After the team exercise, the class was dismissed, while a few teams were called to stay back. Ivy's group and two others were told to wait while the Guardians stood behind Scarlet and Naofumi. Ivy stretched before staring at Blake, she had a feeling Blake wanted more...action. She inwardly smirked while keeping a blank expression. Naofumi excused himself while he assesses his papers.
Scarlet smiled before saying, "You three, will fight the Guardians together."
Everyone was shocked to hear before looking at each figure. Each one of the Guardians created such an overpowering aura and menace. One of the students fell to his knees before screaming, "Are you INSANE?! We'll never get closed to them!"
Ivy looked over at the boy before sighing. She flexed her body before summoning a black curved edged sword. Rose looked at Ivy before feeling a morale boost and ready herself. Eden and York followed in pursuit while Neo hesitated.
She was hesitant because this seemed too sudden; if it was simply Ivy against one of the Guardians, Neo would understand. But all of them seem a bit...odd. Neo did her research, and each Guardian was once a criminal before Ruby made a deal with them. Neo sighed before having her eyes changed to a bright golden and smiled.
Feeling a familiar change in Neo's presence, Ivy looked over and saw the golden eyes. ("Using that form, huh?") She exhaled out of her nose and looked back at the Guardians. If Neo is going to try her best to stand her ground, Ivy may as well do the same. Besides, if the Guardians wanted to give a test, then she will pass with more than flying colors.
The other two teams saw Ivy's team as insane. One of the team leaders sighed before accepting the challenge while the other team left. Seeing that only two groups stayed, Scarlet sighed before quickly leaving the premises. She arrived at the announcer booth and give some rules.
"Team Rose and Team Brian, you will have to work together to defeat at least one of the Guardians. Once your Aura runs out, you are out and can not assist your team. Guardians, try to go easy," Scarlet said before counting down.
The team leader, Brian, backed off while the two close quarters took to act as vanguards. The last person was left in the middle and started to create spears out of Mana. Rose quickly ordered Neo and Ivy to take vanguard as well, while York supported the girl using Mana. She and Eden were going to going to help Brian.
The Guardians smiled before Blake took the lead and smashed his way through one of the acting vanguards. Wrath stood in the back and stay still, she silent observed while watching Ivy's eye moment. Shiro smiled and wanted a rematch from Ivy. However, when she tried to attack Ivy, the girl's figure disappeared and reappeared behind with a charged attack of her sword.
Shiro quickly reacted to the attack only to feel a cracking punch in her stomach as she was launch away. Neo gave Ivy a thumbs up before the two helped the others defend and attack. The girl who was using Mana finished and launched a pincer attack against Blake; however, she could hear blades colliding behind her. She saw another Guardian trying to use the element of surprise, but thanks to York, he was able to block the attack and giving a clear opening for the girl.
("Although they aren't used to working together with other groups, they seem to be well-coordinated. The two team leaders observe the fight, and while I don't like the idea, it can help,") Wrath thought to herself while the only person left who hasn't engaged was Lux.
He was the healer and second in command for the Guardians. And though he was in the same boat as Wrath were the two weren't fighting, they watched as the two teams worked excellently together. Lux was also able to see that, although Ivy and Neo were leagues above the rest, they still decided to pick their fellow teammates over themselves.
"Ivy would make a fine addition, though I'm still a bit cautious around her. If she were to lose herself again, do you think that she'll be able to snap out of it?" Lux posed a question to Wrath. Since he knew Wrath went to Ivy that night, he hoped that the small girl could deduct something from.
Wrath shrugged. She couldn't say with 100% confidence that Ivy would be able to break from her emotions. However, it is also hard to say anything when Ivy's aura was all over the place. It would even change color at times, which usually would be impossible. One can not manipulate their aura's color, or else it would mean there is more than one entity inside.
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Ivy fell onto her bed and hugged her pillow. She didn't exhaust herself out, but her entire body felt sore to the bone. Rose was surprised to see Ivy staying in the dorm since the girl would rarely be in unless it's night time. Neo sat next to Ivy before slowly petting the girl's head. She could feel a lot of built-up tension inside Ivy's muscles and think about a good way to release most of it.
Knock Knock.
Rose has answered the door before seeing Brian along with his team. She greeted them before allowing them to enter and look around. She was a bit surprised to see the entire team; however, Rose didn't think anything about the visit.
Brian thanked Rose's hostility and looked around. He saw that Violet, the girl that was able to use Mana, was immediately attracted towards Ivy. He held Violet back as the girl frowned and looked down.
"We're just here to thank them. You can always talk to her when you see her," Brian whispered into Violet's ears. He let go of Violet before turning his attention to Rose.
"Thanks for the help during that battle. I was stunned that two of your teammates were able to launch one of the Guardians off the arena. Plus, I wasn't expecting them today, let alone fighting against them," Brian said before looking at the exhausted Ivy and the gentle Neo. He held his chin before saying, "I never introduced my team. My name is Brian Connor, I'm the team leader, and I specialize in long-ranges. Ada is our resident info broker and is extremely good at taking in damage, though, I think she enjoys it a bit too much. Violet is our unique Mana controller, she is also a great massager. Lastly, Orian is our support, he is...an interesting person. He can heal and heal us, but at the expense of hurting others."
Orian looked away as he was very embarrassed about the situation. Brian patted him on the back. Brian looked average, brown hair, dark eyes, a strong yet lean body type. Ada had black hair with an Asian or Korean face, she was wearing a black face mask and didn't seem to like interacting. She looked to be a bit taller than average. Violet, besides being a Mana user, had ironically violet hair with silver eyes. Her body was a bit lean, not much in the muscles department. And lastly, Orian was a lot more ripped than Brian with black hair and a strand of white along with extremely dark eyes.
"Oh, also, Violet is really good at massages!" Brian brought up.
Violet started to panic as she wasn't expecting to be called out. She nodded before hiding behind one of her teammates. Brian chuckled before adding, "She's timid and isn't that good with talking."
"Sounds like Ivy, except she aloof than timid," Neo said as she noticed Ivy fell asleep when she was petting her. She tucked Ivy before saying to Violet, "I'll come fetch you if you ever want to give me a massage, or Ivy. Though, I don't think she ever had a massage."
Violet was a bit shocked hearing Neo's words before nodding. She wouldn't mind giving Neo or Ivy a massage since the two did take a few hits for her. Violet smiled before excusing herself and leaving back to her team's dorm.
Seeing Violet's leave, Brian thanked Rose again before departing. The rest of the team also thanked as they took their leave as well. Rose was a bit confused before noticing Eden removing a small metal transmitter. He showed Rose before Neo snatched it and observed. She immediately noticed a tiny Rose flower embedding before destroying the transmitter. Neo quickly excused herself as she headed towards Ruby's office.