Cid vs. Olivier 1

The battle begins with Cid getting blasted backward.

He violently crashes into the stone wall, then coughs up a mouthful of blood.

Even though he looks about ready to crumple into a heap, Olivier doesn’t let up. She swings her holy sword and aims for the boy’s neck.

She lops it clean off—or so it appears in that rapid exchange.

By leaning forward, Cid just barely ducks clear of Olivier’s slash. Instead, she carves a deep horizontal line in the wall.

***

Cid takes a full step to the front, but Olivier’s half step backward is far faster.

Because he hadn’t finished taking his step, he’s defenseless in the face of her strike.

Metal whines against metal, and Cid’s sword snaps.

He barely manages to protect himself, but his flimsy sword splits in two while his body bounces and rolls atop the stone floor.

It hardly qualifies as a fight. One side is obviously dominating.

But that’s just to be expected.

Technique has nothing to do with it. Her strength, speed, resilience, and all-around power are just fundamentally dimensions beyond his.

Just like how an adult can’t have a fair fight against a baby, the end result is predetermined when a young man who can’t use magic goes up against a hero who can.

***

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you smiling?”

Cid responds by reaching up and touching his cheek. Sure enough, there’s a smile there.

“There’s nothing I hate quite as much as a man who doesn’t know his place. The only reason you’re still alive is a stroke of dumb luck,” Nelson barks.

***

Volume 2, Chapter 3