It didn’t take long for a group of ten to become a group of eight. Despite their previous intentions of kicking out the male and his partner out of the ring, the other combatants backstabbed each other as much as they went for Van and Aldina. It wasn’t till a few minutes later that they truly realized the threat the two nails amongst them posed, and so they began to genuinely work together to hammer them down before they were tripped up.

As Van stood beside Aldina, he couldn’t help but realize how much different she was from Kira. supposedly Aldina was from a branch house of Bloodmoon, meaning the two were related in some way. But while Kira was short and weak in magic, Aldina was tall, as tall as him, athletic, and seemed to have magic in abundance with a fuller figure than her cousin. Like a Kira, if she actually matured or grew up.

While he was deflecting a stream of magical fire coming his way, standing back to back with Aldina, he couldn’t help but ask her about the relationship between her and Kira.

“By the way, what's your relationship with Kira? Are you cousins like Merody? Or something else? And if so, why weren’t you in the dorms with us?”

“Huh? Kira? …wait… Ah…” Aldina seemed to realize what was going on. “I thought someone looked familiar… I didn’t realize Kira was with your group… I haven't seen her in forever…” Looking back on her memories as she absentmindedly parried a sword thrust coming her way.

While Van was dealing with two mages, one sending magical fire and the other a stream of ice, with a third an archer firing periodically. Aldina was dealing with a swordswoman, a spearwoman, and some type of rogue on her side.

“Let's see I- GODS DAMN SHADOW POOFER!” She suddenly exclaimed as the rogue combusted into shadow and appeared to strike her from the left, only to disappear in an explosion of shadow once more away from Aldina’s counterattack.

“Gods! I hate shadow poofers!” Aldina growsled.

“Isn’t there a proper name for that technique?” Van asked.

“If there is, I don’t care to learn it.” Aldina replied petulantly. “Anyway… where was I? Oh yes. I am from a branch house of Bloodmoon. Aldina Bloodfire is my full name. As for the reason why I’m not in your dorm… Well… The answer is simple, it’s to prevent abuse. Some main houses abuse those from branch houses. And since it would look bad if someone from a branch house overshadowed someone from a main house, they are to be kept separate so that those from the branch house can grow into their own without threat from the main house.” She said as if it was obvious. Which now that it was said out loud, Van could understand why.

“And besides, I like leading my own dorm… The girls trust me to lead them, and I’ve never felt more motivated to prove myself. If I had joined your dorm, I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to be a squad leader in my own right.” She said rather proudly.

While she was talking, Van extended his barrier to prevent an arrow from the archer he was dealing with from going through to attack Aldina from behind. While she dealt with the shadow rogue that tried to do the same by assassinating Van.

“By the way… How much longer can you hold them off for?” Aldina asked worriedly as the two mages firing fire and ice at him hadn’t let up for the past minute.

“Hm? Oh, about an hour or so.” Van replied matter-of-factly.

Aldina blinked, and almost took a spear to the face until she turned her whip into a condensed sword of fire and struck back at the spearwoman. “Are you serious!?” She asked in disbelief, sending mana to her pauldrons and creating a blast that forced the spearwomen away alongside the swordswomen.

“Yeah, and if you can just give me one more minute, I’ll be able to deal with those two no problem. Do you think you can hold on for that long?” He asked.

Aldina now felt this was now a matter of pride. “Of course, I can! Just make sure to deal with them, I might be done with my group before you are with yours!” She shot back, making this a competition.

“You're on…” Van said and began to focus harder on the shield that prevented the fire and ice from breaking through and washing them all away.

Aldina wasted no time, she took a stance and prepared to fight back harder than before. The rogue poofed in front of her, only to poof away once more, hiding the attack from the spearwomen who charged at her with aura-filled killing intent. Only to be blocked by the shield raised in the nick of time.

Aldina then did something that sent a shockwave from the shield, pushing the spearwoman back. Then charged up her pauldrons and quickly shot out what appeared to be a mix between a firework and a flare as slow-falling balls of fire began to descend from on high. The rogue prematurely poofed into existence, not where she wanted to be.

“Got you!” Aldina’s eyes narrowed as she raised her whip. “Can’t poof into a space already occupied now can you?” And with a crack! Sent her fire whip to grab her.

The rogue screamed in pain as she was wrapped up and then flung towards the swordswomen who looked up in surprise, bracing herself for the impact she knew she couldn’t dodge. Except it never came, because Aldina with a twist of her wrist flung the rogue back up into the air, let her go, then snagged her once more in her whip before flinging her out of the arena. The rogue was so disoriented and in pain that she didn’t have the chance to poof to safety.

While this was happening Van was still focusing on his shield that was blocking the attacks of the two mages and archer. But then with a grin he unleashed his trap!

Unbeknownst to his opponents. He had slowly been inching a strand of shadow under the column of fire and ice. The mages were so preoccupied with the fact that they were beginning to sweat and tire out before their male opponent, that they doubled down on trying to blast him away to the exclusion of all else. Making them unaware of the danger coming their way.

Eight large shadowy tendrils shot up from around where they were standing and wrapped around them. Their spells broke as they lost concentration, dropping their staffs as it was pulled away from them. They were then raised up high and flung out of the ring.

The archer was left in shock at what happened and began to panic, but it was too late. Now that Van didn’t have to hide what he was doing anymore, his shadow shot forward at great speed, but not before he flung a disk of shadow right at her face.

Panicking and bending backward, she narrowingly avoided the disking of buzzing shadow aimed right at her neck. Only to be picked up from her ankles by many tendrils and raised up high. She had not expected such a turn and only realized too late that the buzzing disk was a distraction and not the actual attack.

“Well, I'm done here. What about you.” Van said as the archer was flung off. He turned around only to find that Aldina was gone and her opponent being ejected out of the ring due to her condensed flaming sword stabbing the swordswomen through. Or would have if not for the protective barrier.

“I’m done here too,” Aldina said, kicking the conscious spearwoman that she also dealt with out of the ring.

Van used this chance to look around. He saw Luna in a far-off ring, beaten, bruised, and a little bloody. His heart went out to her, wondering what in the world must she have faced too get that way. Her partner wasn’t in any good condition either, and it seemed they hadn’t partnered up during their bout. Meaning they probably had a true free for all, unlike him and Aldina.

Looking around once more, he found Nephi cleaning up the last of her opponents with practiced ease. Only for the match to end before she could get to the last one. She seemed tired but determined.

Ding!

Van and everyone else looked up as an announcement was made. It seemed like they would be going straight into round two. Their once allies, if there were any, are now enemies to be dealt with. No waiting, the matches began now.

“Well… Shit… No rest? That sucks.” Aldina commented. “Well… No hard feelings Van, it was nice fighting with you. But a deal is a deal.” Raising her shield up.

Van nodded, turning to her and getting ready to fight.

The two sides eyed each other up. Aldina was now warier than ever about Van’s ability. It seemed like he almost had a limitless amount of magic to play with, and more than that was his proficiency with it. She had first thought he was a swordsman of some sort, but that was clearly not completely true…

As Aldina eyed him up, Van did the same, wondering where to strike. Her defenses were just too good, and it seemed like she had a countermeasure for everything. But that didn’t mean he thought he couldn’t take her. He created about a dozen shadow arrows and flung them her way.

With a raised brow, as if silently asking Van if he was serious, Aldina used her whip to blow most of them out of the air and took the last few with her shield casually. “Is that really all you got?” She asked, sounding a little disappointed.

“No, just checking your defenses,” Van admitted. “You're a lot more heavily equipped than anyone else I met so far.” Commenting on all her magical do-dads.

Aldina shrugged. “It's all a gift from my mother. She wanted to make sure that I had everything I needed to make a name for myself. Though perhaps because of that we are running a bit in the red.”

“Hence having to tolerate that girl right?” Van asked, wanting to say stupid bitch, but being diplomatic about it.

“Yeah…” She sighed, knowing who he was talking about. “That stupid bitch really makes things difficult for me, but I need her money to help outfit my girls… And she’s not so bad, she’s just feeling a lot of pressure herself and doesn’t have any friends. Which I think makes her act out as she does.”

Van wanted to say that didn’t excuse her actions but kept quiet. Just silently getting ready to fight.

“Anyway, enough jabbering.” Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s get to it…” She raised her whip.

Van raised a brow, he was pretty sure it couldn’t reach that far… Could it?”

She then began to twirl her whip around and around until it made a circle figure in the air in front of her and between the both of them. She then charged up her pauldrons and sent two fireballs that exploded through the circle.

Van’s eyes widened as a massive blast came his way, almost like a shotgun, pellets of fire and smoke haphazardly went everywhere in a large cone that he found himself in range of. He immediately raised his shield, but Aldina came through the smog like lightning, raising a now condensed-like lightsaber sword right for his magical barrier. It ripped right through, and sparks of fire shot out as she cleaved his shield in two. He used his flicker step to fling himself back and started hurling dozens, no, hundreds of shadow arrows and bolts her way.

She raised her shield and activated something else. several sharp prongs that were on her back began to float and weave around her. They moved and intercepted his shadow attacks in midair.

“Holy shit! Those are the flying daggers from the auction! What are the odds!?” He then had to dodge one as it was sent his way. Once more he had to flicker step and create more distance. He then sent a wave of shadows toward her, they slithered like snakes at great speeds toward her ankles. But with a stomp of her foot, she sent a condensed wave or aura to keep them at bay.

But Van wasn’t done. He was a mage for magic's sake! He stomped down his own foot and ruptured the ground, sending cracked and hardened spiked earth her way. Aldina used her boot to whisk herself to safety and slid around the attack to move in on him. He raised his hands and sent a blast wave of air towards her to push her back. Creating a large ball of shadowy fire, he then sent it right after her, only for her to pour more mana into her whip and split it in two. Making it go off prematurely and creating an explosion.

The exchanges went on like this for about a whole ten minutes until they were both very tired.

“You know… you’re pretty good,” Aldina said, panting and sweating a little.

“Yeah… I can say the same about you.” Van said in kind, feeling just as tired.

“Why don’t we finish this once and for all? Our strongest attacks.”

“I’m game,” Van responded, looking forward to it.

Aldina smiled, only for it to disappear and a more serious expression to take her face. Slowly she began to burn up.

Van leaned back, wondering if this was that blazing shadow thing Kira showed him previously.

Aldina then burst into flames, her hair now like fire and her eyes like blazing gems. She raised her weapon up high and made it a sword which she started to condense all her energy into. It wasn’t the blazing shadow, but it was definitely dangerous enough.

Van brought out his saber, his eyes going red as his sclera turned black. Black tattoos began to form on his body and he began to pump them full of mana. He condensed his aura onto his saber, plus some mana for extra measure.

The two poured everything they had for the next few minutes, building up their power ever so slowly. The waves of energy they created did not go unnoticed, as those fighting in other rings stopped and began to watch the two with keen interest and awe.

Finally, it was time. They both instinctively knew it. Aldina and Van raised their weapons in unison.

“BLAZING SOLAR STRIKE!”

“AURA BLADE THIRD LAYER!”

The two energies collide creating a massive explosion that tore the ring in two. Van and Aldina were both sent off into the air. Instead of being ejected out into the stands they landed where they fell, perhaps even the instructors wanting to know who would win.

In the end, it was Aldina who won. It turned out she kept one last ace up her sleeve. It wasn’t that one of her boots was a gravity boot, but both of them. She simply made others think of it otherwise to trick them. Another thing was, even though she used all her energy, it didn't mean her gravity boots didn’t have mana left. As she flew through the air, she used what little remained to pull herself back to the ring. Though at a ninety-degree angle… Her boots stuck to the side of a destroyed ring, before running out of juice and letting her fall, but not before Van touched the ground first…

The stadium was silent, then a massive cheer broke out. It was the most exciting thing they saw in a while. After a few moments, the medics came out and began to heal Van and Aldina up to good health.

“Well… That was a good match…” Van said, walking up to her after he was healed up. “I guess there's nothing left to do but-”

Aldina raised her hand. “You don’t owe me any apologies.” She said, slowly getting up. She took off her damaged armor, revealing the torn uniform underneath. “You were a worthy opponent. If it weren’t for my boots, I think it would have been a tie. Hells, you may even have won…”

Van gave her an appreciative smile. “Thanks… I… I’ll send you the money once the month starts. But I hope that means this isn’t the end of it. If you don’t mind, I think I would like to have a match with you again.”

Aldina smiled. “I think I would like that too. And if you ever beat me, or form a clan of your own, tell me. I think… I'd like to join…”

“Really?”

Her smile widened. “Depends on your pitch I guess.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” Van reached out with a hand.

Aldina looked at it and took it.

They both gave a firm handshake.

After their parting, Van was heartbroken to see that Luna not only lost but was deeply injured. But when he asked about it, her only response was. “You should see the other girl…”

Nephi was moving on to the next round. He thought about staying to watch. But he was tired and just wanted to go home. Weird, to think the dorm has his home though…

Van, with the help of Anna who never left the stands, carried Luna to their dorm where they could rest up.