A week later…
In the courtyard of the University of Bologna, a duo sparred with longsword. They moved continuously like the water within a river. Missio and Dante clashed their blades. Missio parried, thrusting forward. Dante bound his brother's sword. Missio flicked his sword. The bind was broken. Both backed off. They spun around, their tips colliding. Sparks flew in the air as the blades continued to be chipped.
Dante cut horizontally. Missio stepped back. Dante twisted his wrists, forcing his sword upward. Missio parried with his own, the steel scraping past his face. He crouched. Dante's eyes widened. Missio held the sword close. Then, he stabbed it into Dante's chest. The supreme commander – unfazed, swung down. Missio rolled away. He sprang up, pivoting on one leg and spinning fluidly back into his stance. Then, he rushed forward.
His sword flew inches from his brother's face. Dante deflected it. He elevated his weapon high. The blade fell down swiftly. Missio wielded his with two hands. He blocked the strike, straining his muscles. He tilted his blade and jolted up. Dante's blade was bound. Missio pressed his feet against the ground. He leapt off, rotating his body. A kick met Dante's face. The king's face contorted, his glasses flying off.
He let go of his sword and fell to the ground. Missio landed and paused for a moment. He clenched his fist in victory, his lips curling into a smile.
"Good job." Dante groaned. "That felt like payback."
"Kinda was…" Missio picked up his brother's glasses.
"Yeah, and you broke my glasses." Dante snatched them from Missio's hands.
"At least my headphones didn't break from your strike last time." Missio adjusted them. "These things are built different."
Dante sighed, tucking his glasses away. He grunted and stood up. He swiftly picked up his longsword and sheathed it.
"You're on your way to mastering the first three forms but…" He spun around. "Don't think that you've mastered Sempiterne Swordsmanship just by beating me. I usually fight with my fists. With a sword, I'm at the rank of Master."
"And I'm a Grandmaster." Missio smirked.
"Yeah – Yeah." Dante waved. "Let's move on."
He pulled out his engagement ring from his pocket and slid it onto his ring finger. He locked eyes with Missio.
"It feels so strange seeing you without glasses…" Missio commented.
"Really? I kinda feel strange too." Dante touched his face. "But anyways, let's get back on track"
Missio stared at his brother for a moment too long. "…What do you want to teach me now?"
"Not teach but help you master." Dante pointed out. "If you're gonna transcend to the next level, you've gotta master your creation ability. Did you forget?"
"Yes." Missio replied.
"Of course…" Dante face-palmed. "Let me lay something on you… sit down."
Missio followed his brother's orders. The duo sat down beside a tree. The shade covered them from the blazing sun which reached above the campus.
"Tell me, what do you think creation is?" Dante posed a question.
"Uh… a way of making something?" Missio replied.
"No – because making means you're taking something and turning it into another thing. Creation is born from Imagination."
"Creation is born from Imagination…" Missio repeated.
"You see, as the Nerd I am, whenever I saw mages in shows using creation magic, it was always something like a shield, a barrier, a sword and things like that but…"
The supreme commander looked at Missio.
"If you can create anything, you can create anything, can't you?"
Missio titled his head. "What?"
"Dynamic Creation, bro. Think outside the box." Dante raised a finger. "You create everything in a stationary position. It doesn't move until gravity or another force pushes upon it but what if… you added a vector to that object?"
Missio blinked – his mind raced with thoughts.
"You're fighting somebody. You swing your sword. They dodge and try to counter but the next moment… Boom! A dagger's in their eye!" Dante spread his arms. "Creation isn't meant to be static, Missio. It's an everchanging state of existence."
"But that means…" Missio blinked. "You can create objects flying at whatever speed you want… that's too OP."
"It is… Now go try it out." Dante pushed his brother up.
Missio stood up. He stepped forward, standing in the sun. He locked onto a tree. His eyes narrowed to a slit. He raised his hand, pointing it at his target. He drew a sharp breath. A light beamed from his hand but it didn't stay there for long. It moved as fast as Missio wanted. Eventually, a small dagger was created. It pierced the tree's bark, embedding itself deep into the trunk. Missio blinked – amazed. He made a knife traveling at Mach speeds.
It passed through the tree. Dante activated his attribute, bolts of lightning sparking around him. In an instant, he vanished from his position and appeared ahead of the knife. He reached out and caught the knife with ease.
"Be careful." He warned, walking towards Missio.
"Right, I will." Misio replied.
Dante grunted, sitting under the same tree. Missio continued to use his ability, creating objects with velocity and attacking the trees with them. Dante watched this from a distance. After a while, he grew bored. Then, a realization struck him.
'I haven't called Isabella in a while…'
He quickly took out his phone and dialed his Fiancé's number. He held his phone to his ear. A few seconds passed before the call went through.
"Hey, babe~" Isabella's greeted excitedly.
"Sounds like someone is happy." Dante commented.
"Of course! It's just that all the good wedding guys are occupied for now."
"Did you make a reservation?"
"I'm not that stupid. Of course, I did! Now, I just need to find a venue and a priest."
Dante paused, raising a brow. His lips couldn't help but curl into a smile.
"Leave those to me, babe."
Isabella's voice hitched. "Y-You want to? O-Okay…"
Dante cringed at using a pet name as he heard Isabella's flustered squeals.
"You can manage the other things… but leave the venue and priest to me… Also, have you made a guest list?"
"Yeah! I've invited everyone!" Isabella replied excitedly.
"Okay, send me the guest list. I'll add some people If they're not already on there." Dante said.
"Of course! This is going to be the best wedding ever!" Isabella squealed.
"Whatever you wish, dear…" Dante muttered.
The two then, chatted for a while as Dante watched Missio play with his new technique.