After landing in front of the duo I find that Cornelius is in a sorry state. If I came a few moments too late and he would've gone through his second effigy. Not that I'd really mind that much. Just seems to be a bit of a waste of a substitution effigy.

Looking at the perpetrators I . . . Wait are they wearing the dlc costumes? I mean Lavalivarus is lookin pretty snazzy, but isn't Sky cold? While we are still in the left region, it still gets pretty drafty especially at this time of year. Oh yeah I should probably explain the outfit. Basically there was a fan service dlc where the characters all go to a spa/resort thing on an island just off of Esu's shore. It let you get a scene in the hotspring with your love interest and a special outfit for Sky depending on the route you're on. With Alford you get a princess's gown and tiara, with the theif you get a belly dancer's outfit, knight's route gets armor, mage gets a magical girl uniform, and while it took 3 fucking months for them to implement Bram's route gets a maid uniform. Cursed sword route gets you this demoness look and a skin for your sword. Of course the important bit of all this info is that they got a huge exp. Boost from killing all the residents on the island, meaning in actuality their level is around the upper 40s. Clearing that place out at the level they should be at is quite the challenging feat. It's quite impressive that they managed to pull it off.

"Ahhh, I see the blue blooded bitch decided to come down to the commoners level in order to play!"

WOW, OK. It seems she has found out about the organization already too considering how hostile she is. Usually she doesn't find out until Keif spills the beans in his fight. Yeah sure she dislikes Bernadette at the start of the route, but they consider them more of an annoyance. Its not until she finds out that Bernadette is connected to the people who killed her parents that a true hatred grows. It doesn't help that Lavalivarus is egging her on. That likely means Keif decided to try and fight her on his own after hearing it through the organization's channels, fucking battle junkie.

"Oh... but it seems your guard dog is in too much of a sorry state to hide behind. Oh well, guess you'll have to fight without a retainer, or are you perhaps to much of a coward to do so?"

"Fuuuuuuuh, you mind chilling out a bit? You're kinda killing the vibe. We're here to slaughter each other, no need to be so angry. Let's have some fun, okay?"

I feel a presence come over my mind, forming a kind of link. It seems Lyra has already finished up and is ready to provide support. They won't be taking part in the fight personally, but they'll be useful nonetheless.

[Oi, host I know you're eager to kill your bully, but be careful somethings off.]

I can hear their thoughts thanks to Lyra's ability.

[How so?]

[The way she carries themself is way different compared to your memory. Its like they traded most of their etiquette classes for a few sword ones. In terms of skill the seem to be at about an equivalent level to you.]

[I . . . Regret not taking more combat classes before meeting you.]

[That's not the important bit though. Their presence feels like one of a really strong monster and they have a sort of strange scent. I can't place where exactly I've experienced it before, however it definitely feels pretty nostalgic. I hate to say it, but be cautious.]

"Ah sorry to interrupt that weird sudden silence, but mind if I set the mood for the fight?"

"... Excuse me?"

[Wavbuoy ryktifv]

A familiar tune starts playing. Specifically a track from the game. I figured the boss teme for the cursed sword route would probably pique Lavalivarus's interest. It's a sorta outlier in the soundtrack. While the other routes use a lot of synths and piano to give off a light airy feeling, the cursed sword route's music sounds like its come from a horror game. Its a lot of droning electric guitars with the occasional groans or shrieks for the area themes and the battle themes give off a frenetic feeling using percussion thats been ripped from drum and bass music and some nasty guitar riffs. The occasional groan and shriek can still be heard in the battle themes too.

[Oh that's an interesting spell. Gotta remember to use that in future fights. Host, do you got any good tunes to play during fights?]

[Haaaaa. You should know better than I do that I haven't heard any music that would be suitable for a fight. If you need one so bad just remember the song playing now.]

[But we're gonna kill her before the song ends so we can't hear the whole piece. I guess we'll just have to pick up an instrument. Fancy the lute, host?]

[...maybe I'll give it a try...]

[Great! I'll hold you to that promise hehehe.]

They're getting cocky. Guess I have to do the same. I put on the best smirk I can as I draw my sword and say,

"Well then, shall we begin?"

[Yeah, lets see if a noble's blood is really blue!]

With Lavalivarus's comment Sky charges at me. She's gonna swing her blade from below to her right my left. The biggest lesson I've learned from Sha'kala is that being on the defense is the worst position in a sword fight. I need to get the first strike.

I meet her blade with an overhead swing. When our blades make contact, it becomes a contest of strength. A contest that I win, however sky currently has the positional advantage meaning that even though I'm stronger with body enhancements, my blade gets pushed back. The safe option would be to back pedal allowing me more time to react to Sky's next attack, but then I'd still be on the defensive. Instead I prep a [superior heal] with my dragon heads early and hold my ground. Sky moves her sword to slash but,

[Host watch out! There's a big mana surge from above, make some distance.]

Upon hearing her sword's warning, Sky leaps backwards just as my heal spell goes off.

[HAHAHAHA, that was a healing spell! The crazy bastard was intending to get cleaved in half but continue pushing.]

[They didn't chant at all though.]

[...yeah somethings off about that. I don't detect any life above us. Other than a small fry hiding in the nearby ruble, I can only sense Bernadette.]

[It may be the work of a god.]

[I wasn't expecting to kill a god this early, but it'd be fun nonetheless!]

Lavalivarus's thoughts continue in a more somber tone without sharing them with Sky

[If they're being supported by a god which one is it? I haven't mentioned this to Sky because she'd probably start to hate me for it, but these organization members smell like my maker. I could potentially see ol' daddy wires considering me as rebelling and wanting to silence me, but I don't sense his presence on Bernadette. No, they smell more like a Lizard . . . And is that a hint of lamb? Both of those guys should be completely out of commission though. For the time being we should consider the worst possible scenario where both are completely back in action. Me and Sky are gonna have to kill a lot more things if we're to stand a chance. I'll also have to explain the wire leviathan to Sky eventually, but I'm not sure she's ready for it yet. Maybe after clearing Esu...]

So Lavalivarus had a connection to the wie leviathan huh? Well that doesn't matter right now. Their back pedaling and conversation has provided an opportunity to take back the momentum. I shoot foward aiming for their forearm. Sky reacts quickly and takes a defensive stance while starting to chant. Our swords clang while an ice spear materializes to my left and shoots towards me. Creating earth walls is almost second nature to me at this point so blocking it is a breeze.

"Chantless again?!"

A combination of their shock and my superior strengthening spells allows me to push them back. I'm about to go for the finishing blow when, when I hear something approaching rapidly. I barely manage to dodge to the side, but am still grazed by a second ice spear. Seems like they made two with that last spell.

[Isn't this pretty bad?]

[What do you mean?]

[If they keep casting chantless spells, aren't they going to keep growing exponentially?]

[Hmmm you should be right, but I don't feel an increase in pressure from them, so I don't think they're growing stronger.]

[Is the power boost a one time thing then? It shouldn't be since I learned about a king who casted chantless multiple times in history class and got stronger each time.]

[...It could be that they aren't casting chantlessly.]

After healing the gash left by their attack, I decide to interrupt their little powwow. I can't allow them time to figure out my advantage.

[Crack the Sky]

[Big surge again! Move]

Sky running full tilt manages to escape the radius of my attack for the most part thanks to Lavalivarus's warning, but loses most of her lower half in the process. Keeping up with the spirit of relentless offense, I rush towards my downed opponent. Sky hearing my rapid approach starts to panic.

"F.. F..FUCK [FLAME JAVELIN] [GUST]"

A decent course of action considering their circumstances. Using gust to move without their legs and flame javelin to cover their retreat. I either have to tank a hit from a upper-mid game attack spell or have to spend precious time blocking it, allowing them to regenerate. I decide to take the later option and turn the oxygen and hydrogen in the air into water forming a sheild to put out the fire so I can guard while moving foward. I instantly regret my decision because it results lots of steam obscuring my view.

[GUST]

Using the steam as an opertunity, Sky uses gust to reposition again meaning I have no clue where they are. However I suppose this fog isn't all bad. I use one of Garn's powers and turn myself invisible without my enemy knowing. I cast a mana detection spell to locate them through the cloud and get into position while I wait for the cloud to disapate.

[DAMMIT! She's getting away!]

[No I don't think that's the case. Why would she run when she had the advantage? She's likely used the opportunity to reposition like we have. Keep your guard up.]

[What even was that spell? I felt like it didn't fall into any of the normal elements of magic. It was almost like lightning]

[In all my years of existence, I've yet to see anything like that before.]

[Even you-

I cloak my blade in lightning and then strike.

[Unfamiliar mana behind us!]

They manage to get away. That mana detection is getting pretty annoying. Perhaps there is a way to mess with it? I scan through my knowledge of spells and realize I could make use of a certain spell now that I have my Garn appendage

[Summon 1]

I summon hydrogen into the surrounding air, then with a snap of my fingers electricity sparks igniting the gas. Acting before the flame disapates I use my new spell

[Flame armor]

Its a dragon spell that, as the name implies, makes fire into armor. Of course fire is still hot so usually only creatures with some kind of fire resistance can use it. Of course despite being very flammable I can still use it because of the type of flame I'm using. Hydrogen flames don't let off as much heat as other types of heat.

[Another big spell? How much mana does this bitch have?]

[Huh? Other than that small spark nothing seems to be happening though.]

Hydrogen flames also have another property though. They're almost completely invisible in bright environments and the sunny afternoon we're currently in definitely counts as a bright environment.

"Tch"

Sky's thought process shows on her face for the first time since the battle began as she clicks her tongue.

[I'm tired of waiting around for some big spell to come down. I'm going to take back the momentum.]

[Oi! Oi! The mana is still surrounding her you know!?]

Sky attempts to strike at me regardless of Lavalivarus's warnings and I let her.

[. . .Its still surrounding. . . HAHAHAHA I GET IT NOW! HOST SHE'S THROWING OFF MY-]

Sky swings Lavalivarus down on me. Usually you'd expect time to slow down as I make some desperate move to try and survive, but that doesn't happen. That only happens when you're incredibly stressed and I'm rather calm. The sword easily bounces off my armor. 

"...huh?"

There was a reason knights wore heavy plate mail armor. Its because there's no way a sword was gonna cut through it. Sure you can still be hurt with the blunt force of the hit, but swords are slashing weapons. They're not clubs or hammers. Lavalivarus can't damage me with physical attacks like this. Of course with enough water you could probably put out the flame armor though.

Of course I wasn't doing nothing while Sky was coming at me. I was preparing a few spells and now they're ready to fire off. I start with a [binding] spell. Then I create multiple iron platforms in the air using earth magic. Each of them held up in the air with magnetism. Even if this doesn't work out its gotta at least be flashy.

[Why can't I move?]

[Oh man... this spell really takes me back. Yeah I think I know whats up with this girl now.]

I jump up on each of the plat forms. Instead of landing on top of the final one I stick myself to its bottom. I create two metal rails on the bottom of the platform. One to my left and one to my right. Using electricity I give one a positive charge and the other a negative. 

I also prepare something that I've learned from Sha'kala. In game the more mele focused characters also had skills that used mana. I initially thought that was something that only exsisted in the game like stats, but I was shocked to learn from Sha'kala that they're real in this world. Of course I only learned the lowest level one so far, but I intend to use every bit of destructive power I can here. I can't help but smile as I get into stance. There's no way their arm survives this attack. The music quickens in pace as I release the magnetism keeping my feet on the platform and. . .

[Slash]

I become the pojectile of the railgun that I made. Push away all the air in my way with magic reducing air resistance. It also means I have to hold my breath but I'm moving so fast that I won't need to for long. Contact occurs so fast its a blurr. Even with all my body reinforcement I go splat and end up having to use up a substitution effigy.

My body reforms and I rise up from the large crater I made. What I'm met with is clapping. A bright smile is on Sky's face, but judging by their demeanor its probably Lavalivarus in control. Lavalivarus's blade is shattered, but their arm is still connected.

"Hahahaha. You're good kid. That's probably the most damage my blade has ever taken. Although I guess an attack of that caliber should be expected considering what you are. You are a dragon right?"

"B,but you were under the effects of binding! How?!"

"Dragons have been using that spell since long before Garnitharist fell. Did you really think that we wouldn't have a countermeasure developed by now? Although while I do say we I'm not really working with the people who developed the technique anymore."

I start to calm down after hearing their explanation. Time to switch gears to plan B. Fuuuuuuuu. . . Yeah you're prepared Sam. You got this. Giving up is early is the easiest way to fail. Conceding defeat will get you no where. 

The music undergoes a shift. I almost forgot about this short segment. The percussion calms and instead of the blaring electric guitars you get gentler acoustic ones as Sky's leitmotif plays. I remember when the cursed sword route was just discovered and people argued over whether Sky was innocent in the matter or not. Some music theory majors claimed this bit of the boss theme was evidence that Sky didn't want to take part in the slaughter. Personally I never bought it. Either way it serves as a short moment of calm. Almost like being in the eye of the storm.

[Hey why did you take over? She's my prey!]

Judging by Sky's eyes the two are wrestling over control.

[I'm going to be blunt here Sky. You can't win this. Maybe you could after wiping out all the life on Esu besides her, but as it stands now there's an actual chance we lose this. She knows our weakness]

Sky must've been in control at that moment because I see her visibly flinch.

[I know how much your revenge means to you, but what's the point if you die? Didn't we promise to help each other out? I'd help you get revenge and you'd help me become cut out the unnecessary from the world.]

[...]

[You are necessary to me. I . . . I care about you, Sky. I don't want to see you being hurt or dieing.]

[Ah Geez! . . . Fine just take care of it.]

[Don't worry I'll try and let you get the final hit in.]

While those two are busy having their touching moment I'm doing the healing the substitution effigy didn't. I'm kinda glad they decided to do the whole drama thing because if they charged me instantly I'd be dead meat.

Lavalivarus clears their throat and says,

"Ah you're almost done healing. That's great, but could you oblige a question of mine before we start round two?"

"And that is?"

"How did you know to sever my bond with my host. Are you the reincarnation of a former wielder or something?"

"Well that guess isn't necessarily wrong."

"Wait you really wer-"

[Shape Earth]

I form a large box around us and ready Livia's bow. Lavalivarus's blade looks repaired enough and the music is picking back up. It's time for round two.