The Academy

Midora wrapped his arms and stood still on the roof while watching his students throw out every bit of their power to fight Ms. Blackwrath's doppelgänger. He has observed every movements of his group and began to make some judgement about their strenght. Midora must admit that each of them has their unique ways of fighting. They did follow their strategies well and they've really put the doppelgänger in struggle. It is good to see that they're still fighting with their heart, and it is the most important thing. However, they have to well-aware that even though their opponent isn't look that tough, their plans might be backfired if they don't be cautious just for a second.

From his point of view, Kou seemed to have taken up the role of the leader of the group in this challenge as she carried out the first attacks towards the doppelgänger and nicked its arm before using her ability. To Midora, it was a very bold move, but he doesn't think that it is wise to use up your energy from the first start. As she kept the doppelgänger under her bidding, she was getting exhausted and has to stand back a bit to regain her strenght, giving the other two a chance to attack before their opponent could have a chance to counter against them.

It looks like what Midora said to Akiko earlier has really got to her. She's waiting for a chance to attack her opponent. Even though he was standing afar with her, he could felt the rage and the desire to prove herself has already rising inside her. It is good to see that Akiko finally have her fighting spirit back. In fact, is quite interesting to watched how she put her power in good use. However, it seemed that there are some flaws which she and the other two didn't realize, but Midora could. But still, being able to fight like that at her level is already an achievement. She'll be stronger, in both strenght and spirit, I hope.

Midora then gave his attention to Yuuto. He seemed to be the last one to act after the other two have done quite some damage to the doppelgänger. Although the boy didn't very happy at first, he actually carried out his attacks quite well. Though what he needs is, well, a little more belief in his companions. He was really focus on this task. Midora knows what has to gone through in his life, and nis battle right here in front of Midora is the proof to it. That's the reason why he was sent here, after all. Midora can noticed that Yuuto works well with Kou and they made quite a couple in this battle, but didn't work on well with Akiko though. Well, that's easy to understand after Akiko's outburst earlier.

When the shadow from the doppelgänger tried to hit Yuuto and Akiko get the blow for him, Midora was quite impressed because of her desire to prove herself to her fellow demons. But still, Midora thinks that she was quite reckless for doing something like that. He then turned to Yuuto, who was still a little bit confused about what his Mage just do. And he helped her to heal. Midora nodded with satisfaction. At least, the fox demon still know what is the right thing to do. Though he still keep his stubborness afterward.

Suddenly, when Midora is still standing and watching the fight, a strange figure flew from nowhere towards the direction which Midora was standing and surprised him. His group was still busy fighting so they probably didn't notice. He managed to dodge it easily. Because was flying at a fast pace and Midora was surprised so he didn't find out who or what the figure is. He turned his back and watched as it flew out of his sight. But then he shook his head then continued to supervise his group, he wasn't a curious person and this isn't the time to get distracted anyway. But Midora started to get worried after the figure flew past the area where Midora's group was fighting, because the figure's unstable aura.

That aura was familiar... I think I've met this being before... He stood silent for a moment and began to collect his memories to see if he has ever encounter with a Mage or a demon with an aura like that. Then after a few minutes of thinking, he realized that it was the unique aura that every members of the Qilin clan had. But Midora has no idea what could possibly a Qilin doing out here. He then remembered that the demon was flying from the Academy's location. Perhaps that is one of the newcomers? If I remember correctly, there's a Qilin demon in Yureibi's group. I guess I have to report this to Iris after we've finished. He's not in my group, but he's still a student that we teachers all need to have responsible for any troubles he might cause.

He turned his eyes to his group, it seems that Yuuto has sucked away most of the doppelgänger's energy. Looks like they did it. Midora then teleported himself from the roof to his group on the ground. They're drained of their power and having some minor wounds, "You've done well, students. I've seen enough to make judgements for now. Stay back and regain your energy, I will take care of the rest", Midora said as he kept his eyes towards the doppelgänger who is trying to stand up.

The doppelgänger then ran towards Midora and tried to attack him, but he stood still and keep his posture as if it was nothing. Dark aura appeared around him and fused into a bow. Midora held it and then held an arrow which is also materialize from the aura and aimed at the creature. His facial expression right now is cold and ruthless, as if he didn't happen to show any sympathy towards the weakened creature. Midora wanted to teach them that they must show no hestitation whether they're in a fight or when they've to make decisions in their lives.

"Repent", he said with a dark tone as he shot the arrow at the doppelgänger and hit it directly at its heart. A few moments later, the creature turned into dust and flew away with the wind. "Come, let's return to the Academy. It's time for you to rest and recover. We've had a lot of work tomorrow.", Midora said as he led his group all the way back.

Baron listened and directed her eyes towards Kris as the girl spoke, offering a nod or two here and there. Though she raised an eyebrow towards something in particular the student said. "Of course, our chances would go up if I could get a gun maybe and some knives?" The girl spoke with a smirk, somewhat halfheartedly joking.

Baron shook her head in response. ”Unfortunately, as some would say, you have no chance of that.”

The demon-mage allowed the students to talk amongst themselves for a short while, before the time came as she began leading the young trio away from the academy grounds and progressing towards their desired destination. When passing the headmistress, Baron offered a cheerful wave before the group set out towards the town.

The journey itself wasn't long. Upon arriving at the town Baron immediately directed the girls through the open streets and guided them past a handful of bystanders who went about their daily lives. After a few moments of strolling along the street-ways, the demon-mage lead the group to a secluded area hidden away behind many houses and buildings. Not many townsfolk ventured to this little open patch of land so it was ideal for a group exercise.

Wasting little time, Baron took a step forward before spinning round on her heel and confronted the group. ”I know that you do not want to do badly on this exercise and want to get stuck in, however this creature will take as much thought as skill in-order to be conquered.” She said calmly with an attempt to encourage the group. ”Before you is a doppelgänger, roughly half as strong as the headmistress or less. The creature's only purpose is to defeat you, it is up to you to prevent this from happening. As a team you must work together and look out for one another.”

A short distance from the group a shadowy figure emerged and took shape before them. The doppelgänger, taking on the appearance strikingly similar to that of the headmistress, with the exception of mischievous eyes that gave off the intent to cause harm. The creature stood there waiting, eying up the students in a challenging manner.

Baron stood to the side next a wall, arms crossed, as she watched the three girls. "Be warned. Once you begin to strike the doppelgänger it will immediately do the same. Make sure you are fully prepared.” She advised from her spot near the wall. "You may use the entire area to your advantage. I wish you luck.”

Just as Raisa was getting her bearings from her demonstration of the most difficult of the powers she actually had some semblance of skill with, something seemed to cause the already rebellious Makoto to snap. A sudden surge of blue flames from her left caused the young magus to stumble back, alarmed, only to find herself looking on in confusion as the boy's form shifted to that of a gigantic black horse-like creature. Then, giving a roar of defiance that rang throughout her mind, he bounded into the air and soared off, a trail of azure sparks showering down in his wake. Raisa opened her mouth to call after him, but by the time she realized that he had literally just had the audacity to take off and run in front of pretty much the entire school, he was already far beyond the range of her voice. Slapping a palm to her forehead, Raisa stifled a groan. This was all going to be put on her shoulders, wasn't it?

A peal of slightly demented and utterly hysterical laughter snapped her back to attention as, turning to her left, she found the hooded boy half doubled over in fits of giggling as he asked the question she herself was now wondering somewhere in the back of her mind.

"Did he just turn into a horse?"

"Looks that way," She replied with a sigh. "And a flying one, at that. But if you're looking forward to a pony ride, given his previous attitude, I have to say, it's probably not going to happen. Especially since he seems to have just up and left." She tried to joke about the situation, but given the glum expression on her face, it was fairly clear her heart wasn't in it. Turning towards the teacher, she gave an apologetic bow. "I'm sorry, sir. It appears I offended him when we first met. Him running off like this is probably my fault. If I'd just been able to calm him down..." She trailed off, biting her lip. "Either way, it looks like we'll need to retrieve him before going after our doppelganger. Can I see that map?" Stepping over beside the teacher, she glanced down at the paper he held indicating where their target would be - but which also showed the surrounding area in fairly good detail. Using that, they could at least determine where Makoto had been going. Aligning the surrounding scenery in her mind, the young mage tried to work out his likely destination from the course he'd taken. However, as she realized the answer to the question that plagued her, her scarlet eye went wide with surprise.

"He's heading straight for the doppelganger!" She murmured aloud. "Is he planning on taking it out before us and discrediting the rest of his own group?" She groaned, slapping her forehead yet again. Well, they couldn't very well just let him rush off and fail the rest of them. Besides, if the enemy was supposed to be a copy of the Headmistress, even a flawed one... it might just end up killing him. She didn't want to face this thought, but it was certainly a distinct possibility. They had to get there quickly and help, before he rushed into a fight that might have been the death of him.

Turning to face the hooded boy, she was about to ask him to follow her quickly when he suddenly spoke up, answering a question which hadn't been asked, but which had nonetheless been plaguing her.

"Am I still supposed to say my powers? I mess with people's brains. I can change their morals and ideals, as well as give them some recommendations as to what they should do. Its cooler when I'm around kids, 'cause they've got, like, no impulse control. I was notorious for making my classmates wet themselves when I was younger, since they went along with whatever popped in their head." Raisa raised a single eyebrow, her gaze narrowing into an expression of perplexed, slightly annoyed disappointment. Was it just her, or did he sound proud that he could and had used his abilities in such a childish fashion?

And... wait. Somebody with the power of hypnotic suggestion was complaining not five minutes ago about me being able to give him orders? The magus wondered, bewildered at what leaps of self-justification this train of thought must have required. Maybe he was just angry that she was infringing on his area of expertise. "That may prove quite useful. Maybe between the two of us, we can get Makoto to stand down before he does anything else rash," She said gravely. "This exercise was designed for a group of three people, which means that if he charges into it alone, he could end up getting himself hurt or killed. We have to stop him before then, which means we need to get there first. I'm not going to force you to go along. If you feel the same way as he does, I'll go and stop him on my own, regardless of the risks that entails." Speaking resolutely, she took one last glance at the map, and then turned her gaze towards the sky into which the Qilin had just soared away. "There's no time to waste. Follow me if you so choose." Speaking these words, the girl braced herself against the firm ground, power rushing forth from the center of her body and from the knife stored in her skirt, bathing her form in a halo of crimson. Reinforcing herself so as to be able to withstand the strain its own high-speed movements would create, she launched herself high into the air, trailing power like a red comet. She soared upward, rising high over the hill upon which the school was located and landing on a nearby telephone pole. A faint green flash blinked from underneath her eyepatch as she analyzed the path taken by the row of cables laid out ahead of her. It led straight to the target area. Using it as a vector, she found it simple to plot out her path and destination. And so, drawing her dagger, she took a deep breath. Short distance teleportation always took a lot out of her, but that was nothing compared to the strain of moving herself a great distance. Still, if it was the only way to get her to the doppelganger before Makoto charged headlong into it...

In an instant, the energy around her flared several times brighter, then collapsed inward upon her form, obliterating her body's mass and converting it directly to energy, which darted along the "road" set out by the cables ahead of her. Streaking over the city in a flash, like lightning, she found herself dizzily rising to her feet atop a particularly high telephone pole overlooking a large park, at the center of which stood a figure which looked eerily similar to the headmistress - a figure which was already gazing upward not towards herself, but rather towards a rapidly approaching bolt of black and blue. It seemed that even transporting herself instantaneously hadn't been enough of a head start of the young Qilin. Nevertheless, even though he'd probably hate her for what she was about to do, she had no choice but to act. She had no idea if this would work, but if the doppelganger was already preparing to attack him, it was her only option.

Focusing all of her power into her crimson eye, she wished with all her might that he would see her, that he would notice her before he saw anything else. If wishing to disappear had caused her to become imperceptible, maybe this wish would make her draw his perceptions to her instead. She could only hope it had worked, for in the next instant, the shadows on the ground began to rise in bladed masses, streaking upward to skewer the soaring Qilin. The light of Raisa's eye intensified a thousandfold as her wish changed, becoming something new. She wished that for just a moment, he would perceive her as his master, and would follow one command. Her green eye, even beneath the patch that covered it, could already see through the openings in the incoming indiscriminate attack. There would be a small gap to his right if he just moved a little bit in that direction, and then dived. Raising her voice, she gave the loudest yell she could muster.

"Move to the right, then dive straight downward!" Giving this commanding shout, she leaped from her perch atop the telephone pole, converting her energy back into reinforcing her body as she streaked downward towards the doppelganger below her, knife raised to strike. She needed to draw its attention so that Makoto could safely land. Once that was done, she could fall back to a safe distance and wait to see if Rabesach would arrive to support them. Planning thus, she came crashing down, plunging her blade downward towards the back of the construct's neck. But the Doppelganger, too, had been affected by her attention-grabbing eye, and had already turned its gaze upon her. Darting backward, it evaded, her knife cutting through thin air as she collided with the ground with a crash, sending a cloud of dust rising into the air. For a moment, everything was obscured. Then, in the next instant, the cloud shattered outward, scattered by the force of some unseen movement as, seemingly instantly, Raisa had moved directly in front of her enemy, her eye glowing a brilliant red as her knife, now held in a reverse grip, slashed upward towards the copy's neck. The trick of this technique lay in simply concealing her presence until the attack itself broke her illusion of invisibility, thereby making it seem as though she had closed the distance and begun an attack all at once, her movements rendered invisible. Yet, once again, the doppelganger defended itself, its shadow rising up to form a tangible barrier that deflected the girl's knife at the last second. Twisting with the force of her redirected blow, Raisa allowed her legs to fly out from under her, whirling as she slid past the doppelganger's legs to spin upward into a kneeling stance, slashing the back of its left knee before launching backward to evade a torrent of shadowy blades that slammed into the space she'd occupied just a moment prior. Barely managing to land on her feet, she skidded backward towards the spot where she estimated that Makoto, had he followed her command, would now be standing. She only hoped that as her gaze turned to face him for just a split second that he would actually be there, unharmed - because if he wasn't, she now had a very angry doppelganger of the most powerful mage in the area that was relatively unharmed and was now dead set on tearing her to pieces.

Adrianne watched as Kris said a number of things. Including the question of whether she could have a gun or knives. It seemed intriguing that she needed weapons after she saw her powers, which appeared to be extremely strong. Baron, of course, said no. This was supposed to be a team exercise, not a training session for weapons. This was to showcase her talent, her team's talent. She didn't know much about their powers, but she had an idea of what each of them could do. Soon enough, she was walking with Baron in the direction of their doppelgänger. She was extremely curious to see who it was that the doppelgänger was made after. They saw all the people and she came to an area that she had visited before. A place she found a few beat-up books and some shattered glass bottles once. This place was the area where she was to initiate battle with her doppelgänger.

Baron explained what exactly was happening and she understood. But she stopped thinking when Baron had said that the doppelgänger was made after the image of the headmistress. Wait... WHAT?!?! If it's made after the headmistress... I have no idea what-so-ever of their weaknesses! I don't even know what power it could have! She started to play with her hair and bite her nails in nervousness. This was bad. She had no idea how to attack it. She would have to learn from attacking it. But that would put her teammates at risk. She looked at Kris and Kali. She was scared. This was a situation she didn't predict. She looked around at all the buildings. Then, she stared right into the doppelgänger's eyes. As Baron had said, it was indeed ready to defeat us. It had some kind of murderous intent in its eyes. She thought about this for a second. She looked at Baron in a moment of desperation. "C-Can it talk?" She thought it was a strange question, but she thought it needed to be asked. If it had some sort of intelligence, that would show it wouldn't follow a pattern, but it couldn't... It might follow a pattern. She wondered what pattern it might follow. It was some sort of artificial being. Not an actual person. It had to have weaknesses, but not ones that might be easily spotted. She shook her head as so many thoughts went through her head.

She decided that it would be best if she started off in background because she didn't really have any very good close-range attacks. She was sure Kris would make the first move. Kris had a personality that was of a leader. She would provide the role of fighter. She couldn't remember what abilities Kali had, but she thought she would a striker like Kris... Though, she had no idea. She sighed as she readied her arm, calling forth her weir lights. She sent them in the four corners of the small battlefield. She stared at Kris. "Whenever you're ready to strike, I'm ready."

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Rabesach had been staring so intently at the flood of students on their way to town that he had almost missed the fact that Raisa was speaking to him. She'd actually listened to his sloppy introduction to his abilities. "That may prove quite useful. Maybe between the two of us, we can get Makoto to stand down before he does anything else rash," she said, then continuing on about how much danger Makoto was in and how serious the matter was. It was all rather morbid, much to the distaste of the young demon.

"You must be fun at parties," he muttered under his breath. However, he had to admit that he was quite surprised by her words. She was offering him a choice? He hadn't really figured that he got one, but even so, he wouldn't be eager to step out on a chance to fight. Before he could reply, however, his partner began to glow, engulfed in a bright red illumination, before rocketing off into the sky. Rabesach stared at the energy she'd left behind, like the trail of vapor that hangs in the air behind an plane. He'd just been about to inform her that he'd never miss the opportunity to use his blades, and now he'd been left behind. He folded his arms, pouting. "It's like everyone but me can fly," he whined. Looking over at his teacher, who seemed eager to let them figure this mess out on their own, he let out a loud, rather dramatic sigh. "Can I see that map?-Thank you," he said, not really waiting for an answer before snatching it and looking it over. The town was more complexly laid out than he had hoped for, and he wasn't sure how easy to navigate it would be. Could he find his teammates in that jungle? What if he was approached by someone else's doppelgänger while he was still on his own?

A wild grin appeared on his face, as well as an equally sadistic gleam in his eyes. He handed Alak back the map before sprinting in the direction of the town, taking the path for all those who were unable to defy gravity. If anything of the sort happened, he'd just have to deal with it. He tightened his grip on his blades, ready for action. He pushed past the slower people in the crowd, making his way towards where he needed to be as fast as possible.

And then he arrived, excitement bubbling up within him as he hurried into the city's limits. He didn't take the time to admire its decor, merely racing along its streets, careful not to trip over the occasional crack or bump in its rather smooth, stone pathways, though he certainly did pick up on a few things as he went. The smell of food still hanging in the air, paired with the occasional piece of trash lying upon the ground told him that this village was certainly lived in. He wondered how its occupants could be so willing to evacuate on a whim, just so the Academy's students could make a mess of their home. But, on that same subject, if no one was around, maybe they could head over to a candy shop and just take a few...

That's not important right now... Though, good idea for later. He was still yet to find his group, though he ran into a few of the others, most of which were in combat. He also nearly slammed into a teacher, a blonde woman watching her group fight from a place along a nearby wall. The collision wasn't his fault! She had to be at least a foot smaller than him, and he hadn't been too focused on where he was going nor watching out for whatever might have been below him. He murmured some half-hearted apologies to the woman, but he had more important things to do. "Wrong way," he scolded himself, quickly leaving their site of battle as to not distract them. Where on earth was his group?

However, he didn't have to wonder for very long, as his head suddenly snapped to attention toward a spot much deeper in the maze of the city. It was Raisa. He was certain of it. Why he knew this... he didn't know. And his feeling of certainty washed away only a few seconds later. Why had he been so positive that she was there? Had he gained some cool new Jedi-mind-trick?! Well, he did know that it wouldn't hurt to find out, taking off toward the spot the mage had, unknowingly to him, used her attention-grabbing ability.

How lucky had he been? The spot that he'd been directed to was exactly where his teammates were, both Nick Fury and Rainbow Dash! And they were alive, which was good. Funerals were so expensive, and he wasn't intent on attending one either... However, they both looked like they could use a bit of help, help Rabesach was eager to provide. "Did you guys think you could get rid of me that easily?" he sneered as he charged at the doppelgänger, not waiting for instruction, and swinging his metallic claws in its direction. "How do we kill it?" he cried. He was eager to stab the creature, though it swung back at him. Unknowing of the headmaster's abilities, he figured it'd be best to not let it lay a finger upon him, so he dodged, only able to barely scrape its arm before falling back.

Midora and his group are now walking back to the Academy after their first challenge in this Academy and it seems like they're really drained up. He then looked up to the sky and estimated the time. The sun has began to set and the whole scenery is now covered with a deep orange color. It seems that dusk is fastly approaching. Midora remembered that when they began to walked off from the Academy, it was still early in the afternoon. They really take this battle longer than I'd expected. Midora then wonders how long will it take if they have to fight something even more powerful than Ms. Blackwrath's doppelgänger, but he can't blame them, they still need to improve and it is Midora's job to help them. But that is for today and they can now rest before began their training tomorrow.

As they were walking, Midora thought that he should report back to Ms. Blackwrath that they've finished their challenge and about the student that got away. He then took out a scroll from his toga. Actually, it's just a blank piece of paper if someone would say. They still have to walked for a little while before they got back to the Academy so Midora thinks there's no reason to be rush as they slowly moving forward. He guesed that the student wouldn't mind what he do. So he held the scroll in front of him while closing his eyes and thinking something in his mind.

Well yeah, some people might think that why didn't he use a phone or something to contact his collegue, and they might also think that he is some kind of a hermit who's quite a technophobic. But that isn't true. Midora did try to research about what people nowadays called 'technology' and he thinks that he's got the hang of it. But he didn't bring his phone with him today and he doubts that Ms. Blackwrath would ever listen to anyone who called her even if she put her ringtone volume to the maximum anyway, especially if she's still watching her group with their task. So Midora has to do this if he wanted to gain her attention with his message. Magic is the solution for every problems, that's what everyone said. He then continued to focus on the scroll as letters to appeared.

"Iris, it's me, Midora. My group has finished their challenge and now we're heading back to the Academy, I will show them their room and if they wished to explore around a bit then I will watch over them. And don't worry about them causing troubles because your doppelgänger has almost pushed them to their limits already. And by the way, I believe that there's a student from Yureibi's group didn't follow the rules which you set earlier before we began our challenge, he didn't follow his group to their location. That student flew past me when I was supervising my group. I don't know if he was trying to get away or not but I think I should report so that you and Yureibi could come up with somethings to do about him. If I remember correctly, his name is Makoto, a demon from Qilin clan. Contact me if you have anything to remind my group. See you back in the Academy."

After all the sentences from his mind has appeared on the scroll, he rolled it up and threw it onto the air as it disappeared into his black vortex and was sent directly to Ms. Blackwrath. Midora then turned his head and look at his group, it seems that they're really going to collapse. I should help them to improve there endurance more. But actually, he still worried a bit about them. Especially Kou. Midora still remember Kou's origin when he read her profile. I hope she didn't lose her control, but it seems that she's doing just fine.

When Midora turned his head, he realized that Kou was glaring at him. Perhaps that is because he personally got rid of the creature by himself rather than let her take care of it. Well, he was going to let them finish it, but just looking at their state, he decided that they shouldn't waste anymore energy because he had seen what they're capable of already. Sorry, Kou, it's just for your own good.

"Sensei will we be allowed to eat when we return?", Kou questioned. Midora then kept walking at a normal pace and said to her, "Yes, you will. We'll be there anytime now, just hold on a little bit more. And I can show you three to your-"

Before Midora could finished his sentence, he heard the sound of someone falling. He turned his back and realized that was no other person than Kou. She fell down in agony as she dropped her weapon and the mark from the back of her back lit up brightly. I know this would happens, she haven't gather enough strenght to hold off her devastated state yet.

Midora then yelled to the other two, "Stay back and do not touch her or you'll be killed" as he walked swiftly towards Kou. He stood in front of her and tried to use Absolute Zero to turn her back to her normal state, but it doesn't work. Midora has to do something else before she totally lost her sanity. The mark has already began to spread throughout Kou's body.

Midora then turned to Yuuto and Akiko, "Listen, Kou has lost control of her tendencies and she's about to enter her most destructive state. Trust me, you'll need to keep an eye on her from now on, because she isn't just like any other demons. So now, I will cast a sealing spell to help her got back to her normal state but I will need her to stand completely still, that is why I'm going to unlock some parts of my power and using my command power on her. I know that this might annoy you, Yuuto, but if I don't do anything soon then she'll destroy the whole area around here even if she doesn't want to", Midora said, "and you, Akiko, you might want to keep a close watch on what I'm going to do. You two please stay close behind me."

He then closed his eyes as his aura appeared around him. His necklace then turned from it usual white color to a yellow color as Midora felt that he's now stronger. He then knelt down to Kou, who's still breakdown and trying her best to refrain the mark from spreading. However, the mark has almost covered most of her body and her eyes are began to lose their normal gray shade and turned blank. Midora knelt down while trying to touch Kou. With his strenght right now, he should be able to touch her without being killed. But as he tried to touch her, the mark reacted and some bolts was sent through his arms, causing him to suffer from severe pain. He frowned and grinded his teeth as not to make any groans. He tried his best to endured and finally he's able to touch her shoulder slightly.

Midora quickly pulled his arm back then stood up and hold his hand towards Kou, "Kou Nizumi, I command you to stand up and stay perfectly still", he said with a commanding voice.

Kou is now trying to resist against Midora's command unconsciously and it was a little difficult for him to keep her under his bidding, but believe in his own will and after a few moments, she finally give in and follow his order. Midora then swiped both of his arms in a motion as a magic circle appeared underneath Kou. Some kind of unholy light appeared from the circle and surrounded her. The mark on her body then began to uncovered and went back to the back of Kou's neck until it totally disappear. Midora swung his arm and the circle disappeared, and giving Kou her will and consciousness back.

Midora then ran to her and help her to stand before she fell. "Are you okay? Let's make our way back now", Midora said and picked up Kou's weapon for her so that she could use it as a mean to help her walk. Then they quickly makes their way back to the Academy's ground. When they got there, Midora saw that no one has been back yet aside from them. It seems that we're the first one to finished the challenge, quite an achievement if I must say.

He then led the three to the dorm's quarter and show them their room. "Okay, you can rest now, students", Midora said and gave them their keys to the room, "and Kou, if you can, meet me at the garden tonight, I got something to talk to you. And I'll see the two of you tomorrow."

Midora gave them a graceful bow and then makes his way back to his own room. But in fact, the pain from earlier is still lingering on him as he swept the sweat on his forehead with a relieve sigh while sealing away his power again, which the necklace turned back to the white color. He must admit that it took him quite some energy.

Yuuto ignored the mage sourly but didn't flinch away from the human's touch. He strode towards Midora who seemed preoccupied. Both Kou and Akiko stood ridiculously close to him and he resisted the urge to snap at them. He felt crowded. However, his attention was pulled away when Midora spoke up, "You've done well, students. I've seen enough to make judgements for now. Stay back and regain your energy, I will take care of the rest. Come, let's return to the Academy. It's time for you to rest and recover. We've had a lot of work tomorrow."

Yuuto nodded fully agreeing with the mage for once. A good rest would do him well so that he wouldn't have to deal with a certain form. Kou was talking and Yuuto absently listened but his ears snapped forward when she suddenly fell to her knees. His tail fur puffed up in nervousness as line and shapes began to spread over Kou's body. On closer inspection, it spread from a certain point on her back and from the look on her face, it was extremely painful. Yuuto watched Midora crouch over her and try to help and Yuuto felt a pang of guilt. He had spent his energy healing Akiko earlier, he wouldn't be able to help Kou much less know what to do since he had never since such a mark.

Midora yelled at him and Yuuto immediately backed up, pinning his ears back at the loud voice. His tail curled instinctively in submissive surprise. "Stay back and do not touch her or you'll be killed!" Midora paused, fretting over Kou, before turning to the group again. "Listen, Kou has lost control of her tendencies and she's about to enter her most destructive state. Trust me, you'll need to keep an eye on her from now on, because she isn't just like any other demons. So now, I will cast a sealing spell to help her got back to her normal state but I will need her to stand completely still, that is why I'm going to unlock some parts of my power and using my command power on her. I know that this might annoy you, Yuuto, but if I don't do anything soon then she'll destroy the whole area around here even if she doesn't want to", Midora shifted his gaze to Akiko, "and you, Akiko, you might want to keep a close watch on what I'm going to do. You two please stay close behind me."

Yuuto kept his mouth shut. For once, he didn't know what to say. He didn't have any secrets or ultimately special abilities. Sure, his past was a little shady but this was extreme from the looks of it. Was this going to happen every single time she fought another demon? Yuuto skeptically eyed the demon as Midora worked silently before a voice rippled through Yuuto causing him to freeze painfully. It wasn't directed at him but just listening to it felt disgusting. Yuuto shook the feeling off with a bit of effort and followed after Midora and Kou who were rushing back to the academy.

When they arrived, Yuuto noticed that no one had arrived yet. He felt smug for a brief moment but the feeling passed as he returned his attention to chasing after Midora.

Midora led the three to the dorm's quarter and showed them their room. "Okay, you can rest now, students", Midora said and gave them their keys to the room, "and Kou, if you can, meet me at the garden tonight, I got something to talk to you. And I'll see the two of you tomorrow." Midora finished. Yuuto narrowed his eyes at him curious about the meeting but figured that it was probably about the spectacle earlier.

Midora gave them a graceful bow; Yuuto returned it with a brisk nod. Midora then departed to go wherever the teachers went to in their free time. Yuuto waited a moment before turning to his group mates. Surely they weren't sharing a living space? He jangled the keys before heaving a sigh. He trudged over to a chair and plopped himself down, closing his eyes with a gruff growl. He needed a shower.

Kris couldn't help but smirk as she rolled her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the creature that stood off in the distance. Just like before her eyes began to shift to their dangerous shade of red and the same crimson lines crawled out along her skin and all over her body. With a sigh and look of disappointment she glanced over shoulder at Baron at her reply to her question, "Aw, not even a knife? You know, I could just pick one up from the kitchen or something, I promise I won't use it on any of the people in the Academy."

As Kris began to prepare herself to charge at the doppelganger she heard the timid mage of her group finally speak up. She wasn't exactly sure what the girl was capable but she was definitely wielding some kind of magic, it seemed she was going to try and support Kris from the back. Fine by me... She'd just get in the way if she was up in the fray, hopefully I won't have to worry about protecting her. With a nod as Adrianne announced her readiness Kris replied, "Let's go then."

In an instant Kris took off in a sprint towards the doppelganger at an inhuman speed. The doppelganger of course was ready for this and prepared itself for the demon's onslaught. The distance between them was closed in the blink of an eye before Kris took off into the air to make a leaping attack at the creature. Their bodies collided with a loud thud and the two rolled several feet before they separated, sprawled out on the concrete. Kris quickly rose up to her feet looking only lightly scratched, the doppelganger however rose to its feet looking a little worse for wear after their tussle. Despite this the creature only grinned, unbeknownst to Kris the doppelganger had managed to place its hand over Kris' heart. After giving an inhuman chuckle the creature activated it's imitation of Iris' Heart Break.

Kris' eyes widened as a sharp pain burst in her chest. The color in her eyes began to dissipate rapidly as she fell to her knees clutching her chest. She heaved with each deep and desperate breath of air she took as the tattoos on her body slowly disappeared. She wasn't sure what had happened, she wasn't familiar with the headmistress' powers, maybe she should've asked before but it was a bit too late now. The pain began to turn to numbness and her ears began to ring loudly, pushing all other sounds away into the background. She simply had to hope that Adrianne would be able to do something until Kris could recover, she knew if she had another chance at attacking the creature she could avoid this happening again and likely take it down.

Raisa skidded backward, slamming abruptly into something. It was not, however, the wall she had expected to run against. Rather, it was the telltale warmth and paradoxically yielding firmness of another person, one who caught her instinctively by the shoulders and halted her slide backwards. The mage swung about, twitching slightly in surprise as she tried to conceal her fright at the sudden feeling of hands holding onto her as she looked back, breathing a sigh as her scarlet eye met the twin azure orbs of the Qilin. It looked like he was unharmed, at least. Her relief, however, was short-lived, as his expression swiftly turned to a scowl as he glared daggers at her. She grimaced, slapping herself in the face mentally. It seemed the unreasonable boy was angry at her for the means she'd used, even if she had only been trying to save his life. He looked like he sorely wanted to give her another lecture about his freedom, and probably another rude gesture to go with it, but his attention was swiftly diverted by something - namely, the doppelganger of the headmistress who was already advancing on them with sword in hand, abruptly sweeping this weapon out at them as it coalesced the shadows surrounding it into a vastly expanded blade, aiming to carve through her head and the vitals of the taller Qilin behind her in one blow. Raisa was just about to disentangle herself from the angry Qilin and try to draw it off before it reached him - while she might not be able to match it in strength, her reinforcement magic would more than allow her enough speed to compensate, especially considering that the construct seemed to be favoring the ankle she'd slashed in her brief engagement with it - but, to her surprise, Makoto seemed to be ready to do anything but let go of her. In an instant, she found one of the hands on her shoulders releasing its grip, instantly winding itself downward around her knees and sweeping her off her feet as he knelt for a moment, pulling her straight down beneath the sweep of the blade, before bracing himself against the ground and launching upward in an instant as the doppelganger reversed its attack, hacking through the space they'd occupied just a moment prior as they soared into the air.

Raisa gave a cry of surprise and fright at the sudden motion, her mind taking a moment of confusion to process what had just happened. It seemed he was at least willing to pay his debts, as he'd gone out of his way to save her just as she had rescued him. However, what she didn't like was the means he'd chosen. People touching her unexpectedly wasn't Raisa's strong suit, least of all when they were handling her with enough force to drag her off her feet and carry her several yards into the air.

The backflip at the end of the jump really didn't make her feel very comfortable, either. Hastily disengaging herself the moment he released her, she stumbled to her feet, feeling almost as nauseous as if she'd just teleported. It seemed the boy wasn't keen on giving her a moment to compose herself after being bodily hauled - well, actually, now that she thought about it, he'd actually chosen a fairly gentle means of relocating her to safety, but a princess carry had problems of its own, ones that she really, really would rather not think about at the moment - one story upward, as he - the one who had gone charging off towards a violent and powerful creature without waiting for any support or assistance - began berating her - the one who had been forced to rush in after him to bail him out - for acting irrationally.

"For fuck’s sake! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! What the fuck were you doing?!” He bellowed, all but shaking her violently to emphasize his exasperation and disbelief.

"Assaulting a humanoid facsimile of a powerful magician with nothing but my wits and a knife to buy time for a certain maniac to get himself out of the way," Replied Raisa matter-of-factly, her previously calm demeanor shattering in an instant as her eye narrowed in a scowl. She was practically snarling as she spoke, her words containing a icy, bitingly sarcastic air that was completely unlike her meek, polite attitude up until then. It seemed that Makoto's rudeness and lack of consideration for anybody but himself had finally pushed her past the breaking point, as she began snapping at him with all the repressed frustration she had kept bottled up since meeting the self-centered boy. "Which is still, I might add, a better plan that whatever the hell you thought you were doing!" She added angrily, cutting off the Qilin as he tried to tell her to just stay put. Even as he turned to leave, she continued shouting at his retreating back, her point not yet made. "Seriously, what even is all this hysteria about me supposedly mind controlling you people? If I could just snap my fingers and make you behave, do you think I'd have waited until you almost got yourself killed to do anything?! And what, exactly, did you think YOU were doing, just flying off all alone right into an enemy that was meant to be a challenge for all three of us?! What were you trying to prove?! What if you'd gotten yourself killed?! What is even wrong with you?! You... You reckless... hare-brained, clueless, annoying, so-unbelievably-irresponsible-you-make-imps-look-like-saints-PINHEAD!" Her voice slowly built in volume and anger until it reached a crescendo of exasperation and frustration that resounded off the rooftop and throughout the surrounding cityscape.

Taking a deep breath, Raisa's attitude snapped back to normal in the blink of an eye as she seemed to calm herself, remembering where she was and the mission she had been charged with completing. Her face once more donned its customary passive, unflappable expression. This was no time to lose her cool. They were in the middle of a battle, and by the look of things, even with the wound she'd inflicted on the doppelganger, it was still more than capable of defending itself. But that didn't matter. She had already managed to work out roughly how their opponent fought - and if she knew that much, then she knew how to win.

Leaping down from the roof, she flicked her knife into a reverse grip, concentrating what little remained of her power after her long range teleportation into her body as she bounded forward. With a clashing of steel against steel, Makoto's sword met that of the doppelganger as he tried in vain to pierce its defenses. Bellowing at the other Demon for assistance, he tried to hold it back, but to no avail. As it pressed its blade down against him, it seemed as though he would be overwhelmed - until a bolt of black and red seemingly materialized from thin air directly beside him, its knife plunging into the overextended arm of the distracted doppelganger. Concealed by her eye's power, she managed to sneak up on it while Makoto diverted its attention with his furious assault, and landed a solid blow that would cripple its sword arm. Slashing her knife out from the wound it had inflicted, she tried to follow up her attack, only for the enemy, stumbling aside to avoid being bisected by the Qilin's sword as its own weapon fell to the ground from limp, bloodied fingers, to slip around behind her, laying hold of her shadow with its powers and using it to grab onto her legs and fling her to the ground. Giving a cry of pain as her own shadow violently lacerated her ankles, she stumbled, collapsing as her knife clattered to the ground in front of her. However, as the doppelganger tried to expand its shadowy tendrils to finish the mage where she lay, it stopped, as though repulsed by some unknown force, and leaped backward.

Raisa smiled despite the burning agony working its way up her legs as blood stained her black stockings. She'd been right.

"Makoto! Your flames cause shadows to stretch away from them! Follow it and use them to keep it from using its magic to block! Rabesach, close in from the left! I've crippled both its arm and leg on that side! Aim for its throat and finish it off before it can get away!" She cried, hastily giving her orders before it was too late. In each engagement with the enemy, she'd focused on weakening its defenses further and further, disarming it, slowing its movements, and creating a massive opening on its left side. So long as it didn't have some sort of unseen third weapon at its disposal, it shouldn't have been able to react before the demon who had just arrived could cut it down from the flank. Raisa had gambled on the weakness in its shadow magic, and it seemed she had been right. She could only hope that the others could take advantage of the opening she had created to finish it off. Out of power and with her legs in too much pain to walk, there wasn't much more she could do to help in this fight.

"Alrighty, here we go!"

Iris lead the group out of the academy grounds and proceeded to guide them over towards the town. The walk itself wasn't long, and soon enough the four of them were on the towns streets before they knew it. Leading the way through the narrow alleys, the headmistress took the trio to a secluded small patch of ground otherwise abandoned by the townsfolk. It was ideal for their exercise, and sure enough, before them stood the infamous doppleganger.

"Righty-o, there's your target. Any questions?" The woman was all willing to give them any answers they wanted, however everything else was up to them. As she stood calmly beside the three, she looked at them curiously.

---

"C-Can it talk?"

Baron looked to the young mage and offered a simple shake of her fair-haired head. "No, the creature is incapable of communicating with our language, however that does not mean that it lacks intelligence." She advised the girl, encouraging her in a small way as she offered a reassuring smile. "I am sure you will do well."

"Let's go then." She heard the demon speak, a sign that Kris was ready to begin. Baron made sure to watch the pair carefully, she was truly intrigued to see how they would work together. "Good luck." She quietly mumbled.

Almost instantly, the demon student was already rushing over to face the creature, headstrong and confidently as Baron would expected from Kris, as she kept a watchful eye on the girl. Silently, she stood and witnessed as the demon struck the doppleganger, quite powerfully, as the student and creature fell to the ground hard. Although, her initial awing manner promptly faded the moment she noticed something was wrong with Kris. It didn't take Baron long to conclude that she must have been hit by the attack, Heart Break. It made perfect sense. Practically, almost immediately, Baron was on edge. As of yet she hadn't experienced having injured students under her care. It was certainly a first. As she continued to watch Kris her heart only sank further as she feared for the student.

Quickly she turned to Adrianne and snapped, "Your demon needs you, assist her to the best of your abilities! I know it may seem scary but I know you can help her!" Of course, she would've jumped in herself however this was a student exercise, and she had to see what the mage was capable of. At least for now. Adverting her attention only momentarily, Baron caught a glimpse of something, a girl perhaps, though she didn't seem too good.

"Distract the creature, do something, but make sure to cover Kris whilst she recovers!" The teacher advised, though really it was entirely up to the student to do as they personally saw best. She could only hope things worked out before she would have to step in, if need be. Taking the chance, she moved over to the apparently injured girl, Baron very lightly touched her to check if she was conscious.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Are you alright? What is your name dear girl?" Whilst checking the strange female over, the mage-demon kept a close eye on her students at all times, in-case she would be needed.

Midora now is making his way back to his own room. While he was walking, he rubbed all over his shoulder to sooth the pain a bit. It has been quite somewhile since the last time he got hurt like this. Midora couldn't imagine that the mark can cause severe pain to someone with such strenght like him and shivered when he came to the thought if one student accidentally touch Kou when she enter that state. I have to keep a close eye on her from now on. Though Midora had to admitted that Kou really knows how to control her emotion to be able to hold off that long.

On the way back, Midora came across the garden and saw that Akiko, still in her feline form and is resting on the grass. Maybe she hasn't gained enough strenght to turn normal yet. Though Midora was quite surprised when he saw her in action and using magic like that. This kind of magic is very ancient and demonic, I thought that it was forgotten already. Midora frowned, maybe she did make some kind of contract with other beings to be able to gain such ability like that, though he is well-aware that the price wasn't cheap at all.

So Midora standing from afar and uses Absolute Zero, the black wind fused into a funnel and wrapped around Akiko, nullifying her form and turned her back into her normal form. When she has turned normal again, he swung his arm and the wind disappeared. Then he continued to walked towards the teachers' square. He couldn't waste anymore energy today or else that would happens. Sometimes, he did wonder if his power was a gift, or a curse that was given to him. Still, he has to keep his head up high and show them that he isn't afraid of anything.

The students are now gone back to their dorms after their day, some are still hanging out in the cafeteria or at the park. Teachers also needed their own free time too. Midora yawned, all he wanted now is to take a shower then find something to eat and then rested for now until he has to go and meet up with Kou. Though he like to be hard-working, he still needed sometimes to rest and he *really* don't want to be disturbed.

When he got to the teachers' quarter, he saw that there was no one there but him. I wonder why the doppleganger could possibly take the other groups that long, or is it because we dealt with it too fast? Well, it is better to finished it quickly than to taking it on like forever. As far as Midora remembered, the teacher who was given the task to supervise group two has to back down for some reason and a replacement will coming to the group shortly. He shrugged and then entered his room while taking his boots off.

Midora's room is pretty much like any other teachers' rooms. Lots of technology stuffs. But since he wasn't that much of a technophobe, it was okay, actually. He then went into the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror and took off the toga, and then the upper part of his robe, revealing his naked torso. Midora flinched as he saw that there was bruises all over his arms, his chest and his back. He sighed, he remembered that he used to be wounded even more badly than this. However, in the first day and he has already spending that much to fix his students' problems then it'll no less than a pain from now.

Midora turned on the faucet as hot water streamed out, he closed his eyes while raised his arm to the water streams. A few moments later, the water sparkles with some soft light. With that, Midora taken off the rest of his clothes and standing under it. As the water streamed through his body, it also healed the bruises. Even though Dark Mages are not familiar with healing power, he did inherit something from his White Mage mother, though not much. After he has washes every pinch of dust off his body and healed every bruises that he found, he turned the faucet off and dried his body with a towel nearby, put on his robe and got out with his hair still wet.

Suddenly, Midora can hear that his stomach is growling at him. Well yeah, he barely eaten anything today. Because he was so into the new batch of students that he forgot to have lunch. Midora was thinking about going to the cafeteria, but he has never really enjoyed the food there so he decided to cook for himself. At least his cooking lessons that he took was useful. So he took his wallet on the table and then made his way back to the entrance of the Academy again. When he went through he halls, no one are back yet and it is already passed sunset now. He shrugged and continued on his way.

He went out of the school's grounds and makes his way to the town. People are starting to closed their doors and yet another peaceful day has ended. The afternoon breeze slowly blew through Midora's hair as he walked. It is good to know that mages and demons can still get along in peace. He then continued his way and went to a grocery shop nearby.

"Hey Dora-chin", the shop assitant spoke, "how's the first day?"

"Pretty tiring, I must say. The whole town was going to be demolished if I weren't there", he replied.

"Hehe, even though you've changed now, you still have to fix problems, eh?"

"I guessed so."

"What can I give you in my humble shop? I was going to close the shop but then you went in. I wouldn't make exceptions for anyone except for my favorite Bringer of Desolation, you know", the shop assitant jokes and gave Midora a grin.

Midora sighed, "Mikari, cut the crap please. You know that I'm not that person anymore", he said as he took a plastic bag and get the ingredients that he needed for his dinner.

"Yeah right, but still, we used to have such glorious time back to when we're still at the Guild, don't you think?", Mikari leaned on his desk and said to Midora.

"I was rather blinded back then. Can't believe how things have changed now", Midora put his groceries on the sales table, "but I'm glad that you were there with me."

"Nah, we're best buddies, remember?", Mikari gave Midora a smile while calculated the money, "That'd be 25 bucks, special discount."

"That wasn't really funny, you know", Midora opened his wallet and gave Mikari the money, "Well, I guess I'll see you around sometimes."

"Dora-chin, you know, I really missed that smile on your face. Don't you think it is better to let it go and smile for just once? I know you've went through a lot of hell in your life, but they're in the past now, no?"

"I don't know", Midora looked elsewhere, "but that Midora has already dead. You know that."

"Well, I'm just saying", Mikari shrugged, "See you around, nice evening with your students, kay?"

"Yeah, thanks for everything", Midora nodded as carried his groceries and stepped out of the shop then makes his way back to the Academy.

When Midora was making his way back, suddenly, someone accidentally ran and bumped into him and both of them lying on the floor as his stuffs was shattered on the ground. Midora frowned bit while trying to got up, but the one who is lying on him was so heavy. And when his mind has snapped back, he realized that it was no other than Ludovic Howl - the replacement teacher of group 2.

"Ludovic? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you suppose to be supervising a group of newcomers now?", Midora crawled up as he gathered back his stuffs and put it back in the bag. Luckily that nothing were broken yet. When they've got back on their feet, Midora swept his robe a bit then turned to his collegue.

"I guess someone never changed", Midora said then gave Ludovic the map which Iris gave them, "here, you'll need this to find your group. Go now."

A darkly red-haired demon was quickly bypassing nearly every thing and person that came near his way. Of course it was hardly surprising when he came headfirst into an unsuspecting mage, a fellow teacher no less, who was now laid flat on the ground along with Ludovic. Naturally of course it wasn't Lulu's fault!

"Ludovic? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you suppose to be supervising a group of newcomers now?" The voice was ever-so familair that it pained the demon to even acknowledge Midora, knowing that the mage wouldn't take the knock so lightly. As he rubbed his forehead the demon got to his feet swiftly and merely sulked at his colleague.

"Oh am' fine thanks for askin'." He promptly replied with a raised brow. Ludovic was well-aware on where he ought to be at that moment, and could clearly see he wasn't there. He watched somewhat curiously as Midora gathered his belongings, seemingly nothing wrecked in the collision. "I supervise from a distance what can ah' say. Their fine."

"I guess someone never changed," Lulu merely rolled his eyes in silent annoyance, not really daring to gather the courage to protest out-right at the man. Not that he was scared however, he just didn't see a point to it. For now. A moment or so later Midora brought something to the demons attention and quickly grasped his focus. "here, you'll need this to find your group. Go now." Reluctantly taking the map he briefly glanced over it before shoving the piece of paper into one of his pockets. He had all the information he needed now and was good to go.

"Way ahead of yah' old man I got this," Offering his words in a slight teasing manner the demon smirked rather proudly, clearly taking amusement in the nickname. "I gotta get some new students and take em' to Zita first, if that's alright with you, boss?" With a heavy sigh the demon was only playing around with the old guy, and yet knew he was quite right in what he said. "Then I'll get onto my group. I'm certainly-certain they're still alive, somewhere."

With a lighthearted grin and wave the demon took his leave just then. "Now, you take it easy, yah' hear?"

---

Leaving Midora, the demon took the chance to finally seek out the new students before finding the lovely Zita. He knew where the boys were and it certainly didn't take long to hunt to two down. Promptly arriving at the classroom minutes after, it wasn't long before Ludovic found himself in the presence of the two new students. He briefly looked the pair over, mentally giving judgement though not bothered to vocalize it. "Mao and Heikichi, right?"

Without awaiting further acknowledgements, the red head motion with his hand for the two boys to follow him as he began leading them to their designated teacher. Leaving the halls of the academy Ludovic guided the boys outside until his sights fell onto the woman in question, Zita, who was nearby. Walking over to the lady the demon offered a cheerful little smile. She was certainly a pretty girl and he was always happy in her company.

"Hey Zita! Looks-a-like we got a switch-a-roo here. This is Mao and Heikichi, the two new students assigned to your group. I'll be taking Lashes and Danica out of your little hands." Once the two boys were close enough the demon merely pushed the pair forward in-front of their new teacher. "Yah' best be on your best-est behaviour."

With little else to say at that moment Ludovic saw it best to let the group get to know one another on their own. "Well, you all know the drill, maybe next time you'll actually make it to an exercise!" Taking Lashes and Danica along with him, the demon showed the pair to their new group before continuing on his way out of the academy grounds.

---

Challenging himself to actually look at the map again, which he begrudgingly did so, Lulu made a mental note of the location his team was suppose to be before hurrying on over to the town. He was quite familiar with the layout and the demon wasted little time in navigating himself around before making his way to his desired location. Of course, what with the ruckus that bellowed around him, Ludovic could already tell he was pretty close.

Quietly side-stepping into the area he didn't openly make his presence known, but rather merely took a seat wherever he could and observed the three students; Raise, Makoto and Rabesach. He knew who they were immediately, having looked at their files. They certainly sounded interesting and were bonding just fine.

Kicking back with a sigh, the demon began making some notes and was quite excited to see the outcome. He decided to hold-off from introducing himself just yet, since he didn't want to distract the students from their battle.

He'd wait for now.

---

---

---

---

Rabesach was... confused. Some part of him had figured that their quarreling would have stopped for the fight, that they would have come together in these moments to defeat the adversary before them. The cheesy and cliché mannerisms seemed to be in his partners' personalities, or so he'd imagined. Actually, it seemed that things were quite the opposite. Raisa and Makoto, once again leaving him grounded while they soared to higher elevations, were yelling, profanities being thrown like punches... well, if you can count a rather loud cry of "pinhead" as a swear. The whole scene was rather dramatic, and even the doppelganger seemed to have hesitated at the sound of their argument echoing down to them from the rooftop above. "Am I interrupting something?" he shouted, nearly requesting that they go ahead and get a room, before the doppelganger made its move, its weapon meeting his before he shoved it off and away.

However, before Rabesach could even think to attack and fulfil his desires of blood lust, Makoto came swooping from the sky, his blade meeting the doppelganger’s in a rather loud manner. "Rabesach! Attack it! the demon screamed, obviously struggling under the weight of the enemy's weapon, a sword dangerously close to his neck. It was when Rabesach charged his metallic claws extended outwards, that he noticed Raisa already there, causing him to swerve to a stop so that he didn't skewer his teammate. His attempt to maneuver around her was a hasty and poorly executed one, Rabesach landing upon his rear end as he tried to slide away. He leapt up easily, though he noticed that Raisa was not as lucky, as her own shadow began to attack her.

But she got up, despite her injury, one which Rabesach could not, for some reason, depart his eyes from. The blood that poured from her wound and discolored her socks was rather mesmerizing, and he could have continued to stare if his instincts had not told him to move, quickly directing his focus to the matter at hand. He didn't feel bad, not one bit, for glorifying the girl's pain and bloodshed into something worth being admired. It was something that he would do, after all, engrained in his strange personality. But that did not stop him from inwardly cursing himself. If he had just made physical contact with the monster when he had gotten the chance, then he could have easily made the creature change sides. How cool would they be if they were the group who had not only defeated their doppelganger, but made it friendly as well. Just a bit of moral manipulation and he could do it. He could make it switch sides.

But that wasn't what his partners needed him to do, or, at least, was not what they expressed. For Raisa's order came as "Rabesach, close in from the left! I've crippled both its arm and leg on that side! Aim for its throat and finish it off before it can get away!" He had a choice. Did he follow the orders of his group or follow his own gut instinct?

Rabesach took of sprinting toward the creature, adrenaline pumping through his veins, urging him forward. This was his chance, the biggest opening he'd gotten in this fight, and if he messed this up, he'd be doomed. They'd be doomed. Their teacher had yet to reveal himself as present, so if things were to go sour, who would have been there to aid them? He couldn't muck up his only shot. He wouldn't! Stupidly, possibly alerting the doppelganger to his presence, he allowed a battle cry to drag itself from his lips, rearing his right arm back before plunging his blades into the doppelganger, her blood splattering in most directions.

But he hadn't followed orders. His metal prongs now resided in her stomach, a spot far away from her neck. He had his own plan, and he didn't need Raisa nor Makoto to tell him what to do. Could he pull his party trick off? He'd better hope so, or else they'd be in big trouble.

Applying more focus into his next move than he had used in all of the battle, Rabesach placed his hand over the doppleganger's eyes, closing his own. Are we truly your enemies? Rethink your motives and your biases. You don't want to hurt us. You want to help. His power had grown noticeably weaker as he aged, and his attempts were already tiring him. He was almost positive that he wouldn't be able to do it.

He... well, he'd lost track of how long he'd done this for, his eyes snapping open as he felt the doppleganger's tense position grow less so, the creature letting out a confused noise that he supposed might have been its attempts to talk. The setting looked the same, his mage and demon teammates still at his side. However, some sort of peace had settled across the area, seeming to radiate from the monster that had once been their enemy. Now, its tendrils of shadows that had once coiled themselves around Raisa's leg now were inching back to the one who'd created them, slithering across the street like serpents. The doppleganger now looked a whole lot more like the headmistress in this state of calm, and he nearly felt guilty about how his blades still impaled her stomach.

Almost.

But, then again, this is Rabesach Vanafrea we are talking about, and his remorse was short lived. The demon viciously ripped his blades out of their new ally, tossing his hands into the air in celebration. A long cry of "Wooohooo! I did it!" escaped his lips. "You've got to admit, my magic trick was pretty cool. And, if you can't tell, I potty trained it... 'er, wait, no, that's a disgusting comparison. I tamed it! We better get some friggin' extra credit for that."

However, the doppleganger wasn't looking so good. Considering that Rabesach had run it through, that wasn't too hard to imagine, but he was pretty sure it'd bleed out if they didn't get help. If they lost their proof, how would they get recognition for it? They freakin' wouldn't, and Rabesach was not about to allow that. "Aye, mage, are you able to stand? You 'n pony boy should take this thing to the academy's nurse." He had suggested they do it, as he would have preferred to avoid the nurse's office as best as he could. Besides, his hands and metallic claws were covered in blood, and he would have leaped at the opportunity to go wash them.

Adrianne heard her teacher, Baron Weatherbee, give her a reply to her earlier question about the speech of the creature. "No, the creature is incapable of communicating with our language, however that does not mean that it lacks intelligence. I am sure you will do well." She heard this and felt a little discouraged before she saw Kris rush into battle. "Wait!" Those words slipped out of her mouth, she was a little worried what the doppleganger was capable of. She heard rumors about the headmistress and how powerful she was. I need to think of something... I need to think of something! She couldn't come up with an idea, all she did was watch as one of her demons was attacking. She watched with keen eyes. She saw a blur of motion and then saw Kris land. Then she started to fall to the ground as she writhed in pain. She widened her eyes and got really scared. She froze for a moment in complete and utter fear. The doppleganger stared at her. She wanted to run. Then she heard some kind of shout from someone behind her. She turned her head and noticed that it was Ms. Baron. "Your demon needs you, assist her to the best of your abilities! I know it may seem scary but I know you can help her!" This statement brought her back to her state of living again. She's right! I have to do something. I don't know what, but I have to try.

Adrianne ran beside Kris and then it hit her. She examined the scene of Kris's attack in her head again and realized that the doppleganger had made contact with Kris's chest before she fell where she was. She knew this creature's attack now. She gained a little bit of courage and leaned down to Kris. "Kris... I'm going to try to blind it... In that time, could you recover and force another attack?" She didn't wait for an answer because she knew that Kris might've been writhing in pain, but from what she saw earlier, she was determined to complete this challenge as much as she was.

She slowly walked in the doppleganger's direction, walking around them in a circle for a minute. She wasn't extremely athletic, though she was able to perform a number of acrobatic measures that she could use to try to dodge any attacks from the enemy. She started to walk towards the doppleganger when she was hit on the side by something hard and strong. She fell over a little bit from the pain and summoned some of her weir lights to try and find the enemy. She searched in the direction of the attack, but she found nothing. She thought it was odd, but she got up because she didn't have time to search for the attack. She focused only on her target now. She stared into its eyes and continued to walk in a circle, surrounded by weir lights. When she walked behind the doppleganger, it followed her gaze and turned as she walked. When it wasn't facing Kris, she did a front hand-spring to get right in front of the doppleganger. It tried to move away, but it was too late. She had pressed her hand against its face. Cleansing light... I call you forth to blind my enemies eyes that they might not see. A flash of blinding light emanated from her hand as the doppleganger was blinded for the few seconds that she hoped would leave an opening for Kris. "Kris! Now!" She hoped that it was enough time for Kris to slightly recover from the former attack, or else she was in a lot of trouble.

The ringing in Kris' ears wouldn't subside and she hardly had the strength or will to even raise her head to see what was happening. She was doubtful but all she could hope for was Adrianne to do something, anything. The pain and shock that she felt was intense, but she could tell the effects were slowly subsiding. She still wasn't sure what that power even was but one thing -was- certain of now was that she didn't want to cross the real headmistress. Ever.

In the following moments she felt someone approach her side and with no small deal of effort she turned her head just enough to see who it was, it seemed her mage had finally decided to act. Her words were muffled but being so close Kris could just barely make out what it was she was saying. All Kris could manage in reply was a meek nod. She hoped the girl knew what she was doing or that she could at least buy enough time for Kris to recover.

Time crawled by at a snail's pace from this point on as Kris took steady and deep breaths, trying to focus her mind and ignore the stinging pain in her chest that burst out with each heartbeat. Through the ringing in her ears pierced Adrianne's cry and with that Kris summoned forth her last reserves of strength as her eyes lit up red and the symbols on only her right arm ignited. With an astounding lack of grace Kris moved up to her feet and half-stumbled half-ran towards the back of the blinded creature. It was easy, she placed her right hand firmly on the back of the creatures head and placed her right leg in front of the doppelganger's left and in one swift motion used her leg to sweep out the doppelganger's feet and used her arm to violently press and crash the creatures head straight into the ground.

The blow cracked the concrete around the point of impact and as the creature lie motionless blood began to slowly pool around its head. Such an impact would have easily killed any normal person but it was uncertain whether the doppelganger was dead or merely unconscious at this point. Kris of course was also lying on the ground having fallen alongside the doppelganger as part of the attack, the color in her eyes and on her arm swiftly fading as she rolled onto her back, chest heaving up and down with each ragged breath of air she took. "Got'em..."

The pain she was feeling certainly returned after all that exertion but the relief at defeating the creature certainly helped comfort her. Finally after several moments of recovery she began to glance around the area, still on her back, "Where the fuck's Baron?... Go tell her we got the thing so we can get outta here... I'm... Just gonna stay here for a little while longer." She exhaled deeply as she finished speaking and waved her hand for Adrianne to go.

"—Liz—abelle—"

Baron looked to the odd girl was anxious eyes as her orange-y orbs constantly split between the student and her own group. It was quite a predicament that she hadn't expected nor prepared for. What was she to do?

"Please conserve your energy.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone before pulling down her sleeve and wiping away some of the excess blood from the girls lips. "Do not move, Lizabelle. For now just rest and I will help you.”

"Kris! Now!"

Raising her head and tilting her stare sideways the demon-mage heard the voice of Adrianne just then. By the sounds of it the girl must've gathered her courage together and came to the aid of Kris. The pair, perhaps, were actually getting along. From where she was the teacher could only hear a handful of noises that only served to suggest somewhat-vaguely thoughts in her head in regards to the outcome, however she was certain that the students would be successful in whatever way they tackled the creature. Leaping to her feet the teacher felt she had to witness the event herself, which prompted the mage-demon to leave the injured girl only very briefly, as Baron hurried over a bit, just enough, that allowed her to see Kris and Adrianne in action.

Silently she watched as Adrianne faced the creature with her lights, distracting the doppleganger and allowing Kris to deliver the final blow, which the demon did surprisingly despite her injuries prior. Baron was very astounded by her students and how well they had coped with the exercise, so much so a small smile filled her lips slightly. However, her thoughts quickly sprung onto the other girl in her care at that moment, Lizabelle. As far as Baron was aware she wasn't a student at the academy, but it wouldn't serve her conscious well if she left the poor girl. Having little option the mage-demon made the decision to take the female along with her.

"Where the fuck's Baron?... Go tell her we got the thing so we can get outta here... I'm... Just gonna stay here for a little while longer."

"I heard that! Miss Kris watch your language!” The short woman called suddenly, in her commonly sweet voice from where she stood, in a bid to get the students attention. "I am very proud of you both, you did a wonderful job! I knew you could do it," Her eyes shifted between Kris and Adrianne as her smile grew, though that upbeat aura faded just a little as her focus moved onto the strange youth. "Whilst the pair of you were busy dealing with that creature I happened to find a girl, she doesn't look well and I must insist that we bring her with us." It was her responsibility as a teacher to look after the girl, however her own students had been put through enough for one day and Baron felt that it was only right they headed off. "You two should head back to the academy and rest up, you have earned a decent break after that. Can I trust you pair on your own? Now, off you go."

The teacher watched the students carefully as she placed a good deal of trust in both of them. It wasn't often she did such a thing like that. "Oh! Could you find Mr Kurayamiat, if he's there, at the academy and please inform him of what has happened, as I could use someone of his expertise to deal with the girl when I get there."

A moment or two later she watched the girls leave, waving the pair off before Baron immediately returned to the side of the injured girl, before offering her a hand in an attempt to get the girl back onto her feet. It wouldn't be easy by the looks of things but Baron would prevail regardless. "Please try to get up? I will take you to the Survival Kit academy for treatment. If need be I will carry you there, but first you have to get up."