Heavy rain battered against the armor of two skilled warriors. One wielded an inhuman-looking monstrous blade and the other, a spear designed with serrated edges—its metal forged from exotic ores which were not to be found upon this world.

  Swiftly and meticulously, they both swung their weapons aimed at each other's throats. An ear-shattering clang resounded.

  Both were still standing. Their backs now faced each other after a seemingly unsatisfying clash.

  This was the response that each of their weapons chose.

  A moment of respite. The spearman spoke, "Impressive, Castellvi... but it looks like that, this is as far as you can go."

  It seems that it was only the swordsman who found the answer that was brought upon by their weapons, unsatisfying.

  The swordsman's helmet suddenly started to crack as if it was being eroded by nothing but the mix of the air and the heavy rain itself.

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  Then, his helmet crumbled onto the wet ground.

  Each metal piece which was once a helmet were nothing left but mere metal fragments. It began to slowly sink into the mud and looked as if it was being erased from existence in the heavy rain. The swordsman dropped his inhuman weapon and kneeled after feeling his joints weaken.

  The swordsman lost this duel.

  The swordsman hung his head and saw that there was a puddle that pooled caused by the rain and the weight of his footsteps during his duel with the spearman. It showed his reflection.

  He saw a faceless head of a wooden marionette which was molded to at least form some partial human-like facial features to look like a man's.

  The spearman, who was behind the marionette clad in heavy armor casually walked to it—still kneeling from its defeat and its head hung.

  As the spearman finished their approach and stopped behind the defeated marionette swordsman, they swung their spear once more.

  The wooden head of the marionette was detached from its stringless body. It immediately went limp.

  The spearman removed their helmet and carried it on their side revealing their face to be of a woman's. Her red hair was tied in a braid which allows her head to fit in her protective headgear.

  She looked at the now lifeless marionette with a cold stare. "You were nothing, but a monster."

  Lightning discharged in the air as a roaring thunder followed over the small battlefield somewhere at a dark castle where she and the marionette once fought.