There she was, surveying the scene that had been happening before her.

Fu Hua and Alex stayed on guard, fully expecting Durandal to join Rita and even up the odds.

"Master Durandal. You've finally arrived." Said Rita.

"Stand down Rita. Put your weapon away." Said Durandal.

Much to the boy and Fu Hua's shock, Rita obliged as she put her Scythe away.

"She put her scythe away just like that......." Whispered Fu Hua.

"Guess that just goes to show how much respect and power Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie has." Whispered Alex back.

Then, Durandal directed her attention to Fu Hua.

"Go on now Fu Hua. You can approach the Herrecher." Said Durandal.

This caught both Fu Hua and Alex immediately by surprise.

"A-Are you sure about this Master Durandal?" Asked Fu Hua.

"Though we clearly aren't gonna be allowed to offer you any support, as Valkyries we fight for our beliefs and the people we love. I would've made the same decision as you if I were in your place, Ms. Fu Hua." Explained Durandal.

Fu Hua simply bowed and thanked the blonde.

"T-Thank you. I'll repay your kindness one day." She said before looking at Alex and thanking him before running off towards the inferno.

"H-Hey Fu Hua wait!" Said Alex he started to chase her, only to then impulsively block a sudden attempted stab by Durandal's lance.

This caused Alex to stagger backwards before regaining his footing.

"What the heck was that for!? I gotta go help Fu Hua!" Said Alex.

Durandal motioned Rita to step aside which she did, as the blonde turned her attention back to Alex.

"My apologies Alex Mustang but don't forget that I'm also here on business. On my way over here, the Overseer stated that he'd allow Ms. Fu Hua to move on ahead and engage the Herrscher. However............"

She trailed off as she then aimed her lance directly at Alex.

"He also said not to allow you to pass as well. In his words, he didn't need a wild card getting involved in this minor setback." Stated Durandal.

"Ms. Durandal please. I have to go help her in case she's severely harmed!" Pleaded Alex.

"I fully understand Alex, I do. However, it is an order, and as a Valkyrie of Schicksal, I must set aside my principles and morals to perform my duties. Don't worry, I have no intent to seriously harm you. I'm just gonna stall you until the Overseer says that my job is done. It's nothing personal Alex. It's just business." Said the blonde.

Alex knew that he had no choice but to get physical if he was gonna continue moving forward.

"So be it. If I must battle Schicksal's strongest to move on, then I'll do it." Said Alex as he drew out his sword, pointing it directly at Durandal.

"Kid, you're WAY out of your league if you think you're gonna stand a chance and go toe to toe against Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie." Said Truth within Alex's head.

'I know that. I'm not planning to fight for the win. I just gotta create and opening and blow right by her. She said that she's gonna stall me, so it's my job to get this over with as quick as possible.' Thought Alex.

"I see. Well good luck with that kid. You're DEFINITELY gonna need it." Said Truth in a somewhat mocking tone.

Alex simply shrugged off what Truth had said as he mentally prepared himself.

'To think, everything that's happened and here I am, actually going one on one against THE Durandal.' Thought the kid to himself.

Eventually, the time to get ready was over as after a few more seconds of the two staring down at one another, they charged at each other, meeting in the middle as sword and lance clashed.

In that clash, it became immediately known just how much more strength Durandal had than Alex, as along with her much larger weapon, began to push Alex back.

The kid immediately backed off to take a moment and gather himself.

"You've encountered an immovable object Mustang." Said Durandal.

Alex simply chuckled at this remark.

"Then I guess I'll just become an unstoppable force and move past the immovable object." Said the boy.

Alex dashed forward and the two began to clash over and over again, going back and forth.

The kid then placed his sword under the lance as he somehow managed to lift it up, moving her arm away.

However right as he was about to push her aside and run past, Alex saw Durandal's left fist move forward, about to sock him right in the face.

Alex immediately used his sword to block the hit.

The punch connected and knocked Alex back as the boy was shocked at just how powerful Durandal's normal physical strength was.

'H-Holy crap! And here I thought Fu Hua's punches hit like trucks. Durandal's are on the same level or maybe even stronger!' Thought the boy to himself.

At this point the boy knew he needed to something as Durandal was never gonna be the aggressor once.

Alex then snapped his fingers, as a burst of fire erupted all around Durandal, smoking obscuring her vision.

'There! That's my opening!'

Alex immediately sprinted to go past Durandal however, his instincts immediately told him to dodge something.

He did so, which was a good call on his part as right where he stood, emerging from the smoke were white armored beings, seemingly belonging to Durandal as they both were by her side, one wielding its own lance and the other, a shield

"I apologize but at this point, you have no other options Mustang. Every action you take, I'll have a counter for it." Said Durandal.

"Even if that may be, I won't give up! I'll keep trying! I'll burst my way through! Even if it means that I'll be depleted, I'll still keep moving forward!" Shouted the boy.

Alex then closed his eyes, holding his sword by his side as the weapon began to have crackles of fire and swirls of flames circle around it.

His sword was then completely coated in flames, as Alex began to use as much of his strength as he could to power through.

'Thanks for the idea, Mr. Siegfried.'

Once he had made the flames on his sword as potent as he could, Alex began his charge forward.

Durandal send the armored lance wielder first as it charged at Alex.

The two immediately closed the distance at one another, as instead of clashing, Alex had jumped, landing ontop of the lance as he easily ran up, over, and past the first one as he kept his momentum going.

The shield holder then moved forward as it got into a stance, ready to block the attack.

As Alex kept rushing forward, he knew for sure that the thing's shield was more than likely gonna be able to tank the entire attack on its own

In a quick moment, Alex reached the shield wielder and snapped his fingers, igniting a fire at its helmet.

This would cause the shield wielder to stop blocking and move aside as Alex now picked up more momentum and had a straight shot towards Durandal.

Durandal wasn't phased however, as she held a firm grip on her lance, a blue aura being emitted off of it as she stood still, awaiting for the clash.

Eventually, Alex had closed the distance as the two, giving out as much as they could, clashed one last time.

Chapter 37: Complete