After around 15 minutes of trying to settle down the angered crowd, The cloaked man finally stated "For the next round, We call Astyr down to the arena!"
Suddenly, the girl sitting next to me stood up. "Wait, is that you they just called down?" "Yep..." She said with a scared grin.
As she made her way to the arena, I could notice the hand she had on her hilt was shaking. I couldn't help but feel bad, but there wasn't anything I could do to help her but cheer her on.
When Astyr got to the arena, she stood there for a few seconds before Alexandria, the same tester as before, came out of the corridor on the other side of the room.
As Alexandria walked towards the middle of the arena, I seen that she had a huge grin on her face. "C'mon, you got this..." I mumbled to myself in anticipation of the match that was about to happen.
Without another second being wasted, the old man spoke. "The second match shall now begin!"
Instantly, Astyr unsheathed her katana and dashed towards Alexandria, causing the ground beneath her feet to crumble from the force of her pushing off the ground.
As Astyr closed in on the tester, she noticed that Alexandria hasn't moved an inch. Sensing something was wrong, she stopped rushing Forward, and instead jumped back.
In an instant, a huge crater was formed into the ground where Astyr would have been. Suddenly, a huge wave of fire shot out from the crater in the ground, causing a sort of wall to be put up between the two.
Taking advantage, Alexandria then jolted forward, passing through the wave of fire, and straight towards Astyr. Before she could even think, Astyr put up her sword just in time to block the devastating blow Alexandria threw her way.
A huge shockwave resonated across the whole arena from the force of impact.
Astyr then let go of her sword, catching it in her left hand. She then swung right at Alexandria's neck. It seemed like Astyr missed, but a wave of stars, covered in some sort of black dust, shot out from Astyr's blade, diving straight towards Alexandria.
Aware of the incoming projectile, Alexandria jumped up, just in time to evade the attack. But in a flash, Astyr Jumped up, following Alexandria. Astyr then grabbed Alexandria's wrist, and pulled her down, causing her to be behind Alexandria.
Without a second thought, Astyr slashed at Alexandria again, this time hitting her hard enough to make her slam into the ground.
Another huge crater formed where Alexandria had fallen too. A huge dust cloud covered the arena. After about a minute or two, Alexandria crawled up from out of the crater, and started laughing. "Hahaha, you've gotten stronger, haven't you?"
"It sure does seem that way!" Astyr said with a huge grin on her face. It was at that moment, that I realized she wasn't shaking in fear, but in excitement and anticipation of her match.
Suddenly, a huge gauntlet of fire surrounded Alexandria's fists. "It's the same thing as before!" someone next to me exclaimed.
Glancing at him, then back down at Alexandria, I remembered the previous match, where she pummeled that guy within an inch of his life.
I couldn't help but feel like this match was going to be an interesting one, but I was also worried for Astyr's well being.
As I came back from my thoughts, I noticed that Alexandria wasn't there anymore. She had disappeared, causing confusion throughout the crowd. However, Astyr seemed focused, her hand on the handle of her blade.
In another instant, Astyr made a vertical slash behind her, creating another huge gash in the arena. This time however, everyone could see Alexandria.
She was laying in the ground, near lifeless. Blood was coming from her mouth, and her eyes were rolled into the back of her head.
"This match is over!" The old raspy man said, sending everyone into shock.
"How did she know where she was?"
"What even happened?"
"That girl is crazy!"
Nearly everyone was shocked by what had just occurred, me included. I started to think back to what Astyr had said to me before, about me being her partner. It didn't seem like a bad idea, now that I know what she was capable of.
The whole arena was silent for a few moments, but then, the silence was cut short by a huge booming roar of spectators, cheering Astyr on.
"You did great!" One examinee exclaimed.
"You're so strong!" Said another.
As the crowd continued to cheer her on, I noticed Astyr was looking at me, a huge smile on her face.
After a few more minutes of getting checked out by a med team, Astyr walked out of the arena, and ran straight towards me. When she was face to face with me, she stopped, and asked me "So, how did I do?"
"You did amazing, I didn't think you had that in you." I said proudly.
"Maybe now you'll let me be your partner?"
"Sure, it's not like I know anyone else. Plus, you're surprisingly strong."
A huge grin spread across Astyr's face, as she sat back down right next to me. After talking about the match for a few seconds, The old man started talking once more.
"In a couple of minutes, the next round shall begin!"
The whole atmosphere shifted from excitement to that of nervousness, as no one knew who was gonna be called next.
I decided to take the next couple of minutes to walk outside and get some fresh air, as being in a room full of teenagers wasn't exactly pleasant.
As I was getting up to walk outside, Astyr stopped me. "Where are you going?" She asked me with a confused tone.
"I'm just gonna go get some fresh air, wanna come with me?"
"Sure, why not." She said with a smile.
As we walked outside, we continued to talk for a few minutes, when she told me something shocking. "Our tester, Alexandria... She's my older sister."
"But then, why didn't she seem happy to see you?" A hint of confusion in my voice
Her face became one of sadness, "You see, since we were younger, we were always together. We did everything together, from playing games, to fighting with one another, to talking about boys with one another. We were truly best friends. But one day, my father ended up snapping on my sister, calling her worthless and garbage, and saying that she was gonna make me end up the same way. Of course, that got to her, and so she left our residence, and me. I don't know where she went, but this is the first time in years I have seen her. And I was told before I came here, that she would be our tester."
"But that still doesn't necessarily explain why she seemed so mad at you." I said
"I think she was mad at me because I was the reason she got pushed out of the family. If I wasn't there, she wouldn't have gotten yelled at, or had to leave our home. Atleast, that's how she feels."
Not knowing what to say, I just stood there, waiting for something to happen, until finally, someone ran out to come and bring us back inside for the next match.
As we made our way inside, the old man was already speaking. "The next match will begin shortly!"