Bedivere vs. Maxim

Sporting Event / Competition

As the morning wore on, the participants in the seventh match of the day took to the battle sands. On the left side, Bedivere stood proudly in resplendent armor. Her counterpart was simlarly geared in full plate, with the same western style to his weapons. It was a somewhat open secret that this was none other than Knight Commander Maxim, returned from the dead. There were still many, however, who only knew him as the mysterious Albionite Swordsman. The two exchanged friendly, formal greetings in their native tongue, and then prepared for battle.

As Bedivere and Maxim met near the bridge at the center of the arena, it quickly became obvious who was the better fighter between them. Although Bedivere fought skillfully, her skill was not on par with that of the Knight Commander. Indeed, thought Maxim privately, it was certainly not on the level of the Knights of the Siege Perilous. He had some doubts about whether this woman was truly who she claimed, but kept those to himself as he blocked and parried each attack.   Maxim's counters were landed with pinpoint precision, perfectly cut so as to produce a reaction later, rather than in the moment. To the audience, however, it simply seemed that the Swordsman was completely unable to damage his opponent. Despite his greater skill, every strike that he landed on Bedivere produced not so much as a scratch. The knight herself was aware of this phenomenon, and a prideful smile began to play about her lips as the fight continued.   Blow after blow was traded, with the tally of strikes on Bedivere growing by the second. Maxim had no intention of killing her, but wanted the final blow to be a dramatic one. It was to his surprise, then, when she seemed to bore of the competition. Throwing all of her strength into a single attack, she came at Maxim with her greatsword and a fury behind it. Raising his lion-crested shield, Maxim blocked the strike and pushed her away. Bedivere seemed surprisingly light, and as she began to fall toward the sands, he realized why. She had put everything behind that last attack, and had no more energy to give. Dropping his guard, Maxim caught her before she could hit the ground. The audience erupted in applause.   However, that was not to be the end. Maxim knew that the hairline cuts he had left on Bedivere were only delayed, not harmless. With a bursting sound, her right shoulder seemed to sever itself at the shoulder as all of the blows resolved themselves upon her body. This dramatic scene was echoed by a gasp from the crowd, and a scuffle of sand as Maxim hurried to place Bedivere's arm back on its stump. In the crowd, Fubuki subtly cast a regeneration spell on the fallen knight, and very likely saved her life. It would be some time before she awoke again, and time more before that arm had fully and mystically reattached itself. However, she would live, and the "mysterious Swordsman from the West" was clearly the victor.