The man with the wooden sword at the far-right end of the line approached Mallory and presented her with the weapon. She took it from him with a nod as he retreated back to the end of the line in front of her and the giant.

The one on the left end held out the wooden blade with a shaky hand, keeping a wary distance between himself and the hostile oaf. Garrison snatched the weapon out of his hands and the man scurried off. It looked like a stick in his beefy grasp, so much so that it was almost comical. The ogre held his fake weapon in the air, examining it with a dissatisfied grimace. "What am I supposed to do with this twig?"

"You're supposed to spar, Garrison," Rod answered. "This isn't a fight to the death, y'know."

Garrison grunted and lowered the blade by his side, turning his gaze back to his opponent with a grin. "Like I'd even need a real sword to kill this one."

Rod narrowed his eyes at the giant. Garrison noticed his leader's silence and glanced up to catch eye of his rare death stare, responding by wiping the grin off of his face.

Liam quirked an eyebrow at their quiet exchange. Rod really does have a way with psychopaths.

With that, Rod cleared his throat and started, "Now then, duelists, take your stance." The two of them stepped towards each other so that they were about five feet apart. Considering Garrison's enormous presence, though, Rod's command was more of a warning for the crowd behind them, the men taking several feet backwards to give them as much space as possible. "To reiterate," Rod continued, "no punches may be thrown, and the fight ends once someone lands his or her blade against the neck or chest."

Mallory could feel a stinging tension run throughout her body as she approached. Her breathing became shaky as she grasped her weapon tighter.

When his full attention went back to his opponent, the ogre chuckled and rolled his shoulders around. "You're already shakin'!" he taunted. "Can't turn back now, brat!"

Daryl looked down at his apprentice and saw the fire in her eyes. It was true that her hold on the wooden sword was wavering a bit, but Daryl knew it had nothing to do with fear. Your arrogance will be your downfall, Garrison.

Although there was a contagious feeling of terror amidst the giant, the tension in her body came from eagerness to not only show off her skills, but to shatter the man's ego. She glanced at Rod, waiting for his word to start the fight.

It must have dawned on Garrison that she was not as scared as he assumed that she was when she ignored his comment, because his grin lowered, and he narrowed his eyes.

Rod looked to Mallory with a furrowed brow and asked, "Mallory, are you ready?"

She fixed her gaze back on her opponent and answered, "Yes."

Garrison grunted and started, "What, ya think just 'cause ya got yourself some puny muscles that you can take me on?" He beat his chest twice with a snarl and exclaimed, "I'm better than you'll ever be!"

"Garrison," Rod interjected with an exhale, "are you ready?"

The beast grinned his nastiest grin and widened his stance. "Anytime, boss!"

Rod's eyes shifted between the two for a moment, and then announced, "Then let the fight begin!"

With frightening speed, Garrison bounded towards the girl, swinging his weapon with each stride. "Just try and block this, little girl!"

Mallory's eyes doubled in size as she sprang towards the giant's side, dodging his downward slash with a somersault and landing on one knee. She immediately looked back, to find that he appeared to be losing his balance, leaving her an opening. It was tempting to pounce on the opportunity, but she knew it was a feign. Instead, she stayed low to prepare for his next attack.

As she expected, Garrison spun himself around in an instant, slashing towards the girl with a mighty roar. She ducked accordingly, yet the unreal force of his swing overhead caused a wind resistance that almost made her stumble. In spite of it, she sprinted towards his exposed midsection, aiming her weapon towards his rib cage.

Daryl flinched slightly upon seeing her rapid action. Do not underestimate his speed, Mallory!

As the girl neared her target, she prepared herself for the giant's next move. I'm faster than him, but he's not gonna lose yet! Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Garrison collecting his bearings and pulling himself upright. In that split second, Mallory halted her pursuit to raise her sword in defense and as the giant bored his blade against hers with lethal force. Her eyes got huge and she clenched her teeth, an instantaneous twinge sparking through her body.

Daryl exhaled a bittersweet sigh. He was relieved that she had not been careless, but he could tell from her expression that Garrison's might would soon overwhelm her. You're doing well, girl, but you have to keep moving!

Feeling his strength against her own for the first time was hard to fathom. Even with one arm, the man was nearly able to match the strength she felt from Daryl whenever he used both his arms. If she had not cemented her stance right before the blow, she would have surely lost the duel right then and there. I can't keep clashing with him like this... She thought back to how he charged her at the very start of the fight and the fact that his fighting style was like a reckless rampage. It was clear he was underestimating her, and even though he was the best swordsman in the guild, he was still human with limited energy. She took a step back to prepare for her fallback. I'll just have to wear him out first!

With a horizontal swipe, Garrison slashed against Mallory's sword with deadly potency, knocking her backwards. The giant chuckled at the sight of her getting thrown and about to land on her side, but his grin vanished seeing her land on her hands. Even with her sword in her grip, she swung her lower body up in the air, her legs coming back down as she pulled herself back upright. She planted her feet on the ground and regained her posture, taking a few steps back with her weapon in her hands and her eyes locked on the giant. Scattered cheers erupted from the spectators.

Grace gasped quietly at her maneuver, a smirk on the corner of her mouth. "Nice, Mallory!" she whispered.

Liam glanced at his wife with a smile, her excitement spreading over to him. A cartwheel in a sword fight? Man, all that balancing paid off for ya, didn't it, Mallory?

The slack expression on Garrison's face showed that he was taken aback by the girl's fluidity as well, but then his chest heaved with a snicker. "I'll admit, I thought I had ya a couple times there, girl." He glanced up at Daryl, who narrowed his eyes at him in response. "The old crow taught ya pretty good, huh?"

Mallory did not say anything to the giant, instead she looked up at her comrades on the stage, glad to see their faith in her gradually being restored. A smirk and a furrowed brow on Wade's face caught her eye for a moment. He nodded at her with encouragement. Then, she turned her attention back to her barbaric opponent.

His grin widened, finishing his taunt with, "Too bad for you, he couldn't even beat me!" He began his charge towards her and yelled, "So what makes ya think you can?"

Daryl flared his nostrils noticing the vexed expression on his apprentice's face. Don't let him get to you. Just keep defending!

Mallory bent her knees and tensed every muscle in her body to leap over his horizontal slash at an incredible height, almost able to have flown over Garrison himself. Reaching such a height, over seven feet in the air, it seemed like the perfect time to strike, but Garrison ducked immediately and adjusted his grip on his sword. Mallory held up her own weapon to brace herself once more, and then Garrison responded to her evasion with an upward slash at her blade that sent her flying towards the shoreline.

The girl thrust her lower body so that her eyes were aimed at the ground, flipping to land on her feet and free hand and holding her sword behind her in a crouching position. There was some more cheering from the crowd in response as Mallory looked behind her to see that she was only a few inches shy of landing in the water. It must have looked like a smooth landing to everyone else, but the terrain was making it difficult to retain her footing. The looseness of the sand caused her to slide a bit, piles of grains forming behind her heels. Maybe fighting on the beach is part of the challenge.

She did not have much time to think once Garrison resumed his rampage, rushing up to her and raising his sword in the air. Mallory gasped quietly in her vulnerable position and she rolled to her right to avoid his downward slash, His weapon collided with the sand, leaving him open as he was bent forward. As if on instinct, she planted her hands on the ground and flung her legs up to kick the giant in his chin with her left foot. There was a gasp from the crowd as Garrison grunted and reeled backwards, wincing and rubbing the inflicted area. Mallory got back to her feet and gripped her sword with both hands, ready for some furious backlash.

Like she expected, Garrison's expression had morphed into a fearsome glare, his teeth bared in a gruesome snarl. In the moment he took to try and intimidate her, Mallory sidestepped away from the shoreline to prevent the fight from getting any closer to the water. Looking at the uneven heaving in his chest, Mallory deciphered that he was either getting tired already, or he was getting flustered. Whether it was frustration or fatigue, Mallory planned on using his disposition against him. As soon as his movements get slower, that's when I'll go on the offensive!

Garrison growled and advanced towards her with the tip of his weapon pointed at her. She knit her eyebrows and realized that he was going for a jab that time. He'll follow up with a slash, but it won't be as strong if he goes right into it... With a booming yell, he thrusted the wooden sword at the girl. Mallory bounced to the right so that Garrison's false blade was jut out about two feet past her. Two seconds went by before Garrison swung his weapon towards her, which was slower than what Mallory expected him to react with. He's been wearing himself out this whole time, especially from lugging that huge sword on his back. Now I'll fight back! Mallory cemented her stance and gripped her weapon so hard that it would have cracked in her grasp if she were not careful. Then, she gritted her teeth and slashed back at his sword, feeling the muscles in her arm tighten all the way up to her shoulders. Upon collision, the girl was shocked to see that she managed to knock his sword back, causing him to backstep in response.

Mallory inhaled sharply and took a step forward. Now! She pulled back her weapon and swung once more, to which Garrison blocked quickly. The girl noticed that his hold on his weapon was slightly shaky, and she pulled back to swing again. He blocked once more, and she continued her pursuit. He's on the defensive now! I can beat him! They repeated the fighting pattern as the giant backstepped in a semicircular path so that the two of them were back in the center of the sparring area. The whole time, Mallory could hear subtle cheers coming from the spectators. Although it was relatively quiet, she could feel the excitement in the air.

With her last strike, the giant's hold on his weapon felt downright wobbly against her force. That is when she pulled back with a spin, returning a slash at his sword powerful enough to make him almost lose his grip. He stumbled backwards a bit and spun around, landing on his hands and bending over so that his back was to Mallory. Mallory's heart skipped a beat seeing him in such a vulnerable position.

"Yes!" Liam cheered through clenched teeth, trying to stifle it to avoid catching the beast's attention.

Grace glanced up at him with a smirk, feeling him squeeze her hand slightly, but she knew something was awry. Garrison's not gonna go down that easily... Is he faking again...? She looked down and her eyes doubled in size seeing the rage on the giant's face. Grace saw Mallory begin her approach and she wanted to scream.

Daryl was of the same mindset of Grace when he saw the seething countenance sculpted into Garrison's facial features. The ends of his eyebrows were pointed so that they made a V-shape, saliva sprayed through his jagged teeth with each hissing exhale, wrinkles formed around his nose with his scrunched-up face, and his eyes shouted a lust for vengeance. Daryl's arms dropped to his sides and he grabbed the hilt of his sword. His eyes shifted to his apprentice rushing over to him and he felt a panic rising inside him. Looking back at her opponent, he noticed that the giant held his weapon with both hands. Daryl's eyes widened and, as much as he wanted to yell for his apprentice to fall back, he knew that he could not. Mallory, stop!

With his back to her, Mallory could not tell what the man was thinking, only that he had become increasingly sluggish throughout the fight. Keeping that in mind, she charged him with her sword out in front of her. Now's my chance!

"Ain't nobody..." Garrison muttered, his piercing eyes shifting towards his pursuer behind him. Then, he bolted upright and whipped himself around, raising his sword in the air with both hands.

Mallory froze, being only about a foot away from him. He's still so fast! She raised her own sword in preparation for the blow, one hand on the hilt and the other placed against the edge of the weapon. However, the fact that he was using both hands on his weapon did not occur to her until it was too late.

Garrison bore his blade down against hers with all his strength, finishing his statement with, "...better than me!"

Upon impact, Mallory felt the monster's true, explosive force for the first time. In the split second she was able to hold him back, a sharp pain unlike any other she had felt before ran through her arms. Before she could even resist the backlash, her arms gave out and the edge of her wooden sword hit the middle of her forehead and she fell backwards with a yelp. The clash sent her rolling backwards a couple feet away from the beast. Once she stopped face first into the sand, she winced at the throbbing pain in her forehead and her arms. She tried to pull herself back up, but her arms were heavy, and she felt dizzy. No...I can't lose...

The grin on Liam's face was immediately wiped once he realized that Mallory was hurt. He looked around to see that several others were worried as well, and then he turned to his wife and asked, "Should we do something?"

Grace glanced at her husband, her mouth ajar but at a loss for words. She looked over at her father, who was still watching the duelists carefully, and then she answered him with, "Dad hasn't called the match yet..."

Daryl's eyes shifted back and forth between the giant and his apprentice. He was ready to go after Garrison if he planned on going too far, but he also wanted to make sure Mallory was alright. He could not see her face, since it was cloaked under her curtain like hair, but she repeatedly lifted herself and fell back down. Daryl flared his nostrils and focused on his apprentice. Then, he found himself nodding. That's it, Mallory. Get up.

There was a concerned murmur from the crowd before Garrison lowered his head to spit on the ground. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and looked up at Rod, the enraged expression on his face gradually settling down. "There," he barked, "I won, right?"

Rod looked down at Mallory and narrowed his eyes. The girl continued her attempts of getting back up, only to drop back down into the sand each time. He looked back at Garrison and answered, "Not until Mallory gives up."

"What are ya talkin' about?" the giant argued. "I just blew her away!"

"She blocked your strike," Rod acknowledged. "Unless she forfeits, you must successfully land a strike on her neck or chest, like I established earlier."

Garrison growled under his breath and then looked back at her struggling to get up. All that could be heard from her was a hushed whimper. The giant grinned in response and looked back at his leader. "She ain't in no shape to keep goin'! Why don't ya stop the fight now before I really kill her?"

"Enough, Garrison," Rod ordered, still examining the girl's movement.

Each time Mallory dropped back down, she let out an audible exhale in reply to the searing pain that ran through her arms every time she tried to pick herself up. She heard Garrison laughing behind her, and she started to feel a fury boil inside her.

"Face it, girl!" Garrison roared with triumph. "It's time to give up and go cryin' back to your master!"

With that, Mallory gritted her teeth and planted her hands against the ground as hard as she could. She lifted her head with the help of her wobbly limbs, revealing a face that burned with resilience. Before she could even think about what she was saying, Mallory blurted, "My master?"

Garrison raised a curious eyebrow, the grin remaining on his smug face.

Daryl tilted his head in her direction, both satisfied with her perseverance and wondering what it was she aimed to say.

All eyes were on the girl as she slowly made her way back to her feet. Her body was shaky as she turned back around to confront the giant, yet somehow, she never looked more confident than she did in that moment. She raised her head to lock eyes with Garrison, glowering with determination. Holding her sword at her side, she balled her free hand into a fist and pounded her chest. It was like the shakiness exited her body with that one gesture, becoming as still as she possibly could be. With that, she took a breath and declared to not only Garrison, but to the entire guild, "I...am my own master!"