CHAPTER 134: THE WINTER TRIALS 9

Kanna moved first.

No charging. No dramatic wind-up. She just stepped forward and swung her massive sword in a horizontal arc that would’ve cleaved Aegis in half if it connected.

Aegis threw herself backward, feeling the air pressure from the blade pass inches from her chest. The wind alone made her uniform ripple.

[Holy shit. That’s not a sword, that’s a fucking guillotine.]

She didn’t have time to catch her breath. Kanna was already moving again, her sword coming down in a vertical slash aimed right at Aegis’s skull.

Aegis rolled to the side. The blade crashed into the marble with a thunderous crack that echoed through the arena, leaving a deep gouge in the supposedly indestructible stone.

The crowd gasped.

Aegis scrambled to her feet, daggers raised, heart hammering in her chest.

[She’s not just strong. She’s precise. Every single movement is exactly what it needs to be.]

Kanna pulled her sword free from the marble like it weighed nothing and turned to face Aegis, her grey eyes calm. Dead calm.

No taunting. No showboating. Just focus.

Aegis circled left, looking for an opening. Any opening.

Kanna mirrored her movements, keeping the distance between them constant. Her footwork was perfect. No wasted steps.

[She’s patient. Waiting for me to make a mistake. Well, fuck that.]

Aegis feinted left, then lunged right, slashing with Ruby aimed at Kanna’s ribs.

Kanna’s sword came up to block with the flat of her blade. The impact rattled up Aegis’s arm, making her teeth click together.

Before Aegis could retreat, Kanna pivoted with terrifying speed and swung the pommel of her sword at Aegis’s head.

Aegis ducked, feeling it whistle over her hair close enough to touch, and stabbed upward with Sapphire.

The blade scraped along Kanna’s armguard with a screech of metal on metal, then bit into flesh. A thin line of blood welled up on her forearm.

Kanna’s expression didn’t change. She stepped back one precise step, adjusting her grip on her sword.

Aegis grinned despite the adrenaline making her hands shake.

[Got you once. Just need to do that about fifty more times and we’re golden.]

She cast Aether Step, purple light flashing as she teleported three meters to Kanna’s left.

Kanna turned instantly, as if she’d known exactly where Aegis would appear. Like she’d done this dance a thousand times before.

Her sword was already moving, cutting through the space Aegis had just materialized in.

Aegis barely got both daggers up in time to block, crossing them in an X. The force of the blow drove her back, her boots skidding across the marble with a high-pitched screech.

[She predicted it! How the fuck did she—]

Her thoughts cut off as Kanna advanced, each step measured and purposeful. Her strikes came methodical and relentless, one after another. High, low, middle. Each swing forced Aegis to give ground, her daggers ringing with each desperate block.

Aegis tried to counterattack, ducking under a horizontal slash and going for Kanna’s legs with Ruby. Kanna adjusted her stance without even looking down, blocking with the flat of her blade while simultaneously preparing her next strike.

No wasted movement. No openings.

The crowd was a distant roar, but Aegis couldn’t focus on them. Her entire world had narrowed to Kanna’s grey eyes and that massive sword.

[This is bad. She’s not giving me anything to work with. It’s like fighting a fucking machine.]

Aegis cast Aether Whip, the glowing purple tendril snapping out toward Kanna’s sword arm. If she could disarm her, or at least make her drop her guard—

Kanna’s blade flashed.

The whip severed mid-cast, both halves dissipating into sparks that fizzled in the air.

Aegis’s eyes widened.

[She cut through my magic! How the fuck—that shouldn’t even be possible!]

Kanna closed the distance in two strides, swinging low at Aegis’s legs.

Aegis jumped, the blade passing beneath her feet with room to spare. She twisted in midair, using the momentum to slash at Kanna’s shoulder with both daggers.

Ruby connected. Blood welled from the cut, staining Kanna’s uniform.

Kanna grunted—the first sound she’d made all fight—and swung upward in a devastating arc.

Aegis landed hard on her ass, rolling backward to avoid the strike. The blade passed so close she felt the heat of it. She came up in a crouch, breathing hard, sweat stinging her eyes.

Kanna stood across from her, bleeding from two shallow wounds on her arm and shoulder. Her expression was still calm. Unbothered.

[She’s barely even trying. What the hell is this woman made of? Steel and spite?]

The crowd was roaring now, but Aegis couldn’t make out individual voices. Everything had narrowed to Kanna and the sword in her hands and the rapidly dwindling space on the platform.

Aegis feinted with Ruby, then lunged forward with Sapphire aimed at Kanna’s side.

Kanna sidestepped like she was dancing and countered with a horizontal slash that hummed through the air.

Aegis ducked, feeling the blade pass over her head close enough to part her hair, and drove her knee into Kanna’s gut with everything she had.

Kanna barely flinched. She grabbed Aegis’s shoulder with her free hand—her grip was like iron—and shoved her back.

Aegis stumbled, her heel catching the edge of the platform. She windmilled her arms, catching herself at the last second.

[Shit. Too close. One more step and I’m out of bounds.]

Kanna advanced, her sword raised for what looked like a finishing blow.

Aegis’s mind raced, thoughts flying faster than her heartbeat.

[She’s reading everything I do. Every spell, every movement. It’s like she’s in my head. She’s been watching me fight all day—she knows my patterns, my timing, everything I’ve shown.]

Then it hit her.

[Wait. She knows my moves. My patterns. But there’s one spell she hasn’t seen yet. My most recent spell. Aether Pulse.]

Aegis shifted her stance, gripping her daggers tighter. Her muscles coiled.

Kanna swung, her blade coming down in a brutal overhead arc.

Aegis blocked with both daggers, the impact nearly driving her to her knees. Then she immediately cast Aether Step, purple light flashing as she teleported behind Kanna.

Kanna turned, already anticipating it. Her sword came around in a horizontal sweep.

But this time, Aegis wasn’t attacking.

She planted her palm flat against Kanna’s back, right between her shoulder blades, and cast Aether Pulse.

The burst of energy slammed into Kanna at point-blank range. Purple light exploded outward, and Kanna staggered forward, her feet leaving furrows in the marble as she fought to stay upright.

For the first time since the match started, Kanna’s expression changed. Her eyes widened slightly, genuine surprise flickering across her face as she struggled to regain her balance.

Aegis didn’t waste the opening.

She lunged forward, closing the gap in a heartbeat. Ruby flashed out, slashing at Kanna’s sword arm with surgical precision. The blade bit deep into the muscle just above her wrist, and Kanna’s grip faltered.

Her sword dipped toward the ground.

Aegis swept Kanna’s legs out from under her with a vicious kick to the back of her knee.

Kanna crashed down onto one knee with a grunt, her sword clattering to the marble with a metallic ring that echoed through the suddenly silent arena.

Aegis pressed Sapphire to her throat, the blade steady despite how badly her hands were shaking.

Silence.

Complete, total silence. Even the wind died.

Kanna stared up at her, chest heaving, blood trickling from her wounds. Her grey eyes were wide.

Then she smiled.

"I yield."

The crowd exploded.

The roar was deafening, shaking the arena itself. Students were on their feet, screaming, some jumping up and down. Aegis heard her name being chanted somewhere in the chaos.

Aegis stepped back on legs that felt like jelly, her hands still shaking so badly she almost dropped her daggers. She sheathed them before she embarrassed herself and offered Kanna a hand.

Kanna took it, letting Aegis pull her to her feet. Her grip was still strong despite the blood running down her arm.

"Good fight," Kanna said quietly, her voice barely audible over the crowd.

"You too." Aegis was breathing hard, her lungs burning. "You’re... really fucking strong."

"So are you." Kanna retrieved her sword, hefting it onto her shoulder like it weighed nothing. "That last spell caught me off guard. I didn’t expect it."

"That was the idea."

Kanna nodded, something like respect in her grey eyes.

"Smart. You fight like someone who’s had to improvise to survive."

"That’s... surprisingly accurate."

"I can tell." Kanna’s smile widened slightly. "Most people fight like they were taught. You fight like you were forged."

[Did... did Kanna just compliment me? Is this what having her respect feels like?]

They walked off the platform together, the crowd still roaring. A healer rushed over to check Kanna’s wounds, fussing over the deep cut on her arm.

Aegis barely made it three steps before Scarlett tackled her in a hug that drove the air from her lungs.

"YOU BEAT HER!"

Aegis wheezed, her ribs protesting.

"Scarlett—can’t—breathe—"

"You actually beat her! Do you know how strong she is?! Do you know what she did to me?!"

"I’m aware!" Aegis gasped, trying to pry Scarlett’s arms off. "I was there!"

Scarlett pulled back, grinning so wide it looked like her face might split in half. Her eyes were shining.

"That was amazing! Did you see the way you—bam! And then—whoosh! And she was just—down!"

"Still not articulate, Scar."

"I don’t care! You won!" Scarlett grabbed Aegis’s shoulders, shaking her slightly. "You beat Kanna fucking Greaves!"

Sophie appeared next, bouncing on her heels so fast she was practically vibrating.

"Big sis! You’re in the semifinals! The semifinals!"

"Yeah." Aegis tried to catch her breath. "I noticed."

Vera yawned from her spot on the bench, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"Not bad. You almost died, like, three times though."

"Thanks for keeping count, Vera. Really appreciate it."

"No problem."

Lune looked up from her sketchbook and offered a small nod, which was practically a standing ovation coming from her.

"Impressive."

Aegis collapsed onto the bench, her legs trembling so badly she couldn’t stand anymore. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest. She was going to feel this fight for a week.

[I did it. I actually fucking did it. I beat Kanna Greaves.]

She glanced at the bracket board hanging near the arena. Her name had moved up again, glowing faintly in gold.

Semifinals.

She was one fight away from the finals.

[Win in the semis, and then I’m in the finals of the biggest tournament of the year.]

Scarlett sat beside her, still grinning like an idiot.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a wagon. Then the wagon backed up and hit me again."

"Fair."

Aegis glanced across the arena. Kanna was sitting with the healers, her shoulder bandaged in white linen. She caught Aegis’s eye and nodded once, that small smile still on her face.

Aegis nodded back.

[She’s a monster. But at least she’s a respectful monster. I can work with that.]

Still, she’d won.

Against all odds, against someone who’d demolished Scarlett in under a minute, she’d won.

And now, she had the semifinals to look forward to.

[Bring it on.]