Chapter 159 - Nathan arix

  Beatrix:

  I stood fag Nathan Evenhart.

  "We’ll follow the same rules as before. I’ll only use the sword—no elemental power. Just cssic swordpy. You’re free to use any spells, evehal ones," I decred, taking my stance.

  "I’ll stick to swordsmanship as well. It’s been a while since I’ve had this much fun," Nathan replied with a fident smile, raising his sword with both ease and precision.

  "That's the spirit," I aowledged, notig the determination in his eyes.

  He took his fighting stance, aiming his bde towards me. "Shall we begin?" he asked.

  "Absolutely!" I responded, but suddenly, I felt something. An invisible and uling presence swept over me, as if the air around us had grown heavy.

  What is that?

  I instinctively took a step back, trying to grasp what had just happehere was something beyond ordinary prehensio on the field.

  "Excellent! You’re a true warrior. Your battle instinct is so sharp that you’re immuo it," Nathan remarked, seemingly pleased. His voice was calm, but what was he hinting at?

  Looking around, I saw some students at a distance looking fused, and a few even colpsed on the ground, as if an unseen force had struck them.

  Immuo what?

  For a fleeting moment, I felt a killing i in the air, as if I’d unknowingly stepped oail of a tiger. But just as quickly as it came, it vanished.

  Was that… him?

  I’d heard stories about warriors who could ma pure killing i—nightmarish tales of those fed through sheer survival against death. I’d always assumed it was myth.

  It must have been a ce; that ’t be real.

  "I’ll let you take the first move," I offered.

  "Very well." Nathan smiled and charged at me.

  As he approached, I sensed something uling.

  His eyes... he's watg me with an intense focus that's almost uling.

  Nathan Evenhart was analyzing me, calg each move, studying every detail with uny precision. He was synizing his stand reas with mine, almost as if he were predig my moves.

  How could someone so young reach this level? It took me years to get here.

  "Watch yourself, professor," Nathan warned, snapping me back to the moment.

  His sword was dangerously close to my neck, but my body reacted instinctively. I blocked the attad, with a quick thrust, shifted my weight against him. Nathan slid his bde along mine, angling it with expert precision towards my hand.

  I raised my knee, aiming to strike him, but he blocked with his elbow, then, with a swift movement, pushed me back using his free hand. I stepped bad spun, delivering a kick. He ducked and rolled to the side with feline agility, easily evading.

  He lu me, pressing his bde against mirying to find an opening. I threunch to push him back, but he deftly redirected my fist upward areated with practiced ease.

  "Good reflexes," I praised, not wasting a sed and rushing bato the fray.

  I leapt over him, swinging my sword down. He mao block, but I pressed the attack, pg my hand on the bde to amplify the force, aiming to break his stance.

  Nathan Evenhart swiftly shifted his strength to propel me forward as he skillfully sidestepped to the side.

  “Smart,” he remarked, without losing his breath. “That would’ve broken my sta could’ve killed someone otlefield.”

  I smiled, appreciating his insight. “I see I have an excellent student,” I replied as I charged back towards him.

  Our bdes met in a series of rapid strikes, each of us attempting to break the other’s stance. I spun, bringing my sword in a horizontal arc aimed at his midse. But with a surprisingly quick move, he crossed his bde with mine, sliding it along the edge to escape to the side, following my rotation with fluid precision.

  Impossible!

  He had evaded a teique that only oher person, aside from myself, knew how to ter.

  “Who trained you?” I asked, raising my sword, still processing his dexterity.

  “A God of Battle,” he replied with a grin.

  A God of Battle? That title belongs to me—and to my former master.

  “Impossible. My father doesn’t have any more students. Even though I haven’t seen him in years, I know he wouldn’t train anyone else.”

  Could my father have had audent besides my brother a seems unlikely. He even refused to train my niece, and she went on to bee an Inquisitor.

  Nathan scratched his head, looking a bit fused.

  “It was a different God of Battle—not your father,” he said, correg himself.

  We adva the same time, without any need for words or coordination. I altered my bat style, fog on quick, precise thrusts as I moved at full speed towards him. The boy, with impressive accuracy, deflected each thrust just enough to redirect my bde.

  I smiled, feeling the adrenaline rush. Taking advantage of the moment, I spun around and nded a ki his arm. Using the momentum, I attempted a martial arts move, aiming to lock his arm with my leg and immobilize him mid-air. However, he followed my spin, dispying a surprising level of skill, and as we fell, he quickly rolled away, avoiding the finish.

  He’s trained in martial arts too…

  As he rolled away, I charged again, bringing my sword down in a diagonal arc—a teique that couldn't be blocked by ventional sword positions.

  If he doesn't know what to do, he’ll be defeated.

  But just as the bde was about to hit him, he smirked. Nathan twisted his wrist with surreal precision, doing what I thought was impossible.

  “He blocked!?” I excimed, shocked. He had tered my teique using the very tip of his sword, a feat that few could aplish.

  The impact reverberated through my arms, and for a moment, I was stuhe boy before me possessed skills far beyond what I had anticipated. Our swords had collided, but the most impressive part was that the tips of the bdes were perfectly aligned, aher yielded to the other’s pressure.

  Impossible! How did he mao block the very tip of my bde with his own? It’s like trying to make two needle tips meet at high speed.

  “This is getting fun. I’ve always had to hold back,” he said with a fident smile, as if he was only just getting started.

  Without wasting a moment, I turned my body to attack him from the other side. The boy dodged, knowing he couldn’t block the blow directly. I advahrowing a kick as I brought my sword down simultaneously. He raised his arm, and with a skilled flick of his sword, blocked my kick.

  Strength from above is superior to that from below, I thought, as I brought my bde down with full force, knowing he had no way to block it. Nathan’s resistance faltered for a moment, areated. I seized the opportunity and nded a direct punch to his stomach.

  “Nice!” he excimed, not showing a hint of hesitation, even after the impact.

  I looked at his hands, surprised.

  Where’s his sword!?

  Before I could reaathan grabbed my wrist with both hands, his gaze full of determination.

  Is he trying to break my wrist?

  Suddenly, he pulled me forward with force, spinning his body with a clear martial arts teique, trying to use my weight against me.

  Smart kid. Does he think that’ll work on me?

  He spu great speed, and I let him guide my arm, readying myself to terattack. When my arm reached his head level, I moved my fist, pnning to strike his head and knock him out.

  It’s over, kid. I’m strohan you.

  But just as I was about to strike him, I felt a sudden impay stomach. Even while fag away, Nathan had delivered a precise kiy midse.

  He tried to trick me... the little rascal wao push me back.

  I uimated him for a moment.

  I took a quick step back to avoid the kid brought my sword closer, ready to nd the finishing blow. I kicked him in the back, sending him flying, and as he tried to turn around, I closed in.

  “It’s over!” I decred, pointing my sword as he turned, seemingly unarmed.

  “It’s just beginning!” Nathan replied, with a fident grin. He raised his hand, and to my surprise, his sword fell directly into his grasp, already poi me.

  Did he throw the sword up and calcute the exaent it would fall back down?

  My mind could barely keep up with the audacity of that move.

  But before I could react, something bck came rushing at me.

  “We’ve been interrupted,” I said, quickly dodging and defleg what seemed to be a sleek figure attempting to attack.

  “Yetting predictable, Thyra,” I said, reizing the wolf-girl, who was gring at me with her cws bared.

  “Trying to strike a distracted oppo?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Wolves hunt that way too!” she replied, ung a fierce punch. With a swift gesture, I created a wall of air between us. Thyra struck it with force, trying to break through with sheer brute strength.

  Before I could fully respond to Thyra’s charge, the boy was back, appearing beside me and swinging his sword in an attack.

  “I thought we were done,” I remarked, blog his sword.

  “Ahe da the best part?” he tered, as our swords cshed again, the metallic sound eg around us.

  I maintaihe air wall with one hand while fighting Nathan with the other, bang the pressure on both sides.

  “Time to up the difficulty,” I warned, a challenging glint in my eyes.

  “Bring it on,” he replied, without a trace of hesitation.

  “Thyra will kill!” the wolf-girl yelled, lunging at my legs, trying to knock me down with a low attack.

  They’re both pressi the same time…

  I raised my sword overhead, ready for a decisive move.

  Time to show what I’m really capable of.

  “Bde Cye!” My wind armor exploded ay body as I spun, releasing the for a 360-degree bst. Both Nathan and Thyra were flung back by the impact.

  The boy fell backward but, surprisingly, got ba his feet quickly.

  “It’s over!” I ran toward Nathan, pointing my sword directly at him.

  I ralized the most dangerous one.

  I pressed the bde lightly against his neck, and Nathan, with a tired smile, raised both hands in surrender.

  “You left me a little deaf…” he murmured, rubbing his ears, clearly still rattled by the wind bst.

  “It’ll pass. It’s meant to leave oppos defenseless in battle. Try moving your jaw like you’re chewing, and the ear pressure should lessen. It’s a wind teique that mimics the pressure from altitude ges while releasing a gust of wind,” I expined as I reached out, pulling him up by the hands.

  “Keep your body straight; it’ll work better,” I said, giving him a friendly pat on the head. “Good fight, kid.”

  “I still ’t hear properly…” he grumbled.

  I ughed. “If I’d used the teique seriously, your ears would be bleeding, and you’d have some broken bones.”

  “Mind if I steal that teique?” he asked.

  I ughed again.

  “It took me ten years to refihat spell, kid. That’s not something you learn ht… what’s your element, anyway?”

  As we talked, I noticed Thyra creeping toward me. But upon seeing me, she hesitated and backed away.

  “Thyra!” a familiar voice called out.

  The wolf-girl turned pale, instantly reizing who had called her.

  “Auntie…” she murmured, l her head in resignation.

  Headmistress Victoria appeared, a serious expression on her face as she surveyed the se.

  “Headmistress,” I greeted her respectfully.

  “Judging by Thyra’s face, it seems she tried to kill you again,” the headmistress sighed deeply.

  “We were just pying around,” I replied, trying to lighteuation.

  Thyra kept her gaze fixed on the ground, visibly remorseful.

  “Am I in trouble?” she asked, almost inaudibly.

  “Not yet… I’ll find out exactly what you did, and we’ll have a talk ter,” the headmistress said firmly. “But I’m here to handle another matter.”

  Her words were ued; somethi off.

  “What brings you here, Headmistress?” I asked, curious.

  She poi Nathan, who was still massaging his ears, looking fused.

  “I’m here to take a problematic student for a chat,” she replied, pulling Nathan Evenhart along.

  “Wait… what did I do?” he asked, as she dragged him away.

  “I just feel like b you,” the headmistress said with a smile, pulling him toward the building.

  Some students approached me, still in awe of what they had witnessed.

  “That was incredible, Professor,” one of them remarked, eyes shining with excitement.

  “You were just going easy on them, right? Just guiding the fight for our learning?” another asked, curious.

  “Of course,” I replied, raising my sword and trying to sound nont. “I just match your level. You all know that.”

  But iy… I thought, looking at the sword, those two could’ve actually killed me if I hadn’t beeirely focused. Especially the boy. He was thinking two steps ahead of me in the fight. What would’ve happened if we hadn’t been interrupted?

  The line reformed, and the lesson tinued. Even so, my mind was elsewhere, caught up i events. I gnced once more in the dire where the headmistress had taken Nathan.

  Nathan Evenhart... how do you have the ing of a seasoned warrior at ye?

  Something about him didn’t add up—how could a fifteen-year-old boy possess that level of swordsmanship?

  As I prepared to call the student, an irritating itch fred up on my neck. I reached up to touch the area, and a wave of shock hit me.

  Blood? Was I wounded on my neck? When did that happen? I hadn’t eve it.

  A small drop of blood trickled down my fingers, and a chill ran through my body.

  I could have died… I thought, a shiver running down my spine.

  It was the first time I’d e so close to death. If the strike had been just a bit stronger, I’d be dead.

  I looked in the dire Nathan Evenhart had gone, and thehyra had disappeared to.

  Whie of them? Whie of them almost killed me?