[center][h1][color=lightblue]Galahad Caradoc[/color][/h1]
[/center][hr]

Izayoi was right. Valon was stronger than last time they'd fought him- and not the type of natural improvement one would expect from training either, not this quickly. Whatever it was, it made him strong- stronger than Galahad expected as Valon broke through his guard and grabbed him by the throat. Maybe it was the strange color with which the veins on his face pulsed- maybe it was the glint and flare of rage in his eyes, but Galahad couldn't help but feel a familiarity with Valon as he was choke slammed through the deck of the ship. As he hit the bottom of the hold, perhaps the impact finally jogged Galahad's memory- though he didn't know why. It was the subtle but noticeable shift in his fighting style, it felt less disciplined, less controlled, more bestial, with a greater focus on instinct and raw strength than technique and skill. It felt less like he was fighting a dragoon... This feeling that Galahad felt-

It was like what fighting a [i]dragon[/i] felt like.

[color=lightblue]"What have they done to you, Valon?"[/color] Galahad murmured in horror. The man that Galahad had known in the years past was gone- Valon, while always a bit stuck up, was a loyal, dedicated warrior of Edren. Now he felt twisted, changed- [i]corrupted[/i] even.

Whatever it was though, Galahad didn't have time to figure it out- he had to fight. He heard the clang of steel and Izayoi's barked command, switching in Rudolf. Galahad shook himself off as he stood up finding himself staring into the bewildered faces of a half dozen deck crew in the midst of ferrying ammunition to the airship's weapons. Men scattered as Galahad swung his halberd in a wide circle, one man cut down as the others dove out of the way. Looking up, Galahad saw the shifting shadows- the lance that belonged to Valon. 

Reaching down, Galahad grabbed the ammunition- a cannon shell, threw it up at the shadow, followed by his electrically charged halberd. From his position down below, he couldn't tell what Rudolf was doing, but the dull roar of flame gave him an idea. Galahad waited exactly one more second before he leaped back up through the hole Valon had made with his body, shooting up past the deck before returning to the ground with a powerful kick aimed at the fallen dragoon.