As soon as the duel was confirmed, the field that was swirling in a sea of whispers fell into a tense silence as everyone gazed as the two combatants, and then slowly parted, instinctively forming a circle around the arena, drawing the battle lines as they all looked towards the center.
Valerian moved first. With a faint shimmer of crimson mist, a long spear materialized in his grasp. Its shaft was blackened steel, runes etched in silver spirals across its length, and the blade itself pulsed faintly with a hunger that felt alive.
The very air shivered around it, and the Demon students who supported Valerian all murmured in awe at the magnificent sight.
"The Bloodfang Spear…"
"They say it was quenched in the blood of a thousand humans during the Ancient Abyssal Wars…"
"A true Duskveil heirloom."
Valerian spun it once, letting the silver-red blade catch the dim aurora light above, his smirk returning like a mask slipped back into place.
