Habiki cuts a confident grin upon getting Naki to accept the duel
"Good. The rule of our duel is simple: whoever gets knocked down first, loses"
she said, walking towards the center of the grounds, a few steps away from Naki
"Anything goes, so long as you achieve victory."
"We begin after 3 seconds of silence. Clear enough?" she asked
"Hmph! Let's get this over with." Naki goes to position and takes his stance.
His left arm stretched forward and right hand retracted, holding the sword while planting his feet strongly on the ground.
It was a stance that pointed to a leap attack from the word 'go'
Habiki lets out a charming smile and stands relaxed
She was neither taking a stance nor reaching for her staff
Naki waited for a while, realizing she wasn't gearing up
"!? Why are you not drawing your weapon?" he finally asked, relaxing his stance.
"Oh!? Haha. Now I get it!" she chuckled lightly, understanding why Naki wasn't attacking.
"There's no need. Besides, should I use my staff, we might have a casualty on our hands, and that is not the point of all this," she said with a sly smile.
"(An overconfident bluff)" Naki thought as his eyes narrowed on her fake smile.
"(Thanks to my memories the devil so kindly offered, I have experience in swordsmanship from my life as Nopheal)"
"(he may have been a failed prince, but growing up as a noble, he was made privy to the ways of the sword)"
Naki retook his stance and frowned.
"(Bait and retaliate in full, with that - I shall end this in one move)" he reignited his resolve
"Very well, prepare yourself," Naki said and stood ready
Habiki's gaze remained trained on Naki
3 seconds later -
Naki wanted to leap forward, but in that split second, Habiki had already covered the distance between them.
"Wha!? (She reacted faster!!!)"
Her quick and dainty feet caused her mystical bell to chime as she let out a smile.
For a moment, it appeared as if time slowed down as she readied a powerful force on her palm.
An attack meant for Naki's guts
"It's over" she announced
"crap!!! (I won't defend in time! she's got me!!)"
Though Naki was right, his devil sigil had other ideas as it shimmered rapidly
"Hmm!?" Habiki noticed the glow and immediately pulled away with an acrobatic. back flip
As if on cue, a pitch black wall of fire surrounded Naki like a defense mechanism
"Tsk - (just like my mistress said. That sigil is a threat)"
Habiki gritted her teeth in frustration as the firewall died down.
Naki looked in shock as well, then he quickly turned his gaze to the sigil, as its shine was slowly diminishing.
"(The devil's sigil...protected me?)" He thought, putting the pieces together
"Quite the interesting power you've got there, cursed child," Habiki said, concealing her hands inside her cloak.
"Pitch black fire - is it the same one that dealt in Zickler, I wonder?" she asked, curious
"..." Naki remained silent and simply returned to his stance
Habiki smiled at Naki's silent treatment
"If this is how you treat those offering you friendship, I dread to think about what you do to your enemies," she teased.
"(I still can't read her intentions)" Naki thought.
"(She's very agile, and makes quick decisions too. She's no amateur)"
Naki strengthened the grip on his sword and focused deeply
"(I can't hold anything back if I want to win this duel, and so!)"
Naki takes the first move this time, leaping forward with a thrust attack
Habiki side-stepped, dodging, but Naki expertly shifted from a thrust to a horizontal slash
Habiki skillfully slipped under the blade and repositioned behind Naki in one full movement
She moved as smoothly as a snake
"(How did she get behind me so quickly!!)"
Naki panicked, quickly turned around with a heavy vertical cut, but she dodged again.
She had room to counter but thought against it upon noticing the devil's sigil shimmering again.
Instead, she chose to jump back, flicking her bell earring in the process as it chimed.
"(My illusion bell chimes - take the bait, cursed child)" Habiki had just laid a trap
"I won't let you!"
Naki seized the initiative this time to close the distance
Then he unleashed the attack he was practicing before Habiki showed up
"SWEEPING SLASH!!!"
SLASH! He struck, but the attack passed through Habiki as her imagery rippled like water.
"!!? A mirage?" Naki exclaimed
"Illusions Cast - " she said from behind Naki
"Wha!"
Naki suddenly felt his world turning upside down as he was brought to the ground in style with an aikido-like move by Habiki.
"Fortuitous Bell," she concluded as Naki crashed on the ground in front of her.
Looking up at the sky, he was still confused as to what had just happened
"I win," she said and offered a hand to help Naki up
"..." he reluctantly accepted as Habiki helped him up
"Apologies for being so rash, but I had to act fast. Your devil sigil would've reacted in time to burn me to crisps otherwise," she said, letting go of Naki's hand
"!? How do you know about the sigil concealed within my gloves?" Naki asked
"Oops... I shouldn't have said that," she smiled
"(She knows far more than she's letting on isn't she)" Naki thought
"Well, with our deal done - will you like to take a break first, or shall we start with our first lesson right now?" she changed the topic
"...While you seem to have some knowledge about my sigil, I still can't take the risk. I'm sorry."
Naki put away his sword and started returning once again
Habiki stretched her arm forward and held his arm
"Bu-but what about our duel? I won fair and square, didn't I?" she protested, this time lacking her usual composure.
"And I will be your student, but not in magic," Naki said, pulling his arm away from her grip.
"After all, the deal never specified, did it?" he said with a cunning smile and resumed walking away.
Habiki's fists were vibrating; she had no counter against this, for he was right.
"1 duel. You vs. Me. If you win, I leave. If I win, you become my student."
Those were her words
"You-you don't play fair!! you-you cheat!!" she lashed out angrily
Naki stopped walking
"Hmph, I suppose you aren't familiar with the concept of trust."
Naki turned and stared at her with a stern expression
"A fair warning to you: never act without ensuring a win-win situation," said Naki to the disbelief of Habiki.
Then, just as he wanted to leave
"I see Lucille taught you well, devil child."
Naki stopped, paralyzed by the words he'd just heard.
He quickly turned around to find that Habiki had dropped the desperate act and had regained her composure.
"(How-how does she know?)" He frowned, not out of anger but fright.
His identity had just been discovered, and he needed to establish if the person in front of him was friend or foe.
"Lucille spoke to me," Habiki revealed
"!?"
"You and I are kindred souls, you see."
"Kindred souls? What do you mean?" Naki enquired
"We share something in common - we are both marked by supreme beings."
Habiki pointed to her mystical bell earring
"My soul is bound to my mistress, Keifa, and you-"
She pointed to Naki's glove that was wearing out as a result of their duel
"By none other than the devil Lucille," she said
Naki stared at her bluntly, realizing she might know everything about his situation.
"If you knew all this, knew all about the power, the disaster I can cause if I use my magic, then why come here? Why the lie about training me in magic?"
"That was no lie. I do want to train you, Naki, because your life is in danger."
"Huh?" Naki was stunned, not sure if he got that right
"Yes, for 2 reasons to be precise."
Habiki started walking calmly towards him.
"First, the divine council knows you're here and about your ties to Lucille."
"They've sent an agent after your life, and currently, they're in this world searching for you."
"An agent of the divine council?"
Habiki nodded.
"With what happened to Zickler, it's only a time before they piece everything together and come to this place," Habiki said
"(it may all be a lie, but before I play the suspicion card and risk her concealing further information, I should let her reveal the 2nd reason)"
Naki scowled and asked
"And what's the second reason?" he demanded an answer
Habiki was now within arms reach and pointed to his devil sigil once more
"The devil's sigil. If I'm correct, it's now 5 sub 7, right?"
Naki hastily reached to cover his right hand with his left
"How did you?" he asked
"My mistress Keifa knows, and she speaks to me."
"Should the 7th circle be filled - well, let's just say - your bargain comes to an end, and not in a good way," she said bluntly.
"(her story about the sigil coincides with what grandma said, but then what of the other reason, is it just an elaborate threat to make me more subservient to her demands?)"
Naki contemplated his options for a short while and then asked
"And why should I believe your words?"
"Why shouldn't you?" she countered with a subtle smile
Naki considered his options once again - "Let's say I do, why do you care if I live or die?"
Naki asked sternly.
Habiki stared deeply into his eyes, choosing her next words carefully
"Because Naki, you are the key - to saving all worlds from the looming threat everyone else fails to see."