Tae, Ramud, Nae Ki-Pam, and Ro Kwang sat outside in Bulan's Battle Zone 4, an arena that was an open plains with a park and a pond within it. Tae huffed softly as she picked petals off a flower and let them float in the wind, listening as her boyfriend and his friends were freestyling by the pond.
"Yeah bro, that was tough!" Nae Ki-Pam laughed, patting Ra upon his back and bobbed his head to the beat playing on Ra's phone.
"Nah let me get on the beat," Ro Kwang said, wiping his mouth and closing his eyes to feel the rhythm. "He said, uh, he said...He said peace be with me, Nox's a mystery, he coming in claiming victory, gotta be kidding me!"
"Yuh!" Ra said, nodding his head and dapping up Ro Kwang with a laugh.
Tae rolled her eyes at the three as she continued to pick petals on the bench then glanced up, noticing me walking toward the four and lowered her hand. She glanced back, listening to Ra and the others continue their petty diss track against me then smirked, closing her eyes and allowed me to pass.
"I still can't believe he just came in here and wiped the floor with us. He really thinks he's the best around huh? He ain't seen the best in town, uh," Nae Ki-Pam said, trying to catch the beat and cleared his throat then looked up as the song suddenly changed.
"Grace and Mercy, listen to His voice. There's a time to speak and a time to be silent, cancel out the noise. Promises you can't keep, 'cause the flesh's too weak. So you hide and we seek, cycle's on repeat then you act like you can't see me, but you should be thanking the Lord you're still breathing," I said as I began walking toward the three, my hands calmly in my pockets, Sephora silently wrapped around my body peacefully.
Ra glanced back at me, grunting softly then looked down at his phone, trying to turn the song off but it wouldn't. He looked back up at me, watching as I stopped right in front of him. "What do you want?"
"I dunno, I kinda overheard a little diss track over here and thought I'd investigate the fun. Hopefully, I'm not intruding on anything," I said, turning my gaze over to Nae Ki-Pam and Ro Kwang and hummed softly.
Tae snickered at the three and turned around on the bench, her arm resting along the back of the bench. "You three were rather loud, and your raps kinda suck anyway. It's time for a new hobby."
"Ha, you're just hating because you can't spit any lyrics off the top of the dome. Besides, what's it too you that we make a diss track upon you?" Ra asked, crossing his arms and looking me up and down to assert dominance.
I chuckled softly at him and held my hands up, taking a step backwards. "I'm just curious about my students and what they do on their off time. I see you all love music, and I have a love for music as well, and dancing."
"You dance?" Nae Ki-Pam asked with disbelief in his tone, pointing at me and let out a scoffing laugh.
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at them, leading them from the pond to the open area of Battle Zone 4. "I will teach you four something that should help enhance your combat ability. It's called Ezusha Ballet, a style that mixes dancing with combat in Uthea."
"So, Eyican Capoeira? The combat style that inspired the mainlands dancing combat?" Ro Kwang asked, seemingly highly intelligent in Eyican and Exzodian combat history.
I nodded at Ro Kwang, crossing my arms and giving him a smile. "Correct. The reason I'm teaching you all this is because I want you all to test yourself and your discipline in a Meet this afternoon. The Dongchon Meet, Woo-Chi will be partaking in it as well."
"And does she know this Ezusha Ballet?" Tae asked, jealous tinged in her tone with a judgemental expression in her eyes.
I shook my head and smiled at Tae. "I have not taught any Uthean Techniques to anyone, you four will be the first to learn. Since you're academically well off, I should train you for the world outside."
"Dongchon Meet..? That meet tests Strength and Speed and it's set in the city. Hm, I suppose we can take on the meet, but how will dancing combat help at all?" Tae asked, lowering her guard a tad bit as her curiosity grew.
I looked up at the sky, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath then exhaled softly, focusing my energy then summoned Madriax into my hand. I set the Choir Triad I Battle Room within the Battle Zone, angelic statues forming around the battle zone to produce music.
Ra, Nae Ki-Pam, and Ro Kwang listened closely to the music being played in the area, the sounds of claps, cymbals, and basses filling the area for a marching ballet. They turned their attentions to me, watching as I tapped my foot in 4/4 Time.
"The Grushia High School Valkyrias and Heroes are mastering this. Dancing Combat is called Worship Combat, you're giving praise to the Lord for the abilities you have. Worship Combat should always end in peace and not war. It's used as a Test," I explained, looking around the zone and listening to the music around us.
Tae exhaled softly as she watched my movements, watching me prance in circular movements while listening to the music echoing in the skies. She noticed I shuffled my feet to change the flow of my movement then grunted as I sped forward with a roundhouse.
Barely evading my attack, she flipped backwards into her High Wolf Stance then charged forward with a palm strike to my midsection, her attack missing as I got low on the ground. Placing my hand upon the ground, I swung my leg for a Capoeira kick, Tae gasping and barely ducking under my kick.
Ra hummed with interest as he watched the two of us, noticing how my movements looked more like a dance than a battle. He tilted his head as he noticed I was not using any defenses. "What is this..? He's not blocking any shots, yet he has perfect movements?"
"Look at his feet. He's not leaving the ground at all..." Nae Ki-Pam pointed out, paying close attention to my footwork.
Tae huffed with frustration as she could not catch me once, watching me sidestep from side to side and listened to the chants of the angelic statues as the music became more lively. "Are you even taking this seriously?"
"I am, it's you that's not catching the rhythm. How about we change it to something you know," I said with a light chuckle then began prancing in perfect 4/4 Time with a slight shuffle in between every two steps. "One, two, three and four. One and two, three and four!"
Tae stomped on the ground and reinforced her Spirit Energy around her body for extra defense as I dashed toward her then feinted a front moon sweep into a shoulder bump. Tae grunted as she was knocked off balance, one of her legs lifting as she nearly fell on the ground.
Catching herself, she countered with a NY Flare, but I dodged by getting low on the ground then countered with a front kick to her back. She grunted as she rolled forward, her hand clawing the ground to stop her momentum then she looked up, spitting grass from her mouth and smirked with annoyance.
"Now you're starting to piss me off!" Tae howled, launching forward as fast as a pack of wolves, launching a flurry of claw strikes and kicks as fast as an onslaught of wolf attacks.
I dodged each one gracefully with dancing motions, none of her attacks coming close to reaching me. Leaping over her sweep kick, the wind began carrying me above the ground, safely planting me back on then I dodged her last strike by tilting my head.
"This is the power of the Ezusha Ballet, a martial arts originating from Ezusha in Uthea and perfected as a Yascean Martial Arts as the No Defense Stance," I explained, turning around and crossing my arms with a smile.
Ro Kwang stroked his chin as he processed what he saw, raising an eyebrow and hummed softly. "This might be the most convoluted and impractical martial arts I have ever seen before. You're just dancing with a little bit of kicks and strikes mixed in."
"That's the point. It's so complex, fluid, motion driven, and spiritually rejuvenating when performed as a community. It's a self defense martial arts, it's not meant to use as pure offense. It's seen as useless to the rest of the world, but to us, the Exzodian, Eyican, and those who picked up on it in the mainlands find it the most useful," I said, my butterflies fluttering around me in agreement.
"Is that what you were using earlier today?" Ra asked curiously, becoming more interesting in the technique.
"Sort of. I have my own technique called Sovereignty, it's a mix of all of Exzodia and Eyica's martial arts in one. You may have seen a bit of Ezusha Ballet since it's one of my favorites," I said with a soft chuckle, going back to all my previous fights mentally.
Tae sighed softly and crossed her arms, closing her eyes then took a step back. 'I couldn't catch him at all unlike earlier...there's a clear difference here. Am I really that bad at catching a rhythm..?'
Ra smacked his hand against his palm, smirking widely with enthusiasm then got into his stance. "Looks like it's our turn! Turn up the heat of the lesson, Teach! It's about to get serious!"
I hummed curiously at Ra, Nae Ki-Pam, and Ro Kwang tilting my head up at them then watched as they charged at me together. I phased through Ra's tackle then got low to around Nae Ki-Pam's hook punch, the low posture allowing me to charge forward under his arm toward Ro Kwang.
Ro Kwang parried my straight palm then blocked my straight kick, grunting softly as he stumbled backwards the lifted his leg to avoid my sweep kick. I swept once again in a circular motion, creating a light windstorm to lift him off the ground then lifted myself into a cartwheel kick, spiking him to the ground.
"He's too agile! Either we stop his movements, or we catch his rhythm! I got this!" Ra called out, performing his haka to the music the angelic statues released. His tattoos began to burn against his skin and set ablaze with a radiant light. "Ragreon Boost times five!"
Ra propelled himself toward me at high speeds, clenching his fist for a powerful strike which I evaded by leaning backwards. I contorted my body to land a clean roundhouse against his side then swung my body to carry his momentum then flung him into the air.
I began charging up kinetic energy, lightning crackling around my body as I flipped backwards three times then leaped in the air, catching Ra with a Pulsing Dropkick against his chest as he came down. A pulse of lightning flashed upon impact, sending him flying backwards into a distant tree.
I landed on my feet and went back into my signature ginga, ready for the next challenger to approach. "That wasn't quite my rhythm. He was rushing."
"Let's try this on for size!" Ro Kwang called out, holding his hand out and formed a large clump of umbra energy in front of him, his other hand gripping his wrist as he fired bolts of shadows toward me.
I evaded his energy blasts with graceful low glides along the ground, keeping watch of him the entire time then performed NY Flare to dodge a flurry of umbra bullets then performed another into a backspin to form a tornado around myself.
Tae, Nae Ki-Pam, and Ro Kwang watched the rushing winds in front of them, each of them witnessing what Ezusha Ballet could truly do when aligned with the harmony of Yuvah. Tae could feel her adrenaline rushing through her body, an excitement she hadn't felt in a long time crashing through her.
She lowered her hood for the first time since her freshman year, a verse from the Biblos echoing in her head repeatedly as her Holy Ember began burn against her chest. "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles!"
The Crest of Atren began to shine upon Tae's chest as she grew more excited, her body naturally generating E Cells to counter the tornado in front of her. Green-yellow energy began to flow around her body, pebbles, stones, and rocks floating up in the air as her body grew accustomed to the rhythm of the Earth.
Suddenly, my tornado had disappeared, two large stones blocking the air currents and dispersing the heavy winds. I stopped spinning as well, looking over at Tae who had developed Earth Cells within her body as an effect of Atren's Crest, All-Counter.
'So, you finally caught the rhythm and discovered your ENA via All-Counter. Now things will finally start to get interesting,' I thought to myself, standing up on my feet and dusted myself off.
Tae hopped up and down in rhythm with the music then got into her High Wolf Stance, but this time she tapped the back of her foot against the ground subconsciously. She rushed forward with a sliding sweep kick which I evaded then weaved to the side to avoid her low front kick.
Tae twisted her body around, planting both hands on the ground and launched a heavy kick toward me like a wolf using their hind legs. I redirected her first kick to the side then Tae used that momentum to land and swift sweep kick to knock me off balance.
'I got him!' Tae said excitedly in her mind, her eyes widening and sparkling with joy.
"Yeah! She got him! Follow up on it, Tae!" Nae Ki-Pam cheered, using his hands to amplify his voice.
"Right!" Tae said, moving her hands to continuously NY Flare and juggle my body in the air then spiked me to the ground with a full crescent kick.
She followed with another full sweep kick against my back to knock me back in the air then launched herself above me with a somersault. As she went for the chopping blow, she phased through my body and grunted as she began falling to the ground. She landed on both feet then glanced around for me, groaning heavily as an invisible force struck her stomach.
She stumbled backwards and looked ahead, watching me approach her with a high roundhouse and blocked high, but I feinted into a low fiery sweep, nullifying her E Cells and dealing double damage. She groaned in pain and belt down to hold her shin, her body spending more time counting the burn ailment with white blood cells instead of developing H Cells.
Before I could follow up, Ra surged forward with a blazing punch to my jaw, but since I had F Cells running through my body, my body absorbed his flames and healed me. Ra grunted softly then leaped back and shifted into his Light Affinity and flashed a bright light in my eyes.
The light dimmed slowly and I let out a soft chuckle, lowering my hand then revealed the light particles around my hand. "This is what I would call Instantaneous Shift."
"Impossible! You were still in Fire Affinity, how could you have absorbed my Shining Flare?" Ra asked in confusion, unable to wrap his mind around the possibility of me shifting so quickly.
"It's completely possible if you are able to leave even a single affinity cell within your system that isn't the main affinity you're using. A single L Cell won't be strong enough to mix with a F Cell to create Holy Fire, so it'll longer within your system until it's ready to use," I explained, instantly shifting between Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind.
"Just one cell? How can you leave just one affinity cell amongst the rest without that cell either fusing, converting, or changing into other cells? Our ENA system isn't like DNA where it happens automatically," Ra questioned once more, scratching the side of his head in confusion.
I chuckled softly at him and crossed my arms. "Good question, and it's something that even the most expertise in ENA have questioned how the Phenomenon of Instantaneous Shift can happen. It's easier than you would like to accept. Discipline and God alignment."
"This is a faith without works is dead moment. Naturally, a single W Cell gets obliterated by a single H Cell due to Wind being stronger than Water. However, through discipline you can strengthen your single W Cell to be compatible with the Water Affinity, but that requires you to have the fruit of Peace and Patience," I added, a light grin spreading on my lips as I saw Ra's reaction.
"So...it's completely a spiritual thing?" Ra asked with an unamused expression, his eyes going dull.
I chuckled softly at him, lowering my head and exhaling softly. "ENA is a spiritual system, why wouldn't it require God for the system to work as intended? Everything I'm teaching is— You know, I'll just say it doesn't take God's Wisdom to know which is that."
"Dang, he low-key just said your question was stupid as hell," Tae said with a stifled laugh, covering her mouth and turned away from Ra.
Ra sucked his teeth at Tae then heard Nae Ki-Pam and Ro Kwang laugh as well, his slight annoyance becoming frustration as he scoffed at them. "I thought it was a genuine question..."
-------------------------------------
The final bell rang for school to be dismissed, Do-hari glancing up from her laptop then looked forward to see her students packing up to leave. She smiled at them and waved goodbye to them then glanced at her watch, seeing it was also time to pick up her children from their school.
As she gathered her things, she looked up to see me standing by the door waiting for her. She smiled at me warmly then hurried over to me, the two of us leaving the class together and down the halls to get Ae-Ri and Minsu. Inside, Do-hari was happy about the day and couldn't wait for the next day for the next set of adventures with the class.
Tae watched as the two of us walked down the stairs together, leaning back against the balcony rails and exhaled softly. She fiddled with the wolf ears upon her hood, her gaze focused on me as she went through the teachings earlier. "That man really interests me..."
"Yeah, he does... He's not like the others for sure. Not one of those Herisees, and his wife is nice as well," Ra agreed, getting off the rails then looked at Tae with a smile. "So, on to Dongchon? The Meet starts in an hour."
"We need four people, and we only have three. Nae Ki-Pam is still trying to win over some Academy girl's heart so he's not coming," Tae said, getting off the rails as well then turned around to see Woo-Chi standing in front of her. "What do you want?"
Woo-Chi looked Tae up and down as well, a bit of animosity still existing between the two. "I just overheard there was a Meet in Dongchon and you don't have enough members. Let me join and we'll bring Bulan a title."
"The Meet is a B-2 Meet, you think you can handle that amount of pressure? You may have trained with Mr. Nox, but this is real life out there," Tae said, meeting Woo-Chi in her eyes with a sharp gaze.
Woo-Chi met Tae with an unmoving gaze and smirked at her, moving the bangs from her eyes then turned away from her. "If you don't need the help—"
"Hold on, Woo-Chi. Let's not be too rash here," Ra said, holding his hand out to Woo-Chi then looked over at Tae. "Babe, you've seen what Woo-Chi can do with your own eyes. She can match with Nox's rhythm and a Valkyria like her is once a blue moon."
"So what? I can match his rhythm too! Tch..." Tae scoffed, turning away from Ra with a low snarl then huffed and glanced at Woo-Chi once more. "Fine, she can join...but don't get in my way or else you'll get hurt."
"Vise versa, Low Pup," Woo-Chi said with a smirk, walking off from Tae and Ra to join her underclassmen friends to the cafe.
"And keep your smart mouth to yourself, Common Winds!" Tae howled, her cheeks flaring up at Woo-Chi's diss toward her. She groaned and ruffled her own hair before storming off. "Let's go before I blow a fuse!"
Ra chuckled softly at Tae and followed her, amused by how Woo-Chi was the only girl to get her this worked up. "Geez, not even Mi-Ri gets you this hot."
"Mi-Ri isn't annoying like her...ugh, just how did she get accepted into here? Out of nowhere, she arrives and changes the entire prospect of the school. Everyone here loves her," Tae said with a sigh, walking down the stairs and heading outside.
"Well, I did read she did defeat a Salamander in Dong-ga Park and a high ranking Skeleton King in Naesong, Seolhart. She has some of the most jobs completed in the Job Administration for Bulan Seniors," Ra said, stopping as Tae stopped walking.
Tae turned around to look at Ra with slight disbelief, raising a brow and scoffed with skepticism. "Really? She defeated a Salamander and a Skeleton King? Two high ranking Monsters as the Wind Affinity?"
"Well technically...wind and fire and neutral so it was a coin flip with the Salamander. For the Skeleton King, I can't confirm she didn't have help. She was on the MIA Watchlist last Saturday," Ra asked, shrugging his shoulders lightly.
Tae glanced at the ground to process everything, exhaling softly and covering her mouth. 'No wonder she always acts so calm...she's out there fighting Monsters for a living. I can't fall behind her like this...'
With a new surge of determination, Tae grabbed Ramud's hand and dragged him toward their car and practically shoved him into the driver's seat. Getting into the passenger side, she commanded he take her to Dongchon to prepare for the Meet early. Without wanting to meet the wrath of his alpha wolf, he immediately began making way toward Dongchon, Bulan.
Later in Dongchon, Jiahn, So-Yi, Hyeon Bae, and Kim Eun arrived on time to see the Strength and Speed Blimps flying over the city, the four girls excited for their first meet. A bit after the girls arrived, a gray luxury car pulled up beside them, catching their attentions.
Stepping out first, Tae existed the passenger side and fixed her hood over her head. "You really need to upgrade your toaster oven."
Ra groaned softly, tapping his fried phone against the back of his head then looked up at the sky to tell the time via the sun positioning. "It's only a quarter until 5 PM, we made it on time. We would've been here faster if you weren't fussing about me picking up Woo-Chi as well."
Ro Kwang stepped out of the car as well, cleaning his ear with his pinky with annoyance. "Aiishh, all your arguing in the car and the smoke clogged my ears...get a room you two."
Jiahn looked at the three and slipped her hands into her pockets, having Ji-MAN scan the three and obtain their ranks. "Those three...they are all B Rank and come from Bulan High School."
Kim Eun scoffed at Tae, recognizing her from a Meet that came to pass and turned her gaze toward the city. "The Bulan Kids huh? Let's just take home another easy victory as always."
So-Yi noticed there was still one person in the car, squinting lightly and opened her eyes fully as she saw Woo-Chi step out the car last. "There she is... something told me she'd be here today."
Woo-Chi fixed her hair then looked ahead to see So-Yi and the others, a smile forming on her lips as she approached them. "Annyeong, So-Yi, Jiahn, Hyeon Bae, Kim Eun. It's about time we meet at a Meet like this."
"Yeah, you're looking better by the day," So-Yi said, smiling at Woo-Chi then turned her attention to Tae. "Her energy feels stronger than I remember..."
Tae noticed So-Yi looking at her then turned away with a scoff, crossing her arms. "Sang So-Yi! It's been two years since we last met, interesting how everything happens in twos huh? You left us, but leaving us gave us something more you'd never expect."
Sang So-Yi stared at Tae and met her gaze with a discerning look, their eyes locking for a heated clash. "I left your school because it was lawless, it taught nothing of substance. Grushia, even with its issues, has taught me more than Bulan can."
"How much more can Miss Luciel teach you when we have Mr. Nox, Dark Lord of Redemption, as our teacher? You all called Bulan a disgrace before, now watch our wings spread farther than any eagle you've seen before," Tae said with a sharp smirk, her eyes flashing gold for a moment.
"What..?! Mr. Nox is teaching at Bulan..?!" Jiahn said in revelation, her heart nearly stopping at the mere fact.
So-Yi grunted softly, realizing the Meet would be more difficult than she ever expected with me and Do-hari as Bulan's teachers. However, the surprises hadn't stopped there as all eight students felt a powerful presence behind them.
Turning around, they noticed a young woman wearing a beautiful ornate black and white battledress with her silver hair tied into a ponytail with a royal accessory holding it up. Her eyes shimmered like a scarlet gem under the sun, her posture regal and efficient.
Despite her soft gaze, her right eye carried a danger unknown to any man who didn't know about Arcania's history, her right eye like a scarlet void which no energy could escape. Rebirth Energy flowed around her body in all affinities, the Minor Crest of Passing, which comes from the Crest of Death, shining on her left eye.
"It's her..." Ra said with a breathless gasp, unable to take his eyes off the Valkyria and her allies.
"No way she's here..." Ro Kwang said, taking a step back and grunted softly.
"Selene Arcania," So-Yi said, taking a deep breath and exhaling as felt the immense pressure of the seemingly gentle girl's presence.
Selene walked forward with pure elegance, her hair flowing behind her gracefully with each magnetic step. She smiled at everyone who witnessed her presence, bowing politely to them. "Annyeong as they say in your tongue..."
Selene's brother, the Echo of Stella's younger brother, Leo, named Lamed, walked behind Selene with an overwhelming force, his presence cold and mysterious to the feel. "Stay out of my sister's way...and we will stay out of yours. We are only here to send a message to those who will listen."
"What kind of lesson?" Tae asked, watching as Lamed walked by them in his navy blue cloak.
Selene's Advisor, Echo of Stella's Advisor, Lady Victoria III, named Madam Victoria IV, turned her golden yellow gaze to Tae, her sharp gaze causing even the Alpha Wolf to step back with her tail between her legs. "It is a message that will set the foundations of the Northern Gethsemane Meet. If you do not wish to see what we have in store, step aside.."
"Yep! That goes for all of you!" The last member of Selene's team beamed, holding her phone in the air to record the scene. "Heya, St. Arcania Crew, are you ready to see us win another Meet live? Your second favorite idol after Selene is reporting! It's me, Sayu Iona!~"
Sayu Iona, Echo of Stella's fiery retainer and little sister figure, Saya of the Ignis Star. Her bright, fiery personality brought everyone to ease with her banter, her joyful warmth shifting everyone's first impressions on St. Gethsemane Academy.
Despite their confusion, So-Yi, Tae and the others entered through the energy walls protecting the outside from the incoming chaos within Dongchon. A warm beam of light shot down upon each of the students' systems, registering them and assigning them a specific skyscraper to go toward.
"Welcome to the Dongchon Meet where you will test your strength and speed within the city," A voice sounded throughout the city via an intercom inside the skyscrapers. "The four teams within this meet will be instructed to stop 4 bombs from detonating within the city before they explode, and eliminate all civilization within the city."
"What..?! This is what a Meet is about? There are still people within the city!" Ra called out, rushing toward a window and looking down from the skyscraper to the ground level.
"What kind of Meet is this..?" So-Yi asked to herself, looking out the window of her skyscraper and exhaled softly. "I can see where Speed is needed...but Strength?"
"The team that stops the most bombs wins! Only one person is required to stop the bomb via touch, but one person can only touch a bomb once. Destroying a bomb will cause all other bombs to explode, so brute force will not work," The voice continued then showed a holographic screen to every team.
"Here are the locations of the bombs you must stop. Other teams can stop you from deactivating the bombs, and there's the risk. Future Valkyrias and Heroes, who are really your protectors and who are your enemies? Will you seek glory or will you do what is right?" The voice said ominously, letting out a chuckle before turning off communications.
"This is a death trap...it's a false Meet!" Ro Kwang panicked, glancing around and gripping his hair. "Teach totally led us into a trap!"
"No, he didn't. This is how the Meet is designed, but the designer of this is wicked," Woo-Chi said, standing up from her seat and looked at the time they had left. "If I know anything, I know Nox wouldn't led us somewhere if he already didn't know the outcome."
"What? That we'd die on our first showing in a Meet after two years?" Ro Kwang scoffed, walking toward the window and looked down at the ground. "This is ridiculous, and other teams can stop us from deactivating the bombs? What is this?"
Tae exhaled softly as she stared at the ground then looked back up at the holographic display of the city map. "The way he looked at us while he trained us...he looked at us with hope and a sense of pride. I agree with Common Winds here. Mr. Nox said he wouldn't forsake us, so I'm taking his word."
Woo-Chi rolled her eyes at Tae's sarcastic nickname for her then walked over to the door. "Whatever you say, Low Pup. Let's just get going, we only have an hour before the bombs explode."
So-Yi, Jiahn, Hyeon Bae, and Kim Eun raced down the streets, through a sea of unaware people of the dangers amongst them, everyone splitting to make way for the heroic heroines. So-Yi awakened her Beshin-Keh, a trail of spirit energy appearing in front of her and leading her to the first bomb.
Before she could notice, a figure shot out from the shadows with a flush strike to her jaw, sending her crashing to the ground. The figure dusted his school uniform off, his badge reading St. Nova Academy. He slipped his hands into his pockets, umbra energy flowing around his body.
"Eonni! He's high B Rank, we should be careful with him!" Ji-MAN warned, hovering beside her master in a braced manner.
Jiahn adjusted her jacket and stared at the guy, sizing him up slightly but he gave no noticable reaction. She looked down at her phone at the information Ji-MAN gave her and hummed with interest. "Jay Remi, that's your name. I'm assuming you've gotten to a bomb already?"
Jay looked at Jiahn with interest, giving her a slight reaction as she casually said his name without knowing it prior. "My team is already on the hunt for it, but I've been instructed to slow opposing teams down."
"Waeyo? This city has an hour before it goes flying into the firmament above, and you're here seeking glory? Are you insane?" Kim Eun flared up, taking a step toward the guy but So-Yi grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"His team already has a bomb, we should focus on another one instead of fighting over one. Come on," So-Yi said, pulling her friend into the opposite direction.
Hyeon Bae stared at Jay for a moment, keeping him in mind for the next meet before following her friends to a different bomb location. In her mind, she heard Genesis continuously telling her to keep watch of St. Nova's team, but she couldn't tell why.
The teams scrambled about to find the four bombs, not one yet to be located. While everyone scrambled, Selene wandered the hidden areas of Dongchon with Sayu, the two seemingly on their own mission. Sayu recorded every step of their journey, Selene smiling and joining in on Sayu's stream.
"I know you all hear that Holy March Pt. ii, it's dropping real soon! Hold on, let me do this real quick..." Sayu said, setting her phone upon a trashcan that rested against a wall.
"What are you doing, Sayu?" Selene asked curiously, watching as Sayu set up her phone.
Sayu stepped backwards from the phone, holding her hands out then clapped her hands together then began dancing in place with the music. She pointed at the camera as she danced for her viewing fans for a moment, Selene giggling with disbelief as Sayu took a dance break.
"C'mon, Selene! They wanna see you dance too!" Sayu said joyfully, pulling Selene into the frame and bounced up and down.
"Really, Sayu? We have a city to save..." Selene said gently with a soft blush on her face, looking ahead at the camera to see the live chat scrolling quickly with supportive messages. "Alright, alright...just for this moment..."
Selene took a deep breath and exhaled, clapping her hands together then began to dance for her fans and showed them the choreography they've been practicing for their next show. Sayu joined in the dance with a laugh, the two girls always having fun dancing together no matter the situation.
Suddenly, a stream of lightning flashed toward them, Selene immediately sensing it and summoning her sword to deflect the bolt in the air. She glanced over at her attacker, noticing a woman with a mask walking down from the entrance of the alleyway.
Sayu gasped as she looked at the woman then grabbed her phone, pointing it at the St. Nova Valkyria. "Everyone, we've got some real action! Get 'em, Big Sis!"
Selene's face flushed immediately into a bright red, groaning softly at Sayu's title for her but smiled as she felt honored to be called her big sister. "Luckily for you, my brother and advisor are handing the fake task of handling a little Joker Plan."
"Same for my team, so all we have to do is take out the remaining threats and win the Meet, take home the prize," The woman said, her green eyes glowing brightly as she adjusted the mask over her mouth. "I know who you are, Lady Selene of New Arcania, Descendant of Stella Bushi!"
"And I know who you are, uhm..." Selene began, squinting her eyes to read the name tag upon her shirt. "Lu...Lucin...Lucinda.."
"Someone in chat said L Reader...bro..." Sayu covered her mouth with her hoodie, closing her eyes and lowering her head to hide her laughter.
"C'mon, it's not my fault! I can't read that carving in her tag, it's too small and I don't have my glasses!" Selene whined, thumping her foot against the ground like a cute, angry bunny.
Lucinda looked at the two with slight confusion, but decided to take action while Selene was distracted and charged forward with a slice of her dagger only to be blocked by spatial energy. Lucinda grunted heavily as the spatial energy began repelling her with intense force, a bright scarlet light shining and detonating into an explosion seen from the main streets.
"Was that a bomb?!" Ro Kwang asked in panic, looking up at the smoke cloud in pure distress and fell to his knees.
Ramud caught him before he could fall, slapping him upon his cheek with a backhand then made him turn the other cheek to slap with front hand. "Get it together man! This ain't the Ro Kwang I know that tries to go toe to toe with Yong-Gi in IQ! If it was a bomb, this city would be gone by now!"
Woo-Chi and Tae looked at Ramud and Ro Kwang then glanced at each other, silently agreeing the two of them alone could've gotten more done alone. Immediately after silently agreeing upon something, they scoffed at each other and averted their gazes from one another.
The smoke cloud cleared, a trembling Lucinda barely standing with her guard over her face revealed amongst the controlled explosion. She lowered her guard, opening one eye to see everything was still standing around her.
"That...was just a warning. You should get those rough patches checked out," Selene said with genuine concern, pointing at the wounds upon Lucinda's arms and legs.
Lucinda's heart pounded against her chest, power like Selene's unseen before with her own eyes until now. She staggered with each step she took, Selene's Scarlet Repulse not only repelling her, but her Spirit Energy rending her body nigh-useless.
Lucinda's Spirit Energy soon returned to her, lightning crackling around her body and her movements becoming normal once more. She knew another repulsive strike like that would take her out, or worse case kill her, but her mission held above all else.
"For St. Nova!" Lucinda roared, launching herself forward with a speeding lightning strike.
Selene exhaled softly, making her sword disappeared then shifted into her Water Affinity, blocking Lucinda's attack with a shield of water, the lightning circulating around the water. Selene palmed the shield of water, turning it into ice and causing it to explode via Supercharging from Ice and Lightning.
Lucinda grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground then recovered onto one knee, her body tensing up as she bolted forward once more. She rushed around the narrow alley to land a single strike upon the evasive Selene, each of her strikes meeting the air or a wall.
"Woohoo! This is getting heated folks, I'll catch you in a bit people!" Sayu said with a laugh, putting her phone in her holster then charged forward with a somersault into a dropkick against Lucinda's spine.
Lucinda crashed onto the ground then recovered onto her feet, launching a beam of lightning at the two in the air. Selene shifted into her Earth Affinity then somersaulted forward with a stone platform, covering herself in stone to nullify the lightning then dispersed into a swarm of Black Monarch butterflies.
Lucinda grunted softly and glanced around for Selene, unaware of Sayu rushing toward her with a shifty sweep kick into a breakdance roundhouse kick against her head. She knocked Lucinda on her feet with a kick then launched her with a blast of fire.
"You asked for this! Falling Lotus Stream!" Selene bellowed in her Ninpo Battlesuit, crashing down upon Lucinda's neck with an axe kick, a downward current sending her crashing to the ground.
Before Lucinda could hit the ground, Jay rushed in to catch her and fired a blast of umbra energy toward Sayu to drive her away. Sayu dashed away like a ninja, doing parkour along the environment then used a light pole to swing herself onto the rooftop of a building.
"Whoop!~ Okay, and upsy daisy!" Sayu grunted softly as she leaped from building to building to chase down Jay and Lucinda.
Jay ran across the street through oncoming traffic, the cars blaring their horns as they watched him race by. He looked up to see Sayu keeping up with him on the rooftops then looked behind him to see Selene was nowhere to be found.
"I'm right here!" Selene exclaimed, catching Jay with an elbow to the face then warped behind him with a kick to his back, forcing him to drop Lucinda on the ground.
Jay blocked Selene's next high kick then heard Sayu exclaiming as she leaped down the building with a Flaming Javelin, thrusting her hand forward to launch a beam of fire toward him. Jay narrowly avoided the attack into Selene's gliding superkick square in his jaw, causing him to stagger onto one knee.
She launched a chop to his neck, stopping her hand before it made contact then looked down at Jay. Jay grunted lightly and panted softly to catch his breath, the loud chime of an alarm echoing through the entire city.
"St. Arcania has deactivated two bombs!" An automated voice said throughout the city, the alarm causing slightly confusion amongst the citizens.
"It's over, St. Nova Students. If you wanted the win this badly, we would've handed it to you. However, the stakes have changed...and I will expose it so that such corruption doesn't reach my Meet," Selene said, her right eye gleaming brightly with dominance.
"What stakes..? This is a normal Hero Evaluation and Competition," Jay said with light grunts, looking up at Selene with confusion.
"This Meet is anything but normal...I can feel it when I was asked to come here," Selene said, her tone becoming more firm as she spoke of the invitation.
"What..? You were invited here..? From St. Gethsemane?" Jay asked in disbelief, lowering his head to think who could've invited Selene of all people here.
----------------------------
So-Yi avoided an attack coming from a St. Nova Student, his attacks never reaching her body as she warped through his attacks then countered with a palm strike against his stomach then warped behind him in mid-air with a donkey kick to his back. As he flew forward, Jiahn knocked him around with a spinning kick as she dashed toward the bomb ahead.
The student rose to his feet once again, rushing toward the two girls and stomped on the ground to wash them away with a wave of sand. Both girls groaned as they hit the ground, trapped and buried inside the sand.
The hero chuckled as he rose them in their sand coffins, admiring his work then looked between the two. "The best we can do is tie with St. Arcania, so I'll be taking you two in as a reward for my struggles. It would be drastic to go home empty handed.."
Jiahn puffed her left cheek with annoyance then smirked at the student, closing her eyes calmly. "So-Yi, does he know?"
"No, he doesn't know about us. Should we should him our fruits from training with various S Ranks?" So-Yi asked, her hair slowly shifting to silver and her Silver Swallowtail manifesting in front of her.
Jiahn chuckled as her hair became rose gold, her eyes gleaming brightly with holy energy within her system. "I think we should! Let's go, Sang So-Yi!"
Both girls let out their battle cries, transforming into their Valkyria Forms and surprising the lone student with their combined energies. He grunted as the high wind pressures pushed him backwards, forcing him to trap his own feet in sand to ground him.
"That's not gonna be good enough!" Jiahn laughed, flying forward at high speeds then knocked the student in the air with a knee to his chin then sent him flying into a wall with a spinning heel kick.
The student grunted as he stumbled forward then looked up, noticing So-Yi still standing in place and launched a blast of sand toward her, but she warped away from the blast. She reappeared in front of him, grabbing him and redirecting him behind her into Jiahn's triple bicycle kick.
Rolling over So-Yi's body, she began planting a series of strikes upon his body then double palmed him through a wall, but she wasn't finished. She rose her hand in the air, a Spirit Torpedo blast she planted earlier shooting from the ground and exploding to send him flying in the distance.
So-Yi huffed and covered her eye, burning through a portion of her Spirit Energy to execute her plan. "Jiahn, quickly...touch the bomb..."
Jiahn nodded then hurried to the large red bomb, placing her hand upon it and deactivated the bomb in time and exhaled softly. "What the heck...he was here at the bomb and decided to guard it? What is wrong with them? Is glory that important to them?"
"I don't know, but let's hope Hyeon Bae and Kim Eun are okay. I don't care what place we get in, as long as the city is saved is all that matters," So-Yi said, standing onto her feet then noticed one of my Sovereign Butterflies flying past her quickly. "Mr. Nox?"
Jiahn noticed the same butterfly, watching as it raced somewhere in a hurry as if it were urgent. "It wasn't normal fluttering...it seemed urgent. Maybe something to do with Hyeon Bae! We should go check on them!"
So-Yi nodded, getting up from the ground then began heading towards Hyeon Bae and Kim Eun with Jiahn's assistance. As they made their ways to their friends, they couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the Meet, something they couldn't explain about the entire situation.