Oca jumped to the left while Yuko jumped to the right. I ran straight ahead. When I'd asked Serra about his trial back in Xeleria, he had told me that he could still use his angel tool despite Aventine wielding it as well. If that were the case here too, then I should be able to fight as well.

"Wait, Rosa," Yuko said. "Let Ocarina and Yuko handle this. You might get badly hurt."

"It's alright. Nothing will happen to her," Caelio said. "This is but a dream. Only issue is losing your cool." He pointed two of his drones toward me and fired away, sliding the ground up. I jumped out of the way and summoned forth my own, but only two appear in front of me. The other four were divided between Ocarina and Yuko.

"Seems that your angel tool requires us working together," Ocarina said, smiling slightly. "Not that Rosa can't do it on her own. She is strong."

I laughed. "That we can do! I rather do this with others than alone."

Yuko chuckled as she thrust her hands forward, moving the two triangular drones behind her over to the forefront.

Ocarina had hers spin around and fire off a cyan laser. It was different from my usual magenta beams. The energy also was prana. Did that mean that Caelio could use energy besides mana? Come to think about it, if it couldn't, my plan to lend it to Yuko would've failed.

Caelio held his out, forming a shield. With each of us holding just two, we couldn't do that.

Yuko fired off twin yellow beams as she ran behind Caelio. A barrier formed behind his, deflecting her attacks back at her.

Hmm, this wasn't going to work. Caelio's barriers were super hardy. Maybe even more so than Agnes's.

To pierce it, we would need to fire all seven at once. I blinked, though, where had the last one gone?

A blast struck the barrier followed by a white and blue blur. Claw marks appeared throughout the barrier as if it were glass being scratched by a cat. Or more so a tiger based on the size.

I jumped back as the blur got closer to me.

"Relax," Akira said, smiling.

"You're joining us?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. He said that we aren't hurt physically, so my kid should be fine."

Caelio nodded. "That's correct." He pointed his hand at her, causing the lasers making up his shield to shoot at her.

Akira crossed her arms over head and ducked.

Yuko gawked at her as the smoke cleared. "Scales! She's like that mean demon Master was fighting."

"She's a Wynagan, but this is my first time seeing one who can turn her body draconic who isn't a Sumeragi," Ocarina mumbled.

I'd seen Ryonoko use his claws, but not transform himself to the extent that Akira was doing.

Akira got on all fours and snickered. "Not really, I am a Sumeragi by birth. One of the last remaining of my kind." A blue tail with spikes on the spine emerged from her back and sliced the grass.

She ran at Caelio, smacking her large, shield-like head against the barrier. The barrier shattered, but the force sent her flying back, flipping her over.

Caelio jumped back and fired off another, more powerful beam at her.

Yuko and I moved our drones in front of the beam, forming a square barrier of our own. Caelio jumped out of the way but was struck by flying dirt and grass.

"Are you alright, Akira?" Ocarina said, trying to flip her back on her belly.

"Y-yeah. Now, back away. I can flip myself over just fine," Akira said. As soon as Ocarina stepped back, she struck the ground with her tail, standing on her feet once again. She laughed. "Good thing the soil isn't super soft, else that would've been a lot more work."

Maybe that's why Ryonoko preferred to not transform completely into a dragon. That and his mismatched wings...

"Time to get serious," Caelio said, appearing behind Yuko. He smacked her with the side of his arm, sending her flying away.

Yuko laid on the ground. Her hands trembled as she struggled to stand up.

I gritted my teeth and raised the ground around him, but he slammed his foot down, causing it to revert back to normal.

Perhaps my crystals would be better against him. He likely could use darkness anyway.

"Aqua Draco!" Ocarina yelled. A massive water dragon far bigger than the one that Eri had used in his exhibition match against Zyuuni appeared. It coiled it's hulking body around Caelio, pushing down on the drones.

"A-amazing!" Yuko said as she remained on the ground.

All four of us gasped as the water dragon disintegrated into prana and vanished into the drones.

Ocarina furrowed her brow. "Forgot that those things can drain the energy of ones opponents." She took a deep breath and held out her hand. "So, the only ways to beat him are in physical combat or by overwhelming his ability to absorb." She snickered. "This trial takes me back to my entrance exam."

"Wait, isn't it better to go the physical attack route?" Akira asked.

"Indeed," Caelio said, appearing overhead. He kicked Akira on the side, sending her rolling downhill.

"Aqua Bomba!" Ocarina yelled, sending the sphere at him

He held out his hand, catching the sphere but it blew up. Yet, the energy failed to send him flying back like it had done to me during my sparring matches with her. Had he absorbed some of the energy of the blast?

"See the difference between a newbie and a master yet, Princess?" Caelio asked, maintaining a stoic face that reminded me of Daddy.

I gritted my teeth. He was right. Despite all my training, I was still wet behind the ears. It would take me a lot more to master Caelio than what I've put in already.

"Hyah!" I yelled, rushing at him with my crystal sword.

Caelio vanished and reappeared behind me, delivering a knee-kick to my back.

I shifted my bodyweight to the top and cartwheeled down the hill.

Akira stood up and grabbed me with her tail.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Now, let's make haste. Ocarina is in trouble," she said.

I nodded and watched as Ocarina avoided Caelio's attacks, forming water barriers despite being taken down soon after.

"She's impressive," Akira said, laughing as she charged her drone.

Wait, why hadn't Caelio stopped our beams like he was doing with Ocarina's spells? Was it just because he wasn't serious? Or rather wished to see if we could break his barrier? Hmm, perhaps it was both and not either one.

With me on her back, Akira charged at Caelio and fired off her beams.

I spun mine around, sending twin magenta beams to join her navy blue laser. Moving my hands, I spun the energy around, creating a sort of helix.

Caelio leapt back and formed a barrier, directing the blast at Ocarina.

Ocarina formed another water barrier which burst into steam from the intensity of the laser.

The water mage emerged from behind the barrier and shot herself into the air with a gust of wind. She spun around and rained down water bullets like a super-powered sprinkler. Chunks of dirt flew into the air as the multi-target spell hit the ground like missiles, creating a thick cloud of dust.

"What's she doing, wasting energy like that?" Akira asked.

I narrowed my eyes at the resulting dust cloud. Dirt. Could I use it to our advantage? No, Caelio already showed that his control far exceeded my own. At the same time, I couldn't give up without trying, could I?

The dust contracted around Caelio before I'd even done a thing. I glanced at the direction of Yuko and noticed her chanting stuff under her breath. The dust took the shape of a giant tanuki tail.

Yuko had gotten surprisingly strong over these past couple of weeks. Who knows how far she could get if she had proper training. I understood that Onami wanted to be close to her sister and boyfriend, but the Akiyama sisters would probably have been better off if they'd stayed in Xeleria for training. But, if they had, we might not have been alive right now. Yuko helped Hyosetsu tire out Itou. And made a fool of Anestarte. That the girl could whack around two of the Seven Archdemons was frightening, even if they weren't at their full power.

The giant dust tail disintegrated back into dust as Caelio swung both arms outward. "Such potential. Only the Sky Father knows how strong you would be if it weren't for your illness," Caelio said. He thrust his hands forward, creating an eagle out of the dust.

"Yuko's strong because of her illness, not despite it!" Yuko leapt to the air and spun around, sending razor wind raining down on the eagle, tearing its wings apart. She was mimicking Ocarina!

Ocarina snickered and transition over to using wind. Their magic spun around where it converged, forming tornadoes. The twisters tore up the soil and pushed Caelio back.

The two didn't interact much and yet they were able to do such things. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous at their teamwork.

"Wow," Akira said.

I patted her neck like one would a horse. "Let's not let them show us up!" I said.

Akira snickered. "This isn't a competition among us, you know."

My cheeks reddened. "I know..."

She laughed and charged forward. "That said, I understand that feeling. It's coursing through my veins right now too."

I smiled.

"Fire!" the two of us yelled, launching lasers at Caelio as he avoided the twisters.

He glanced at us and formed another barrier. Our attacks struck the tornadoes, disrupting the winds making them up.

I held on tightly to Akira as one of the twisters struck us. Despite her dragon form's size, the gales pulled her and me up. If we ended up lending badly, I would have been crushed. Thankfully Akira used her tail while I used my lasers to keep her from falling on her back.

Ugh, this is what I get for letting my competitiveness take over my judgment. Ahh! Why do I keep messing up? Hyosetsu was right, I truly am a hot mess... I shook my head. No, I can't think like that again! I said that I would get over it during my battle with Maki and I will!

I took a deep breath. "Akira, can you use your tail to flick me into the air?"

"Huh? That's dangerous! Plus, you can fly."

I smiled. "Yeah, but flight isn't what I'm after."

Akari gasped. "Wait, you're after momentum?"

I snapped my fingers and chuckled. "You got it!"

"Alright, but I don't know about this."

I smiled. "Don't worry, I have my wings and control over ground."

"If you say so." She straightened out her trunk-sized tail as I walked across her back. "Ready when you are."

"Fire!"

Akira shot me into the air. The wind rushed through my face. Water drenched me as I passed through the clouds. Too much strength! I was to smack into Caelio!

I snickered. No, this was to my benefit! Crystal spread out in front of me, taking on the shape of a giant diamond drill.

Yuko glanced up at the sky. She returned her gaze back to Caelio and shot out sand tentacles at him.

My guardian angel stopped them with his earth control and shot them back at her in the form of long needles. Yuko vanished and reappeared behind him. She slashed at him with a blade made up of wind.

Caelio blocked with his long robe sleeves and kicked Yuko in the gut, sending her flying into a distant hill.

He raised his arm up. His cloak had become crimson. He moved his lips, muttering, 'That little girl actually got me. Hmph, reminds me of my last owner.'

He spun around and raised his bleeding arm, pushing back against a torrent of water. I had forgotten how relentless Ocarina could be in battle.

Ocarina gritted her teeth as the backlash from her attack sent her flying.

Akira stomped the ground with her giant forelegs, causing the hill to shake and unleashing a shock wave that even pushed me and my diamond drill back. Caelio didn't seem fazed at all. The guy made even my dad look like a hothead in comparison.

How did Mom pass her first trial? Actually, how did any of the seven pass theirs? Unlike my generation, the last generation were given trials before being accepted. Maybe Caelio and his siblings had given them simple tests for their initiations. Or maybe not. Serra and Kohri might've been strong, but all three of us still paled compared to our predecessors. If only they hadn't let peace let their skills grow rusty. I knew Lady Eiko resented having done so.

I gasped as Caelio appeared in front of Akira and then moved over behind her, picking her up by the tail.

"H-hey!" Akira yelled as as my angel picked her up, launching her toward me. I moved myself away, letting her fly above me. I formed a crystal platform for her to land on, but her legs skidded across it as if it were ice, causing her to fall down.

Great!

I gasped as I realized he was gone. He was probably behind me right now. As if on, cue, something kicked me down. The ground gave way as my drill pummeled into it. Good thing that I wasn't a one trick pony!

"Rose Petals!" I yelled.

Caelio gasped as the crystal grasped him. Parts of my drill detached, forming petals. The curved crystal panels gathered around him, creating a full on rose.

"Rose Crystal Barrage!" I yelled as I jumped off. The stones exploded outward, like they had in my finishing attack again Satoru. if only that had managed to kill that pesky fox. Due to that, I wasn't sure if this would work. Not that I had used this technique much since then.

"Not bad. You're in the lead for most damage now," Caelio said, grasping me from behind the neck. How did he get out so fast? Had he teleported like Tetsu's Shadow Rush?

My angel threw me into my crystal rose. I crossed my arms and pushed the spikes down before hitting it, making it a sleek surface. Hitting a wall was bad, but hitting a nest of spike was far worse. The stone wall fell over as soon as I hit it, but it hadn't shattered.

"I-I'm fine," I said, pushing myself up.

"Don't think so," Caelio said, kicking me on the side. Good thing that this was the realm of dreams. We angels were hardy creatures, but such a hit would most likely have resulted in a miscarriage in the real world.

"Rosa!" Akira said. She was buried halfway in dirt.

"I pushed myself up. A-are you okay?" I asked, pushing the dirt away from her.

"I should be asking you that," she said, running over to me.

I coughed up blood. "Y-yeah."

Akira suddenly swung her tail toward me. I narrowed my eyes at Caelio. My doppelganger fell back as her tail was cut off.

"Akira!"

My doppelganger gritted her jaws. "I'm fine." My eyes widened as the tail regrew, though it was covered in blue slime.

"You dragons are giant lizards after all!"

She grumbled as she transformed back to her humanoid form. "We have regeneration skills like them, and likewise, it takes a lot of energy to regrow limbs."

"As expected, you two have the highest endurance," Caelio said, slamming his elbow against Akira's back.

She fell to the floor, this time unmoving.

"That makes three down for the count."

I gritted my teeth and took Akira's drone. Using the trio, I formed a shield around us. "We won't lose here!"

The edges of his lips rose slightly. "Each one of you Fragments of Fate are persistent, I give you that."

I shot up to my feet and laughed. "You don't know the half of it."

He scoffed. "I'm pretty sure that I do. I've known you all of your life, from the moment you were conceived to now."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the episode ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions? Already half way done with the next chapter (though that because this one ran up to 3.5K until I spun the rest off to keep it from being too long), so the end is nigh for me writing this book xD. Will be taking a break of two months once I finish this book before publishing the fifth book.**