Milo’s sword cut through the air, slicing straight toward Kaiser’s head. It should have connected. It should have knocked him out and put an end to this ridiculous display of spinning, twirling, and whatever the hell Kaiser was doing.

  Instead, Kaiser’s head snapped backward, bending at a horrifying angle, his body following in an unnatural motion.

  Milo’s breath caught in his throat. His brain screamed that something was wrong, and for a split second, it felt like he had just swung at a ghost, at a body that wasn’t even there. His sword had passed through empty air, like Kaiser had been decapitated before his very eyes.

  “What the f—”

  Before he could even process it, Kaiser’s motion continued, his entire body flowing into a seamless backflip, his legs rising over him, his feet scything through the air like a pair of whirling blades.

  ‘Oh, shit!’

  Milo had barely begun to react when Kaiser’s heel smashed into his jaw. The impact sent him reeling. His head snapped back as his feet left the ground, his entire body lifted into the air from the sheer force of the kick. He felt his teeth clack together, his brain rattling in his skull. But his instincts roared louder than the pain, and before he could lose control of his momentum, he forced his body into a midair backflip, stabilizing himself before he could crash onto his back like an idiot.

  He landed in a crouch, spitting to the side, his vision swimming for a second.

  “What the hell was that?!” Ivan blurted, half in horror, half in admiration.

  Aria looked pale. “That was not normal.”

  Regulus, on the other hand, looked like a kid at a festival. “Incredible! Absolutely stunning! The grace! The form! That was art in motion!”

  Milo ignored all of them. His vision sharpened, his focus locking back onto Kaiser, who, by the time he had landed, was a blur of motion.

  Milo’s eyes widened. ‘Way too fast!’

  Kaiser’s wooden blade whistled through the air in a clean, decisive stroke toward Milo’s neck, but at the last moment, Milo deliberately let himself fall. At the very last second, he threw himself backward, letting gravity pull him down. Kaiser’s sword passed just inches above him, cutting through the space where his throat had been.

  For a heartbeat, it seemed like Milo had found his opening. He was falling, yes, but from this position, he had a direct line to Kaiser’s ribs. He gritted his teeth and swung, driving his sword toward Kaiser’s exposed side.

  But again, Kaiser was faster. Before Milo’s blade could land, Kaiser did the unthinkable… He jumped.

  Not just a small leap to avoid the strike. He launched himself into the air. Milo barely had time to register it before Kaiser was soaring above him, his body twisting midair like a performer mid-dance.

  Milo, still on the ground, had only a split second to prepare. He planted his feet firmly, gripping his wooden sword with both hands, ready to meet the onslaught. Above him, Kaiser twisted midair like a phantom caught in the wind, his entire body spinning with impossible grace. His wooden blade became a blur, a tornado of slashes raining down in an unrelenting storm.

  But right now, Milo had one advantage.

  Kaiser was in the air, and he wasn’t.

  With a roar, Milo pushed off the ground, using every ounce of leverage he had. He swung with all his might, bracing himself against the earth, and for the first time in this fight he overpowered Kaiser. The force of his counter sent Kaiser flying backward, his body flipping through the air before landing several meters away in a cloud of dust.

  Milo staggered to his feet, panting hard. His arms burned from the strain, his fingers ached from gripping the sword too tightly, and his jaw still throbbed from Kaiser’s earlier kick. He swiped at the corner of his mouth, spitting onto the sand.

  "What the hell is this guy?" he muttered under his breath.

  Ivan, meanwhile, was losing his mind. "Did—did Milo just send Kaiser flying?! Holy shit!"

  Aria had both hands on her head. "Milo actually got him!"

  Mia, despite not caring about this fight in the slightest, slowly nodded in agreement.

  Regulus, however, was practically bouncing on his feet. "Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent! Such power! Such technique! Such drama!" He wiped an imaginary tear from his helmet. "This is the kind of battle that makes my heart sing!"

  But none of their voices mattered, because Kaiser was already on the move again. The moment his feet hit the sand, he didn’t waste a single breath. No hesitation. No pause. No moment to assess. He simply shot forward, sprinting straight for Milo like an arrow locked onto its target. His speed was unreal. He wasn’t just running, he was gliding across the desert, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

  Milo cursed under his breath, forcing himself back into his stance. That same stance from the beginning of the duel. Feet planted, body aligned, sword at the ready.

  Kaiser saw it, and he smiled. Then, in one smooth motion, he lowered his blade and dragged it through the sand.

  Milo’s eyes widened as a wave of dust exploded up in front of him, obscuring Kaiser from view. Sand whipped through the air, swirling like a makeshift smokescreen. He narrowed his eyes, trying to track movement through the chaos, but Kaiser didn’t let up.

  He was moving, and he was moving fast.

  Milo turned sharply, shifting his stance, trying to follow the blur of motion around him, but Kaiser never stayed in one place for more than a second. His sword continued to carve through the sand, kicking up even more dust, layering the battlefield in a thick, golden haze.

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  "Shit," Milo muttered, adjusting his grip.

  He could hear Kaiser’s footsteps, he just couldn’t tell where they were coming from.

  But soon after, Milo stopped turning. Spinning in circles like an idiot wasn’t going to help. Kaiser was too fast, too unpredictable, and the swirling sandstorm around him only made it worse. His eyes were useless now. Every direction looked the same—just a dense, shifting wall of dust and chaos.

  So he closed them.

  He planted his feet, tightened his grip on the wooden sword, and slowed his breathing. ‘Inhale... Exhale.’ He drowned out the sound of his own heartbeat, pushing past the distractions, the distant voices, the rustling wind and the stinging sand.

  He focused.

  Kaiser was moving fast, His footsteps barely registered. But they were there, shifting, circling, weaving through the storm like a phantom.

  ‘There!’

  Milo’s muscles tensed. He felt something slicing through the air toward his chest. He had him. This was it! Milo’s eyes snapped open as he turned, locking onto the shape flying toward him through the sand. ‘Kaiser’s sword!’

  It was coming fast, cutting through the dust like a missile. But now that he saw it, it was easy. Milo swung, a clean, precise strike that met the incoming blade with perfect timing. He smirked as he thought that he disarmed the bastard.

  Only… something was wrong.

  The moment his sword connected, the wooden blade bounced off like it weighed nothing.

  “What—”

  There was no resistance, no force behind the strike. His sword had hit it, but it felt… fake. It wasn’t an attack. It was a distraction. Realization kicked in a second too late as a shadow burst through the sandstorm behind him, and before Milo could even turn his head, chaos descended.

  “HAHAHAHAHA!”

  A gleeful, borderline maniacal laugh erupted right behind his ear. Milo’s eyes went wide as he finally managed to twist around, catching sight of Kaiser mid-air, both hands fused together above his head like a hammer, his grin stretched ear to ear.

  “YOU’RE MINE, MILO!”

  Milo barely had time to react before the force of Kaiser’s double-fisted slam came crashing down onto his back like a war hammer.

  Milo’s vision blurred as pain exploded down his spine, his entire body rocketing forward from the sheer force of the blow. His feet left the ground, and before he even processed what happened, he was airborne.

  Outside the storm of sand, the others could only watch in confusion.

  “I—What—?” Ivan squinted, trying to see past the swirling dust. “Did he hit him?”

  “I can’t see anything,” Aria muttered, shielding her eyes from the flying sand.

  Mia crossed her arms. “This is stupid. What’s even happening in there?”

  Regulus, on the other hand, looked on with uncontained glee. “This is the greatest thing I have seen since I arrived in this city!”

  Then, suddenly, Milo came flying out of the storm. Like a ragdoll, he tumbled across the ground, bouncing once, twice, before skidding to a stop several meters away. His back screamed in pain, his muscles tense from the brutal impact, but he still pushed himself up, spitting out a bit of blood from his nose. A shaky grin formed on his face as he wiped his mouth, his breathing heavy, yet his eyes burned with something fierce.

  Within the dying sandstorm, a shadow shifted. Kaiser moved slowly, stepping over the soft ground before kneeling to pick up the wooden sword Milo had deflected moments ago. His fingers curled around the handle, and in a single motion, he swung it with all his might to the right. A powerful gust tore through the battlefield, the force of his movement scattering the remaining dust and sand, clearing the storm as if slicing the very air apart.

  As visibility returned, Kaiser turned his head toward Regulus, who was practically sparkling with admiration, his eyes shining with excitement. Kaiser narrowed his eyes. "Don’t even think about calling that a lethal blow."

  Regulus just shook his head, unable to hide his grin. "I’m not sure I would ever want to stop a duel this good."

  Ivan, still watching intently, frowned. "Why are you so invested in this fight, Regulus?"

  Regulus exhaled, rubbing his chin. "Neither of them have shown an insane amount of Sol, but their skill? It’s better than almost anyone I’ve ever fought. Milo might be the least talented bastard I’ve ever met, but he’s been training his entire life—his power is fully earned, every bit of it. Meanwhile, Kaiser…" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "He’s in the top ten most skilled fighters I’ve ever seen. His style is so damn unique, I have no idea how to counter it, and honestly? I don’t even fully understand how it works."

  Milo rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck, his grin widening despite the pain. "I hate to admit it, but I underestimated you."

  He shifted his stance, planting his feet firmly, raising his wooden sword high above his head with both hands. His expression sharpened, his muscles tensed, his entire posture screaming of raw, unshakable strength. "You’re faster than me, sure," he admitted, his voice steady. "But I still think I can beat you."

  Kaiser tilted his head, intrigued, before letting out a chuckle. "Oh? Is that so?"

  Kaiser loosened his grip, allowing his sword to dangle from his fingers as if it was nothing but an afterthought. His body shifted into another bizarre stance, one that seemed to lack any form or logic, yet carried an eerie fluidity. He smirked, eyes brimming with anticipation. "Alright, then. Bring it on."

  Milo didn’t hesitate. He dashed forward, his powerful strides kicking up dust as he closed the distance, his grin matching Kaiser’s.

  Kaiser, still relaxed, watched him approach, his fingers barely clutching the wooden blade. Then, in an instant—just as Milo’s sword came crashing down—his arm snapped forward like a whip, his blade slicing through the air with such speed and force that it broke the sound barrier.

  The moment their blades met, Milo’s arms nearly buckled from the force, his entire body jolting as if he had slammed into an unmovable wall.

  That didn’t make Kaiser stop. He flowed like water, his body twisting as his sword snapped back, only to lash out again in a second, even faster strike.

  Milo barely managed to block as the impact rattled his bones, but then came the third strike, then the fourth, each one faster and harder than the last until his defense finally crumbled.

  He gritted his teeth, trying to hold his ground, but Kaiser’s strikes kept coming like a relentless storm. Every time Milo blocked, Kaiser would shift, twist and spin, his footwork becoming more and more unpredictable, his movements erratic yet terrifyingly precise. Milo couldn’t even tell where the next strike was coming from.

  And then he missed a block, and Kaiser’s wooden sword slammed into his side, forcing a gasp from Milo as his ribs screamed in pain, but before he could even react.

  CRACK!

  Kaiser’s blade crashed against his wrist, loosening his grip for just a moment, and that was all Kaiser needed as he stepped in, his footwork weaving past Milo’s weakened guard, his sword whirling in a final flourish before striking the decisive blow.

  THWACK!

  The wooden blade smashed into Milo’s stomach. Milo’s breath left his lungs in an instant. His feet lifted off the ground as the sheer force of the blow sent him flying. He tumbled, rolling across the dirt, finally skidding to a stop flat on his back, gasping for air.

  Silence came, followed by a loud groan. Milo forced himself onto his elbows, coughing, his entire body screaming in pain, but he still let out a hoarse chuckle. "God… damn…"

  Kaiser stood a few feet away, spinning his wooden sword between his fingers before resting it on his shoulder, grinning down at him. Regulus was the first to react. He stood up and clapped: once, twice, then a full applause. "Marvelous! Absolutely fantastic!"

  Kaiser took a few steps closer and offered a hand. Milo looked at it for a moment before smirking and taking it. As Kaiser pulled him up, Milo let out a low chuckle. "You really are a freak."

  Kaiser grinned. "Takes one to know one."

  Regulus clapped his hands together, grinning ear to ear. "Now, that was a duel worth watching!"

  Milo rolled his shoulders, wincing. "Yeah, yeah. Give me a second before you start throwing compliments. I think my ribs are broken."

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