This was the first time Elfre would ever fight with Raziel seriously. For the past few years they've been together, there had been more than one occasion in which she had inflicted on him several bruises and bumps for his atrocious narcissism. Before she had met the sixth, she was quite sure she never knew it was possible to love yourself to such extent--the vainness and egocentrism, the horrendous love for all things possessing extraodinary splendor and pulchritude. Even so, all these had been a passing act of irritation which she did not entirely mean. His overdramatizing of things often invoked Elfre's ephemeral temper, often causing him to be whacked up the head whenever the girl was around.
One could say Elfre's hotheadedness and straightforward, blunt way of speaking was a trademark of hers. She wasn't proud of the qualities, but she also saw no reason to care for what other people thought.
Her DevDept team gathered around her, properly fitting her of her suit. The color they decided on was a classy, platonic silver bringing out the color of her skin and eyes. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, tightly and neatly that any stray strands were held in place.
"See?" Quipped Xiena. "Classy, stylish . . . and deadly!"
"I don't know why you guys need to make everything pleasing to the eye when all I'm gonna do out there is fight and not parade." She sighed.
"Elfre, honey . . ." The other girl drawled out. "Don't be such a spoil sport! A little class never hurts! Beside, if your opponent is as you say he is, the least thing that should happen should be his appreciation!"
"I desire not to gain his appreciation. What I need to do and desire to do is obliterate him to the point that he can never sing praises about his beauty ever again." She commented harshly, rolling her eyes.
"My, what do we do with you?"
Efre merely reached for the weapon standing gloriously at the corner of the room, one which was made especially for her. Elfre relied often on the swiftness of her feet and not her strength, so she required a lightweight sword.
The sword was constructed wholly from the same element. From the very hilt to the slender blade, there was no separation. That was why the transition between all its parts was very smooth. It must've been very challenging to create this weapon alone. From the looks of it, careful hands and perseverance required its crafting.
It made her glad she was going to use it, otherwise, to find it in the hands of someone else would possibly make her weep--inwardly of course.
"Lucent." Said Sandrion. "She is ready."
"Is that her name?" She asked, revelling at the feeling of it inside her hands. It fell perfectly between her fingers. The slender blade was beautiful--so thin yet so sharp. It was exquisite. The guards were in the shape of pointed wings with engraved designs.
"Yes."
"Such a perfect thing." She muttered, examining it on all sides. "I will put her to good use."
The crowd outside went wild as the announcer took his place and started his speech about the details of the fight. Elfre caught on this and turned to look outside the dughole of the arena, right into the opposing team. Raziel was conversing with his team, but, as though feeling Elfre's eyes on him, twisted and looked over his shoulder. His bright, tangerine eyes glazed for a moment as it looked right into her green ones. He then gave her the most irritating smirk in their history together, making her roll her eyes at him and huff silently to herself.
He looked more serious than he had ever been, and this was a side he had never actually shown her.
Then, he winked.
"Ugh." Her nose wrinkled in disgust, making her turn away instinctively from the sight.
"Don't let him get to you." Advised from someone on her team.
"And now announcing!"
Elfre righted herself as she waited for the moment they would both be called out. It wasn't that long before she heard their names resound through the sound amplifiers. It made a shot of anxiety run through the nerves of Elfre, fraying them in the process. She did not let this show on her face, even so, and walked forward ever so confidently as Raziel came out from his own side of the arena.
"Elfre Baudion, seventh of the rankers, against Raziel Aslan who ranks sixth! Their ranks are merely next to each other. Who, on the other hand, would ever win this fight?"
"Don't worry! We've prepared a lot for this! Your protection gear will definitely hold up!"
Cheers riotously reverberated through the arena. Thundering stomps and claps and high-pitched whistles and wails could be heard in a deafening chorus. Elfre had long since blocked this out, her eyes solely focused on her current opponent who bore clothes for a ball.
Raziel had taken the effort to brush back the wild curls lying so perfectly atop his head all the time. They were straightened slick, flat in a very stylish manner it could almost be assumed he would be attending a ball instead of his own fight. One, lone, thin bunch of his hair fell loosely on his forehead, subtly brushing against his brows.
His getup was flamboyant. It wasn't exactly something that could qualify for an armor. All he had on was a long trench coat the color of white with matching slacks, an open-chested shirt and fancy shoes. He held his whip in one hand, the body coiled around his fingers.
They stopped in their tracks and stood about ten feet apart. The signal was what they were waiting for, and this battle would then commence with no signs of hesitations from both sides.
"What do you think?" He asked, doing a small turn to show her every angle of his look.
"What did you think we were going to do today?" Elfre mockingly questioned. "It looks like you're going to a dance of some sort!"
"Oh, but this is a dance, sweet one." He replied. "You should know by now that I always . . . always come in style!" He wiggled his brows.
"Ready your weapons!"
Elfre and Raziel obeyed, readying the instruments they specialized in. Elfre drew her sword, her movements accompanied by a strong gust of wind. Her element was a tight support, primarily fueling the power of the blade she was using. On the other hand, Raziel uncoiled the whip he held, allowing sparks of electricity to crawl visibly on the surface. It traveled down the ridiculous length, crackling loudly as it hit the floor.
"Let the third fight begin!"
Elfre shifted her foot, staring Raziel in the eye. The tension was clear in the air.
"I must say." Said Raziel, his blinding smile flashing under the last rays of the setting sun. "Your team have their own sense of aesthetics. My compliments!"
"You wouldn't be having any after I'm done with you."
Raziel sighed at her reply. "Why must you wound me so?"
"Because your ego's too big." She impatiently answered, brandishing her sword at him with one, swift movement.
Raziel lashed his whip and allowed it to hit the ground with a sickening crack, his actions fluid and smooth with his face neutral and fierce in contrast to the fearful display of a potentially wounding move. "This world is such a cruel reality, dear Elfre. Do not join the wretched in their quest for the uglies. Why must you always be so virulent?"
"I am not virulent. That is the last type of word you should be using to describe me."
"What are you then if you do not wish to be called so?"
Elfre shifted her foot subtly, careful not to make it obvious to her opponent she was preparing to launch herself at him. Raziel was perspicacious, even so. Elfre's plan did not escape him and he mentally prepared himself though he made no changes to his current position.
Muscles tense and rigid, the seventh rushed forward for the first attack. Raziel jumped back to put some distance between them, as his attacks would be rendered useless in close proximity. It wasn't as though he was completely powerless in short range, but he did better when his enemy was not too close and not too far. Elfre was familiar with this, and was probably trying to put him where it was not the most advantageous for the sixth and where she was better at.
Elfre took a huge step within a foot from the sixth-ranker and swung her sword in an arc in front of her. Raziel leaned back, bending at the waist as the sword whipped a hair's breath away from his face.
"I am merely being practical!" She exclaimed.
When it missed, the seventh did not dawdle and launched her second attack, using her foot in an axe kick to target Raziel's exposed midsection. Raziel foresaw this and leaped back with a stumble--an extreme move to another extreme move for evasion--nearly losing his balance from trying to avoid such a bold assault.
"Using such complicated and fanciful dance moves to avoid my attacks will tire you out and do you no good."
Raziel smiled as he righted himself and calmed his frayed nerves. "Why not put a little show, my little elf? Is it not always better to--"
"I am no elf!" Roared Elfre as she aced down her sword, the blade glinting as she brought it down towards him. "I am of full Valemnian blood and am no halfling!"
"Your name evokes the thought of one!" Exclaimed the gentleman with a faint grin. "Pray tell, how do you know if you really are not of elven descent? Do you really detest having the blood of such ensorcelling creatures?"
"Stop your puerile badgering, you orange-head!"
"My hair is the color of the sun, a brush of light in a twilight--"
Elfre cut him off by targeting his side with her weapon. Raziel quickly threw his whip so that it wrapped around Elfre's blade and diverted her attack to another direction. Elfre was forced to the side but twisted rapidly, angling the tip of her elbows to strike a wild hit that landed on Raziel's readied arm. He had managed to bring up his fists in time to shield himself, successfully blocking Elfre's advances.
"Right!" She exclaimed. "It's still orange!"
"Have you no sense of creativity!" He asked, gasping at Elfre's reply. He threw the length of his whip forward, letting a shot of electricity run down its body as it wrapped around Elfre's leg.
Elfre took a sharp intake of breath as she slipped and lost her balance, landing on her back against the tough dirt. Thankfully, her armor had been made from something which was a nonconductor of electricty, keeping her safe. This did not stop her opponent. Raziel made one move and another, striking his weapon on the spot Elfre had landed on. The seventh was quick enough to avoid this assault, rolling to the side while quickly regaining her footing.
"I am impressed you weren't affected by the current. Even so, remember this. When something is orange, through art, by no means, you don't say it is orange!" Raziel lectured, the horrified look staying on his face.
"So you're admitting it's orange!"
"I have already told you! It is not just orange! You may call it the shades of color during sunset! Or perhaps a fruit of the same color!"
"Stop kidding! That is orange!" She sent a blast of wind running forward.
Raziel saw this coming and cut through that blast with his whip, as though cutting it in half which saved him from being knocked back.
The sixth seemed beyond frustrated as he tugged off his gloves with his teeth. His eyes lingered on Elfre's as he threw it off. He then conjured electricity right off from his forefinger and middlefinger, drawing a big ribbon across the air before he shot it ahead of him and right into Elfre's direction. Elfre vaulted out of the way, tumbling nimbly on the dirt to take cover behind a boulder. Raziel mercilessly struck it, splitting it to bits with rubbles flying to every direction.
Elfre was quick to move, conjuring a sharp gust of wind in the form of a blade down a path right into Raziel. It left a line in its wake before the sixth threw himself out of its way, letting it strike the wall of the arena instead. The entire vicinity containing the audience felt the tremor.
"Hey!" Tamara screamed at them. "At least look at where you're shooting those things!"
The Twelve had not bothered to fix the arena. The forest they've planted on the battling grounds remained the way it was since it was burned down from the twins' fight. In fact, it provided a new sight, like a different scenario for a change.
Charles stared at the empty seats. Some of the members weren't present as of the moment--those being the twins, Elfre, Raziel, Valeriana and Corvan. It was understood why the twins were absent. Raziel and Elfre were on the arena fighting. But for the first and the fifth? It screamed suspicious!
"The battle has started and Corvan and Valeriana have yet to show themselves. Where on Valemnia are they?" The fourth questioned, looking at Tamara who looked beyond pissed.
"I was wondering about that too." Aneeka added.
"They went to--"
Boom!
The tremor shook the entire place, cutting off Tamara's sentence. She paused for a moment, sighing with a look of annoyance.
"--Arlandia." She finished.
"Arlandia? What business do they have there?"
She smiled. "Seems like for an information demon, you let something slip. Aren't you supposed to know everything?"
"I'm no god, that is why I am asking you." He pointed out, slightly irked.
"Well, it's a secret!" She exclaimed, a huge grin on her face as she reclined on her seat and decided to resume watching the fight.
"But their duel--"
"They're going back in time to fight. You don't have to worry about anything." She told him.
"We still have the finale presentation. The band cannot function without the drummer and pianist."
"Yes. I know. What did I just say?"
"Alright. I will hold you onto that."
"This is Corvan and Valeriana. I'm sure you can trust them." Rowe interjected, his expression soft and gentle as was his mood. "They will not allow themselves to abandon such a special event."
Charles merely sighed and shook his head.
As of the moment, Raziel was chasing Elfre into the burned down forest that resulted from the aftermath of the fight between the twins. His whole body was now radiating with electricity, and the air current within the arena was not very still either.
Elfre bravely decided to launch herself forward once more for another attack and Raziel shifted his stance to meet her halfway. They clashed, their elements forming halos around their body as their weapons met. Raziel had stretched the length of his whip, holding both ends to parry Elfre's blow.
"Seems Elfre's very riled up. The wind reflects on her emotions." Someone commented, along with a click of footsteps.
Gazes lifted to land on Courtney as she took a seat on Elfre's vacant chair. "Mind if I join you for a moment? It's been a while since I've been up here. The common seats are very crowded and hard to breathe in." She said. "They've been getting hyped up a lot lately."
"Courtney." Aneeka nodded her way.
"Hi, Courtney!" Said Keelan.
"Hi." Brindon added.
"How are you doing, Lady Courtney?" Rowe asked politely.
"Fairly well. Where's the current fifth? Has she skipped out on her duties?"
"Oh, Valeriana?" Keelan queried. "She's with Corvan! They went to Arlandia together on a special trip."
"I was going to give her a bit of the intimidation, but with her gone, I guess I can't." She crossed her arms and legs, eyeing the battle going on between the seventh and sixth.
"You really love to torment the girl!" Tamara exclaimed. "No wonder she can't approach you!"
"Are you still upset about losing your position?" Aneeka asked.
"It wasn't really about the position in the first place." Courtney said. "I could care less about ranks. These positions will never define me. Valeriana has proven herself despite her outrageously low self-esteem and I have learned that my anger was actually misplaced and futile."
They were silent for some time, and during this moment of silence, Raziel was incessantly throwing his whip towards Elfre in a ceaseless bout of attacks. The cracks and the whistles it created as it sliced through the air was quite loud, giving them the idea that the force the sixth was exerting was not at all effortless.
"Yes. Valeriana has to do something about her attitude." Tamara stated plainly.
"And who are you to say that? Shouldn't you be telling that to yourself?" Charles shot at her.
"Zip it, four eyes." The third spat at him. "This is not about me."
"You were saying, Tamara?" Rowe cut in, his tone patient in comparison to the people next to him.
"I guess it's mildly our fault she's that way, though. She doesn't think we trust her fully." The third-ranker continued. "And I think it wrecks her because it makes her think that we think of her as some sort of liability."
"But it is only rational." Said Charles. "Do not trust a person who doesn't know himself. Valeriana may have potential, but she has yet to actually discover what she can do. It is not as though we treat her as weak, but the girl hardly knows how to fend for herself in this world."
"And you do?" The redhead raised a brow tauntingly at Charles, making him glare at her in warning.
"I am saying." He firmly intoned, his tone holding a warning edge that signalled Tamara to keep her silence. "That a person cannot face what he doesn't know."
"But it's a bit unfair letting her think that way." Keelan interjected. "We need to explain to Valeriana she's anything but a liability. She's actually doing great!"
"I agree." Rowe supported as he raked his hands through his hair. "We cannot let her continue thinking as if she's inferior."
"Hey, hey." Tamara started. "Didn't you hear what Raziel said?"
"What?" Brindon asked.
"If something is orange, through art, by no means, you don't say it is orange." She had her finger pointing to the sky as though her idea was the brightest one she has ever thought of. "Or something along those lines."
"Seriously." Aneeka rolled her eyes.
"You're saying we cannot tell her directly but rather make her feel like it?"
"We've been doing that already, if you guys haven't noticed. Her comprehension and understanding of things shown to her just functions too slowly." The redhead trailed off.
"I know better than to underestimate the girl." Rowe told them. "She carries more burden in her heart, body, and soul that we can understand. If there are people with slow understanding and comprehension, it might be us. My opinion is that we should stop treating Valeriana like before. She is far stronger than we all can see."
"But we are doing that, aren't we?" Tamara said.
"But have you ever tried to rely on her for something big?" Rowe asked.
"I . . . no." The third could not help but stop short at the realization. After that incident back in Preluresia where the both of them got lost and got caught under a shower of arrows, she had told the girl to make haste and leave instead. She might've been harsh back then. "Not really."
"Our mindset is that she is still human." He said. "We need to trust her more and place our faith in her."
"She might be a bit clumsy at times but Valeriana tries really hard!" Keelan nodded in agreement.
"Hm." The tenth-ranker was in deep thought about the current topic herself. "She's done a lot of things already. We should give her a break."
Courtney huffed. "You talk as if this is about a child and you are the parents." She then stood, towering above them as she made her exit. "I have to go. I see my companion. Suzanne!"
Within a short distance, a girl with pink hair was waving at the former fifth as she trekked through the pathway. As she disappeared, Tamara blew at the stray strand of hair that wandered between her eyes.
"She's right. Now I feel bad. We do treat Valeriana like a child, don't we?"
"We do." Charles admitted.
"I guess we should make her feel like she's an equal of us then! End of the discussion! Now, what's going on between those two?"
Raziel and Elfre, as their talk went on, were both immersed fully in their battle. The heat and the cadence of their fight was rising slowly, as one could tell by the rapid movements of their body. Elfre, in particular, was already sweating from the physical exertion while Raziel was still as fresh as he started. Even so, the sixth did not seem to be like before.
"You do not call my hair just orange!" He yelled, his whip shooting forward. It went around Elfre's waist despite her effort to evade it. "I am a gentleman and I have wished to go easy on you, but you make me not!"
Elfre grunted as she was thrown to the opposite direction, her back painfully crashing against a fallen trunk of a tree. She gave him a glare.
"This is not a misogynistic society, Raziel!"
"Who said it was, in the first place?" The other replied. "This is the age of chivalry!"
"And that is what I hate about you!" She exclaimed.
"What?!"
A loud rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning reverberated from the sky and droplets fell from the gloomy clouds that no one had noticed had actually formed. Rain pelted to the ground and straight into the audience area. The arena was sky-open and so, the rush of panic that came with the fear of being soaked wet from the rain was inevitable. Tamara's face had turned sour and so did Charles's.
"No matter." Charles took off his glasses and closed his eyes as drops blocked the vision of his lenses. "This is the first thing I hate about wearing glasses."
"All DevDepts, alert! Activate the roofing mechanism installed into the arena!"
A group of people dispersed and positioned themselves into various points around the arena. One man was throwing various signals in the air with his hands and everyone acted accordingly, whatever he was telling them to do. The members of the Twelve recognized this person as the Zenith One, the equivalent of Corvan from the circle.
They acted out various motions with their body, acting as though they were trying to pull out something from the ground. They did not actually hold anything directly, perhaps using their Power Control.
In response, a cloud of dust exploded in the air from various points in the arena where the DevDept dispatches were situated at. It wasn't a moment later when an intrictate network of wrought, blackened metals rose from the ground from a subtle hatch. It was patched with a layer of membrane-like material resembling the wings of a butterfly, only a plain color of buttercream. As it continued to rise, it gradually spread its arms like wings and covered the heads of the audience seat, leaving the center open as it was originally.
A series of applause had echoed and hoots came.
Tamara had turned to watch, her chest pressing against her seat as she amusedly gazed at their actions. She whistled with a slight chuckle, her actions almost mocking.
"Nice job. These guys are showing off." She stated bluntly.
"This innovation is top-notch, of course." He smirked, and with the rain finally blocked off, he began to wipe his glasses clean with a special cloth. "I was there and helped with the arrangements."
"What's your position in the DevDept again?"
"I am affiliated but I do not participate in the ranks. It is not allowed to have a position in the zenith when you're already one of the Twelve."
"Hm." Tamara shrugged.
Raziel and Elfre, at that point, were both soaked to the core. Their hair stuck to their skin and their clothes clung to their skin. Elfre did not have much problem in exception for feeling uncomfortable but Raziel had it differently because of his getup. Their fight did not stop at all even with the actions of the DevDept. They continued to dance, nimbly moving to accommodate each other's movements.
Elfre had a wary stance as she laughed at Raziel's appearance. "Soaked like a furry dog, are you now?"
His hair had lost its volume and was now flat against his head, yet, a strange smirk grew on his lips. "I look good no matter the circumstance." With that egotistic statement, he flipped back his wet hair, causing the droplets to bounce off him. His eyes had opened halfway, giving a view of his oddly charming eyes as droplets traveled down his skin.
Elfre was shell-shocked while she could faintly hear a scream going off from the crowd, specifically from a bevy of girls. Yes, Raziel was really attractive so his self-obsession was not really strange. However, it made her skin crawl to some point that she was experiencing chills for the next few seconds, and it wasn't just the coldness seeping through her skin.
The air around her shifted, made evident by the slanted orientation of the rain. Her anger and annoyance fueling her incoming attack, she conjured a blade with her element and shot it to the guy, disrupting his moment and making him jump to the side to avoid.
"I do not understand why you have to act so narcissistic!" She exclaimed, yelling through the rush of downpour.
Raziel retaliated by shooting forward, running through the puddles forming on the ground. Elfre made successive attacks on the path he had taken, but he had evaded all of this successfully. Each of these attacks had caused the ground to spurt clouds of dust and water. Raziel made an impressive flip just as he faced the seventh and spun, his feet targeting her face. Elfre had caught his shoe and deflected the blow in time. Even so, she hadn't realized it when the length of his whip curled around her body, seizing her.
It came as a shock to Elfre--and she literally and figuratively was. The electricity travelled from his fingertips and straight into Elfre. Seeing as water was a good conductor, she was affected greatly despite her armor.
The seventh screamed at the torture as it coursed through her skin, practically burning her.
"It's only a mild shock, elf dear." He said as he landed perfectly, water splashing. "But if you didn't have that armor, you would've passed out."
Elfre gasped out when it stopped but was beyond outraged that she pulled on Raziel's whip despite what just happened and pushed him off before savagely attacking him with her sword. This time, it actually made contact, slicing a wound open through the cloth of his pants and into the flesh on his left leg.
Raziel hissed, managing to move just in time which lessened the damage. Blood soaked through the white material of his trousers, tainting the color along with spots of dirt.
"You actually wounded me. And here I thought I can leave this battlefield without any scars." He said, his teeth gritted.
They clashed once again, Raziel creatively using his whip to parry Elfre's assaults with her sturdier and firmer weapon. It held out against the sharpness of the blade, proving it wasn't just any whip. He lashed it at her repeatedly. It struck her face at some point that it left a reddened spot on her cheek, but this was easily overlooked as the fight continued.
The rumbling in the skies continued and flashes of lightning appeared amongst claps of thunder. Raziel was literally more electrified.
"You think you're the only one empowered by this storm?" She asked in fury, calling upon the winds and diverting the existing air current to spin in circles. It was only moments before it turned into a seventeen foot tornado. She urged it to catch Raziel as her opponent helplessly avoided it. It swallowed the sixth entirely, but just as his body disappeared within, his whip was thrown forward and perfectly fell around Elfre's list.
The seventh was horrified when she was tugged inside. Caught in a spinning disaster, Elfre and Raziel were exchanging blows in spite of their current dilemma. Unbelievable as it was, the excitement was wild for the spectators. Tamara, in particular, was hollering. The tornado was swallowing up debris of trees while breaking it up to pieces like a blender.
Elfre immediately siezed the tornado before it could do further damage and forced it to disperse, making the both of them fall flat on the ground. They were tangled up with each other, her body siezed and bound creatively with Raziel's weapon. She could not move at all, and when she thought she would finally lose, she saw red raindrops landing on her face.
No. It wasn't the rain . . .
She found her own weapon buried into Raziel's shoulder, piercing through his skin and going through the other side.
"Holy shucks." Tamara grimaced. "That's gotta hurt!"
"Ouch." Brindon commented.
"What exactly happened in there?" Keelan had his eyes wide the size of saucers.
Raziel fell off her and landed on the dirt. The rain had finally ceased as though it never came and silence swept through the arena.
"Raziel?" Elfre saw the agony twisting through his expression and felt a small . . . small twinge of guilt. Even so, despite wanting to help, she could not move at all, bound tightly herself.
The whip was so tight she could not actually breathe properly. She didn't even know how and when she pierced that sword into him.
"By the name of the five great dieties, I wish not to ascend to the heavenly plains as of yet!" He cried out.
"The injury inflicted upon Raziel is severe so this duel is now called to a halt." Said the announcer. "As the healers attend to the injured, the winner will be decided by the jury."
Chatter exploded after that and a team of healers came forward carrying a stretcher with them. They got to Elfre and Raziel's side, some attending to the sixth to treat his injury while some worked on freeing Elfre. When they weren't able to free the seventh from being bound, Raziel's team, came forward and decided to lend their aid.
They worked through the series of knots that rendered the girl helpless and it took a few minutes but they eventually set her free. The whip left behind marks, even so, the material had chaffed against her skin, inflicting angry red marks that would probably bruise later on.
And finally . . .
"Now announcing the victor! I request a moment of silence!"
Breaths hitched and Elfre was quite sure it wasn't her only. The entirety of the audience automatically grew quiet in anticipation.
"Elfre Baudion gains the title of sixth while Raziel jumps down to seventh! What an unexpected turn of events!"
Cheers erupted and Elfre was rooted on the spot at the news.
Was it true? She won and gained the position of sixth? But she was bound so tightly! No matter how seriously she managed to injure Raziel, the guy managed to do that to her--with the tornado nonetheless!
Tamara was clapping. "Good fight! Who knew we actually would have someone switch ranks?"
"There'll be more switching to come." Charles added.
"There won't be any after Aneeka and Rowe and before Corvan and Valeriana."
They exchanged a heated glare.