An Extra’s POV

"Are you serious?"

The atmosphere was tense as silence echoed in the vast, dull expanse. The faulty lights on the ceiling flickered, radiating flashes of brilliance on the two who stood beneath it.

Trisha still tightly held her blade as she stared seriously at Rey.

The question he asked lingered in the air, and she bent a little lower, parting her lips to answer the question.

"What do you think?" As her response—another question—wafted through the air, Rey suddenly broke into a slight grin.

Trisha felt taken aback by this. She didn't know why he was displaying such emotions in front of her. Somehow, it infuriated her.

"You know I'm going to win, right?" He said. "There's no point in doing this."

"You said you wanted to talk. Well, this is what I want to do. So… do you only want to achieve what you want, or will you take your stance and fight?"

Her eyes harshly stared at him, and in response to this, he shook his head and sighed. His smile instantly vanished and he slowly began to move.

"I'm sorry. You're right… I apologize for the delay." Slowly, Rey began to take his own battle stance as well.

There was no hesitation in his movement, neither was there an ounce of weakness in his form. By the time he was done setting himself up, he gently placed his sword forward and didn't lose the stoic demeanor on his face.

"Whenever you're ready…"

Everything was set. Within the vast room that occupied them, the brewing moment had finally reached a crescendo.

It was time to explode.

~WHOOSH!~

Trisha attacked first with a sharp lunge aimed at Rey's torso. Her speed caused the very air around her to vibrate, and she moved as though she was a blur given form.

Still…

Rey deftly sidestepped the strike, his own blade rising to meet Trisha's in a clash of steel.

'Tch! He's fast.'

Gritting her teeth, she narrowed her gaze and strengthened every ounce of muscle in her body.

circled each other warily, their footwork precise and

~SWISH!~

a blur as she aimed for Rey's arms and legs. Rey countered each attack with smooth parries, his wrist moving fluidly to

"Guh—!"

advantage, launching a feint to Rey's left before

pivoting on his

forward, Rey took the opportunity to counter with a

'No, you don't!'

of harm's way. She retaliated with a sweeping horizontal slash aimed at Rey's neck, but Rey ducked beneath the blade and lunged forward, his sword flashing

~WHOOOSH!~

attack just in time, her blade catching Rey's and pushing

~CLANG!~

two locked swords momentarily, each struggling for dominance as they tested

Rey mumbled, but she wasn't

were worthless to

which is why it seems I have some measure of a

was a battle of pure Stats

Arts my whole life. All my experiences… all my knowledge… I'll pour them

deadlock with a forceful shove, and they both had to disengage, each assessing the other from

aggressive attacks.

'Why…?'

would allow,

Why can't I hit

the answer to

light and agile as he danced around

one

It was… beautiful.

opening, Rey went on the offensive. He unleashed a flurry of precise

by surprise, tried to hold

to the limit as she blocked and parried each attack, her breath coming in quick gasps as she

~WHISH!~

as Rey's blade swept over her. He transitioned seamlessly into a low sweeping strike, forcing her

"Haa… haa…!"

a counterattack, aiming a thrust at his chest. He deflected the strike with ease, his sword moving in a blur as he countered with a series of powerful slashes. Trisha managed to block and dodge each attack, but Rey's

'He's… getting faster!'

final burst of speed, Rey executed a complex combination

She tried to maintain her stance, but she coudn't keep