Tori's Pov:

After speaking with Alister Berk.
He swiftly bid his farewell and gave us the number of our next fight.
That boy had quite a really strange expression that felt oddly familiar.
Because those eyes appeared quite lonely yet carried the same fire as I have.

Castel Everheims on the other hand said.
she had to deal with a private meeting with her boss.

So she won't be present to see our battle.

In that moment she explained herself to us.

Talie then said after they left.
『I have a bad feeling about this...』

She felt unease...
And even I understood it.
It's unnatural to send us to such a higher ground with only the reason of being in a DRAW and showing good combat potential.

But...
It's not like what they will throw at me will be much of a threat.

(Like what would they do to 12 years old like us?
They would be dumb if they try to pull something stupid on us.

Especially now that the academy has a large number of eyes on us..)
 
I shrugged at the thought.
As we soon began our first task.

Preparation.
Everything starts with this.
It is half the battle when facing something troublesome.
Only a fool would dare to fight in a real battle without thinking about it.

Even if the doll's made in the Arena can absorb damage.
It is still carries a painful effect that can traumatize and give a terrible experience.
But those who watched our fight probably noticed that we were perfectly calm in such an environment.

Which is why we are in such a circumstance.

「I'm no longer a dragon and yet...」she mumbled to herself.

Talie then replied.

『It can't be helped. 』

『After all...
This world have changed for the worst.』

The world we live in has completely changed.
It was no longer as peaceful as everyone now risk themselves in the sky.

Pirates threatens the our homes.
Monsters of threatening sizes roams the land below...
And now to adapt everyone now strives to become as strong as the race once known as demons.

「I still can't believe, this thing came from my own people.」

As she observed the Arena, she have finished studying the doll's used.
It appears to utilize the spells of her home which is why she felt an interest in them.

『They probably wanted to give the other races a chance...
After all, taking the risk to fight monsters and people.

Is undoubtedly quite scary without getting used to what a battle actually feels like.』

Talie was now equipped with the gauntlet fitting of her small right hand.
She had a shoulder guard which an mechanical sphere seems to move as it said.

『Activate: Armament.』Talie said.

"Recognition voice found activating defensive protocols."

It was pretty cool when it said that.
I just hope it won't try and kill me when I do use it.

The odd looking decors that looked like spikes now had shown its true visage.
They were ejected and became floating blades as intricate magical lines were glowing inside them.

"Armaments activated."

"Assistance."

"I will provide."

It confidently said but as I gazed at Talies face she was clearly showing skepticism.

『I hope this thing, doesn't malfunction like before and somehow stabbed me instead.』

「Nelly would be horrified if that ever happens.」

『Well, if it does happen.
Wouldn't it be fun to tease her about machines being unreliable.』

「Talie... 」Tori soon pinched her ears after hearing that.

「Please behave towards the daughter of our benefactor.」She sternly said to her

『Oww!
Hey, it was a joke!

Come on!』

After we were done with our preparation our names were soon called...
I wore the same suit as her but what we were about to see was way different than both of us expected...

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Pov by Alister Berk:

Everything have been set.
These sisters are finished, children are quite easy to handle compared to adults.
They lack real experience and become too wild if left alone.

Truthfully this wicked plan was devised by someone else in the council who lost someone in the incident. Of course, I owed that person quite a lot and this is simply a circumstance that they have faced...

However, everyone in the council wished to exact revenge on them.
When did this place become so cruel that they would even target the 12 year old of a family that clearly didn't particularly have any hand in that accident?

I only joined this academy and the council as a 3rd year student of this academy.
Of course my young age means I skipped grades due to my performance.

But still...
It wasn't my intention to take abuse our power like this.
But the voting was prominent and coupled with my siblings wish I had no choice but to do such a  cruel deed.

After all they were also a victim of that chaos as they each have a bit of scalding and wounds.

Not to mention,
The Berk family was regarded as the 3rd place in terms of closeness to his majesty.
It was a stain that even our family sought for a way to surpass them.

With them out of the picture we became the 2nd,

They were no longer a threat nor were they an enemy anymore.

But the Fact I AM an Elder brother of my siblings who had only recently joined this academy.
As a council member who is guided by my colleagues who despises them.
As a student who is currently on the path of crushing our opponents,
who was once a target of our jealousy the family known as the Black Rose.

I have no choice but to comply!

However, I am more concerned about the future.
It appears their family fell on their own as a spy infiltrated their own people and lost their power.

Ironic enough that the enemy of our country are still lurking in the shadow and was never caught.
This is a terrible news for our family as this means we might become the next target of their assault.

I shouldn't be wasting time on them, but nobles are fickle-minded people.
They like pushing and kicking people who are already down for their own entertainment.

I on the other hand sees it as a bore.
It's like watching two kittens about to get crushed by something bigger than them.
As my eyes turn towards the Arena, I soon saw the two girls enter it.

Ah, it's about to begin.

2 vs 2.

A simple match.
But the two young men who is at least at the age of 16-18 have now entered the place.
Their height unmistaken able overwhelms theirs.

Not to mention.
The fact they wore armor fitting of their elemental attributes.
Both wore a sword and a shield customized to fire bullets.

But that isn't the worst of it.

Condition of the Arena: Rain forest.

As the field of where they stood soon change into a tropical one.
Rain then began to pour as they felt the water of the sky drop on them.
The cruelest thing of them all isn't the fact that the two was showing confusion but the fact the both of them have already been studied by their opponents.

After the two converses one of them turned invisible as they went for the hunt.
I can assume that person is Talie.

Meanwhile one of them known as Tori walked in the lush greenery where she seemed to have paused and conjured some kind of magic but didn't really cause any noticeable effect.

It appears to be detection magic as she was walking towards her opponent as I soon noticed ark-seals attached to those gauntlets.

Those gauntlets are regarded as obsolete for what I recall but it appears to have been modified.
But I doubt they can use them properly as this is the first time, these two siblings only started using them.

It was then the first bout have been made.

Tori aimed with her hand producing a bolt of lightning.

『Volt』activated on her gauntlet firing a blast of lighting from her hand.

But the armored man swiftly notices and raised his shield,
After blocking, he raised its lower gun part of his shield towards her and fired.

To my surprise she managed to block the shot with her gauntlet.
But her troubled and pained expression seems to mean she wasn't able to block it all...

While doing this he sheathed his sword and pulled out an ark seal.
Firing『Frigi』from it.

She also pulled out an ark-seal to counter it.

It was barrier to shield herself from it.

An icy explosion soon spreads to her surrounding as the water and ice meshes together.
At that point even if she managed to block the attack, the skillful use of environment became his advantage.

Everything turned to ice and even her feet became frozen.
As the young girl is now feeling the chill as her mouth chaffed a bit.

Though something odd happened as she seems to have activated and arkseal from the gauntlet.

Her body then began to lightly radiate with light.
She broke away from the icy grip on her foot and have easily recovered from the chilling effect inflicted on her as she renewed her stance while observing her opponent.

"What ark-seal is that?" I wondered.

It was a spell that not only freed her from her situation.
But also restored her condition.

The mystery of the Black Rose family regarding the twins.
Which were said at the age of 9 yr's old was able to use magic.

But clearly that is impossible and a simple joke...

Because even I myself decided to attempt to use magic at a young age and was met with terrible results.

It is often became unreliable, unstable to use.

Ark seals were better and easier to manage despite their fixed power.
While spells in general are difficult to control when trying to manually use them.
It is possible to alter its effects or change the trajectory of certain offensive magic.

Which is why I tried to learn it.
But it was simply too difficult and takes too much time.

At the time...
I understood.
Why no one wanted to learn magic and endure the troubles.

Why it is used mostly by merchants and those who wants to craft spells of their own for others to use. For Profit, Wealth and Name.

Though despite all that...

I was regarded as a genius of my family who can handle battles with the fellow adults of my house. After showing my capability it was inevitable for me to rise to such heights that I now stand amongst them as one of the pillars of the student council despite being so young...

And yet there were youths here whom at the age of 12 managed to break through the 14-15 year old limit of this place, all because they could use a bit of magic.

Or so the rumors' said, but as I continue to observe this little girl...

I realized soon that she stopped using the ark-seals and decided to manipulate the spells for her own use...

It made my eyes open wide when she was projecting homing beams of light towards him.
But it was inevitable as their armor is strong enough to even shield them from a deadly breath of an A-rank beast.

Such lesser spells wouldn't be able to properly pierce them.

She showed a shocked expression when she saw it...

But then a cry is heard in the arena.

"Gyaaaa!?" a cry of her sister from the distance.

The cruel machination of the students was now underway.
And the cruel torture of this place is now falling into pieces.

The Academy lynching of the twins.

Or so I thought...

The whole Arena was set up to be against them after all...
But it all completely changed when this young girl is about to show me something I have never seen before...

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Talie's Pov:

Shit...
I was caught?

Her neck was grabbed then held up high as the man taller than her by 40cm raised her with one hand where she grips it to keep herself conscious.

"Guh!"

His armored figure and stout size was daunting for someone of her height.
But this didn't stop her.

She produced piercing shadows from her own to pierce his armor.
But the best it could do was merely to scratch it as it broke apart upon contact.

[It broke!?] to her shock this was the worst circumstance.

Her shoulder drone then fired its Bolts of knives at him, aiming for the head.
But he raised his shield covering his head and pierced the robotic tool from her shoulders with his blade.

*kshhkh* Sparks resounded from it as its power turned off.

She thought the fight would be as easy as the last and decided to split their opponents to swiftly put an end to the fight.

Talie had no intention of hiding her ability and wanted to quickly deal with them.
But things have quickly turned for the worst.

Those eyes were glowing with magic.

He was using some kind of enhancement that allowed him to sense and see her.

(How... careless of me... ) she thought.

(I should have realized, that they already have studied our ability.
Then decided to take advantage of it by making countermeasures.

I completely underestimated them.)

She was then thrown to the ground as a magic circle then chained her down.

『!?』

Magical chains that bound her was a tool prepared by her opponent the moment the battle began...

A trap of the arena set up commanded by those behind its control room.

"This is nothing personal kid.
We were simply told to do this..." Her opponent said as he pulled out an ark-seal.

"Volt!"

Lightning came from the seal as she soon realized the horror of the amplified power of the rain and thunder.

『Guuuaaah!』she cried in pain, however it didn't end.

『Something is wrong here. 』 she thought.

Shouldn't he be performing an attack to finish me off?
Why is he using spells like this and why aren't I blacking out from the damage I just took!?

Normally a spell like Volt would be enough to stop a fight.
Its shocking effect can paralyze an opponent and pain inflicted by it.
Should be enough to activate the Arena's power to forcefully put them to rest.

However that did not happen.

No...
This light surrounding me is...

Then she realized that the chain that bounded her was gleaming in a glowing color of light.
A type of healing magic which she could recall in Tori's former life that were often only used for interrogations.

『All of you are insane!』she cried out in anger to the man in front of her when she realized it.

But like a hound bound to chains, she was powerless as his ark-seal he held ruthlessly punished her coupled with a satisfied expression on his face.

Her screams resounded in the Arena as the crowd of student around them cheer.
It was such a hideous scene as the opponent had begun beating up a child older than him.

(Ahh...
looks like I messed up,
I feel pity for these poor fools..) -Talie

Nelly who was observing their fight paled as she tried to tell the professor to stop the fight.
But they simply smiled at her with a wide grin on their faces.

At that point Nelly's eyes widened in shock as she saw it and bit her lips as she ran to the window and sent out her drone towards the sky as it became an antenna.

She contacted her mother using her multi-purpose cannon in hopes she will arrive in time to stop their fight.

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Talie's Thoughts:

In Tori's life she have experienced many things.
Passing days, months into years.
Yet conflict often finds her that.
Even I am dragged along with it.

She had done nothing wrong to them nor did she desire such things.
And yet somehow they are drawn to her like flies.

Drawn by the power.
Drawn by her connection and history.
Her name spread far and the nick name given to her during those times were.

The Dragon which Devour Misfortune.

A fitting name for the being that appears as a child.
Which brings forth miracles to those who are unfortunate.
While punishing those with wicked intent.

I who was just a phantom, whom watched over her.
Felt her grievances as she was forced to deal with such tedious problems.
As they continued to throw themselves into her gaze.

In the heat of the moment they drew her enmity.

Their fate's often befell in such a tragic and ironical way.
That even I could not laugh at how sad it had become.
But eventually her actions had began to change.
She soon learned to become mature.

To understand the truth between the lines of good and evil.

 Bringing mercy to those who are deserving and lost.
While showing no quarter to her foes who remained adamant and selfish in their desires.
And that is how she earned her second nick name.

 The title known as the Goddess.
By those who had met her.

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Tori's Pov:

Not all people are necessarily evil.
Is what I concluded in my former life.

This world full of mysteries and questions.

People are often pushed towards a certain motivation.
That lead to the result that they have worked hard to earn.

Even this foolish trap for us is nothing more than a machination of the past.
Which they refused to simply forgive and forget.

But I know serving justice like this is not always right.
Good can be seen as Evil.
And Evil can be seen as Good.

Everyone in this world are simple minded whether they are nobles, demi's or even the traitors.
They only want to survive and lavish in the cruel desires of this world.
And as someone who is stuck right in the middle of these cruel desires.

I... also have desires of my own.

This trap...
is so stupid.

Were the words that came out of my mouth.

「Ah...  I hate the rain. 」 I said to my opponent.

But he remained silent observing me.
As I heard the cries of my sister in the distance,
I understood the uneasy feeling I felt...

I swiftly made my move as I ran towards her direction.

Of course my opponent isn't going to let me go that easily.
But what a farce,
I tried to hold myself back and yet this new life is no different from my past life.
So full of strife and competition it was simply tiresome.

「Good grief. 」

Her image split into two as one charges towards her opponent.
Her opponent did not pause his chase and raises his shield to perform a shield bash.

Thinking it was merely a simple distraction.

But to his surprise what appeared to be a mirror image soon turned into a bright light that blinded him as it radiated with intensity and enveloped his surroundings in it.

As he soon realized too late that the real objective of the mirror image was to make contact with him.

"Tch!" he clicked his tongue and  tries to follow her knowing that this mistake will undoubtedly change their plans.