Comparable in speed to Pyrhha

Instead, I attacked her, exactly how she wanted. Part of it was curiosity; if it was a trap, then springing it would probably reveal something about how she fought. Another part thought that it would be good to determine early on how much she could withstand, to build further plans off of. But the biggest part? It wanted to test my strength against hers, to see how I compared. Remembered that this was just a sparring match, just a game, and wanted to have fun.

Perhaps an instant after I started forward, she moved, rushing to meet me in the middle. I brought down Crocea Mors a bit earlier then I planned and the sword rang against her shield, a shockingly loud sound as my skills multiplied the force over and over again. I saw her arm sink slightly beneath the force of the blow, but I was moving before the blow even truly connected, senses crying out in warning. As she blocked the blow from above, Pyrrha herself had gone below, sliding under her shield to swing at my legs. I tried to step back, but the sword suddenly extended into a javelin that she used to sweep my feet out from under me.

Fortunately, my brain was moving faster than my body. A last minute adjustment with Levant turned a fall into a flip and I landed on my shield, rolled to one knee, and blocked a thrust of her javelin that sent me skidding back. As it did, I moved with the force, sliding to my feet as I came to a halt and immediately pressing forward as Pyrrha spun with the blow. I caught it on my shield again and spun with it myself, turning to bring a blow up at her head. She caught it on her shield and shrink her weapon back down to a sword she tried to stab me with, which I shielded against in turn.

For a moment, we strained against one another, a simple battle of strength. I thought her base physical strength was probably greater than my own, but was pretty sure my passive skills gave me better increases—whatever the case, I stalemated her long enough to brace myself with Levant and try to kick at her legs.

An instant later, my senses were screaming in warning again. I felt a sharp point and sudden weight on my thigh as she literally stepped onto me, but saw the true source of danger as her sword shifted neatly into a new shape—and it was only by all but falling backwards that I avoided looking down the barrel of a rifle. She fired a shot that chipped away at the floor a few feet from my head, but I lifted my shield to cover my head and chest before she could adjust her aim. Three shots rang out in such quick succession that I was only able to distinguish them by the impacts on my shield, even as I lifted my blade to stab at her leg.

By then, she was already in a flip of her own, an arc that I caught only a glimpse of as my danger sense gave me a moment’s reprieve and I moved my shield. I pushed away from the ground with one arm, Levant all but pulling me to my feet in a motion that ended with me swinging down at Pyrrha as she landed in a crouch. She brought up her shield in another ringing block and swept her sword at my feet again—but this time I was prepared. I jumped the moment my senses alerted me, a short hop that used my blade as a pivot and the force behind her defense to flip neatly over her, turned midair to land facing her back, and swung down at her head.

Without even looking, she brought her shield up behind her head, but she was on one knee and defending from an awkward position—she had to brace herself against the ground with her sword arm, pommel of the blade against the floor.