Fragarach

Elven Sweeping Blade

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” the kid with the fancy clothes said.

Their faces change a lot except for Kate, she became even more beautiful side from the rest.

Raven did not say anything and turn his back on them.

“Hey! Won’t you greet us? That’s rude towards your masters!”

The kid with the fancy clothes said as he smirked and the others with him laugh but raven continued to walk. The kid god pissed and trod towards him and grab his shoulder.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear what I said?!” he shouted as he grab Raven’s shoulder.

He was surprised at how hard Raven’s muscles is, he could not even push a single muscle in like grabbing to a metal pole tightly.

“What the heck? Have you been training all those years?” he said in a mocking tone.

[Don’t touch me with your filthy hands] his pupil glow as he stare at the kid who grab his shoulder.

Raven’s voice became deep like the other voice of the angel that he once heard. The kid instantly let go of his shoulder and backed off a few steps away from him after he felt Raven’s animosity.

“Woah, did he just scare Thomas?” the other kid pointed out. “No way”

Thomas, the kid with the fancy clothes that grab Raven’s shoulder was pissed when the other kid just assumed that the kid they use to bully manage to scare him.

[This bastard] I was just surprised that’s all. [Did he really just scare me?] his emotions conflicted with each other as he tried to tell himself that he was not scared of the kid that they used to bully.

Trusting Thomas’ words they walk towards him to back him up. They look at Raven with nasty eyes like they did a few years back.

[Woah, did I just let that corrupted part of my soul take over for a second?] he ask himself hoping for an answer.

His voice appeared to have copied the ominous voice of the angel due to the evil that tainted the angel after it sealed half of the demon lord’s original power and mana. The angel Aranx ended up having a duality but since Aranx is not in a mortal body which the devil’s power has more control over, a divine body on the other hand have an overwhelming resistance that the devil’s power have no chance of taking control over it with the help of the Blessing, “Free Will” that the Almighty had given to every angel under him, having influenced by the Blessing, the devil’s power and nature returned to its original status since the angel did not end up falling into rebellion like his former comrades did.

The evil part of his soul consumed the anger that was sleeping inside him for a long time given that he still in a mortal body along with its nature to commit sin.

“So you develop a spine to stand before us?” “Did you train there well? We hope to enjoy bullying you while you’re still alive” they continued to mock him over and over again.

Raven saw an insignia of the academy on Thomas’ chest then he remembered that after the walk around the city he planned to go to the academy to ask if he can still come and take classes even if he is three years behind. With that in mind he left his bullies and walk towards the academy, after being pissed that he ignored them they decided to block his way.

“Where do you think you are going?” Thomas ask in a nasty tone.

Raven tilted his head as he want to see the road towards the academy. Kate saw him and gaze towards the academy and figured out where he wanted to go.

“Oh, I get it. You want to head to the academy now huh?” she said aloud for the others to hear.

After hearing her the others laugh and started to ridicule him once again. Raven did not mind what said but his evil and corrupted soul starting to act up again, he felt a cold feeling chilly feeling around his body, it was rage. After getting consumed by his anger and rage he started to act out of his character and gave them a villainous smile.

“Don’t you get sick of these? Are you still kids?” he told them as he smiled out of his character. “So what if I’m going to the academy?” he continued without letting them say anything.

“You still haven’t given up on that crappy dream of yours?” Thomas questioned.

“Yeah, so what are you going to do about it?” he answered.

The other bullies laugh at his answer to Thomas. They knew that it is Raven’s dream since he was still a kid and he kept saying it over and over again whenever they beat him up. Another bully thought of some interesting way to bully him. He whispered to them one by one and each of them smile nastily in agreement.

“Hey you said that you are going to the academy right? I bet you’re going to ask if you can still attend the classes.” Thomas said aloud.

Raven knew what they had in mind, their nasty faces gave him a hint on their plans.

[This looks fun, why not blow some steam as well as have a training. Stopping training for a day made me miss Aranx’s ridiculous methods of training. I hope these guys can show something decent.] So what do you want?

“Thomas is actually a third rate swordsman in the academy, if you want to enter the academy you have to defeat him in a duel first.” The other bully told Raven Thomas’ swordsman rank to make him miserable.

“Yeah, you tell him Gerald” Thomas said proudly.

The bystanders heard that a duel is about to start so they started to flock around them. Seeing the crowd gave the bullies more confidence in their skills.

Thomas proudly displayed his insignia and shiny sword to the crowd around them as his fellow bullies praise his greatness (not true), they saw Raven have no sword in hand so they asked around the crowd to let him borrow a sword.

A guy in the crowd handed over a sword or what it used to be.

[Is this even a sword?] he thought as he glance at the sword in his hand.

It can barely be called a sword as it is full of rust and clearly not in the condition to be used as a weapon as you would not die from bleeding but from tetanus.

The bullies as well as the other bystanders laughed after seeing the sword.

“Well, it’s better than nothing right?” Thomas said while laughing.

The other bullies have swords in a good condition hanging on their waists but they did not even hand it to him for a fair duel.

[Clearly they have no intention to be fair right from the start.] Raven thought as he grips the sword in his hand.

“Do you even know how to use a sword properly?!” a man in the crowd shouted.

Both of them got ready in their positions, Thomas is swinging his sword side wards showing off his well-made sword to the crowd.

“Start!” Kate yelled.

“You better be careful, I can do a little mana manipulation myself.” He warned.

[Let’s see what you’re training for three years amounts to.] Raven could not keep himself from excitement.

Thomas made a lousy stance that foot soldiers do, Raven was surprised why he did that stance.

Thomas started off with a heavy swing from the right and Raven brush it off with a good old side step. Thomas then moved closer to Raven knowing his sword would not last long. Thomas continue his barrage of attacks on Raven as the latter just kept dodging.

A lot more bystanders went to see the fight, others made a bet on who wins this duel. This caught the attention of a pair of two persons in a hood so they went to check it out.

“Oh, it’s just a duel and a pretty boring at that. The other guy just keep dodging, what does he think a duel is? Playing tag?” the tall guy on a hood complained while the other one is silently observing Raven’s movements.

Amazing [that’s the ancient sword art of the elves, that sword art is supposed to be lost after the war with the demon lord three hundred years ago. How did that kid know such amazing sword art?] the other praised Raven for his mastery of the foreign sword art.

“Come on don’t just dodge him! This is so boring!” the crowd started to get unsatisfied with what is happening.

The bets still continued and the guy who praised Raven went and put his bet on Raven.

“Hey why did you bet on the guy that keeps dodging? He should man up and fight like a man.”

After the barrage of attacks coming towards him, Raven made some distance between them and Thomas decided not to chase after him.

[It can’t be] [This guy]

Raven was left in awe after a few minutes of experiencing Thomas’ barrage of attacks. Thomas is clearly exhausted after that many swing with his sword. He even hides his exhaustion with his arrogant face that says “See? He can’t do anything to me”.

[What the heck has he been learning in the academy for the past three years!?] the veins in his head started bulging with anger.

Thomas senses his anger so he return to his stance and made Raven even more furious.

[Look at the stance, it’s so useless that everywhere around him is an opening!] Raven heavily stamp his foot on the ground a few times just to quench his anger but he failed.

Everyone around him was confused why did he throw such a tantrum and to who. His cheeks twitch after seeing the weakest sword stance again.

[Let’s just end this with one swing, it’s ridiculous that I even expected something decent from any of them.]

The other guy who put a bet on Raven was shocked when Raven entered a certain stance.

He moved his left foot forward and the right foot backward to support his weight. Then he pointed his sword towards Thomas but covered the blade’s tips with his hand.

“No way, that’s the –“[“Sweeping blade” that the elven royal family uses during the war!] “Does this guy have connection to the royal family? But even so that famous technique was lost in the war, the Sweeping blade today is a different version, a weak one.” He tried to think of an answer to the question that is running around his mind.

“What kind of ridiculous sword stance is that?!”

Thomas mock Raven’s unique sword stance, the others laugh at how he look in that stance.

[Who dare say such thing towards o-] the guy in the hood suddenly stop saying such things in his mind after seeing Thomas.

Sure of his victory Thomas made the first move and charge towards Raven.

“Are you sure that you did not bet on the wrong person?” the guy other guy with the hood said.

“I want to confirm something.” [If it really is the Sweeping Blade from three hundred years ago this little duel is already decided before the match started.]

As Thomas charge towards Raven and did a frontal swing. Raven decided to end the match with the last swing powered by disappointment. He swiftly move his hand away from the tip of his blade and made a fast sweeping slant slice upward to his right cutting Thomas’ blade in half and leaving a clean cut on his forehead.

“Arg!” he groan on the instant pain that he felt in his forehead.

The guy with the hood had goosebumps as a flash from his memories about how his great great grandfather do the exact same stance a long time ago. [This is- how it should be done.]

The guy with him was shock just as he crowd was with the development of the duel. Raven’s swing is so strong that the other half of Thomas’ sword was buried halfway to a nearby tree. The bullies just stood there as the started to leave in disappointment.

“How in the world did that crap happen?!” Thomas yells as his hand is pressed on his wound.

The bullies and the others stare at Raven as he drops the beaten sword from his hand and continues to walk towards the academy. The guy with the hood stood there in as his partner took the bets of the bystanders that are trying to run away.

“Did they really think they can get away? That was really surprising, didn’t think it would end up like that.” The hooded guy confessed.

“He used some kind of trick I know it. How can a busted sword like this cut my sword made of silver in two?” he tried to convince the others as he pick the sword that Raven used and threw it at a distance and left the scene humiliated.

The guy with the hood took the sword and carried it with them.

“Why do you want to bring it with us?” the other hooded guy ask.

“I’m just curious.” The guy answered

They left the scene as well and coincidentally walk towards the academy where.

“Isn’t that the guy who had a duel earlier?” the other one ask. “Yes it is him.”

They were near the gate when they happen to see Raven coming out of the academy. Their eyes met as they pass by each other.

[So you got admitted to the academy huh?] the guy thought as he stood in the entrance and look back at Raven.

“Your highness, what are you waiting for.” The guy in the hood ask as he take his hood off.

“I’ll be right there.” He answered as he took his hood as well revealing his long pointy ears.

[Hmmmm, elves] Raven thought as he senses their mana a few encounters.