Against the Wall [Solomon/Lukas]

Since he couldn't occupy a place at the battle, it therefore stood to reason that the likeliest place one might found him was the small room he occupied in the Vandenreich. There was also home, of course, but there was nothing there but silence, certainly nothing of particular note to hold his attention away from business. Before the abrupt knocking at his door, Solomon was diligently tending to the paperwork his coordinator had left on his desk.

Of course, with the incessant knocking, he expected that not much would be done today. The grating voice was as clear as day, too. Lukas. Truth be told, though they weren't on the most agreeable terms as of late, he had found something resembling a mutual respect intermixed with rivalry between them. He could question his personality until the sky fell, but his dogged determination deserved its fair share of respect. Rising from his chair, he opens the door, his azure gaze a mix of agitation and curiosity.

"What do you want, Lukas? You could've simply knocked and I would've answered. Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?"

"There isn't much occupying my time, anyway, so fine. I'll humor you. Training it is."

It was certainly true Solomon had the inevitable response waiting, he was not particularly a man who would turn down an opportunity to improve. Lukas was indeed someone he found disagreeable, but by and large, that was simply the point of views they shared more than personal interaction. He was rarely the type to hold a grudge enough to avoid the man, and he definitely could imagine Lukas repeating the same action and knocking on his door another day, if not challenge his pride by talking trash.

Either way, he doubted this is something he could avoid. Solomon took care to lock his door, following the man toward the training hall. Somewhere deep down, he couldn't deny that he reveled in the idea of facing off against Lukas competitively, as though he wanted to treat this battle as finding something he needed to improve on to avoid falling behind him too far.

"Huh? What are you saying? That battle must have done a number on your head."

Solomon voiced that with a dumbfounded chuckle as he set foot into the training hall. There wasn't any particular disagreement with the terms, of course, but certainly didn't expect Lukas to give him the green light to attack him with everything he had in his arsenal. What was he trying to achieve?

Improvement in his Blut, perhaps? What an odd method, if that proved to be the case. It certainly wasn't an approach he would adopt... but then he flashed back to his training with Hannah, finding hypocrisy within the frame of his thoughts. Who was he to question the man's sanity?

Sighing softly, Solomon allowed Keraunos to materialize within his palm. There was nothing to be gained from approaching his reasoning. He was already in his stance. He would likely brook no further questions beyond telling him to attack him. Assuming his own offensive stance, Solomon sets his eyes on Lukas, his weapon drawing in the bounty of ambient reishi in the atmosphere. Lightning crackled around his blade as he walked forward. Step by step, his silver blade continued to collect reishi.

"Who am I to pass up an opportunity like this? Fine, I'll bite. Don't go placing any blame on me if something happens, though."

Like a catapult roaring his body to life, his body shot forward, carried forth by the reishi particles around his feet. A burst of hirenkyaku closed the distance between them in an instant, the next moment featuring Solomon swinging his spirit weapon down against Lukas's shoulder with a thunderous strike. If it connected, the double impact of physical and thunderous damage would occur almost simultaneously. His blade aiming to go beyond mere physical damage, striking him on all fronts. If Lukas wanted to take on his attacks, then so be it. He'd use every attack in his arsenal---even Letz Stil.

Solomon did not expect his first strike to ring true nor did he house any thought that Lukas would truly allow him to strike so freely. Met with resistance in the form of a palm drawing against the reishi of his spirit weapon, and a counter executed through a straightforward punch aimed at his nose. A twofold counter. No doubt, his first intent is to resist reishi being drawn from his blade. If he wanted to operate on that front, Solomon would simply offer even more reishi to his weapon.

It is by no means an ideal strategy, far from efficient and conducive to performance, but he is far from intent on losing the effectiveness of his weapon so early. The first proved the more effective of the two actions as it crashed against his nose, forcing his head back. His balance was momentarily compromised, the natural result of facing a punch head-on, but only faltered a few steps backward as blood poured from his nose. Fierce as that blow was, Solomon was still coherent enough to see the man driving in for a follow-up.

To throw him off course, Solomon forcibly aimed to pull Keraunos upward and away from Lukas grasp, intent on releasing an expanding barrier of lightning from his blade, employing it as a counterattack to push him backward. Of course, that was far from the end of his offensive. His feet pulsed with reishi once more, his body vanishing in an instant. Reappearing at him from behind, Solomon shot his elbow forward, enhancing the overall effectiveness of his next attack with Blut Arterie. Of course, this would only come to fruition if he had properly forced Lukas' hand away from his blade.

What an impressive display of tenacity. Solomon didn't necessarily expend any admiration in the heat of the moment, but he certainly acknowledged his unique defense and the threat it posted in their duel. He would have to strike with something far greater to emerge victorious. Reappearing before him in the blink of an eye, Solomon, having surrendered his motion to the elbow strike from behind, found his hair regrettably caught within the man's hand.

The sudden sequence of movement left him unable to immediately shift backward, allowing Lukas to exploit the vulnerable window of opportunity presenting itself. Each of those blunt shots caused him to stumble as he bit down on his lip to keep the rush of spittle threatening to fly freely from his mouth. Immense pain raced through his frame, but his body remained upright. No. He would remain strong. To be incapacitated this early would be utterly embarrassing.

His fingers shot upward to his chin as a wide grin, resembling a slight grimace, formed along his lips. In that next moment, from the voltaic pulse emanating around his finger, Solomon loosed an wide-ranging electric bolt from his fingers to not only stun Lukas, but push him back if his makeshift attack proved successful. Of course, that was hardly the end of it. With his other hand, his arm swung the sword forward to strike at the inside of his groin. Two could play at this game. He would show Lukas the depth of his relentlessness even if it left him in less than savory conditions.