I glanced at the sky as my fellow Shard of Light flew up to his sister. His brother, on the other hand, remained still. Did he not care for her?

Lei frowned but continued to remain still.

"Aren't you going to save her?" I asked.

He closed his eyes. "Yen would be mad at me. She can be more proud than me."

I scoffed. "Is pride worth having your bones broken?"

"It's not," Adela said, glancing up as Kun held his arms out to save Yen. "Pride hurts more than it helps. Pride and envy are what took our friend away."

Lei slapped himself and flew up, but Kun had already grabbed Yen after some hesitation of his own.

"Is she okay?" Hikaru asked as Kun descended.

Kun nodded. "Although, she's out cold."

"Then Ny won for sure," Lei said, smiling slightly as he glanced over to the heir of Taiyang.

"I'll go help her," Ayawamat said, sighing as he rushed over.

"Here. I'll heal your sister for you."

"Thanks, Ari," Kun said, beaming.

Arima smiled as she took Yen from Kun to tend to her injuries. "Did the nice bug bite him or something?"

Sowk stared at Ayawamat as he ran down the stairs. "Or maybe, it's the love bug," she said, unusually somber.

"N-nice bug? L-love bug? Are those a thing?" Carter asked.

I laughed. "They're joking around! So don't worry."

"I-I knew that!"

"Yeah, right," Ling said, rolling her eyes at him.

Alban laughed. "You first years are a riot." He blinked. "Say, where's the red-haired one?"

Arima glared at him. "You mean the one you scared off during last night's dinner? Huo decided not to come, likely due to the noise."

'Yeah. He and Lidia stayed in the dorms with Tahoma,' Sarah wrote on her tablet.

Yuzuki giggled. "He volunteered right away. Originally, I thought of doing so, but he insisted I go support my brother."

Sowk snorted. "Probably just wanted a chance to stay in the dorm."

So, that's why I hadn't seen him around. That guy sure is anti-social. He could try opening up a bit more.

"Wait, how do you know Tahoma?" Vermeil asked. "Thought he lived in Stella, unlike his cousin."

"During Winter breaks, Tahoma would drop by to visit his cousin. They're pretty close."

"If Tahoma were here, he would be mad at you for gossiping about him," Yuzuki mumbled.

Sowk grinned. "That's true! As would Aya!"

"He's coming this way," Arima said as she finished tending to Yen's injuries.

Sowk smiled as Aya glared at her. Had he heard? Tahoma did have great hearing. He would often catch Kun gossiping about him. Like when Taho accidentally burnt his soup, Kun wouldn't stop talking about it. He proceeded to chase him around, telling him, 'I'll burn you too, Nuk!'. It was hilarious.

"Hey, Aya! We were just talking about you!" Sowk said, grinning.

Did she have a death wish, or was she that confident in dealing with the rampaging bull?

He sighed. "I figured. Anyway, I'm going to take Nyima to the nurse's office."

"I'll do it. She is my teammate," Lei said, holding out his arms.

"It's probably best that you take Yen too," Arima said. "I healed her wounds, but this is no place to sleep."

Lei smiled. "Okay."

"I'll take Yen. You take Nyima," Kun said, taking his big sister.

Adela frowned as Lei carried Nyima away.

"You should've taken her straight to the nurse's office," Yuzuki said, glaring at Ayawamat.

He smiled. "Jealous, huh?"

Yuzuki turned away and grumbled.

Lei sure was popular with the ladies. Unlike his brother, who wishes he were.

"Alright, the battlefield has been fixed!" Marina yelled. "Yen and Nyima appear to be fine too, so we'll be beginning the next match! Come on forth, daughter of iron and blood, Aria Arma! And the princess of crystals, Vermeil Amber!"

Vermeil giggled. "She sure learned well from Ms. Key."

I laughed. Nyima and Alto had said something similar earlier too. Hopefully, no one would fly off like Yen had this time.

The two of us descended to the restored ring, consisting of a plain white tiled floor with iron bars on the corners. Battlefield-wise, Vermeil had the upperhand.

"Are you two ready?" Marina asked with a wide smile.

Both of us exchanged glances and nodded.

Marina raised a fist into the air. "Begin!"

"Electra!" Vermeil secreted amber from her hands and used it to make a makeshift barrier.

I clicked my tongue. That spell could regenerate and make things sticky like sap. I didn't want to get stuck in it like some insect, but I had experience slicing such material down.

"Accelerare!" I said, forming a bow and arrow. Distance was key! I fired several arrows at gunshot speeds, but no screams could be heard coming from within.

My eyes widened as a pair of hands grasped me by the feet and pulled me down until my ankles were buried underneath the stone tiles.

"I can defeat you in a battle of speed," Vermeil said, smiling as she emerged from the ground like some kind of ghost.

"W-what?" I said. Since when could she do that?

"You seem surprised," Vermeil said, yanking me down until my feet were halfway submerged in dirt.

I pointed my bow at the submerged Vermeil but realized it had been caked in mud along with my arms.

The abandoned barrier fired bits of liquified amber, covering me in magical resin.

I dissolved my metal bow, covering my hands in the silver goo and hardening it around my skin, forming a lightweight armor to keep the mud away.

The ground underfoot shook, pulling me down even more. Extending my hand, I turned the armor into my palm into a knife and punctured the floor. My arm's speed and strength allowed me to shatter the ground. I winced as I jumped out of the resulting crater. Accelerating my shots was fine, but acceleration on my armor was another thing. It put too much strain on my body. How did Lei manage to have his body keep up with his makeshift acceleration spell?

"Metallum Draco!" Vermeil shouted. I looked underfoot, but nothing emerged. I turned and sliced the air with my knife, cutting through the mouth of a silver cyber dragon. "Tsk!"

"Hmph, is that all that you can do? You should've tried harder to keep me stuck in the ground."

Vermeil held out her hands, transforming her wand into a pair of swords. One sapphire, the other ruby. 

"Wait, your wand can turn into two like the triplets' and Iah's too?"

She glared at me. The blondie rushed me, slicing through the air like a twister. I jumped back and formed a shield, blocking her onslaught.

"What's with the change of attitude? As you said, you can't win a battle of speed!" I shouted, pushing back.

Vermeil let out a grunt and stabbed through my shield. Her sword skills were sharper than I remembered. I smiled. She must've been training more than her mind.

The metal of my shield coiled around her sword but spun outward like a blooming flower a few seconds later. She'd taken control of it with her metal magic!

"Not bad, overpowering me like that!" I said, jumping back.

I turned and blocked as Vermeil spun around. She'd made herself sound slow. Had it all been a ruse to get me to lower my guard?

"Lux Gladius!" I chanted, forming a sword of light. I jumped back and blocked both of her swords at the same time as she swung them at me. My knee made contact with her abdomen, throwing her back.

Vermeil shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Cooled down?" I asked as I gathered prana around my armor. "Indurare!" My armor sparkled as it gained a light blue sheen to it.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Indurare? So this is weapon magic."

I smiled. "Indeed. You held up better than I'd expected, Vermeil. But, you've still got much more growth to do."

Vermeil smiled as she blocked my fist with her swords. "Are you sure?"

I narrowed my eyes at her and jumped back. "Where is this speed of yours coming from?"

She held out an amethyst. "I'm using this to help clear my mind of trivial thoughts. Its magical power can hone to mind of non-psychic mages too."

I smiled. "Being a crystal mage, you probably can bring that 'magic' out better than even An can."

"Indeed," she said, rushing at me. 

I spun around, blocked her left sword with my own, and kicked her right sword away. "But, speed isn't everything."

I slammed my hand on her abdomen but found myself at a standstill. My armor had turned stiff. H-How, though? My weapon's magical enhancements should've made it harder for her to take over! Wait, the prana flow was normal, so what was going on?

Vermeil kicked me in the side, flinging me into the blob of amber. Wait, 'Electra' had another effect; it could paralyze those it touched. So, she'd delayed it to save her skin. Hadn't expected such mastery of magic from her. Whatever happened in Sera must've made her grow a lot.

"Lux Aquila!" I chanted. A wave of light flew out of my armor, destroying the amber around me and rushing at its owner.

"Metallum Gladius!" Vermeil yelled as my spell took on the shape of an eagle. She jumped into the air and swung her twin swords down, unleashing a wave of white energy, slicing through my spell.

I smiled. She wasn't as strong as Zelde, but her skill certainly was greater than hers. "Metallum Aquila plus Indurare plus Accelerare," I chanted, calmly raising a hand toward her.

She gasped. "Adamas Clypeus!" she chanted, but my spell struck her before her barrier could form, throwing her out of the ring.

"Wow! Aria Armas has won!" Marina yelled.

I smiled and stepped toward the edge of the ring. "Are you okay?" I asked, holding out my hand toward Vermeil.

She stared at her bloody scratches. "You think?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to go too far, but you did push me." I smiled. "You and Zelde really are something. I hope that my next opponent also gives me a hard time."

Vermeil sighed as she took my hand. "I really thought that I was going to beat you."

"Yeah? Well, you might've if you had dodged. Why didn't you?"

She rubbed her arm. "Adamas Clypeus would've deflected your attack and won me the match. Plus, it was going too fast that it probably would've hit me anyway."

I laughed. "I see. Then it's a good thing that I used Accelerare on it." My smile faded as my back began to ache, causing me to curl over.

"Hey, are you alright? Did I break your rib?"

I shook my head. "N-no. It's a side effect. I'm not used to adding two enhancements. In hindsight, I should've just used Accelerare."

"Why did you use Indurare?"

I sat down on the floor. "To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. A Ruben gladius could've cut through my bird easily if I hadn't."

Vermeil rubbed her chin. "True. My red sword can do that on its own too. I probably would've cut it down if it had been slower."

"Are you girls alright?" Marina asked.

I smiled. "Y-yeah. I should be fine now."

Vermeil sighed. "I doubt it. Marina, heal me. I'll help Aria back to the stand, or better yet, take her to the nurse's office."

I waved my hands. "No, I'm fine. Seriously."

"You really are like Lei sometimes," a voice called out as Marina healed Vermeil. Kun stepped out of a beam of light.

"Kun! Why are you here? Weren't you caring for Yen and Nyima?"

"Lei's with them right now." He grabbed my arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. "Thought that I'll help you. Knowing how stubborn you can be."

My face reddened. "I don't want to hear that from the likes of you!"

Vermeil giggled. "Honestly, you are like An too."

I sighed. "You're both wrong. I know my limits better than those two."

"Perhaps, but you'll still struggle. Let's leave Marina to prepare things for the next match," Kun said, covering Vermeil, he, and I in light.

I sighed as we appeared outside of one of the nurse's offices. "I said that I'm fine, dummy."

Kun patted my head. "Like I buy that! I am a big brother, so I have a sense for this kind of stuff."

Vermeil crossed her arms. "And I'm a big sis."

I sighed. "Fine. I'll rest. Happy, you two?"

The two smiled and nodded. I laughed. They reminded me a little of my parents. Did Mom take a break to watch my battle? Or maybe she had Dad record it for her. Regardless, hopefully, I made the two of them proud.

I held out my fist toward Kun.

"Huh?"

"I know there's still a match or two before yours, but good luck out there. I want to battle you later."

Vermeil smirked. "He'll need it. He's up against my An."

I laughed. Why was she calling him her An? I thought he liked Princess Sarah.

Kun bumped my fist. "Don't worry. I'll make it past An and whoever's next. You better beat whoever is next too."

"Wait, isn't the next match Lei versus Ayawamat?" Vermeil asked.

"It should be." Kun grinned. "It's bound to be epic!"

"Huh? Her!" I heard Nyima shout.

Wait, her? But all of us girls had finished our matches. Was there a guest opponent or something?

We rushed to her and Yen's room and saw Lei staring at the television. Ayawamat glared at a grinning Sowk as they stood in the center of the ring. What was going on?

**Solar Note: I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Pardon the continued delays. I've been having some tech issues (wi-fi), making the writing process slower (as I like to write on WP or G-doc).**