The Devouring Knight

Training Grounds - Afternoon

Dust exploded beneath their boots as the two figures collided, Lumberling’s spear clashing against Aurelya’s rapier with a resonant clang that echoed through the courtyard.

Aurelya blinked in brief surprise. ’He parried that?’ For a Quasi-Knight, that alone was unexpected.

But that was where the surprise ended.

Aurelya, a True Knight and a mage besides, was stronger, faster, sharper. She drove forward, her blade whistling through the air in arcs of lethal precision. Lumberling didn’t meet her head-on. He didn’t have to. Instead, he flowed, ducking, weaving, dancing just outside her reach.

"Are you going to keep dodging me forever?" she called out with a smirk. "Come on then, sweety. Don’t be shy."

Lumberling let out a low laugh, sidestepping a sweeping arc. "Didn’t think you were the clingy type."

Her brows twitched. Amusement bled into irritation. ’He’s mocking me while running?’

Still, she couldn’t deny it, his evasions weren’t cowardly. They were calculated. Sharp. Fluid. Intentional.

Her next slash came faster, enhanced with a flicker of mana. He barely avoided it, a strand of his hair sliced free.

Then she stopped smiling.

Her aura flared.