Duelcrest Academy

Valentine drew his sword and, as Sophia had done before, ran it over his palm. With a clatter, the steel blade fell to the ground, while a crimson one, created from his blood, emerged from the boy's hand.

Sophia stood still, waiting for her opponent to make his first move.

It only took a moment for Valentine to start his assault. His thrust was deftly dodged with a sidestep. His blade, however, mutated after the failed strike. The blood came to life, taking the shape of an arrow and, flying off Valentine's hand, swiftly darted towards Sophia's side.

But she was ready.

With a backward leap, she moved out of the trajectory. The arrow missed its target, but before crashing into the magical barrier, it halted its course and reversed. With high speed, it headed back towards the girl. Meanwhile, Valentine also lunged towards Sophia, attempting to tackle her: a pincer attack.

The class held its breath.

But Sophia had no intention of losing so quickly.

She quickly turned around and ran towards the blood arrow, dodging it by ducking, while simultaneously avoiding her opponent's charge.

Her movements betrayed great combat experience. But would it be enough to evade every single attack?

Valentine continued to stay on the offensive. The arrow returned to his hand, this time transforming into a blood whip. Valentine wielded it fervently towards Sophia's legs. She jumped to avoid it. Valentine, who must have anticipated that response, liquefied his blood again, which fell to the floor, forming a spiked trap. Sophia twisted her body and managed to leap backward again to avoid landing on it.

Valentine's attacks intensified, but Sophia's physical prowess and reflexes managed to avoid the myriad ways his blood attempted to attack her.

My cheeks were now marked by deep lines, where I had dug my nails in tension.

How long would she be able to dodge?

She had done an excellent job so far. The speed at which Valentine could control his blood seemed to have its limits, which Sophia was managing to exploit.

But in the long run, a small mistake or the onset of fatigue could spell doom for her.

Sophia herself couldn't go on the offensive. Rushing against Valentine would expose her to an undodgeable attack.

Her only chance was to win by attrition.

Despite his power, it was unlikely that Valentine could keep large quantities of blood outside his body without consequences. If Sophia pushed him to use more and more blood, perhaps she had a chance.

"What a shitty situation you have put yourself in!"

If only she had talked to me instead of trying to be so mysterious.

The fight continued for another ten minutes. As time passed, I could see Valentine's attacks becoming slower. Sophia also seemed less agile than at the beginning, but she appeared less worn out than her opponent.

Was there hope after all?

«You weren't kidding... huh?» Valentine gasped. His face had become increasingly pale as the duel progressed.

«What's wrong, not so full of yourself anymore?» Sophia replied, sizing him up from a safe distance.

«Well, I'm certainly impressed that you lasted this long. But I've figured out what you're aiming for and it won't work...»

New blood gushed from the wound in his hand, his crimson blade elongated by several inches. By now, he must have extracted nearly two liters of blood from his body.

«Sure, I admit it's not pleasant. But thanks to my power, I can survive with much less blood than a normal human.»

Valentine's attacks, though slower, gained considerable range and power. Sophia was slowly retreating, soon she would find herself backed against the wall due to the barrier.

I wanted to close my eyes.

But then it happened.

Valentine's blade swept across the arena, Sophia jumped to avoid it. With a triumphant expression, Valentine spat.

"!"

It was a blood sphere. The blade had lost its consistency on the floor. Valentine probably couldn't control two separate masses of blood simultaneously.

"He must have bitten his tongue and created a projectile with the blood that had thickened inside his mouth!"

A cunning move. Sophia was in the air, unable to dodge.

So she did the only thing she could. She parried with her sword.

But it would be of no use. Valentine would just liquefy the projectile, bypassing her defense.

It was the end.

But it didn't go that way.

As if encountering an invisible force, the blood sphere split in two, passing by Sophia's sides and harmlessly hitting the magical barrier.

Murmurs of surprise swept through the audience once again.

A sense of déjà vu you could say. The same thing had happened when Sophia had split the fireball in two.

This time though, what she had cut wasn't a spell.

Even Valentine seemed stunned for a moment. Then he gathered his blood once more.

«So I wasn't the only one hiding the limits of my power...»

Sophia merely stared at him, awaiting the next attack.

But Valentine knew that the tides of the duel had turned.

If the boy had pretended to be more powerful, Sophia had managed to do the opposite. Everyone had thought that her sword only had the power to deflect spells, but now it was evident that there was more to it.

I was certain that now thoughts similar to those that had tormented me after seeing his duel against Carl were forming in Valentine's brain.

What was Sophia actually capable of?

And what if his blood was useless against her?

Sophia took a step forward. Valentine reformed his crimson blade once again and launched another attack.

But this time, the girl didn't dodge. When the two blades, steel and blood, clashed, the latter broke in half. The blood fell lifeless to the ground.

I could hear several students erupting in sighs of relief, laughing and cheering.

It seemed that that sword had not only cut through the blood blade but had also slashed the veil of terror that Valentine had cast over our lives.

The duel continued for a few more minutes. No matter what forms Valentine's blood took, Sophia's relentless sword managed to neutralize it.

And then it was over.

Valentine, his blood in the form of a spear, made a clumsy lunge. Sophia dodged to the side and, as easily as a knife cuts through butter, pierced him on the left side, straight to the heart.

A roar of joy erupted in the classroom. Many students applauded. It was the end of Valentine's reign of terror.

But I didn't join in. I was busy staring at Sophia.

After piercing her opponent, she had suddenly jumped back, as if she had been burned.

It was with horror that I saw Valentine remain standing, with a wicked grin on his face. Sophia's blade, still impaled in his body, was now coated with his blood up to the hilt.

Soon, the rest of the class realized that something terribly wrong was happening. The classroom fell into terrified silence.

Coughing blood, Valentine spoke:

«Idiot. You had won but you messed up at the last second. Aiming for the heart against me, seriously? You should have aimed for the head dumbfuck! Now without your sword, you're screwed.»

My heart sank as I saw Sophia's expression. I had hoped to see her calm as usual. I desperately wanted for all of this to still be part of her plan.

But Sophia was biting her lip. She had been caught off guard.

After all, what kind of human being would survive a blade through their heart? Probably only one.

That monster who had complete control over his blood named Igor Valentine.

The monster advanced. Blood flowed from the wound on his chest. It spread, covering his entire body like a horrific coat of armor.

«Now I just need to touch you...» he explained calmly, continuing to march towards his prey.

Sophia retreated, but there was no way out.

Soon, her back was pressed against the magical wall.

It was what he was waiting for. Valentine, covered in his scarlet mantle, lunged at her.

I stood up abruptly, my hand clenched around the wand. But unfortunately, there was nothing I could do except watch.

Sophia reached out with an arm, as if to defend herself against the inevitable.

Finally, the impact came.

Horror-stricken screams erupted in the classroom.

Like his blood projectile, Valentine's two halves collided against the magical barrier.

In between them, covered head to toe in the blood of her enemy, stood the victor of the duel:

Sophia Thornton.