Ariel opened the gates of the Hallow Palace. A figure holding a longsword and a halberd stood in front of him. The world seemed to shake. The figure blurred in and out.
Hitting his head with his hands, Ariel looked at the figure again. It wore a training armor and held its head high.
A crimson halberd flew towards Ariel in full force. He grabbed it mid air.
What is going on?
The figure became clearer. Louis stood in his usual sword pose, one leg forward and one arm on his hips. Ariel placed his sword on the ground, head first. The crimson halberd's blade gleamed.
"You look drunk. Was the feast too good?" Louis hissed.
Ariel sighed.
"What are you doing, Louis?" He said with a low tone.
Louis pointed his sword at Ariel.
They stared at each other for a moment.
"I don't have-" Ariel spoke.
"I'm not asking." Louis narrowed his eyes.
Amy and Peter left the building. Peter opened his mouth, before he can speak Amy closed his mouth and dragged him away.
Ariel pulled his halberd from the ground.
Louis' legs slightly trembled.
I'm not his equal, even now. Not in strength at least.
Louis closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
But I have something in my hand now.
"If I win, I will be the house head." He said with a smile.
"And if I win?" Ariel asked, tilting his head.
"That won't happen." Louis smirked.
Ariel heard armor clanks from his behind and he felt eyes focusing on him, they were far but noticeable.
"Let's go somewhere else." He said.
Ariel walked towards the tall, black tower. Louis followed him. The peasants around them gossiped to one another. The ground clicked under Louis' boots. The black tower got bigger as they approached, it was at least tall as two Great Foxes. The morning sun rose behind Louis. The moon stood behind Ariel. The tower cast a shadow between them.
Ariel halted. Grabbing his halberd with both of his hands, he turned towards Louis.
Louis got into his stance.
The air lingered between them.
Ariel dashed first. His weapon slashed through air and met with Louis'.
Stumbling backwards, Louis braced his back and got back into his stance.
Something is off. Louis blinked.
He pushed his sword deeper. Ariel's sword followed.
He is not as strong...? He bit the inside of his mouth and clutched his weapon.
Alcohol never affected him like this. What is going on?
Louis shook his head.
This might be my only chance.
Running his mana through his sword, Louis dashed back and slashed towards Ariel. Sharp currents dashed towards him.
With a kick of his leg Ariel parried one of them. The second flew beside his hair, cutting a few strands.
He slammed his foot on the ground and ran his mana through it.
Louis smirked, reaching into his pocket.
Ariel lifted his halberd. Before the earth rose Louis threw a wooden disk beside him.
The mana around the disk drifted towards it. The earth stopped rising.
Snapping his eyes to the disk, Ariel saw a sigil which had a square border and inside the box curved arrows pointed to the center of it.
He frowned.
He can't use magic with this around as well. Why would he do that?
A sharp current dashed towards him. Ariel's eyes widened. He turned his body away. The edge got caught, oozing blood.
Ariel clicked his tongue.
It's selective.
The blood droplets landed on the stone.
Ariel slammed his sword to the ground, lifting off debris from the ground. The stone scraped the ground and stopped near Louis.
Louis' eyes stuck to the drop of blood.
It has to be done. He thought.
Footsteps got closer. Louis swooshed his sword to the debris Ariel sent. The stone crumbled into pieces, lifting off dust.
Ariel's halberd shone through the dust. He looked around.
Louis' footsteps seemed to came from everywhere under the haze.
A barrage of sharp currents dashed towards Ariel. He slashed one.
A sharp sensation arose from his back. Two of them had hit him.
Ariel grunted.
The sharp currents swarmed him.
Slamming his weapon to the ground, Ariel cleared the dust.
He heard a step behind him. Louis pointed his sword at his back. He chuckled.
"It's my vic-" He didn't finished the sentence.
They stood in that position for a second.
Louis blinked. A gray spot slowly shrank at Ariel's back. He gritted his teeth.
Then he threw his sword to the ground. The metal clanked with the stone and rolled to the side.
All this preparation, courage... His gaze dropped.
Ariel turned back and pointed his halberd at Louis' throat.
"Why are you disarming in a middle of a duel? Are you crazy?" Ariel narrowed his eyes.
"I am done." Louis raised his hands.
Ariel rubbed his forehead.
"Done with what?" He said, tiredly.
Louis sighed. "You are poisoned, by a snownut mix."
"A win is a win. Don't you want to be a house head?" Ariel asked.
A loud clank arose from the side of them. they turned to look.
Four guards with heavy armor stood before him. Their weapons were raised.
"Lord Ariel, Drop your weapon at once!" One of them, the leader, hissed.
Ariel did so.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing. An attempted fratricide!" The leader raised his hands.
I haven't seen an acting this bad. Ariel sighed.
Louis' mouth hung open. "It is a duel between-" He tried to speak.
"No need to be scared Lord Louis! You are under our protection from now on." The leader said.
They pointed their swords at Ariel.
"And this beast will be sentenced to exile! You have time until noon or execution." He added.
I can kill them easily, dethrone Gerald with the evidence but... then what?
Ariel covered his mouth
What do I even have here? I am not even a house head.
Running a hand through his hair Ariel remembered the heroic stories he used to read. Then Reinhard's words lit in his brain.
"You always talk about becoming..." Then static.
He stared at the guards, one by one.
Maybe chasing after my dream is a better choice.
Ariel kicked his halberd to the air and grabbed it mid air. Then he walked towards the gates.
"Ariel-" Louis tried to reach for him.
He kept walking.
Louis clutched his hands.
"You never let me win." He muttered to himself
Ariel walked to a secluded area. The distance between houses kept getting tighter and tighter. A shine in the alleyway caught his attention. His armor stood there, hidden between crates.
My precautions were for nothing. Both the dessert and the hidden armor. Gerald is always more direct than I think.
Reaching for his white armor. He put it on piece by piece. When it came to the chestplate he stopped. He stared at the golden crown etched in his chest. He ripped it out of its place.
I know what to do with this.
He put in the rest of his armor and walked away from the slums of the capital.
Peter and Amy stood in front of the gate. He raised his hands to wave at them. Peter's face shifted from normal to terrified. Ariel felt a breath at his back.