The great white bridge disappeared into the mist behind them, its enormous stone structure stretching between the lands of Scarm and the territory of Solomon. The morning had barely begun, yet the bridge already felt like a battlefield abandoned by history. Broken trees surrounded the entrance, scattered weapons lay across the ground, and the fallen Civil Law enforcers remained where Aldrich had left them.
At the center of it all stood Aldrich Yagurah.
His black coat was torn in several places. Blood covered portions of his clothing, most of it belonging to the men who had attacked him. His katana rested in his right hand, its blade lowered toward the ground.
Across from him, Nefari slowly rose.
The Law Knight rolled his shoulders beneath his golden armor. For the first time since arriving, the calm certainty in his posture had disappeared.
Aldrich could feel the difference immediately. The air itself seemed heavier. Nefari inhaled. The next breath was slow. Deliberate.
Then something changed.
The pressure surrounding him increased as internal qi spread through his body. It was not merely strength. Aldrich could feel the way Nefari controlled the energy, directing it through his muscles and into the sword in his hand.
Nefari's eyes glowed faintly beneath the opening of his helmet.
He smiled.
"Now you have my attention."
Aldrich tightened his grip around the katana.
"Good."
Nefari vanished. The sound came first. A sharp crack beneath his feet.
Aldrich barely had time to react before Nefari appeared directly in front of him, his great sword already descending. Aldrich brought his katana upward. Steel met steel.
The impact forced Aldrich's feet backward across the earth.
He immediately redirected the force, lowering his blade toward the ground while stepping to the side. His left foot drove into Nefari's armored side with all the strength his body could produce.
The kick landed.
Even through the armor, the force sent Nefari sliding several meters across the ground. Aldrich straightened. Nefari stopped himself. For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Nefari inhaled again.
His eyes brightened beneath the helmet.
"You have strength."
He raised his sword.
"But strength alone will not carry you through this."
He swung.
Aldrich was several meters away. The blade never touched him. Yet the trees behind Aldrich split apart.
A compressed wave of sword qi tore through the forest, cutting through trunks with frightening precision. Aldrich ducked beneath it. The wind from the attack swept over his head. He remained crouched for a heartbeat. Then his eyes narrowed.
His body moved. One step. Two. The distance between them disappeared. Aldrich exhaled. A thin stream of black smoke escaped his mouth.
Nefari's expression changed.
"The Shadow Sword."
Aldrich's katana moved.
The first exchange was almost too fast for the surrounding warriors to follow. Nefari raised his sword. Aldrich struck. Nefari blocked. Aldrich changed his angle. Nefari adjusted.
Steel collided again. The sound rang through the forest. Aldrich stepped forward. Nefari stepped back.
Then Nefari attacked. His sword moved several times in succession, each strike carrying sword qi that threatened to cut through Aldrich's defenses before the physical blade even arrived.
Aldrich did not retreat. He remembered Merana. Not her strikes. Not her strength. Her words. Stillness.
Do not allow the mind to decide everything. Let the body recognize what the eyes have not yet understood. Aldrich breathed. His shoulders relaxed. His grip loosened slightly.
Nefari's sword came toward his left shoulder. Aldrich shifted. The blade passed.
Another strike came toward his ribs. Aldrich turned. Another. He blocked. Another. He stepped. Another. He moved his head just enough for the sword to pass.
Nefari frowned.
Aldrich had stopped thinking about each attack individually.
His body simply responded.
The teachings of the Iris clan had finally begun to settle into his Yagurah swordsmanship. Stillness did not mean standing motionless. It meant removing unnecessary movement.
Aldrich waited as nefari swung again. Aldrich's katana rose. The blades collided. Aldrich suddenly lifted his sword, preparing a vertical cut toward Nefari's side.
Nefari reacted immediately. He swung toward Aldrich's chest.
Aldrich's attack changed direction. He had never intended to complete it. The movement had been bait. Aldrich turned his hips and spun past Nefari's sword.
His left foot struck Nefari directly in the chest. The force was tremendous. The golden armor bent inward with the impact. Nefari was launched backward. He crashed through one tree. Then another. Then a third.
The final trunk shook violently as Nefari struck it and fell to the ground. For several seconds, there was silence. Aldrich lowered his foot.
He watched.
Nefari's hand moved. He pushed himself upright. The Law Knight stood slowly. His golden armor was damaged.
He reached toward his helmet. Then he removed it. His dark hair was damp with sweat.
He tossed the helmet aside. Next came the armor. Piece by piece, Nefari removed the protective plating and let it fall to the ground.
The weight of it struck the earth with heavy thud's. Aldrich watched without speaking.
Nefari picked up his great sword. His expression had changed. The Law Knight no longer looked like an officer arriving to arrest a criminal.
He looked like a warrior who had finally decided to fight.
"That armor was slowing me down anyway."
Aldrich tilted his head.
"Then I suppose I should thank you for removing it."
Nefari smiled.
"You will."
He disappeared. Aldrich's eyes widened.
Nefari was faster. Much faster. The great sword came upward. Aldrich thrust his katana forward vertically.
The blades collided. Sparks erupted between them.
The force pushed Aldrich backward nefari kept advancing.
His muscles tightened. His sword continued pressing forward. Aldrich's feet left the ground. He was thrown backward. His back slammed against a tree.
Pain shot through his spine. He barely recovered before Nefari was already upon him. The great sword came down. Aldrich moved.
The blade struck the tree.
Aldrich stepped sideways. Another strike. He ducked. Another. He twisted. Another. He moved backward.
Nefari refused to give him space. Each strike was faster than the last. Aldrich's mind raced.
Dodging would not win this. If he continued reacting, Nefari would eventually force him into a mistake. Aldrich's eyes sharpened. He stepped forward.
Nefari's sword passed beside his face. Aldrich entered the range of the great sword. Too close.
Nefari attempted to recover.
Aldrich struck.
Their swords collided at close range.
Nefari's greater reach became useless.
Aldrich's katana moved in short, precise cuts. Nefari responded with his own close-range techniques.
The two warriors fought across the narrow space between them.
Aldrich stepped left. Nefari followed. Aldrich stepped right. Nefari adjusted. Their blades crossed. Separated. Crossed again.
The fight became a contest of timing. Nefari's strength was immense.
Aldrich could feel every collision through his arms. Yet Aldrich had learned something during his years in Hollowdene. Strength was only one part of combat. The rest was knowing where to place it.
Nefari attacked. Aldrich blocked. Nefari attacked again. Aldrich redirected nefari attempted to overpower him.
Aldrich turned his wrists and let the force pass beside him. For an instant, Nefari's balance shifted. Aldrich could have attacked. But he waited. Nefari recovered.
Then attacked again. Aldrich understood. The Law Knight was not reckless. He was experienced.
If Aldrich wanted to win, he would need to create an opening that Nefari believed he had discovered himself.
Aldrich slowly changed his stance. His right side became exposed. Nefari noticed. His eyes narrowed. Aldrich saw the realization.
Good. Nefari stepped forward. His great sword moved toward Aldrich's exposed side. Aldrich did not retreat.
The blade reached him.
He shifted his body at the final instant. The strike missed anything vital, but it still cut across his side. Aldrich's breath caught. Pain burned through him. Blood began staining his clothing.
Nefari attempted to pull his sword away. He was too late. Aldrich seized his sword arm. Nefari's eyes widened. Aldrich stepped forward.
Their faces were only inches apart.
"You took the bait."
Nefari tried to wrench his arm free.
Aldrich drove his katana forward. The strike ended the fight. Nefari's body went still. Aldrich released him. The Law Knight stumbled backward and fell. His great sword landed beside him.
For a moment, Aldrich remained standing. Then he exhaled. The tension left his shoulders.
He looked down at the fallen Law Knight.
"You were strong."
There was no celebration in his voice.
Only respect. Aldrich lowered himself briefly and tore a piece from his own robe.
He wrapped it tightly around his injured side, securing the cloth enough to slow the bleeding. Then he looked toward the bridge. The mist remained thick. Nothing moved within it. Aldrich returned to the bodies of the fallen enforcers.
He gathered them near the entrance to the great white bridge, placing them together rather than leaving them scattered across the forest. He stood over them for a moment. Twenty men had come. None would be returning. Aldrich turned away. He sheathed his katana.
The sound of the blade sliding into its scabbard echoed softly through the morning.
Then he began walking. Every step carried pain through his side. He ignored it.
Ellistra was waiting in the south. Lephisto was watching the north. And somewhere beyond the mist, the Civil Law would soon realize that one of its Law Knights had fallen.
Aldrich disappeared between the trees. The forest swallowed him. Far behind him, the great white bridge stood silently beneath the mist.
Nefari's final words never came. But his defeat would speak loudly enough. The Civil Law had not captured Aldrich Yagurah. It had merely taught him that its soldiers could bleed and Aldrich had no intention of forgetting that lesson.