*Mira*

"I will act as a bulwark," I said. His gentle tap didn't work against me. Given it worked on Kan's iron spheres, it had to be because of the make up of my armor being orichalcum.

"No," Au said, wiping some blood off his face. "We can't treat you like a living shield." He threw several feathers into the air and clapped his hands. They expanded in size like the ones he had used to shield Ling from Shuai and the confused Carter earlier.

"What a gentleman," Shuai said, as he kicked the feathers. His tap technique didn't work on them either, but why? Could it be because they and my armor were magical items? Then, our wands might been able to do the trick!

"Everyone, summon the wands you got with your uniforms!" I yelled while Au kept him and his tails at bay.

The others all summoned their wands out of thin air. Everyone except for Ling had a black wand. Our opponent's cousin instead summoned a jade and gold wand. She was the only one in the class to have a personal wand.

Mine transformed into an obsidian shield with a blackened steel rim. Hopefully, it wasn't as brittle as obsidian. Although, if it was, I would feel sorry for Shuai. The poor guy would get stabbed by multiple sharp pieces of glass.

"Woah!" Carter said as he swung a pair of nunchucks. The parts furthest from the orichalcum chain were made of black steel like the rim of my shield, but the parts closest to it were red and glowed like an L.E.D. display.

"Don't hurt yourself with those," Huo said as he held a white staff. Like Carter's, parts of it glowed, but the light was blue and spread out.

"A staff? Can you even use one," Carter chided.

Huo scoffed and lurched at Shuai.

"Hey!" Lidia yelled as she drew her jian. Had she even summoned her wand? Or was that sword of hers her personal wand?

Shuai spun around, kicking Aurelius' feathers away. He smiled as Huo came closer. His eyes glowed red.

"Lidia! Don't get any closer!" I yelled.

Lidia stopped and jumped back. Huo turned around and shook his staff, causing it to break up into three segments.

"It's like a taller version of mine!" Carter remarked as she lurched forward and blocked Huo's attack.

"It's the three segmented staff," Ling said she she stared at her sheathed sword. Vine-like patterns ran from the green sheath to the silver hilt. It certainly gave off the powerful vibe that personal wands often did. It also had a certain noble air to it.

"Snap out of it, Huo!" Aurelius shouted as he tried to contain Shuai again. He gulped and jumped back as Ling's cousin kicked one of the feather shields toward him. Seemed he had given up on his gentle tap technique.

Au pulled out his bow and pulled it back. His index and middle fingers glowed as bright as emeralds. The prana extended forward, forming the shape of an arrow. He turned around and threw his arrow at me.

I raised my shield. Ugh. Had Shuai trapped him an illusion too? I gasped as it bounced off my shield toward a confused Shuai.

The Xianian-Kyuu Seishinian moved his body back slightly, avoiding the full blunt of Au's attack, but still getting him a strong gale of wind.

"T-that's some crazy stuff," Shuai said as he rubbed his neck and backed away.

Huo shook his head. Had he returned to his senses?

Au smirked and shot another arrow at our opponent.

Shuai vanished as the arrow passed through him.

"An illusion?" Lidia said, glancing around.

"He's not underground," Ling said, staring at it.

I scanned the area and saw him gathering wind around him. "He's up there!"

"Where? I don't see him," Carter said, looking around.

"It must be another illusion," Huo said, rubbing his head.

Au pointed in the direction I had mentioned and shot three arrows skyward. The gales tore them apart, absorbing them. Shuai looked down at us with an expressionless face.

"He's done joking around," Ling said, standing up. "Get ready, Shuai's gotten bored of us."

"Hmph, we aren't his playthings," Kanja said as she held a revolver in her hands. She inserted several small iron balls into it and pointed her gun at him.

"Can it reach that far?" Au asked.

"We won't know unless I try!" Kanja pressed down on the trigger of her weapon. The bullet flew fast but like Au's arrows, were caught by the wind barrier.

"How do we break that thing?" I asked.

"Our best bet is Aurelius," Ling said.

"Understood," Au said, forming a single arrow this time.

"Can you see him?" I asked.

"Yeah. The illusion broke when I hit his barrier with my triple arrows."

Shuai's wind sphere flew down, rushing at us at full speed.

I gritted my teeth and jumped in front of Au. The gales pushed me back.

"Au! Keep charging your attack!" I yelled as I dug my heels into the ground.

"You're a durable one. But I saw how easily Tamara broke you down. If I'm to beat her, I can't struggle with the likes of you," Shuai said as he intensified his wind.

I grunted and fell to one knee.

"Leave Mira alone!" Carter yelled, throwing his nunchucks at him. Pink flames flew out of the glowing regions, hitting the barrier.

Shuai gritted his teeth as his barrier was set on fire. "Those flames aren't natural," he mumbled as he off loaded the burning sections.

Carter laughed. "Duh! They're magic! One would think an honor student of all people would know that."

He curled his hands into fist and grumbled. "That's not what I mean! Do you even know how much power you have?"

"A ton!" Carter nodded to himself.

Shuai chuckled. "I see, you've barely touched the tip of the iceberg."

Carter furrowed his brow. "Iceberg? I have fire! Jude's the ice mage here!"

"Uh... Alright, think I should avoid making analogies around you from now on." He took a deep breath and absorbed his barrier, covering his body and clothes in a green sheen. With a single step, he stood next to Cart and kicked him high into the air. He appeared above Carter in an instant, kicking him straight down, only to grab him midaway and swing him toward us.

"Carter!" Kanja yelled.

Huo clicked his tongue. "Guy got cocky again."

"Indeed," Ling said as she finally stood up from the ground. She reached for the hilt of her sword. 

Aurelius pointed at his bow at Shuai, but before he could shoot, the flirt appeared in front of Au and slammed his hand against his abdomen, sending him reeling in pain. He turned toward me and struck my armor and shield multiple times with fierce blasts of air. This was the opposite approach from before.

I grunted as I fell to the floor.

"I won't let anyone hurt Mira!" Jude said, appearing behind Shuai. He swung a silver ice pick-like weapon at him. Shuai ducked and jabbed Jude with his elbow, sending him falling back.

"Jude!" I yelled, pushing myself up.

"Persistent!" Shuai said, appearing behind me. "Sen no Kūki Bakufū!"

I gasped and fell forward as a thousand bursts of air struck me in multiple directions. His power really is comparable to that of Tammy and Nat. Ling, Huo, Kanja, Lidia. It's all up to you now.

"Mira, no," Lidia said. Her hands trembled as Shuai shifted his gaze toward her.

"You're the one I challenged, yet you're the least impressive one," he said before turning his sights on Ling.

"You aren't going to take down the weakest links first?" Ling said, smiling she drew her sword.

"No. I've seen them in action. As they currently stand, there's no way they can turn the tide of barrier. Not that I don't have precautionary measures in place should they back you up."

"This is a group fight," Kanja said as multiple metals spheres formed around her. "You can take on Ling, but we aren't going to stand still any longer!"

Lidia's grip on her sword firmed. "Kanja's right! We might be the weakest ones, but we're still in this together with Ling!"

Ling sighed. "I rather you stand back."

Was she hoping for a one on one all of this time? Was that why she had kept still, vying her time?

"Fine by me," Huo said, stepping back.

"Huh?" Lidia said, turning to look at him. "You aren't going to help?"

"She said she doesn't want it, so I won't give it to her."

Ling smiled. "Knew you would understand me, Huoyin."

Huo looked down. He was shaking. Was he afraid of Shuai? Or did he secretly wish to help Ling? Or maybe he hated how weak he was. Kanja, Cart, and I certainly felt that way after we had lost to Nat and Tamara. To face overwhelming power was confidence shattering.

"Now, it's time to go all out!" Ling said, unsheathing her sword. She jumped back as Shuai flew at her. He smirked as his tails emerged anew from his lower back. Li kicked them and spun around in the air. She glanced at Lidia.

"Does she want our help after all?" Kanja said, smiling.

"It's not that," Lidia said as she formed several large bubbles. "Remember her fight against Au?"

Kanja's eyes widened. "Wait, does she plan to..."

Lidia nodded as she surrounded all of us with barriers of water.

Ling pointed her sword at her cousin before stabbing the ground with it and chanting,"Jíliú!" Geysers of waters tore through the ring as if a super volcano were about to erupt. The battlefield was gradually flooded as the waves of water slammed into Shuai.

Shuai pushed the water away with his wind, creating a whirlpool.

Ling clenched her teeth as she and the rest of us were being pulled right into it.

Pillars of stone rose up from the ring but were shattered and turned to sand by the intensity of the winds.

She had to know that there was no way to win alone. Was her pride too blinding for her to see clearly? Or did she prefer to lose under her own terms than to take a chance with us? No, if that were the case, would she have aided us in the first place? Then it had to be to spare us. If she lost, the other three would have no choice but to surrender. But would they? Lidia had her honor and Kanja and Huo were nearly as proud as her.

Vines spread out from Shuai's barrier and whirlpool, draining the water around him.

Ling raised her blade. "Hongshui!" Her yellow eyes glowed blue. The water pulled away from Shuai, racing toward the barrier.

"Trying the same tricks you used against Aurelius, huh? If it didn't clinch you the victory back then, what makes you think it'll help you win now?"

"For one, you aren't Aurelius. Second of all, I am not the same as I was a few weeks ago!" The water crashed down, destroying the entire battlefield and sending wave after wave at her cousin.

Shuai gritted his teeth as he was rocked by the water. "Not bad, Cuz! But your growth pales in comparison to Carter's."

She laughed. "If I grew that much, I wouldn't be in this position."

He smiled. "Oh?"

"What?"

Shuai chuckled. "It's rare for you to openly express your feelings or admiration."

Ling blushed. Her waves intensified.

"Mad, aren't you?"

"Shut up and dig yourself a hole!" Ling said, hitting him with more water.

Shuai took a deep breath and slammed his hands against the bottom of his barrier. The water flew upward as a blast of air head toward Ling and the rest of us.

Ling gritted her teeth and formed a barrier of wind. The air pressed down against the aquatic shield, causing it to bend strangely. It wouldn't last for much longer.

I gasped as a stream of bubbles pushed against what was essentially a wind meteor.

"Lidia," Ling said, glancing at Lidi.

Lidi smiled as she walked toward her, pushing the water away. "Like we said, you aren't alone in this."

Ling looked away and sighed. "Guess we'll just have to lose together."

Shuai smiled. "I knew you had a noble heart, Lidi."

Lidia blushed.

"Hey, don't fall for his charms. My cousin is a trash man," Ling said.

Shuai's face reddened. "You might be my cousin, but I'll sue you for spreading falsehoods!"

Ling scoffed. "Falsehoods? Like how you can't hold a relationship for long? Or how your aims are mostly physical?"

Yikes! He did sound like a bad guy to date.

"The former is true, but you have no way to prove the latter!"

"Shuai is scummy," Kanja said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Shuai's attack weakened. "Don't believe her!"

"I knew you were trash," Huo said, glaring at him.

Ling smiled as the blast began to be repealed.

Shuai sighed and kicked his own attack. The blast of air broke through Ling and Lidia's barriers, and sent the others flying. I remained on the floor of the ring thanks to the weight of my armor.

"Lidi! Ling!" Huo yelled as he surfaced. The waters were gradually retreating. That they hadn't completely disappeared had to mean that Ling was semi-conscious still.

"What was that you called me earlier?" Shuai asked, appearing in front of him.

Huo gritted his teeth and swam away.

Kanja surrounded Huo in a shell of metal and threw a kick at Shuai. He blocked the hit and smiled as he turned away. 

Kanja pressed her skirt down as her face reddened. "Ugh!"

"Don't worry. I didn't see much. I might be a flirt, but I know how much women outside of Xian care about their chastity."

"Like I believe that!"

Shuai sighed as he blocked her barrage of iron balls. "I gotta give Ling a good talking to after this!"

Huo fired a blast of fire at him.

Shuai loved back and kicked the air, producing a wave of wind that sent Huo flying back into the water.

Kanja gritted her teeth and stepped back.

"I applaud you for you valiant effort, but it's over now!" He appeared behind Kanja and lightly tapped her in the back, sending her falling forward.

I gasped as Carter emerged from the water and grabbed Kanja.

"You're still up?" Shuai asked.

Carter's expression, it was like when he had fought against Jude and Nat.

Shuai's eyes widened as Carter delivered a fiery punch at him. He winced at the flames scorched his shirt despite his powerful prana veil.

"You're the other Carter, aren't you?" Shuai asked as Kanja's makeshift boat disappeared.

Carter put Kanja down as the last bit of Ling's water receded.

"I won't lose!" Carter yelled, flying at him.

Shuai clenched his teeth as Carter struck him repeatedly as Shuai had done to him. Despite his situation, Shuai smiled.

"If only you could bring this kind of power out while in your usual cheerful state. Alas, even this little boost isn't enough to best me," Shuai said, catching his fists. "Your flames burn as hot as your passion. Keep growing and perhaps one day you'll reach the level of us elite four!"

Carter grunted as Shuai knee kicked him in the stomach. Shuai slowly let go of him. He didn't get back up this time. None of us did.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**