Suddenly appearing in the arena, Stella’s eyes focused on only one person. Even when the rest of her opponents and teammates appeared, her focus didn’t waver in the slightest.

  Height seems about right, but the military gear and the cloak make it hard to distinguish what’s underneath. But I’m sure it’s them, it has to be, Stella told herself as she got into a ready stance.

  “I never thought I’d see you here,” Stella said, baiting a response.

  To her misfortune, her opponent lifted their finger and moved it side to side, not falling into her trap.

  “Haven’t changed at all,” Stella said, a bit annoyed.

  Everyone that wasn’t them merely frowned at the interaction. The frown was either out of confusion or out of annoyance, but it didn’t matter, they were focused on winning.

  With the timer still counting down, Stella began to move the mana in her body with great speed, feeling an external force around her. It was like this force was keeping watch, making sure that she didn’t attack before the timer ran out.

  When the timer reached zero, mana rushed to both of her hands, two small fireballs forming with great speed. She hastily threw them forward while she took a leap backwards.

  Her opponent, MiddleChild was already darting toward her when they noticed the fireballs. With a light twist of their body, they dodged one, and with a more demanding maneuver that made them almost crouch on all fours, they dodged the other.

  Stella never expected either of her attacks to connect, she only needed space. By the time her opponent was free of her distraction, she had already formed two complete fireballs, almost twice as large as the previous two, and without hesitation, she unleashed them.

  One of the fireballs, while it was still midair, released a small explosion, increasing its speed considerably. This sudden change caused MiddleChild to halt his advance, but only momentarily.

  Seeming to have formed an idea, they darted toward the incoming projectile.

  Stella snapped her fingers with a sharp and decisive motion. In response, the second fireball that had been approaching at a normal speed, suddenly shattered, breaking into five smaller projectiles that shot forward wildly. Their approach, which only a moment ago had been clear, was now significantly less so.

  Even though it was clear that MiddleChild had heard both the snap and the fireball shattering, their attention did not falter.

  When they were only centimeters from crashing into each other, MiddleChild raised his left hand and as if grasping the fireball, used it to push themselves forward.

  The fireball was enveloped in a strange energy and exploded as soon as MiddleChild’s closed fist had left it, their objective had been completed. They were now flying through the air, hurling toward Stella, and they showed no sign of stopping.

  Though the fireball’s explosion was enough to cause some of the other fighters to falter and turn their attention.

  The target having removed themselves from the area faster than she accounted for, Stella’s five mini fireballs fizzled out of existence, barely managing to touch a surface before they did so.

  I don’t think I can create space like I did before, she told herself, glancing back but not turning her head at all. He will expect it. There’s no way to avoid a direct confrontation now. Flaring her nostrils, determination set within her. Let’s just hope that he didn’t get that much better since the last time I saw him.

  Conjuring another fireball in her right hand, Stella swung her arm upward. The fireball hit against her palm, the flame spreading both downward, enveloping her entire arm, and upward, the flame striking her incoming opponent.

  Completely unfazed by the attack, MiddleChild landed somewhat heavily against the hard arena floor, causing them to lose a second while they gathered themselves.

  Not willing to let such an opportunity go to waste, Stella took a few steps forward and with a closed, flaming fist, she aimed at the head of her opponent.

  MiddleChild saw the attack coming from the corner of his eye but did nothing to prevent it. Taking the full brunt of the attack without reaction in such a manner, caused Stella to flinch slightly, something that her opponent did not let go unpunished.

  Grabbing her still extended arm, MiddleChild yanked Stella toward him, a fist bound for her face. Flames flared to life before Stella’s face in an attempt to thwart the incoming blow, but as if pushed, they made way for the punch.

  That brief exchange held a deeper meaning than anyone in the stands and beyond could ever know. Two strikes, and one reaction, to Stella’s mind it was now unmistakable.

  “I knew it,” she said with a bloody grin. Stella could feel the person before her smile behind their gear. “Let’s go!”

  What followed was nothing but a normal exchange of blows. Any human in the stands that was military would have recognized the movements to a degree, they were taught the same things. However, there was a certain rhythm to it. It wasn’t a fight, it was a practiced dance. A performance in which both of them only played their part.

  ----------

  Punch after punch, kick after kick, the match which had started somewhat excitedly, finally breaking the monotony of the previous hours, had now devolved into nothing but a martial prowess contest.

  Yet, those that had even a hint of knowledge in any form of combat could tell that this fight was more than it seemed.

  “They’re not fighting,” Robert said, crossing his arms and laying back.

  “You noticed it too?” Ryuji commented.

  “It’s obvious when you know what to look for,” Robert began, raising his finger toward the screen. “There! MiddleChild could’ve punished further, maybe even disabled her arm entirely, but he didn’t.”

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  Stella threw a flame imbued punched aimed at MiddleChild’s ribs. The intention was clear, but both the power and speed were lacking. With little trouble, MiddleChild grabbed her arm, having more than ample time to break it using one of many possible methods, but instead just punched her near her pit.

  “And there, the Flame already showed that she could conjure flame out of thin air. She could’ve easily burned his leg, or at least his gear. I doubt whatever is protecting him from the flame also applies to his clothing.”

  MiddleChild swung his knee upward, a blow that adjusted course midair, directed at Stella’s abdomen. She managed to grab it, again, just like MiddleChild, having more than ample time to really deliver punishment, but did nothing of the sort. Instead, she only punched them above their knee.

  “Him? His?” Ryuji asked. “You never assume anything about anyone even if it seems obvious. What do you mean by ‘him?’ Do you know MiddleChild?”

  “All will be answered in due time. For now, let us hope that the fight brings more than this,” Robert said, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.

  Ryuji leaned forward a bit, looking beyond Robert and at Cecilia. “Do you know what this is about?”

  Without turning her attention away from the screens, Cecilia answered. “No, but I can infer.”

  Ryuji waited for a moment, but Cecilia said no more. “Are you going to tell me?”

  “No,” she answered bluntly.

  ----------

  Confused by what appeared to be jeering coming from the elves’ side, Anna made an effort to ignore the sound, instead turning to Alex.

  “What are they doing?” she asked, her face in evident confusion. “It’s almost like they’re dancing. Like all of it’s rehearsed. None of it seems… real.”

  “She seemed to know who they were, and I think I’m also getting an idea as to who they might be,” Alex answered, moving closer to Anna.

  “Really, who?” Anna asked, her interest piqued.

  “Yes, who?” an unfamiliar, but young and feminine voice said from behind.

  “Don’t interrupt conversations. It’s impolite,” another voice said, admonishing the first speaker. The voice was young, but stern. “That being said,” the speaker sat beside Alex, turning to look at him, “I’m also curious as to who you think we are.”

  Anna and Alex both prepared to fight, but an instant later, they realized that neither of them felt threatened. The two fully covered people that interrupted their conversation held no hostility but that wasn’t all there was to it. Both Anna and Alex felt a hint of familiarity from the pair. It reminded them of each other, of Marcus, of Stella, and most of all, of Eric.

  “Hey,” the strange man said, snapping his fingers before Anna and Alex’s faces. “You blanked out for a moment there. And you still haven’t told us who you think we are.”

  Anna blinked at the momentary daze that she felt when she recognized the familiarity and spoke. “Why are you looking at me, he’s the one who said it,” she said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  “Did you catch how she just threw me under the bus?” Alex asked, also trying to sound as normal as possible.

  “So many words and there’s still no answer,” the young woman said.

  “Be polite,” the strange man said, his voice stern. “But she is correct. We are still waiting for an answer.”

  “Eric,” Alex said simply.

  “Yes?” the stranger said, expecting more.

  “You’re his family, aren’t you?” Alex asked, the question not really a question.

  A light chuckle was heard from the strange man.

  “I guess that’s a… yes?... no?” Anna said, unsure.

  The still laughing stranger reached for his hood, as did his companion. With their hood removed, black hair was revealed. The man’s was short, a buzz cut that had grown too long. The woman’s on the other hand, was long, just below her shoulders, with a single prominent streak of gray traveling from where her hair began above her forehead all the way to where it ended.

  Both Alex and Anna could already see the resemblance from what little they could see, their eyes now capable of catching facial factions with great detail.

  When they both removed their face cover, they revealed factions that made it impossible to deny that they were related to Eric. Eyes of varying degrees of brown were revealed. The man’s were clear, approaching amber, while the woman’s were a dark brown that teetered on black.

  “Adrian,” the man said, extending his hand toward Alex. When Alex shook his hand absentmindedly, Adrian presented it to Anna who did the same. “And I’m guessing, that if you can extrapolate from Eric’s alias, you know who she is. If he talked about us that is. Which, now that I say it, I realize how dumb I am to assume that. I mean, it’s Eric. She’s—”

  “Luz,” Anna quickly answered.

  “Yes,” Luz beamed at Anna’s guess. “See, I told you they would know,” she added, slapping her brother on the arm.

  After finding out about the reason behind Eric’s name in the rankings, Anna took some time to figure out the why. It didn’t take her long to realize that nothing about “Littler Light” suggested a name in English, so she quickly shifted to the only other language she knew Eric knew, Spanish. After a simple and literal translation, she arrived at the name “Luz.” And Stella just confirmed her thoughts.

  Now, being met with Eric’s family, the part of her that she always tried to keep hidden, especially after coming to an unfavorable conclusion on her own, rose to the surface. She wanted to know more about Eric, his family and his past.

  “Where have you been all this time? Why haven’t you looked for Eric? And most importantly, what are they doing?” Anna asked, pointing toward the arena.

  Luz frowned a bit, then she turned to Adrian. “She fits the description of Anna, but she’s not as cool as the report suggests.”

  Adrian shook his head. “Excuse my sister, she has no filter, but it’s mostly out of nervousness. She’ll calm with time.”

  “It’s okay, even I’m a bit… confused,” Alex said, alleviating the mood.

  “It was already clear that you were Alex, but your words confirmed it. You have been the one I’ve most wanted to meet,” Adrian said, with a smile.

  “Me, why—”

  “And to answer your questions,” Adrian said rapidly, cutting Alex off. “At this moment, I only want to answer one of them.” He pointed toward the arena. “They’re confirming that they are who they think they are. And most importantly, and this is just a guess—”

  “They’re testing to see how far they can go,” Luz interjected. “And from what I can see… it’ll be quite a show.”

  Adrian only nodded.

  Anna and Alex faced each other, a hint of worry in their expressions.

  ----------

  With one final exchange, Stella’s leg met MiddleChild’s neck, and MiddleChild’s fist met Stella’s face. The moment of impact stretched for longer than needed, unrest audibly growing from the stands and even their fellow teammates.

  A smile began to tug at the corners of Stella’s lips. Moving her face away from the fist and bringing her leg back down, a smile now fully formed, she walked away from her opponent, back to where she first appeared.

  MiddleChild did the same, with the addition that while he walked back toward his spot, he removed his hood and face covering. When they turned to look at Stella, they presented her with a smiling face that she easily recognized.

  A face reminiscent of Eric’s, clear brown eyes, and hair so gray that it looked like the black streaks had been dyed.

  “I think we’ve done enough to test ourselves, don’t you think? Little one?” Jamie asked with a playful smile.

  The air around Jamie suddenly shifted, it began to crackle, and the space around him began to shake. What little dust there was, began to dance violently against the floor.

  “I haven’t been called that in years, Jamie. But you’re right. It’s time we get serious,” Stella answered, an equally playful smile plastered on her face.

  Her smile was as genuine as it could be.

  Even if it’s only for this fight and this fight alone, I have nothing to carry. I am without burden.

  The temperature of the small section of the arena began to increase. It went so far that it even began to affect those beyond the foggy divisions that had been erected. The sudden temperature was so great that even with the arena’s great size, those at the edges of the stands began to feel a slight increase in temperature.

  The heat became so intense at its center that a haze began to form near Stella.

  Counteracting the effects of the heat, Jamie’s surroundings seemed to be completely unaffected as the warm air began to move around him, avoiding him completely.

  Their teammates, recognizing that the fight that was about to begin went far beyond what any of them was ready to face, decided to surrender immediately. This started a ripple that began to travel outward. And while not everyone surrendered, they did try to create as much distance as possible, some even hitting their dividing wall.

  Stella stood completely still, preparing her mana. All the while, white flames began to rage at the edges of her irises, trailed by the tips of a different colored flame, one that was hungry for control.