"?" Emily did not know what Austin was asking.
"That last moment against Samuel. Your staff obliterated his fangs and tiger. There's no way you only did that with simple Ein." Austin looked curiously at Emily. The tiger and Samuel's spell should not have been crushed like that.
Emily kept walking as if Austin wasn't there.
"I'm no longer an enemy. I just want to know." He said truthfully. There was no more enmity to be had. He had given up on his revenge on Frederick and decided to move on.
Emily sighed and glanced at Austin, who tensed up. "Of course, it was a spell. Everyone doing missions at a steady pace should have made enough for an extra spell. Though that number is not very large."
Missions were hard work and also life-threatening. Some people only went on them occasionally or did other things to get points. Emily, Frederick, and Oscar did easy to medium-difficulty missions to grind their points.
"The spell I used was 'Heavy Impact'. It increased the weight of my staff a thousandfold."
"No wonder it was so overpowering. Hmm? Wait? How were you able to lift that much weight?" Austin became more curious about Emily's unnatural strength.
"I only used it right as my staff made contact with the tiger and Samuel's fangs. It was already in motion, and so the weight carried it through. I'm not some burly gorilla to be able to carry that much weight."
Austin remained silent since he sensed Emily was slightly angered at his question.
"I'm going to check out Frederick's match. That dolt makes me worry at times. He may just lose because his opponent is a girl." Emily had a slight frown while walking away.
…….
"Please help Os win." Frederick clapped his hands in prayer to any gods that may listen. Oscar's opponent, Phillip Raeven, made Frederick worry for his friend.
"You need to worry about yourself rather than Oscar. Rachel is a scary opponent." George said. When the group separated earlier to focus on their matches, George tagged along with Frederick. He had a particular interest in Frederick's opponent, Rachel.
"I know. The recordings showed me enough of that." Frederick stared at George in annoyance. "You refused to tell me anything useful against her."
The entire time, George did nothing but gaze at Rachel in the recording. There was no denying the entranced look on his face at the time.
This would be his first match against someone with a higher Grade Exolsia. To make it worse, Rachel would have also seen his recordings. He and Oscar were certainly in dire straits.
Frederick respected Oscar's tenacity and hard work, but part of the reason Oscar won his matches was due to the element of surprise. No one would neglect to learn about their opponents in this serious competition if the information was out there.
"I can't help you." George said.
"You are hopelessly in love with her." Frederick scoffed.
"S-Shut up! She's just a great friend." George stammered. "What about you and Emily?"
"There's nothing between us. I like a different type of girl." Frederick immediately shook his head and looked offended at George.
"No one is stuck to one preference." George teased further.
The two argued the entire way to the stages. Neither was willing to admit to anything. Finally, they reached Frederick's stage, where a young girl was waiting. She had tied her blond hair into twin tails and stared at Frederick and George with those ruby-red eyes.
"George? How are you doing?" Rachel smiled and waved at George, who flushed a bit.
"Hey Rachel, it's been a while since we last worked together. I came here to say hi."
"Really?" Her eyes narrowed as they glanced at Frederick. "But you're with my opponent?" She asked with one eyebrow raised.
Terrified, George immediately took her side, "I didn't say anything. We're friends, but I wouldn't betray you."
Rachel's face turned a small shade of pink. "I wouldn't care about that. Step to the side, then." Her arms crossed as though she was annoyed, but her face did not match her dismissive tone.
Hearing she did not tell him to leave, George happily moved to a neutral position. "Don't worry. I'm cheering for you."
"I don't need your cheers!" Rachel scolded George, but her tone wasn't harsh or punishing.
"Henpicked fool." Frederick jumped onto the stage and held out his short swords. He had had enough of the bantering between these two.
George heard Frederick's insult and yelled, "That describes you and Emily. Stop denying it."
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"Don't think I won't beat the crap out of you later." Frederick yelled.
"Who are you to talk to him like that? A mere freshman?" Rachel stomped her feet, cracking the stage. Her eyes were full of hostility toward Frederick, who threatened George.
"Stop wasting time. Take this battle seriously." The proctor chastised them for their unruly behavior. The Grand Gathering was a serious occasion where all students put everything on the line except their lives, not this drama play on this stage.
"Yes!" Frederick and Rachel tensed instantly. They put their previous argument out of their minds, leaving only the desire to fight and win this match. Rachel and Frederick both summoned their Animas.
Frederick's hawk let out a loud call as it soared above. It was frustrated at having done nothing in the previous round against Austin and glided with determination.
On Rachel's side, her Ein manifested into a polearm in her hands, looking daunting with its ax blade on its end with long sharp daggers from its tip and back. It was not the end, as she wore a pair of gold wristguards that matched her blond hair. The wristguards with her imposing polearm anima gave off a heroic impression.
Outside the stage, George looked in admiration at Rachel's confident posture.
Frederick's face grew serious. Rachel was a powerhouse of Grade Six with her powerful offensive polearm anima and tough defensive wristguards.
In the recordings of her previous two matches, Rachel overwhelmed her opponents with savage cleaves from her polearm. One of her opponents managed to close but was walled off by her wristguards.
The proctor was pleased to see both students had come to their senses. "Begin!"
At the signal, Frederick stepped in but immediately backed down as the wind in front of him blew harshly, slicking his hair backward. He stared at the floor and saw a large crack before his feet.
Rachel spun her polearm and slammed the tip on the floor. It was her powerful swing that cut through the stage.
'I would have been cleaved in two if I didn't back down.' Sweat dripped down Frederick's brows. That devastating power was not to be trifled with.
"Hurry up. I saw your previous matches. Where is the drive and tenacity from earlier?" Rachel looked expectantly at Frederick. She loved to battle others, evident from the polearm anima that represented herself. She waited in anticipation for someone like Frederick, who fought fervently.
"Crazy." Frederick hated these battle maniacs like Rachel and Emily. Both were far too overzealous in their love of fights like a pair of war devils. He let out a 'Brilliant Slash', but the slash of light was blocked and shredded into fragments by Rachel's polearm.
However, this was enough for Frederick to move fast with 'Wind Steps' past Rachel's polearm. One of his twin swords sliced through the air to Rachel's neck like lightning. The proctor perked up, intending to stop the match if needed.
Rachel did not allow the proctor to intervene and brought up her left wristguard to block. Sparks flew out when the blade met the wristguard, scraping metals against each other.
Slightly irked, Frederick stabbed his other blade forward, but Rachel let go of her polearm and stopped his blade with her other wristguard. The blade's tip was unable to move further.
Rachel stared at Frederick with beast-like red eyes. Her polearm anima that was cast down floated and swung at Frederick.
Beast-type Animas could move from the start due to their nature, but other types required a deeper understanding and mastery to allow remote control that only extended a short distance from the user. Frederick knew something was up when Rachel easily let go of her polearm. Before the polearm reached him, Frederick withdrew his two short swords to block it.
Suddenly, Rachel grasped her polearm. Her hands had veins popped out as Rachel forced the polearm forward to finish its attack.
The added boost from Rachel's power caused Frederick to be flung back. His strength was not on par with Oscar's and Emily's due to his fighting style. This disparity made him nothing but a piece of paper compared to Rachel.
Frederick landed on the floor with a hard thud. He tumbled and rolled until coming to a stop with his clothes dirtied and roughed up.
Not letting go of this chance, Rachel jumped toward him and stabbed her polearm down. The long sharp tip reflected the suns as it neared Frederick.
'Wind Steps!'
Frederick escaped as the polearm stabbed into the stage and created a single thin crack telling of its immense sharpness and power. The polearm was a weapon that swung powerfully like an ax but also sliced cleanly like a sword and pierced like a spear.
His bird anima came swooping down right as to Rachel's exposed back. But she quickly turned to cut it down.
The bird dodged Rachel's polearm with a spinning maneuver and continued its attack. But even the bird's beak could not break through Rachel's wristguards.
While Rachel was distracted, Frederick made his move.
'Brilliant Slashes.'
More streaks and slashes of light made their way to Rachel but were easily destroyed by her polearm or blocked by her wristguards. With no choice, Frederick used his 'Wind Steps' to escape.
Frederick breathed heavily on the other side of the stage, a good distance from Rachel. He was consuming his Ein at a rapid pace.
Not good. Rachel was already more advanced as a Middle Apprentice Exalt, meaning her supply of Ein and stamina was larger. Frederick only worsened this disadvantage by overusing his Ein.
'Nothing's working.'
Rachel looked bored at Frederick, who was half-kneeling on the floor. Rachel pointed her polearm at Frederick with her teeth clenched. "I expected more. Where is that boldness? Where is the person that tried to blow himself up to win? I'm disappointed. You're not even making me use my spells."
George interrupted by saying, "Rachel, please don't treat him harshly. He's already done pretty well against you."
Rachel looked irked and chastised George, "This is a serious competition. If he doesn't take it seriously, I'll beat him down to make him understand what happens to lazy morons."
Lazy….Frederick was about to say something when another person intruded on the conversation.
"What are you doing, Frederick?"
Rachel, George, and Frederick turned to the intruder. It was Emily who had her arms crossed in anger. Next to her was Austin.
"Emily?" Frederick asked.
"You're just going to humiliate yourself like this? I didn't waste all that time training with you for nothing." Emily sternly gazed at Frederick.
"Is this a joke?" Rachel stared at Emily with cold eyes. "I don't think this man of yours has any fight left in him."
Emily raised her eyebrows and said in a chilling tone. "You don't know him. So don't prattle on like an idiot."
Rachel was angered at Emily's complete disregard and tried to retort before being interrupted.
"Frederick. What are you fighting for? Is your goal so unimportant that you'll give it up like this? You weakling!" Emily shouted and yelled. She didn't want to see Frederick lose like this.
The question crashed like thunder in Frederick's mind.
The proctor came forward and said, "No interruptions from the audience. I will punish you if you speak further."
Emily shrugged her shoulders but complied. She had already said what she wanted to say. This was her way of giving him a shock to make him more driven.
At this moment, Frederick was stuck in his thoughts. Coming to the Pavilion was natural as a noble's son, and becoming an Exalt was natural, but it wasn't his dream or purpose. What was his reason for doing all of this?
Only one name echoed in his heart.
'Teresa….'