The two of them lay in the dirt, breathing heavily as the moments passed. The sun had long since set, and their fight had continued well into the night. With Rank-One bodies, their energy reserves were much higher than in their youth, and the fighting hadn’t stopped for more than an instant the entire time.
Several broken weapons littered the ground, sabers, and Scal’tars of various colors and designs. Both of them had repeatedly shattered the standard quality weapons they had chosen to use for their battle. Of course, neither of them had used their primary weapon of choice.
Those were laced with and protected by countless wards and spells for the enhancement or protection of various properties. Countless little wounds covered each of them, and blood seemed to flow endlessly in small trickles. They weren’t in any danger of dying, but they were far from being in top form, and neither of them could be declared the victor.
Instead of a clear winner, the two had devoted their entire battle to understanding each other. Cypher had noted how Alex had refined his defenses, and Alex noticed how Cypher had grown stronger and wiser with his attacks.
However, the biggest thing the two of them noticed, was how much they had missed this. Sparring was meant to hone one’s skills before testing them in actual combat. Most of the time the only thing one would learn is the proper ways to execute their battle forms, or how to maneuver their body properly.
For Cypher and Alex, it was much more than that. They learned from each other more than just their weaknesses in battle, their skills had advanced beyond that point already. Instead, they learned more about themselves. Their true selves.
When faced with adversity would one block or dodge? Perhaps try something tricky? There were many aspects that could be discovered by their choice of movements, attacks, or counterattacks.
Through these aspects, the two gained a greater understanding of each other as well. It was safe to say that, as they smiled in the dirt, their friendship had not only been restored but reinvigorated that day.
The two of them took another hour before they regained enough energy to sit up and lean against a few nearby trees. Cypher could have used his Zight to refill his physical energy reserves, but Alex wasn’t aware of that technique. Cypher didn’t want to ruin the moment with some stuffy lesson nobody asked for.
“You really have gotten better Cyph’,” said Alex. “Heh, I’m surprised you could keep up with me! Who’d have thought that training alone for five years could yield such results?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly train alone all that time you know,” began Cypher as Alex took a long drink from a waterskin. He tossed it to Cypher who caught it and chuckled, “My house is… pretty special if I do say so myself. There are some pretty amazing training rooms inside, maybe I’ll show you sometime.”
Cypher took an equally long drink from the waterskin and exhaled with satisfaction as the cool drink flowed into his stomach. Alex chuckled as well and sighed as he tilted his head back to look at the stars.
Countless points of light quickly filled his view, and the two moons shone brightly alongside those many sparkling points. His thoughts ran through many different things, but as he pondered, he realized that he was glad he and Cypher were back on good terms. Alex stood up, dusted himself off, and offered Cypher a hand. He took it, and Alex helped him to his feet.
The two smiled at each other and Alex was about to say something, when a sudden scream rang throughout the small wooded area. The two of them pulled forth their primary weapons and despite being so tired, they rushed off in the direction of the scream.
“Help us, please! Someone! No!! Father!!” The scream rang out again and this time it was accompanied by the sound of a hard slap, and a body collapsing into the dirt.
The two burst out of a cluster of bushes and before them stood three burly men. Behind them the two could see a woman on the ground, her hand raised to her tear-streaked face. At her feet was an older man who was clearly beaten beyond recognition.
His neck had also been cut and he was quickly bleeding out. No sound came from him aside from a shallow choked gurgle. Saving him was no longer an option.
The woman was crying and despite her injuries, seemed more distraught about the loss of her father, and rightly so. Cypher and Alex were filled with anger as they beheld that sight and they prepared for a fight.
Cypher refilled his Physical energy with his Zight, and Alex popped a pill which also refueled his stamina. At that moment, the three men took notice of them and they let out a bellow of laughter.
“Oi! Look what we have here! A coupla’ kids come to play hero!” said the first man and his companions laughed harder.
“I reckon they came to try and help this here lass and her crusty pa’ but it’s far too late to save him,” added the second man with a heartless chuckle.
The third man reached down and pulled up the woman by one of her arms, which was clearly broken. However, before anything else could unfold, Cypher and Alex had already made their move.
In a single swipe, Cypher decapitated the first man who had spoken, while Alex had impaled the second through the heart. Neither of them showed any mercy as they killed their opponents, and the third man holding the woman brought a knife to her throat.
“Stay the fuck back! Both of you! Else I’ll kill her!” Roared the man, desperate to save his own life. Alex and Cypher stared coldly at him but didn’t make a move. The woman, however, trembled in pain and let out pitiful whimpers as she struggled against the man’s grip.
“Now, the two of you pricks are going to turn around and get the fuck out of here! No funny business or I’ll gut her from throat to belly!” Threatened the man.
Cypher and Alex looked at each other and then back to the scene before them. Without a word, Alex stepped forward, while Cypher focused his mental waves directly onto the man. The man froze, not in terror, but simply under the sheer pressure of Cypher’s mental power.
The three men were only mortal. Not that Alex and Cypher could tell given how weak the men were, but they perhaps had bodies in the lowest tier of the first rank, beyond that, they were less than a challenge for the two studied Conductors. Killing the first two hadn’t even been a difficult decision.
Around Seven City, bands of deadly thieves were commonplace. Murders were something that they did regularly and the city guards only really responded if they had seen it firsthand. Nearby villages were usually at the mercy of such bands and they held a firm grip on the surrounding areas.
A crime organization was obviously not out of the question when it came to such bandit groups. This of course was common knowledge around Seven City. Most Conductors couldn’t really do anything either due to the secrecy of the organizations and their lack of open conflict.
According to the laws of the land, the extortion of the small villages was fine so long as they paid taxes to the kingdom and remained under the radar. They could claim to be working for the Kingdom, and due to the laws, remain unpunished.
The crime bosses could get away with just about anything so long as no evidence led back to them. These bandits were bound to be working for one of them, but finding evidence of that would be difficult.
In any event, Cypher and Alex were essentially not bound by the normal rules most Conductors were. Neither of them had pledged any oaths or joined any legitimate organizations, and so they were free to act as they pleased when it came to situations like this.
Cypher and Alex had repaired their friendship, but what else was there for them to do at this point? Well, fate seemed to have found the perfect activity. The two of them were, after all, good guys.
