Taking off his white jacket, Ardere's eyes narrowed. From what he could best tell, his instincts were correct in that she was testing him. But this did not mean she would go easy on him, in fact she was going all out. While there was an obvious power difference, he did not underestimate her. An opponent with her purpose and former job likely had a lot of battle experience.
Then I suppose we'll see. Unlike usual, Clarent was perched at his hip. Normally he kept the bastard blade on his back, but the samurai missed his old tendencies, and as such kept it as his hip. Using his thumb, he slid the sword out of it's lock, allowing him to unsheathe it easily when the time came.
He noted his opponent had quite the backstory, but regardless of such, he planned to show her how he did things. Ardere was not a killer, but that did not mean there was not a time when killing needed to be done, he acknowledged this.
If you wish to be accepted, then you must show me why I should. Show me your resolve. While he did not condone killing, if her aim was to stop only evil men and she proved herself worthy, then he could not resist an asset as such. It was well known he needed a new Destruction Ace. Perhaps she would be a good candidate, assuming all went well.
Shifting his hand to his blade as she lunged forward, he kept his eyes on her, and his senses keen. He expected a direct him, but it appeared she was going in for a feint. Unsheathing his blade, he prepared to strike. He did not have much time to react to this, even with his superior speed. But he did have time nonetheless. The reaction Ardere chose was to block her hit with the flat side of his blade, whipping it back behind his back to do so, and sending him forward a bit. Utilizing this momentum, he slid around to face her. Without hesitation, she sent a claw of flames towards him. The fire mage put his hand out and split the claw in half, utilizing his pyrokinesis. The flames werent sent beside and behind him, colliding with the ground. As the smoke and dirt scattered, he ignited his blade and slashed a stream of dark flames towards her. He did so to test her defenses, as such, he did not utilize a spell too high rank for her to block. His cloak of flames flickered around him, outlined in a deep red.
These flames of yours are interesting, but you'll have to do better than that.