Cassius also used the same kick. The only difference was that he held a heavy sword in his right hand, unlike the Katana that Tristan had held in his left hand.

"Your strength is good, but your speed still sucks," Tristan mocked as he appeared behind Cassius abruptly just when the foot of Cassius was about to connect to his face.

​​

"And there, the first strike," Tristan said calmly as the tip of his sheath touched the back of Cassius.

He hadn't taken out his sword, but he was implying that if he did, the sword would have penetrated Cassius.

"I told you. Your friend has no chance. You lost," Alicia told Lucifer, smiling.

"I don't see it that way. You should look carefully," Lucifer replied, not the slightest bit fazed. He could see what Alicia hadn't noticed.

Even Tristan noticed it by now as he looked down to see the top of a Heavy Sword resting a few inches away from his stomach.

It was clear that if Cassius hadn't stopped, Tristan would have been impaled by now. Both of them were at a standstill. It was just that Tristan hadn't noticed previously.

"I know that my speed isn't comparable either. But that's why I've trained my reflexes and my awareness of surroundings. Strike one from me too," Cassius said calmly as he lowered his sword and turned to face Tristan.

Raia stood on the roof, observing Tristan. He didn't react much from what could be seen on his face, but he was pleasantly surprised. It was clear that Cassius had baited Tristan and Tristan fell for it.

"Very clever," Kellian muttered, amused. "Even though it's a Training Battle only, it's pretty intense."

"I guess both the swordsmen are taking this battle as a way to decide amongst themselves. I wonder who will actually win," Raia responded.

"But still, Tristan hadn't even taken out his sword. He's a completely different being when he does that. He's still playing around, it seems," he added.

Lucifer didn't comment and simply observed the battlefield, while Alicia's smile also disappeared as she realized that it wasn't the victory she was claiming it to be.

"Intriguing. Why is your control with a Heavy Sword so good? Generally, the disadvantage of a Heavy Sword is its heaviness which in turn causes slow movement. But I don't see it affecting you. You're using it as if it's as light as a feather," Tristan complimented as he also stepped back.

He really hadn't expected such swift movement by Cassius involving his sword, as he had made a preconceived notion because of the sword size.

"That isn't something you should assume on your own. For a swordsman, his sword is like a part of his body. How fast or slow he moves it depends on himself," Cassius responded calmly.

"That's true as well. Let's make it a best of three in that case. I don't want such a fascinating battle to end so soon. The person who gets the next two strikes first wins," Tristan suggested.

Cassius nodded to the suggestion. "Fine with me."

...

" I still can't believe that we're going to be in an all-out War. It is finally the time for that after playing around for so long. It's good. I was starting to get bored."

"Me too. Can't wait to have some fun!"

Inside the Variant Uprising helicopters, a group of Variants was talking amongst themselves. They had been told to prepare and leave in a hurry.

Even though hours had passed since that moment, they were still as excited as ever about getting to go to War.

The only ones who were uncertain were the new recruits that had joined in the last eight years.

Each level of Variant Uprising had a different set of helicopters that were carrying their team. But the one in the lead was the only one who accompanied the leaders.

Inside the leading helicopter, the two remaining leaders of APF were sitting alone, discussing about what's to come. The leaders happened to be Isona and Dion. As for Caen, he was gone from what they understood.

The Level One Squad was given a different leader, but without Caen, they didn't seem to have the same importance as before.

"What are the chances of us winning?" Isona asked Dion as she looked outside.

"Pretty high as long as the Hunter Union doesn't join," Dion responded.

"And if the Hunter Union joins?" Isona asked, curious.

"Then it would depend," Dion answered calmly. His pale face was looking at the floor of the helicopter where he could see an ant walking.

"Depend on what?" Isona asked, frowning.

"On Lucifer and that girl's strength. Facing two Warlock Kings will be the toughest part along with facing their army of powerful Variants."

"They will be more than us. The only way we can win in that case is if we overpower their numbers with brute force," Dion commented, stomping on the small ant.

"And Alicia and Lucifer will be the key to make it happen," he added.

"That's true. I wonder how much that kid has grown. From what I heard of his actions, he hasn't changed even a little," Isona commented.

"That's right. He hasn't changed much at all. He's still as ruthless, I think. It's hard for a person to change from that," Dion responded. "But it'll be good for us. The more ruthless he is, the harder he will fight for our cause."

"That's right. The next few days are going to be pretty intriguing." Isona nodded.

....

While a lot of Variants were advancing towards the city of Kensington, sitting in expensive helicopters, Cassius and Tristan could be seen moving from place to place as they fought against each other.

A battle of swords had somehow turned into a battle of Martial Arts as the two of them tried to get a lead on their enemy.

The two of them only used one of their hands to fight while leaving the other hand to hold the swords which weren't being used.

At one point, the two of them were moving so fast that even Alicia found it hard to keep a track of them.

"Why aren't they using swords? What kind of battle is this? They're both equally strong in fighting skills. They should fight with swords, shouldn't they?" Alicia asked, curious.

"They are trying to gauge each other. To show that they are more than just swordsmen. But I doubt they can keep it up for long. The frustration should soon kick in. As you said, they're both equally skilled in fighting, after all," Raia responded.

It happened just as he had expected as Tristan seemed frustrated at not being able to have an advantage.