"Don't hesitate to go all out, Aiz."
"Mm."
With Ariel enveloping her body, Aiz vanished in an instant, leaving a trail of green wind behind her.
On the other side, with Terminus Est in hand, Charlie also disappeared from sight.
*WHOOSH!—BOOM!*
The air exploded as the two collided in the middle of the courtyard. The silvery-blue flash of Terminus Est clashed with the green wind surrounding Aiz.
The sacred sword and rapier clashed—metal meeting metal, producing blinding sparks of light.
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
The two exchanged blows at a speed impossible for the naked eye to follow.
Lefiya, Tiona, Tione, and even Loki could only see blurred shadows darting around, accompanied by shockwaves from the clash of their powers.
"So fast...! Even after Aiz uses Ariel, she still can't dominate!" Tiona exclaimed, her eyes shining.
"It's confirmed. There's no way Charlie is only Level 2." Tione said without hesitation.
Lefiya, who had always admired Aiz, clutched her chest anxiously.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
*WHOOSH!*
Aiz kicked off the ground and shot forward at a terrifying speed, her rapier spinning like a whirlwind, slashing upward.
Charlie read the movement.
With a single breath, he tilted his body to the side—avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth.
*SWOOSH!*
In retaliation, Charlie spun, swinging Terminus Est horizontally.
*THUD!*
Aiz jumped back just in time, but the tip of the sacred sword swept through the air, creating a wave of energy that slashed the ground behind her.
*SLASH!*
The ground split, and dust billowed.
But Aiz wasn't fazed.
With a single swing of her rapier, she slashed through the dust—clearing her visibility.
At the same time, she leaped forward with incredible speed!
*WHOOSH!*
Charlie read her trajectory with Six Eyes.
However, Aiz suddenly changed direction mid-air!
Using the thrust from Ariel, she slid to Charlie's right—intending to attack from his blind spot!
*SHUA!*
Charlie quickly twisted his body, raising Terminus Est to parry!
*CLANG!*
The clash created a shower of sparks.
Using her momentum and spinning her body, Aiz unleashed a barrage of attacks from various angles!
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
Charlie was pushed back little by little. However, he wasn't a fighter who could only defend.
*SWOOSH!*
As Aiz launched a vertical slash from above, Charlie shifted his foot to the side, letting the attack hit nothing but air!
With this change in position, he quickly turned and slashed toward Aiz's shoulder from behind!
*SWOOSH!*
Aiz's eyes widened. However, in a split second, she raised Desperate behind her without looking, deflecting Charlie's attack with pure instinct!
*CLANG!*
The air around them vibrated.
Taking the initiative, Aiz pressed Charlie with a combination of rapid attacks!
She used the wind from Ariel to accelerate her sword movements, making them hard to predict.
*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
Aiz darted like lightning, her sword flashing at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to follow.
However, Charlie was no ordinary fighter.
His Six Eyes were fully active.
The world around him slowed, allowing him to see every movement of Aiz in incredible detail—even down to the flow of her energy.
Thanks to the unparalleled vision provided by Six Eyes and energy control down to the atomic level, Charlie could analyze her movement patterns in real-time.
However, seeing didn't mean he could avoid everything.
The level gap still existed.
Aiz was Level 5—and with Ariel, she could temporarily reach Level 6 strength.
Charlie, on the other hand, was only Level 4.
Without the Physical Enchant by Spirit Arts to strengthen his body, he would not be able to keep up with this fight.
Six Eyes gave him insight, Spirit Art gave him endurance.
Only the combination of the two allowed him to keep up with Aiz.
Even so, he could only hold his ground—not defeat her like before.
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
Charlie raised Terminus Est, deflecting every attack.
Each clash released bursts of energy, the air around them vibrating intensely from the sheer power being unleashed.
However, Aiz gave no opening.
She used the wind from Ariel to accelerate her sword movements, making each attack increasingly unpredictable.
Charlie shifted to the side, dodging a lethal slash from the rapier—only to find another attack already waiting for him.
*SWOOSH!*
"So fast..."
He jumped back, stabilizing his stance. However, Aiz was already there.
*CLANG!*
Charlie parried just in time, but the impact forced him back several steps.
*THUD!*
His feet dug into the ground to withstand the force.
*WHOOSH!*
Aiz lunged again!
Charlie spun, dodging a horizontal slash aimed at his neck—then countered with a quick thrust.
Gracefully sidestepping, Aiz let the sword miss her by mere millimeters.
*WHOOSH!*
The wind howled wildly, swirling dust and dry leaves around them.
*CLANG!*
The fight grew more intense and evenly matched.
Charlie couldn't pressure Aiz, but Aiz also couldn't take down Charlie.
This was no longer a fight between a Level 5 and a Level 4.
This was a confrontation between two warriors at the peak of their abilities.
And there was still no sign of who would win.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*
Sparks flew through the air.
The sparring had been going on for ten minutes, and the pattern of the fight began to shift.
Aiz, who had been highly aggressive earlier, now started showing signs of fatigue.
Her breathing was heavier, sweat dripped down her temples, and—most noticeably—her defensive undergarments were starting to show.
The main reason?
Ariel drained too much magic power.
Using Ariel in battle not only enhanced her physical attributes but also required intense concentration to maintain.
In the middle of a fierce confrontation, there was no chance for her to drink a potion and recover her magic power.
Meanwhile, Charlie?
He was still fresh.
Thanks to Six Eyes, his energy consumption was almost zero, while his energy flow remained optimal. Plus, he had infinite essence magic reserves.
In other words, he wouldn't run out of stamina—while Aiz could.
*WHOOSH!*
Charlie darted forward, Terminus Est gleaming under the sunlight.
Aiz tried to parry—
*CLANG!*
But the impact was heavier than before.
*THUD!*
She retreated three steps, her expression starting to change.
"Too late."
Charlie was already moving before Aiz could adjust.
*SWOOSH!*
A diagonal slash aimed at Aiz's shoulder—
Aiz deflected it quickly, but the next attack followed immediately.
*CLANG!*
Then another slash—and another.
Aiz began to be pushed back, unable to counterattack.
Every time she tried to strike, Charlie had already blocked and countered.
"..."
Aiz felt frustrated by her weakness.
"Alright, let's stop here."
Charlie suddenly halted his attacks.
Aiz was surprised. Her breathing was still heavy, sweat soaked her body, but her fighting spirit hadn't dimmed.
"Why? I can still—"
Charlie sighed, then lowered his sword.
"This is just sparring, not a life-and-death battle. Don't push yourself, Aiz. Honestly, if you hadn't run out of magic power, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you. So, let's call it a draw, okay?"
Aiz knew Charlie was saying that to comfort her, but still—she wasn't satisfied. However, she also couldn't deny the truth behind those words. In the end, she could only nod.
"Alright..."
However, before Charlie could feel relieved, Aiz stepped closer.
"Charlie..."
She looked at him with serious golden eyes.
"Teach me how to get stronger quickly like you."
Charlie fell silent. Aiz stood so close that he could smell her scent. Not perfume... but the scent of fragrant after an intense fight. Yet, strangely, it didn't smell bad. Instead, there was a fresh scent that, for some reason, was quite pleasant to inhale.
'Do all heroine fragrant scents not smell bad, or is Aiz an exception?' Charlie thought to himself, unconsciously staring at the girl in front of him who was still waiting for an answer.