It was a beautiful night. Little stars dotted the sky like diamonds while a sweet breeze swept the land. Such a scene should have been peaceful, however…

BRRRRRR!!

WHOOSH!

CLANG!

The ground was ripped apart as a black ax flew though it with unprecedented speed. Bits of stone and dirt were sent into the air as it traveled, creating thick clouds in its wake. However, as it traveled, it suddenly met with something followed a flash of light as it was deflected into the air.

“Not bad, Cisse, but you are going to need more than that to take me down!”

CRACK! WHOOSH!

The ground beneath where the ax was deflected suddenly fractured, followed by a blur of a man dashing and through the clouds of dust.

Dashing towards Cisse, Siegfried roared. “Ascalon, AWAKEN!”

A deep roar suddenly shook the surroundings as something magical began to happen to the bastard steel-edged sword in Siegfried’s hand.

Beginning from the hilt, dragon-like scales started to appear. The scales were gold and black, traveling down to the blade before forming a sword guard in the shape of a dragon claw. From the center of the guard then came a silvery light. It shined on the blade’s entirety, bending and straightening certain areas until a smooth silver blade appeared.

Just as this transformation concluded, Siegfried has arrived before Cisse.

In response, Cisse clenched the ax in his hand tightly.“Ohene, OBEDIENCE!”

BOOOM!

As the two weapons met, a crater formed followed by a large shockwave that blitzed into the surroundings, ripping and tearing plants apart.

WHOOSH!

Both parties split, landing on opposing edges of the crater.

“That was a pretty good, warm-up.” Laughed Cisse as he reached out a hand calling Ohenemaa back.

Siegfried grinned.“Agreed, let's take this up a notch.“

…

As for how this scene came to be…

…

The following week after learning Flow, the next part of the month-long military training began, martial training.

Though not prominent, Arthur had a tendency to be a perfectionist. Hence he wanted the soldiers of Avalon to be cable of using both swords and bows, covering both short and long-range combat.

And thus, he had people deliver combat bows and steel-edged bastard swords.

Of all the bows he could have chosen, he went with combat bows because of their power, accuracy, and ease of use. As for the bastard swords, it was because of their versatility, reach, and durability.

The bows were made by Lu Ban by mixing together different types of woods to create a sturdy but flexible bow. Whereas the swords were made by Tubal. However, due to the limited quantity of steel capable of being produced, they had to compromise and edge iron swords with steel instead. Though not as strong or durable as full steel swords, the swords still maintained a semblance of their sharpness.

Nevertheless, after handing the soldiers swords and bows, Arthur began to guide them in new training art.

The art consisted of a set of unique basic sword and bow skills, with the primary goal of laying a foundation that an individual could build on as they wished.

In combination with Flow, the soldiers picked it up very quickly. Flow allowed them to have better control over their bodies and energy, thus making every the took as efficiently as possible. And soon after a week, they had all mastered it and were now creating their own move sets that perfectly fit them.

Cisse and Siegfried, on the other hand, were free from this as they already had their own fighting style and skills. And thus took this week as self-training to better understand their abilities and fix any issues.

It was also during this time that Siegfried’s ability evolved once more, while Cisse finally figured out the current state of his body after the dungeon.

Following martial training week was a military exercise of capture the flag, with Cisse and Siegfreid as the team captains. The purpose of this exercise was to combine everything everyone had learned thus far utilize the, in an actual combat situation.

The exercise started out as a game of brains between the two teams as they tried to outwit and outmaneuver each. But much to their surprise, no matter what they did, they always ended up countering one another. Though it frustrated each team to no ended, it brought a smile to Arthur’s face.

And thus, after countless ploys and tactics, both teams decided to settle things the old fashion way. Which led to the current standoff between Siegfried and Cisse.

…

DRRRR! DROOOM!

WHOOSH!

Two formidable aurae suddenly burst forth.

The white tattoos on Cisse suddenly turned crimson as the air around him began to whirl. Compared to when he fought Arthur, this aura was significantly stronger and more controlled. Arthur, who was observing from afar, smiled at this. ‘I knew he was holding back, but I didn’t think it was by this much. That red pool he mentioned, could it have…’

While Cisse’s aura climbed, Siegfried’s also soared. Dragon-like scales began to appear all over his body like armor. And Underneath his feet appeared a small bronze circle followed by three-rings, - peak lunar core, tri-ring. And similar to Cisse, the air around him also went turbulent. It was also at this time that it dawned on Arthur why Siegfreid was chosen to be in charge of the security of the others. He was one of the few people who could evolve their ability without hitting the peak of a celestial stage and thus allowing him to fight others stronger than him. Of course, the catch was that he wouldn’t be able to fight very long with such a limited amount of energy. However, whether it mattered in this matchup or not…..

DRRRM! TSHK!

Both parties suddenly disappeared from their positions.

TING! TING! TING! SHING!

Flashes light of began to appear all over the field, creating an enthralling light show. Each slash and cut were smooth and fluid. And each block and dodge were well-timed and effective. There was no waste in this exchange, but pure efficiency.

WHEW!

An ax suddenly whipped pass the side of Siegfried’s face, as Cisse stepped forward with an upper slash.

Siegfried grinned,”Cute.”

A blackish golden light blitzed from Siegfried.

FITCHWING! BOOM!

An explosion rocked the land, as Cisse was sent flying into the air.

TSHK!

Giving him no time to recover, Siegfried jumped into the air as a large golden circle appeared behind him. It moved forward past Sigfried's body, before shrinking and condensing on Ascalon.

“Ascalon! FULL DESCENT!”

SCHWINN!

A massive golden slash raced down from the sky.

Cisse, who just landed with a tosh, saw this and slammed the ground with his ax, forcing his body to fly off to the side.

BOOOM!

Golden light filled the area, as bits of trees and earth filled the air.

Suddenly a whizzing sound came from behind Siegfried. Turning around at the last second, Siegfried saw a flash before instinctually moving Ascalon to block.

BANG!

Sent, flying into the ground, Seigfried heard another whiz as another ax was sent flying at him. ‘Tch!’

Another bang sounded as Siegfried barely managed to put up a guard in time. As Siegfried was once again sent flying, Cisse leaped into the air.

“Ohene, Ohenemaa! HOWL!”

Both axes flew into Cisse’s hands, as a blood-red light coalesced them.

“Ascalon! ARISE!”

A black slash soared into the air, just as Siegfried stabilized himself.

BOOOM!

A black and crimson light enshrouded the area as both attacks collided, causing a massive shockwave to rip through the area.

WHOOSH!

The shockwave sent Cisse further into the air, while Siegfried was sent whizzing across the ground.

In the air, a crimson aura burst forth from Cisse as he regained control. It was then that something mystical happened. For a second, Cisse seemed to be frozen in the air, and then almost as if legs were crouching on the ground he pushed.

ZZVRRRM! ZIPP!

Using the air as a platform, Cisse dived towards where Siegfried landed.

Siegfried, seeing Cisse’s descent, flipped to his feet and braced himself.

In a few seconds Cisse appeared in front of Siegfried. Something mystical happened once again. The area around Siegfried seemed to move, and with this movement, Siegfried guided Cisse’s attack off to the side and sent a kick to Cisse’s abdomen. Though the kick seemed slow, the power it packed sent Cisse whizzing into the distance with a whoosh.

As for what both parties had done, they simply took advantage of Flow. Cisse took advantage of Separation, which caused his person to separate from the influence of his surrounding. However, by doing this, he caused the air around him to resist his existence and thus making the air feel as though it was solid. And by releasing Separation, he was able to dive down. As for Siegfried, he simply took advantage of the Flow around himself and borrowed it to guide Cisse’s attack from his body.

If one was to ask what was Flow? It is simply anything that flows, such as thoughts and movements. These things that flow are accompanied by intangible energy that can be grasped and influenced. However, courtesy of the Realm , everything has a semblance of flow, and thus why it exists in all things and places.

Nevertheless, after flying for a bit, Cisse regained control.

It was at this moment that Arthur appeared on the field.

CLAP!CLAP!CLAP!CLAP!

“Why don’t we end it here for today? You guys are already at your limits.”

Both parties looked at Arthur, confused. They both felt that they could go on for a bit lon-“

CRACK! The sword in Siegfried’s hand suddenly shattered as his face became drastically paler.

Cisse, in turn, coughed a mouthful of blood as he landed on a knee.

As for why this happened, it was simply a side effect of using Flow. If one wasn’t careful in its use, they would find themselves focusing more and more on their environment and opposition. And thus completely disregarding themselves in the process. It was what happened to Arthur when he first fought Cisse, and completely missed developing the Devourer condition, much less the Devourer constitution absorbing the Cisse’s excess Terrest energy.

Nevertheless, as both Cisse and Siegfried realized this, they acquiesced the draw as Arthur sent a stream of golden energy into their bodies.

…

…

…

In the valley of a mountain pass, three people were making their way across. One of the three was a blonde male with a spear strapped to his back. Another was a black-haired male in black and blue leather armor. While the last was a beautiful young girl with a sword sheathed at her side.

After successfully escaping from the dungeon, Lancelot, Gawain, and Guinevere had been traveling all over the continent. Though it was primarily Lancelot and Gawain, who were interested in the effects the Realm changes that had brought, Guinevere decided to tag along since the general direction they were heading in was close to her town. And now, after a month-long trip, they arrived at a mountain pass that led to Guinevere's town.

After reaching the end of the pass, the group stopped and turned to one another.

“Thank you for letting me tag along this month. It’s was a great opportunity for me.” Smiled Guinevere.

Gawain simply nodded at this, whereas Lancelot smiled in return. “No problem. It was nice to have another person join us on our journey, especially some of such exceptional beauty.”

Guinevere giggled, while Gawain simply rolled his eyes.

Nevertheless, after saying their goodbyes, Lancelot and Gawain turned around while Guinivere headed further ahead.

…

After a few hours, Guinevere reached a walled town. The guards, upon seeing her, made haste and opened the gates.

As she walked through the gates and into the town, Guinvere’s charming countenance abruptly turned into a cold one. The tips of her black hair began to turn silver while her eyes shifted to crimson.

Interestingly, wherever she walked, the townspeople would kneel to her with hints of fear and respect.

Eventually, she made her way to the Town Manor, where a middle-aged man who bore a resemblance to her was already kneeling.

Disregarding him, she walked into the manor and sat on a throne. After a while, the middle-aged man walked in a kneeled once more.

Waving a hand, a few vials of liquids appeared. All but one of them contained a crimson-colored fluid. As for the exception, it was an ink colored liquid.

Pointing to two specific crimson vials, Guinevere spoke. “Take care of these, especially these two. As for the black one……, you know what to do.”

“Yes, my dear.”

.

.

[Tidbit 1: Siegfried’s ability, Dragon Slayer, initially just gave him increased, strength, agility, and durability. His first ring gave him dragonification, the second dragonkin, and the third Ascalon.]

[Tidbit 2: Ascalon is a spear or a sword used by Saint George to slay Dragons. Most often, Ascalon has always depicted has a spear more than a sword. As part of Siegfried's abilities, it can transform into either. But since it’s an ability and not physical weapon, a prerequisite to using it is to have a weapon already in hand to transform.]

[Historical Tidbit: Lu Ban was a Chinese carpenter, engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker, statesman, and contemporary of Mozi. He was born in the State of Lu and is the patron saint of Chinese builders and contractors. He was born in a renowned family during the Spring and Autumn Period when China was suffering from the chaos of civic wars between kingdoms. His original name was Gongshu Yizhi. He was also known as Gongshu Ban, but he was more commonly known as Lu Ban.]