In just a few minutes, they stepped onto the training grounds.
As Damon's gaze locked on Henry across from him, Henry's voice resounded. "Don't bother holding back, I know you have a powerful sword technique. You'll need it."
Damon almost smirked.
Although he was confident in winning against Henry with his technique, he didn't think he'd gain anything if the fight ended too quickly. Instead, he chose to add a layer of psychological warfare; he opted to use a set of wooden daggers to match Henry's
'He'll probably think I'm underestimating him and become even more aggressive, but it might be worth it… if I reach a breakthrough.' Damon mused.
This action attracted the attention of everyone.
The crowd stirred, whispers breaking out like sparks catching fire. They hadn't seen Damon using daggers until now. Everyone understood this meant he had no intention of seriously fighting Henry as equals.
'Why would they? 'Fin frowned, failing to grasp Henry's motive for challenging Damon. The others around him had already started a heated discussion, and their murmurs quickly grew louder.
"Huh, he's not using a sword?"
"I heard Damon's struggling with his technique….Maybe that's why he's not using his sword."
"Who do you think is going win?"
"Obviously… Henry will, he's much faster".
"No way, although he might be faster, Damon's definitely more skilled. He did beat Vincent in a sparring match the other day."
Damon felt his sibling's reactions were too exaggerated, but seeing Henry's face go red like a tomato, he knew his provocation was successful. Tightening his grip on his daggers, he calmly responded to Henry.
"If you're ready…Let's begin."
Hearing his words, Henry charged towards him from the other end, pouncing on him like a hungry tiger.
His speed was impressive, yet Damon was able to match him, exchanging blow for blow.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Reinforced with Spiritual energy, their wooden weapons cracked with every clash. The flurry of slashes blurred into a storm, neither side yielding an inch. It seemed as if they were evenly matched.
Bang! Damon parried an upward slash and countered, slashing towards Henry's left side ribs.
Henry quickly twisted his body, anticipating the move. He parried, throwing a slash with his right dagger, and then countered with a straight jab, stabbing toward Damon's face.
Taking a step back, Damon just barely dodged that lethal strike before throwing out a right kick toward Henry's legs.
Seemingly prepared, Henry jumped slightly and used his right leg to hook under Damon's, throwing him off balance.
'Dammit… he's getting faster.' Damon could feel the pressure building with each blow they exchanged; however, the thought of concedding nevered his mind.
Tilting his body, he pushed off his stable leg and slashed towards Henry in a whip-like maneuver.
Seeing this, Henry once again twisted his body, avoiding the strike before countering with a brutal spinning kick to Damon's right.
Bang! The force behind it sent Damon crashing to the ground, his vision blurring for a moment. But Henry gave him little time to breathe.
Sensing danger, he rolled over, barely avoiding the downward strike, then sprang up.
Taking a deep breath, he charged towards Henry, clashing dagger once again. Yet with each strike, bruises were slowly being accumulated on his body.
****
Knock! Knock!
"Mother, you called for me?"Vincent asked, standing before a closed wooden door. He had suddenly been summoned by their mother while having a conversation with Ethan, but he had a feeling he knew why.
"You may enter."
Without wasting any time, he opened the door and stepped into the office.
Before him, his mother, Morrigan, sat with her back straight, gloves leafing through a short stack of files.
The afternoon sun filtered through the glass window at the far end of the room, spilling light across her form. Blurring the features of her face, it sharpened her gaze, and her eyes glimmered vividly.
Walking around the two sofas and coffee table lined vertically in the center of the room, he slowly approached her desk.
"How did it go with Damon?"
Vincent provided a brief summary of their conversation before adding, "He should be ready for a mission after he finishes some basic reading."
"Good, I just found the perfect one," Morrigan said as she slid two sheets of paper from a file over the desk.
Vincent scanned the first sheet of paper, his brow furrowing. 'A mission like this might leave trauma. ' He was shocked his mother would even suggest such a thing.
"Umm…are you sure, Mother? Something like this for their first mission… seems like too much."Vincent asked with concern. He had hardly ever questioned his mother's decisions, but he didn't think this was the right decision.
The next moment, her eyes narrowed as she tapped her right index finger on the table. The muscles of her brow creased, making her appear irritated. After a while, she exhaled deeply and returned to her usual self.
"Is something wrong, Mother?"Vincent asked.
"Damon and Henry are fighting in the training area. Break it up before Henry gets hurt," Mother Morrigan said calmly.
'What!' Confused, Vincent's thoughts took a pause; he didn't bother probing further. Instead, he dashed out of the office frantically. "Those idiots!"
***
"..I'm Disappointed Damon, I thought you'd be better than this."
Henry's cold voice descended on Damon.
He stood a few meters ahead, with a stoic expression.
"You're pretty skilled with daggers." It was clearly an empty compliment, considering he wasn't looking at Damon. Instead, his eyes remained glued to the damaged Daggers in Damon's hands.
After a moment, he continued, his tone laced with mockery, "But you won't beat me without a sword."
"I'm starting to think this was never about Cassie."Responding, Damon struggled to catch his breath.
"If you just really wanted to fight, why use the pretense of defending Cassie?"
Upon hearing his remark, Henry went silent for a moment, then said, "You're right, I should probably end this." He charged at Damon once again, slashing twice in quick succession.
He was fast, but this time Damon was faster.
Abruptly tossing one of his daggers into the air, he swiftly twisted his body to the side, blocking the first attack with the dagger in his right hand.
Bang!
He then intercepted the second strike, grabbing Henry's wrist with his left hand before twisting, allowing the dagger to fall from his hand.
Quickly pulling him close, Damon increased his output and followed up with a slash of his own.
"What!?" Startled, Henry swerved his body to dodge the strike. Throwing off Damon's left hand and countering with his right arm.
Wrapping his right arm over Damon's right shoulder, he simultaneously applied pressure to bend Damon's forearm using his left arm.
"Ugh!" Just then, Damon noticed Henry was trying to drag him to the ground and disable his shoulder. Acting quickly, he braced his left arm against Henry's right elbow.
Meanwhile, his right leg swung with incredible force into Henry's right side.
Henry attempted to dodge the deadly kick by releasing his hold on Damon's arm.
Capitalizing on that moment, Damon was able to easily reverse the hold, locking him in place with his arms. "You're not going anywhere, bastard. Your technique's not working anymore!"
It took him a while to figure out why Henry seemed so much faster, but once Damon discovered his nervous system was subtly being tampered with, he was sure it was Henry's technique at play, slowing him down. After that, reinforcing his nerves to prevent it was simply child's play.
Realizing he couldn't escape Henry, he further reinforced his body to tank the hit with spiritual energy.
With a bang, the kick connected, almost knocking the wind out of his lungs.
Seizing the moment, Damon continued his retaliation. He pulled back his fist, then punched toward Henry's head.