The tip of Anna's spear closed in on Zephyr very quickly, causing him to strike out to parry in response, but Anna's spear moved like it had a mind of its own, tilting just out of the way of Zephyr's parry, sliding against his spear and heading directly for his now wide open chest.
Zephyr pivoted on his feet and jumped a few steps away, kind of fearful at the close call.
Anna hadn't hesitated at all. He had thought she would at least hold back to some extent. This was a real spear. A weapon. Not some blunt sparring tool, but a cold, glistening tool used for killing.
'What the fuck! Was she really going all the way?!' Zephyr looked up and his eyes widened. The small space Zephyr had created was already being invaded by Anna. She wasn't giving him any time to breathe.
He knitted his brows in seriousness. 'I guess I'm not holding back either.'
He kicked against the ground and went on to meet her, swinging his spear in a wide arc to give himself some space to react to any move she made.
Anna ducked and rolled to dodge. The whizz of the air above her head told the amount of force Zephyr had put into the swing. His wide swing still left him open, but Anna still had some ways to go before righting herself from the roll, so Zephyr used the opportunity to try and change the direction of the swing, killing its current momentum and bringing it in for another sweep at her.
The spear bent in the air from the abrupt change of momentum. Only the quality of the wood prevented it from breaking.
Anna righted herself and braced for the incoming strike, but she changed her mind in a split second, deciding against taking the strike at close range. Instead, she timed it well and ducked into a clumsy roll, this time putting herself further away from Zephyr.
Zephyr had learned from the previous swing and brought the spear down diagonally to meet her scramble, but the power in his swing prevented him from making precise changes midway, allowing Anna to evade successfully.
He didn't let up though. Immediately bounding after her like a bull. Now the tides had changed.
It was Zephyr's unrefined but powerful charge against Anna's precise control and finesse.
Might against technique... and might seemed to be winning.
Zephyr gave her no space to breathe but couldn't seem to get a hit in either. The spear was too flexible for his liking, always bending out of his expectations. But Anna— who had experience with spears— could always tell how much to come in or step back based on how Zephyr swung.
The fight was basically in a deadlock, but Zephyr was beginning to get the hang of the spear, and Anna could tell. Her eyes suddenly went cold and she made a risky move, stepping in just after feinting a dodge.
If it was another sparring partner well-versed in using a spear, she would never have made this risky move, but after watching Zephyr fight, she decided to take this gamble. Zephyr was simply using the spear like a baton. She didn't know if he was just wary of hurting her with the tip of the spear or if he was just that terrible with the spear that he didn't even know to use the most basic movement— thrusting.
As she feinted to dodge, she immediately stepped back forward as she felt the spear near her. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes wide in suspense as the tip of the spear passed by her front, nearly nicking her bust.
Zephyr's eyes constricted as he saw Anna's move. She was in, and his swing was still going wide. With a growl he tightened his grip and brought the spear back immediately.
Anna's mouth opened in surprise. Zephyr suddenly felt faster. She was in, there was now a wide open space. Zephyr was vulnerable. There was no way for him to recover from this, and even if he could, she was sure to land a critical blow on him. But for some reason, it suddenly felt like she was moving in slow motion.
It felt like he had more time to move than she did.
'What the hell is this guy??!!' Anna practically yelled in her mind. Her mouth opened in astonishment.
The spear changed direction yet again, causing Anna to panic. She was going to get hit before she could close the gap. Zephyr was already even adjusting his body to make up for the distance she had closed. His swinging range became tighter.
'I'm not gonna reach,' Anna thought, ready to yell her surrender...
But then she noticed the bend of the spear. Her years of training immediately kicked in. She continued her motion.
'The spear won't hold... that's too much stress.'
The spear was practically bent in the shape of a full letter U because of the abrupt change of direction.
And she was right.
As Zephyr brought the spear back, it snapped, throwing him off balance and giving Anna free rein.
She smiled as she raised her spear up to Zephyr's chest to get him to yield.
But Zephyr wasn't finished yet. From nowhere, his other hand was already reaching for her hand that was holding her spear.
She didn't see it coming.
Zephyr latched on to her with a death grip and yanked her forward like a toy, throwing her off balance.
All the smile vanished from her face. Fear suddenly crept in as she lost her balance.
The cold look on Zephyr's face sent a tingle down her spine. It felt like she was at his mercy.
Zephyr saw the look of fear in her eyes and immediately caught himself, coming back to his senses. He let her hand go, almost about to swing her away. She stumbled to a fall, skidding on her knees as Zephyr staggered backwards.
"Sorry, Anna. I'm very sorry. Are you hurt?" He rushed up and knelt beside her to check up on her. Her blonde hair cascaded down, totally shielding her face from his scrutiny, so he couldn't even see her expression.
Helga also rushed up to the platform to help her up.
"Anna, are you okay?!" She bent to look at her face.
Anna suddenly threw her head back with sass, her usual smile already back.
"What's with all the fuss? I'm alright. It's just a scratch, y'know." She stood up herself, dusting her knees which were slightly scraped under the customary fitted trousers.
Zephyr bit his lip in frustration, angry at himself for taking things so far.
Anna noticed the look and frowned. "Don't tell me you're regretting or something. I'm not some maiden that needs to be handled with care."
"Don't forget we're all competing here. You won this round, Zephyr... Fair and square..."
"But I won't let you win the next time." She punched his shoulder hard, drawing a yelp from Zephyr.
"Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder.
"That's for going easy on me." She harrumphed.
Zephyr just scratched his nose awkwardly, looking away.
Anna laughed. "Well, at least you can now be sure that the spear isn't for you."
"I told you." Zephyr snorted.
"I think you should try the Warhammer." Helga chipped in.
Zephyr facepalmed in disbelief. "Oh no. Don't tell me we've lost you too, Helga!"