The Virtues' Magecraft

Trial By Steel, Part Two

Ashford continued to disappear from Alexander's view.

But Alexander was also getting faster. He could feel, sense the flowing energy that surrounded him. And within the half-second that he felt it get closer, he thrust out his fist.

He hit nothing but air.

And this repeated for an entire minute. Until Ashford attacked on his own. With a fist to his gut, Alexander clenched his teeth and winced.

By reflex, the magic energy burst from Alexander's hand.

It struck Ashford, knocking his head back. Only for less than a second.

He glared at Alexander, clenching his jaw.

But Alexander wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the palm of his hand. He had just set off his magic as a blast of energy, hadn't he?

For a second, all his surroundings darkened, and all he could see was his glowing self, brimming with pure energy.

Ashford appeared inches from Alexander's face. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

"Uh... No idea, to be honest," he said, stepping back from the Paladin.

"Looks like you're pretty talented. Guess I should take this a bit more seriously," he said, smiling and disappearing once again.

Alexander was screaming internally. He hated this.

And it was with another thin s***h to the chest that Alexander became enraged. He smiled. 'Fine, then.'

"You said you didn't care about the damage I cause, right?" Alexander asked as he took in a sharp breath.

'If you can't predict your opponent's movements, create a situation where you can.'

And from there... Alexander slammed his foot into the ground.

With that singular movement, the ground began to shake. And not just shake, but split and shatter.

This... was Alexander's sorcery. This was Earth-Shaking.

Ashford dashed back in surprise, his eyes scanning over the cracked and shattered floor, stepping and treading carefully.

And from there, Alexander smiled.

He raced towards the Paladin, following the movements across the quaking floor.

And it only took a second for Alexander to catch up. Again, Alexander slammed his foot into the floor. Or rather, what was above it.

Ashford's foot.

The mere force alone blasted apart the Paladin's shoes. But more importantly, it immobilized him.

It was then that Ashford understood what Alexander had planned. It would only take less than a second for the Paladin to break free and separate.

Less than a second was all Alexander needed.

He smiled, driving his fist into Ashford's face.

At that the same time the Paladin broke free, a second impact blasted him across the air.

Alexander swallowed his saliva. He didn't expect that to work so well.

Two attacks within a span of the same second. Ashford only smiled as his back hit the wall, as blood began to drip from his already scarred nose.

'This kid's good,' he told himself.

He wiped the dripping blood with his finger, smiling once again.

A thin circle of light began to grow under Alexander's feet. And the other Virtues.

It was then that the Paladin realized that some had left. And as those circles of whirring light grew, he began to understand.

Alexander knew that Ashford knew.

Ashford understood that Alexander understood what he understood.

They stared at each other.

A thin smile began to form on Alexander's face. Until the Connections opened, and the Virtues fell through.

Alexander and the others landed onto the patch of sand where they had first arrived. He spat out a sigh. "God, that was tough."

"Surprise, you're still alive after fighting a High-Grade," Liam said with a smile, tossing a sheathed sword at Alexander.

He caught it, instantly marveling at the crimson brass scabbard, adorned with ornate gold. And from there, his eyes scanned over the golden hilt and the crimson gemstone on its pommel.

"Why'd you give it to me.

"Well, Gabriel already has Excalibur, plus Archibald gave me Durendal last week. Makes sense for you to have it."

The rest of the Virtues stared at Liam for that remark.

Alexander smiled at the sword. He had gotten about a dozen swords ever since he joined the Virtues. Most of them had broken. But he was elated at the prospect of having a capable weapon. One he could call his own.

Plus, having the sword of the great dragon slayer wasn't too bad.

Liam patted Alexander's back. "Besides, I took a couple of daggers for myself."

"Wait, you did?"

"Yeah, but he probably won't even notice. He's got lots of stuff there. And I mean, a lot."

Ashford ran through the backdoor. He was over a hundred meters away from them. And he closed that distance in an instant.

"I'm not mad that you took the sword," Ashford said, again standing only inches from Alexander's face. "Just mad that you would run from a fight."

Again, Alexander stepped back.

"But honestly, I'm also mad you took the sword. But that's okay. Won't hold it against you. Lots of people are cowards."

Ashford's words were simple. He wasn't saying anything that wasn't true, nor was he trying to taunt Alexander.

"Either way, I need the sword," the Paladin continued. "So if you could just let go of-"

"No."

Gabriel and Leonard's jaws both dropped in that same instant, as a thin smile floated unto Ashford's lips.

Alexander grit his teeth, unsheathing the sword. "If you want this sword, then you'll have to kill me for it."

Deep inside, a sense of excitement grew within him.

The Paladin stared. "You should know: I have no qualms about hurting children."

"Don't, Alexander!" Gabriel shouted.

Ashford let out a sigh, saying, "What a waste of time." At that same second, Ashford appeared behind Alexander, his own golden sword in his hand, dripping with blood on its end.

"Wha-"

Alexander collapsed as thin streams of blood shot out from his appendages.

"So... will you give me the sword now?"

Ashford's words barely reached Alexander, as he was writhing on the ground.

"Finally a reason to beat this guy's a*s," Gabriel said as he drew his sword.

He dashed at the Paladin, raising the sword above his head, and cleaving it down.

Ashford simply stepped to the side. Excalibur crashed into the ground, and Gabriel with it. A cloud of dust shot up.

Within that dust, Gabriel slashed at Ashford, his sword beginning to glow with pale azure light.

"Ah. The prodigy," he said, dodging another of Gabriel's strikes.

Ashford drove his knee into Gabriel's stomach.

"Alright," Ashford said with a smile. "All of you. All seven of you attack me at once."

Gabriel forced himself to stand, struggling as he held himself up by one foot. 'Marx Ashford,' he thought. 'High-Grade. Uses magic to create swords and manifest slashes. Close-range, mid-range, and long-range. For us... he's unbeatable.'

Both of Leonard's hands burst into flames. Claws protruded from Liam's fingertips. Anastasia gripped her wand.

And from there it began.

The combat.

Echoing clangs of steel against steel and an overwhelming torrent of mixed energy, all within a cloud of dust pushed up by rapid movements.

Alexander smiled, wiping the dirt off his face with his sleeve.

In all this time, not once had he let go of the sword.

He dug the sword into the ground, forcing himself to stand, pushing himself up. His face was already beaded with sweat. He reminded himself: All he had to do was get back up.

Alexander stood upright and brought the sword out.

He stared at the other Virtues. Or rather, he stared at Ashford as he fought the Virtues.

A smile was still etched on his face.

His movements were simple, both with his sword and without.

Their fight against Belphegor paled in comparison.

'That's the power of a High-Grade for you.'

Alexander smiled as he raised the sword.

It began to glow, shining in pale light, before shifting, elongating, into a golden spear with a silver tip.

Alexander's eyes widened in confusion and awe before his grin widened.

He launched the spear at Ashford.

The Paladin swallowed his saliva, slashing upward to deflect the spear.

Ascalon crashed down onto the dirt ground, before being flung back into Alexander's hands.

All of their movements halted as the dust settled.

That was Ascalon's origin. A Shifter Weapon.

A weapon that can shift shapes, forms, and attributes.

And Ascalon was one of the greatest. Both a holy sword, and a Shifter. The sword owned and used by Saint George. Truly, it was the sword of the Dragon Slayer.

Ashford stared at Alexander. "You're just a demon child," he said. "You need to learn your place. Your insolence has gone too far."

Alexander smiled in return, pointing the spear at his Paladin opponent.

"Wrong. It can a lot farther."

An arc of water shot out at Ashford. It burst into the air, splitting into chunks of ice.

Ashford winced and raised his arms to block it. And all Gabriel could do was smile and stare at his glowing blade. 'Finally! I did it!'

He had finally used Excalibur as the sword of water. The attack he had been vying for, ever since their fight with Belphegor. Ever since Alexander used it. And with that, he slashed the air again, letting out another horizontal arc of water.

Between Alexander's spear and Gabriel's glowing sword, Ashford's eyes widened.

"Everyone, stop," Gabriel spoke, swallowing his saliva. He tightly gripped the blue hilt in his hands. "He's mine."

A thin smile crept onto Ashford's lips. "Alright, then. Let's see what you got."

The golden blade in his hands began to glow with pale light as it shifted. As the light faded away, they all noticed it. It was shortened. Just a couple inches in length, appearing as nothing more than a kitchen knife.

"What the hell is that?" Gabriel asked, glaring at the Paladin.

"What kind of hunter would use his full strength against a rabbit? It doesn't matter if you've faced a Prince of Hell. You're just a frog inside a well. You haven't learned how vast the world is."

As the Paladin spoke, Gabriel had already dashed at him.

"Just shut up!" Gabriel shouted, raising his sword to the sky before slamming it down with rapid ferocity.

Ashford raised his small blade to block the incoming attack. And he did.

Gabriel's sword had frozen the second it came into contact with the short golden blade. And it wasn't just his sword that couldn't move, but Gabriel himself.

And the Paladin smiled.

That's why he's a High-Grade.

All Gabriel could do was clench his jaw as his face grew beaded with sweat.

'No...' Gabriel told himself. He couldn't believe it. 'There's no way... There's no way the gap between us can be this large!'

Before long, his vision began to fade and all he could see before him was the gargantuan mass of energy. Whether that energy was magic or power itself, Gabriel didn't know. He only descended into deeper fear and distress.

'The world can't be this far out of my grasp!' He drew his arm back, only to slam his blade back at the Paladin.

Again, it was blocked with ease.

Again, Gabriel attacked. He slashed and cleaved, he cut and trusted. And it was all blocked and parried and deflected.

"You haven't been through a lot, have you?" the Paladin asked. "You don't get hurt often, right?"

Gabriel grit his teeth and continued, choosing not to answer, choosing only to fight.

And from there, Ashford plunged the blade into Gabriel's chest.

"Gabriel!" Lumiel shouted.

"Don't move!" the Paladin shouted, locking eyes with Gabriel.

The Virtues froze.

Gabriel's pale shirt grew crimson with spreading blood.

Ashford thought to himself and smiled. 'The kid could've dodged. But he chose not to. He accepted defeat. And he accepted the pain with it.'

"You must be pretty damn determined, huh?"

Gabriel forced a smile at the Paladin's question and nodded.

"I like that." Ashford withdrew his blade and tossed it to the side. "What's your name?" he asked.

Gabriel's smile widened. Energy from Avalon had already spread through his body. The pain still screamed out, but his bleeding had already stopped. As he placed his hand on his chest, Gabriel swallowed his saliva. "Gabriel Archibald," he said.

"An Archibald, huh? I'll remember the name. You kids... sure are interesting."

"Well, then," the Paladin continued, letting out a sigh. "Take Ascalon. I don't even care anymore," he said, waving as he began to walk away.

The Virtues let out a collective sigh. Gabriel fell to the ground.

Just a couple yards from where Ashford had left them, he stopped. "No matter how many years it takes," he said, turning his head to face Gabriel. "I'll be waiting for you to grow stronger. Forge ahead with your convictions. And surpass me."

He smiled as he repeated, "Surpass me, Gabriel Archibald."

Gabriel smiled in return. "Sorry. I got other people to surpass."

Ashford already understood who he meant. The boy's uncle. Humanity's strongest. 'This kid's a lot like me, huh?' 

"That's a difficult path," Ashford said. 

"Don't care. Gonna do it anyway," Gabriel said, pushing himself up.

The Paladin chuckled, his crooked grin widened. "Take the sword for all I care. Just get off my property."

Anastasia cleared her throat and clasped her hands together.

Alexander blinked. And that was all.

They were back at the Magecraft Academy.

Standing between a tall wooden building and a flowing river, the Virtues let out a collective sigh.

Ascalon's sheath was on the ground. Anastasia had transported it along with everyone else.

Alexander picked up the scabbard as the glowing spear began to shift once again, turning back into a sword.

As he sheathed the silver blade, Alexander spat out a sigh and sat down onto the ground. Each and every one of his muscles were aching. Between those thin cuts and slashes, getting beat up, and creating his own attacks, everything was hurting.

And Earth-Shaking. That was surprisingly tiring.

Lumiel smiled and placed her hand on his back.

"Well, you're barely bleeding," she remarked, still flowing her magic energy to heal the scrapes and cuts.

At this point, every time Alexander had gotten injured, Lumiel would almost immediately heal him. Meaning, Lumiel would have to heal him after almost every single mission, almost becoming a habit for her.

"Yeah, somehow. Guess he was holding back," Alexander muttered, staring at the palms of his hands. Back then... he used magic energy as an attack. Pure energy.

The energy he used to circulate around his fists and enhance his strikes had suddenly gone off, bursting on its own. Alexander had no idea how he had done it. Still... 'I wanna do that again.'

"Thanks," Alexander mumbled, now that all his wounds were healed.

He looked up to see Gabriel staring at him.

Gabriel's stern face softened before he burst into laughter. "Dude, you got beat up twice in an hour, by the same person!"

"Gabriel, you could've died. I should be laughing at you."

"Like I hell I would've, Demon-Born," he said, extending his hand at him.

Alexander gripped his hand and pulled himself up. "Of course."

"It's... It's crazy how powerful these guys are," Alexander said, letting out a sigh. "And I lost a hand against Belphegor."

"Yep." Gabriel smiled and nodded. "We still have a long way to go."

"Exactly."

Archibald's eyes glanced over the Virtues. "Well, looks like you guys got everything covered," he said.

Everyone there turned in shock at Charles Archibald. None of them sensed his arrival.

Not Leonard, the one with a keen sense of magic energy. Not Anastasia, who had an advanced spatial perception. Like always, Charles Archibald appeared without a trace.

"Hi," Archibald said, smiling and waving as they all stared at him with confusion. "So," he continued. "Ashford's annoying, huh?" he said, chuckling. "But anyway..."

Archibald continued, "Using holy weapons seems like the best option for this kind of stuff. So from now on, you'll just be using them. Gabriel will continue to use Excalibur. For now... Liam and Alexander will wield Durendal and Ascalon, respectively."

Leonard spat out a sigh. "I better get something cool in the future, if that's the case," he said, pointing at Archibald.

"You will. All within time," he said. Archibald glanced at his watch. "So... Three days from now... Asmodeus will arrive. The second Prince of Hell He'll be summoned on the island of Crete. I expect you all to be ready," he said.