"Second Form – Arcane Gale!"
With great speed he charged forward, Ashen hair flowing in his wake and tachi at the ready. His first strike met nothing but steel as it was deftly parried, but that didn't deter him as he continued into another strike. That one was even less successful as it sliced only through the air where his opponent had been standing a second ago.
Despite the failure of his initial attack the swordsman continued with his assault as he drew energy into his blade before unleashing a wide-area attack across the entire room. Once again, however, he could only watch with dismay and no little pride as that too failed, with one enemy simply flowing around it like water while the other was like an impenetrable wall as she blocked his powerful assault with naught but her sword and her constitution.
Rean frowned as he considered his next move – Arcane Gale usually proved more effective than this against Fie and Laura. Still, he wasn't entirely out of options. While he didn't think he'd have any chance at hitting the former with his Flame Dragon, if he could isolate Laura long enough than perhaps he could overwhelm her with that attack, turning Fie into a much more manageable opponent. Alternatively he could risk using his Termination Slash, but both girls knew of his newest attack now and he wasn't sure they'd give him the opening to act. Perhaps he could-
He winced as he could feel the power inside of him beginning to slip out of his control. Perhaps it was simply his imagination, but he couldn't help but feel like his Spirit Unification was starting to become a little more volatile lately.
Either way it was a sign that he needed to stand down. With a deep breath he did just that, and although he could not see his own face the swordsman could visualize the moment his hair and eyes returned to their original colors.
For their part the girls had simply chosen to stand back and watched as his transformation occurred, but both remained at a wary ready regardless. There had been a few occasions when he had elected to continue the fight even after Spirit Unification faded, but right now he simply sheathed his tachi in a sign of surrender – Given how cleanly the two had endured him at his strongest he knew there was little chance for him to prevail now.
"Hurray. We won." Despite the dryness of her voice the smile on Fie's face was genuine as she offered Laura a high five, which the older girl readily accepted.
"I'm impressed. I don't think I got a single hit on either of you during my Spirit Unification."
The Arseid waved him off with a calm smile on his face, "Against either of us alone you would still win with little problem. It's only thanks to our familiarity with your enhanced state we were able to endure so well. That and our teamwork is second to none. Together Laura and Fie..."
"...Spells victory!"
Rean blinked owlishly as he glanced between the two of them, "...Do I want to know how long you've been working on that one?"
"We came up with it during the war." Fie answered proudly, "Got some other variations in the works too."
"Do any of them actually make sense, because I'm quite certain that your names do not in fact spell victory?"
"A-Anyways..." Laura interjected hastily. Given the way she colored Rean had the suspicion she was trying to change the subject away from their silly little victory speech, "That was a good spar, but I think it's time we head back."
Rean nodded, "Right. We've got a busy evening ahead of us."
"Wait, what?" Fie asked in confusion, "What are we doing?"
Her words caused the swordswoman of the group to sigh tiredly, "Don't tell me you've already forgotten?" A blank look let them know Fie's answer, "We discussed it last night? You whined and fought and tried to get out of it before eventually agreeing?"
"...Getting the feeling whatever you guys made me agree with must be really terrible if I've managed to purge it from my memory."
Rean sighed, but at the same time he couldn't help but be amused at her actions, "We agreed to study together in preparation for the midterms, remember?"
Somehow, faster than any of them could have possibly imagined, they were already on their third month of their second year. After a hectic first month of settling into their new routine the second had been almost completely uneventful, with no field studies or Ashen Chevalier missions involved.
Save for a handful of bracer missions Instructor Sara sent them it had been a rather monotonous month of simple school life. As warriors they couldn't help but feel a little antsy at that, but he would never say no to having some peace and quiet after the ordeals of their first year.
"Yep. I knew it. It was something really terrible. Can't we do something fun instead? Oh! I know! How about I teach you guys how to speed run this dungeon instead! Wouldn't that be fun?"
"That does sound pretty interesting..." He couldn't help but muse as he followed her gaze across the Old Schoolhouse, ignoring Laura's scandalized look in the process. He still recalled those parkour tricks Fie used during their first meeting!
After everything with the trials and the Reverie Corridor it was almost anticlimactic when they found the building had reverted to the state it had been when they first arrived. The elevator was gone, and in its place was the room where they fought the gargoyle during initiation. Even that old statue was back, but try as she might a curious Fie could not get the creature to awaken again.
"...But that can come later. Midterms are in a week and we really need to get cracking on them." He finished, causing the silver-haired girl to slump in dismay.
"Plus." Laura interjected, taking obvious joy at their companion's misfortune, "If I recall correctly the only reason you were able to clear that initial excursion so fast was because you chose to ignore the rest of us. Perhaps being an anti-social child is the fastest way to clear a dungeon, but is it the way you want to keep doing things?"
"Wow. You guys really suck."
Rean chuckled as he led the three of them out of their sparring grounds. Truth be told he could understand Fie's frustrations – personally he'd much rather be fighting himself, and given the accelerated courses they took at the end of the previous year it wasn't as if their grades truly mattered all that much in the grand scheme of things.
Still, even if it wasn't necessary for them it wasn't something he intended to ignore. A strong mind was just as vital as a strong body, and given they were still students at this school it only made sense to play by the same rules as everyone else. Something he was sure Laura agreed with, and he knew deep down Fie did too – even if she'd argue the point for all eternity.
"Can we at least grab some takeout first?"
"Fie..."
While Laura stared disapprovingly at the girl for her suggestion, Rean couldn't help but hesitantly nod his assent, much to their surprise "I know you're only saying it to delay studying for a few more minutes, but having food on hand is a good idea so we don't-"
"Great! Thanks, Rean! If I'm gonna suffer through all this I want plenty of all my favorites!"
His smile faded slightly. He had a feeling all those favorites she wanted would be coming out of his wallet.
"...And we're all sweaty and stuff from fighting, so we should probably wash up before we get started too!"
His smile was completely gone now. The worst part of all her procrastination tactics was that she knew what she was doing. They needed food. They needed a wash. All of these things were very true. This made it impossible for him to shut her down, something which she clearly understood given the wide smirk on her face.
Rean did his best to ignore Laura's pointed stare. He gave Fie a rege and she was going to take a selge with it. He should've known better.
Ah well, delay all she wanted, but in the end it was two against one. Her procrastination tactics would end up haunting her in the future even if it meant the three of them would be up well past midnight by the time they finished studying.
For a girl who claimed to love sleeping as much as she did it would be a fate worse than death.
Fie groaned miserably as her head slammed into her desk. Sure she knew her housemates were annoyingly dedicated to school life, but she hadn't expected them to be literal slave drivers! They kept her up well past her normal sleep hours all because Rean wanted to talk about utterly pointless things like math and history.
It had been a fate worse than death.
"Rough night?"
Fie dragged herself up far enough to see the owner of the voice, even if she already knew it was Vivi, "...I'm dead. Leave me alone."
Vivi grinned at her. Was her hair always that obnoxiously pink or was she just too exhausted to want to deal with her shenanigans? "Sounds like Rean and Laura kept you up all night long~"
Even in her tired state she knew what her friend was trying to insinuate. So naturally she had to tease her along, "Yup. We were up until the morning. As tired as I was neither of them wanted to stop so they made me keep going over and over and over..."
"Oho~!" The brightly colored girl let out a dirty laugh, drawing the attention of a few of their neighbors, "Tell me more! Tell me more!"
Vivi's hopeful face actually caused a little life to come to the former Class VII girl as she knew what was about to come next, "...We studied late."
Seeing that excited grin fade into sheer disappointment was a salve for her weary soul.
"O-Oh." To Vivi's credit the girl perked back up surprisingly quickly, "Well... My sister and I were gonna hang out after class today. Wanna join us?"
An uncommon but not entirely surprising question. When she wasn't with Rean or Laura it was Vivi she usually hung out with, even outside of club activities. Since she had no plans with the former... "Sure, sounds like a good way to recover from all the studying. So what do you guys have planned?"
"Ahaha..." For some reason Vivi's nervous laugh put her on edge, "W-Well, you see. U-Um... Funny story, actually."
"We're going to be studying together." The other twin interjected with an unamused face, "Probably not what you wanted to hear, but you're still welcome to join us."
Fie glared daggers at her friend, causing Vivi to shrink back as if struck, "Seriously? I just got done saying how sick I was of studying and you want me back for more?"
"I'm sorry! I don't want to be studying either but I need help! I barely passed the first year and if I don't do better this time I might not graduate alongside you guys!"
Despite herself Fie's look softened a little. As much of a pain as it had been, having Class VII along to help her out so much was the only reason she wasn't in a similar boat with Vivi. The idea of being forced to stay behind while all her friends left her...
Well, technically that already happened, but that had been entirely her choice.
"Still..." But at the same time she was still hesitant. She didn't want to do even more studying! Weren't there better people to help Vivi than her?
"Please!" Vivi insisted with a pitiful look on her face, "Wouldn't it be fun to study with someone more on your level!?"
Fie couldn't help but scowl a bit. On her level? The way she said that made it sound like she was dumb!
Luckily for the prankster the silver-haired girl understood the real intent behind her words. Emma, Laura, and Rean were all brilliant people who were on an entirely different level from the former jaeger. While Linde seemed to be pretty smart she probably wasn't on the same level as those three...
But at the same time Fie couldn't help but disagree with that statement. As much as it pained her to admit it, Emma had been an absolute saint while helping her study. The class president had done everything she could to dumb the lessons down to her level. The only thing preventing those lessons from being a bigger success had been the disinterested attitude of the student in question.
...Maybe she should thank the witch the next time she saw her.
Laura and Rean were also surprisingly good study partners. Even though both of them were undoubtedly smarter than the former Zephyr girl they were both pretty straightforward and simple people with the way they explained subjects. Rean especially. That guy practically subbed in as Class VII's teacher whenever Sara was being Sara, so it made sense in her mind that he'd be a pretty good teacher.
"I-I think what my sister is trying to say..." Linde must've realized how disagreeable Vivi's words were with the way she hastily interjected herself, "...Is that studying with different groups is a good way to expand your knowledge. Did you know that Rean studied with us for an afternoon last year?"
That definitely wasn't what Vivi was trying to say, but it was a pretty good point regardless. And that little tidbit about Rean was interesting to her as well. She vaguely recalled the dark-haired boy running around like a headless chicken with a bunch of different books and study partners those few days prior to midterms last year, so it wasn't all that surprising.
Any jaeger worth their salt could read the tides of battle, and right now Fie knew she was on the losing end. Sure she could always remain stubborn and refuse – or simply use her speed and stealth to escape the situation – but the twins were her friends too, as much as it pained her to admit it on occasion. There was no way she was leaving Vivi out to die like that.
And... just maybe a little part of her actually wanted to learn. Maybe she'd never be a brilliant student like her new family, but she didn't want to keep being the idiot of the group either. Seventy-two was a reasonable ranking for a girl fresh outta the corps, but as a former member of Class VII and a current bracer slash member of Class IV she thought she could do better.
"Alright, fine. You win. I'll join you guys, even if this is gonna suck even more."
"Yay! You're the best, bestie! We're gonna have so much fun together! Let's find a way to ditch Linde and hang out in town and-"
"Vivi!"
The prankster chuckled nervously under her sister's fearsome glare, "Ahaha... Sorry. Force of habit. We'll be good, I promise."
Fie rolled her eyes. That was Vivi's promise, not hers. She might've said more, but the sound of the bell and the arrival of Instructor Mary sounded the beginning of school.
The tired girl returned her head to her desk, but this time she kept her gaze on her friend, "You owe me for this, so keep me covered while I nap through class." If there was one thing Vivi was good at it was being loud, distracting, and disruptive. Perfect cover for a sneaky girl like herself to catch up on much needed rest.
"Alright, good job. Laura, you're up next."
She knew her turn was coming up so she was prepared. With a decisive nod the Arseid stood from her seat to begin her prepared lecture.
Patrick and Ferris had decided to have all of Class I spend the time after school with a study session as a class. A few days prior each of them had been assigned topics to master before having to present them to the class. The fear of messing up in front of the entire group had proved an effective motivator as all of her classmates thus far had done well at presenting their topics of teaching.
Laura couldn't help but find the nature of this studying method to be a little too impersonal for her tastes. Working as a small group with dear friends definitely suited her better. Still, as a one-off thing she'd gladly do her best for her new class.
With a smile she began her speech. The blue-haired girl had gotten really lucky with her assignment. Instructor Thomas had spent a lot of focus during his lessons on the War of the Lions, the recent civil war – which some were starting to call the October War – and the parallels between the two. Given the first hand account she had of the latter it would've been simple enough, but instead she had been gifted an even easier subject to discuss.
Who better to talk about Lianne Sandlot and her role in the War of the Lions than a member of the family that carries on the legacy of that legendary warrior?
A few minutes later she was finished and back in her seat as the next student began. Talking about the Lance Maiden was so simple she practically gave her lesson on autopilot, despite having done little rehearsal at all. In all honesty the hardest part of her assignment had been trying to remain focused on the facts the school cared about and not the unsettling things she had learned a few months prior.
Perhaps it was naive of her, but she didn't for an instant believe that Duvalie the Swift was a liar. As unsettling as the revelation that the Lance Maiden was somehow still alive and working for Ouroboros as an Anguis was, she had no choice but to believe it.
But how could that be? And why? The Lance Maiden and her Eisenritter were great heroes who brought deliverance to Erebonia alongside Dreichels the Lionhearted. So why was she now leading the Stahlritter as a member of a shadowy organization that seemed to exist solely to spread chaos across the continent?
Sure the past year had shown her that the world existed in more than black and white, but as confusing as things could be she was confident that whatever goals the society were pursuing could only spell ill for the rest of the world. That Ouroboros now appeared to find itself in conflict with Chancellor Osborne did not change that one bit. The old saying about the enemy of my enemy did not ring remotely true in this case.
Laura made a mental note to discuss the topic of the Lance Maiden with someone at some point. The only reason she hadn't done so before was because the Infernal Castle had provided such an overload of shocking information that the mere news of an ancient hero still being alive and working for their enemy ended up slipping through the cracks.
...They really needed more information on Ouroboros. It was unfortunate that all the Bracer Guild locations were closed as she suspected that would be a good source of information. Perhaps Instructor Sara could assist her if she asked?
Or better, maybe she should talk to her father about the subject? Undoubtedly he must've learned the same things she had at that battle in the capital. Unfortunately, the few conversations she had had with her parent had focused almost entirely on the status of his health or her future plans, and thus she hadn't had the chance to bring it up with him. Perhaps a visit back home would do her-
"Laura?"
She was broken from her thoughts at the unexpected call. Hastily she composed herself and identified the speaker, "Ah... Hello, Ferris. What's wrong?"
"...The study just ended."
The Arseid couldn't help but color slightly as a quick scan of the room revealed that her classmate was indeed correct. Most of the other students had already vacated the room. Meanwhile she had been sitting at her desk completely oblivious to everything around her...
Well that was embarrassing.
"S-Sorry. I guess I just had a lot on my mind."
"Hopefully it was something useful because you somehow managed to daydream through half of the lesson." This time it was Patrick who spoke as her other classmate approached before sending her an unimpressed look from his spot next to Ferris.
"Um..." Laura had no intention of lying to her former rivals, but at the same time she wasn't comfortable explaining everything that had been going through her mind. Instead she decided to take a page from another playbook and go with a half-truth instead, "I was just thinking about how strange it is that there's a difference between the history we read in texts and the history we witnessed before our very eyes."
"That's... understandable." Ferris admitted as both her and Patrick's expressions softened slightly, "It's hard to forget some of the things we learned during the war, so having the official records of events be different in places is hard to reconcile. Still, Instructor Thomas did hint that we wouldn't be penalized if we accidentally mixed them up on his test."
Patrick gave a small grunt before turning away, "Be that as it may, I absolutely refuse to settle for second best this year. You'd better not allow your grades to slip just because you know too much about what really happened."
"Of course." She watched as Patrick gave a short nod before turning and exiting the classroom. That declaration was so very much like him, but at the same time... "Is it just me, or did he seem a little off to you?"
Ferris gave a small shrug, "Can you blame him? Even if we grudgingly accept that Class VII are our betters at combat we've been motivated to at least beat your former class academically. I know I was looking forward to rubbing my score in Alisa's face..." The purple-haired girl coughed awkwardly as she realized she was getting off track, "Sure we are all still committed to getting the best grades we possibly can, but a lot of our motivation is gone now."
"Oh..." How was she supposed to respond to that? "...I'm sorry?"
"Don't be." Her friend gave a laugh, "We all know it's not your fault. Nor is it Rean's or anyone else here. It's just a reminder at how much things have changed and we still need to adjust to this new normal. At least there are some positives to come from it all - we might have lost our rivals, but at the very least we've gained a talented new classmate."
Laura chuckled in response to Ferris' mature words, "Indeed. That's a good outlook to have. And I swear that I won't let you guys down."
Rean furrowed his brow as he gazed upon his own name on the recently posted midterm results.
"And just why do you look so confused?" Fie asked with lidded eyes, "You placed in the top five, didn't you?"
"I did..." He agreed, seeing his name on the fifth slot for second year students, "But I can't help but feel a little disappointed in my score."
His words caused the silver girl to let out a groan, "Are you seriously such a nerd as to be letdown by getting fifth? Weren't you seventh last year?"
"I was, but there's a little less competition now because-
"Oh!" Laura exclaimed before he could finish "Last year the top three were Emma, Machias, and Jusis, right? So with them gone..."
"Right, technically I did a little worse this year."
Fie rolled her eyes, "Still sounding like a nerd to me." She turned her gaze to the swordswoman of the group, "Please tell me you aren't gonna mope about your score too?"
"I'm not moping..."
His protests fell on deaf ears as Laura shook her head, "Not at all. While the reminder that my improved standing is partly because of our missing classmates does dampen the accomplishment a little, overall I'm still very pleased with my results."
He was happy for her too. Scoring ninth place was a great achievement regardless.
Fie harrumphed, "Hurray for you overachievers. And your classes scored the highest, too. Feeling kinda let out, here..."
She tried to act nonchalant, but they both knew her enough to know she was fishing for attention. And that was something he had absolutely no problem giving, "Don't sell yourself short. Your score might not have been as high, but you easily win the award for most improved."
Naturally Laura was quick to back him up, "Indeed. Landing thirty-first places you in the top third of all students here. Considering how many of us come from affluent families that could afford private tutoring, I think you did quite remarkable."
"Hehe..." The silver-haired girl quickly caught herself with a cough and tried to plaster an aloof expression on her face, but it was impossible for her to mask her happiness fully, "W-Well. Good job, guys. Dunno 'bout you, but I think this calls for something fun. Like a nice long celebratory nap."
"...Naps aren't something people do to celebrate."
"They are when we've spent the last few nights studying! I'm completely exhausted!"
Rean couldn't help but chuckle to himself as they left the school. He couldn't say he was feeling up for a nap, but some relaxation definitely sounded good to him.
Victor S. Arseid laid back in his chair as he contemplated the document in front of him. It was expected given everything that had happened, but change was rapidly occurring in this country and as the Viscount for the people of Legram it was his duty to remain abreast of anything that might affect their livelihoods.
It was a duty he'd long since accepted willingly, but at the end of the day he was a man of action. Sitting in his office reading official documents all day was his duty, but it was an exhausting one. Since he was alone in his office he allowed himself the luxury of a yawn – Maybe he should head down to the training school and swing Galland-Sharl around-
He grimaced as his yawn threatened to turn into a painful cough.
Just as he'd long since accepted his duty as a Viscount he'd also come to accept the ramifications from his long bout against the Almighty Conflagration. Sure he was fighting fit again, but the damage his lungs he'd sustained were almost certainly irreparable. It was a small price to pay to open the path for his daughter and her friends, but it was certainly an inconvenience for the Arseid school's grandmaster.
He was just about to reach for another paper – this one about the Imperial Government's proposed adjustments to the national taxation policy – when he sensed something amiss.
Correction, he sensed three somethings amiss. And they were someones and not somethings. Heading sedately towards his manor.
Even from this distance he could feel just how dangerous the newcomers were. Two of them felt familiar to the swordsman, but the third – the most powerful by far – was an unknown.
"My lord, it appears we have guests."
Victor nodded in response to Klaus' statement. The loyal butler almost certainly knew that he was already aware of the newcomers, but the Viscount suspected the loyal butler was feeling a little unsettled and was simply doing his duty to center himself.
"I understand. I shall go and greet them at once." The veteran swordsman rose from his desk and began approaching the main hall, before pausing briefly to address his companion, "Be at ease. Given the way they approach I do not suspect they come with hostile intent. In fact perhaps you should prepare some drinks for our guests. Something strong, I suspect."
"As you say, my lord."
The Radiant Blademaster did not wait for the arrivals to reach the door, instead opening it just as they reached his doorstep. With that he was able to lay eyes upon the dangerous figures before him.
Despite having his suspicions on the identify of the third man based on his companions Victor couldn't help but arch an eyebrow in surprise, "I must admit, despite it having happened once already I am still unused to seeing dead men walking about freely. I cannot say I am a fan of death losing it's hold on the living."
None of his guests spoke, but his words caused the man in the center to chuckle, which put the Arseid at ease. Certainly the situation could change swiftly, but right now it didn't feel to him like a battle was imminent.
In fact, he was beginning to suspect this meeting was for a different reason entirely, "I take it to assume you've come to discuss our children and their... shared interests?"