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"It\'s pretty simple actually; this is just a difference in shear reinforcement--Macheo is the superior mage at the end of the day. He hits harder, and she can\'t take nearly as much punishment as him. This match was over the moment Macheo decides to indulge her. And...I wouldn\'t discredit Macheo...his technique hasn\'t failed yet."

Letting out a heated breath, Valerie answered for Iris, though it wasn\'t pleasant to hear.

Stay strong, Aiko! Iris thought.

"...I think this is enough, Aiko."

Catching his breath, Macheo looked at the girl with eyes that weren\'t pleased with the actions he had to execute.

Not responding, the beige-haired girl continued to gather in the minuscule breaths that could travel through her compromised windpipe.

I didn\'t come here to lose. But, I didn\'t come here to win either.

All I had was a goal in mind, but I didn\'t stop to think about what I needed to do that...or more importantly, what I was missing.

All my life, I\'ve been sheltered. Father was always protective of me, he was kind and gentle...but I\'ve always wanted to see it--the world past the boundaries of the great, mountainous walls surrounding Akitein.

Reminiscing her homeland, it was still painted clearly in her mind; the beautiful, towering green that protected Akitein from the reaches of the outside world. Standing so tall as to obscure the path of the clouds, the mountains which housed vast gardens along their length, and waterfalls that never stopped flowing, were the very image of the isolated, flourishing land full of culture sought by scholars and adventurers alike.

When I chose to come here in hopes of finding where my brother is, Father obviously rejected it. But...for the first time, I didn\'t listen. He was bed ridden, and I knew the keepers of our estate would take good care of him. So...I ran away. It was my duty. I didn\'t want anyone else to have to be hurt to solve the problems of my family.

Even so...I was lying to myself. I wanted to show my family--Father and Brother--that I can hold my own. And like a kid guided by the allure of the stars, the mysticism of Purgatory drew me in, and before I knew it...I was alone.

All of my experience from combat came from training, so having to fight with my life on the line was new to me. Then...they came. After what those men did...I couldn\'t bear it. I contemplated giving up. I felt like I didn\'t belong in my own skin, like I was some sort of foreign creature--I didn\'t know who I was or what I wanted.

I simply wanted to disappear.

But, you...Ren, Iris...Macheo--you\'re so strong. Stronger than I could ever see myself being, but now I believe I can do it.

Macheo, you\'re the embodiment of strength to me, and that\'s why...I have to win, she thought.

Finally managing to bring herself back onto her feet, Aiko calmed her sharp breathing--though it still burned, it became more steady.

"...Thank you, Macheo…"

"..."

"It\'s because of you...I can move forward...no...I can move up."

Looking down at the gauntlets that fit nicely over her arms, she clenched her fists clad in the metallic texture as a deep inhale filled her lungs, opening her once meek, reclusive eyes to their amethyst form, packed full of resolve.

"I just have one request."

"Yeah?"

"Let\'s go all out. I won\'t be satisfied unless I give it my all. Even if I lose...I don\'t want to think back about how I could\'ve pulled out a victory: let\'s leave no room for doubt."

It was impossible to deny someone who spoke so genuinely with eyes that held no restraint; Macheo could only smile as he loosened the stance he held, adjusting the collar of his sable cloak as his mana signature suddenly spiked.

"You know...you really know how to bring me out, don\'t you? Damn...to think a girl would get me this excited to fight!"

Laughing as he covered his face with his hand, Macheo revealed a bright smile as he moved his hand away, reeling a smile from the girl standing opposite to him. At last, it seemed the young man had fully been dragged out from his shell--that abrasiveness was gone, the hesitance washed away--he saw the girl standing before him as a proper rival in all regards.

"To hell with it! Aiko, if you manage to defeat me, I\'ll tell you a secret!"

"Huh!? That\'s not fair!"

They really are kids at the end of the day, aren\'t they? Ren thought.

A similar thought crossed Iris\' mind, but nonetheless, seeing smiles spread across their lips was contagious for their companions who witnessed their bout.

As water formed from mana manifested from Macheo\'s hand, Aiko prepared herself, allowing her gauntlets to be clad in a bright, warm light.

"...Then if you beat me, I\'ll tell you my secret!"

Holding a certain redness to her cheeks, Aiko\'s beautiful jewels stared at Macheo intently as a crimson tint found its way to his cheeks as well.

"You\'re on then!"

"IT SEEMS THINGS ARE FINALLY GETTING INTERESTING! FIRST, THEY CHOSE TO CLASH ONLY WITH THEIR NATURAL STRENGTH, BUT NOW, MAGIC IS ON THE FIELD!"

With the calls of the crowd settling into the arena, the two, youthful competitors squared off with smiles packed with excitement as all cards were laid out on the table.

Seeing the smallest, most minuscule movement from Aiko as her beige eyebrow twitched, being slightly covered by her prominent, crimson bang, Macheo slapped his hands together with a resounding clap.

"Achelous: Deep Blue Hunter!"

Propelled from the mass of water gathering in front of him, he directed the formless water into the shape of a carnivorous hunter natural to the sea; a hungering shark, flying towards Aiko with a size dwarfing the girl lesser in stature. Inhabiting a transparency natural to its form of pristine aqua, the massive shark burrowed through the air as if it were an unseen sea, spreading its maw wide as the girl began to run circles in an attempt to avoid it.

Attempting to subvert its pursuit, the nimble noble stopped in place before launching herself to the right with a potent sidestep--even so, the water-formed shark continued its hunt as it swerved to the right.

I thought it was just a projectile, but it\'s not letting up, she thought.

"That is quite terrifying magic, indeed. "Achelous", was it? I don\'t believe I\'ve had the pleasure of witnessing it until now."

Fedrin watched as the magically-manifested water gave form to a creature exclusive to the depths of the sea, allowing it to exist in a space opposing its natural habitat.

Mixing in with the elf\'s words, and beginning to hamper the spectator\'s concentration, the slumbering panda\'s snoring filled the room.

Kicking Hongse to silence the snoring, Ren didn\'t bat an eye as he continued to watch their clash, "Yeah, Achelous is honestly horrifying. As someone with thalassophobia, Macheo\'s magic is pretty much a nightmare..."

Trying once more to lose the transparent shark chasing after her with its clamping jaws, Aiko kicked into a backflip, leaping over the form of the spell-manifested entity in hopes of losing it completely.

Deep Blue Hunter specializes in hunting down its enemy, Aiko. It isn\'t a normal projectile spell that only has an initial path--it is latched onto your mana signature; just like how the real deal follows the scent of blood, Macheo thought.

Flying straight into the air as its long tail swayed side-to-side, the aquatic shark turned over as it once again set itself on the path towards the girl.

You wanted this, right, Aiko? If you truly want to face me as a warrior--as a prince of the Lucrauc crown, I can\'t reject you, he thought.

"HOW WILL SHE HANDLE THE PREDATOR CHASING HER DOWN? IT LOOKS LIKE AIKO IS ON THE ROPES!"

And don\'t you forget--I\'m not going to sit back and let my spells do all the work for me. I don\'t want to be the kind of ruler who just sits back while his soldiers do all the work. I\'ll lead them right into a damn battle--even if it means we fall together! Macheo thought.

Launching forward as he jumped up, kicking off one of his manifested footholds, Macheo traveled forward like an arrow--intercepting Aiko as she was left distracted by Deep Blue Hunter.

Even as he came close enough with her to exchange breaths, he didn\'t pursue his predictable path--launching himself off of more footholds as he bounced from spot to spot, all around the girl with speed that left her utterly perplexed.

I can\'t avoid this spell while watching him…! She thought.

Forced into making a quick decision, Aiko at last decided to confront the water-made shark as she manifested claws formed of light around her gauntlets--swiping at it as the force from her attacks divided the sandy floor. Even with its form being torn into mostly formless globs of water, the spell-formed predator was tenacious--crashing against the girl as she raised her gauntlets--manifesting a shield of light that displayed a prominent tiger with messy, scattered fur.

In this momentary clash, even that brief distraction was enough for Macheo to gain an absolute advantage over her--causing Aiko to completely lose track of him.

"He\'s fast as hell...speedy little bastard."

Valerie commented under her breath, witnessing the climactic meeting. However, Iris knew well what she was witnessing, gently biting the tip of her thumb.

He\'s gotten stronger than when we first met. Either that, or he wasn\'t taking me seriously in our fight...but, I doubt that. Aiko...I can assure you that right now, Macheo is giving you everything he has, Iris thought.

I was wrong before, Aiko. I didn\'t understand how you felt. I disregarded your pride as a warrior and as a noble heir--to me, all I wanted to see you as was the soft, gentle girl I had come to...love. But that\'s not quite fair, is it?

I, Macheo Aminoff, will fight you with everything I have--not as your friend, but as your opponent, he thought.

He could see it in her eyes as he closed the distance with his cape fluttering behind his back; Aiko\'s eyes widened in surprise at the sheer speed exhibited by the golden-haired man. Carving through the air, primed and ready to clash with the girl\'s nose, Macheo\'s fist flung forward with no seeming way to be halted--especially with the girl having been briefly stunned by the water-made shark\'s last attack before dispersing.

...I\'m not done yet! Aiko thought.

Using her own forehead as a shield, Aiko pushed forward as she met the bare, wooden knuckles of Macheo\'s left arm with her own forehead.

Tetsu-Tai! (Iron-Body!) She thought.

"Gah! What the hell--are you crazy!? Who the hell counters a punch like that!!?"

After colliding with the most sturdy part of the girl\'s head, his fist was repelled as he caught himself, stumbling backwards as he looked at the beige-haired girl.

Even if she defended against it, as unorthodox as a defense it was, a cut parted on her forehead as a trail of blood traveled down the middle of her face.

"And you\'re not crazy!?"

"Don\'t lump me in with you! Hey, you\'re bleeding!"

Even as he pointed this out, the girl didn\'t seem to care one bit about the blood that trickled down her face, parting into two streams as her amethyst eyes that glistened with resolve were locked onto Macheo.

"I don\'t care! Did you hit me without expecting me to bleed!?"

"..."

She has a point there, Ren thought, also...just what was that technique she just used to defend against his attack? All I\'ve really seen her use is that weird "tiger style" or whatever it is--that looked completely different.

"Whatever...If you can still fight, then come at me!"

"I plan on it!"

Wahhh....they\'re really getting into it, aren\'t they? Iris thought.