The moment feathers and swords collided—
The air screamed.
Metal shrieked against condensed mana, sparks scattering as Serene's feathers twisted midair, deflecting, grazing, slipping past Knox's floating blades by the thinnest margins. The forest trembled as the first shockwave rippled outward, leaves torn free and branches snapping like brittle bones.
And yet—
Knox was smiling.
Serene hovered opposite him, feathers spiraling behind her like a regal mantle. Her eyes narrowed—not in fear, but in sharp irritation.
Ten—no, nearly twenty—Dark Flares bloomed into existence behind her. Black flames churned and pulsed, illuminating her silhouette like a crowned shadow.
The Dark Flares launched.
They tore through the forest in a cascading barrage, explosions blooming one after another as if the night itself were being set ablaze.
Knox sighed.
"Wow… that's a lot," he muttered, "Careful, you'll burn down the scenery~"
Several floating blades snapped into motion, cleaving through incoming flames, while others spun to intercept stray explosions. Knox moved as if strolling through falling rain—unhurried, precise, almost lazy.
Serene clicked her tongue.
Feathers scattered.
One slipped past Knox's defenses, brushing his shoulder and then...it touched Knox's shoulder.
For a heartbeat, Serene's eyes gleamed.
And then—
Nothing. Knox blinked once.
"…Hm?" He glanced at his shoulder, then back at her. "Was that supposed to do something?"
He smiled. "Sorry… would you like to try that again?"
Serene's smile twitched. Just slightly.
Then, the feathers around her trembled—no longer playful, no longer testing.
"…I see, looks like my mind control feather isn't working at all to you." she said softly.
Knox tilted his head, utterly at ease, while his swords drifted calmly around him.
"Hehe~ if you're going to flatter me," he replied, "at least buy me dinner first."
The forest fell silent—
Right before Serene raised her hand.
"Chain of Feathers."
The feathers moved.
They halted midair, then split apart, thin magic lines flashing as they linked together. In an instant, multiple chains formed—smooth, seamless—snapping toward Knox from every direction.
Knox didn't retreat.
Instead, he stepped forward.
His right foot slid across the ground, body turning slightly to the side as his right hand lifted—index and middle fingers pressed together, relaxed.
"Ohhh," he said lightly, watching the chains rush in.
"Chains? I never thought you had that kind of hobby~"
He moved. There was no burst of speed—only smooth, continuous motion.
Knox pivoted on his heel, torso twisting as his fingers flicked forward. Two floating swords shot out in response, slicing cleanly through the first chain. Without stopping, he shifted his weight, stepping to the side as his hand swept back.
Another pair followed.
Then another.
Tap. Flick. Sweep.
Each small motion of his body fed into the next—feet gliding, shoulders turning—while the swords kept pace, striking in rapid succession. There was no pause between attacks. The blades flowed like a continuous dance, cutting through the incoming restraints before they could fully close in.
Serene watched, eyes narrowing.
"Hoo~ so this is your way of fighting," she said lightly.
"Then… how about this?"
Darkness surged.
Another twenty more Dark Flares bloomed into existence around her, hovering like black suns before launching forward in staggered bursts.
Knox exhaled softly.
He stepped again—forward and to the side—letting an explosion roar past his shoulder as his fingers traced a short arc. The swords followed instantly, curving in tight lines to intercept the incoming flames.
One blade cut a Dark Flare apart.
Another pierced straight through the core of the next.
Two more crossed paths midair, detonating a third before it reached him.
Knox didn't stop moving.
He moved forward in the same fluid rhythm, feet gliding as though the explosions meant nothing.
His feet glided over the forest floor, posture upright, movements relaxed—almost leisurely—while his hands never stopped. Fingers flicked. Wrist turned. Body followed. With every step, another wave of blades surged forward, relentless and precise, pressure stacking without pause.
"Hey, watch out," Knox said cheerfully, stepping through drifting embers.
"Be careful not to burn the forest~ Or else, Kizen might sue your Ivory Tower!"
Another explosion thundered behind him.
Serene clicked her tongue.
Feathers snapped outward, intercepting the barrage, but even as one blade was deflected, another was already there—then another—forcing her back step by step.
"…Tch."
Only then did Knox slow.
His feet came to a stop. His fingers held still.
The swords froze midair, humming softly as the smoke cleared.
Knox tilted his head, smiling as if he'd just finished stretching.
Serene steadied herself, feathers hovering tightly behind her. Her smile was still there—but thinner now, sharper.
"…Looks like you still haven't even gotten serious at all," she said quietly.
Knox blinked.
Then smiled wider. "Hehe~ caught that already?"
The air between them tightened.
The duel was no longer a test.
It was becoming something else entirely.
Golden light tore through the forest.
Not in a single burst, but in waves—dozens of streaks descending at once, slashing diagonally through the air like a rain of blades. Leaves were shredded mid-fall, tree bark split open where the strikes grazed too close.
Serene stood unmoving at the center of it all, her feathers spread behind her, directing the assault with small, precise gestures.
Knox stepped forward.
His foot slid sideways at the last instant, a golden streak passing so close it shaved a thin line through the air beside his cheek. Another followed immediately from above—
Knox dipped his shoulder and twisted, the strike missing by barely a hand's width.
"Heh," he muttered lightly.
"That's a bit much, don't you think?"
Two fingers lifted.
A pale-blue blade formed near his wrist, thin and sharp, its surface shimmering like condensed frost.
Knox flicked his hand.
The sword snapped forward, cutting cleanly through an incoming streak. Light scattered, fragments dissolving before they could reach the ground.
He didn't stop.
Another step carried him diagonally forward. His weight shifted smoothly, hips turning as his raised fingers changed direction.
A second blade appeared—then a third—each one forming in sequence, not all at once. They moved with him, their trajectories following the rotation of his torso rather than fixed lines.
Golden streaks kept coming.
Knox weaved through them.
A half-step back.
A turn of the waist.
A short pivot on his heel.
Each dodge happened late—dangerously late—his movements timed so closely that several streaks passed within inches of his body. When space tightened too much, a blade flashed out, intercepting the strike at the final moment.
Another streak came from behind—
Knox didn't look.
His fingers shifted slightly.
A floating sword curved backward and sliced it apart without breaking his stride.
Clang.
Serene's eyes narrowed.
"What a dangerous dodging style…"
Knox spun once, letting a streak skim past his shoulder before landing lightly on the balls of his feet.
He smiled.
The rain intensified. More feathers darkened midair, their golden glow sharpening as they accelerated.
The forest floor cracked under the impact of missed strikes, gouges forming where light struck earth.
Knox moved faster.
His steps shortened, his movements tightening. With every motion, a new blade appeared, then vanished, replaced by another. The rhythm never broke.
Then—
His hand pressed downward.
The floating swords plunged into the ground around him, one after another, embedding themselves in a loose circular pattern.
The blades stood at varying angles, their surfaces vibrating faintly with condensed mana, hilts jutting upward like silent gravestones. Without looking down, Knox stepped onto one—balancing on a single foot.
"…Hmm?" Serene felt it immediately.
The space around Knox had changed.
Feathers surged again, cutting toward him from multiple angles—
Knox accepted the incoming attacks. He crossed the space by stepping and evading from hilt to hilt.
Each landing was brief, precise, just long enough to redirect his momentum before he moved again. From above, slender blades descended in controlled drops, striking down along the lines his movement created, while others peeled away from the air and swept forward as flying cuts that chased Serene's shifting position.
Knox attacked while relocating, never planting himself in one place. Standing atop one hilt, he twisted through the waist and sent a blade plunging downward; before the impact finished echoing, he had already leapt to the next sword, a flying blade slicing through the space he had just vacated.
Serene's golden feathers surged to meet the assault, forming layered defenses that shattered under repeated impacts from above and from the side. Each time she adjusted, another sword fell, or another flying blade arrived a heartbeat later, forcing her reactions to trail behind his rhythm.
Knox landed on another hilt, knee flexed, body light, and struck downward again as several blades descended in sequence, not clustered, but staggered just enough to deny her a clean counter. The sword beneath his foot quivered under the recoil as he pushed off once more, already airborne toward the next point.
He never touched the ground.
From one upright hilt to another, Knox moved in short, controlled arcs, his attacks threading through his footwork as if both were part of the same motion. Flying swords curved along his path, reinforcing each shift in position, turning his movement itself into an advancing threat.
Serene was driven back.
Her smile tightened, irritation finally bleeding through as the feathers around her trembled and began to withdraw. The scattered feathers drew inward, their golden light compressing, folding over itself until the air grew heavy with pressure.
Knox felt the change the moment he landed again.
He straightened slightly on the hilt, gaze lifting.
The condensed feathers surged forward in a single massive streak, gold blazing as it tore through the forest, the ground splitting beneath its passage.
Standing firm on the sword hilt, Knox guided the formation with small, deliberate movements, the blades surging forward in clustered lines, each group reinforcing the next without losing its individual presence, their spacing tightening as several layers of blades aligned and advanced together.
Then—as if both had foreseen the same instant, they launched their attacks in perfect unison.
Gold collided with blue.
Light and force crashing together in a violent convergence.
The collision wasn't a clean impact, but a compressed grind of overlapping forces, layers of pale-blue blades pressing into the golden mass from slightly offset angles.
For a brief moment the space between them warped under the strain, then fractures began to spread across the golden streak, its condensed structure failing as the clustered pressure continued to drive forward.
Then... the light shattered.
Golden fragments splintered and dissolved before they could reach the ground, peeled away piece by piece rather than blown apart all at once. The remaining blades didn't slow, the clustered advance continuing along the same line, intact and controlled.
Serene's eyes widened as the attack closed the distance far faster than she had anticipated, the layered blue glow already upon her—
Only to halt a breath away.
The clustered blades froze in place, their pale-blue glow hovering a breath away from Serene's face, close enough for the light to catch in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Knox had already leapt down from the sword hilt, landing slowly and elegantly.
"Checkmate~"
The swords stilled.
The forest fell silent.
Serene let out a long breath, shoulders easing as the tension drained from her stance.
"…Alright, alright," she said with a small, resigned sigh. "I lost~"
And with that, the clash between two scummy foxes—
Ahem, the match between Special Entry No. 1 and Special Entry No. 2, was officially concluded.
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Character Voicelines · Serene: About Knox: Part 1
Serene: A bit annoying… but I suppose that handsome face of his is a plus.
Serene: Although… admittedly, it's also a little punchable (ง •̀_•́)ง