Shadow Sword of Vengeance

Lucien and Majestir stood face to face. 

"What makes you think you can beat me? You piece of shit..??!!" Majestir shouted with rage and anger surging inside him, about to explode. His grip on the sword tightened as his knuckles turned white. 

"Equal to the sin of pride, huh?" Lucien replied with a tone full of doubt, his gaze unwavering, as if Majestir was nothing more than a mere annoyance. 

Majestir unsheathed his sword, the blade glinting under the pale sky, and replied, 

"I will show you what a true warrior can do." He started walking to his left, circling Lucien, his eyes locked onto him like a predator sizing up its prey. 

Lucien remained indifferent, not even unsheathing his sword, his hands still resting at his sides. 

Angered by his actions, Majestir clenched his teeth. His breath grew heavy. Without another thought, he leaped at Lucien with his sword raised high. 

"You absolute trash!!!!!" He shouted before bringing his sword down in a straight vertical blow, his strength fueled by sheer frustration. 

Lucien simply twisted his body, evading the attack. The force of Majestir's sword sent a shockwave through the ground as it struck the snow, scattering white powder into the air. 

Majestir quickly yanked his sword free and immediately followed with another attack, this time a horizontal slash at the waist. 

But this time, it was blocked. 

A dagger. A single dagger, effortlessly stopping the blade of a full-length sword. 

"I do not consider you worthy of my sword," Lucien said, his voice as cold as the air around them while pushing Majestir back with nothing but the strength of his dagger and one hand. 

Upon seeing this, anger and fear surged in Majestir. His pupils dilated. His breath hitched. But before he could react, Lucien's right hand was already on his head, gripping his skull like a vice, while his left hand held the dagger that collided with Majestir's sword. 

Both of them had barely an inch between their eyes, their breath mingling in the frozen air, locked in a position akin to a wrestling or judo match. 

But Lucien was stronger. 

With a sudden, brutal motion, he forced Majestir's head to bow and followed with a devastating knee strike to his face. 

A sickening crack. 

Majestir stumbled back, his boots dragging against the icy ground, blood dripping from his nose. His vision blurred for a moment, his ears ringing from the impact. The students he had gathered to watch the fight stood silent, wide-eyed. The humiliation burned hotter than the pain. This was a huge blow, not only to his face but to his pride. It embarrassed him in front of those he had told to learn from the fight. 

Majestir wiped the blood from his nose and steadied himself. He refused to back down. 

He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on his sword, and once again ran toward Lucien. His rage dictated his next move—a diagonal slash from the shoulder to the lower waist. But Lucien sidestepped effortlessly, the blade cutting nothing but air. 

Majestir growled, attacking again and again with more diagonal slashes, but Lucien moved like a ghost, stepping back, barely making an effort, dodging each strike as if he had seen them a thousand times before. 

Furious, Majestir roared and lunged forward with a powerful stab aimed directly at Lucien's abdomen. 

But in a single fluid motion, Lucien twisted his waist, making the attack completely useless. And before Majestir could even retrieve his sword, Lucien grabbed his wrist, pulled him forward, and delivered a devastating kick to his abdomen. 

Majestir was sent flying, his body crashing into the snow, his sword slipping from his grasp as the cold air was forced out of his lungs. 

The battlefield fell silent. 

The students watched in stunned disbelief. 

Lucien stood tall, looking down at the fallen Majestir, his face showing nothing but disappointment. 

"Is this all the strength a 'true warrior' has?" 

Majestir quickly picked up his sword and tried to stand up but Lucien's foot was already on his hand that held the sword. 

Majestir looked at Lucien with fear visible in his eyes, in exchange Lucien's eyes showed a hint of pity like one would show to a mere ant. 

"Pride is the worst enemy of progress, the first step towards weakness of soul and body" Lucien murmured and the next second slashed Majestir. 

The snow turned red, Lucien standing above him. 

Disciples looked at Majestir in a state of shock and fear, completely forgetting to even blink, their minds raced with questions, How, why was the only thought.it was silent, So silent that one could hear the cold air and sound of breathing. 

The silence was broken with a strong voice that ordered them to wake up. 

All of them now focused on Lucien, debating in their minds on whether to fight or run and save life. 

Ones who thought off running had their legs shaking and the ones moving their hand to grab their sword couldn't lift it. None of them had the strength to even speak much less walk or attack. The strongest person they had ever seen was nothing against this monster standing in front of them who showed no signs of mercy and won without even using a sword. 

Lucien ordered them to sit, to which they obliged. He started to approach them, his feet dispersing snow and steps slow. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally stood in front of them. 

Weird thoughts crossed their minds, above all they were scared of him. 

"All 5 of you will go back and tell your superior about this. Tell them I asked for stronger men, not kids." Lucien ordered. 

A sense of relief filled them and their strength came back. 

"We Will, Sir" They replied while trying to stand up 

"Sit down" Lucien ordered. They obliged with worry. 

"Answer truthfully to what I ask if you want to live and go back" 

All of them nodded in agreement. 

"You will relay this message I'm about to give to your superior with certainty" Lucien instructed 

To which all of them agreed and asked for the message to be delivered.