It was evening. The Al-Wa main building lit up in office lights, the corporate symbol shining in the dark. Now it was the second night of their captivity in Al-Wa, and the instructional sessions had ended by this time. While everyone was eating a fresh dinner, Suruj was walking silently in the corridor of white tiles, heading to the stadium doors.

“Should we teach spell modifications? For the Rebellion, these are the best fighters we have.”

“Do tell, this is the second night. We cannot go too far with complex concepts when we have only begun.”

L and Kwazhak were seated at the spectator stands. They were explaining how to continue their sessions, Suruj supposed. He walked up the steps, the clanking of metal reverberating the entire structure.

“There were other fighters?” Suruj asked, jumping in on the conversation.

“By ‘were’, that is a yes,” Kwazhak turned his head, “However they were not bright on the idea of overthrowing the tournament.”

L’s face looked on with grief at the statement. The previous fighters that were before Suruj, Hyun-woo, Perez, and everyone were dead. The reigning champion, Ayai Toya, was the one that defended her title for years.

“Anyways,” L coughed, “Now that we are here, time to discuss some important stuff. Suruj, I know you’re going to be new to this information, but this is confidential. Planning the assasination of Thiệu Addja. “

He turned his hand to the open space of the stadium.

“Mahou Tokiyagari.”

The environment warped, and time had stopped for the second time. Except for the three, not a single object was moving.

“The extent of Thiệu’s power is unpredictable. Even with L’s experience, one can be frightened at the confirmation of this man’s existence,” Kwazhak stated.

“With just me and Le Prince alone, we won’t make a slightest scratch on his skin,” L followed, imitating his analogy. “His office is on the seventh floor of the main building, marked with ‘Thiệu A.’ inscribed on the door in the far right. Only the stadium and right wing has no sahar detectors, so the minute you use a spell in the main, the alarm will be triggered. And the Al-Wa guards will be notified.”

“So what’s the plan then?” Suruj asked.

“Everyone, the ten of you, ought to be on par with us by Tav. In that passing, one should be more robust than the likes of me and fellow L. By the final evaluation in Zurgaa, he will invite us to his office, and the assasination aloof. ”

“But isn’t his office basically a death trap? The alarms and tight spacing would make it difficult,” Suruj argued, “No group can fight in a space the size of a prison cell.”

“That may be true, but we really need to only take him out swiftly.”

Kwazhak added, “Define what ‘swiftly’ intends, L. Not many are able to dispel a large amount of sahar in one episode.”

“Oh? Even if we don’t, we got two people who can burst,” L stood up, with a proud grin, “Suruj here and the girl with no name. I haven’t seen you fight, but you can accumulate particles the amount needed to power Rümqî for a week,” He turned around, staring at the doors. “Who’s there?”

Suruj hadn’t noticed that there was a noise made from the corridor that led back to the right wing. But with L’s Tokiyagari, every living being besides the three should be inanimate. As his mind was racing for who it was, the person opened the door slowly ajar. It screamed with a creak.

“...”

“One had mistakenly jumped at the words that fit her description. What brings the anonymous lady here?” Kwazhak stood up, alert, but L placed his arm in front of him.

“She got past my spell. It seems you’ve learned how to counter it after just one time,” L said calmly, as the door extended for them to see. She walked, step by step, up the bleachers.

“S- You three were missing so… I got worried and assumed you were here,” She scratched her head, speaking in Azu, “But I noticed that there was a spell in place, the same one that L used when we got here, so I broke through it…”

“If one has qi higher than I, then we shall pay heed to her,” Le Prince sat back down, taking a deep breath.

“I trust that she’ll be no harm,” Suruj added, “The planning can still go on.”

They went on, discussing as a group while the girl sat near them saying nothing. Although she had a shocked look on her face when she heard Suruj speak. Even if it was a minor detail, it bothered him a bit.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just that your Azu has gotten really good,” She replied.

“His language aptitude is of no bounds,” Kwazhak nodded in agreement, “One’s pitch accent and diphthong orthoepy have become quite exquisite-”

L put his arm around Kwazhak, “As expected of the walking translator, but we should be less of the chit-chat and more on the planning side of things.”

“By the way, what are spell modifications?” Suruj moved the conversation, unsure if he derailed it.

“That’s something you can achieve when you’ve mastered a sahar spell. Someone could know thousands of spells, only to be able to mod only a dozen of them,” L answered quickly, “The spells you can mod are only the ones that you understand down to the physical level, and require a higher level of saharic mastery to use.”

“However that is albeit, way up in the curriculum as of now,” Kwazhak acknowledged.

“Hah? They are high enough for the curriculum I say, so c’mon let’s teach them?”

“L, that would be a terrible idea.”

They continued going off the planning until it was late into the night, when supper had ended already. L’s Tokiyagari wore off, and the stadium reverted into a normal state. After L and the girl had left to return to the wing, Suruj still had something to ask Kwazhak. It was something about if everything they were doing was in vain. That if Thiệu was aware of the rebellion the entire time, or somehow stopped it. There had to be something he could do.

“Kwazhak.”

“Yes?” He turned around, stretching his wrists.

“I have a request, if you are willing to.”