*Old Chapter 40, No longer Cannon.*

*Old Chapter 40, No longer Cannon.*

*As the title states, this chapter is no longer canon because I cannot stand the fact that I wrote it. I'm keeping it up to remind me of my shame and what not to do*

"These are the men who will take part in this first round of sparring matches, they are some of our finest knights-to-be."

Arioch introduced the men he had picked out when everyone arrived at the Barong training grounds. It was mostly the same as the Vritara training grounds except here it was just one large metal square. There were grooves and holes in the square for training-dummies and fences to separate it into smaller stages. But for now they had all been removed so it was just an empty square.

"Listen up, trainees. This is a friendly round of sparring matches, don’t forget that. We also have the runner-up of the most recent Twin Moon Festival, Sir Caine Woodime, with us, so don’t show him anything shameful and act as if this was a real fight, understood?"

Arioch continued to talk, giving the group of 10 people a stern look before he introduced Caine. With the introduction, he immediately received the attention of the trainees, from both sides.

The Twin Moon Festival was an annual festival celebrated by the Earhart Empire, the centrepiece of said festival being a competition between fighters. There were a few rules to limit exactly what you could do, but it was generally a good way to gauge someones strength. To be the runner up in that festival was technically to be the third place, as first and second place would be referred to by a Moon title, but to receive the third spot at his age was still a great feat that made it hard for others to not respect Caine.

"Yes, Sir!"

The trainees from the Barong estate responded energetically, the sound of their stomps echoing across the grounds for a bit. Arioch sucked in a nervous breath, but the light smile on Alice’s face made it hard for him to say anything as the first person from his family stepped forward.

"I am Juliano Saril, who will be the first to step up and face me!"

The burly man spoke so loudly that Gabriel almost felt his ears ring, his oppressive gaze bearing down on Alice’s entourage. Trisha was about to raise her arm, but Lawrence stopped her by sending forward another man before she could do it.

"Ah! Ah... Tavar Makut, at your service..."

Gabriel could see the outcome just from how the man introduced himself. A soldier who lost heart before the mission began was bound to only be dead weight. And indeed, Tavar barely managed to last three exchanges before he was knocked down and surrendered.

It was perhaps to be expected, but the matches that followed were all the same. Two or three moves was generally all it took for the people of the Barong estate to beat down the people that had been forced to follow Alice. In the end, Trisha had to step up, swallowing heavily.

"Don’t worry too much about it. Just give it your best and then be proud that you gave it your all."

Gabriel’s hand landed on her shoulder before she stepped up, her quivering pupils gaining a measure of peace when she met his calm expression. She grasped her sword tightly as she unsheathed it and stepped forward.

"I am Tristana Delgrade, future knight of Alice De Vritara. I have come to accept your challenge."

Her brown hair was tied into a neat ponytail behind her, still swinging slightly from when she unsheathed her blade. Her leather and metal armour was tight enough to show off some of her curves, giving a few glimpses of tanned skin while her deep blue eyes stared fiercely at her opponent.

"Hellion Tartak! I accept your challenge, little lady!"

Female knights weren’t exactly common, but they weren’t uncommon either, they fell somewhere in-between. But most knights were scarred or wounded from battle and harsh training so it was somewhat rare to find a female knight as delicate as Trisha so it was inevitable that she got some attention from the others.

Lawrence looked on anxiously as the battle started, Gabriel could see his nails dig into his skin from how hard he clutched his hands. His mouth was closed, but Gabriel was sure that he was clutching his teeth so hard that they were about to crack. And as the battle dragged on, his expression only got worse.

"No no no, that’s not good enough. Force, come on girlie, put more force into your stab! Here, like this."

She was knocked down after the fifth move, the best so far. The hit clearly knocked all the air out of her, she had luckily blocked it with the flat side of her blade at the last second.

"Again!"

She sprung to her feet with grit teeth. She refused to surrender in the same manner as the earlier people. She grabbed her weapon and charged again.

"No no, come on, you have to swing like you’re planning to cleave your opponent. Observe."

The main raised his sword with a smile after a few more moves and brought it down in a straight line. He was probably a few years older than Trisha, the long periods of training giving him great physical strength.

Trisha barely got her sword up in time before his weapon slammed down on, crushing the flat side of her blade into her shoulder and causing her to crumple to the ground. By this point Lawrence already had some blood at the corner of his mouth because he had started to chew on his lips. He was barely able to hold himself back from drawing his sword and cutting down the man where he stood. If only this wasn’t a round of sparring matches to foster good relations...

"Again!"

Trisha sprung to her feet again, clearly unsteady as she held her sword. But she could barely hold the sword, much less point it at the opponent. The only thing keeping her going was stubbornness and an unfaltering desire to remain standing. The man facing her simply shook his head and swatted her sword out of her hand, following it with his gaze as it bounced away.

"A knight can’t let their sword slip from their grasp, to do so means the death of themselves and their master. A shame, you were almost good enough."

He spun his sword as he spoke and hit Trisha’s chest with the pommel to push her down, knocking all the air out of her lungs in the process. In the end, she too failed to gain a victory and was beaten brutally.

"I’m Garvel Justo! Who’s next? Is it that girly over there?"

The last man from the Barong estate stepped up as Lawrence hurriedly picked up and cradled Trisha, applying medicine where he could. The man in question pointed at Teresa, who was standing amidst the rest of the entourage, Gabriel was probably standing a bit too close to Alice for him to consider Gabriel part of the entourage.

"..."

Arioch was pale as he stood there, cursing internally. He specifically told them that it was a friendly round but they were acting like this, each one as proud as a cock as they showed their skills. This... This could irreparably harm their relationship with the Vritara family, or at least Alice’s faction in it. But Alice still smiled, speaking up before Arioch could stop anything.

He raised his weapon again, still sheathed, and pointed the tip at Hellion. Hellion wanted to complain about the sheathed weapon, was he really planning on using the same trick again?

"Very well. Here I come!"

He raised his blade and stepped forward, but he was very careful with his steps despite the volume of his voice. He didn’t raise his leg too high, nor did he put it down with too much force. He also paid great attention to his balance, he had no intentions of falling for the same trick.

"Katush Devak." (Water Burst)

His fingers twitched, the mana moved. A bit of water appeared in the air between Gabriel and Hellion and then burst, exploding towards his eyes. Hellion acted on instinct, raising his arm to shield his eyes so that he wasn’t blinded. But in doing so, he blinded himself. And Gabriel stepped in.

"GH!"

Gabriel pushed the weapon forward and slammed the tip into Hellion’s solar plexus, knocking all the air out of his lungs and causing some vomit to leak from his mouth.

"That, Hellion, is how you put force into a stab. Again."

Hellion felt his vision darken as Gabriel returned his own words to him, especially since it was done in front of everyone, even the future lord of Barong. He spat out the vomit that remained in his mouth and raised his head fiercely, clutching his sword tightly with a roar.

"RHAAA! Waraya Kut Hatau!" (Strength Arms Magnify)

He charged like a wild beast and decided to use magic of his own. Gabriel had said it first so it should be fine. Yes, it would definitely be fine, the challenger was the first one to use it after all. Gabriel faced his charge calmly, his fingers moving again.

"Waraya Hatau." (Strength Magnify.)

It was in essence, the same spell but just a bit shorter, less focused. But the force... the force Gabriel packed into those two simple words...

He swung his weapon sideways as if he was trying to cleave the horizon, the scabbard smashing into Hellion’s blade. The metal shattered in the collision, Gabriel tilting his wrist slightly so that he could angle the blade downwards and tap it against Hellion’s exposed wrist.

"RAGHH! My hand! He took my hand!"

The scattered pieces of the sword flew to the side and the remains of the handle fell to the ground as Hellion’s wrist shattered. He was barely able to remain on his feet as he roared and screamed, clutching his bent hand as the entire right side of his body trembled.

"Quiet, it’s just a fracture."

Gabriel tapped Hellion’s forehead with the scabbard, not using the same level of force this time. The man was huffing like a bull as he looked at Gabriel, his teeth clenched almost as much as Lawrence had to clench his.

"A knight can’t let their sword slip from their grasp."

Gabriel raised Hellion’s chin with the scabbard, directing his gaze towards the fractured pieces that remained of his weapon. The man huffed and puffed, but his lungs were practically burning so he couldn’t get out any words. As such, he simply elected to turn around.

"A shame, you weren’t even close to good enough."

Gabriel also turned to take a few steps back as he delivered the final verdict, each word hammering against Hellion’s head like a hammer. The fire in his lungs finally became too much for him to bear as he had no choice but to curse to make himself feel better.

"Ha... Nothing but the measly servant of a dirty half—blood..."

As the words left his mouth, he felt a chill. His spine shrivelled, his toes curled, his stomach clenched. He saw some panicked expressions on the people in front of him and then heard a clanking sound. By turning his head, he was just barely able to see the scabbard that hit the ground.

What he saw with perfect clarity however was the pair of violet eyes that looked straight at him, colder than the winds of hell. And the sword. It had finally left the scabbard, and now it came for his throat.

"No no, Gabriel. I said you weren’t allowed to eat him."

A calm and gentle, even somewhat joyful sounding, voice reached his ears before the blade did. He didn’t know when, but a back covered by a red dress adorned with black lace had appeared in front of him, directly in the path of the blade.

The weapon stopped as if blocked by a wall, the veins on Gabriel’s arm bulging from the sheer exertion required to stop that swing. Alice now stood in front of Hellion, a few crackling arcs flickering in her pupils for a moment before fading. She placed a hand on the flat side of the sword and slowly stepped forward, tracing her fingers along the blade.

"Are you angry, Gabriel?"

Her hand left the blade when she reached him, both her hands cradling his cheeks so that he had no choice but to look straight at her. She was reflected in his eyes with a violet hue, and he in hers with a crimson one. She looked into his eyes as if she wanted to peer into his soul, the smile on her face growing a little.

"Good. That’s a good look, Gabriel. I like it. But you can’t eat him. He belongs to the Barong, so they are the ones who must punish him, otherwise it will harm our relations. Is that fine with you?"

She didn’t let go of his face as she spoke. She wanted to keep seeing that expression on his face. Emotions. Fierce and violent ones, like an erupting volcano. And they were for her. She had to savour it.

"It will be as you desire, my Lady."

Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath and sheathed the blade again with a slight desire to hit himself. He had acted impulsively, he struck without thinking for a moment and it could have ended badly. Alice didn’t scold him, taking in his expressions for another moment before she turned to look at Arioch.

"Young Master Barong, I trust that you will handle this appropriately?"