Eli's plan had been to arrive at the battlefield early to warm up and train before the impending battle. Ilkama had told him where to find training weapons: ones capable of using glyphs but incapable of dealing lethal damage. Once Eli retrieved a sword for himself, he headed up to the roof.

Upon reaching his destination, Eli found he still had time to train. Though he believed Ilkama would have the same idea, he felt thankful to know he was proven wrong.

Eli thought the battlefield to be too big for a duel between two people, especially if it would go until one was knocked off it. Its durable material and lack of obstacles made it the perfect, indestructible arena; each swordsman could give it his all.

The swordsman's warm-up began with a light jog around the castle's roof. Intending to get energized, Eli's pace was one at which he could converse without losing much breath. When he felt sufficiently warmed up, he stepped onto the arena and practiced his swordsmanship, hoping to increase his attack speed before the battle.

Eli began slashing at the air as though fighting an invisible enemy. If he could tire out his opponent fast enough, the battle could quickly tilt in his favor. However, as the swordsman found his speed plateauing, his curiosity diverted toward the sword skills; Eli began drawing glyphs rapidly and roughly. Questioning the skills' strictness, Eli wished to explore how poorly he could outline a glyph and still have it activate. While the tests were primarily inconclusive, Eli found the changing color to indicate what glyph was used; the requirement for a sword skill was only to draw the glyph, not to see the color change.

This pleased Eli to know, as it meant he could surprise Ilkama in the brief moment before the color changed. Given Ilkama's extensive experience, Eli would have to be sneaky and react quickly if he wished to win. As Eli continued to practice, the interval between when he drew a glyph and used its power diminished.

Hyper-focused on mastering his technique, Eli failed to notice his childhood friend approaching him from behind. Eli's training had dragged him closer to the arena's edge. Before reaching the end, Eli turned to face the other end, though Ilkama quietly jumped out of the way, staying barely out of Eli's field of vision. As Eli charged at nothingness for his next attack, Ilkama quickly jumped in the way, raising his sword high and intercepting Eli's attack. Though shocked about what had just transpired, Eli simply smiled and pushed harder against his opponent's sword.

The battle had begun.

After a brief stalemate, the two swordsmen jumped back. Each could begin an assault as they wished. Though they had not verbally discussed it, each wanted to see what the other could do without using glyphs. However, each searched for an opening in the others' defenses. Eli thought he found one and charged at Ilkama, his sword approaching from above. A glimmer appeared in Ilkama's eyes as he immediately countered with an attack from below. Their swords collided perfectly; a spark appeared as a high-pitched ring echoed across the kingdom. Ilkama, who had been closer to the ground, kicked Eli to the floor.

Without skipping a beat, Eli rolled away before Ilkama could strike him again. Bouncing back up as though nothing had happened, the swordsman sprinted at Ilkama with a head-on approach. Despite Eli's speed giving his adversary little time to react, Ilkama's experience taught him how to think quickly during a battle. His initial response to the lunge had been to parry Eli's attack directly. But as he realized the precision required to parry be too specific, the fear of missing forced him to spin to the side instead, narrowly dodging Eli's jab. However, turning the wrong way, Ilkama was at Eli's mercy. Having anticipated a dodge, Eli slashed the sword in Ilkama's direction as he passed, striking his opponent perfectly in the back of his armor. Ilkama fell to his knees but recovered quickly.

"I am grateful for this training gear," Ilkama chuckled. "Had that been a real sword and my armor not been so tough, that would have likely torn through me!"

"I still cannot fathom how such light armor can be so resistant," Eli commented, circling around Ilkama. Now that each had successfully landed a blow to the other, Eli felt satisfied with his skills. He was able to hold his own against Ilkama despite his amnesia. He did not understand, however, that Ilkama was significantly holding back. As the two circled one another, looking for a weak spot, Eli grew impatient and charged at Ilkama.

Eli had to develop a plan during his assault, whereas Ilkama already had one in mind. His goal became to trick Eli into the air. If Eli were to jump, there would be no way of dodging an attack. Ilkama brought his sword close to the ground to begin a fake-out. Unfortunately, when Eli's mind became a jumbled mess of thoughts, he defaulted to jumping back instead of up, successfully avoiding the trap. Immediately, Ilkama paused his attack; the Mienards smirked as it became clear tricking one another would be too big a challenge.

"My heart is racing!" Ilkama called joyously.

"As is mine!" replied Eli. The men laughed before Ilkama went in for a jab. Just as his opponent had done earlier, Eli spun out of the way but planted his foot in Ilkama's path, forcing the man to trip. As he neared the ground, Ilkama began a roll and stood back up, quickly spinning to face Eli, who had already started his next assault. As the two continued trading blows, each adapted their fighting techniques to defeat the other. Though neither had been aware of it at that moment, their rivalry forced each of their skills to improve rapidly despite Ilkama holding back.

"I believe it is time for the main course," declared Ilkama, raising his blade toward the sky. Using his free hand, Ilkama drew on his sword. Though Eli couldn't see the drawing, he recognized the skill as the sword lit up neon-green. Ilkama slashed vertically, and a green shockwave launched at Eli.

"Vertila!" Eli gasped, anticipating the wave to hit him. Roughly drawing a box with a concave top and bottom—Refliro—Eli positioned the blade across his chest as a translucent panel appeared. Lowering his center of gravity, Eli braced himself for the collision. When the shockwave hit the shield, the blast deflected into the sky.

"I see you have been studying your notes well," Ilkama laughed, spinning his sword around. "However, you could have sent that back at me. Did you know that?" Eli shook his head in response. "You can aim Refliro by changing how you hold your sword. The panel's opposite corners will match your sword's ends. Try it again," Ilkama grinned. He drew Vertila again but waited for Eli to draw his glyph again. When Eli complied and crossed his sword again, Ilkama generated the shockwave. The swordsman tilted the blade so the panel would aim at Ilkama. Too focused on his defenses, Eli did not notice Ilkama drew Refliro to face him.

Once the shockwave bounced off Eli's translucent shield, it made a strange sound before launching faster in Ilkama's direction. Eli had let his guard down, excited he'd learned more from the duel. However, when he heard the same sound again, he noticed the shockwave coming even faster in his direction. He messily drew Refliro again, but the collision shattered his shield and hit him directly in the stomach. Eli flew back but stayed in the arena.

"What was that?" Eli asked, standing up and holding his stomach. "I thought that would return it to you!"

"Refliro is not very durable. It multiplies the blast's power, but the shield itself can only handle attacks to a certain strength. After two collisions, almost any projectile becomes too powerful to be deflected again; the panel will shatter like glass," Ilkama explained. Eli nodded his head slowly, enjoying the lessons. "Now, shall we continue?" he asked. Eli smiled and charged at Ilkama again; he would test his opponent's reflexes with the next attack.

When he got close, Eli drew Bursor on his sword just before slashing. Ilkama, who had barely noticed Eli draw something, drew a glyph on his own sword. It barely lit up purple before colliding with Eli's sword. Upon clashing, Ilkama's purple sword sent a jolt of electricity through Eli's sword, shocking Eli enough to let go. His sword flew out of his hands.

Staring at the blade, Eli knew he'd be unable to reach it before getting attacked by Ilkama. However, he was not about to give up. Determined to keep going until a ring out, Eli bent close to the ground and raised his fists up. "You wish to continue? So be it!" Ilkama piqued Eli's interest when he threw his sword to the side.

Eli charged at his opponent directly. When he was within arm's reach, Eli raised his arm for a punch. Ilkama crossed his arms to block the attack. Upon contact, Ilkama kicked Eli in the stomach, who keeled over, holding the point of impact. Though the two had been wearing strong armor, Eli could not deny he felt the force of the attack. Before he could recover, Ilkama cupped his hands and hit Eli's back, causing him to fall to the floor. Eli paused momentarily to catch his breath.

While recovering, Ilkama stood beside him, offering his hand to the man he wished to help grow. Eli had not seen his friend's hand and grabbed his leg instead, pulling it and forcing his opponent to the ground. The two shared a laugh and stood back up.

"How are you so skilled at everything?" Eli wondered aloud, despite barely having fought in hand-to-hand combat.

"You can thank Albert for that one," Ilkama replied. Eli's heart sank slightly, being reminded of the people who used him. "Each member of that guild taught me valuable lessons in combat. The martial artist's continued reluctance toward using a weapon other than his fists inspired me to learn his style. If you wish to hurt someone's pride, defeat them using their own skills. If you do so well enough, their mettle will shatter."

"What about Sarah and Charles?" asked Eli. Naturally, he knew Devon's sword-fighting skills helped improve Ilkama's natural skills.

"Watching Sarah support from afar with potions inspired me to learn to make these," Ilkama reached into his armor and took out some potions. "Here, have this," he threw a red potion at Eli, who caught it effortlessly.

Analyzing the flask, Eli saw the liquid bubbling to the top. "It will return some energy to you," Ilkama insisted. "I saw you warm up earlier. You are likely tired, but I wish to fight you at your best," he explained. Eli hesitated briefly but drank the potion. He felt his body tingle slightly before his breathing slowed back to normal; Ilkama had been truthful.

"What about Charles?" asked Eli, wiping the cool liquid from his lips.

"Charles has taught me that I should be fearless. His inability to maintain manipulated allies is the reason their numbers are small. His strategies are generally uncreative and easy to foil," he explained. "There are days I wish there would be somebody smarter and tougher trying to overthrow me. The Bronze Foxes bore me, sometimes," Ilkama chuckled.

"You mentioned his lack of creativity. Do you claim to have creative tactics?" Eli's curiosity spiked. Ilkama's sly grin was enough of an answer for Eli. "Can you show me?"

"Of course," Ilkama walked over to pick up the swords, tossing Eli his weapon. "To be entirely honest, I have been holding back throughout this fight. Come at me with everything you have, and I will show you my strength."

Eli shook in fear momentarily, somewhat hoping Ilkama had been bluffing. Eli knew he would have to develop stronger attacks if he wished to keep up with Ilkama. Thinking back to the fight against the Sopala in the kingdom courtyard several weeks prior, Eli wondered if he could chain glyphs together. Believing it would explain the different intensities of Vertila, Eli tried mimicking the situation, drawing one glyph after the other. Just as it happened that day, the sword blade lit up a pale purple color instead of the typical green. He launched the blast at Ilkama.

The man smiled and drew two glyphs. The first was Bursor. The second, Eli had never seen before. Immediately, a powerful, continuous stream of air exploded from the tip of the blade. Ilkama pointed it at the ground and bounced high in the air. Following this, he aimed the burst behind him, allowing him to twirl over the stronger Vertila shockwave and straight into Eli.

Eli fell to one knee, trying to maintain some strength against Ilkama's powerful strike. Ilkama, noticing Eli's weakness, jumped back, allowing his opponent to regain his composure. Eli's breathing slowed over time, but he hadn't fully recovered before Ilkama drew a second sequence. Starting with Repeiletus, Ilkama plunged the sword into the ground, causing some tall, thin rocks to pop up from the arena. He followed this with the same second glyph as before; a burst of air—weaker than last time—knocked the small rocks out of the ground and sending them as projectiles at Eli, who narrowly jumped out of the way.

Eli became unhappy. Having thought he was doing well, he understood his skill was far below Ilkama's. If he didn't end the fight soon, Ilkama would end it for him in the coming attacks. Eli needed a final combination to put a stop to his opponent. One of the glyphs he learned—Lunimus—could blind anyone who looked at it. He outlined the skill, surprising Ilkama. In the bright flash, Ilkama tried to turn away but had already been momentarily blinded. Eli took the opportunity to repeat his previous, boosted Vertila. In a moment of confusion, the burst collided with Ilkama's potions, causing a chain reaction and exploding them.

Ilkama was launched across the arena, landing close to the edge. Eli, realizing he had overdone it, rushed to Ilkama's aid. Though Eli offered to help the injured swordsman, Ilkama fumed with rage. Ilkama barely stood up, reaching for one of his potions, but realized the potions had all been destroyed.

"My potions!" he screamed. "You destroyed them all! I spent weeks gathering the resources to brew them!"

"My deepest apologies, Lord Ilkama," Eli bowed, trembling. Worried Ilkama may kill him on the spot, he knew he had to make it up to his friend. "I am willing to help gather resources for them once more! Maybe that could be—"

"That was a smart move; I must give you credit for that," Ilkama seemed calm, complimenting his opponent. "However, this is where we end the battle," Ilkama drew Bursor, followed by Lunimus, aiming the sword directly at Eli's stomach. In a split second, the tip of the blade launched a beam of light straight toward Eli. In a fraction of a second, the beam collided with him, blasting Eli into the back wall, far outside the arena's bounds. Hitting his head hard against the wall, Eli's consciousness began to fade away. The last thing he heard was Ilkama calling the guards. "Take Eli back to his room."