Clank.
Sparks flew as Darian's blade t Caspian's.
The impact sent vibrations up both their arms.
The weight of the battle was evident, yet Caspian remained composed, his expression unreadable.
Darian, on the other hand, grit his teeth, pushing forward with sheer force.
Caspian sidestepped, his footwork fluid. With a swift counter, he aid a strike at Darian's ribs.
Darian barely deflected it, the force behind the blow sending a tremor through his wrist.
He staggered slightly but recovered instantly, lunging forward again with a sharp, precise thrust.
Caspian dodged, his body moving with an almost unnatural ease. "You're too aggressive," he observed, his voice calm. "You leave openings."
"Tch." Darian clicked his tongue, adjusting his grip.
He knew White haired was right, but admitting it was out of the question.
He pressed on, his strikes becoming wilder, faster.
Then, suddenly—
"Darian!" a voice rang out.
Oliver and two others rushed in from the side, their weapons drawn.
Without hesitation, they aid for Caspian, forcing him to break away from Darian.
The shift in montum was imdiate.
Caspian leaped back, his eyes narrowing as he gauged the new threat.
Vynesaa wasted no ti, vines shooting forward from her fingertips as she engaged Oliver's group, her movents sharp.
Darian watched, his grip tightening as his mind drifted back to a mory—
Interference. Again and again.
Why do they always interfere?
First my brother. Now you.
Why do all of you get in the way?
His fingers twitched. He was barely holding himself back.
His vision tunneled. He could hear Oliver shouting sothing—probably so nonsense about teamwork.
The words barely registered.
"We're on the sa side, Darian!" Oliver called out, fending off Vynesaa's relentless assault. "We're helping you!"
Darian's body moved before his mind could process it.
He turned, his blade flashing as he swung at Oliver without hesitation.
The clang of steel against steel sent a jolt through both of them, but Darian didn't relent.
He pushed forward, forcing Oliver to stumble back, eyes wide in shock.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Oliver shouted.
"Don't interfere, Oliver," Darian snapped, his voice laced with irritation.
Oliver raised an eyebrow but didn't look particularly bothered.
"Relax, Darian," he said, voice asured. "We're just making sure we co out on top."
Darian's grip on his weapon tightened. He knew exactly what that ant.
Oliver's gaze flicked toward Vynesaa, his expression calculating.
'Let's take her out first. Once they're exhausted, we'll deal with them.'
Caspian imdiately caught on.
He was trapped.
Darian wanted to fight him, and Oliver was moving in on Vynesaa.
If Caspian split his attention, he'd lose to Darian.
If he focused on Darian, Vynesaa would have to fend for herself.
He clenched his jaw.
There was no easy way out of this.
The mont Oliver and the others lunged toward Vynesaa, the battlefield erupted into chaos.
Vynesaa t them head-on, but the sheer coordination of Oliver, Kaidor, and Marin was overwhelming.
She parried Marin's strike, twisting her vines to deflect Kaidor's incoming blade, but Oliver capitalized on the opening, his attack cutting dangerously close.
In re seconds, she was already being pushed back.
Shing!
A portal tore open mid-air, and before anyone could react, a figure shot out of it with terrifying speed.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Lyrius' battle cry rang across the field as his blade clashed against Oliver's with a deafening clang.
Caspian exhaled sharply.
'You really are protagonist at the end'
Then Caspian glanced at Darian, who had barely flinched at the sudden interference.
Instead, sothing dark flickered across his eyes.
Anger. Not at Lyrius, not at Oliver, but at the situation itself.
Darian turned back to Caspian, his lips curving into sothing that was neither a smile nor a scowl.
His grip tightened around his weapon.
"You're mine," he muttered, lunging forward.
The battlefield had been set.
Oliver vs. Lyrius.
Caspian vs. Darian.
Vynesaa vs. Marin.
Calenthir vs. Kaidor.
No more interruptions. No more distractions.
Now, it was war.
-------
[POV: Academy Head Office]
The spacious office was filled with an air of quiet authority.
Tall bookshelves lined the walls, filled with tos on combat theory.
A large crystal screen hovered in the center of the room, displaying the live broadcast of the tournant's final showdown.
The voice of the comntator echoed throughout the chamber.
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