A little before…
"So this is magic…"
Lena watched in shock as black flames appeared out of nowhere in the air, while on the other side Ion endured the attacks with bare skin and only grew stronger.
"Can you guys do something like that?" She looked at her classmates, who also had their jaws dropped in complete horror and disbelief.
"Not even in my wildest dreams," Nelliel replied, while Nyla still hadn't recovered from the shock.
"Were we supposed to know magic already?" Nelliel asked nervously. "I thought we'd learn that at the academy…"
"No, but some familiars taught their masters," Azriel said. Lena turned to the side in fright, seeing Azriel appear out of nowhere with a sheathed sword at his hip.
"Also…Everyone who has at least an adolescent can fuse with their spirits and gain some of their innate abilities."
He explained this while glancing first at Ion, then at Simon.
"As for the rest… well, in that case, your spirits still need to evolve their minds before they can teach you anything, so you rely on external means."
"Anyway, hi!" Azriel finished, smiling and waving at them.
"Hi…" Lena answered before turning her gaze back to the fight. Things seemed to get more violent with each passing second.
And yet, there was some hypnotic beauty in it that made Lena unable to look away.
"Ah… he's going to die," Azriel murmured, watching Ion charge full force at Simon. He scratched his head before dashing toward them.
Lena didn't see Azriel move, but when he got there, the shock of Ion's fist against his palm sent chills through her.
"How…" She said watching Azriel advanced with bare hands.
No transformation.
No magic.
"How did he endure that?" Lena felt a shiver run through her whole body.
All around the arena, many others were asking the same question as Azriel argued with Ivan.
"Am I in the wrong place?" She wondered, staring at her own small hands.
Hands incapable of summoning magic or throwing such powerful punches. She would have died against any of the three, and this was only an opening match.
"Haha, you seem really strong too!" Ion praised, slapping Azriel's shoulder.
"You okay, kid?" Azriel sighed, extending a hand to Simon, who was still pale.
"A-almost." Simon answered shakily, surprised himself to still be alive. He grabbed Azriel's hand and pulled himself up.
Lena soon noticed the mages who had come with Ivan walking over to them. Apparently, they were going to give first aid to both fighters.
"Two idiots," Azriel sighed as he returned to Lena and her group. "One thinks too much, the other not enough."
"Azriel… how?" Nelliel asked, still in shock. "You're sick, and you don't have a familiar or magic. How the hell did you stop a punch like that?"
Azriel grinned widely before summoning a small pink fox.
The fox, standing on the ground, looked around for a moment before climbing up his body and resting on his head.
"W-what?!" Nelliel was once again stunned.
"They let me redo the summoning after everyone had already left. They said my joke was just too funny." Azriel laughed, proud of himself.
"What rank?" Nelliel asked immediately.
"Hatchling, early stage." He chuckled again, this time a bit sadly. "Nothing too grand, but it's something."
The fox on his head huffed for some reason.
"What was that?" Lena asked, staring at the fox. Azriel laughed again.
"Lyna is very smart for a Hatchling, and as you can imagine, she was offended by my remark."
"S-she u-understands you?!" Lena stammered. "That's unfair, I want to talk to my kitty too!"
"And she's so cute!" Nyla leaned closer to look at Lyna. "Her fur looks so soft and warm."
Azriel kept laughing in amusement as they chatted.
But from time to time, he looked upward, and Lena noticed he seemed to be conversing with Lyna telepathically.
"The boys look healed," Azriel said, glancing at Simon and Ion, who had been treated with magic.
Azriel stepped forward and caught their attention.
Simon looked questioningly and pointed at himself for confirmation. Ion just shrugged before approaching.
"Hope you brought extra clothes," Azriel told Ion, who was still shirtless with his bare chest exposed.
"I've got a few more, yeah…" Ion scratched his head, clearly embarrassed. "My fusion with Edrohn is… problematic, isn't it?"
"Yes… and you?" Azriel then shifted his focus to Simon, who walked up with lowered eyes and broken glasses.
"I have a second pair…" Simon muttered softly."Do you want to ask me anything else?"
Azriel sighed.
"Yes, I want to form a group with you two," Azriel said suddenly, shocking them both. Ion took a deep breath and broke into a wide smile.
"I'm in!" he said excitedly.
"Are you sure?" Simon asked. "I mean, I'm the master of a demon and all…"
"Yes, I'm sure!" Azriel wrapped an arm around his neck and patted his chest a few times, drawing a smile from Simon.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Nelliel shouted angrily at Azriel, who turned to her, worried.
"What is it?"
"You stole two star members!" Nelliel marched up with arms crossed. "Everyone needs them, and you! You, who is also a star member! went and stole two of them!"
Azriel couldn't help glancing around, noticing the judgmental stares from several people. It looked like he'd done something terribly wrong.
"Well… I don't mind if you three also join my group…" Azriel looked at the girls, who just huffed in response.
"No thanks!" Nyla and Nelliel replied in unison. "We don't want pity!" Lena heard this and felt a bit lost for a moment.
"Suit yourselves…" Azriel sighed.
"And you two, want to fight a little more, or are you comfortable already?" For some reason, Ion got excited at those words.
"Comfortable? Comfortable with what?" Simon asked nervously.
"With your powers. With pain. With battles," Azriel said in succession, making their eyes go wide. "Otherwise, I think it's better if we just enter the tournament and win."
"I agree!" Ion said, brimming with excitement.
"I-I think that's a good idea!" Simon said, surprisingly determined. "I need to get stronger."
Azriel chuckled softly at their reactions.