Things moved in the blink of an eye.
Noble knew that Syrce would not wait for them to attack her. It was not in her nature to be idle, and her body had been unable to stay still ever since the mirror had been completed.
Now that Noble thought about it, the Saint was always full of vitality. Up until now, the floating Master had attributed the exuberance to clean living and a personality quirk. But what if it was something more?
Lady Syrce's drive was to move ever forward, as if resting were not an option. And now she insisted they spar after she had been inactive for the day.
'Could it be...her flaw?'
If true, then she would have been fighting almost every day of her life since awakening. The years of experience this woman would have!
But if this were the case, what would happen if Syrce had no way to expend her excess energy? Noble did not want to find out.
'I have to give this all I have.'
The thought took less than a moment, and the explosive combat commenced in the beat of a human heart. The other four Masters also guessed Syrce's temperament, and so all five of them descended on the woman in the middle like a storm.
The team instinctively knew that they would get in each other's way if they all collided at once. While they all wanted to get the hit and claim the prize, they also needed to be careful.
So when Syrce turned toward Noble and Helie, the two ladies drew back to absorb her incoming hit while the three men pounced from behind.
The Saint leaned forward, exposing her back as the tip of her sword reached for Noble's. But the smile on Syrce's face betrayed her.
Noble knew it was a feint.
At the last possible moment, the Saint ducked, sweeping her leg high to crash into Aether's thigh. The young man jumped high to avoid the devastating kick, giving Syrce an exit from the fray. Ducking lower, she planted her foot instead of completing the kick and used the momentum to spin out of the closing circle.
Roan pursued her, but it was in vain. The hole closed as he neared, and Aether landed on him, causing the two men to tumble into a heap.
But it was Flint who received the worst of the exchange. Seeing Syrce flee from the scene, he looped behind his companions to intercept her.
And fell right into her trap.
As Syrce retracted her elbow, the sword's angle changed. When she spun her body to duck under Aether, Flint was there waiting for her.
Propelled forward, Syrce's blade crashed against her opponent's weapon with frightening force. Unprepared for the pressure, Flint's wrist buckled slightly, not enough for the Saint to take off his head, but that was not Syrce's goal.
She didn't have to make it to his neck, only the tip of his shoulder. And she had plenty of room for that.
The surly Master recognized the trick before Syrce's sword could finish sliding the length of his. He disengaged, and the Saint missed her mark by a fraction of a centimeter.
"So close!" She exclaimed with a smile.
And just like that, Syrce slipped from the knot of Masters and broke into the open.
Noble couldn't help but pause to admire her skill.
The most precarious position was fighting a multi-front battle. In one smooth motion, the ancient Saint had solved the problem of being attacked from all sides. With the trees to her back, she had also bottlenecked their next moves by limiting how they could approach.
'Brilliant!'
"Good effort, everyone!" Syrce nodded at the group. "Now, let's try it again. This time with feeling!"
Flint furrowed his brow. He had come close to losing on the first exchange, and now his target was taunting him. If she wanted feeling, he would give it to her!
Helie and Aether's emotions spiked as well.
Only Roan and Noble remained calm. Both were no strangers to playful banter in combat. Rather than rile them up, it fueled their resolve and gave them clarity for their goal.
So it was no surprise to either of them when their three companions nearly tripped over each other to be the first to engage.
Dashing past the men, Helie won the race to the far side of the arena. Her strike was like a serpent's—quick, directed, and deadly.
Syrce sidestepped the hit, grabbing the other woman's arm and pulling her forward. The Saint jammed her elbow into Helie's forearm, denting the metal armor and throwing the Master to the ground.
But Syrce could not complete the action, and Helie rolled free as the two men behind her descended.
The Saint turned to prevent the grounded woman from sneaking behind her, raising her sword in a quick series of parries.
Her efficient movements prevented both Aether and Flint from breaking through her defense.
"Come on, gentlemen. We can do better. I'm in a dress, and you, dear boys, are in armor. Surely you can manage better footwork!" Syrce tapped Aether's heel with her sword before snapping the blade back into place.
The young man looked down at the tap, astonished by the Saint's speed.
That was his downfall. The clang of the sword against his pauldron filled the clearing like a ringing bell.
Syrce clicked her tongue.
"First rule of combat… don't get distracted. You are out."
Defeated and deflated, the polite legacy backed up with a deep bow.
Flint barked a laugh. "Amateur—ah!"
His jib was cut off as Syrce switched her feet and faced him directly. Until Helie recovered, Flint had the Saint's full attention.
The pressure of her gaze caused beads of sweat to form on Flint's brow.
The two Masters behind him would be able to come to his aid in seconds, but when a warrior moved as quickly as Syrce, those seconds might as well have been an eternity.
The feet of the Saint moved in an intricate pattern of advances and retreats.
'It's like a dance!' Noble willed herself to memorize every step.
While her feet couldn't touch the ground, the laws of how to control and manage her weight in the air still applied. The power of the strike stemmed from the strength in the body, and Syrce had turned that principle into an art.
'Amazing!'
Flint did not share her sentiment. Releasing a string of curses, he blocked the swings, protecting his shoulders at all costs.
Gauging his strategy, Syrce playfully hit the broadside of her sword against Flint's chest plate.
"Don't get sloppy!"
The demoralizing tap caused the Master to grunt. He made an overhanded cut right as Helie swung from below.
The hem of the Saint's gown was sliced, and a small cut appeared on her ankle underneath.
Syrce kicked Helie, sending her tumbling into a tree and causing her sword to come loose.
"Not a bad plan: playing injured, so I would ignore you. The only problem is you should have aimed for my body and not my foot!" Syrce lowered her sword to look at the fallen warrior.
"Don't get distracted!" Flint rushed forward.
But his action was in vain. With the flick of her wrist, the Saint had not only disarmed the surly Master, but she had tapped him on the shoulder before he could object to the rough treatment.
"Don't announce your movements," she warned him seriously. "And make sure the other person is actually distracted. Orrin taught you better!"
Not waiting for a response, the Saint reached down and tapped Helie as well. "That tap was out of mercy. I think you broke a rib on that crash! Sometimes I don't know my own strength. Titus will fix you up right away."
And just like that, the playing field halved.
Roan and Noble, who had been moving to help their cohort members, stopped in their tracks to regroup.
Syrce smiled viciously at them. "And then there were two. Now the real fun begins…"