Fencing [Albrecht/Lisa]

Hearing that filled the knight with pride and confidence, he prized his strength above all else and gaining recognition from another sword user made it even better.

She was aiming at his head again. He wasn't quite sure what she was trying to accomplish but perhaps it was about time he mixed up instead of just parrying for a third time, keep her guessing so he doesn't become easy to read. He'd attempt to shift his body to left as to avoid the incoming attack and immediately follow it with tackle, bumping into Lisa with his shoulder to throw her off balance as she kept bringing the blade down and attempt a simple thrust at stomach's height right away. If he was quick enough for that of course, he was risking not dodging in time or having his move be read by her.

"Damn!" Lisa growled as she felt his shoulder interrupt her. She felt her center of gravity waver as it caught her in the middle of her maneuver. This was bad. Her feet lost their balance. She quickly dug her hind leg by the heel behind on the floor, causing her to stop in her tracks and then stomped on the ground with her lead leg to stabilize herself in order to hold her ground.

As the Cadet tried to regain her footing, Lisa let go her blade with her left hand to quickly pull it up in diagonally front of her with the right in a sort of block. She had her free left palm to press against the spine of her katana to allow it to divert the path of the stab and help deal with the resulting force from the clash, barely. Both wielders of the blade were now in a lock together. But perhaps not long as Lisa quickly followed up with smacking the hilt by the butt end against Albrecht's face to force him back.

"This is getting good." He muttered, filled with battle-joy.

Upon seeing the upcoming hilt Albrecht gritted his teeth and tensed up his body, he intended to withstand that hit through determination and guts. It worked... partially, the impact and pain made him back off three or four steps but still with his sword up. There was an audible snarl coming from him after the hit. It hurt but he was still up, not going to falter now.

Albrecht would hold his sword pointing outward in her direction, he expected her to charge again and attack. Attentively he watched her feet, first step forward she took he too would lunge forward pointing his sword at Lisa as to thrust her on the chest.

"There's more where they came from!" Lisa declared sharply as she was pleased enough to see her attack connected while taking up the chudan-no-kamae. But she began to note this battle was taking a little longer than she expected. The exchange took too long and she was beginning to tire with maneuver after maneuver. There was only one thing to be sure, she needed to end this quickly. Lisa began to take the initiative once again by stepping forward quickly to pressure him, but this time Albrecht intercepted her. It was too late to shift her footwork to avoid as her center of gravity was already on the path forward. Additionally, Albrecht's blade had the reach advantage.

Instead of simply slashing at Albrecht, the Princess opted to allow her blade to catch it as its edge flipped to the side to divert the weapon again away from her body towards her right side. Before Albrecht's body could actually collide with hers, Lisa quickly slid her hands together on the katana's hilt so that a good portion of the hilt was sticking below her hands. She used that part to wedge into Albrecht's hilt space between his hands as a form of leverage to push the entirety of his blade and his arms further to her right and away from her. And with their bodies so close to each other, it would be difficult for Albrecht to even maneuver his blade, but it was close enough for Lisa to bring up her hind leg to the front for her to swerve further to the left and end up at his back before swinging down her blade for a crushing blow at the back of his neck.

He made a terrible mistake, he let the Princess get to close to him. Albrecht had to push her away somehow, perhaps grapple her and throw to the ground. She made quick footwork to move behind him while Lamina Sanctus had been deflected away. With a snarl, the knight would move his right leg in an attempt to place it in the way of Lisa's trajectory and sweep her legs off the ground in a swift and brute movement, then a downward slash at full force using the holy blade. Failing this maneuver or missing would mean being exposed to Lisa's blow and losing the duel.

It was a moment when she was so assured of her victory. Albrecht was strong, that much was for certain. But she felt something give beneath her. Something was in the way of her footwork and interrupted her final attack while forcing her back to collide to the floor. She had reason to yelp. Not because she fell on her back, but also of the excruciating and undeniable pain of the slash across her chest. The Princess clutched and curled up to herself in a fetal position from the sheer suffering from that single attack. She grit her teeth and tried to breathe. But worst of all, feeling this pain verified one thing.

Warily she got up and glared at Albrecht for a long moment. On one end, she initially underestimated him more than she'd like to admit. He was strong, yes. But, he was not a Persona User. She knew Maria was strong, but she also knew even she had limits. It would've been easy to apply the same to Albrecht, yet here she was. Wrong more than ever. The woman appeared stoic in the next moment before finally breaking the silence with a...


It was as blunt as she could put it out. She tried so hard to fight back the tears. Lisa wasn't going to show them here in front of him, that was shameful. But it still hurt. After all this time training, she still lost and to some nobody from a Sunday Mass Choir group. She breathed in through her nostrils and sighed deeply before looking at him sternly. But she began rather sullenly. "Are all of you people from the Church this strong?"

The hit connected, that had been a close match. Though usually he'd fight with more ferocity and take more risks, it's just that he couldn't afford to be hit at all. Not to mention, duels at the Black Lions were much more violent and usually ended up with someone gaining a new scar or a broken bone. Still, she was very skilled with the sword, could put some Black Lions to shame.

Albrecht would have his hand out for Lisa to take and aid her get up, he didn't expect her to take it but it was the polite thing to do.

"Quick footwork and just as quick strikes, you pushed me into the defensive the whole time. Good training spar." He spoke, it was a genuine compliment from his part. He'd want to repeat training with her in the future even. "Only the militant arm. Your average priest is just that, a priest... Though you flatter me, Lisa. I have trained for five years, it's good to see the results."

Lisa shook her head at his silent offer. It only made the sore wound even more painful at this point. She got up on her feet before swinging her blade to the side in chiburi away from Albrecht and sheathing it. If there was one thing she got from this, it was another rival. To think both of them came from the Church... maybe it was worth having a look at what they did there some day. "I don't aim to coddle or flatter anyone. It's a waste of time. You're strong, that's all there is to it."

It was a blunt delivery as usual. She hated the cattiness and politics that seemed to surround her family. From a very young age after the Divide, all she wanted is to protect her family. But growing up, there were all sorts of annoying and strange things she had to deal with as the youngest daughter of the Lamecia's.  "Militant arm, huh...? I heard from my Brother you people fight against Demons as a living. That explains a lot about you and Maria..."

It really did. If their entire living was dedicated to combat, it was to no surprise that Maria was the only one who came out with a successful mission in their first try. And how they both just became a Cadet not so long ago before becoming a Class Two Cadet in a single mission. It was truly a big world out there outside of Endymion. Perhaps one day she should come and see what the World had to offer.

The bell finally rang, as if signalling the end of the time. Lisa bit her lip at the noise and began to leave. But not until she craned her head back towards Albrecht. There was a fire in her eyes, determination. "You can always find me here if you want another round. I won't lose next time."

She was about what he expected from what Maria had told him, stand offish and no pleasantries. Though perhaps her pride and straightforwardness was something he could come to respect should she temper it. In a way, just like he should learn to temper his bloodlust.

"Very well. I am strong and you are fast." He folded his arms, even if it wasn't her intention he was getting recognition and that filled him with pride. It was one of his traits he prized the most, combat prowess, it's so important it defines his outlook and how he carries his life. He fully expected to live the rest of his life on the battlefield even. "They never rest, why should i?" He added with a nod.

He gave Lisa a blank stare for a moment but his eyes returned to his fierce and stern expression quickly. He had to reply to her intense fire somehow.

"I look forward to it. We can compare the kill count during the next mission too, how about it?"

She nodded back and returned back with a fierce smirk. "Naturally. I look forward to beating you this time. Until then..."

The Princess gave a small bow as a farewell before finally exiting the gym.

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