Chapter 57 - Eira's battle

All the training dummies before beginning the test stopped momentarily. Confused; the crowd of students who had filled half of the stadium divided into two factions. One shouted in anger and animosity towards the new girl for she was deemed a nuisance by prejudice. The other half of the student body let a sigh of relief for the didn't want the girl to get hurt. The side who was against Eira did so out of spite because the established hierarchy among the student would topple over. As she owned one of the Xerxes series cars, her standing would shoot up and reach the same level as daughters and sons of marquess and dukes – and even going tow to tow with royalty. Naturally, that faction was small compared to the others who supported her. Rather, they seemed to rejoice this change, an unknown noble going against the egotistical upper nobility.

This sudden stop in movement caused an uproar, the cacophonous chatter among students came to a halt when the director spoke. "I gravely apologize for stopping your momentum. I know full well that your glaring to fight, however, as custom follows, I'm obliged to ask if you would like any weapons. Battle-mages who use weapons and magic together isn't something new, and it's not surprising to see up and coming students training in martial arts or swordplay. Thus, my reason for pausing your assessment, do you wish to equip yourself with a weapon?" The transmission stopped.

Eira stood in the middle and stared at the director right in his eyes through the one-way mirror. Shocked, the director slightly stepped back. She smiled and agreed. Soon after, beside her, a table filled with various weapons emerged out of the ground. Even though the mechs were on standby mode, Eira constantly held her guard up. In front of her, weapons: a gun, a rifle, swords of various size and length, daggers and fondly enough, darts. Amidst the plethora of swords, the biggest one present was one as tall and if not taller than her, a great-sword, the blade seemed dusty, no one had ever used it. The other swords, on the other hand, had wear and tear, some chipped, while others coated with dried up blood. Said great black sword stood out, it was impressive but no one could efficiently use it.

"What is taking so long, can't she just choose one already." The blond boy spoke impatiently.

"Shut up, and watch." The red-haired girl lashed out, her curiosity was peaked.

"She's just scared,"

"COME ON, CHOOSE ONE." The students began to get agitated - screaming and yelling followed.

"Uncle, isn't this taking a bit too much?"

"Worry not, that girl knows what she's doing. To the untrained eye, it may seem like she's just wasting time, don't let that deceive you. Look at her fingers, she's speaking to the weapons; choosing which will serve her best. She's going to pick the great-sword, I can practically guarantee it." A grin resurfaced from the always stern face of Josiah. It had been a long time since his heart throbbed this way, students come and go, but someone resembling Staxius had finally reappeared.

"That great-sword isn't fit for battle, we've ordered the guards to remove it from the table." The lady snarled. "-It's just too heavy and c.u.mbersome, I think your age has caught up to you, uncle."

"Students, please quiet down," Josiah spoke. The crowd whose noise invaded the whole premise around them finally died down. Said disturbance brought in even more viewers. This was the first time that an assessment had grown so popular.

"Out of this bunch, I choose you." Her finger came to a halt on the handle of one of the swords.

"-you've laid to rest for too long." Her eyes closed; her concentration heightened. "Just like master

Alyson always told me, it's not the man who chooses the weapon but it's the weapon who chooses the man. Hence, you, great-sword, I hear your plea, I hear your frustrations; you want to fight, and today is the day you will fight." With one fell swoop, she took the sword by the handle with one hand and plunged it inside the ground beside her.

"I choose this one," she mumbled to the director.

Silence befell the entire stadium, no one had ever used that sword, and seeing a girl so frail in stature use it as if it were nothing put a lock on the lips of those who badmouthed her. "Excellent," the smile grew bigger, "may the gods be with you." *Beep,* in the heat of the moment, he slammed the switch. The eyes of the mech turned on and the table disappeared. A force-field automatically got conjured.

"Time to dance," she smiled. The mechs surrounding her were the same, nothing stood out in particular. After the initialization was completed, the signal to start was given. *Whoosh,* dirt lifted, and all four mechs began to run around her in circles. The speed at which they ran wasn't at max velocity, their engine still needed to be warmed up. *Bang,* a fireball spell landed right next to her, one of the bots began casting fire magic. She didn't move an inch, instead, she observed calmly. *Bam, bam,* another two spell landed, this time they were aimed correctly at her. One was of

lightning element and the other of wind.

"UNCLE, DIDN'T THOSE SPELL JUST HIT HER?"

"HAHA, WRONG," he laughed out loud.

The spell hit but she dodged it so fast that normal perception didn't catch it. Finally, the last bot launched its attack, the ground froze. "Time to fight," grabbing the sword, her sight befell the bot using ice-magic. *Clang, clang,* the sword bounced off the heavy armor of said mech. They weren't S-rank for nothing as they were hard to slice through. Baffled, she retreated but was ambushed by the lightning element bot who cast lightning bolts. Her body temporarily paralyzed; her nervous system got hit. Unable to move, the fire and wind element mechs combined their spells and launched the raging inferno spell. A combination spell that could boil water just by being a few feet away. The ice ground melted; a puddle of water formed. She still stood paralyzed; the lightning bolt used said water to launch another attack. Water is a good conductor of electricity and her body took more damage.

The combination of spells didn't stop there, the onslaught continued. Still unable to move, young Eira knelt with her hands still on the handle. The battle was over in the eyes of the students; however, it was all planned. Before the director could use the radio and ask if she gave up, she screamed, "Don't underestimate me." The fire which slightly burnt, blazed up. Her breathing regained control, the bots surrounding her all lunged for the final blow. *Shadow element, flash-step.* She vanished, the bots simultaneously stopped and looked around rapidly, their UI scanned the arena over and over again.

Eira reappeared and continued to fight, her attacks made contact but didn't do much damage. In the end, it was her body who took those impacts instead, using magic was an option but having chosen a weapon; she could not betray it. For the next ten minutes, she fought, swing after swing, slice after slice, not a single dent. The sword grew heavier by the second, the bots grew faster. Dodging spells and parring attacks became harder. Everyone present got enchanted by how she fought, her will, her resilience. They grew to respect her, however, defeating said bots was impossible, they all accepted her attempt but with results like that, she couldn't hope to join Claireville academy. The upper nobility laughed at her, the other quietly watched as she desperately swung with no grace nor fineness. She looked like an amateur swordswoman; the people who practiced martial arts grew to be offended.

They all shook their heads in disappointment. Her breathing got out of control, Eira gasped for air.

Her vision grew blurry. The amount of spell she had to take upfront wasn't even something to laugh at. Her clothes were ruined as tears began to form, her face grew to be bloody. At that moment, everything stopped, something wasn't right.

"Impossible," she wiped her bloodied forehead, "-I'm not this weak. This isn't possible, I've fought stronger opponents, I even won against auntie Alyson once. Is it the sword? Am I being burdened and held back by this piece of junk? No wonder no one chooses you," with a look of contempt, she stared the weapon. Behind her, the ice-mech lunged at her with an ice-spike. "I guess, I'm going to be defeated."

"The swordsman doesn't choose his weapon but it's the weapon who chooses the swordsman. If you try to tame something that has a will of its own, you will never reach my level; let alone Staxius's. Trust in what I've taught you, swordplay is simple, all that you need is rhythm, natural flow, and trust in the weapon you're wielding. At the end of the day, your life lays to rest in said weapon, don't force the invisible. After all, what if one day someone came, you placed your trust in him but in the end, he just discards you like trash. How would you feel?"

Eira's white hair slowly turned into a crimson color thanks to all the blood coming out her head. "I've been a fool, I apologize, a bad workman blames his tool, and I've been doing the same." Her reflexes heightened once more, the red hair made her look like a whole new person. Her ego had caused her to underestimate mages in general, but this battle had taught her how far she really must go to stand beside Staxius. Knelt, her head rose, the bot behind her was in striking distance. "Give me your strength, great sword." As if responding to her will, the blade that once looked dusty shone as brightly as the sun. She turned around, her movement changed, her aura was one of a different person. After her body faced the mech who approached so close, a gentle swing sliced her opponents' body clean in half.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" the battle arena felt as if it shook. Everyone held their breath; the once snow angel had turned into the crimson princess. That strike proved to be the beginning of something new. Her stance changed, she now fought more gracefully, the bots held their own.

Dodging, blocking, attacking, all you could hear was the sound of metal on metal. Then came the spells, the mech's eyes brightly lit. Their fighting stance had changed to overdrive. More powerful spells were released, it happened so fast that only smoke was seen. The bots had grown more

powerful as well, the battle raged on. With her newfound strength, she still couldn't keep up with all three mechs whose velocity seemed to only increase. S-rank truly was on another level.

*Bam,* an explosion rattled the force-field that in turn flickered. Emerging from one side, Eira was sent flying, she had hidden her body behind the giant sword. The one responsible for such a powerful attack was the wind-mech. With the help of the fire-mech, it conjured a fireball that exploded on impact. Thus, her sword took the blunt force instead of her. The wall came close too fast, in desperation, she plunged the sword into the ground and came to a halt after carving out part of the stadium.

"I can't believe Staxius won against an SSS-rank mech, these guys are monsters. I'm out of strength already, trying to stop that blow took everything out of me. There's nothing much more I can do, but I must win against these guys. I'll have to use it, the move I've been trying to master since aunt Alyson showed it to me."

For an instant, all three mechs lined up perfectly, the time was perfect. Eira's stance changed, from a standing position, she placed the sword on her left side. She held it as if it was sheathed. It was the lightning-strike stance, Alyson's most powerful attack.

*Shadow element: Unleash aura,* her eyes' blurriness shut close, all she saw was the dark abyss.

She put everything she had on a move she hadn't mastered. "Lightning strike, shadow-variant, please work." Her concentration maxed out, with her eyes closed, the outline of three bodies lit as brightly as fire. *Shadow-strike,* her eyes wide open.

*Whoosh,* the ground behind her cracked, the force by which she propelled herself was unbelievable. *AHHHHHHH* she yelled, the three mechs lined up. *Clang, clang, clang.* From one end of the stadium, she ended on the other. Within her hand, only the handle remained. The sword's blade broke, it laid to rest behind her. They had stopped moving. Three loud noise broke the now silent room. It was the mechs, they were cleanly sliced through.

"YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," the students screamed indiscriminately, after watching such a battle, they were thoroughly entertained. They cheered, with her crimson hair flowing as the wind blew by her. The arm in which she held the handle rose, applause was heard. Josiah was left baffled. "S-she a-actually did it." He spoke, "-unbelievable."

"Your evaluation has been carried out; sadly, your rank will be assigned after we review the footage. Students, please return to your classroom. The lady beside the director, who was still stuck in amazement, spoke instead. The force-field lowered, the upper nobility scowled and headed back to their classrooms.

"She's worthy to stand among us, don't you agree, President?"

"Indeed, no need to say that twice."

Barely able to stand upright, Eira fell to her knees. She held the broken blade tightly to her chest,

"thank you for believing in me, I'll never forget you." As if saying goodbye, it gleamed and turned to dust. She now sat, her eyes lifeless, her gaze turned to the blue sky.

"No need to threat, that sword was going to be thrown out. Thanks to you, that sword, who for

years now looked for a decent fight finally had its wishes granted. Thank you young Eira." Josiah spoke while he approached her.

"You know, I've regretted my actions in the past, your father was the only student who dared to do the impossible. Not to forget your grandfather either, I guess that's the beauty of the teachings of Tempest Haggard. I'm glad you came here; this year will be the year our school shines once more." Not realizing everything he said fell on deaf ears, Josiah continued his speech. Meanwhile, Eira heard nothing of it, she fell asleep. Her strength was drained, but she managed to make history; just like her father.