Louis turned to Cain and thanked him for being there with him. Cain said that they had only been low-level nobles, and offered the emblems to him. He asked whether the boy wanted help, but Louis said no, that he solved his own problems.
Suddenly a girl appeared, clapping her hands, and said that this was the one she finally acknowledged. The redhead approached and, with a serious look, challenged Louis to a fight.
Cain explained that she was Faye Duran, the powerful daughter of one of the empire's grand masters. The young man asked whether she was his friend, but the noble denied it and said that girl was no friend of his. He admitted that he had fought her before, but that he had let his guard down. So Louis said that he had lost the fight.
The girl got annoyed, and Cain said it was better to ignore her so that they could go and collect more emblems. Hearing this, she called them cowards and asked whether they were running away because they could not win. With that, Louis accepted the challenge, and said that he had wanted to see how an heir of a great family fought.
The redhead then smiled and said that to be fair, she would fight without using any magic.
Then Faye lunged forward with a jump and prepared her special attack, Crushing Holy Spear. Louis's eyes glowed with a blue energy as he prepared for combat. The boy managed to block the powerful attack from Faye's spear with a precise and quick movement.
The girl was surprised, and with a smile on her face she complimented her opponent's incredible skill. Louis complimented her in turn, saying that she was very good, and gripped the weapon firmly. Faye wasted no time and spun her spear at speed. At the same time, Louis let go of the spear so as not to be cut. With a shout, the redhead told him to continue the fight, and advanced with another powerful attack.
She leapt into the air and prepared to use her Holy Spear technique once again. The attack hit the ground and caused a huge explosion, but the boy managed to dodge in time.
From a distance two examiners observed the explosion and commented on the intensity of the battle. One of them said that her speed and power were perfect, as expected from a fighting genius. But the other said that the commoner was impressive, and wondered how long he would last.
At that moment the director appeared, floating, and asked who they thought would win the contest. The director then said that he liked the boy, but that he could not beat Faye, which left the other confused. He explained with a serious look that a battle is a clash of body and will between fighters.
Below them, Louis faced the dust kicked up by the explosion and prepared for the next move. Faye did not give up, and advanced with a sequence of attacks called Swift Holy Spear, with all her might. The boy used his calculation ability to predict the multiple trajectories of her attack. The girl got frustrated upon realising that he was managing to fend off all of her strikes.
Suddenly Louis found an opening. The girl's left hand was a weak point. The young man used his sword to defend against the redhead's attack, and she was surprised by his strength. With a firm movement, Louis managed to deflect the girl's spear to the side with his hand. Faye got annoyed with the boy's resistance and tried to push him back with all her strength.
But the boy jumped behind the girl and landed without difficulty. The heiress said that not even the young master had managed to dodge all of her blows. But Louis said that it was not that hard, if you watched very carefully.
Annoyed, Faye prepared her next attack, and her spear began to glow. With that, she leapt at high speed. Then the redhead used her Crescent Fall Holy Spear to attack with full force from above.
The boy analysed the technique and realised that spears had various attack and defence movements. Combined with the weapon's reach, the girl's technique was quite problematic. But he also realised that at the same time there were several fatal weaknesses in this fighting style.
The warrior began to spin her spear even faster. Louis said that one of her vulnerabilities lay in close quarters combat. His eyes glowed with lightning, and he said that if he timed it right, he could get close to her. With that, he decided to counterattack, and used his swordsmanship technique called Sword Dance.
But the girl sensed his intention, and said with a smile that she knew exactly what he was planning. She shouted that it would not work on her, and prepared a quick counterattack. With a footwork movement, the redhead spun her body and prepared for the next attack. The warrior then spun her spear at high speed.
Louis was completely shocked by the force and skill of her technique in the fight. The redhead shouted that her family's holy spear had no weaknesses, and told him to get ready.
With that, the spear tornado headed towards the boy, who prepared to defend himself. The examiners praised her talent, saying that her father had only learned this technique at sixteen.
But Louis said that this was a shame, and prepared to use one of his sword techniques. He then used his sword to protect himself from the blow. The boy knew the spear's other weakness: the high stamina consumption for the user. If he continued to defend with precision, an opening would surely appear in the battle.
The girl continued her relentless attack, not realising what Louis was planning. Suddenly the young man's eyes glowed with energy, and he saw the opening he had been waiting for. With a shout he leapt into the air and came down with his sword to strike the girl head on.
But to his surprise the tip of his sword simply broke. The piece of the blade fell to the ground, rendering his weapon useless at that moment. Louis was stunned by what had happened, and could not believe his bad luck in the fight.
Faye also seemed surprised by the unexpected outcome of their confrontation. She complimented him and said that if the sword had not broken, he would have managed to counterattack. The boy confirmed this and said that it seemed his luck was terrible, for that to have happened.
The girl asked whether he had been holding back, and he said that it was a habit of his to observe before fighting. With a smile, Louis said that now he would finally fight her seriously.
The redhead pointed out that the boy's weapon was gone, but he did not seem to care. With a movement of his hand, the young man prepared to show his true skill. He revealed that he was actually much better with his fists, and took up a fighting stance.
Faye watched him carefully and thought that he had no openings in his combat posture. The white-haired boy remained calm and focused, waiting for his opponent's next move.