My Servant System

"You're Mother rubbed off on you far too damn much, brat..."

Glowering at me, Lady Kio twirled her scimitar twice before raising her free hand, the petite woman curling her fingers back as she invited me to attack first, all while she growled "Always questioning those above you, always being rude and hiding it behind a mask... both of you are insufferable!"

"Because I believe respect is earned and not given? Interesting... that is certainly an interesting stance to take against a statement that is objectively true, but I am not here to argue with you, Mother in law~!"

Smiling sweetly at her, I twirled my own blade and listened to her growl again, her irritation causing her tail to swish back and forth swiftly while her eyes narrowed and her pupils constricted to small pinpricks that made her look rather inhuman...

"Is it now..?"

Despite that resulting in a rather cold and grating growl, I continued to smile and nodded, saying "It is indeed~! And so far, all I can say I understand about you, Mother in law, is that you seem to have an odd obsession with my own Mother?"

"Are you going to keep talking or are we going to spar?!"

"Hm? Why not both?"

I tilted my head, making the older Dogkin snarl at me before she suddenly lunged forwards, her scimitar arcing towards my neck as she tried to slice my head off with a single swipe in order to win this spar instantly, as well as scare me into submission I suppose.

Taking a step back, I watched the blade sail harmlessly past me and observed how Lady Kio was forced to step forwards to compensate, keeping her balance after a missed attack and leaving her side vulnerable to a counterattack, though as I tried to make a move on that, the petite woman traveling with her momentum and adding to it as she utilized a burst of mana from the sole of her foot to turn all the way back around and cleave downwards.

Another burst of mana into her arm this time forced that blade to move far faster than I anticipated, but I could still counter it as I grasped the hilt of my Khopesh and swung it upwards, meeting her scimitar.

Without a word she sneered at me and used that technique once more, this time returning to her foot as she drove her knee into my gut and forced me back a step as pain erupted inside my torso, my ribs cracking slightly as I now had to take a few steps back to alleviate this sudden pain that had been inflicted onto me.

"Not so chatty now are you brat?!"

In a blur of olive and black, the petite Dogkin appeared in front of me and stabbed the scimitar towards my stomach, her elbow shrouded in a slight afterglow of mana as she continued to utilize that technique, something that would definitely make this spar one hell of a headache for me.

She was far too close and fast to leave this position we were in unscathed, so I grit my teeth and twisted myself to the side, ignoring the new hot pain that scorched my abdomen as her scimitar sliced through my flesh and scored a deep enough cut to ensure the rest of this spar would be in pain.

But, like before, her blade was relatively unhindered as it slid forwards, giving me ample time to lower my shoulder and slam myself into her chest, surprising the Dogkin and knocking the air from her lungs.

It was quite satisfactory to hear her gasping for breath as she stumbled backwards, and I ignored the wetness of my blood soaking into my clothing as I followed that up with a cut of my own, the inner crescent of my Khopesh descending towards her side as I tried to reciprocate what she had done to me.

Of course, I expected her to try and escape from being injured, and I had to hold back a grin as she stepped away from my swing, just out of reach of the crescent since she then raised her blade and blocked the blow with the mere second she bought from stepping away.

Lady Kio was about to say something when her eyes widened as she felt the hooked tip of my blade sink into her back, digging into the muscle and causing her to let out a pained cry as she staggered forwards, carried towards me by my Khopesh.

Lunging forwards, she cracked her skull against mine and grunted as she stumbled away from my blade, leaving her blood to splatter across the tile as it seeped out of her back.

My vision spun and blurred as I clutched my nose, the sensitive nerve cluster messing with all of my senses as the pain overloaded my system for a moment, my blood was all I could smell and taste, my ears were ringing, and I was temporarily blinded; thankfully so was she since the Dogkin had to head butt upwards did so whilst in pain, so...

I was able to flood my body with gentle Water Mana that healed most of my wounds away and refreshed myself enough to catch sight of the scimitar stabbing towards my stomach once more, and it was still quick as lightning as the woman snarled at me once more.

With my vision returned, I got to watch in wonderful detail as I caught the scimitar with my abdomen, the puncturing of my flesh and the explosion of scorching hot agony that flooded my torso reminding me just how terrible of a person I could be since this... was what I lived for, albeit on the other side of this current situation.

But even then, I tried to ignore the pain as best I could as I grabbed Lady Kio's hand and pulled forwards, lodging her weapon inside me and relying on my dwindling strength to bring my own weapon to bear, trapping the Dogkin in a mutual dance of death as I raised it and pressed the tip of my Khopesh beneath her breast, aiming it straight at her heart.

Coughing slightly, I frowned at the metallic taste that pervaded my mouth before rasping "I think... I win..?", causing Lady Kio to frown too as she felt a small cut as I pressed my blade deeper into her skin.

The heat that shrouded her blade gradually diminished as well, and I felt myself getting uncharacteristically cold as my blood continued to drip down onto the tile, pooling at our feet.

She stared into my eyes quietly as we stood there, before the Dogkin placed her hand on my stomach and gently pushed me back, pulling her scimitar free and opening the wound completely, causing more of my blood to spill now that it was unobstructed.

But, just as I was 'freed' from the embrace of the scimitar I was caught by Leone, who had shot forwards the second I was about to stagger and fall as my strength continued to seep out of me every second, and I smiled at the Vampire as I said "I'm fine... just gimme a moment..."

Her crimson eyes were burning as she just stared at me, so I chuckled and rested my hand on the wound before tracing out the runes needed for a healing spell with my free hand, swiftly closing the wound and knitting the muscles back together using my Water Mana.

Leone aided me from the back, our mana meeting together in the middle as she healed me as well, hastening this process and ensuring I was back up to full health in a manner of moments, which allowed me to look back towards Lady Kio as I asked "That was a rather swift spar, no?"

The Dogkin was rubbing at her back, the potion in her other hand sliding down her gullet as she healed via alchemy instead of magic, and upon hearing that she raised a brow and replied "It was, and I would say it was a tie at best. Before you brought that blade up, a twist and a punch would have knocked you on your ass. Still..."

Handing the empty vial back to the older man, Lady Kio looked down at her bloodied weapon and nodded, before looking back at my own bloodied Khopesh, saying "We traded blows, nothing more. I believe that calls for round two. Besides, I am far from convinced of anything at all, and still a tad irate. So accompany me for another, will you?"

Even if her tone and her expression were still as crass as before, I noticed that it was her words that hinted me in on how she was feeling, not how those words sounded or how she carried herself; she wasn't belittling me or cursing me, so perhaps some progress had been made?

No 'brat' or other demeaning title was spouted in those sentences, so I took a deep breath and nodded, deciding that I would humor her for this once... even if I desired to see if I could injure her again for what she had said earlier.