Duelcrest Academy

Sophia and Valentine took their positions in front of the lectern, ready to clash.

The professor, who had arrived just a few moments earlier, had decided to postpone classes in favor of their duel. After all, the ultimate purpose of this school wasn't to educate us...

The barrier expanded, encompassing the two contenders.

In the meantime, the entire class seemed to have almost forgotten how to breathe. The last duel we had witnessed in that classroom had seen Sophia triumph, much to everyone's surprise. It was evident that everyone hoped today's result would be the same.

However, this time, Sophia's challenger was of a much higher caliber compared to the now deceased Montague.

Upon our return, Valentine seemed to have recovered from the initial surprise and had accepted the girl's challenge with enthusiasm. Although Sophia also possessed an unusual power, it was clear that the boy was not intimidated in the least.

The now familiar magical voice was almost at the end of the countdown.

...3

2

Strangely enough, neither of the two contenders assumed a fighting stance. As for Valentine, it was normal, after all he didn't really need a weapon to fight.

But even Sophia remained still, her sword still in its sheath.

1

Nothing happened. Sophia merely crossed her arms, a strange expression on her face.

"What is she doing?"

Even Valentine seemed caught off guard.

«What's the matter? Was it all a bluff? You thought I wouldn't accept and now you don't know what to do?» he asked contemptuously, «if you beg on your knees, maybe I'll accept your surrender,» he continued, laughing.

I saw some students shaking their heads in dismay.

However, I was certain that there was no chance Sophia wanted to surrender. She had to have a plan.

"What is she up to?"

I watched that strange girl sizing up her enemy with an uninterested expression, as if the thought of dueling Valentine bored her.

«You know... perhaps you're right. I've made a mistake in challenging you. Your power is so terrible that you could defeat me so easily. For fuck sake, you can just decapitate me with my own blood just like Stuart! What chances do I have against something like that? What was I thinking?!» declared Sophia in an over-emphatic dramatic tone, «so what's the point of fighting? Come on, get it over quickly.»

"She's provoking him."

But for what purpose?

Valentine merely stared at her. But he was no longer smiling.

In response to his silence, Sophia prompted him:

«So? Is there an issue? Don't you want to end the suffering of a poor little girl like me?»

"Man, her acting sucks."

But it seems she was succeding at pissing off her opponent.

«What are you talking about?» replied Valentine, gritting his teeth, irritated. But after a moment, he seemed to compose himself and smiled again, «I simply don't want to finish you off without having a bit of fun first.»

«Oh?» Sophia smiled in return, a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes, «curious... You said almost the same thing to Carl Stuart. Before killing him, you let him punch you for quite a while. Are you perhaps a masochist? I'm not sure I want to encourage such urges...»

I was following this verbal confrontation with the same attention I would have reserved for an actual fight.

Sophia was trying to push Valentine to attack her, but Valentine was being strangely reluctant to do so.

Based on what she had told me yesterday, I knew Sophia had serious doubts about the extent of Valentine's power. After her last words, I began to understand why.

Valentine could have defeated Carl Stuart instantly with his power.

Why hadn't he?

Valentine had said he liked to teach his opponents a lesson and to defeat them when they believed they had won.

But what if it was all just an act instead?

What if he hadn't killed Carl at the beginning of the fight because he couldn't, just like he couldn't do anything against Sophia right now?

As to comfirm my theory, the girl continued to taunt Valentine:

«You know, your power is truly fucked up! You could kill someone by cutting a few veins in their brain. Sure, the blood sword was a fascinating idea, but imagine what an impression you would've made if your opponent had suddenly dropped dead! "Valentine can kill you just by looking at you." How cool is that?»

Valentine clenched his fists. He was visibly getting annoyed.

«Why do you care so much about how I use my power?» he replied, «I just wanted to make a bit of a scene. Stuart was pretty much a walking dead man. I just played around 'cause I had already won from the start!»

«Well, I'm still waiting though... So far you haven't done anything to me...»

Faced again with Valentine's silence, Sophia decided to abandon her friendly facade and burst out:

«Don't think you can fool me like those other idiots. If you haven't killed me already, it's because you can't.»

After these words, she drew her sword, but she didn't point it at Valentine. Instead, she ran it over the palm of her hand.

"What the...?"

Crimson drops began to fall to the floor at Sophia's feet.

«See? This is my blood. Go on, turn it into a sword or whatever. What's wrong, too far away? Here, take it!»

She waved her arm violently. Blood splattered onto the ground near Valentine.

The latter could only clench his fists in evident frustration.

After a few seconds, however, he regained his usual smirk once again and addressed Sophia in a disdainful tone:

«I guess you think you're very clever, huh? Tell me, how did you figure it out?»

"What the fuck is going on?"

Valentine, for some reason, hadn't risen to Sophia's challenge. Could it be that he actually couldn't control the girl's blood...?

But if his control extended only to his own, then how did he decapitate Carl Stuart?

Sophia provided me with the answer.

«The fact that you killed Stuart only after lightly slashing his neck made everything too suspicious. Why wait? The only reason is that you actually needed that wound to kill him. When your blade struck him, your blood got into the cut, mixing with his, and you used it to decapitate him from the inside. Control other people's blood my ass. You just made everyone believe that your power was way scarier than it actually is.»

A murmur of surprise spread through the classroom.

Sophia's hypothesis, as convoluted as it was, made sense. Valentine seemed to have complete control over his blood, enough to change its shape and consistency rapidly.

It was very much possible that, when his crimson blade had scratched Carl Stuart's neck, Valentine had liquefied part of it, mixing his blood with his victim's. Once inside the wound, he could have transformed it back into a blade, tearing poor Carl's neck off.

But... wasn't it all a bit too far-fetched?

Could it be that Sophia had staked her life on what was a mere theory?

Valentine seemed to think the same. He burst into a hearty laugh and asked:

«Hahaha, and you would have had the guts to challenge me 'cause of this crazy theory of yours?»

From his tone, however, it was clear that he found nothing amusing about it. It seemed that Sophia had hit the mark after all.

«Exactly.»

The girl's voice exuded confidence.

«I admit, I wasn't sure I was right. But the odds were high. What convinced me is the fact that if you truly could control other people's blood, you would have already killed us all.»

Valentine seemed struck by this response.

«Mmmh, you're quite right...»

Strangely, despite his trick being uncovered, his smile widened.

I had a bad feeling.

«You truly are amusing!» he complimented his adversary, «congratulations, you got me. Unfortunately, you made a big mistake.»

«What would that be?» Sophia replied, completely unfazed.

«Well, you've discovered the limits of my power. Good for you. But you made a big mistake challenging me. If you had revealed my power to everyone else, perhaps you could have found someone actually capable of defeating me. But you... you don't stand a chance!» Valentine explained triumphantly, «from what I've seen, you handle yourself well with a sword. And your blade seems to be able to deflect magic. But, as you saw in my duel with dear Carl, fighting me in close combat is impossible. All it takes is one blow, and my blood will circulate in your veins. And then... you'll be as good as dead.»

After the initial enthusiasm, stemming from the discovery that his power wasn't as frightening as I thought, Valentine's words plunged me back into anxiety.

He was right. His blood blade made him extremely dangerous to fight in close quarters. The ability of his sword to change consistency made it almost unblockable. Furthermore, he could quickly change its shape and length, making it difficult to judge distances.

Valentine could be said to be Sophia's worst possible opponent. Her ability to fend off spells would be useless against him and her fencing skills wouldn't help much either, since Valentine was incredibly resilient to physical attacks.

But alongside the anxiety, I also felt something else. I was... annoyed?

Why had Sophia kept everything hidden from me during our conversation?

Cunning as she was, she surely had made the same assessments as Valentine.

If she had explained her hypothesis to me, I could have challenged him in her place. Unlike her, I could have kept my distance, bombarding him with all my magical power before he could attack me with his blood.

Perhaps, after seeing my frail mental state, she thought I would back out at the last moment?

Or maybe she didn't trust my abilities?

For some reason, both things stung deep.

But for now, my concern for Sophia's fate was more pressing.

I stared at her.

Valentine's words seemed to have not even slightly shaken her determination.

Sophia pointed her sword at her opponent.

«You're right. If you manage to hit me, you'll win,» she smiled, «but I have no intention of letting you land a single blow.»

The duel was finally about to begin.