Izan finished writing the st few notes in his book.

  Aurelia closed the lesson calmly.

  "That will be all for today."

  Several students began packing their things. Chairs slid across the floor as they stood and started leaving the cssroom.

  Aurelia simply waved them off.

  "Go on."

  One by one the students exited.

  Izan gathered his notes and stood up. As he stepped outside the cssroom, he immediately saw Sayaka waiting near the wall.

  She looked over at him.

  "Ready?"

  Izan nodded.

  "Yeah."

  They began walking together toward the training grounds.

  The wind moved lightly through the academy courtyard as they crossed the open paths. Izan adjusted the strap of his notebook while walking beside her.

  Soon the training field came into view.

  Rin was already there.

  Yurei was nearby, lying across the metal bench, completely rexed with her feet hanging over the armrest.

  Rin was near the training area waiting when Izan and Sayaka arrived. Not far from her, Yurei was stretched out across the metal bench, one leg hanging over the arm as she stared zily up at the sky.

  Sayaka walked onto the field and looked at both of them.

  "You two will spar against me. Since you're a duo, you need to build chemistry. This will be a monthly thing, and you'll train with each other daily."

  Yurei lifted a hand from the bench and waved zily.

  "Yo."

  Izan waved back.

  "Why are you here?"

  "She's watching your performance," Sayaka answered.

  Yurei shrugged without moving from the bench. "Someone's gotta make sure you don't embarrass yourselves."

  Sayaka nodded toward the field.

  "Alright, let's begin."

  Izan and Rin stepped forward onto the training ground. Rin summoned her light sword, the bde forming quickly in her hand, while Izan loosened his shoulders and took a breath.

  Sayaka studied them for a moment before adding, "If you don't want to fight today that's fine. I know you fought Drex the other day."

  Izan shook his head.

  "I'm good."

  He gnced at Rin briefly.

  "We can start."

  Rin moved first.

  Light exploded behind her.

  Fifty light swords formed in the air and shot forward all at once, streaking toward Sayaka like a storm of golden bdes.

  At the same time, Izan charged straight toward her from the ground, closing the distance quickly.

  Sayaka reacted instantly.

  A fsh of energy surged from her body as one tail of glowing fox energy grew behind her.

  The moment it appeared, a powerful aura burst outward.

  All fifty light swords hit the aura—

  —and were instantly deflected, scattering away in every direction.

  Sayaka didn't stop moving.

  She dashed straight toward Izan.

  Izan hesitated for half a second.

  He hadn't expected her to activate her one-tail form immediately.

  That moment of hesitation was enough.

  Sayaka's fist shot toward his face.

  Izan raised his arms just in time to block—

  —but the impact was overwhelming.

  The force sent him flying backward into the woods.

  Izan twisted mid-air, trying to regain control while branches rushed toward him. Still unbanced from the blow, he narrowly dodged several trees, but his shoulder and side clipped a few trunks as he passed, each hit slowing him slightly while he struggled to steady himself.

  But Rin had already moved.

  She appeared behind Sayaka in the sky.

  Light gathered above her hands, condensing rapidly.

  In seconds, a massive hammer of pure light formed above her.

  It towered nearly fifty meters tall, glowing intensely as it descended.

  Rin brought it crashing down.

  The moment the hammer smmed toward Sayaka—

  The pressure alone exploded outward.

  The air bsted away from the impact point.

  Wind violently pushed outward in every direction.

  The metal bench Yurei had been ying on was thrown across the ground as she jumped up quickly to avoid it.

  "Woah—!"

  She hovered there for a moment, floating lightly as the rushing wind from the impact swept through the field.

  Trees bent violently as leaves were ripped backward through the air.

  The shockwave reached the woods.

  Izan was still trying to recover when the pressure surged through the forest. For a split second he caught a glimpse of it through the trees — the massive light hammer descending from the sky.

  His heart stopped for a moment.

  That's… Rin's power…?

  The sheer scale of it froze him briefly.

  In that instant of lost focus, his body clipped a tree behind him. The impact knocked the air from his lungs and sent him tumbling again as the rushing pressure shoved him even farther back through the woods.

  Inside the academy building nearby, several students near the windows suddenly felt the surge of energy.

  They rushed toward the gss.

  "What the hell is that?!"

  "That light pressure is insane…"

  "Are they seriously training right now?!"

  Back on the field—

  Sayaka looked up at the descending hammer.

  Her fox tail flicked once behind her.

  Then she punched upward.

  Her fist collided with the hammer.

  A massive burst of force exploded outward.

  Sayaka's willpower overwhelmed the attack, her aura pushing through the structure of the weapon.

  Cracks of light spread across the giant hammer—

  —and it shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.

  Rin reacted immediately.

  She spun midair and formed another construct instantly.

  A giant crossbow of light formed directly from Rin's arm, the glowing weapon extending outward from her hand as if it were part of her body. The structure stretched nearly sixty meters wide, its radiant frame humming with condensed mana.

  Without hesitation, she released the shot.

  A massive arrow of light formed and fired forward.

  The arrow was even rger—over seventy meters long—burning with compressed energy as it tore through the air toward Sayaka like a bzing beam.

  Rin had gone all out.

  Sayaka's eyes widened slightly.

  For a brief moment, she was stunned.

  Then a proud smile appeared on her face.

  She's using her light power at its maximum capability.

  Sayaka had almost no time to react.

  The arrow tore toward her at light speed, ripping through the air before most people could even perceive it moving.

  Her eyes sharpened instantly.

  She lifted her gaze toward it and released her will.

  Her aura surged outward as she forced all of her willpower forward, compressing it into a single point of pressure.

  The moment the arrow entered that field—

  Sayaka's will crushed it.

  The massive projectile shattered apart midair, breaking into fragments of fading light before it could reach her.

  Rin froze in shock.

  The giant crossbow connected to her arm dissolved immediately, the light fading as exhaustion hit her body. Her breathing grew heavier as the energy she had just spent caught up to her.

  Sayaka didn't hesitate.

  Sayaka charged through the air straight toward Rin.

  But before she could reach her—

  Izan dashed in front of Rin instantly.

  He raised his arms just as Sayaka's strike came down.

  The impact smmed directly into his guard.

  A heavy shock ran through his arms as he grunted, the force pressing against him.

  But this time he didn't get thrown back.

  He held his position in the air, absorbing the strike while Sayaka's power crashed against his defense.

  Rin quickly supported him.

  Several small light archers formed behind her, releasing rapid arrows toward Sayaka.

  Sayaka's fox tail flicked through the air, effortlessly knocking the arrows aside while she continued fighting Izan.

  Their movements exploded into motion.

  Fists fshed.

  Izan threw a straight punch toward her ribs.

  Sayaka twisted her body, letting the strike pass beside her as her elbow shot toward his shoulder.

  He ducked under it and swung another punch toward her jaw.

  Sayaka leaned back just enough for it to miss before countering with a palm strike toward his chest.

  Izan shifted his footing and deflected it.

  Their hands moved faster and faster.

  Punch.

  Block.

  Strike.

  Dodge.

  Their fists collided again and again as they moved around each other with incredible speed, each trying to break the other's rhythm.

  But Sayaka's movements were still smoother.

  Sharper.

  She slipped past another strike and countered effortlessly.

  She chuckled lightly.

  "You're using moves I taught you."

  She tilted her head slightly.

  "You have to be creative."

  In the same motion she countered his strike and drove a punch into his guard.

  The impact forced Izan back.

  He grunted as the force of the strike crashed into his guard.

  His arms trembled slightly from the impact, but he held his position in the air, forcing his body to absorb the pressure instead of being sent flying.

  Sayaka stepped back as well.

  At that moment she dragged a little blood from her arm toward her knuckles, the liquid gathering tightly around them.

  Izan noticed it immediately.

  How is the blood staying there…?

  The thought fshed through his mind.

  But he dismissed it.

  Instead he moved.

  Dozens of clones appeared around Sayaka.

  Then more.

  Hundreds surrounded her instantly and charged in.

  Meanwhile Rin stepped back slightly, catching her breath.

  But as she watched something clicked in her mind.

  She turned to one of Izan's clones.

  "Make more clones."

  Even though Izan's real body wasn't nearby, he heard it.

  His senses were linked to his clones.

  He understood immediately.

  More clones appeared.

  They rushed Sayaka from every direction.

  At the same time Sayaka suddenly ignored them.

  She went straight toward Izan.

  But Izan had already moved.

  His soul shifted.

  In an instant his consciousness transferred into another clone.

  The body she was chasing didn't disappear.

  Instead, Izan's soul slipped out of it and rushed into another clone nearby, transferring his consciousness instantly.

  The clone she had been targeting slowed for a split second, empty now.

  Sayaka noticed immediately.

  Her eyes narrowed as she sensed where his real presence had shifted.

  Without hesitation, she changed direction and began chasing the clone his soul had moved into.

  It was a dangerous ability.

  If every clone were destroyed at the same moment with no body left, his soul would have nowhere to go.

  He would become a wandering spirit.

  Sayaka had taught him that technique during training.

  Sayaka continued chasing him.

  She followed the movement of his soul, ignoring the clones trying to attack her.

  At the same time the hundreds of clones Rin had armed with light weapons raised their guns and bows.

  Arrows and beams of light fired toward Sayaka from every direction.

  Sayaka finally had to stop.

  She began dodging rapidly, weaving between the attacks as light streaked past her.

  Meanwhile Izan stopped retreating.

  He dashed across the battlefield, circling around behind Rin and the army of clones.

  His focus sharpened.

  He blocked out everything around him.

  A faint red-pink aura began forming around his body, swirling lightly as his will gathered.

  Sayaka noticed immediately.

  While dodging the attacks she gnced toward him.

  A smirk spread across her face.

  Izan leapt forward.

  He jumped above Rin and the surrounding clones—

  —and came crashing down toward Sayaka with a strike.

  Izan's other clones powered up at the same moment.

  Hundreds of them surged forward, surrounding Sayaka in midair as they all charged together.

  Izan rushed in with them.

  Punches flew from every direction.

  His fists shot toward her face and ribs while his clones attacked at the same time, forming a storm of strikes around her.

  Sayaka moved calmly in the middle of it.

  She slipped past one punch, ducked another, twisted around a kick, and stepped aside from three strikes at once.

  The clones began colliding with each other as their attacks missed her.

  One clone swung toward her—

  Sayaka countered with a single punch.

  Her blood-covered knuckles struck the clone's chest.

  The moment the blood touched the shirt—

  Boom.

  The explosion ripped through the air, catching several nearby clones within its radius. Their bodies shattered apart as the bst tore through them, light fragments scattering as the remaining clones were forced to pull back from the sudden burst.

  Izan's eyes widened.

  The blood…

  He realized it immediately.

  She transferred her blood to her knuckles.

  First tail ability.

  If she could control blood like that…

  Then maybe he could too.

  But how had she done it so precisely?

  He was still thinking when Sayaka appeared in front of him.

  Her fist came straight for him.

  Izan barely dodged it, carefully avoiding contact with the blood on her knuckles.

  He kept his distance, trying to think while fighting.

  But his hesitation gave Sayaka the advantage.

  She slipped past his guard again and again, forcing him back while he tried to analyze what she was doing.

  At the same time his clones were still busy fighting Sayaka's single clone, which had been handling dozens of them alone.

  Rin was still recovering behind him.

  Sayaka suddenly nded a punch across his face.

  Heat fred instantly.

  The blood on her knuckles ignited.

  For a split second Izan felt the burn beginning—

  Then something clicked.

  Blood…

  I can control blood too.

  If both of them were trying to control the same blood…

  Then maybe—

  Negative plus negative…

  Two poisons trying to become poison…

  Maybe it cancels out.

  He forced his will forward.

  His mana gripped the blood at the same moment Sayaka's did.

  For a brief instant, the two controls collided.

  Then the reaction stopped.

  The burn vanished.

  Sayaka's eyes widened slightly.

  "…You found a counter."

  Izan breathed heavily.

  Sayaka smirked.

  "But you're using a lot of energy."

  At that moment Izan felt it.

  Pain.

  Not normal pain.

  Something deeper.

  A sharp twisting sensation inside his soul.

  He had been overusing his soul transfer ability.

  And at the same time he was forcing control over someone else's blood through telepathic mana.

  The strain hit him all at once.

  It felt like something deep inside him was tearing.

  Not his body.

  His soul.

  A strange pressure twisted inside his chest, like something pulling and stretching at the very core of his existence. The pain wasn't physical—it was deeper than that, a sharp, overwhelming ache that came from forcing his soul to jump between bodies and control power beyond its limit.

  But he didn't stop.

  Rin suddenly appeared beside him.

  She gently tapped her light sword against his shoulder.

  A soft pulse of light flowed into him.

  A temporary boost.

  Izan steadied himself slightly.

  Meanwhile the rest of his clones were destroyed.

  Sayaka's clone returned to her side and faded away.

  Both sides nded back on the ground.

  Sayaka touched down lightly.

  Izan nded beside Rin.

  Without hesitation he charged again.

  They returned to hand-to-hand combat.

  Izan threw a punch toward her face.

  She leaned away easily.

  Her counterstrike drove toward his stomach.

  He let it happen intentionally.

  But as she struck, his body shifted.

  His left foot moved into position.

  His right leg swung upward for a counter kick while his arm followed with an upper strike.

  Sayaka caught the kick instantly.

  But Izan's movement didn't stop.

  His left leg lifted and hooked around her leg like a snake wrapping its prey.

  He used the leverage to pull himself forward and nd another strike.

  Sayaka was slightly surprised.

  She felt his weight shifting unexpectedly.

  At the same moment his tail whipped toward her blindside.

  Her own tail intercepted it immediately, blocking the strike.

  Her left arm caught his attacking arm as well.

  But Izan's pn had already moved forward.

  His soul jumped.

  His consciousness transferred instantly into a clone hidden behind a nearby tree.

  Sayaka noticed the shift.

  But before she could move—

  Her body locked.

  She couldn't move.

  Her eyes widened slightly.

  Under her feet…

  Blood.

  Izan's blood.

  One of his destroyed clones had left it behind.

  He had poisoned it earlier.

  The effect was temporary but powerful.

  Even worse—

  His control over the blood had made it impossible to sense or see clearly until the moment he switched bodies.

  Sayaka realized it too te.

  Something massive surged from the ground beneath her.

  A dragon made of pure light erupted upward from the earth.

  The glowing creature swallowed both Sayaka and Izan's clone as it burst into the sky.

  The battlefield lit up with golden light.

  Above the academy, the sun was beginning to set.

  From the school rooftop—

  Valeria watched the scene quietly.

  The dragon rose into the air while the sun sank behind it, creating a breathtaking silhouette.

  A radiant dragon rising toward the sky with the sunset burning behind its wings.

  Valeria smiled softly.

  "…Beautiful."