Two days passed by before the siblings would confront each other. Most of Azulle’s injuries were healed. But it still didn’t stop her from being scolded by her mother. Yet here she stood staring down her brother in the courtyard of the castle. A man adorned in flamboyant foppish clothing was giving pointers to Gil as the two stared down. While Lady Marril pulled up next to Azulle.

“You know your mother doesn’t approve of this. But the queen is watching. So perhaps it would be best you let master Gil win this.”

“I can’t do that Lady Marril.” Azulle states struggling to lift the sword she was handed.

“Put that down girl.” Marril demands. “You aren’t a warrior of weapons and armor. I told you this before your class is that of a maid. Use the tools at your disposal.”

Azulle thought of Marril’s words and remembered the training with Vindall where the practice sword broke but the fight with the slimes when she had a broom not only held together but worked better with her skills. Clearly, lady Marril was on to something. Azulle put down the sword to the cause of whispering from the onlookers and in turn, she took up a push broom Marril had brought with her.

The foppish man walked to the center to the courtyard as the collection of royalty, staff, and even the prisoners looked on. “Today will be a duel between our future hero the Prince Gilford Martque, vs the Maid girl Azulle Darkholt. This duel is till one is either knocked unconscious or gives up. To the winner goes the right to lead the prince’s party. May the best man win.” Azulle cringed a bit knowing that the last part was to dig at the fact that no one thought she could win. The two, move forward to face each other as people start to laugh at Azulle for taking a broom into a duel of swords. A noise also carried on by Gil when she reaches near enough to hear Gil's words quietly towards her.

“Again, with a broom. How can you honestly think you have a chance at me and my sword?”

“It’s not the weapon that matters in a battle Gil. It’s how well the one who uses it can fight.” Azulle smiles and grabs her broom to hold the handle forth like a long-handled ax.

“Fighters ready!” The two, nod at the foppish man. “Fight!”

Before the foppish man even can move away Azulle is already bursting her speed to swing the broom wide towards Gils unguarded left side. But Gil quickly moves to block the swing and then pushes forward to swing his blade as he closes the distance.

But a quick flip of the broom and Azulle follows through launching the broom upwards knocking Gil's arms apart and causing him almost to lose the blade. He rushes back trying to regain his stance as Azulle flips about pushing herself up off the broom and coming crashing down nearby Gil. However, her curse comes into play and she slips on the landing losing her footing just for a moment long enough for Gil to land the first real blow.

“More of your tricks. Or are you just this unskilled Azulle!”

Azulle doesn’t respond in words instead she spins along the ground sweeping and tripping up Gil from below. Then she kicks Gil in the side while he is down. Shouts of dirty fighting are called out Azulle. Gil gets to his feet quickly but Azulle is already in a defensive stance holding the broom out much like a spearman would his trade weapon.

“You think you’re better than me don’t you Azulle! Me who was given divine fate to be a great hero of our time. Versus you a lowly bastard child of a cripple.”

Fury hits Azulle’s heart and she turns her defensive stance into a wide offensive one that leaves her open enough to get hit again by Gil’s quicker movements of sword swings. This time the hit is hard and while she could swear others could hear it as well Azulle could tell that blow broke her already damaged ribs. She wouldn’t last long if she kept losing her focus on the battle before her.

Gil moved in to swing at a downward angle to try and land a second deviating blow but Azulle is quick enough to block it with the handle of the broom. She pushes back on Gil’s blow but finds a difference she didn’t plan on with Gil before she went in on this match. While she knew she definitely had speed and even experience with fighting over Gil. Her still child body was far weaker in strength than Gil’s. So, she couldn’t trust her blows that she could land wouldn’t be nearly as effective as his in turn to her.

No, she needed a strategy and more than that she needed to attack him at his weak spots. Azulle moved quickly dashing away from Gil to get distance and build speed. Gil followed her as best he could, holding the wooden blade in defense ready for an attack. When Azulle knew she had a good ten feet apart she flipped backsliding a bit wobbly as her curse moved in but she was able to maintain balance. And then she unleashed the Devil’s Rush skill.

In a massive burst of speed, she was already on Gil her bare hands pushing his face downward but her hands didn’t hold the broom. Gil tried to swing but found the force of Azulle pushing her whole body up off of his face distracting and he was not able to land a clear strike as he moved to turn Azulle who flipped up and crashed face-first in the ground Gil tripped over the broom that was shoved in under his legs. As he fell, the broom flips up and smacks him right in the face hard. This blow caused him to drop the sword carelessly.

Azulle got up from her face plant smiling hard knowing her quick plan caused Gil to lose a lot of ground on her. She quickly got up and tackled Gil placing her knees across the arms of Gil preventing him from even being able to pull his arms free granting her a free chance to land several blows with her fists on Gil’s royal mug. As she punches him she thinks back to the past years of torture Gil had put her through. All the clothes of hers he stole, all the outrageous orders, even the times he struck her for his own enjoyment, and then something happened to her that she never would have done before in ether lifetime. She began to weep for those painful memories with each punch she began and with it, the force of the punches slowed. Sure, she used to show sympathy before as the Smiling Devil, but never before has she turned into such a crybaby about it. Was it the hormones of this body getting to the great Hideo Eito. Was his killer instinct forever washed away from the force of his attacks? Or was it something else? The concept would have to wait for the now little framed girl to think over as she is suddenly grabbed by each arm by guards and pulled off the red beaten and bruised-faced form of her brother.

“Do not let her go!” An order was shout out by the queen. Azulle snaps out of her thoughts and stares at the damage she did to Gil to have the guards get involved, had she gone too far? But she sees the boy getting up his face dripping blood yes but as Hideo Eito, Azulle has not only seen people with worse heal it with no problem, but she too remembered such pain. Hell, the pain the god Isea did to her a few days ago was worse. She wondered what would cause the interruption as such but shock hit her when she saw something unusual from the prince.

There on his left side where his eye was greatly beaten and bruised his skin looked green and the eye blinked from the side it was almost reptilian in nature, was the future great hero even human? The thought stuns Azulle could Gil be the one that Isea talked about. The member of the Demon Lords' army!

But the time for her to be lost in thoughts ends with a sudden and sharp jab to her gut. The power of which would surely have sent her to the ground if she wasn’t being held up. But the blow isn’t from Gil. It’s instead of from the Queen.

“You horrible child. I should have done what I started out to do when you were still in the womb of that whore.” Clearly, the queen was protecting her son. Did she know? An issue Azulle couldn’t think long about as the queen strikes her face then pulls her hair to present Azulle to Gil who has returned to his feet. “Now my dear little hero. Finish this duel as it should teach this girl her lesson for standing up to those in power.”

Azulle cringed ahead of the ongoing blow. A thought hits her that there is still a way out. The same thing Isea wanted her to shout out as he beat her. The words ...” I resign from this battle.” The group gasps and the grip of the queen tightens as the words didn’t come from Azulle but from Gil.

“Surely you jest, Gilford.” The queen stands in shock but her grip only gets tighter and beings to hurt Azulle. “You are the hero. You should be in charge of your team, not some disgusting maid girl.”

This couldn’t be Gil, Azulle thought. The real Gil wouldn’t let her win. Clearly, he was swapped out by Isea, but why? Why would a minion of the Demon Lord put Azulle in charge of the hero’s party? Let alone a party he would lead? What strange reasons would this imposter Gil have in mind?