Silver Wind.
That was the engravement the metal plate bore. It had an open-air patio lined with circular tables fit for about four people, and wooden stools to accommodate as much. They were on an elevated platform however, about four steps up which helped it to give off a nonchalant vibe, the perfect place to have a friendly chat. The inside of the building was much more spacious however, as it transformed into a tavern after hours, and would often be filled with bickering customers as soon as the sun had faded completely from sight.
"Oh you're back."
A myriad of voices called out to them from all directions as they continued towards the lavish cafe, but of them all, the last one held the most weight. Turning towards the source of it, a single girl now faced them. She was around the same height as Levinia, her silver hair was neatly parted to each side, gently revealing her face as if it was playing hide and seek with the outside world. Her hair wasn't long by extreme means, it only reached a little below her nape, and her golden Irises gleamed so bright it seemed like they were sparkling.
She was currently holding a broom and dressed in some kind of uniform with a maid apron wrapped around her waist. It was covered in a litter of black spots and stains, which was in fact a testament to how hard she'd been working.
"Phew, just in time." Her slender arm wiped the trickling beads of sweat now gliding down her forehead.
"Are you okay Kanon?" The small girl had walked over to him and asked in a comforting manner, for a split-second Kanon had thought that even her eyes seemed to be smiling.
"I think I'll be fine after I get some sleep."
"Oh, then I know a good herbal tea for- I'm sorry lady Levinia! I forgot to address you first." She immediately bowed with an apology.
"Don't worry about it Elaine, you should know I wouldn't grill you over something like that."
Elaine's smile brightened when she regained her initial posture.
"I've been looking for you, Asterius. Did this little errand really wear you out that much?"
A haughty voice suddenly interrupted their gathering. Turning towards it, Kanon smirked upon the sight of the intruder. It was another youth who had something wrapped in a white cloth and draped across his back, at a glance it resembled a sword's scabbard. His hair was more silky white than silver but nonetheless it had helped to bring forth the neon color his eyes reflected. He looked like the type that was always ready for a fight, and the bright gleam in his eyes said just as much. Coming face to face with them, the boy smiled. He made a *POP* sound as he slammed his right fist into his left palm.
"Asterius?" Levinia murmured to no one in particular.
"Yea, it's exactly what it looks like Arthur."
Glancing over his group once more, Arthur simply narrowed his eyes in a dismissive manner.
"Well, it doesn't matter to me if you don't want to take lady Aurora's trials seriously, but you better go all out in our next match."
His words resonated with a deep passion, like each of them had been engraved with his burning desire.
"I'll keep that in mind. So, are you here for more training?" Kanon held a curious expression at the thought.
"Yea, I was just on my way to meet lady Aurora, but I took a detour after sensing you over here. As usual, you're leaking way too much arcanum."
Arthur looked pleased giving his brief response.
"I'm still working on that." Kanon could only look away with a slight hint of embarrassment showing on his face.
"I've been wondering for a while now but-You two; shouldn't you be lowering your heads to me right now? No, it's not just you two, nobody inside this district has ever showed me any sign of such respect even once."
Arthur asked with his outstretched finger, now pointing towards Levinia and Elaine.
In return, he got a blank stare of amazement from everyone here, even those passing by had stopped to stare in shock, with just that single question Arthur had created an atmosphere of almost perfect silence. However, it was soon interrupted by the myriad of whispers that came in response to the boy's bold question.
"Pardon?"
Being the first word clearly uttered, Levinia's response sounded almost comedic amidst the previous silence. What was even more surprising however, was Arthur's attitude to it all as he simply returned the very same blank stare he was getting, as if he was wondering why they made it seem like he said something wrong.
"Kanon, who is this?" Levinia finally asked the puzzling question that had been nagging her this entire time.
"Oh, Levinia this is Arthur. He's from the Veyron clan....I thought you'd at least heard of him since you're both nobles."
With her question, Levinia swiftly brought back both Kanon and Elaine out of their momentary shock.
"No, I haven't, but then again I don't care much for nobility."
"Levinia?" Arthur's absent-minded thoughts had escaped him.
"So, you're Levinia Silva-The Moon Cutter." He remarked in a tone that sounded almost ecstatic.
"In the flesh. It's a pleasure to meet you, Arthur Veyron."
With her greeting, Levinia dropped to one knee with a curtsying posture. The motion looked flawless even though she wasn't even wearing a skirt.
She really does switch gears fast. Kanon thought.
"To answer your question- this district isn't set under nor governed by any domain, hence the absence of nobility here. They do engage in trade and similar matters with the other domains here but that's about as far as it goes. Since this place has no concept of nobility, don't you think it's a little absurd for you to come here and try to exert your authority?"
Levinia gave Arthur a concise explanation but there was a hint of irksomeness in her voice.
"I see, but I'm quite sure I saw that girl there bowing to you just earlier."
"That's because I'm on good terms with the locals here. They are aware of my status as a noble and choose to pay respect to me out of their sense of goodwill. They don't have to nor am I able to coerce them into doing so."
Elaine curiously glanced at Levinia as she put on her bold display. She must have been captivated by the sight since it was something one rarely ever got to see.
"I understand but all of that is of little importance to me. Right now, I'm more interested in you and Kanon."
"You seem to be familiar with Kanon already, but I'd like to know more about your sudden interest in me."
Levinia's lips curled upward ever so slightly as she spoke, but her eyes gradually became more fierce, like they were gradually amassing determination.
"It's not sudden at all. I've been hearing the rumors about you, saying your refined swordsmanship can slash the heavens-still, I didn't think I'd meet you here."
"Sounds like you're giving me too much credit, that rumor is just an exaggeration." Levinia's reply sounded like an obvious bluff.
"Well, I won't know unless I test your skills for myself now, will I? I'm sure you can already guess but I'd like to test my strength against you, with the upcoming Solstice Festa right around the corner I feel there's a need to compare myself to someone of your caliber...that is if the rumors hold
true."
Kanon chuckled at Arthur's declaration. He wasn't surprised in the least but instead amazed at how fast he put together a reason sensible enough to warrant Levinia to fight him.
A taunt mixed in with Flattery huh? I wonder if that's some kind of talent? He silently thought.
"My, my....It looks like everybody's getting fired up around here but I'm fine with that. I wouldn't mind fighting you either but first your eyes-"
"I assure you they won't be a hindrance to either of us." He replied with absolute confidence.
"That's a little hard for me to believe you know."
"Then why don't you test me right here and now? Surely that much wouldn't hurt anyone right?"
"What an interesting fellow. If that's what you want, then you'd best prepare yourself."
"Give It a go." Arthur nonchalantly replied.
"Let's step back a bit" Kanon silently gestured to Elaine.
They had pretty much gathered a small crowd around them at this point. It was now filled with eager faces waiting to see the face-off between the two nobles.
"Get em Silva girl!"
"I've got my money on the other guy."
The rowdiness of the crowd only served to enhance the tension of this standoff.
Levinia held her firm gaze on Arthur, a stern look now rested in her golden eyes.
~~~~~
Then it happened, a sudden pressure swept across the entire area, and it felt like there was an immediate drop in temperature. The uproar from the crowd abruptly ceased, replaced by an eerie sense of absolute power.
The air began to feel rigid, as if it were solidifying by the second. An intense feeling of heaviness seemed to materialize from out of nowhere. It was as though gravity itself was malfunctioning in the space between Levinia and Arthur. Small dust particles and pebbles at their feet began to dance slightly before flicking a few meters up into the air, defying the unusual weight that now burdened the entire area. In that space, it was almost as if gravity was acting in two directions at once, but neither Levinia nor Arthur paid any attention to that.
Eager as they were, the bystanders slowly began to withdraw from the 8-meter-wide space where the spectacle was unfolding, it had proven to be too much for the lot of them given that there weren't that many fighters here. Both of their eyes were locked on each other like a predator on the trail of its prey. An ecstatic grin was now stretching from ear to ear on Arthur's face as the noble girl simply replied with a gentle smile.
"Kanon, what are they doing? The arcanum over there isn't acting normally."
Elaine asked the question most people here didn't know the answer to. Even though she had the Goetia, it didn't mean she knew everything about arcanum. However, having them did give her a certain degree of resistance to arcanum, which was why she was fine right now. The main reason for her confusion though, was because she had those eyes in the first place. They gave one the ability to see arcanum clearly, so right now she must've seen something that looked like a clash taking place.
"You know about Senken, right?" Kanon asked, now shifting his gaze towards her.
"Yea that's what you use for searching and stuff right?"
"Well yea, but it can also be used for combat. What they're doing right now is called a territory clash or discord. It's a technique where you expand your Senken in a condensed bubble form and use it to overwhelm your opponent. When your opponent responds the same way in turn then it ends up like this."
"Oooh! That sounds kind of amazing..........and dangerous at the same time."
"I think the most it can do is just knock someone out or knock them back a bit, that's why people mainly use it to size each other up."
"So is that why they're getting serious now?"
"Huh? Getting serious?"
Turning back towards the center of attention, Levinia and Arthur were standing inside a purple sphere with a dark hue that covered the entire eight-meter space. It seemed like both of their territories had merged and was now completely visible to everyone here, even those without the Goetia but despite this neither of them showed any sign of backing down.
CREEEK
There was a sudden shift-both Levinia and Arthur seemed to have dropped down about one meter, not literally of course as they both retained their firm postures, but rather the ground beneath them sank by about one meter, forming a circular crater around them.
"Tch! Those idiots, I thought they were only going to test each other out."
"Kanon?"
"I'll be right back!"