The lady launched at them.Like she'd been fired from a cannon, her body low and fast, both blades held at angles that would let her slash in any direction without losing momentum.Jabber barely had time to process the movement before she was on them.Her right blade came in high, aimed at Roderick's throat.Roderick threw himself backward, the blade whistling past his face close enough that he felt the heat.Her left blade swept low immediately after, going for Jabber's legs.Jabber jumped, tucking his knees up…The blade passed underneath him by inches.They both landed in defensive stances, already breathing hard.And the lady was already attacking again.She moved like water,fluid, unpredictable, never stopping.A slash at Roderick's side. A stab toward Jabber's chest. A spinning strike that targeted both of them at once.Roderick formed a flame sword to block, the impact sending sparks flying.Jabber created a small shield that barely deflected the stab."Left!" Roderick shouted

"You're Mira Stoneheart. Daughter of Chief Warrior Garrick Stoneheart of the Stoneheart Clan.! Warrior Princess! The girl who punched a training instructor in the face because he said women couldn't be front-line fighters!"A few people in the crowd turned to look at him."You're the same person who beat BRICK in a sparring match! BRICK! The guy who just won his fight! And you're going to lie there and let someone talk trash about your sister,your DEAD sister and not do anything about it?!"More people were listening now."That girl up there…" Asta pointed at Akari, who was standing in the ring looking pleased with herself. “...she doesn't know you! She doesn't know what you're capable of! She thinks you're the same scared girl from training camp!"His voice cracked slightly."But you're NOT that girl anymore! You're BETTER! You're STRONGER! You've WORKED for this!"He took a breath."So get up. Get UP and show her,show EVERYONE…that Mira doesn't stay down!"A pause.His voice drop

The cheering somehow got even louder.Akari eventually stirred, pushed herself up with shaking arms, and walked unsteadily down from the ring.She made her way back to her squad's seating area and immediately dropped into her seat."I'm sorry, Teacher." Her voice was small. Defeated. "I let you down."The teacher's expression was unreadable for a moment.Then he turned to look at Clarks."Well. Looks like you won't be serving your punishment alone."Akari's head dropped, her gaze fixed on the ground.Daichi spoke, his tone absolutely dripping with sarcasm."I TOLD you to be self-aware. To be cautious. To watch for psychological tactics."Akari's head snapped up."THAT ISN'T HELPING RIGHT NOW!" She was shouting, her emotions raw. "It's clear now, okay?! Mira Castellan is STRONGER than me! She's BETTER than me! Are you HAPPY?!"Silence fell over their section.The teacher let it sit for a moment.Then his gaze moved to Kaito."You better not fail me too."Kaito stood up, his express

Jabber's hands dropped to his sides. The flames flickered out."Oh."A long pause."So... how are we supposed to get to it?"Roderick ran both hands through his hair, looking more stressed than Jabber had ever seen him."Let's just hope Flora finds the person I told her to call."Jabber stared at him.Then very quietly, with maximum sarcasm, muttered:"I should NOT have left my dorm this morning."……Back at the arena, the fight had begun in earnest.Asta and Kaito stood facing each other, both settled into their stances."Here I come!" Asta called out.He launched forward, his iron blades held ready.His right blade came in high, aiming for Kaito's shoulder.Kaito's green flame sword came up smoothly, blocking the strike with a sharp CLANG.Sparks flew where metal met flame.Asta didn't pause. His left blade swept in low, going for Kaito's side.Kaito twisted, his second blade deflecting the attack.They broke apart, circled, came together again.Right. Left. Block. Dodge. Counter. S

Then her eyes caught something else.In the corner, partially hidden in shadow, lay a crumpled black cloak.She walked over to it, bent down, and picked it up carefully.The fabric was fine quality. Expensive. And as she turned it over in her hands, examining it, her eyes suddenly went wide.There, embroidered in tiny silver thread along the inner collar, was a name.And beneath it, a symbol.Flora came over, with curiosity written all over her face. "Yes, that's the cloak the figure was wearing. They took it off right before…""This cloak is the uniform of a high-level flame assassin organization."Yuki's voice had gone cold. Professional. All business.Flora blinked. "What?""The Azure Shadows." Yuki ran her thumb over the embroidered symbol. "They're an elite assassination group that operates across multiple nations. International. Highly trained. Extremely dangerous."She looked up at Flora."Every individual in that organization is what we call a 'devil-class' flame wielder.