Chapter 21: Made his mark
Cyruz charged forward, sword gleaming under the light as he swung down with all his might. Axelius watched him come, his eyes sharp and unblinking. At the last possible second, he sidestepped, the blade whistling past him with barely an inch to spare. Cyruz stumbled forward from the force of his own swing, and Axelius took the opportunity to jab him in the ribs with the end of his staff.
"Oof!" Cyruz gasped, staggering back. He glared at Axelius, eyes blazing with rage. "Stop dodging and fight me properly, you coward!"
Axelius grinned, twirling his staff between his fingers. "Fight you properly?" He tapped the side of his head with the staff, feigning deep thought. "Well... I would, but you see... it's kinda hard to fight someone who can't even land a hit. Maybe you should work on that first." He wiggled his fingers in a taunting wave. "Go on, I'll wait."
A ripple of laughter broke out among the onlookers, their whispers loud enough for Cyruz to hear:
"Is this really happening? Cyruz can't touch him!""The youngest Dravenhart... he's not as weak as I thought.""Look at him... he's barely even trying!"
Cyruz's jaw clenched tighter, his knuckles white around the hilt of his sword. He took a deep breath, then pointed the blade straight at Axelius. "You want me to fight properly? Fine. No more playing around!"
Axelius raised an eyebrow, his grin never fading. "Playing around? Oh, is that what you were doing? I thought you were just flailing like a drunk."
"Shut up!" Cyruz roared, his aura flaring with fiery energy. The sword in his hand began to glow faintly with embers flickering along the edge. "Let's see you dodge this!"
He lunged forward, faster than before. His sword came down in a sweeping arc, flames trailing behind it like a comet's tail. Axelius's eyes sparkled with excitement as he watched the blade approach. But instead of dodging back like before, he stepped in, ducking under Cyruz's arm with a speed that left the older boy stunned.
Bam!
Axelius slammed the end of his staff into Cyruz's thigh, right above the knee. Cyruz yelped, nearly dropping to the ground as his leg buckled. He recovered just in time to turn and face Axelius again, but by then, the young master had already circled around him, tapping the back of his shoulder with his staff.