Ple-Sen
- One hundred eighty-eight, heh-heh, - Vargas shielded his eye with his palm, then collected himself.
- My lady, - kneeling on one knee, Lester offers his hand to Alaria. - I would love to fight shoulder to shoulder with you in a real battle against the enemies of the state. To be honest, I did not expect such a duel at all! You are incredibly agile. Did you serve in the military?
Although Alaria had managed to study his style thoroughly during their duel with Orvald, identifying his strengths and weaknesses, Lester Vargas still proved to be more than a worthy opponent. Not fighting him at full strength would have been tantamount to admitting defeat, and Catharsis had no intention of surrendering. On the contrary — she wanted to extract everything she could from this duel.
The Tanarsian woman herself did not immediately notice how her entire mind and whole being had become consumed by their clash with Dawnsteel. Engulfed in flames, the man fought like a lion and did not even think about defeat. At the same time, Catharsis herself found it difficult to find a breach in the opponent's defense when most of her strength was spent on her own.
What led to defeat was not a fatal mistake on either side. Nor was it the trump card Lester had kept up his sleeve. Possessing remarkable endurance, he took her, like an impregnable fortress, by attrition.
— You are quite gallant, my lord.
Smiling at her opponent, Alaria smiled and, accepting his help, rose to her feet.
— I can return the compliment. I have crossed swords with many warriors, but one of your caliber is a rare encounter. Our Deus knows how to choose worthy knights. As for your question, not quite. I have been part of a squad that dealt with dangerous monsters... and not only that. And I would always be glad to fight shoulder to shoulder, should duty to the Crown bring you to Lamente.