'To think, after everything that's happened to me, here I am, about to go one on one against THE Durandal of Schicksal.' Thought the kid to himself.

Normally, anyone in his situation would be absolutely honored to get the oppurtunity to test their skills against someone with as much respect and popularity like her, but with the current circumstances as they were, Alex saw this as a roadblock.

As an obstacle he had to overcome at all costs.

The boy firmly gripped his sword as he got into a fighting stance, mentally trying to calm his nerves as much as he could which was in stark contrast to Durandal, who just stood there not moving an inch, showing how calm, cool, and collected she was.

BGM: Dark Impetus from Kingdom Heart Birth By Sleep

Eventually, the time for waiting was over as after a few more seconds of the two staring down at one another, they charged at each other, meeting in the middle as sword and lance clashed.

In that clash, it became immediately known just how much more strength Durandal had than Alex as along with her much larger weapon, she began to push Alex back.

The kid immediately backed off to take a moment and gather himself.

"You've encountered an immovable object Mr. Mustang." Said Durandal.

Alex simply chuckled at this remark.

"Then I guess I'll just have to become an unstoppable force and move past the immovable object." Said the boy.

Alex dashed forward and the two began to clash over and over again, going back and forth.

The kid then placed his sword under the lance as he somehow managed to lift it up, moving her arm away.

However right as he was about to push her aside and run past, Alex saw Durandal's left fist move forward, about to sock him right in the face.

Alex immediately used his sword to block the hit.

The punch connected and knocked Alex back as the boy was shocked at just how powerful Durandal's normal physical strength was.

'H-Holy crap! And here I thought Fu Hua's punches hit like trucks. Durandal's are on the same level or maybe even stronger!' Thought the boy to himself.

At this point the boy knew he needed to do something as Durandal was never gonna be the aggressor once.

Alex then held his sword in front of him, pointing it a the blonde as he immediately launched a ball of fire.

The fire ball sped right towards the blonde, before erupting in front her, as smoke obscured her vision.

'There! That's my opening!'

Alex immediately sprinted to go past Durandal however, his instincts immediately told him to dodge something.

He did so, which was a good call on his part as right where he stood, emerging from the smoke were two white armored beings, seemingly belonging to Durandal as they both were by her side, one wielding its own lance and the other a shield.

"I apologize but at this point, you have no other options Mustang. Every action you take, I'll have a counter for it." Said Durandal.

"Even if that may be, I won't give up! I'll keep trying! I'll burst my way through! Even if it means that I'll be depleted, I'll still keep moving forward!" Shouted the boy.

Alex then closed his eyes, holding his sword by his side as the weapon began to have crackles of fire and swirls of flames circle around it, as sword was then completely coated in flames.

This time however, Alex knew that just doing this wasn't gonna be enough, as he then remembered back to when Siegfried had defended him from the 2nd Herrscher back in the Siberian simulation, just how extremely potent and blazing hot his flames were.

Though the boy knew that reaching flames that potent and hot was gonna take a lot out of him, it was something that Alex had to try, at least once.

'Thanks for the idea, Mr. Siegfried.' He thought.

Alex then began to channel as much energy he had left into the sword, as the flames began to flare up even more.

The boy could pratically fell the heat on the handle as his hands were beginning to burn a little, though Alex ignored that as best as he could.

Once the flames were as potent as they could be, Alex swung his sword around and began dashing right towards the blonde Valkyrie.

Durandal send the armored lance wielder first as it charged at Alex.

The two immediately closed the distance at one another, as Alex jumped up at it, dodging the lance and using as much momentum and strength he had as he slashed through the lance wielder as it fell to the ground.

The shield holder then moved forward as it got into a stance, ready to block the attack.

As Alex kept rushing forward, he knew for sure that the thing's shield was more than likely gonna be able to tank the entire attack on its own.

In a quick moment, Alex had suddenly thrown his sword at the shield wielder's helmet like a boomerang.

This caught the shield wielder immediately off guard as the helmet was cleanly sliced off.

Alex jumped up and caught the still inferno blazed sword, now having a straight shot at Durandal as began to pick up his speed, running as fast as he could and gripping his sword as tightly as he could.

Durandal wasn't phased however, as she held a firm grip on her lance, a blue aura being emitted off of it as she rocketed off, charging at Alex as the two were about to clash.

The clash then happened, as the two slashed at one another and crossed past one another like jousters.

The two stood still, not moving an inch or uttering a word, as the flames on Alex's sword slowly dispsered while the blue aura on Durandal's lance also went away.

This waiting period for one to fall was extremely tense for Alex, as his arms felt like bricks, being extremely weak after having to use so much energy as he was hunched over, struggling to stand straight and panting heavily.

He looked back over at Durandal, seeing her still standing straight, not a single wobble in her knees, as Alex simply chuckled.

"So much for being an unstoppable force." He jokingly said as he fell onto one knee, signifying that Durandal had won the clash.

BGM Ends Here

Even with that, Alex still felt confident in himself that he was able to last this long against someone like her.

As he looked to the ground still panting, Alex noticed white boots approach him as he looked up and saw Durandal extending a hand towards him.

The boy accepted it as the blonde helped him up.

"Thank you." Said Alex.

Durandal simply smiled and nodded, before moving aside and motioning her arm outwards, telling the boy to go on ahead.

Alex looked at her in disbelief, almost thinking this was a trick.

"Though you lost, in defeat you showed your honor to me. How much you're willing to go for your friend. You truly have the will of a Valkyrie. Go on Alex Mustang. You have my blessing." Said Durandal.

Alex immediately bowed, thanking Durandal a ton before waving her goodbye and running off in the direction that Fu Hua went in.

Rita approached Durandal as the two watched Alex run off into the distance as the maid looked at her comrade.

"Be honest with me. During that last clash, you didn't use half of your power. That means you spared him, right? I hope you realize that if those two end up dead, then they're both on you." Said Rita.

Durandal simply smiled to herself and sighed.

"Even if that's a possibility, I still have faith in those two." Said the blonde.

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Chapter 34: Complete