"Are you confident, mon petit?"

She heard the man, Jacques, ask in a somber tone as he stared out of the window. Usually, he'd never raise such a question—no, more like, doubt. He was the one who taught her how to fight, and how to win.

The screen on her laptop timed out.

She slowly closed her eyes, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Eldwyn's tragic fiasco in his match against Jered played over and over in her mind. She knew the man. She had even fought him once. He was good; not good enough, but still good. And he lost miserably. A hand through his stomach, and after that, no further news was known about his condition. Eldwyn might not have been the strongest Elder Magician around, but he was up there.

And he had been defeated so easily. What was supposed to be an even match turned into an unfair one.

Jered von Jacobs.

She had done her research about him. 16 years old; a mother and a sister; his father died under mysterious circumstances. She didn't find anything magical about his family, which was simply incomprehensible. Someone as talented as him should have hailed from a powerful family, deeply-rooted in Archiland, and with hundreds of years of illustrious history. But nothing. He popped out of nowhere, joined a mediocre organization such as Ashy Petals, and all of a sudden, everyone knew him.

More importantly, his new manager challenged her. And, for the first time in her life, she was not confident at all.

"I don't know..." she concluded miserably, "He was not trying hard against Eldwyn."

Jacques agreed, "He was not indeed. That's why, honey, if you think you can't do it... I can pull some strings and cancel the match. I don't want to see you hurt. And there's nothing wrong with refusing. Only a fool would rush into a fight they have no hope in winning."

"Non, papa. My pride is at stake..." her knuckles tightened over the armrests of her chair, "... what would you do if you were in my place?"

"You and I are different, Audrey," Jacques placed a hand on her shoulder, realizing how tense it was, "You have nothing to prove. You don't have to fight," he sighed.

Audrey cradled her hand over his, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side, "I know, papa," she smiled, "But I like to fight. I like to win. Is it a bad thing?"

He considered her words for a bit, then shook his head, "Non, honey. You're strong, beautiful, and talented. There's nothing you can't achieve, but..." he squeezed her shoulder, "... I wish you had never gotten into this. I wish you could live a normal life..."

"That's what maman used to say," her smile widened in reminiscence.

Jacques stared at her, "And it's because of her that I want you to bow out of this fight. Only this one, mon petit. Jered is... an unstable element. He has never lost once. All of his fights were one-sided, and we have no video or report of what his true abilities really are. He could, and will, hurt you."

"I'm not scared," Audrey pumped a fist in the air, "He's a formidable opponent, but so am I. Whatever happens, I'll give it my all to make him sweat. It won't be easy against me!" she exclaimed with a proud curl of her nose.

She would be lying if she didn't say there wasn't a little bit of trepidation in her voice, but so what?

A Cheshire grin split her face, and Jacques sighed yet again at the sight.

---

"I saw your fight," Evelyn sneaked her arms around Jered, internally surprised at the ridges of sinewy muscles. That was the body of a man, not a boy, "Did something happen lately? Your mana... seems so much deeper than before."

"Just a bit of training," he said simply, not bothering to look back at her.

"Just a bit?" she didn't believe him; no, more like she did, but it was obvious he was omitting something, "It's not only your mana... you're... taller too..."

"You've been touching me a lot ever since I got here."

"..."

Jered had a knowing smile on his face, "Are you trembling out of fear... or excitement, Evelyn?"

She averted her gaze, her cheeks burning, "This is one of those moments."

"Is it?"

Evelyn blinked, for her arms were all of a sudden empty. Instead, a plume of smoke went off behind her. There was no acrid smell—actually, a faint fragrance wafted into her nose. She gasped as a set of strong arms looped around her, lips pressing on the crook of her neck. She unconsciously cocked her head to the side, "Ohh..."

"I missed you. I missed your scent. I missed your body."

"Jered..."

Evelyn bit her bottom lip as she ground the crack of her butt against the hard bulge on his pants.

He traced the curve of her waist, slowly slipping inside her shirt and moving up, where the underband of her bra was. There was a deliberate gentleness to his caress, and the delicate touch of his fingers left a tickling warmth wherever they slid by, "What's the magic word?" he teased, the hot rush of his whisper bathing her ear.

"Please!"

Jered nibbled her earlobe, and she nearly collapsed in his arms, "Do you remember that night at the hotel?" he asked with a flick of his tongue.

She heard his words, but she couldn't register them in time.

"It's time for me to return the favor. Let me taste you, Evelyn."

Her response came with a bit of delay, "W-What..." her eyes snapped wide open when she found herself floating upward, her arms locked behind her back by an unseen grip. She blushed harder, "J-Jered, no. I have yet to shower!"

With a sway of his finger, her clothes came undone, leaving her only in her underwear—and even that was easily discarded by his 'Telekinesis'.

"Do I look like I care?"

She was so embarrassed.

Jered waved his hand, and her legs were magically spread open whilst she was mid-air, "I never got to see this so up close," he gave her one of those lopsided smiles that made her heart leap like an excited rabbit, "Why are you flustered? It's not like this is your first time."

"..."

He ran his hands along the underside of her bare thighs as he hovered his lips over her belly button, placing light kisses on each side. Evelyn trembled, already picturing where he was going to kiss her next, and the anticipation only made her more aroused. His lips slowly brushed their way down to her secret garden, where he paused for an agonizingly long moment, looked up at her, and gave her wet folds a probatory, circular lick.

Evelyn hissed, eyes screwed shut.

The heady scent of her arousal lingered on his nose, making his hard-on throb painfully. However, he ignored it. Today, he wanted to see her utterly surrendered to his touch.

Jered's tongue stretched further out, skimming around the skin of her labia. She squirmed—or at least, she tried to. His 'Telekinesis' had her locked in place, unable to move, but able to feel everything that was done to her. He slipped his tongue up and slowly traced circles around her clitoris. There was no rush to his actions. His tongue was steady and rhythmic with its licks, "Jered... ooh ~" she whimpered, her muscles tightening.

The way she looked at him would have smothered any average man into a stuttering mess.

He flicked his tongue to her clitoral hood, moving it from side to side in light strokes.

"Yes! There ~"

Evelyn's breathing was ragged as her head swiveled around, lips caught between her teeth. Jered's hand cupped one of her butt cheeks, his middle finger tiptoeing to the puckered, tight hole above her dripping honeypot. She was so lost in the haze of pleasure that, at first, she didn't notice it. And it was only after she felt something knocking against her rear hole that she gasped and looked at him, "W-What, Jered... hmm ~ not there... you... hmm ~ ...fool!"

She couldn't even formulate her words correctly due to his wiggling tongue.

An intense feeling filled her body as his finger managed to breach through the resistance of her anus.

"Ohhh... no.... hmm ~ ... Jered, no..." Evelyn whined, helpless, her ass unconsciously clenching around his misbehaving digit.

He promptly ignored her as his finger eased further inside her colon, tugging at her inner walls. Meanwhile, his tongue pressed gently against her clitoris. The stimulation coming from both holes made her jaw flap around, her words tapering off into moans. Jered pulled his finger back, allowing her a few seconds of reprieve, and then jammed it back in. Her rectal canal was like a tight, warm, velvety vacuum. It desperately sucked his finger, making squelching noises when he attempted to draw back.

Out of curiosity, he applied a bit of his 'Physical Enhancement' on his tongue, and he immediately noticed the result.

Evelyn squeaked so hard he thought she had orgasmed right there and then, but no—her moan pitch was getting higher and higher, though. Obviously, she was extremely close to a climax. And all it took was him adding a slight vibration to his tongue. Therefore, he pumped a bit more mana into it, and watched as Evelyn's face contorted, her mouth hanging open, her eyes lolling around.

She was completely submitted to the pleasure he was giving her.

And due to that, Jered had a considerably easier time fingering her ass. In fact, his finger was embedded so deep in her anal cavity that his knuckle was brushing against the outer rims of her anus. Her build-up had reached its zenith, and he sensed that, so he moved his tongue up and down in one, inexorable motion, making sure that all of her nerve endings were covered.

"Oh my God!" Evelyn cried out, toes curling, "JERED!" her body shook, blinded by the flashes of pleasure that pushed her over the edge. She crammed her eyes shut, her thighs quaking powerfully as she ejaculated, splattering all over Jered's face in continuous spurts. She blabbed something that was lost on him but that vaguely sounded like 'What the hell'. The aftermath of her climax had her shuddering and breathing heavily, her head slinging back as she stared at the ceiling.

His telekinetic grasp on her petered out, until she was back on the couch.

A stretch of silence ensued.

Evelyn, after mustering a fading sliver of strength, managed to look at him, "What was that..." she breathed out, still spasming.

"What was what?"

"You... you know what..."

He shrugged casually, "Just an experiment. Did you like it?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a 'Yes, daddy. I loved it!'," he chuckled, casting a 'Cleanse' on himself, "Is your butt hurting?"

She glared at him, "No..."

"Want to do it again next time?"

"No!"

Jered walked over to her, watching as she squirmed under his stare, blushing slightly. Then he leaned down next to her ear, "Lies," he whispered, nuzzling her chin up so she couldn't avoid his eyes.

"..."

He smoothed out his clothes, smiled, and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" she called out in a small voice.

"I have a scheduled fight against none other than Audrey D'Arc," he said, opening the door, "You should watch it. I'll dedicate the win to you."