SSS Class Mythic Beast Master-Chapter 399: Night Spar (1)

The stars scattered overhead.

The ocean waves maintained their rhythm of crashing, retreat, crashing, retreat. Reinhard stood at the railing with Marie's hand still warm in his, letting the sound wash over him, trying to use it to quiet the storm in his mind.

Then footsteps broke through the wave-song.

"If you wish to distract yourself, you just need to move your body and focus on something else."

Reinhard blinked. He and Marie turned simultaneously to see Scáth emerge from the villa's darkness. Her purple hair looked almost black in the moonlight, wine-colored eyes gleaming with that characteristic intensity. She wore black shorts with white dot patterns and a simple black shirt, casual clothing that somehow still conveyed readiness for combat.

Marie blinked, then smiled warmly, raising her free hand in greeting. "Scáth."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow, his mind already suspecting where this was heading. "I already tried that before, but the thoughts appeared later."

Scáth's grin widened, teeth showing in an expression that was equal parts friendly and predatory. "Then you just need a better way to move your body. Like this."

She exploded forward.

No warning or preparation, just instant acceleration from standing still to full sprint. Her leg lashed out in a roundhouse kick that cut through the air with an audible whistle.

Reinhard instantly let go of Marie's hand before his arms came up on pure instinct. Just as Scath's leg arrived, the kick connected with brutal force. Impact reverberated through his forearms, and then his feet left the ground completely.

His body launched backward, sailing over the railing in an arc through moonlit air.

"Really, Scáth?" Marie's voice carried exasperated fondness as she watched Reinhard fly toward the beach below.

Scáth laughed brightly and completely unapologetic. "A spar will distract and tire him out perfectly!"

She jumped over the railing without stopping, landing on the sand below with an impact that sent a small spray outward. Her body coiled immediately, ready to continue, while Reinhard had already landed, feet touching down and absorbing momentum with bent knees.

He straightened slowly, one hand coming up to brush untamed black hair from his face. His light blue eyes met Scáth's wine-colored gaze across ten feet of moonlit beach.

Reinhard sighed, but despite everything, he felt his lips curve into a faint smile. "Fine. But no Beast Spirits."

Scáth's grin somehow widened further. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

They moved simultaneously.

Sand exploded beneath their feet as both fighters launched forward. The gap closed in a second as Reinhard's fist drove toward Scáth's face. Her palm came up, deflecting the blow past her head.

She countered with a knee strike aimed at his ribs, but he twisted, taking the impact on his hip instead, using the momentum to spin into an elbow strike that she barely ducked under.

They separated, circled, and crashed together again.

Scáth's leg came up in a high kick. Reinhard's forearm blocked, but she used the contact point as a pivot to make her body rotate, her other leg sweeping low. He jumped, clearing the sweep by inches, his own leg lashing out mid-air.

She leaned back impossibly far, purple hair nearly touching sand, his foot passing through the space her head had occupied.

Both landed before they both moved.

Reinhard drove forward with a combination of punches. Scáth weaved through the first two, caught the third on raised shoulder, her counter already in motion. Palm struck toward his stomach, but he shifted, redirecting the blow past his side, his elbow coming down toward her extended arm.

She pulled back just in time, the elbow grazing past.

"Not bad!" Scáth's voice carried pure joy.

"You're not making this easy." Reinhard's response came slightly breathless.

They clashed again, this time faster as both found a rhythm, and both were reading each other's patterns.

Scáth feinted high, then drove a low shoulder tackle meant to drive Reinhard into the sand. He saw it coming, planted his feet, and met her momentum with hands that caught her shoulders. Her wine-colored eyes widened slightly, surprise mixed with delight as Reinhard used her own force against her, pivoting and redirecting.

She stumbled past him, recovered instantly, spun with a fist blasting out behind which he ducked under.

The exchange accelerated.

Reinhard's fist shot forward while Scáth's hand came up, grabbing his wrist. Her other hand reached, caught his opposite wrist. For a split second, they stood locked, hands gripping hands, and arms extended between them like bridges.

Then they moved as one.

Both pulled simultaneously, yanking each other forward. Their heads came together, foreheads nearly touching, and both fighters cocked their free arms back.

Their fists drove forward together.

A light crashing sound rang out.

Knuckles met faces simultaneously, as Reinhard's fist connected with Scáth's cheek, and hers crashed into his jaw.

The sound was sharp and brutal, with both heads snapped sideways from the force.

But neither let go of the other.

They stood there for a second, fists still pressed against each other's faces, hands still gripping wrists, both grinning despite the impacts. Then they released simultaneously, pushing off and creating space.

Reinhard's jaw slightly throbbed while Scáth's cheek was already starting to show a bit of color where his knuckles had landed.

But neither of them cared, as it would heal quickly in a couple of seconds.

"Better!" She declared, bouncing on her toes.

"You asked for it," Reinhard replied, shaking out his hand.

They came together again.

This time Scáth moved first, a sudden blur in the cool air. She didn't step; she launched, her body coiling and then unfurling into a horizontal spin. A single leg extending to a razor-straight point, driving down to the space between Reinhard's guard.

Scáth's leg sliced downward through the night air. In one fluid motion, Reinhard moved beneath it, his body rolling forward with her momentum. His own leg arced upward, heel seeking the space where she would land.

Scath's wine-colored eyes shine in delight as the corner of her mouth twitches upward. Her forearms crossed overhead just as his heel connected with a dull thud that sent tremors through the sand beneath her.

Without pause, her fingers found his ankle, vise-like. A sharp tug.

The stars and ocean traded places in Reinhard's vision. His stomach lurched as gravity betrayed him, the beach rushing up to meet his face. His fist slammed into the sand, sending grains exploding outward like tiny shrapnel.

The impact shook his shoulder but gave him the footing he needed to twist his body. His planted fist became the center of his universe as he pivoted around it, channeling Scáth's force back into her grip. His free leg whipped like a scythe.

Her fingers opened as she surrendered to the momentum with her purple hair unfurling against the night sky as she somersaulted through the air. Ten feet away, she touched down in a predatory crouch, fingertips grazing the sand.