"You don't have to do it if you're scared," he added, throwing another bait by hurting her ego.
"Hah, why would I be scared? I accept the bet. Get ready to lose," Alicia said, not even taking a second to think as she accepted the bet.
"What about you, Kellian? Who do you think will win?" Raia next asked Kellian, ignoring the banter of youngsters.
" I can't say for sure since I don't know the strength of the other side. So I'll play it safe. I think both have an equally good chance since Cassius shouldn't be weak either. He had managed to take out a lot of APF members after all," Kellian responded.
"That's true as well," Raia nodded. "You, Yaliza?'
"I also agree with Kellian. It would be too soon to guess without knowing what the two of them are capable of," Yaliza agreed as he folded his arms.
"That's right as well. Let's see what they are capable of in that case," Raia said, glancing at the two youngsters that were still looking at each other, waiting for the other person to make a move.
Cassius held his heavy sword in his right hand, staring at Tristan.
Tristan, on the other hand, hadn't even taken his sword out of the sheath. He was holding the sheath in his left hand as he looked back.
"Kid! You can go first. Let me see your strength! Give me your best shot!' Tristan yelled, making sure his voice reached Cassius.
"I extend the same courtesy to you. Elders can go first," Cassius sharply responded. "Give it your best shot! Maybe you will be able to hurt me!"
Tristan's face twitched again as he heard Cassius's words.
"You got a sharp tongue. Fine, let me show you," Tristan said as he took a deep breath.
He slowly moved his right hand towards the hilt of the Katana, which he was holding in his left hand.
As he grabbed the hilt, he asked, "I'm ready to attack. Don't blame me if you're hurt!"
After a warning, he brought his Katana out of the sheath but only by a few inches before he kept it back. It all happened before anyone could even see the blade of his sword.
Not a single person had ever seen what the blade of his katana looked like, as whenever he brought it out, he kept it back just as fast before anyone could even see it.
Even though Tristan only brought his sword a little out of the sheath, it still managed to create massive wind pressure in the surroundings. A powerful attack left the sword in the form of a blood-red arc of light.
Cassius noticed the attack, which seemed to be filled with power, but it also seemed to have a lousy aim. Cassius was sure that even if he didn't do anything, the attack was going to miss him.
He didn't know if it was actually because of bad aim or if it was because Tristan had intentionally tried to miss him as it was a practice battle, and he didn't want to hurt him.
Cassius knew that he could just stand and let the attack pass, but the fighting spirit inside him was ignited. He didn't want to be a coward.
He also raised his sword and made a casual slash, using a fraction of his Divine Sword Energy.
He attacked in the same manner and at the same trajectory as Tristan's attack, making sure both attacks were going to clash.
Just as he expected, Tristan's intimidating attack clashed with his Divine Sword Energy, and couldn't resist for even a second as the attack of Tristan was destroyed.
Cassius's attack didn't stop there as his Divine Sword Energy moved further, ultimately doing what Tristan wanted to do.
The attack passed from a few inches away from Tristan, ultimately landing on the house in the back, destroying the wall.
Tristan turned back to look at the damage to the house, slightly surprised. Even though he had used a tiny fraction of his strength, it was still surprising to see it being destroyed so easily.
There were more people who were surprised, especially Alicia. She didn't know that Cassius was actually this strong despite being so young.
Raia also seemed amused as he rubbed his chin. It seemed like they had another talented guy in their midst that was capable of leading from the front.
Vega and the others were also surprised as this was the first time they had seen the strength of Cassius.
Lucifer, on the other hand, stood perfectly calm as if it was something that wasn't surprising at all. He had already seen Cassius in action.
And he also knew about the Divine Sword Energy. As long as Cassius had a sword in his hand, he was almost undefeatable.
Even in the Academy, it was said that Divine Sword Energy was one of the strongest abilities that a swordsman could possess. That wasn't all either, as Cassius possessed another ability that complimented his first ability.
...
"Not bad at all. As expected, this is going to be a good battle," Tristan smirked as he stared at Cassius while licking his lips.
"Maybe someone today might actually be able to force me to take my full sword out. I hope you're capable. Let me test if you're worthy," he added as his figure flickered.
He appeared behind Cassius as he twisted his body, intending to kick the neck of Cassius.
The figure of Cassius also moved as he adjusted his body slightly while using his elbows to block the kick.
'I guess that's why he practiced basic fighting skills too. For a swordsman, it's important to be able to protect himself even in close range. Unlike me, he doesn't have overpowering strength and speed, after all.'
Standing in the distance, Lucifer was analyzing all the minor details of the battle, which he found intriguing.
Cassius blocked the kick, which was about to land on his neck with his arms while he jumped back.
He landed a few meters away from Tristan, aiming his sword at him coolly.
"What was that?" he asked Tristan, who had suddenly attacked. He wondered if it was still the battle of the sword or not.
" Don't mind it. Just testing your skills before I get fully serious. You need to be a capable warrior to be a worthy swordsman," Tristan replied, laughing.
"Is that so?" Cassius smirked as he heard the words. "Don't mind if I test the same."
His figure also moved as he abruptly closed in on Tristan, who hadn't expected this.
*****
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