The Gamer's POV-Chapter 263: Goldie vs. Athena [2]

Everyone had now slowly begun to gather around Cedric and Leon to watch the duel between the two summons.

Among them, Evelyn seemed to be the most enthusiastic about the spectacle.

"Wow..." She was now clinging to Cedric’s arm, and her eyes were wide with wonder. "What creature is that? It looks very much human. I almost thought it was one, if not for those pointy flaps it’s got for ears."

"It’s called a High Elf, Eve," Cedric replied exasperatedly. Leon was hugging his shoulder from the left, Evelyn was clinging to his right hand, and he was left wondering why these two had no sense of personal space.

At that moment, Dion casually chimed in. "I’m even more impressed by the fact that Leon and Cedric managed to pop out two of the most godly beauties I’ve ever seen in my entire life."

His mouth rounded into an "O" as if he were letting out a silent whistle.

A few seconds after Dion said that, Cedric could hear a few of Aurora’s party members talking among themselves.

One whispered, "I wish we were back in the Empire. I’d have bet ten gold coins on Leon’s knight."

Another countered, "I’d have put fifteen on Cedric’s summon."

Cedric could recognize the second speaker. She was a part of his subjects of influence.

The male muttered, lowering his voice, "Did you not watch the duel between Leon’s and the Princess’s knight? That summon is powerful."

She shrugged, "I did... but I’m sure Cedric’s will win."

Other onlookers were also placing imaginary bets. You see, back in the Lumierian Empire, duels were a big deal. There were even two royal arenas in the empire. The first, which was the larger colosseum Cedric woke up in after his transmigration, was affordable for everyone including the commoners and most of the fights there were between humans. The second, however, was a noble circuit. It was far more expensive, and the duels held there were usually between Dominants and summons.

The two arenas were always packed, as duels were one of the ways the people of the empire could find a release to escape the pressure of the bridges, and so it was a hallowed tradition.

Thinking about this now, Cedric grinned as he suddenly remembered something important. ’There’s a certain gladiator who owes me a debt back in the empire. If I make it back, the first thing I’ll do is to collect. What’s that saying? Ah... "A debt of blood must be repaid in kind."’

Cedric began to chuckle darkly, causing Evelyn to look up at him. "You okay?"

"Better than okay, Eve. I’m just remembering a very old, very unpaid tab," Cedric snickered as he returned his attention back to the arena.

By now, Uriel was standing some meters away between the two manifestations, her eyes darting from the angel to the elf. She raised her hand high, then she brought it down, signaling for the fight to start!

***

The moment Uriel’s hand came down, Athena dropped into a low crouch, and like a sprinter at the starting line, she raised her foot and slammed it into the ground. Almost immediately, hundreds of daffodils burst into existence, swirling through the air around her. They spread with frightening speed, engulfing nearly the entire arena in a dense, shimmering field of daffodils.

Then, with a battle cry, she lunged at the angel with blinding speed. Her shield was held in front of her, while her longsword was held low as she crossed the distance in a blur.

However, just as she got within striking distance, the angel flapped her wings back, putting distance between them again. As she did, the exact same armor Athena wore began to materialize from golden light.

By the time the angel’s momentum halted, her transformation was complete. A longsword similar to Athena’s had appeared in the angel’s right hand, and in the same manner, a shield mirroring Athena’s also appeared on the angel’s left arm. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Since Athena had not slowed and was still charging with full force, the angel braced her shield to block Athena’s oncoming shield strike, and in the next instant, the force of the impact shrieked like two tectonic plates slamming together.

The angel then swung her blade upwards in a savage arc, but Athena pivoted and the blade sliced through nothing but empty air, then she countered with a thrust of her own sword. But the angel pivoted her body in the same manner and the blade passed just millimeters from her side.

Then, taking advantage of Athena who was now open, the angel then swung her shield in a wide, horizontal arc, causing Athena to duck under the heavy weight of the golden metal.

However, Athena didn’t just duck. She immediately launched herself forward, slamming her shield rim-first into the angel’s abdomen.

The impact sent the angel skidding back a few meters, but before she could recover her guard, Athena was already on her again. The angel grimaced and lunged into the air, avoiding the vicious, horizontal slash of Athena’s longsword. Then, she dove back down like a falling star, leading with the point of her blade.

Seeing that, Athena quickly, instinctively raised her shield to block the blade, but Goldie brought her other hand down, and as she did, the shield shifted into a second sword descending in a deadly strike.

Gritting her teeth, Athena managed to parry the second blade using her own blade, but that was when the entire tempo and weight of the fight shifted. It was almost as if the angel had been holding back all this while and had suddenly decided to take the fight seriously.

It spun in the air and began unleashing strikes in a relentless, golden whirlwind that hammered against Athena’s guard from every direction.

Each strike was a graceful detonation of strength that pushed her back, and seeing that she was getting overwhelmed, Athena commanded the daffodils which had now fully carpeted the arena to come to her.

Hundreds of daffodils spiraled upward, weaving themselves into her back until massive wings made of yellow petals unfurled with a rustle, and when her feet lifted off the floor, the tempo of the fight shifted again.

With both duelers now clashing in the air, the arena became a chaotic blur of gold, white and yellow, as the screech of colliding steel rang off the stone colonnades below.

...It was a beautiful display that stunned the cadets because it just went to show just how much of a difference sword fights between Grade Threes were compared those in the Grade Two.

They watched in increasing awe as white feathers and crushed petals fell with every ignited clash. And as the battle grew more intense, Cedric began chewing the inside of his lower lip and fidgeting with his ring, because although many of the others might not be able to track exactly what was happening in detail and were only seeing the magnificent fight, Cedric could see clearly that the angel was definitely giving his elf a hard time.

Yes, although it did not seem like it, it was a one-sided struggle at first, but he could see now that his elf was slowly beginning to catch up with every swing and parry.

Still, he did not heave a sigh of relief because just catching up to the angel in combat wouldn’t be enough to win Athena this bout. And the angel wasn’t even using the full extent of her powers.