From the moment the fight began, Ivan knew this would be his toughest battle ever. The One-Eyed Reaper had not earned her nickname for nothing, and if age and retirement had dulled her, he couldn’t tell. She had as much experience as he did, if not more. While he was at the church’s beck and call, only active when there was an incident with more powerful demons, she had been working as a ranger, traveling the country and slaying dangerous beasts and hunting the remnants of the demon army. But he was still confident. While she had been hunting beasts below her level, he had trained his entire life to fight powerful humanoids. Powerful demons almost always took human or nearly human forms, and such opponents were his specialty. And should she try to pull any tricks, he had faith. This was a Holy Duel, and he had the Lord on his side.Igrette stabbed at his face, aiming for his eye slit, and he tilted his head to the side, letting it slide off his mana-infused helmet while responding with a half-sword thrust of his own. She redirected his blade upward with her own, and at the same time crouched down slightly and delivered a low kick to his calf. She was far too quick for him to deflect with his sword, but he was able to reinforce his leg with mana. The force of the collision sent snow flying everywhere, clearing the ground a dozen feet in every direction, but his leg didn’t budge. He tried bringing his sword down upon her in a vertical slash while she pulled back, but she just spun out of the way, and his sword hit nothing but air.She’s fast.The two fighters exchanged a few more futile thrusts, with Igrettes scraping against Ivan’s armor, and Ivan’s hitting empty air. Both tried a few minor spells too, sending gusts of wind to knock each other off (...)