wraithmarked
patreon
Chapter 23 Sneak Peek! - Stormweaver II
🕑 Added 2022-07-29 00:08:23 +0000 UTCNew chapter coming! It may be tomorrow afternoon or Saturday, but it's coooooming. And... Catcher is getting some "action" ;)
***********
“Yes! YES!” Viv was shouting beside Aria, and she glanced sidelong to find the others jumping up and down in excitement, with even Grant having cupped both hands around his mouth to shout encouragements. On the field before them, the tide of the battle had steadily given way to Rei’s superior combat ability, with Martin having been driven back more than a half-dozen steps from their point of initial clash. As fast as both of them were, neither had bothered trying to disengage from the fight to try a different approaching, knowing the other would be able to keep pace with any retreat and take advantage of any backpedalling or turned back. As a result, the fight—while not as vicious as some of the second- and third-year battles, maybe—was an acute example of the destructive power of even the youngest generation of Users, with weapons and limbs moving faster and faster and faster as Rei or Martin struck, block, countered, punched, kicked, ducked, or dodged more than dozen times in quarter that many seconds. It was an awesome sight—one that Aria was a little jealous of given her and Hippolyta’s lagging Speed spec by comparison—and she could imagine the awe being tenfold among the civilian spectators who were watching zoomed-in feeds from higher in the stands.
And then, as was so often the case, the end came in a blink.
While Martin might match Rei for Speed—a rare thing even among the Galens cadets—she didn’t match him for cunning. As he’d pressed her steadily back, Aria had watched with a familiar eye as Rei had grown more and more confident in the patterns of the Duelist’s attacks and defense, so she was only mildly surprised when a wide cross-swipe of Martin’s right blade came around low and quick, only to stop dead as Rei outright caught her by the wrist. From Viv’s other side Catcher gave a whoop of success that was immediately lost to the pitch in the cheering of the crowd as Rei proceeded to catch Martin’s other wrist when the girl seemed to panic and cleaved at him with a wild slash at his face that was telegraph long before the blow came. For a fraction of a second the two of them were locked like that, Rei fighting to keep his hold while Martin hauled back and twisted, trying to break loose.
She didn’t manage it before he seemed to find the proper footing, crouched, then rocketed upward in a jump that should probably would have shot Rei fifteen feet…
… if his knee hadn’t caught her in chin on the way up, of course.
There was a collective “OOOOOOH!” of sympathy from the stands as Martin’s head snapped back, Rei letting go of both of Duelist’s wrist just as the blow landed. She was lifted several feet off the ground under the impact of the hit, and Aria thought it like the match was already over. Rei, however, clearly wouldn’t be holding back against such a dangerous opponent until the moment the Arena called the match, because he was twisting even as he landed again, bring his body around and one leg whipping up.
The kick caught Martin full in the side just as she, too, started to drop back to the ground, the power behind it sending the poor girl rocketing sideways to careen over the Grasslands, literally skip over the bubbling surface of the stream, then come to a crashing, tumbling halt of the far bank of the flowing water. It said something to the girl’s fighting spirit that she’d somehow managed to hold onto both her swords despite the hit.
Especially when she didn’t move from where the spot she lay crumbled at the stream’s edge, the stillness of her body echoed in the relative quite of the stands for a full breath before the Arena spoke up.
“Fatal Damaged Accrued,” said the Arena on cue. “Victor: Reidon Ward, the Galens Institute.”
Comments
Heather Herren
This was a wonderful chapter but now I’m stuck with short Rei trying to see around tall Aria.. but they are soo cute together
Raymond Lenihan
I'm not sure I follow that description, unless you were replying to one of the people who replied to me instead of my comment? I expected Rei to Shift after he had grabbed both of her wrists, just because I thought he'd need the extra strength in order to keep hold of her, as during Reis fight with Grant at the end of book 1 it was specifically pointed out how his much lower strength spec was still just barely enough to allow Rei to pull his arm free. Although Rei lets go of her practically as soon as he grabs hold of her so I guess him holding on to her isn't that important after all haha. Sorry I'm just rambling here and love any opportunity for Rei to use Shift :)
Wraithmarked Creative
thought of exactly this, but at the speed the guys fight at, the arms would have passed through the claws and the swords would have still slammed into Rei's head, so stopping them outright was best haha -bryce
Ridayah Ahnkhuatra
He wouldn't. It's been stressed repeatedly it's not his best mode by far; he's far less capable in sword wielding. He's only done it in combat when there was no choice (Grant), in training bits, and against Biggs because he had the whole team backing him up. Martin is the best duelist (potentially, not sure if Viv's passed her yet) in Galens, so he'd need all his speed against her. All it would take is for her to break free for a moment and he'd be at a serious disadvantage. So he wouldn't do that, logically. And I can't see him NOT calling - they did for tactical, but in the last chapter Aria pointed it out that they'd have to 'test' it more AFTER sectionals, back at Galens. I can't see him doing that kind of 'testing' in front of tens of thousands of spectators against one of the top contenders he'd have to face one on one!
Lukas
that was a nice tease. this will be a good chapter. i especially like where they talk about the awe and appreciation from the spectators and hitting on his speed matching what are supposed to be the fastest group in the duelist reckoning back to the last book when he was told to lean into his speed.
Kyle Wilsnagh
Give me the rest now 🤣
Amanda
You know….Rei ‘not holding back’ probably would have sliced off her hands *with his claws* instead of grabbing her wrists. I suspect he hadn’t called Shido.
Cora
Oooo. That was awesome! And was that Laquita Martin he took down like that? 😲 Very nice. Lol
Cynthia L.Lara
Love your sneak peak...can't wait for the full disclosure. Thanks!!
Raymond Lenihan
Aww man I expected Rei to Shift once he had caught both her wrists to make use of his higher strength in that mode, since speed was no longer paramount since he was holding her immobile.
Proteus Jones
This is great. Can't wait for the whole chapter to drop.
Gregory Moses
WOW! I felt like I was there!
Kelly Flynn
That is awesome! Looking forward to reading the rest.
Jesse Osman
Love this sneak peek! Take your time to keep releasing amazing chapters!
Adam
Hot DAMN
