The Empire

Suna


she never did understand why her superior would call her Darlin' or why said to stand there looking pretty 'one cannot simply stand there looking pretty, impossible' Suna simply stared at Daniel through the small opening in her shawl her red eyes blank and calculating. He offered her some coffee but shook her head no, she was too tired for talking and coffee never set well with her, instead of waking her up it just made her more tired and sometimes give her a very bad headache. but it seemed Daniel wasn’t going to take a no for an answer so she simply took it with both hands speckles of blood had seeped through the cloth on her knuckles though she decided to ignore it 'no point in worrying about that' then her mind began to work faster now as she put two to two together on how Daniel was acting towards her, her eyes widened just slightly 'is this what Mother calls flirting and having a 'good time' or is this just friendly talk he doesn’t honestly think he can persuade me to join him in-'her thoughts were cut off as Daniel spoke again and a shot of electricity flew towards her, without even noticing her body as it acted on its own from countless years of training. Suna set the coffee miraculously on Daniels head jumped on to the rail and was gone the electricity hit where she had just been standing a few seconds ago.


Suna landed in the field somewhat surprised at the fact that her three golems melded together but looked up at Daniel remembering the small smirk on his face before it had attacked her. now there were more targets and she started counting them, 7 in all it was larger than before standing on four legs, her eyes quickly calculated what she saw before her 'four legs for greater mobility and speed and guessing from the fact that 3 golems are now 1 its voltage is at a higher output meaning its best i don’t let it touch me, nor to underestimate since it shot of electricity from where it stood to the platform which means it doesn’t have to have physical contact to electrocute me'these thoughts ran through her head within a few seconds of looking at her golem, but her train of thought ended when it attacked her its movements faster than before, it lashed out with one leg and Suna dodged it though she could feel the sparks of the electricity even though she didn’t even touch it.


Suna's eye narrowed if just a little at this and landed on her hands doing a back hand spring. She slid back on her feet her body angled in a way similar to that of an animal. then with a flick of her wrists three small kunai knives slipped in between her fingers and jumped back sending six kunai in total at the golem each half of them were sheathed in her aura but Suna was well aware that it would dissipate if not thrown at the right moment. Thankfully Suna wasn’t an amateur in such things either the kunai hit a target on its large body or hit its normal armor only scratching the surface. the majority hit one single target and only one missed its intended target, when Suna noticed this she let out a sigh of irritation 'i really am out of shape' completing her backflip she landed on one hand bringing her legs down slightly bent at the knees as she jumped up over its head.

Her body did a barrel roll her arms outstretched for balance (not that it was needed) , making sure her feet pointed downwards. The moment her feet struck the second target its body caved in but didn’t break really as a flash of bright light appeared and a small shock wave followed soon after. Suna jumped back watching as it got back up shakily to its feet and a shot of electricity flew at her again and she dodged it once more but with very little room for a mistake as it almost got her. Then her shawl flew away loosened from the shockwave and being the way she was Suna darted for it and it was the first time she wasn’t seen with it, her neck exposed as bronze skin showed a wicked scar spanned the width of her throat missing her main artery by a millimeter. If someone saw the scar they would most likely think that was why she always wore the shawl but to be honest Suna couldn’t care less about her scars but more on the sentimental value it meant to her. Suna managed to grab it and quickly wrapped it around her shoulders then loosely around her head just when the golem grabbed her foot and slammed her to the ground a bolt of electricity coursed through her body, thankfully just like before her anklets absorbed most of the electricity but it didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt from her whole body being slammed into the ground, a mini crater formed by the force in which her decent came.


Her breath was knocked out of her chest and she couldn’t breathe for a moment but soon enough she could breathe again. Suna got up swaying on her feet a little and spoke her voice wasn’t the same monotone as usual but with a slight edge to it "this ends here and now" growling she quickly glanced around her and she noticed how a third year had destroyed his last golem with the shot cannon as did all of the third years strangely enough none of theirs melded together and they walked off the field. Then Suna remembered Daniel mentioning the shot cannon before and she put the two together "that little no how I could have not noticed this Mother won’t be happy at all i let a golem grab me" annoyance in her voice. the golem rushed at her with surprising speed and she dodged each and every one of its attacks her aura slowly building up in her hand a glowing ball of energy formed it was larger than her first one but not by much. The orb shot off into the air with speed but then Suna disappeared only to reappear just above the orb she swung her leg out a seal formed at the base of her foot and kicked the small ball of energy straight down with the power from her kick added to its already powerful blast it cut straight through the golem destroying it completely, leaving only a few remains of it.


Suna landed lightly on her feet but stumbled a little her breath a bit ragged but that soon returned to normal as she walked away from the golems remains over to the platform a medic scurried over towards her trying to examine her and she lashed out pushing him away from her "I’m fine" she glared at the medic which scared him considering Suna never glared but on one occasion and they didn’t meet a very fine end to their day but ended up being dragged away from her. And she was in fact fine, right before the golem had slammed her into the ground she had sheathed her body in her aura making sure it was strong enough to break most of the impact, hence why there was a small crater where she landed. It had been a long time since Suna ever felt this upset or upset at all and she plopped down near the base of the platform her glare not as scary as before while looking up at Daniel daring him to make her golem assemble once more and attack. She brought one knee up to her chest her arm rested on the top while her other leg was stretched out in front of her arm rested on her lap. Surprisingly enough there were still a couple of second years fighting their first golems while a couple others fought off the second golems that melded together.

Suna frowned thinking over her battle, looking through her mind’s eye of what had just occurred. ‘I’m out of shape, I underestimated my opponent, but then again considering the fact that my skill set is more suited to the silent killing I would have had some trouble fighting that golem…was it because I have too much too early in the morning’ she thought to herself. Looking around Suna watched the remaining cadets fight off their designated golems with great difficulty for some while others did it with some ease but not quite. She then spotted something shine in the distance, like a kind of reflective lens ‘is someone watching us, I wonder who’ she quickly dismissed this thought as irreverent and closed her eyes to take a small nap.

Caspian Was unsurprised when the rock armored dummy was emboldened by the ground around it while it charged. So it made it through the first wave, which was fine, he had a backup. His other hand came around, a small point of energy at the tip of each of his fingers. It wasn’t a complex spell; in fact most standard schools had it on their curriculum as it was easier than full cannon for most. Called the Javelin this spell requires basically the same process as the other attack, however in addition to the standard cannon being smaller in size and the energy being spun to make it more accurate.

Of course creating five individual javelins and firing them in sequence was decisively more difficult. Still he assumed most at the school could do such without much trouble. I’d like to see that armor take this! he thought roughly as his arm sliced upward, the javelins were spiraled energy and had greater piercing power than a standard shot and the fact that he fired them so that one would hit the same spot immediately after the other would leave an opening, or so he hoped. In the split moment when he was moving against his opponent and vice versa a lot happened. His first three shots just bore into the armor, but did not pierce, yet as the rapid fire fourth and fifth shot hit the rock finally cracked and exposed his target. The Dummy raised its arms to tackle him as his free hand which had returned to his side shot forward.

The Dummies had electric shock nodes on their hands meant to make the training more hazardous, but with the small hole in the front of its armor Caspian had little thought to this. He moved forward, instead of retreating like most magi would in that situation, and ducked under the dummy’s grasp. His left hand which had fired the first blast came up, another sheath of energy forming in his hand and then continuing don his arm. Sheath, a simple spell known by most guardians let alone magus, was not normally used by magus like Caspian, while they increased the damage potential of physical hits most understood that a guardian was better off with such spells while a magus would not have the physical ump hot back it up to make the danger of close quarters worth it.

Caspian, however, was not so timidly. He slammed that sheathed fist into the opening on the dummy’s chest. But it wasn’t’ enough, the dummy closed in on him, he’d underestimated the opponent’s physical resistance, or maybe overestimated his own brute strength. Regardless of which he was in a bad position, the arms closing in, the shock about to hit, his fist stuck in the crack in the armor and his other hand having to support his weight and that of the encroaching dummy. No doubt the seniors in the area were shaking their heads in disappointment. Perfect. he thought.

And yet something felt off, he felt the blade on his hilt pulsing, like a heartbeat going mad, and then for reasons he’d never been able to contemplate himself his eyes faded to darkness. Shit.

He counted in his mind, one, two, three, and four… four seconds, that the average time of these black outs, and when he awoke he found himself still lying back, propped up on his hand, with his other extended into space. His eyes darted about, trying to put the pieces together, what had happened? What had he done? Before him, frozen in defeat, was the dummy, a large hole in its chest just before his hand. The arms had stopped and the barrier had dropped. Beside him Meeko was still in her own box, dealing with the melting dummy, and behind him his NCO was telling him to get up. His eyes narrowed on the hole in the dummy, it was spiraled and still smoking, a wound a sheathed punch would not make.

It wasn’t too long before the mystery began to solve in his mind, or perhaps he knew the answer all along, after all it was his initial plan for victory, he’d just modified it for failure. Punch the broken armor to create a better opening, then use the already gathered energy and mana of the sheath to form a beam spell at point blank and blast the dummy through to win. Of course he had never intended to actually carry out that plan, so why was he here? What the hell causes these episodes?

-=-=-=-

Desmond was resting his head on his arm, relaxing as Artemis lectured the two generals on the situation. He was well aware of these facts however and would love to look more worried… but, “Well I’d love to select my attendant but…” he hung his head, “if Kalen heard I was planning to get a bodyguard without her consult she’d, she’d…” he grabbed his head in an over dramatic scene, “I don’t know what she’d do but it wouldn’t be very nice.”

“Quit blubbering…” Artemis scolded before turning his attention back to Kayle, “Of course you can choice your own attendant, though I’d suggest you select someone whose weaknesses your cover and whose strengths you augment… a guardian more specifically. But it’s obviously your choice.” At that moment a knock came at the door and Artemis stood, turning to the entrance.

A sergeant burst in, sweating profusely, “Ah! There you are General Nekorin, sir, you’re presence is requested immediately at Bravo Company’s Dorm…”

Desmond stood, “Sergeant, what’s happened?”

“I don’t know everything sir, but according to initial report a challenge between a freshman and a second year had some complications, there is a reported casualty… the medics on scene called it sir.”

A cold sweat dripped down Desmond’s face as ehe stared blankly at the doorway where the sergeant stood. Artemis however sucked on his teeth as he too stood and narrowed his eyes, “So much for the record… complications eh? We’ll see… Sergeant, send for Colonel-”

“Belay that.” Desmond spoke cutting Artemis to the quick, “I’ll investigate this personally, Colonel Halken, later… for now we need to focus on the immediate concerns. Kayle, you’re obviously dismissed… this meeting is adjurned.”

Her new year at Archon Academy has begun. Well with some incidents.
Keaira had somehow managed to escape that hole on the trip here. It was a long story, but basically, a hole was laying around, before she fell pathetically. Though with the help of some passing soldiers, she managed to slip out and well- run off, she was late to the opening ceremony after all...
"Now...where to go..." She murmured questionably, making her way around the grounds. It seemed rather empty, but she felt the presences of others in the distance. Make it some students or professors- she needed directions.
Shifting the two hilts comfortable on her back, she continued quickly down the hall, her steps long- yet surprisingly quiet. Maybe a bit to quiet, however for a timid person like her, its no shocker.
"Hello..." Keaira whispered. "Anyone..?" 'maybe no one was here..?' No they're had to be. This was archon Academy, correct? Millions and gillions of warriors wished to arrive here, so doesnt that make this place popular? Hopefully so.

Tap, Tap.
"This place..." A lean man with peculiar blue hair grunted as he made his way down the halls, his shoes tapping against the granite floors. A women, however, saw this as a disruptions, so with a sharp and tight complexion, she trotted over. "Um." She pushed her glasses up. "Im sorry to say- but can you please quiet down sir-"
"Serge. Silas Serge" He replied with a calm expression. And that took her completely out of surprise, it felt too...cold and depressing around him. "I-I see. Transfer.. I presume." The man now know as Silas nodded tiredly in response. "Yes, Rank Colonel, and class B." Taking a quick look over, she coughed timidly before turning on her heels. "Good day Colonel Serge."
He gave a yawn. "Same too you." Resting his arm against the hilt near his hip, he strode down the halls with a new-founded air. Not really cocky, nor modest either- just a silas kind of feel. Boring, depressiong, cold, and intelligent.
Yes, Silas wasent much of a guy, nor was he social. But he makes it up with intelligence and by his opinion, skill.
"Where are the rest of the colonels." He murmured curiously, as he closed his eyes, spreading his abilities in a search. None.
He'll keep looking, he had nothing else to do anyways.

Looking at how the others were already busy with their work, Rey decided to return back to his room and take a nap. His yawned recognized by so many people that they did nothing but laughed at this. Rey returned the laughter with his trademark smile. His laughter and his jokes are always the ones keeping people's spirits up, even though his life was nothing more than a normal one. He didn't decided to come to this school of his own choice, and it was more like a joke seeing as he is very inferior to the others. He'd been living here for two years now, and yet he still thinks that he's inferior.

His kindness was famous among the freshmen and even the higher ups. Although some didn't like the fact that he never really utilize his full potential, what Rey really liked was to see the happiness of everyone around him. That has been his motto, believe it or not. Even his laziness that most people had registered into their memory banks seems to defy this fact. "Look at all the youngsters, trying their best. Really reminds me of what I had been through to get here. It was very terrifying." He shivered for a moment. Flashbacks happens next, however, he was able to shrug them off, and continued his way towards his room.

But, along the way, something he saw triggered the certain feeling he felt long ago. A family portrait hanged on the wall of a opened room. The door barely closing the entrance, however, Rey happened to catch a glimpse of it. Back when he was still a freshman, he would always returned to his room and cry about how he wanted to go back home. To go back the warmth of his mother's embrace. To go back to the strict teachings of his father. To go back and remember the times when he was still happy and free. "Damn, I thought I've threw away those things..." Tears was about to invade his eyes, however, through sheer will power, he fought it back.

Kai had been enjoying his moment of rest when had noticed out the corner of his eye the blast that had went towards Suna. Kai knew she had finished before him, well before, so where did that blast come from. Turning round he noticed the golems had reformed, including his one. " Right... because it would never be simple" he chuckled, which was not really seen outside of training. He was friendly outside of it, but he only seemed to relax in training. Making his way towards the now one golem that used to be his three, he side-stepped the first blast, Firing one back himself before closing the distance down to fight at close range again.

He had noticed as soon as he had stepped in range that the electricity was stronger, he could feel the hairs on his arms raise slightly. Leaning back out the way of the first fist, Kai stepped to side, body rolling to avoid the next kick and almost on instinct he duck another fist that came towards. For such a large man he could move well. Rising up slightly he launched out his left fist and shattered the barrier cleanly. Only problem was he left a massive gap in his defense. Which normally would not be a problem, but a multi-limbed Golem could exploit it. Doing the most sensible thing that came to his mind. He jumped right as the Golem connected with an uppercut sending Kai through the air.

Skidding because of his shield when he landed he rolled himself onto he front and stood up fine. The fact he had removed himself from the ground meant he was no longer earthed and the electricity could not flow through him. And to anyone who had watched carefully would of noticed his hand bracing against the strike. As soon as he had sighted the Golem again he let fly with a couple of aura shots. Taking out two targets just from range. He could not fight with having to dodge all of the Golems limbs Kai was just too heavy and big. Taking the shield from his back and gripping it firmly with his left hand. The Great sword also came off his back and was held firmly in his right hand. Now he could block any attack with impunity, well that was if he could play it smart. Charging head first at the advancing golem he wait till the distance was suitable for him before planting one foot onto the floor, stepping through and thrusting with his sword, right at the gap in the Golems defense. It was larger and had more limbs now, and looked as if trying to stay out of this longer reach Kai had missed, with the tip of his sword making no contact with the golem at all. Yet a target was still shattered. Granted his sword was sheathed in his Aura no shot had come off though. Really Kai hoped no one saw that. It was a technique that always gave him an edge and with the possibility of being challenged he wanted to maintain some form of advantage before any battle had even started.

Pulling his sword back, and planting his shield down, a kick thundered off its surface. Swinging his sword round he smashed away a punch, Twisting his wrist he used the momentum and extend the arc down to swipe away another kick. Turning off as another punch came towards him he smashed it out the way with his shield and brought his sword in a low sweeping arc, connecting brutally with golem not only knocking it off balance but taking three targets with it. Having this brief moment to regain his stance he waited shield ready for the golem to attack again. Just as the kick from his opponent was kicked out he pulled his shield out the way and drove his sword straight through the leg impaling it into the floor. There went its mobility. Stepping past the leg, he drove his shield hard into the Golem shattering a target. Though he brought the shield up to block a hammer like strike aimed for him. The golem was raining blows against the shield and Kai could not even move. His eyes searched for openings anything to help. The last Target was exposed. Reaching up with his free hand. He drew his smaller secondary sword from his shield and lunged that forward, the tip of the sword cracking the target.

The now deactivated Golem had fell on top of Kai's shield. but with one good shove to the side it thudded onto the floor. Sheathing his secondary sword back behind his shield his moved over to wrench the great sword from the ground. After the walk off the battlefield, he laid his sword and shield down onto the ground before glancing to watch who ever was left fighting. If a cadets gaze ever wandered over to Kai as he watched. He would use simply hand signals to guide them. Simple things like step around, or back. Or a timing mark on when to attack. Things that did actually manage to help in most cases.

Kayle leapt up before Desmond even dismissed him. “It was only a matter of time.” Kayle muttered with a murderous look on his face at no one in particular. “I’ll send for a body bag.” He sighed and signaled one of his assistants on his PDA. While he had his screen up he tallied the death on his opening page so it would stand among the other deaths that occurred while he was medic corps general. It was a sick and twisted way to remind himself he was responsible for every death in the school.

“If you don’t mind Desmond, I’ll meet you there.” Kayle glanced at Desmond before he drew intricate runes in the air. Without even waiting for an answer he disappeared running at the speed of light to the Bravo Company’s dorms.

Desmond stood and left the room with Kayle, leaving Artemis still sitting in his chair, looking off at the chair Desmond had sat in before. The chair was a tall black leather office seat with silver accents at its corners. It looked more like a modern day CEO’s throne than just some chair. Taller and larger than all the others with the crest of the school at its top center position, that seat was only ever filled by the head General at Archon, and no one ever dared to sit in that seat unless they held that title. Artemis still remembered how Desmond refused during the summer term to use that chair, hell even now he constantly says he doesn’t fit in that chair. But the fact is, Desmond, like it or not you do fit there… a throne suits you, no matter what you think.

The Colonel stood at last as he turned to leave the room, musing over the comments of their fellow commander Kayle, ”Would you two just win this thing already!?” that question reverberated in his mind. Fact was that he had a desire deep within to rule, he thought he’d be better at leading this nation than most, and yet he also knew at his core that Desmond (who did not want the throne) was better suited for it. If only we could, Kayle, but I think Desmond will put that off as long as he can, and I’ve got to fight my base urges as well as our foes… it’ll be you who’ll keep us straight right? he thought as he stepped out onto the large stairwell that was at the front of the main building. Before him he saw Desmond and Kayle, being confronted by another man. One of Artemis’ habits is chewing straw. He is rarely without a small plant stem between his teeth and as he looked onto this scene, his left hand taking out a straw shoot to place between his teeth his other hand swept his jacket back with his pinky, fingers spread to reveal a hidden plate of silver at his kidney; one of his plate swords in its sealed state.

Like a gunman ready to draw he stood there looking on as he awaited the situation to evolve with a suspicious eye.

-=-=-=-

Desmond and Kayle descended the stairs, the General’s face stoic and severe, the jovial nature he often showed exhumed from his body. Stepping down there were several young officers scattered around, lieutenants who were members of the command and control unit for the school (under platoon leaders in prestige this is the job most third years in the average category get) and normally they would swarm Generals with issues and forms that needed attention. But the icy stare of the Commander in Chief chilled them all as they awkwardly head away. Well, almost all of them. One man, standing at the foot of the stairs glaring at Desmond with clear intent didn’t move a muscle. He was a Major, one of the higher ranked members of the command staff. Malcolm Reyes was his name, a member of the company arrangement committee whose job it was to organize intercompany events and class schedule. “Major Reyes… something I can do for you?” Desmond asked.

“Yeah actually…” he answered. His lack of pomp and ceremony was rather disturbing to Desmond. He didn’t require it but the major was one of the top third years with a rank regularly reserved for fourth years and seniors and he always was very respectful. The Major took out his PDA and clicked it a few times and at last a bing resonated from the device and he looked up to Desmond expectantly.

Before Desmond could ask his pocket vibrated against his chest, and a cold chill ran down his spine. He reached into his jacket and withdrew it to see the spinning message on the screen, 1 CHALLENGE WAITING. Yep, the Major was really challenging him, his first challenge of the Rite. His eyes sharpened on the message as he looked up, “Now’s not a good time, Major, care to reschedule?” he inquired with a hopeful inflection.

The Major shook his head, “You know damn well that’s not how this is going to go. You’ve sat on the sidelines too long. If you think you can just sit on the side lines,” he drew his pistol; despite being a magus the Major was famous for using a pistol along with spell-craft, “you’re dead wrong.”

Desmond breathed in slowly and held it for a moment before releasing it in a large breath as he reached up to his glasses and removed them, placing them in his pocket as he turned to Kayle, “You go ahead, Kayle, I won’t be long here. It’s like you said, right? I trust you to handle the scene until I arrive.” It was less of a request for him to leave the area and more of an order. The other officers had already retreated away, though many were looking on at him.

After the other General left (they’d wait for him to do so) even as Artemis arrived behind them, hanging back to the rear near a pillar. Desmond returned his attention to his opponent as he fidgeted with his PDA, the challenge request still not accepted. The Major was gripping his pistol harder, “You seem distracted, something happen?” the Major asked with a slight smirk.

Desmond rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Yes, actually, a cadet has finally fallen in this damn Rite…” the man’s smirk vanished. “But, you still won’t relent will you…”

“Unfortunately,” he reached to lapel and brought it to the side, exposing a small silver glint to Artemis and Desmond. Artemis furrowed his brow That group eh?[i] he wondered. “I cannot…” the man finished as he released his lapel and took a firing position. Unlike most of the cadets he and Artemis had different rules to abide in the competition. Those in the top ten percent, unlike others, cannon refuse or reschedule challenges without consent from their opponent. Like it or not, Desmond would have to step into the ring. [i]Happy now, Kayle…?[i]

“I see…” Desmond sighed again and brought up the PDA, and hit accept. A chime rang and he stowed the device and spread his stance slightly, “I apologize Malcolm, but I’m going to have to make this fast and get moving to the incident, but remember that you asked for this.” He brought his left wrist up and pointed his hand sky ward, palm facing inward to show his watch to his opponent. Artemis’ eyes widened as he realized how serious Desmond was and tensed for a second. The General spoke, “System Release 60% capacity.” He said smoothly and the watch beeped and lit up.

The next moment his small aura unfitting of someone in his position exploded to three times its previous size. It roared out of control (not that Artemis could see it really, and could only see the dust spiral away from his feet as the power leapt out) and flared in a torrent until finally shrinking again to only twice its size once more under control even though the wind still whipped about. Artemis crushed the straw in his mouth and spat it out before turning to walk away to return to his company. The Major was no slouch, he was the overt top third year. But Artemis was slapping himself for thinking he’d have to help Desmond. [i]I’m an idiot, I thought he’d hold back… should of realized he’s in no mood… hope Kayle will send a Medic this way, that kid might need it if Desmond doesn’t watch himself.

-=-=-=-

Back at the Combat field Caspian stepped to the Lieutenant and reported his mission complete before returning to the end of his line, trying to keep his head down. He would have too but as he was reporting, “Ma’am, Cadet-” he suddenly stopped as he felt it. No doubt the guardian’s would miss it, well most at least, but he and the other magus never would. Something had changed. Looking back at the main building he spotted a tower of blue about five stories tall judging by the surrounding structures, it shrunk a moment later but he couldn’t help but swallow. “Who was that?” he asked subconsciously aloud without meaning too.

Meeko's super-lightning speed aura cannon did not damage the dummy at all, it merely melted into a puddle and evaded the aura cannon, causing it to rebound off the barrier and straight back to her. Her reflex reaction was to dodge out of the way, but the aura cannon hit the barrier behind her and reflected back again.

"Tch...in a situation like this..." Meeko stood with her feet apart, her left hand held in a stance. Just as the cannon was about to hit her hand.

'Sight-Counter'

With her eyes emitting her orange aura, Meeko did a sweeping motion with her hand, a slight aura forming. The cannon hit the aura barrier and seemed to seep into the orange aura. For what seemed like a split second later, the aura bulged to form the exact same aura cannon and shot straight back towards the magical barrier around them. As it rebounded, Meeko side-stepped and dodged the projectile, letting it make its way towards the dummy again.

However, just like before, the dummy seemed to melt into the puddle once again and with that, it was like time repeated itself. The aura cannon rebounded once more and Meeko was forced to avoid the attack.

'I'll just have to use it then.' Meeko stood firm, dead center in the trajectory of the aura cannon and held her hands aloft, holding them in a sort of square in front of her. Her orange aura started to concentrate around her hands and flickered, slowly at first, but gaining speed quickly. Soon, the flickering aura was so bright that everything turned either bright orange or completely dull, as if the orange aura was the only colour in the world. For those familiar with Bertrand Clan abilities, they would recognize the feeling that emanated from this aura...and the sheer proficiency. It was like it was drawing in all the available auras around her. This time Meeko's eyes were glowing, glowing orange. So bright that her eyes were bright orange orbs, no trace of her pupils or sclera, or anything like that.

'Sight-Counter: Kai'

The aura cannon was absorbed at an incredibly fast rate and Meeko re-positioned herself and a surge of energy flowed from her hands, causing the aura cannon to be countered.

"I'm not done yet!" Meeko cried out, her eyes practically alight with energy. With a sudden movement, another aura cannon of the exact same make emerged and followed right behind the first aura cannon. A Counter with an extra kick.

The dummy, dodging the first aura cannon, immediately reformed... right when the second aura cannon hit it. A spontaneous reaction too place, as if the aura cannon was initially compressed and was now unleashing its power. The dummy immediately dissolved from the attack and Meeko was left alone in the battle.

"Ugh..." Meeko held her fingers to her eyes, trying to stifle the growing pain from the usage of such an advanced and unorthodox Sight technique. Sure, she had used it before, but there was a reason she never used it OFTEN. Everything was hazy and colourless to Meeko as she peered through her eyes. They felt dry...and they were bleeding. Meeko could tell without touching her eyes. She had used this technique a few times to know what it does. The faint trickles of blood flowed from the edges of her half-lidded eyes.

"Mission...accomplished." Meeko muttered, stumbling out of the barrier with a bit of difficulty, still keeping her hands to her eyes, trying to get rid of the redness.

Partially blinded, she never saw Caspian's battle, but she felt a slight shift in the atmosphere, sensing something happened when it wasn't supposed to. Slowly feeling her way, she stared at what she made out to be the blurry outline of their Lieutenant in charge and saluted.

"Completed ma'am."

She bowed and made her way... to wherever she was going in her semi-blind state. But not until she felt a humongous burst of amazing aura. It was so dense, so... powerful! This caught her attention, but at the same time, made her aura feel like a child in comparison to this gargantuan force. It made her rush for power immediately surface.

A smile was drawn on her face. That ever overly-ambitious smile.

'...An opponent.'



Elphida waited at the very end of the group, not wanting to get involved in any of the sparring training with the dummies. It seemed rather difficult and the hazel-haired girl that had helped her was having some difficulties before she ended it with a great finish. On the other hand, the one in black hair... that sudden change in movement, the sudden change of atmosphere... just what happened?

As she proceeded to walk to the hazel-haired girl who was stumbling about, she stopped in her tracks a good few seconds before everyone else, a single sweatdrop dripping down her chin to the grassy earth. She seemed to have anticipated something... something terrifying.

A massive surge of aura radiated out from main building, a powerful beam of blue light rushing out, almost becoming one with the skies.

"What...?" Elphida stared with wide eyes, before she was caught by the wind. Her hands brought up to shield herself from the blast of wind, whipping her hair around. When the sudden gale was over, she continued to stare at the building with disbelief. To think that a aura duckling like her would be able to sense something like that... That was no ordinary Magus...

Michale stood there watching the other cadets prove their mettle. Perhaps this really wasn't the place for him, He wasn't some form of combatant He was clever and smart not a killer. Michale stood there watching the others dispatching the other target quickly while he hopped that he would be forgotten and allowed to slip through without embarrassing himself. Unlikely but perhaps just maybe he would luck out.

-----

Delryn had been watching from a far. a single spotting scope looked over the two fields and on the ground next to him were sevral folders of all the personal on the fields in front of him. He had initially read Michale Sear's to see how the student had excactly made it through the selection process. And he had to say he was rather surprised at the results. but whear the kid went from here would be up to him and defiantly wasn't an SDU potential any time soon.

however Cadet Ironclaw was another story, He was on the cusp in his mind A troubled past with a few unfortunate events and more importantly ability. This was his candadite this was who he would present to Artemis. Derlyn slowly began to pick things up as he made his way down to the middle of the two training zones things seemed to be calming down and now was a good moment to introduce himself.

He had just gotten to the middle of the field when he felt it. That energy It had been a long time since he had felt it. Memories Flooded his mind as he stood there for a moment frozen. Then after the initial wave had passed he blinked and shook his head slightly as he heard the comments around them.

Delryn slowly put two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp high pitched whistle as he called everyone in around him. tapping a watch on his wrist and looking in the direction the energy had come from. Part of him wanted to leave He should be there...The man is to big of a target. As everyone finally gathered around Delryn looked at all the faces. "For those of you who asked that Is General Ruller, and thats not his full power either. so dont get any cute ideas. Now then Allow me to properly intruduce myself to you. I am Command Sargent Major Delryn, I am normally the man responsible for handling any problems you might have as well as ensuring that any punishments given out are fair. I have to say there is a lot of potential in this company and even more in these platoons. "

Delryn gave a small pause as he looked over to Daniel and then to Ethylyn. "However i think we have seen everything that we need to see outside for the moment after all Im sure most of you are somewhat tired unless you train every day....Is that correct Cadet Ironclaw?" Delryn asked Ralen directly as he moved over to Daniel awaiting the cadets answer handing the His file to Daniel making sure the label was away from Ralens prying eyes.
---
Michale ran over as the man stood in the middle of the training fields whistled although he couldn't help but note the power he had felt if just briefly It was rather impressive to say the least...Far more powerful than anything he had ever felt in his life.

Rallen had dealt with the golem relatively quickly and had moved on wasn’t hard for him to send out the energy to obliterate the golem though of course he ended up taking another pill after word. After the he had spent some time just watching the rest as they went about their own targets. The moment the new man had yelled out to form up around him Rallens eyes quickly found the man and looked him over. He had never seen him before but odds where he was an officer of some kind, that or he was just a cadet yelling out some bull as to confuse everyone but that would just be dumb. Rallen let out a shrug at the thought and walked over with the rest of the group taking a spot around the middle of the crowd.

Rallen looked over the group around him a bit rather quickly just before he turned his attention to what he assumed was the officer. He raised a brow at the man’s choice of words and how he ended up directing a question to him. at first it came off as a negative, painting a target on his back if anything, but then a thought crossed his mind and his face turned into a smile. This way at least most of the people would go after him instead of his friends, or at least he thought. “That is a matter of opinion sir, after all not ever one is built the same.” Not his best answer but what could he say he was tired. He watched the man pass a file on and frowned a bit. His probably, why else would the guy call him out if there wasn’t some bigger reason. Rallen didn’t bother to try to read it all and all it wouldn’t really matter the way he saw it. If it was his there was something coming if not then it wasn’t one way or another he couldn’t do anything to stop it from this point. “And it’s just Rallen sir I’m not a fan of having a title.”

Delryn gave a small smile at Rallen's reply as he turned to face the Cadet once again. Most wouldent say Delryn wasn't physically imposing, but there was defiantly something in his eye's they way he looked at everyone like prey, it had made plenty of people uneasy. "Well Cadet Ironclaw Its not a title its a name your surname Not everyone has one, you should take pride in it. and besides it is tradition to address people by rank and their last name. not something im going to be responsible for destroying. And for the love of god don't call me sir, and dont any of you dare salute me. Im not an officer, Im a senior Enlisted Member." Delryn said then thought on what Rallen had said, as he tried to decide if they could move the group of cadets without running into the generals bout. "Do any of you have any questions at the moment? Now is the time to do so..Ill answer anything Ive been here for a few years And might be able to answer any questions you have burning inside your skulls." Delryn asked trying his best to be a bit more freindly than usual. most where young and came from some level of privliged life and they were not used to what would be infront of them. they were his responsibility to some degree.

Artemis sighed deeply as he watched the scene play out and then turned his back. If Desmond was actually going to fight it wasn’t’ his place to get in the way, so he just turned and began to walk away. His company was waiting for him, and he kind of didn’t want to be around if Desmond was going to fight for real. He had a tendency to make it rain and make the air pressure increase. Everytime this guy lets loose my neck gets stiff, I swear just being this close to him when he releases makes it hurt… I’m out of here. he just walked rather quickly away ,not wanting to let his muscles tighten anymore, though he did call over to a young officer who was hiding behind a pillar watching, “Hey, you, you might want to move back, things are gonna get chaotic for a second here… oh and by the way, call for some medics would ya. I don’t have the time right now.” The officer stammered a response and Artemis headed away.

As he hit the road an open top transport (jeep) came pulling by and he waved it down. The driver slowed and was about to stop when Artemis simply jumped up on the running boards and indicated for him to keep driving. “Where too sir?” the man asked.

“Training grounds… my unit’s got more work ahead of them.” He glanced back at the shrinking courtyard, seeing several seals burst into being and hearing a couple shots ring out. He let out a sigh realizing the relaxing vacation was over and looked forward as they headed down the road toward the training grounds.


-=-=-=-

Caspian breathed heavily as his actions caught up with him. He felt his palm sting slightly with the burn that it had sustained from activating the spell change. His face was slightly downfallen though, despite his victory, as he realized that several eyes were on him with interest. At this rate I’m gonna end up getting bombarded by second year challenges. he sighed and stepped away about to be resigned to his failure with staying in the shadows for the first quarter when it hit. He felt the hairs on his neck stand at attention. The pressure hit him taking his breath for a moment. He’d forgotten what it felt like to have someone’s aura completely encompass his own, to feel the residual pressure a strong aura created in the atmosphere. Of course it was all in his head, the real aura he was feeling was not anywhere near him, but rather it forced the mana in the atmosphere to reverberate through the area, like a rock dropped in a still pond.

He turned, like all the other Magus, and looked to the distance where a spire of blue rose to the height of nearly five stories in the distance. The energy was incredible to behold. “Wh-who is that? What…what kind of magus?” he asked out loud, many making the same comments. That was when the CSM whistled to get their attention and informed them all that it was General Ruler (apparently even the Guardians had noticed it) and then he said it wasn’t’ even his full strength.

“But… but at the opening ceremony…” Caspian spoke to no one, not truly loud enough for those further form him to hear, “ his energy wasn’t nearly that large… can a limiter, can one of those devices really restrict an aura that much?”

-=-=-=-

Daniel was in his perch, watching the day pass by when he noted that Delryn was making his move. He brought the platform to the ground and stepped out to the forming crowd. Some of the Magus were over there too and Daniel was just lazily sipping his coffee when it hit. Like a wave he felt an intense pressure that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Glancing toward the main campus he wondered what it looked like to the Magus. He knew of no Guardians who could see auras, at least not without some special spells and mumbo jumbo or scientific such and such, it must be quite a sight though. Of course he didn’t need to see it or be able to sense the exact position or origin of the energy to tell who was letting off some steam, “Finally getting involved, eh sir?” he chuckled.

There weren’t many who made it to the fifth and technically highest year at the school. Most were seniors their fourth year and most commissioned then. However the Generals and some of the Colonels were of a select crowd that would remain enrolled an extra year acting as command and control of the school. Students at the higher levels are often in complicated situations because of this and younger students knew to play it by ear. But still the school had some basically held truths.

Delryn was making some speech about the feeling and addressing the students concerns but Daniel was less interested. He just stood there and let the CSM do the heavy word lifting. He then heard him call out Rallen and caught Daniel’s attention. He was handed some package and as he opened it and looked over the contents he smirked, “Ah… I see… good choose, man.” He said and then sat back letting the two have their conversation. That was until a slight roll of either thunder or the detonation of some spell but either way it got his attention again to the main campus.

One of the generally held truths of the school was that the highest of the students at the school were incredibly powerful, and that their power needs to be regulated, as such there is a group of people called “Limiters” at the school. These “limiters” are not an official group of people but rather just a tag placed on officers (who are Magus for obvious reasons) who are given an Aura Limiter, a device that helps them to control the output of their large auras while in regular life that doesn’t’ require constant concentration on such. The fact is those how have made it to their fifth year (a mere 1% of the initial freshman class) and those who show extreme potential or power often are given these items as aids. Without a limiter some of the most powerful magus in the country would be unable to function, as their aura would require constant meditation to control. If an aura of a “limiter” wasn’t controlled it would cause atmospheric chaos as the raging aura would breakdown the mana in the atmosphere and cause the forces of nature to go wild.

Right now a layer of dark cloud was rolling in and condensing above the central campus, making Daniel smirk. “He’s holding back, kind of, but I wonder who he’s fighting that made him release the limiter?”

“It’s Major Reyes, actually…” a voice cut in from behind him.

“Hmm?” Daniel turned and smiled, after all he was on the outskirts of the training field. Artemis hopped off the side rail of a transport and walked toward the gathering company. “Really… that’s interesting…” Daniel seemed to realize that they were in front of the entire company and so he suddenly snapped too, “Sir, shall I fall in the company, sir?”

“Huh? Oh, no that won’t-” he stopped and looked back, as if on cue the aura vanished, somehow he seemed to have predicted that but only the magus could see the aura reduce and disappear, the fight had ended almost as fast as it had begun, “Oh, he’s done already? I thought the Major would last longer.”

“You know Malcolm might have won.” Daniel commented.

“True.”

“…Anyway, so am I falling them in?”

“No, that won’t be necessary, I’ll address them in a moment ,but first I need you, Ethelyn, and Delryn to give me the names of those who impressed.”

“Well, Suna was her usual swift self, and Kai wasn’t bad either as expected. The new kids all show some promise to a degree but if you want to know who I think stood out in the guardians I’d say… hmmm,” he leaned in and whispered so the others couldn’t hear, “Karu Taka-Takahashi I think Is his name, then there was Rey, and Delryn has some others I think.”

Artemis nodded, “Good, Ethelyn, Delryn? What about you two? Any talent I should know about?”

Suna

she woke up not long after falling asleep to a shrill whistle. but also from the fact that she felt a hand closing in on her and in an instant Suna held a young cadet on the ground his arm twisted behind his back. Suna growled what seemed to be a warning and soon enough after he pleaded for her to let go of him she did, by jumping back landing on her feet with ease. she then headed towards where Derlyn stood besides Daniel and briefly overheard a few names mentioned between Daniel ad Artemis who just arrived. the mention of her name peaked her interest but not enough for her to want to eavesdrop on the two. ' ill look into that later when i get the chance'she thought to herself.

As if something was disrupting from his sleep, Rey laid down on his bed, his legs crossed and his hands below his head. For thirty minutes had he been laying down here, staring at the empty ceiling. For once, he actually thought of going out for some training, however, that option was a no-go as he was still too lazy to do it. Though he was staring at the wall, he was actually listening to some music he loved. A rock pop song with lyrics and beats that somehow is able to sum up his entire life. Through it, he was able to conjure up mental images of his life. A basic skim throughout his childhood to how he ended up in this situation. It's nothing to be proud of, but he wanted to tell it to someone. Anyone, for once. "Though that may never happen to me", he thought.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door. It was faint, because it was surrounded by his music, however, he can still hear the knock. As if he was struggling, he slowly got up. He sat there for a moment before standing back up and opening the door, answering the knock with a call of "Yes?"

---

The huge announcement of the death of the emperor really shocked Cheryl. She thought that if the emperor passed away, other country might take the chance to invade the country. If that happened, many people will probably die. The sheer thought of it happening really scared her. Sudden cold sweat runs down her body, however, it slowly went away. The panicking of the students only made her worry more, as the headmaster announced an event more terrifying than what she though coming to Archon Academy would be.

A event that pits every student in the academy into a competition for the throne.

She never liked battles nor will she come to. She never wanted battles nor will she have one. She never engage in battles because she is afraid of dying and worse, killing. Thus why she is horribly shocked by this. Desperately, she wanted to get out of here. However, she knows that this might just be one of the system this academy implements. She had no way of escaping. It's either she fights or someone stronger helps shelter her. Though she knows that the latter could never happen. There could never be a someone as nice as that to a complete stranger like her. Besides, protecting her holds no value at all, so that idea was a one in a million chance that it could happen.

Though somehow she never gets into a single battle.

Days passed as she lived in the academy dorms. She meets quite a few friends and have one or two close friends, so that relieves her. What's more, they are in the same company as her and they are strong too, to top that off. She thought that she might actually find peace in this place until this ends. It a little piece of hope, but she decided to cling onto it. That few days of peace was fulfilling, but that was quickly destroyed when all her friends were all beaten to a pulp by one single guy. A known fighter of the second platoon. He's a cadet, but his powers can actually match a sergeant's. A last word of advice from her friend has summoned her to the platoon's sergeant's room.

She actually stood there for the last fifteen minutes, holding tightly to the laptop she carry around every day. As the seconds ticks away, so does her hesitation. Unconsciously, all sorts of endings appears in her head. Every possible outcome all passed by her mind. She was worried that the man she is about to meet is a fierce and rude man. Or that he might be a heavy pervert who tries to take advantage of her situation. But yet she still knocks onto the door that might lead to one of the outcome she had saw in her head. All of it is probably better than being sullied in the battlefield or maybe even becoming a murderer by accident.

---

Ethelyn swooned over the General's impressive aura as it revealed itself to the entire school. She would recognize that power anywhere, Mr. Ruler would be winning his first of many battles in this rite. As it faded she smirked, poor Major Reyes. She soon turned her attention back to the Colonel when he addressed her and stood up straight in attention as she always did.

"None impressed" Ethelyn complained, "I don't know what happened this year but clearly the recruitment standards have gone down. I've got one idiot that can't hit his own target, another that can't show me anything, Cadet Betrand was crying blood by the end of her duel. It was a shadow oil dummy, a simple light cannon aimed properly or a bit of fire would have destroyed it easily." She was not pleased with the results of her little tests.

"Cadet Polaris was the only one who put a dent in the dummy but even he showed some struggle." She gave her one meager compliment and waved a hand at the confused cadet.

"Honestly they can't even identify the General's impressive aura." Ethelyn sneered in disgust. "So no, none of these Magus deserve any special recognition if you ask me."

Kai glanced over when he heard the whistle. Picking his gear from off the ground again he wandered over to the group that was gathering round the CSM, taking up a position at the back of the group, Seeing as he could easily look over most people. Hearing that the General was in a fight, he could only blink slightly. He did notice the odd shift in interest in one or two of the Magus, but he did not suspect it was to that degree. Though he did notice the darker clouds over central campus but again paid no heed. It was bound to happen eventually, there was no possible way the General would of ever made it through the rite without a challenge, it way always just a question of timing. Now the question was answered. Someone had stepped up to the plate. During his wandering gaze he noticed Artemis had arrived. No order was given to fall in, so he simply turned his attention back to the CSM and shook his head. He had no questions or at least did not feel the need to ask any of them

Artemis couldn’t help but raise his eye brows, “Hmm, really?” Ethelyn was telling him no one really impressed and yet she cared enough to give him some actual names, “Two names? Good group then?” he then turned his attention to the company and cleared his throat only for Daniel to pull him down from his premature announcement.

“Polaris is the one I was mentioning earlier sir,” Daniel leaned in so that only the officers nearby could hear him, “He’s the one hiding something under his collar… I’m not sure why but it seems to me that he’s got something he doesn’t’ want out in the open…”

Artemis nodded in gratitude for the information to his LT and then stood straight again. Polaris, eh? he cleared his throat again but this time spoke, “Alright kiddies! Hope you’ve had fun relaxing, because this is where the real work begins!” he took out his PDA and fumbled with it for a few moments before looking up and making a swiping motion with it, all the cadets PDAs dinged with a new message, in it was once again more numbers. “Time for you Cadets to feel the real military combat you have come here to learn. Those numbers correspond with another number in the company, randomly chosen. You will pair up, and you will have a sparring match. Now normally that would be it, but due to the Rite I must add that if BOTH parties agree these can count as challenges.”

Caspian glanced at hismessage, instead of a number there was a word, Me, and his eyes expanded. Random my ass!

Daniel glanced at his and called out, “Number 28, whose the lucky winner!?”

Reaching into his pocket, Kai swiped open the message and swiftly glanced at the number before glancing up to gaze at the crowd in front of him. So many fresh faced cadets that he did not want to spar. No in all honesty to himself Kai wanted to stretch himself so to speak. Nothing ambitious but enough to let himself cut loose and get him working. Hearing the call for his number, Kai glanced over the crowd in front of him to find the owner of the voice. But then again when he heard it the familiarity of the voice gave him an idea it was Daniel. " That lucky winner would be me Sir" Kai said tapping the cadets in front of him so he could walk through the crowd. The first couple of cadets turning, only to look up before stepping to one side. Their curiosity of who the Lt was going to spar sated.

Having reached the front of the crowd he couldn't help but smile slightly " And don't worry sir... i am not interested in the challenges... just your average spar suits me" he was feeling quite relaxed today. Normally he would be that informal but for some reason he seemed more relaxed, yet he hadn't slipped completely. He was formal yet friendly. Raising a hand up he tapped the edge of his shield over his shoulder " How do you wish to do this... armed?" he asked taking some steps away. The before gathered crowd had no split off as people prepared them selves for their spars, Causing Kai and Daniel to have the room they would need for this activity.

Ethelyn rolled her eyes at the colonel, the two names were insignificant, but she kept her mouth shut not in the mood to argue this.

Two Ethelyn crinkled her nose at the arrival of the number. Not only did she hate that number but she didn't even understand why she and Daniel were being included in this. Showing the cadets their place she guessed. The snake of her aura began to coil tight around her, poised to strike as she tensed at the thought of a good fight.

"Number two, you're against me." She announced with venom in her voice. she could hear the sighs of relief and fearful auras disappear as cadets found out they would not be facing her. She began adjusting her sleeves impatiently, she planned to finish this quickly but not painlessly. Maybe it would be Michale and she could show him how a real magus fights, without a deck of cards. She smiled at the thought and continued to look at the crowd for her challenger.

Karu wakes up groggy. He looks around as he sees that everyone is just about finished their practice dummy.

"So it's over...? I don't remember anyt- Gahh!" Karu grasps his chest. "Ugh... What happened to me." A loud cacophonous echo ringing from below him, his PDA. He picks it up as he hears Daniel's voice.

“Time for you Cadets to feel the real military combat you have come here to learn. Those numbers correspond with another number in the company, randomly chosen. You will pair up, and you will have a sparring match. Now normally that would be it, but due to the Rite I must add that if BOTH parties agree these can count as challenges.”

"It was bound to happen... I'm anxious..." He looks at the PDA as he swipes it as goes through to his messages he sees a "Challenge" note. He taps it to open as he looks at the number 64 a bright yellow on the screen... "Number 64 huh..." He gets up and looks around. "Now to find this person."

Suna

she felt something vibrate in her back pockets realizing it had been her PDA. taking it out Suna read the message then looked back to listen to what had been said by Artemis. ' i have to look for my partner. but im too tired to speak and i already spoke more than enough today' she thought to herself.

Suna looked at her screen once more finding the number 56 flash on the screen. she sighed, blinked then looked around her red eyes watching the others as they received their numbers but mainly she was looking for her opponent. Suna sighed again realizing she would actually have to talk outloud, again and took a deep breath before speaking "i have number 56" Suna glaned around and just for a brief moment she actually fell asleep where she stood.

“Time for you Cadets to feel the real military combat you have come here to learn. Those numbers correspond with another number in the company, randomly chosen. You will pair up, and you will have a sparring match. Now normally that would be it, but due to the Rite I must add that if BOTH parties agree these can count as challenges.”

Elphida was a little surprised at this. Were they really moving along that quick? Then another cold sinking feeling caught her. She was going to be in a fight... with whom!? No matter who it was, she wasn't going to win at all... She kept a hand on the standard issue sword for a bit of reassurance. Even this wouldn't match up to Magus OR Guardians. What use was a sword against people who could use magic at will?

She was number 64. And her opponent was number 39. She merely stood there, a little too frightened to even move. Soon enough though, the person looking for number 64 arrived.

"...I'm number 64." she told him. Wasn't he from before in the cafeteria? The one who talked about preferring to protect teammates? Not to mention the one who bolted off all of a sudden... Ka...Karu was it? "Hi Karu."

"I don't want to participate in the Rite... so if this could just be a normal spar...?" Elphida asked, showing him their numbers on the PDA.



“Time for you Cadets to feel the real military combat you have come here to learn. Those numbers correspond with another number in the company, randomly chosen. You will pair up, and you will have a sparring match. Now normally that would be it, but due to the Rite I must add that if BOTH parties agree these can count as challenges.”

Meeko's vision has returned and she was busy wiping her eyes when this announcement took place and her PDA vibrated. Picking it up, she saw two numbers. One was hers, number 2 and the other was probably her opponent's, 21. She tsked in disgust at her chosen number. Number 2 did not give her any good memories. All it reminded her was that she was always second...second behind someone.

But the thrill of battle and the chance of defeating someone overcame that and she took off, looking for her target. All around her, people were tensed up, afraid of something for some reason. But she heard an announcement, her number being called out and immediately they all relaxed. To her surprise... and delight, Meeko recognized the voice...Ethelyn was looking for number 2. She approached the lieutenant, each step bringing her closer to a battle.

"You called ma'am?" Meeko asked, showing their numbers on her PDA before rubbing a thumb against her eye, getting rid of the last of the dried blood. "Sorry if you didn't enjoy the performance I pulled for you a while ago."

She sighed and began to remove the buckles and straps that held her trusty rapier and the standard issue sword. "Sometimes, things are too easy if you take it seriously. I guess that was why I decided to blank out my thoughts during a fight. So I won't think too smart and end the fight too early."

She lifted the sheathes up, showing them to Ethelyn, before dropping them to the side. "I don't need them. We'll fight it the way Magus do. Magic."

Flexing her fingers, she couldn't help but impulsively point at the higher ranker. "You're going to be my stepping stone towards him."

Emphasizing who she meant, she pointed back at the tower where the humongous aura burst was recently felt. Without looking. The aura lingering there was enough to remind her how powerful that person was. Bringing her hand down, she seemed to have changed. While she was a respectful cadet during normal occasions, she could never hold herself from belittling anyone in the heat of a battle when she saw fit, whether it be someone of her own rank or a higher up, disrespectful as it was. It was a tactic she used to cause her adversaries to furiously lash out at her without holding back.

"I'm challenging you Ethelyn." Meeko said firmly, then she narrowed her eyes. "Don't disappoint me."

Ethelyn burst out laughing.

"You are too cute." She finally managed to say when she composed herself enough that she wasn't wheezing. "That aura was General Desmond Ruler's aura, do you even know who that is, Cadet?" she scoffed. "He's the general. He's been here much longer than you, has fought many more battles and is undeniably the strongest person at this school." She educated the fool. "If you're planning on even facing him you would need an entire squad of students and some sort of skill. You could barely beat a dummy made of flammable shadows." Ethelyn hissed breaking the girl's determination.

"Even I am not strong enough to face him and I'm a lieutenant." Ethelyn rolled her eyes. "But don't let that fool you, I'm one of the best Magus around. I accept your challenge but you're going to regret dropping your sword Betrand. I shall join you for images sake. No need to carry around a sheathed sword during a fight of magics." She smirked. Her own rapier clattered to the ground, she didn't even wince at the loss of the weapon, as she had no need for it, the spell sword might have some difficulty without her namesake though. What a fool.

Karu goes over and picks up his glasses case as he hears someone behind him.

"I don't want to participate in the Rite... so if this could just be a normal spar...?"

He looks towards Elphida and looking her over really quickly he turns around and smiles. "As you wish." He looks alot different than before. He continues talking, "just a normal spar though? Are you really fine with just a normal spar?" He looks around and sees everyone else all excited and stupid thinking that this gives them a reason to do challenges with one another without looking like a complete asshole. Looking back at her, "well if that's you want, how would you want to spar? Weapon or no weapon? Magic or no magic?" Looking at her, he notices her lack of aura ever so slightly, his eyes narrow, "are you fine with this? Nothing will change." As Karu puts on his sunglasses. "Lastly, do you want to do this now or later?"

Daniel smiled, “No challenge eh? That’s fine by me, I don’t really care one way or the other!” he said with a huge smile in his typical carefree way. Then he heard something interesting. Ethelyn’s opponent was talking about Desmond, like he’s just a target. Daniel turned toward them and hollered, “Phew! Girls got spunk, gotta give her that!” he then returned his attention to his opponent who was inquiring over weapons.

“Hmm… good question?” he took out his pistols, both of them, and twirled them about for a few moments before returning them to their holsters. “How about we do this hand to hand? Been a while since I’ve had a good brawl,” he clicked his pistol belt and as it released tossed it up to the platform where it twisted and hung upon railing a few meters away, “plus, ah,” he stretched one arm until his shoulder popped then the other, “as it stands I’d be dangerous to try and have a battle with guns with, oh, so many people around. Of course,” He put his hands on his hips and leaned back stretching out his spine which again popped, “if you want you‘re welcome to use you’re sword or a knife or any close range weapon.”

He took a ready stance, arms high and legs apart, a smile on his face as he looked to his opponent, “Say when.”