"You sure you wanna go a few rounds, things could go pretty bad~?" Neil was so eager today, the two now given another chance. They had returned to the same open area had arrived in, Klein glancing up in thought.

Maybe there would be a way to get back up? It only irritated him just thinking about it.

"Like what? Lose miserably? Don't you remember what happened last time?" Klein asked, to which his younger brother laughed in response.

"I kicked your ass last time, this very knife was to your throat...!" Neil cockily brought the weapon to his mouth, letting his tongue move across the shiny blade to it's tip. The act disgusted his older brother, actively cringing in response.

That was something he didn't need to do.

"Gross, should've known you were a freak." Klein was disgusted at the gesure, while Neil smirked at the reaction. At least he got his brother distracted. Now it was time for phase two of his master plan, putting his knife in a backhand grip. Klein watched his brother with widened eyes as he brought out a sword, one weapon in each hand.

"Relax Klein, it was just for fun. You take things way too seriously now." Neil dug his heels into the grass, getting into a suitable posture. His hand holding a knife, now close to his right shoulder, whilst the sword he held now pointing towards Klein. There were now engravings on the silver sword, as he could barely make out a name on the blade.

Klein couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"What?" Neil was confused, his older brother turning way to cover his face. Recomposing himself, Klein turned back seemingly normal in expression.

"You look like your average generic anime protag," Klein reached to his hip, pulling out the sword from his handle. What he pulled out looked to be just your ordinary sword, sliding his right foot forward getting into a stance of his own.

"You're holding a sword like a samurai and I'm the average one?" Neil said, watching as his older brother's face turned to a frown.

"... Shut up." The irked response from Klein got a snicker from Neil, as the two stood across from one other. Klein held his two-handed, his right side angling towards Neil as the others watched on. Amari and Laila watching from the sidelines, a bit surprised he hadn't put on his gloves. Was he that confident in his own abilities? To fight his younger brother without the use of magic?

Guess they were about to find out.

Klein and Neil were at a standstill, momentarily looking at each other, seeing who would make the first move. Neither wanted to move, lest they give the other an opening to attack. Those few seconds felt like hours, as the younger brother was starting to get impatient.

"So you're not gonna move? Fine, I'll start!" Klein brought his sword forward, as he rushed towards his younger brother. He moved close to his younger brother thrusting forward, attempting to poke his sibling between the eyes.

Neil, too distracted by his impatience was writhing on the ground as a bruise was on his forehead.

"You're not even focusing, how'd you fight off those goblins?" Hearing that caused Neil to kick his brother in the shin, as Klein went down on one knee. Neil quickly recovered, avoiding an anger-filled slash by his brother as he rolled back.

"Like this!" He brought his sword to the ground, swinging it down and tried to catch his brother off-guard. Klein thought fast and pushed his back to the ground, narrowly avoiding a wooden blade hidding his neck.

Now on the offensive, the younger brother brazenly swung at his sibling in many combos of thrusts and slashes.

Amari and Laila watched as the two began to duel, the latter looking a bit disappointed.

So unrefined... Laila thought, turning her attention to the bag between the two as she brought a sandwitch out to eat. Passing one to the demihuman, both began munching down as the duel continued.

He had hoped that his older brother would make some sort of mistake, that his endless assault would create an opening. But as Klein continued to stay on the defensive, Neil felt his grip on his wooden sword wanning. He didn't want to admit it, but his brother was good at avoiding things.

Neil needed to figure out something else.

"I knew we should've taken those kendo classes when we were kids!" Klein said, as his brother rushed in for another thrust. Tilting his head to the right, Klein held firm as he shoulder-tackle his little brother. Neil went tumbling back onto the ground, rolling away as Klein followed behind.

He was a bit unimpressed, who knew his brother would be so predictable. Whenever Neil would get close, he would always try to go in for a thrust aimed towards his head. Klein grimaced what would've happened had someone else figured this out, and used this to take advantage of his little brother.

"Dammit-!" Neil scrambled to find his sword, having dropped in due to the force from Klein. He grabbed the first thing he could see, picking up his wooden knife before he felt something poke the back of his neck. Turning around, Neil slowly let go of his knife, leaning back onto the ground having already lost what was really important.

Looking up, he found Klein with an almost confident expression, shaking his head.

"Twice the pride, double the fall." A snicker of laughter escaped his mouth, bringing his sword down to try and contain himself. Neil grimaced, rolling to his side before picking up his sword. He brought his arms to the same pose he had before, a now feeling a bit self-conscious.

"... Is it really that bad?" Neil felt Klein pat his back, having calmed down but still with an obvious smile. Maybe it would've been good against someone with a more serious attitude, but not against his brother.

"Yeah, it does." Klein said, walking a fair distance away from his brother. Standing in a similar spot from when they first started sparring, Neil's older brother brought his index finger up.

Klein was ready for some more.

Heh... Neil's eyes sharpened as he went back to the same dual-wielding stance. His expression was serious this time, eyebrows furrowing as he dug his heels. Klein shook his head in disappointment, guess there was no helping in presenation.

'"Round two...!" Neil brought his blades up as he rushed towards his brother once again, a glint in his eyes as Klein knew he was finally taking this more seriously now. This time, he wouldn't be as quick to go on the offensive.

Going for a thrust with his sword, Neil quickly deflected it with his blade before moving in. Attempting for a shoulder-tackle, Neil was met with a wooden hilt smashing into his face. Stepping back, Neil felt his left knee buckle as Klein stomped on his upper thigh.

But in one swift motion, Neil used his free hand and twisted his entire body around in an attempt to slash his brother's right side.

The two locked eyes as they clashed blades, noting Klein's smirk as they carried on with their sparring match.

Laila continued to analyse the two, taking note of the sweat leaking from Klein's body. He was beginning to wear down from the endless assault.

The two were near-equal in their abilities, with Klein being far more experienced in combat as he quietly weaved around his younger brother's sword slashes. Each time Neil would throw out an attack, Klein would instictively move to counter it and avoid if necessary.

But Klein lacked the stamina, and he made up for in fighting-smarts and knowledge of his younger brother.

Being the more athletic of the two, Neil certaintly held the advantage in almost every other aspect. He had a drive, a hunger to succeed despite his predictability. As such, he held more promise between the two of them, even more supported by his lack-of illness.

He had a thrill for the fight, something Klein loved to take advantage of.

"Y-You're really trying aren't you?!" Weaving his head to the side, he managed to dodged a thrust aimed to his head. Moving inches away from Neil's face, Klein brought his head and slammed it towards his brother's. Neil reeled back in pain, forgetting to keep his guard up as Klein went for an uppercut.

Klein could hear the crunching of teeth, grabbing his brother before he could collapse onto the floor.

"It's over... Mr Klein won again..." Amari said, turning to grab her sandwitch from Klein's back before finding nothing. Confused, she looked to Laila was was currently munching on her sandwitch. "H-Hey!"

"Oh, sorry kid I didn't know." Laila attempted to apologise, only to find the demihuman pouting. Klein was about to give Laila an earful when he felt his brother tear away from his hand. Neil's eyes had begun to dilate, the white area blackening as his expression began to frown.

Klein watched as his brother's body began to darken, a black liquid ooze cover his body except the head and legs. Everywhere else couldn't be spotted, as he still had clothes on.

Klein looked on with curious eyes, wiping off a sweat from his brow. This could get ugly if he doesn't play his cards right. "So... How're you feeling Neil?"

"Fuck you."

"Why are you mad? I beat you fair and sq-" Klein felt his stomach hurl, as his brother was suddenly in front of him. His brother was pissed, he knew that, but that uppercut must've hit a little too hard. Enough that Neil would get so angry that'd lose control and turn into a black slime monster hybrid thing. Klein could feel the air leave his lungs, flung into the air with no ground in sight.

The bastard can't take a loss now...?! With barely enough time to register what was going on, he soon found himself being caught by his brother, slammed right back into the ground. Klein quickly use the blunt end of his sword and slammed it against Neil's head, who threw him in Amari's direction.

Amari watched in fear, quickly grabbing a leather glove with the lightning insignia and threw it to Klein. Putting it on, Klein turned just in time to find his brother rushing with both wooden swords in-hand ready to thrust.

"INPULSE EVA!" Klein shouted, as the familiar surge of electricity latched onto Neil's arms as he dropped both blades. Shaking his arm off, Neil leapt back into action with his black arms ready to catch his brother. Klein raised his hand, catching another wooden sword thrown by Amari before running forward to clash blades with his seemingly berserk younger brother.

But what came afterwards was a surprise to Klein and those watching their sparring match.

In one swift motion, Neil let his body drop to the floor, going for his brother's legs instead. Reeling his arms back, he aimed them both to Klein's left knee. Klein cursed as he felt his knee buckle, as Neil had kicked him in the perfect spot. Trying to block with both hands, he found himself skillfully disarmed by Neil as he tried to stand back up.

I'm taking this win, brother...! With his victory close at hand, Neil brought his brother's sword back and went in for a finishing thrust.

"Neil wait-!" Laila quickly got up, trying to stop one of them from killing the other.

"It's ok Miss Laila," Laila looked back to see Amari, relatively calm about the whole thing. She pointed back to the fight, as the mage checked back on the brothers. To her surprise, this was not the case at all as the sword stopped.

Sweat dropped down all over Klein's face, panting as Neil gave a smirk.

"Looks like you can't play the long game."

"Fuck... you... Ha ha..." He brought his brother's sword down, giving himself a moment to rest. Neil was right, he really can't last that long in a fight.

"You really need to work on your cardio,"

"-And you swing like you're in a drama play, but we can't all be perfect." Klein said, as the two brothers stared each other down. The mood felt awkward to Amari and Laila watching, who didn't like the glares both brothers were giving.

Were things going to get hostile again?

"Whatever the case, we have our goals. Now all we need..." Neil brought his hand down, helping Klein back to his feet. The brothers smiled at each other, before turning to the two observers.

"Is a.. Little routine!"

"Is a feed..!"

Ah- Klein looked to his brother, who was just as confused. The two had said the wrong things, as both soon burst out into laughter. Klein couldn't keep himself up, holding onto Neil as the two could barely control themselves.

Laila watched awkwardly as the two managed to catch their breaths, walking back to the two sitting down.

"Klein's down, so you're up next Amari." Amari felt her heart stop, looking back to Laila for some sort of help. Laila had already frozen up, as Amari was dragged onto the field in defeat. "L-Lailaaaaaa...."

"I'm sorry Amari... Hang in there...!"