Fights for hours

Then we began to fight at close quarters. We were evenly matched, and the struggle continued for a long time. Soon the sun went down and the light began to fail. Now we were fighting in darkness, and I used my shakamure magic to see my enemy. I also drew upon my other magical reserves to bolster my strength. No doubt Eblis employed his own magic, because his blades were guided with great accuracy, and for a while I was hard-pressed just to parry them. We fought in silence—all that could be heard was grunts, the clash of blades, and our boots churning the mud.

But slowly I began to gain the ascendancy, and at last I brought my enemy to his knees and lifted the dagger for the killing blow.

B11 C23