The exchange wasn't too shabby, but it was quickly becoming apparent that the Galbadian soldier had never used the weapon outside of training, and possibly not much in. It wasn't long before he presented an opening in his guard, one which was quickly exploited by a quick jab from the butt of the scythe's haft to the man's chin. As he stumbled back, Jericho spun the scythe around, creating an ice grip near the top of the blade and putting a lot of strength behind the slash, gutting the man. "The Reaper always gets his due." As the Galbadian fell to the ground, the grip vanished and he spun the scythe into position to stop the second blade when the Galbadian squad leader's voice sounded through the noise.

"[i]Enough.[/i]" Jericho turned to face him and saw what he was doing. He had tugged Duncan's hair so his head sat high and rested the razor sharp edge of his blade against the throbbing pulse of the jugular in the instructor's neck. This had turned south quickly, and it seemed that the turn over rate would simply keep going. Through Glaciem, Jericho could almost FEEL the magic containing Eika fading away to...somewhere. On top of that, her Guardian Force would soon be summoned, which freezing her hadn't stopped. [i]Think fast and act faster. We don't have the time to debate this. Guardian Forces are't all good natured and never when facing their junctionee's enemies.[/i] He'd made the mistake personally during one of his first missions.

"One word, and I'll slice your dear instructor's throat. One move, and my men riddle you with holes." He wasn't sure what the squad leader was thinking, but clearly they were willing to push thing envelope as far as it took to prevent more deaths. "You doubt me?" He allowed the blade to bite into the instructor's neck, with just enough pressure to break skin as a single drop of crimson trailed down his jugular. Jericho slid out of his combat stance and put one hand behind his back, ice magic already forming in it. The man didn't know that her hostage was simply another SeeD operative to Jericho, and for now, it was probably opportunistic for him to keep it that way.

"This can all end in bloodshed if you wish. No victors, no glory. Just death. Or..." He kept the blade firm again Duncan's neck as he met the red headed boy's gaze firmly, allowing Jericho to keep increasing his magic outflow. "You can take that girl with you and leave. In return, you will know mercy from the Galbadian Army. Yes, your instructor will be our prisoner. But he will be alive. And so will all of you." 

At this point, Jericho felt it was time to make a move when something orange fell on the leader's head and hit them with...[i]A shield? What the hell is-nevermind, focus.[/i] While the Galbadians were trying to help their lieutenant, as one of the soldiers was so nice to point out, he struck.

"Blizzaga!" Throwing his hand out in front of him, the powerful ice magic attack blasts the soldiers immediately in front of Jericho away from him, leaving a few with a nasty case of frozenness that would take some powerful fire or healing magic to get rid of.

Spinning around, he knocks away a slash from a soldier behind him, but catches the edge of the thrust from another's sword to his side, leaving a gash along it. Grunting, Jericho kicks back, knocking the offending soldier away. He returns to exchanging blows with the first soldier, this one with a little more skill than the one from before but still inexperienced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy grab the lieutenant and put the edge of one of his gunblades, a rare and impressive weapon, to his throat. [i]Good move, might buy us some space.[/i] The soldier he's fighting doesn't stop though, pushing his attack as though it would help his lieutenant.

The Galbadian slashes viciously downwards towards Jericho's head and he spins around the Galbadian, kicking him in the back. As the Galbadian stumbles forward, he catches himself and turns around, swinging horizontally and causing the SeeD to jump back a step to avoid getting hit. Leaping forward, Jericho unleashes a series of vertical and horizontal spinning slashes. The Galbadian blocked most of both, but got knicked on the side and shoulder from a couple of them. The Galbadian counters with a series of quick slashes and thrusts, even slipping in a pommel strike, knocking the SeeD back and giving him a couple of fresh cuts. Jericho didn't slow down though. Stepping back into the fray, he brought his scythe towards the Galbadian's head in a feint, hoping to force the soldier into ducking or jumping back. It was during this that the lieutenant attepted to break free from the boy's grasp, which only emboldened the man Jericho faced. Jumping back, the Galbadian goes for a thrust, but instead gets knocked in the chin by the butt end of the scythe, knocking him back again. "Stand down, Galbadian." The man lunges in response, forcing Jericho to side step and counter with his own downward slash. He leaps forward and rolls back into a standing position, but this was the end game. Jericho had used a couple applications of Haste to give him increased speed and he appeared on the other side of the man, behind him a ways with the scythe poised to strike. "The Reaper comes for all, but he's here for you now." The Galbadian tried to stumble away from Jericho, but it was already too late. With a flash of cold steel, the Galbadian's body froze in place for a moment as he looked back at the Lieutenant with a small smile, the instructor's arms free but him quickly loosing consciousness.

"S-sorry, s-sir..." Falling with a thud, a puddle of blood formed around the dead Galbadian and Jericho stood with his scythe at the ready for any further attacks.