Leona took a close look at the man and noticed that he had no pupils but he could still see her clearly. He also had white hair and a white mustache that lent him an undead appearance, but his most intimidating feature was his height. He towered a good foot over Leona and had a reach advantage. Still, she could not always get by by beating up easy opponents. Wizard Saints were renowned for their power, after all. Leona was also supposed to be the Wizard Saint of Courage and staying true to her title sometimes meant fighting though mismatches like this one.
Leona raised her Silver Longsword and faced the pirate captain, who spoke to her before the duel started.
"
I am Captain Hector Espada. I am captain of the vessel known as the Ocean's Requiem." He introduced himself.
"
I'm Leona Jarnefeldt." Leona introduced himself in return. He raised an eyebrow.
"
I have heard that name a few times before. If you really are the Wizard Saint of Courage, it is small wonder that you could fight my men with such ease." Hector said to her.
The pair faced each other about two meters away and they each prepared to make their move. Leona was not going to charge in blindly but instead wait and play this smart. She was not sparring with Sol Detholusin. Hector Espada was a pirate captain and he would kill her if he got the chance to.
Hector made the first move and lunged towards her with surprising speed for a man of his musculature and height. He then swung downward with the larger of the two swords and Leona sidestepped it. He followed up with a short stab from the shorter sword that Leona parried with her sword. He backed away before Leona could retaliate and his outline began to glow ocean blue. He took one step forward and launched himself at her like a torpedo with both swords extended as he flew in her direction.
The startled Wizard Saint sidestepped the attack and thought she was safe, but a quick slash across her stomach told her otherwise. Leona stepped back and saw that there was a gash in the outfit but no blood had been drawn. She was glad that she had chosen to wear the version of the blue, white, and gold outfit that could repair itself because otherwise it would need a lot of fixing after this duel. She did not have time to muse about her clothing repair bills because Hector had recovered from his technique and was standing twelve meters away as his outline began to glow ocean blue again.
"
Ocean Wave!" Hector announced before slashing upward with the larger sword and firing a vertical blue wave of energy at Leona. She sidestepped the attack and flung a Fast Ball at him that he sidestepped with ease. He followed up with the same technique that he had used to launch himself at her earlier, but this time Leona knew what he was doing and jumped back to avoid the flying pirate. He missed by a comfortable margin and paused thirty meters away... now was her chance to hit back!
Crouching down and disappearing in a flash step, Leona used Zephyr Charge to both close the distance and retaliate for being hit earlier. Hector was not expecting her to use such a move and was hit in the chest, staggering back for three meters and righting himself just in time for Leona to swing her sword in a downward two-handed chop. The captain blocked it with crossed swords and leaned into her during the blade lock.
"
I am impressed. Not many of my opponents have lasted this long." Hector complimented her on surviving this long. He raised his right foot and tried to stomp on Leona's, but she moved her foot out of the way in time and used the chance to kick him in the stomach to break the blade lock. He staggered back and raised the smaller sword, holding it parallel to her. Why was he doing that?
Leona soon got her answer when he squeezed the weapon's handle and a pistol shot sounded. Leona felt the bullet only graze her right cheek and was relieved because if his aim had only been a few inches more to the left she might not be standing. Leona then used a Zephyr Dash to close in and slash at him, cutting him across the stomach as well. He stepped back and chopped down with the larger sword and Leona blocked the blow by holding her sword with a two-handed grip. He stepped in and punched her in the face to send her staggering back six steps, an opening he did not hesitate to exploit.
Hector closed the distance with her and then did alternating stabs with first the big sword, then the little one. Leona spun to the right to avoid both stabs and saw his outline glow ocean blue, which meant that another nautical spell was coming her way. It was not long in coming... his arms glowed blue and he rushed towards her.
"
BLADE MAELSTROM!" He called out, stabbing repeatedly with both swords at a speed so fast that Leona could barely keep up. Leona had to step back to avoid multiple puncture wounds, but she was surprised when Hector moved forward to keep up with her. She had to keep stepping back and he kept moving forward at a brisk pace while stabbing repeatedly with both swords. The Wizard Saint was on the back foot and needed to find a way to stop the Blade Maelstrom before she got caught in it.
Leona took a risk and stuck out her left hand, firing a Wind Blast that caught him and knocked him back a meter before he recovered his footing. It disrupted the technique, but Hector soon went back on the offensive by running at Leona while glowing ocean blue. He soon vanished and reappeared right in front of her, leading with his right shoulder.
"
CRASHING WAVE!" He called out. Leona stepped back just a fraction of a second too slow and was knocked back just by being brushed by the shoulder. She would have hated to have been hit squarely with the supercharged tackle. The Wizard Saint recovered and aimed her left index finger at the head of the pirate captain, firing a Wind Bullet that he dodged by ducking. He quickly began to close the distance with his arms glowing blue. Not willing to let him close in for a second time, she channeled magic into her left hand and followed up the Wind Bullet with a Silver Tempest.
"
What?!" Hector asked just before being hit by the horizontal silver tornado. He was buffeted by the wind and emerged in a dizzy state. However, he was not going to let a small thing like disorientation stop him. He raised the smaller sword and squeezed the trigger of the pistol, firing a shot that hit Leona in her left shoulder. The Wizard Saint staggered back and waited for his next attack, wondering if he was really that good or if he had just gotten a lucky shot. Lucky shot or not, Leona was wounded from the pistol and that was all that counted.
"
You have done well to push me this far, Leona. You have proven to be a better opponent than I expected. Were you a man I would invite you to join my crew." The captain complimented Leona for standing up to him so far. Leona thought that Hector was a pretty good fighter who used his weapons, magic, and stature to his advantage and did not let himself be drawn into trading hits. She was also impressed by how polite he was.
"
You're a pretty good fighter yourself. I haven't dealt with anyone who could move so fast and hit so hard in quite some time." Leona returned the compliment. Hector stopped focusing on Leona to look to his left. Leona looked towards her right and saw a man dressed in a red hat and open red jacket with brown pants striding towards them. In his hands were swords that were almost the same as Hector's.
"
Hello brother. I see that you've met the Wizard Saint of Courage." The man in red said calmly. Hector lowered his weapons. Leona obligingly lowered her own weapon.
"
Indeed I have. But I must ask you... why is she here?" Hector asked the other man.
"
I apologize that it took me so long to get here, Wizard Saint. I'm Captain Henry Espada. I see that you've met my older brother." The man in red introduced himself.
- Captain Henry Espada:
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Last edited by Leona Jarnefeldt on 17th June 2020, 12:07 am; edited 1 time in total