Blade Over Magic

Xander Vs Sparrow

When Sparrow entered the tent, she had to resist a shudder.

’Why is it so cold?’ She resisted the urge to frown and looked around. She noticed that the center table was by the side, and that the atmosphere was a bit strange, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

”Yes?” Xander was naturally the first one to speak, giving her an questioning look. This made Sparrow quickly push the strange mood to the back of her mind and clear her throat.

”The higher-ups have decided on your punishment.” This piqued everyone’s attention, and Sparrow looked around before explaining.

”It has been decided that you lot will be a part of the first line of defenders for when the ants start attacking, with your period of defending lasting an hour.” The room fell silent, and Sparrow expected an explosion.

To be honest, she felt that such a punishment was unbelievably harsh. Considering everything they had done, it wasn’t just a slap in the face, it was no different from sending the group to their deaths. After all, she’d seen the recording and understood the true terror of the ant colony. So she simply couldn’t understand why such a punishment was the result of the aid Xander’s squad had rendered.

And yet, the explosion did not happen.

Rather, Xander just nodded.

”Alright.” Sparrow felt her mind go blank.

”... Alright?” She repeated.

”Mhm.” Xander hummed in confirmation.

”... Why?” Her voice was filled with mixed emotions. Why weren’t they bothered? Angry? Or even surprised?

She looked at them intently, and she saw the same look reflected in their eyes. The look of something going to plan.

’... They expected this to happen... No, not just that. They must have pushed for this specific situation. But why? It’s tantamount to suicide. They are the ones who brought attention to the ants due to the danger, why would they...?’ She suddenly stopped. She thought back to her assessment of Xander and how he always looked at the system behind things, but try as she might, she could figure out any good reason for why they would want such a result.

’Dammit.’ She gritted her teeth and looked up at Xander who was looking at her curiously.

That’s it.

”Xander, follow me.” She said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

”Huh? But I’m still–”

”Follow. Me.” She growled.

’You’ve done messed up somehow.’ Falael said through the link, sounding smug.

’Shut it.’ Xander clicked his tongue and decided to follow.

After a moment, Aubrey stood up and walked after them. The others glanced at each other before following suit.

***

”Can I ask what this is about?” Xander asked, but Sparrow didn’t respond or even glance back at him. She just walked through the camp, weaving between soldiers and tents.

Though... the sight of them garnered a lot of attention, Xander specifically.

Soon, though, they arrived at one of the larger training fields, and the soldiers that were there all stopped what they were doing and looked over, but a stern look from Sparrow sent them scurrying away, joining the growing group of soldiers that was gathering as spectators.

They stopped in the center of the field, and that’s when Sparrow finally faced him.

Without a word, she unsheathed her short swords and held both in front of her.

”Draw you sword.” She ordered, and Xander finally narrowed his eyes, his hand finding the hilt of his sword.

”I don’t really think this is necessa—”

CLANG

The sound of metal colliding sounded through the field as sparrows short swords collided with Xander’s weapon.

She’d moved so fast that to most of the spectators, all they saw was a blue flash before she was right in front of Xander, and currently, blue marking similar to the ones Ragna had glowed brightly on her body, her eyes glowing a similar color.

”Care to tell me what this is about?” Xander raised a brow, but Sparrow didn’t reply.

Rather, she suddenly aimed a kick at Xander’s shin, and he quickly backed away. His eyes reflected the small hidden blade that emerged from the bottom of her boot, and he frowned.

He didn’t harp on it, though, as Sparrow had thrown two throwing knives at him. Xander dodged one and deflected the second, but Sparrow suddenly flicked her wrist, and the evaded dagger sharply changed direction and headed straight for Xander’s neck.

He calmly batted it to the side, and at that point, Sparrow had once again closed the distance.

In the span of a few breaths, they exchanged dozens of blows, and it became very obvious that in terms of technical skill, Xander had Sparrow beat. But despite that...

’She’s very nimble.’ Xander thought. Actually, it wasn’t just that. The way she fought as a whole was odd.

She kept her body close to the ground, constantly attacking him from below, and each of her attacks were sharp and lethal. It reminded him of a praying mantis, in a way.

On top of that, she had all sorts of smaller weapons on her person. From hidden blades to throwing knives, needles, and so on. It was honestly a bit stifling.

’Then there’s her magic...’ Xander evaded a slash at his ribs, only for Sparrow’s hand to abruptly change direction and head for his shoulder. He calmly parried, but he still took note.

’Telekinesis. Or something similar. Unlike Ragna whose magic augmented his body, she’s using the Telekinesis to achieve a similar effect by amping her speed...’

”Do you really have so much time to be thinking?” Sparrow suddenly said, and in that moment, several blue magic characters appears on Xander’s blade where he’d clashed with Sparrow. As soon as they did, he felt his sword try to fly out of his hand.

His grip prevented it from happening, but he temporarily lost his balance as a result, and Sparrow immediately pounced. Both of her short swords going straight for his exposed torso.

But to her shock, her swords passed straight through Xander’s ’body’, and the scene of Ragna’s axe passing through something like a clone reflected in her mind’s.

”You gotta try harder than that.” Xander’s voice came from behind, and Sparrow crossed her blades above her head just as Xander’s sword swung down hard.

She immediately grunted as a very painful and uncomfortable sensation passed from her blades into her body, and it felt like her muscles wanted to unravel on the spot.

’This is what Ragna was talking about...’ She gritted her teeth as she moved her Mana to resist the agonizing vibrations.

However, as quick as it came, it ended.

Xander pulled his sword back, and Sparrow quickly spun, only to see him take a proper stance, his expression serious.

”You’re clearly dissatisfied about something, and I have some idea about why. But you’ve resolved yourself to this bout, so I won’t speak anymore. I’ll let you vent.” He said calmly. ”However...”

Suddenly, his aura changed, and Sparrow’s pupils dilated as she felt as thought her skin was getting cut in numerous places. In that moment, she didn’t feel like she was fighting a person, but a bloodthirsty predator.

”Be aware that I’m not going to make it easy.” Xander finished his phrase, and Sparrow gulped subconsciously, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of her face.

But then she smiled, her grip on her swords tightening.

”That’s just what I want.” Once she said that, the markings on her body glowed brightly before the air around her warped.

She chanted something rapidly, and she took a step before her body suddenly vanished, only to reappear behind Xander, both swords slashing towards his back and nape respectively.

Xander managed to react, but it soon became apparent that Sparrow’s increase in speed was not minor at all.

Almost immediately, Xander was on the backfoot as he entered a completely passive position.

Compared to when he fought Ragna, Sparrow was completely blitzing around him like a blue flash. By the time he blocked an attack from one angle, two more were coming in from two different angles.

And it wasn’t just the speed either, her use of hidden weapons hadn’t reduced either, and on top of that, she made use of her Telekinesis far more.

The weapons she threw out would circle around Xander and strike at him from different angles, there would be occasional pushes or pulls of an invisible force that threw him off balance, his weapon would try to fly out of his hand, and so on. It was all in all just a very problematic and suffocating assault that made it difficult for one to even bring out their strength properly, and yet...

’It’s just as Ragna said.’ Sparrow’s eyes narrowed as she focused intently on Xander.

On the surface, it seemed like she had the upper hand, having pressured Xander into doing nothing but defending, and yet, one fact remained constant.

She hadn’t hit him once.

In fact, she hadn’t even grazed him. Every move of his was clean, precise, and wonderfully executed, and he covered every blindspot beautifully.

’I’m faster than him. Even if he can grasp my movements, I’m striking from multiple angles with each assault using different methods, and I’m constantly disrupting him, how...?’ She clicked her tongue when Xander’s voice suddenly sounded out.

”Is that all?” As soon as she heard that, she felt a sense of unprecedented danger. The type that made her senses, which had been honed from years of life and death battles, shriek in alarm.

Without hesitation, Sparrow dived to the side, and all she saw briefly was a strange warp, like space itself was being parted.

Then in the ground next to her, a deep and long scar appeared, stretching for nearly a hundred meters before finally stopping.

Her body shuddered.

’If I hadn’t moved, I’d have been split in half.’ Her mind buzzed with that information, and then Xander’s voice sounded again.

”Do you get it?” He said calmly. ”This isn’t something you can half ass. You dragged me here to fight, so you better do it properly.” Such words coming from someone younger than her should have enraged her.

Instead, she took them completely seriously.

”... Understood.” She took a deep breath, and when she exhaled, she muttered in her heart.

’Overclocking.’