"It just doesn't feel right." Kaede murmured as she gave her shield a once over. The circur shield was a stark white colour with blue is shaped with Falmuth's emblem. It was alse enough to cover her eop half.

  Across from her, stood Shogo, crag his ned smming his fists together. "None of these losers that call themselves knights survive a few blows from me. But with your unique skill, maybe, just maybe you'll st longer." He yelled with a feral smile.

  Kaede swung her shield arm lightly a few times, getting the feel for the shield while boung lightly on her feet. "This is definitely a different feeling than I'm used to."

  Outside the training field Kirara gave her nails a look befng at the two batants about to face off. "Go easy on her Shogo."

  Shogo smirked. "Yeah, yeah. I'll try."

  Standing beside the brown haired otherworlder was Razen, his pierg eyes focused owo in the field. "Now Shogo, no maiming your rade. This is just to see the limits of her skill."

  Shogo's smile straightened slightly. "Tch. Whatever, let's get this started!" He burst forward at an insane speed, his fist coiled backwards.

  Kaede barely had time to react as Shogo closed the gap between them in a blur. His coiled fist shot forward like a battering ram, the force behind it causing the air to ripple. Instinct kicked in, and she raised her shield just in time. The impact reverberated through her entire arm, the metallig eg across the field. Her knees buckled slightly, but she held her ground.

  "Not bad," Shogo sneered, pulling his fist back. "But blog's all you do, huh? Let’s see how long you st."

  Kaede adjusted her stance, her boots digging into the dirt as she steadied herself. The shield felt heavier than before, the force of Shogo's strike leaving her arm numb. She tried to shake off the lingering tremor, keeping her eyes locked on him.

  He didn’t give her a ce to recover. Shogo lunged again, this time aiming low. Kaede shifted, the shield following her movement as she crouched to intercept. The blow struck the edge of the shield, sending a shockwave through her entire body.

  "You're too slow!" Shogo barked, pivoting on his heel and driving a kick toward her exposed side.

  Kaede twisted her body, the shield barely catg the brunt of the kick. The impact forced her back several steps, her boots dragging through the dirt. She gritted her teeth, frustration bubblih the surface. Every move she made felt ky, reactive.

  "Is this it?" Shogo snarled, his voice dripping with disdain. "You're nothing but a pung bag!"

  Kaede didn’t respond. Instead, she pnted her feet firmly and raised the shield again. She wasn’t about to give him the satisfa of seeing her falter. Her mind raced, trying to find an opening, a moment to ter. But Shogo was relentless, his strikes ing faster and harder, eae testing the limits of her defense.

  Outside the field, Kirara yawned, her tone dismissive as she called out, "She's holding up better than I thought. Maybe this'll actually get iing."

  Razen didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on the batants. His eyes narrowed slightly, watg Kaede’s movements—or ck thereof.

  Ahunderous blow rocked the shield, and Kaede staggered back, her breath ing in shasps. Shogo’s feral grin widened as he stepped forward, his fists a blur of motion. He was testing her, probing for a cra her defense.

  Kaede felt her frustration turn to anger, her grip tightening on the shield. She couldn’t keep taking hits like this. She had to do something. Then she realised. "I'm still moving like I have 0 AGILITY. This isn't the game."

  The ime Shogo lunged, she shifted her weight and braced herself. His fist collided with the shield again, but this time, instead of abs the impact, she used the momentum. She twisted sharply, f his arm off bance, and swung the shield outward with all her strength.

  The edge of the shield caught Shogo in the ribs, the blow sending him stumbling back a step. His grin faltered for the first time, repced with a flicker of annoyance.

  “Oh?” he said, straightening. "You’ve got some fight in you after all."

  Kaede didn’t answer, her chest heaving as she adjusted her stance. Her arm throbbed from the repeated impacts, but she ighe pain. She wasn’t about to let him walk all over her.

  Shogo’s smirk returned, more vicious than before. "Alright the’s stop pying around." He crouched slightly, his fists ched as his muscles tehe grouh him cracked as he unched forward, faster than before.

  Kaede barely mao react, raising the shield just in time. The force of the strike sent her skidding back, her boots digging into the dirt. Shogo followed up immediately, his strikes ing in rapid succession, eae heavier and more precise tha.

  The shield absorbed the blows, but Kaede could feel her stamina waning. Her arms screamed in protest, her breath ing in shallos.

  “e on!” he roared, his voiing across the field. "Show me what you’ve got, or are you just a coward hiding behind that shield?"

  When Shogo came at her again, she didn’t just block. She stepped forward, driving the edge of the shield into his path with all her strength. The sudden aggression caught him off guard, his fist gng off the shield as he stumbled.

  Kaede didn’t let up. She smmed the shield fain, f him to backpedal. Her movements were still clumsy, unrefined, but there was a newfouermination behind them.

  Shogo’s grin twisted into a snarl as he regained his footing. “Alright, you y rough? Fine by me.” Taking a deep breath, he suddenly yelled. "BERSERKER!!"

  A gssy haze enveloped his body, sending warning bells into her mind. 'He's using his unique skill. Alright then.' Reag down for a particur unique skill, she gripped her shield tighter, a slight grin on her face.

  Shogo vanished.

  It was less than a sed, but in that time, Kaede spotted a fsh before her and rose her shield.

  Bang

  Shogo's fist ected to Kaede's shield with enough force to disie aire building. Shogo smirked as his fist made tact, expeg Kaede to be flung backwards with enough speed to break the wall at the far end.

  "Wha..." Shogo's jaw dropped, as his attack didn't even move the shield bearer an inch. Most importantly, apart from the initial bang from the impact, there was nothing else. No shockwave, no loud explosion from two forces hitting eachother, the air didn't even so much as flinch. His attack had vanished.

  His shock cost him though, as Kaede suddenly moved into his guard, her shield eg with his chest. "TER!!" She yelled, hitting Shogo with all the force he had hit her with sihe beginning of the bout.

  "Gah!!' Shogo gasped, as he shot backwards, boung on the ground, before smashing into the wall, at the far end of the field.

  "Whoa!!" Kirara shot at attention. "What was that?!" Beside her, Razen had a calg look on his face. "Remarkable. Not only does her skill increase her defensive capabilities, it also absorbs damage, st it to be released as an attack."

  Shogo groaned as he peeled himself out of the crater his body had made in the wall. Dust and debris crumbled off his shoulders as he staggered forward, a pained grimace twisting his face. "What the hell was that?" he muttered, clutg his ribs. His gaze locked onto Kaede, standing at the ter of the field with her shield raised, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.

  "It's a subskill of my unique skill. I'm irely defense." Kaede adjusted her stance, pnting her feet firmly as she prepared for his move. The shield, still pristie the ferocity of the battle, gleamed uhe sunlight.

  Shogo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his expression darkening. The haze of his Berserker skill fred brighter, a faint crimson aura lig at his form. His griurned, feral and unhinged. "No, you're not. This is more like it! Let’s see how long that smug face sts!"

  With a roar, he unched himself fain, his movements even faster than before. The ground cracked beh his feet as he shot toward Kaede like a missile, his fists coiled with raw power.

  Kaede braced herself, raising her shield. Her focus sharpened, her thoughts slowing into a deliberate rhythm. Shogo was fast—blindingly so—but he was no Sally. His attacks were straightforward, eae driven by brute force rather than precision.

  His fist came down like a hammer, aimed directly at her shield. She intercepted the blow, her knees bending slightly to absorb the impact. This time, she didn’t just hold her ground—she pushed back, f his arm upward and throwing him off bance.

  Kaede didn’t waste the opening. She surged forward, smming the edge of her shield into his shoulder. The force sent him skidding to the side, his boots carving lines into the dirt.

  “Damn it!” Shogo spat, his frustration evident. He pivoted, swinging a wild haymaker at her exposed fnk.

  Kaede ducked, the punch whistling past her head. She spun on her heel, the motion fluid despite the weight of the shield, and brought it crashing into his side. The metallig of impact echoed across the field, followed by Shogo’s grunt of pain.

  Kirara’s jaw dropped as she leaned forward, her i piqued. “Is she about to beat Shogo?"

  Razen’s expression remained impassive, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Kaede’s movements. “She’s adapting,” he murmured. “Her reas are getting sharper with each exge.”

  Shogo snarled, his aura fring violently. He stepped back, his muscles coiling as he prepared for another charge. "Don't think I'm out of the fight just yet. I’ll break through that shield if it’s the st thing I do!”

  Kaede exhaled, steadying her breathing. Her arms ached, the weight of the shield feeling heavier with each passing moment. But there was a fire in her eyes now, she... She was enjoying this.

  “e on, then,” she said, her tone calm but firm. “Show me.”

  Shogo roared, his aura bursting outward in a wave of crimson energy. He charged again, his movemeic but devastatingly fast. Each strike came with the force of a on, the air trembling around them.

  Kaede met him head-on, her shield moving with precision to deflect each blow. She felt the strain in her muscles, the pressure mounting with every impact, but she refused to give ground. Her movements grew more fluid, her ters more deliberate.

  And then it happened—an opening.

  Shogo overitted to a heavy strike, his momentum carrying him too far forward. Kaede stepped to the side, her shield angling upward to catch his arm. With a sharp twist, she redirected his energy, sending him stumbling past her.

  “TER!” Kaede shouted, driving her shield into his back with all her might.

  Shogo’s body rocketed forward, smming into the ground and carving a trento the dirt. He groaned, coughing as he struggled to push himself up.

  From the sidelines, Kirara cpped her hands together, a wide grin on her face. “Now that’s more like it! Who knew little miss shield-bearer had it in her?”

  Razen cpped softly beside Kirara, a fatherly smile on his fad his gaze shifting to Kaede. “An impressive child indeed. I look forward to her future. To all your futures."

  Kaede lowered her shield slightly, her breathing ragged but trolled. "My body's adapting to his movements. So this is how it feels to be strong and fast. Amazing." Her eyes stayed locked on Shogo as he rose to his feet, his expression a mix of fury and grudging respect.

  “This isn’t over,” he grinned, wiping the blood from his mouth. He was also having fun with the fight. His aura fred again, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his movements now.

  Kaede smirked faintly, raising her shield once more. “Bring it.”

  SaberGlory