I stepped into the arena for the next round, frowning as I stared at the broken, hilly terrain.

  "Maaan...." Vanna Dia said with a frustrated sigh as she picked herself off the ground. She frowned at her tether, which was connected to mine, indicating she was out.

  "Next match!" Strike called.

  My next opponent was a girl with long, braided blonde hair and deep blue eyes, dressed in a French-themed outfit that looked like it belonged on the set of a fantasy film.

  Magical Girl Menia Aucir.

  I'd met her and her team briefly when Eris 'pranked' the campus, drenching the buildings with barbecue sauce. Menia and the rest of the Knights of Summer had been id out in a pile on the front steps of the dorm building, and the blonde had not seemed particurly thrilled about being dunked with barbecue sauce.

  I didn't know much about her. Just that she was in the same team as Azraq and Verne.

  "Magical Girl Harmonia Lux!" she said, curtsying with a soft smile.

  "Uh... Hi?" I replied awkwardly.

  She smiled and winked at me. Her voice had a faint French Canadian accent, and she looked downright regal in her outfit.

  "It's nice to see you, Lux," she said, giving me a bright grin.

  She held out a hand, which I took with a firm shake. Her gloves felt soft against my palm.

  "Knights! Take your positions!" Strike boomed.

  The barrier rose around us, sealing off any outside interference.

  She smirked, the expression sending a tingle down my spine as her eyes fshed.

  "I look forward to seeing you perform."

  The terrain around us began to shift magically. Grass and trees rose up, the floor of our section of the training area was repced by a sunny forest with a stream running underneath each arena. An artificial drizzle of rain began to fall on the forest.

  The arena itself had been transformed into a lush woodnd scene.

  Her silver cavalier armor was intricately carved, with floral and vine-like designs that made her outfit look more like an eborate gown. The golden trim and the blue sapphire brooch that adorned her breastpte sparkled under the artificial sun that hung over the training arena. Her boots were knee high with a slight heel, and she had a buckler on her right arm with an intricate silver sheen. She also carried an elegant white and silver rapier that had an ornate guard.

  She was taller than me. Maybe three or four inches taller.

  "So. How should we begin this?" Menia asked, her tone light and airy.

  "Er well."

  That threw me for a loop. Even Forest Willow had taken off and shot at me first in our spar, and the violent start to Elysia and Sparrow's csh had set my expectations

  I shifted into a combat stance and smiled back, drawing holding up a glowing golden orb as my aura crackled red and gold around me. "Let's have a good time, shall we?"

  "Oh, I intend to, yes."

  We stared each other down.

  "Go!" Strike shouted.

  I immediately shot a luminary bolt from my hand. I aimed for her chest, but she deftly sidestepped the attack with ease and sprinted towards me.

  "Luminary Bolt: Rapid Fire!"

  She didn't even flinch. She simply held her buckler up, effortlessly parrying the shots and deflecting them with sparks of inky blue. She kept her rapier held low at her side as she sprinted towards me.

  I quickly threw up a luminary mirage, leaving an illusory clone in pce as she closed the gap between us in a fraction of a second, and then I leaped backward, invisible.

  She lost her footing for a moment, blinking in surprise as she threw out a kick that passed harmlessly through my illusion.

  I tiptoed around the trees behind her, keeping my breathing steady. She was good. Really good, in fact. She seemed to be a close-range specialist. I had the advantage if I could just stay out of her reach.

  So if I could just use the terrain...

  "Uhm, Lux?"

  I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I felt a cold bde press against the nape of my neck. She had her rapier against my skin, the tip digging into my throat, and the buckler held in her left hand, ready to deflect or strike.

  When... how...?

  She smiled at me.

  "You know, invisibility and illusions are no use if you can't keep track of the other person," she said. "You have to pay attention to the details, and well, as for me? I noticed your silhouette in the rain when you jumped away."

  She moved the rapier away, giving me room to breathe again.

  "Now, round two? Don't take this too seriously."

  I blinked. She smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling. "We're still just practicing."

  "Oh... right." I nodded, feeling a bit sheepish.

  "I'm ready to begin whenever you are," Menia said.

  "R-right," I said.

  She nodded.

  I raised my hands to my sides, my body crackling with golden-red lightning.

  "Okay. Round 2!" she beamed, lowering her rapier to point down. She raised her buckler, bracing it.

  "Luminary Barrier!" I shouted.

  I threw up a dome around Menia. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered.

  I took that chance to use m mirage again, splitting into three illusions that ran in separate directions. I cloaked myself and ran.

  "Smart, using the translucent nature of your dome to mask your escape!" she called.

  I stayed quiet as I crept away from the dome. Menia seemed to be searching for me, but I kept a few steps ahead of her.

  I watched her carefully as she started moving in my general direction, her movements slow and deliberate. She wasn't letting her guard down, not that I could bme her, but I had the upper hand now that I'd gotten into the small forest around us.

  My mirages worked by setting the image I wanted it to py out before weaving it, but I could alter them in a limited fashion. I decided to see if she'd be willing to chase an illusion.

  One of my peeked her head out, hiding behind a tree.

  "There you are," she called, immediately rushing after it. I used my other illusion to strike from the other direction, throwing an illusory Luminary Beam and she blocked the bst, her eyes widening.

  "Oh?!" she excimed as she turned her head left and right, checking her sides.

  At the same time, I aimed my hand out directly at her rear right fnk and bsted a luminary beam, the gold and red magic crackled around me and shot through my fingers with a loud hum and woosh. It exploded in the middle of the clearing where she was standing.

  The smoke and dust cleared, revealing that my attack had blown a hole right through her torso.

  I stared, stunned as blood poured from the gaping hole in her body. She fell to the ground, writhing in agony. I couldn't believe my eyes.

  Huh? What was...? How did...

  Her body turned bck and shifted, turning into a bck puddle and then disappearing.

  W-What the fuck?!

  "Ah. You're very good. I didn't think my doppelganger would be taken out in one hit like that."

  A cold bde pressed into the nape of my neck.

  Menia Aucir's voice sounded amused, and she giggled behind me. "But, now it's time for round 3, don't you think?"