the ground, defeated.
Elaine's eyes widened as she looked at Layla. She was still covering her mouth, but her saliva was visibly running down her hands and forearms.
"What a climax..." Lancelot whispered to himself in disbelief.
Orion finally got back to his senses, looking over at Electra, who was lying on the ground next to him. "Sorry... I didn't mean to-"
She smiled softly and took his hand, intertwining their fingers. "That's what I was waiting for... I loved it, hatchling..." She said softly.
"Layla..." Elaine muttered under her nose with worry.