"Welcome to the second stage of the Sorcerer Ranking Games!" Meiwa Shouted.
"Are all the stages taking place in this city?" Manjiro asked himself as he looked around.
He noticed all the buildings that were destroyed in the previous stage were rebuilt, that thought however disappeared when he sighted a glimpse of Unmei from the corner of his eye.
"Unmei huh? I couldn't even beat Miyamoto and this guy is even stronger than him."
Manjiro lightly touched his nose which still stung a little, he was confused why a random man would help him out. The man looked suspicious to Manjiro, he heard about a man infiltrating the village, was that him?
Again the thoughts left his head as Meiwa began to speak again.
"This second stage consists of a game of capture the flag."
The crowd went silent.
"Seriously?" Lavender said out loud.
"Same reaction every year," Meiwa thinks to himself.
"Yes, I'm serious, it might seem like a kid's game but this stage can really be useful in battle," Meiwa responded.
"Think of a civilian you're protecting with your three-man team as the flag, what do you do if you come across as a demon?"
The crowd of sorcerers goes silent.
"Naturally you attack but simultaneously you need to defend the civilian as well, that's where the advantage of having a three-man team comes in, depending on your skill and teamwork you decide whether two sorcerers attack the demon, or if one sorcerer attacks while two defend." Meiwa goes on, "This stage tests your teamwork and your ability to defend others while facing battle."
"I know it might be silly but it still tests your capabilities of being a sorcerer."
"I don't care how silly it looks, if I have to scoop up dog shit I'll do it to get closer to my goal!" Manjiro shouts, "Let's do this!"
Meiwa lets out a laugh.
"He really reminds me of Jiyu."
"As you're so fired up, how about your team goes first Manjiro?" Meiwa replies.
"Let's get this out of the way," Shita said looking at Lavender.
As team Kami made their way towards their flag Shita noticed somebody familiar in the crowd of cadets, she seemed to be from a different village, but for some reason, he felt a connection with her.
Lavender notices Shita staring off and taps his shoulder.
"This isn't the time to stare at a girl you like," Lavender said, making a goofy face.
Shita looks back annoyed at Lavender's comment.
"Jeez I was kidding."
"So those guys are our opponents," Manjiro said, pointing North.
Three boys appeared standing on a rooftop directly North of team Kami, they all wore identical masks hiding their faces.
"From their looks, I suspect they are from Sabaku no Mura," Shita replied.
"Interesting I haven't encountered sorcerers from a different village besides that sand dude who flung me across the city," Manjiro said, stretching his arms.
"So who's defending and attacking?"
"I think me and Lavender should attack," Shita replied.
"I'm fine with that," Manjiro said, still stretching, "If I'm lucky two people from their team will attack."
"Let the 2nd stage begin!"
The sound of a horn echoed throughout the city. Shita and Lavender rush toward the opponent's flag which was located on a roof 50 meters from their own flag.
As they approach 25 meters they notice only one sorcerer is guarding the flag.
"The other two must've flanked from the sides instead of going straight like us," Shita thought.
As they both approach the 20-meter mark Shita stops.
"Around 20 meters I can reach him from here."
"Fire Element, Fire Blast!"
Rods of fire appear on top of him and then shoot towards the sorcerer, the sorcerer gets out of the way but simultaneously leaves the flag unprotected.
Lavender jumps into the air.
"Water Element, Water Pistol!"
Water appears towards her feet pushing her forward at incredible speed.
"Shita's attack caused that sorcerer to move out of the way and leave his flag open, and now I have a chance to grab it using my water element!"
Lavender extends her arm while flying in the air decreasing the distance between her and the flag.
As she reaches close to the flag she's intercepted by the sorcerer who grabs her wrist and flings her into a nearby wall.
"He's fast," Lavender thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Manjiro was awaiting his opponents.
"I hear fighting," Manjiro stays silent, "Their hear."
A sorcerer appears in front of him throwing a punch, which Manjiro easily avoids while another appears behind him.
"A flank from behind?"
Manjiro instantly grabs the sorcerer in front of him and throws him towards the second causing them to crash into each other.
"That was easy, guess those two got the strongest one."
Lavender gets back as Shita reaches the rooftop.
"He's quite fast," Shita thought to himself.
Shita charges in, both the sorcerer and Shita exchange a series of punches. The sorcerer takes a step back but Shita closes the distance again.
"He's too fast for Lavender so I'll make it impossible to dodge her."
"Just got to wait for him to throw a punch."
The sorcerer throws a right hook toward Shita.
"Now!"
Shita ducks under and throws an uppercut which connects with the sorcerer's chin sending him flying upwards.
Shita jumps into the air and kicks the sorcerer towards Lavender.
Lavender, understanding the plan knows what she must do.
"Water Element, Water Bubble"
Lavender traps the sorcerer inside a water bubble.
Shita lands on the ground and picks up the flag.
"Team Kami has advanced to stage 3!" Meiwa announces