Chapter 3

And so it begins

A gust of wind and dust breezed on by between the combatants as Roy's tense muscles began to relax. The clouds nears the sun departed in soft fashion and the sun's warm embrace beamed down upon the battlefield. Silence briefly stilled the uproar of combat and Roy's eyes were shut in a strange combination of peace and chaos. He took a deep breath and reopened his eyes to the world. Sunlight reflected on the pupils of his eyes as he looked forward to the foes in front of him.

"Well then, are none of you willing to make a move?" he asked as he rose his scythe into the air.




"Then let me show you the extent of my resolve."

Roy began to swing his scythe above his head. As he swung the weapon faster and faster, a halo of light hovered and glimmered over him. A loud yet angelic ring soared through the air, along with the rattling of the soldiers' armored plates. Their swords shook in their hands as they peered at the ring of light above Roy's head. Matthias, still at the arena's outer edge, was smiling while looking upon the scene.

"Lets see what you got, Roy the Valiant," Matthias said to himself as he folded his arms.

Roy stopped spinning the scythe and held it tight in his right hand. He then rushed forward to the closest soldier. The soldier went on guard by raising his blade.

"Block this!" Roy yelled.

He then flipped into the air towards the soldier. When the soldier tried to look up the sun's gaze stunned his eyes momentarily. He retreated them immediately but as soon as he attempted to look up again it was too late. Roy slashed through his chest plate with the tip of his scythe.

"Shit," the soldier cursed under his breath.

The next soldier closest to Roy hesitated as he saw his comrade stumble backwards from the strike. Before he could fully realize what had just transpired Roy's leg shot towards his face. Roy then speedily struck the man he cut before with the palm of his left hand.

"Three more," Roy whispered to himself.

Footsteps rushed from behind. Roy reflexively swung the butt of his scythe behind him. The scythe rattled with intense force and a clang rang through the air.

"Nice try," Roy boasted as he turned his head to see the target behind him; however, as soon as he did his eyes immediately widened.

There he saw the end of his weapon blocked by the energy blade of his foe.

"Tch," Roy said as he gritted his teeth.

Roy then hears a cry of killer intent to his left. His eyes peered over just to find a long blue light about to strike him down. With just short notice, he darted away from the threat.
But then another danger made itself known with a yell from the sky. Roy instinctively raised his scythe upwards and the soldier swung his blade downwards, feeding off the momentum of his jump.

The blue light of the foe's sword and green of Roy's scythe glimmered. Roy's body and weapon trembled violently from the impact as the two Concordians stared into each others eyes.

(end song)





"Not yet," Roy thought.

As the pressure between the two weapons started to give way, Roy grunted and summoned what strength he could find and parried his foe into the air. Before the soldier got too far, Roy swung his scythe with his right hand and hooked the soldier's sword with his scythe's blade. He then heaved him back and shot his left fist towards the target's face. The blow boomed loudly throughout the arena and the soldier rocketed towards the round stone wall, leaving a stream of dust in his path.

The two remaining soldiers left no time for Roy to rest as they started to run around him, blades held up high. Roy's muscle tightened and tensed with anticipation. He raised his scythe and leaped towards the soldier on his right. He slammed his weapon down but his foe was too quick, dodging his effort by sliding to Roy's right. The soldier then attempted to thrust his sword forward but it was of no success. As his arms were extending for the strike Roy had taken hold of his hands. The soldier soon found himself flying at comet speeds in the air and landing face first on the ground several feet away.

The clattering of armor rushing from behind shot up both of Roy's ears. He swiftly swung his scythe in a horizontal circular motion and in an instant the other enemy soldier collapsed on to the ground as his armor chest plating gave way into the piercing green light of Roy's weapon. Roy then turned and breathed in deeply. He let out a sigh and lowered his scythe. Then a yell came from behind Roy.

"That seat is mine!"

As Roy turned around the soldier who just had fallen sprung forward and lunged his sword towards Roy; however, in less than a moment's hesitation the wounded warrior found his arm red in pain, smoldering as if it were on fire.

"Like that'll happen."

"That voice," Roy shifted his eyes toward the far side of the arena to find Matthias's left arm extended and his palm smoking as if it were just aflame.


(END SONG)

The soldier who just got hit dropped his weapon and scurried away. his sword let out steam as it began to fade away. Sophia leaned forward in her seat and her eyes widened.

"What was that? What just hit him?" she asked her father.

"Hmm, that man seems to be part of that clan," Eutychus replied as he put his hand on Sophia's shoulder. "This should be-"

"Interesting," Celsus continued as he approached Sophia and Eutychus.

"So what do you think my old friend?" Eutychus asked Celsus.

Celsus grinned and turned his head to the arena floor.

"Depends."



"Hey now," Roy said as he pointed his finger towards Matthias, "weren't you the one who had hatched this idea? Come and face me. Or are you simply too scared after all that? Also, what the hell was that move you just used? Some parlor trick?"

Matthias grinned. He lowered his arm and paced slowly towards Roy.

"Me? Scared of someone like you?" Matthias's grin shrunk. He then opened up his right hand, "Allow me to tell you this before it is too late for you to realize. Besides style and clan, there is even a bigger difference between us."

Roy's right eyebrow bent upwards.

"What the hell are you blabbering about?"

Matthias halted his advance and closed his eyes. A faint but beautiful blue colored aura began to encircle his body. The cloud which partially blocked out the sun before now surrounded its gaze entirely.

"The main difference between two individuals locked in combat is... and will always be," Matthias then opened his eyes and stared into Roy's, "level."

Roy's eyes then widened and a small chill crawled up his spine.

"What the hell? His eyes! His eyes just changed color!" Roy exclaimed as he saw Matthias clear brown eyes glow a light blue hue.

"I can of course take you down without summoning so much of my power," Matthias calmly said as he stared down Roy, "but an arrogant brute such as yourself needs to be taught this now."

Roy raised his scythe and bent his knees slightly. His eyes focused on the enemy in front of him and his muscles tightened. Matthias darted forward and Roy's right arm rose as he prepared to swing down his scythe. But then his eyes widened once again as the target which was just dashing in front of him unhesitatingly vanished. A blue light then flared inches away from Roy's neck and his body froze. His eyes slowly shifted towards the shine on his left.

"What the hell....?" Roy cursed under his breath as he saw Matthias pointing the tip of his blade at Roy's neck. It's blue light shun as the sun broke through the clouds. As the sun's cloak vanished, Matthias edged his word closer to Roy. Sweat trickled Roy's neck as his mind went blank and body froze.

"The difference between our levels is so apparent that it even makes the distance between the moon and our land seem minuscule."