Dominance (Part 3)
**Dominance.**
It was crucial to seize control in every situation. Whether in physical combat or when multiple lives were on the line, having the upper hand was the only thing that truly worked.
Serpin Altamet had seized the initiative in her clash with Dalek Ron Lagrand. Once Dalek committed to an action, Serpin could respond three times over, leaving him at a clear disadvantage.
**Clang!**
Dalek parried her rapier strike with a sweeping thrust of his spear, but he could not counterattack from that position.
She stepped forward, twisted her hips, and launched a downward rapier thrust aimed straight at his lower body.
**Kaang!**
Dalek whipped his spear aside with frantic speed, still unable to press his advantage.
The spear was heavy and unwieldy; once he closed the distance it became impossible to maneuver properly. That was its fatal flaw.
*...Just like this...*
If I kept pushing, gaps would appear. By hunting every opening I could create, the right one would eventually come.
Minutes passed. Dozens of exchanges had occurred; several times I had tried to seize the moment and press the attack.
But every opening had slipped away. No, Dalek had parried every strike with razor-thin precision.
*Hah... hah...*
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Why wasn't I breaking through?
I had the initiative and I had been the one to press the attack. Yet Dalek's movements left no room for error.
Only now did Serpin realize how unbreakable he truly was, and unease began to stir inside her chest.
His breathing remained steady right in front of her. Not even a trace of wavering remained in his stance despite her relentless strikes.
A sudden thought struck her: *Was the dominance I had always held... something he had deliberately allowed?*
No. She couldn't have been so reckless.
In the end, facts mattered most.
Her stamina was clearly spent, while Dalek's remained almost untouched.
*Then the only way...*
It had to be a decisive strike.
She twisted the angle of her leading foot slightly and poured the last of her strength into her toes.
If she couldn't end it at this speed, she would simply go faster.
She gathered and gathered until the force was about to push her back.
**Thwack!**
In that instant she launched herself forward with every ounce of power she had gathered.
***
"I lost."
"It was a good match."
Dalek was panting heavily as he offered Serpin his hand.
Serpin's expression carried a faint hint of regret. Dalek still looked tense.
"Too fast to find any opening to counter. If I had been even slightly slower in my judgment, I would have lost."
Had that conservative move been a mistake after all? She had no choice but to show it on her face.
"For someone who won, you seem far too relaxed. I was completely defeated—in both technique and raw ability."
*Mm. Excellent martial arts, Serpin, Dalek.*
Halbert's gentle voice drifted over from the side.
Halbert had quietly approached and now praised their splendid duel with kind eyes.
Both of them bowed their heads in thanks to the professor who had stepped closer.
"But I believe both of you have room for improvement, don't you?"
"Yes, you're right."
Dalek's face showed no satisfaction either. For five full minutes he had been stripped of the initiative and forced to defend constantly.
He had tried to turn the tide, but once the initiative was lost, there was little he could do.
"Serpin, you know this well enough. You were far too excited. Even when you held the initiative, you should have considered your opponent's moves."
"...Yes. I was too impatient from the start and couldn't think ahead."
Remember that humans are not golems. In a life-or-death duel everyone fights with desperate intensity.
Serpin nodded. Her movements had been clean.
She had displayed superior speed and the occasional feint or feigned action had met Halbert's approval without flaw.
What remained was growth in swordsmanship and mental fortitude, Halbert told her.
"And Dalek. Your movements were too large. They made it difficult to match Serpin's speed, didn't they?"
"...Yes, that's correct. Adjusting your stance finely was impossible because her attacks came too quickly."
It was because you panicked. The moment you swung your arm, you were already too late to follow her speed.
After nodding at Halbert's advice, the two stepped out of the training square.
"Thanks for the match."
"Impressive duel."
They clasped hands and rose from their knees.
Both carried the same quiet disappointment over their shortcomings, and their expressions remained grim.
"Then it's our turn. Shall we begin, Altro?"
"Indeed. It's been a while since I trained."
Altro, he had never been seen wielding a weapon before. What would he use?
Halbert? A spear? Or perhaps gauntlets? Lir wondered inwardly as she took her place at the far end of the training square.
"Eh? Not bringing any weapons?"
"I already have them equipped."
Yet he held nothing.
Only metal-coated gloves.
*No way...*
He had trained with countless weapons, he said, but the most comfortable ones were...
*Knock, knock.*
He slammed his two fists together.
"Fists, you say?"
Whoa, this was an interesting special ability. Not that he had never used a weapon.
Lir had simply never considered that a weapon.
*...What kind of meaningless weapon is that? Fists.*
"Even if you cut off my arm I won't take responsibility?"
"Complaining about being cut? That's not the job of a knight!"
The gloves covered his forearms and wrists, but Lir still clicked her tongue.
Well, choosing weapons was her own preference, so she had no business meddling. She gripped her rapier instead.
Then, seeing Dalek and Serpin already seated along the outer edge of the square, both spoke at once.
"Match begins."
Unlike the previous duel, neither showed any real tension. They moved with deliberate caution.
Carefully. There was nothing to lose by being careful.
At least Lir had kept her guard up. Besides, her stomach was still churning, making any sudden move impossible.
"...Not coming? Then I'll start first."
**Clang!**
The metal plates on the gloves scraped together as they locked in combat.
He crouched slightly and lowered his stance, then leaped forward with a thunderous stomp.
**Whoosh!**
Lir twisted her body to dodge the direct punch aimed at her face.
Her hair whipped violently in the gust. She kept her eyes fixed on the trajectory until the very end, then struck in perfect stillness.
"Gyak?!"
He had tried to evade by leaping backward, but she had already swept his legs and locked him in place.
Her stomach churned more fiercely than she expected, so even though it was Altro, she resolved to finish it quickly.
**Chaaaang!!**
The result was nothing like she had predicted. The moment her leg went numb, her upper body leaned forward and the rapier was blocked by his gauntlet.
At the same time his other fist drove straight at her.
*Insane... He's incredibly tough.*
The fist that sliced through her hair still generated shocking wind pressure from the sheer force of the swing.
The only way to react was to watch the shoulder move. Any later and it would be too late.
But every time she blocked the rapier with the back of her hand to counter the incoming fist, a gap opened. Time dragged on.
If she had simply rushed him, it would have ended in an instant. But she hated wasting time, and she refused to admit defeat here.
Then she had no choice but to look for a psychological opening and end it in one breath.
She slowly read the flow. She was looking for the same one-second knockout Dalek had used.
"Try swinging the rapier a little more!"
**Kwaang!!**
Her body was sent flying the moment she blocked his fist with the side of her rapier.
All she could do was crouch and drive the tip of the blade into the ground to keep her balance.
This power was ridiculous. Her hand trembled and stung from the impact; she had barely managed to block twice.
But Lir's steps refused to stop. The outer edge of the square lay directly behind her.
The instant she was cornered, Altro's fist pulled back all the way to his shoulder.
...At that moment Lir smiled.
**Glare**
She flicked her wrist. A blinding flash of lightning erupted across the entire arena.
"Gu... gyaak!!"
Instinctively thinking he had seized the win, Altro's eyes closed and a pained groan escaped him.
The moment he reopened his eyes, the tip of Lir's rapier was pressed to his throat.
Altro slowly alternated his gaze between Lir and the blade, then raised both hands in surrender.
"...I lost."
"Thanks for the match. Sorry, I had no choice but to end it this way today."
"No need to apologize for winning or losing."
Lir reached out and he took her hand to stand.
"Ugh?!!!"
The difference in height almost pulled him forward and made him stumble. If she had not braced at the toes, he would have fallen...
She had unconsciously assumed his original body. It was time she stopped confusing the two.
"Lir! There must be something odd in that area, right? Hahaha!"
"Right. I have something to discuss with you about that."
Halbert had quietly appeared beside her.
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