Revy gave Ace, with his warhammer and shield in hand, a once-over.
"What's this? Feeling itchy? Want to go a round?"
"Damn right I do. Been a while since I stretched my muscles properly."The man in sunglasses grinned."Bullying trainees is no fun. Come on—let's have a real match."
"Sure."
Revy casually tossed aside his mass-production pistol. Without even making a show of it, he took a single step forward—and instantly appeared 20 meters away by a long, rectangular package. He opened it and drew out a sleek, snow-white rectangular short blade.
"Snow Princess, huh…"Ace's face turned serious."Look, my shield's brand new. Please don't make Vulcan chew me out again."
"Relax. I'll go easy on you."
With his left hand gripping the sheath, Revy used his right to draw the snow-white, guardless tachi-like blade.
"That girl, Melantha, her strike had good spirit—but her angles and trajectory were off. Let me show you how it's done."
The next moment—
Revy vanished.
Or rather, he moved so fast that the human eye couldn't follow.
To Team A4 watching from the sidelines, Revy disappeared, leaving only a blinding white arc of a blade crashing again and again against Ace's shield.
And Ace, against that hurricane of slashes, stood his ground, unwavering.
"This… This is what true elite operators can do…"Andreana couldn't help but murmur in awe.
Until now, he had no idea just how wide the gap was between them and a real expert.
Melantha, Cutter, and Steward said nothing. Their eyes were locked on the dazzling spectacle before them.
"Indeed." Dobermann nodded."And from what I know of Ace, this isn't even half his strength. That means Revy's also not going all out."
"Watch closely. What you're seeing now—is what the battle between true elites really looks like."
Back on the field, Revy unleashed eight consecutive strikes, each with distinct blade forms—cleaves, chops, sweeps, and thrusts—all in the blink of an eye.
Melantha, knowledgeable in swordsmanship, could also spot subtler moves like knocks, stabs, parries, and whirls—traditional techniques from Yan's ancient martial arts.
The pressure mounted. Ace could barely retaliate.
His left hand, once swinging that massive warhammer, now stayed still. He relied entirely on his shield to block the relentless slashes.
Revy's blade filled the air, restricting Ace's space to a three-meter radius. Any time Ace tried to reposition, a strike would force him back.
"Such speed… such terrifying skill…"Melantha had no words."Even my teacher… probably wasn't as strong as Revy…"
But did Ace have no options?
Of course not.
Just as Revy's offense slightly faltered, Ace's long-dormant warhammer moved.
Boom!
Like thunder crashing down, the hammer swept forward with devastating force.
No—it didn't just sound like thunder.
As the hammer came down, a literal bolt of lightning exploded between them, shaking the field and briefly disrupting Revy's blade aura.
This was Ace's Originium Art—Thunder Reinforcement, empowering his blows and defense with electrical might.
It was this power that allowed Ace to withstand even a shot from a city-ship's main cannon when fully defending.
Faced with that force, Revy had to retreat.
"Damn, that's some serious firepower…"Ace panted, his shield now visibly scarred."No wonder Logos looked like he saw a ghost when he heard you'd taken Snow Princess back."
"Heh. If I hadn't dodged fast enough, your hammer would've smashed me flat too."
Revy sheathed his blade with a casual flourish.
"All those flashy strikes earlier? Just testing the waters. Look at your shield—not a single deep cut. Just surface scratches."
"Ha!"Ace slammed his shield into the ground and laughed."You could sell that story to someone else—but not me. I know who had the upper hand."
He wasn't fighting seriously, true—but he could tell Revy wasn't either.
Revy hadn't fought to win—he fought to vent. Every strike was measured, controlled.
And Ace knew… Revy didn't even want to win.
"You still got juice left, Revy? I've got some tricks too."
"If you're game, I'm in."
Ace raised his shield and hammer again.
Revy slowly raised his sheathed sword to waist height.
Tension built again…
Until—
**"That's enough, BOTH OF YOU—STOP!"
A deep, commanding voice thundered from across the training field.