The instant the official’s hand dropped, Talyra charged forward.
Her katana was still sheathed. Grim shifted into a defensive stance, but rather than attacking directly, Talyra just circled him.
The crowd leaned forward in anticipation. Grim remained centered, rotating smoothly to keep her in his field of vision, unwilling to be the first to commit. The hooded figure continued her orbit, each circuit bringing her slightly closer.
"Interesting," she said, her voice carrying just far enough for Grim to hear."You’re more patient than I was told."
Grim narrowed his eyes. There was something familiar in her tone, but he couldn’t place it. Now wasn’t the time to figure it out. She was testing him, probing for weakness or impulsiveness.
He made a subtle adjustment to his stance, and Talyra responded instantly, halting her circular movement. She drew her katana, the blade catching the light with a greenish tint.
"Cutting Wind: Feng Jian," she announced.
The katana flared with emerald energy that rippled like windblown grass. The air around the blade seemed to distort, as if the very atmosphere was being sharpened to a cutting edge.
Talyra charged, her katana whistling through the air. Grim met her strike with Echo, the blades connecting with a metallic ring. He felt a momentary resistance, then something unexpected. A stinging sensation across his knuckles.
Glancing down, he saw thin lines of blood appearing on his hand, though her blade had never made contact with his skin. The emerald energy was somehow extending beyond the physical edge of her weapon, creating invisible cutting currents in the air.
[Careful,] the voice warned. [Her blade’s reach exceeds the length of her blade.]
Talyra pressed her advantage, launching a series of strikes that forced Grim onto the defensive. Each parry resulted in more shallow cuts appearing on his arms and hands. Individually, they were minor wounds, but their cumulative effect would eventually become a serious problem.
The crowd murmured in appreciation of the display. From his position in the noble section, Julius Luminaris watched with a smile on his face.
Grim disengaged, creating distance between them with a quick backward step. He needed to change tactics.
"Celestial Mist: Ethereal Mist," he murmured.
Mist began to seep off Grim’s body. Covering the arena floor, before Grim disappeared
She adjusted quickly, pivoting to track his movement, but Grim was already executing his next technique.
"Celestial Mist: Cross-Cut."
Echo’s blade shimmered with pale blue energy as Grim launched a horizontal slash followed immediately by a vertical one, the two strikes forming a cross pattern in the air.
Talyra parried the horizontal strike with apparent ease, but had to shift her stance to deflect the vertical follow-up. The maneuver created a momentary opening, which Grim immediately exploited.
"Celestial Mist: Cleave."
This technique concentrated energy along Echo’s edge, allowing it to cut through almost any defense. The blade descended in a powerful overhead strike that would have split Talyra from shoulder to hip had it landed.
But Talyra was no novice. She sidestepped at the last possible moment, allowing Echo to slice through empty air. The spot where she was however, the ground split in two from the power of the strike. As Grim’s momentum carried him forward, she countered with a sweeping attack that sent green energy cascading toward his exposed side.
Grim twisted just enough to avoid the worst of it, but still felt the burning sensation of multiple cuts opening along his ribs.
[She’s forcing you to expend energy while inflicting cumulative damage,] the voice observed. [This won’t end well if it continues.]
Grim silently agreed. Each exchange was leaving him with more wounds, while Talyra remained untouched. The time for testing and assessment was over. If he wanted to win this match, he needed to change the dynamics.
"Enough," he said, loud enough for Talyra to hear.
Grim vanished into the mist, his figure becoming indistinct. Then he attacked.
"Celestial Mist: Thousand Paths."
He seemed to move from multiple directions at once, Echo leaving trails of blue light as he struck from angles that should have been impossible. Talyra defended admirably, her blade a blur of green as she parried and countered, but even her exceptional speed couldn’t protect her completely.
Grim’s blade finally found its mark, slicing across her shoulder. Talyra staggered slightly but recovered quickly. Her hood had fallen back during the exchange, revealing pointed ears, dark brown hair in a braid that went to her shoulders, and dark skin that reminded Grim of someone he was not fond of.
Talyra touched the wound on her shoulder, examining the blood on her fingertips with mild surprise.
"I didn’t expect you to adapt so quickly." Talyra said with a hint of respect.
For a moment, Grim faltered. There was something in her face, a familiarity that tugged at his memory.
"Impressive," she said, loud enough for the front rows to hear. "But not enough."
She shifted her stance, her katana held upright for the first time. The green energy flickering along its length began to fade, replaced by something darker. A deep, pulsing black that seemed to absorb the light around it.
"Soul Shade: Black Blade."
The transformation was immediate and unsettling. Her katana turned pitch black, its edge occasionally crackling with what looked like dark lightning. The air around it seemed to grow heavier, colder, as if the blade was drawing energy from its surroundings.
In the noble section, Julius’s satisfied smile vanished, replaced by a look of genuine alarm. His body stiffened as he leaned forward, eyes widening from the darkness at the center of the arena.
"Impossible," he whispered, too quietly for anyone but his son to hear. "That’s not the style she was supposed to..." His words trailed off as the implications sank in. The intermediary who had arranged for Talyra’s participation had assured him she only had wind affinity.
Talyra raised the transformed weapon, its obsidian surface reflecting nothing. As she swung, the black lightning intensified, arcing toward Grim in jagged, hungry tendrils.