I ducked and flicked the needles that Hal had thrown at me. It was amazing how my body could still move so well. This wasn't the power of the amethyst that Vermeil gave me, right? She and Hal had only said that it strengthened psychic abilities.

I smiled. Maybe it was a good thing I listened to Yanyu after all and stayed back in Xian a few extra days for rehabilitation. Then again, I was using my psychic powers to enhance my movements much like Lei tended to do with his electricity. So it might've been the amethyst's doing all along.

Hal gritted his teeth and brandished a knife. He flung it at me but it bounced off of my armor.

"Maybe I should've brought some armor of my own," Hal said, clicking his tongue. He threw his hands toward his needles and yanked them up.

Shivers ran up my body. There were strings attached to those. Meaning I couldn't duck as the strings would fall over me. I would have to slice them if I had no choice but to let them fly past me.

I clenched my sword, poured my prana into it, and jumped back. "Hope your brother is watching closely," I said, smiling.

Hal scoffed. "Trying to embarrass me in front of Jude? Like I'll let you!"

"What? No! I mean so that he can learn a spell or two."

Hal laughed as he moved his fingers, causing the needles to move up and down like the tail of an anxious monkey.

"I know, just kidding. You really have to try to be less gullible," he said as he vanished.

I jumped forward and just in time too as his needles rained down where I had stood.

"Psyche Draco!" I chanted. Pink prana flew out of my ivory sword, turning into a giant dragon. The same one I had ridden during my meetings with Sarah and Jude.

Hal jumped back as the dragon ripped through his string and needles.

My spell raised its head like a basilisk and struck him in the abdomen, sending him flying into the air.

Hal stabbed it with his knife, causing the energy within it to leak out. He jumped off and slashed at its body repeatedly. Some of them were too fast for my mind to process.

He dashed forward and slammed his hands against my chest, pushing me back.

"So quick!" I yelled, looking behind me. He wasn't as fast as Aria, but it was still challenging to keep up with him.

I coughed out blood as his knee met my stomach. He'd tricked me.

Using my sword as a walking stick, I pushed myself up.

Hal ripped my sword from my hands using his wires, causing me to fall.

"Seems you're still too frail," Hal said, sighing.

"Don't underestimate me," I said as I reached a hand forward.

Hal glanced at my sword and watched as it shook back and forth as it came closer to me.

The weapon ripped free from its binds and returned to my hands.

Hal threw more needles at me but I deflected them.

His eyes widened as the ivory sheath shattered, revealing the purple blade underneath it.

"An, don't push yourself too far," he said, looking at me with fright in his eyes.

I smiled. "Scared? That's unlike you, friend."

Hal stepped aside and stabbed me with one of his needles.

I plucked it out and intensified the psychic aura around me.

"An!" Hal yelled as avoided my sword again.

I winced as his strings cut me. These ones were thinner than the first ones. Hal could probably give Ayawamat a run for his money on making webs.

"Psyche Oculus!" I yelled, jumping back. My head ached all of a sudden, causing my spell to stop. Something warm dripped down my nose.

"You're bleeding," Hal said, staring at me with concern.

I wiped the blood with my sleeve and pointed the sword at him. "Seems I haven't recovered enough to use that spell yet."

The mental strain must've been too much for me. While I didn't show it, I was as scared as Hal. But, I couldn't back away from this fight. Not because I wanted to win the tournament, but as it was test. A test for how well I could fight. Also, as a means of getting stronger. It took pushing myself well beyond my limits to defeat Aida. Should she or someone more powerful come for Sarah, I wouldn't be able to protect her. Not with how I was.

"You still plan to fight?" Hal asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Yao style: Yīnsù! Yao style: Qiān cì!" I yelled, appearing behind him with a single step. I unleashed a fury of stabs like the beak of a woodpecker digging into a tree with its beak.

Hal winced as his back ached.

I smiled even as my hands bled from holding my sword from the blade.

"Yao style: Dān qiè!" I said, flipping my sword again. My vision suddenly became blurry.

"Seems the poison is taking effect," Hal said, smiling. "But don't worry, it's a weak one. Works more like a sedative."

I clenched my sword and stepped forward.

Hal gasped and dropped to the floor.

"Single strike," I mumbled, turning around.

Hal clenched his side which was bleeding. "You really are an Aiefian," he said, snickering. "As soon as this became a battle of raw strength, my defeat was basically assured. If only I had more time to set up my traps."

His head hit the ground.

"Seems like the final second round participant has been decided! An Yao advances!"

"Brother!" Jude yelled, running over to us.

"Don't worry, I didn't hit any of his..."

"M-mister?" Jude said, glancing at me. There appeared two of him.

I fell on my knees and collapsed to the ground.

"M-mister Yao!" Jude yelled.

I tried to move, but my body wouldn't budge. This feeling, it scared me. It felt as if I were returning to the white void I had found myself during my coma.

"An!" Vermeil and Ning yelled.

It was odd, Sarah couldn't speak, yet I could hear her calling my name too. Was I using my mind-reading powers by accident? Or was it her spirit calling out to me?

Sarah, Ning, Vermeil... I'm sorry.

"You really are a reckless guy," Xue said. I felt a hand pressed against my head. "I'm exhausted and you're making me have to continue using my magic."

Prana entered my body, healing my wounds.

I opened my eyes but my body still felt heavy. Ning, Vermeil, and Sarah looked down at me in addition to Xue.

Sarah had recovered? I glanced around and noticed Nyima wasn't around. Where had she gone off to?

Kun on the other hand stood at the end of the ring, watching. Oddly, his siblings and Hikaru were nowhere to be seen either. The first years were also no longer in the stands. Had they gone ahead to show them to their dorms? But, Nyima wasn't one of the proctor assistants, unlike the others.

The princess shook her head as if in disagreement or dismay about something.

Vermeil clapped her hands and laughed. "Thanks, Xue," the blond said in a sing-song voice. She grabbed Xue's shoulders as she closed her eyes. "You can rest now."

"Here," Ning said, offering her a prana drink.

"Thanks," Xue said, taking it. She took the top off and guzzled the red drink down. "Sweet."

Really? For me it was sour. Then again, Koukyuu did say that its taste differed from person to person.

Jude knelt down in front of me and took out a syringe from a black box he had taken out of Hal's backpack which he had been carrying.

I gulped as he brought it closer to me. I had enough of needles to last a lifetime.

Vermeil smiled at me. "Don't be scared, it's the antidote for Hal's venom."

I figured, but that didn't make the idea of having another needle in me any better. At least my body was numb this time...

"Should we restrain him?" Xue asked, giving me a stern look.

Vermeil snickered. "I doubt he can move."

She was right, if I could, I would've run away.

"D-done," Jude said as he froze the used syringe, shattering it into tiny shards.

Seemed it had made me more numb than I'd thought as I hadn't felt it touch me at all.

The boy walked over to Hal and grabbed one of his arms.

"Wait, you aren't going to carry him by yourself, are you?" I asked, baffled as the kid tried to carry his much taller brother.

"Y-yeah. C-can't leave him here by himself."

"Here, let me help," Vermeil said, grabbing Hal's other arm.

Jude smiled slightly. "T-thanks, Ver."

I grinned as I stood up. "I can help too."

Vermeil's cheerful smile vanished. "You go rest." Her eyes shifted toward Xue. "You too."

Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Wait, who will watch over Sarah?" Xue asked.

"I'll watch over the princess," Ning said with her signature partial smile.

"Alright."

"Say, where is Nyima?" I asked, glancing at Sarah.

"Looking for me?" Nyima said, walking over with Orcy in her arms. Several bowls full of noodles levitated around her.

"S-so many noodles," Jude asked.

Nyima laughed. "Yeah. Elliot and Hideo made them while the matches were going on. They want us to be the judges."

Sarah reached her hands out for one of the bowls to Nyima's left. "That's Hideo's curry ramen. The ones on my right are Elliot's beef lamian."

"L-lamian?" Jude said. "C-can I have one? I-I've re-read about it, b-but never had lamian before."

"Sure," Orcy said, levitating one of the bowls over to the kid.

"I want one of those too," I said, reaching my hands out.

"Are you able to eat?" Ning asked.

I blinked. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm hungrier than usual!"

Ning smiled. "That's good."

"Yeah, as he has a curry ramen to eat too," Nyima said, grinning.

I reached my hand out and pulled one of Elliot's bowls over to me. "So, we're to rate them like last year's cook-off?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that Hika and Adela went at it last year," Kun said, snickering as he walked toward us.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why did he stand there all this time?

Kun grinned at me. "Save that glare for our rematch."

I nodded. "Alright. But, the result might not change."

"I'll work to make sure that doesn't happen," Kun said.

"Huh, round two isn't today?" I asked.

"No, it begins tomorrow," Vermeil said as she carried Hal by herself.

Jude's face flushed as he realized what he had done. "S-sorry," he said in a barely audible whisper.

"It's alright, Judy."

"D-don't call me that!" Jude snapped.

Vermeil chuckled and repeated it.

"Oh right. You better get going, Jude," Nyima said. "Nate the others left already."

Jude jumped. "Oh no." He glanced at Hal and frowned.

"Don't worry. I can take care of him," Vermeil said, smiling.

Jude smiled back. "T-thanks!" He slowly let go of his brother and ran off.

"Take care, Judy!"

The boy grumbled and sped up.

Seeing Vermeil and Jude interact reminded me of a big sister and little brother.

I turned away.

"Not hungry after all?" Ning asked, leaning toward me.

"No. It's not that. It's just... I was remembering my sister."

Ning placed a hand on my arm. "While you were in a coma, I took the liberty of looking into the matter."

"You did? Did you find out anything?"

She shook her head. "Only what we already know. That she was last spotted in Wahkan. Beyond that, nothing. It's as if the earth ate her."

I stared at the bowls in my hands. "That so?"

"Your sister, huh?" Kun said, crossing his arms. He gave me a knowing smile.

Kun had pretended to be dead... Could my sister have done something similar?

"Do you know her?" I asked, getting closer.

He turned his back to me. "I might. If you want to know, beat me."

I gritted my teeth. Why didn't he tell me now? Did he really know something? Or was this just his way of trying to draw out my full power? Regardless, I had to give my all. I doubted that he would just spill the beans if I snapped at him. If anything, it probably would've made his lips more shut. But, would I be able to defeat him in my current state?

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