Team 1 stands ready as Lisa activates her miracle. Lisa puts her hand up, indicating for the group to stop. "Slow down guys. Let me explain the rules first."
Duke stays on guard. However, the rest of the team relaxes. Don looks at Duke, concerned. "Duke, relax. We should hear the rules first so we can come up with a plan."
Duke ignores Don as he thinks. 'My instincts are telling me we are in danger. I can feel it. The wolf is telling me I need to kill her as soon as possible.'
Lisa calms her power down. "Alright, the first rule is starting now all you must do is survive for 5 minutes. The second rule is if one of you can still fight by the end of the 5-minute timeline, then all of you pass. That's it, questions? You guys can ask me anything."
Don jumped at the opportunity as he thought. 'She said the timer has already started. I was excited to fight a knight, but something's telling me we wouldn't last more than a minute against her. With Duke like that we won't be able to rely on his strategies, which hurts our chances of winning by a large margin. If we can ask enough questions to run down the clock even a little, I'll take the chance.'
Mai speaks up. "How do you become a knight?"
Sable laughs wickedly as he thinks. 'So, that's their strategy? Let's see how far they can take it.'
Don, startled by the question, looks at Mai as he thinks. 'She must have had the same conclusion as me. That means the only problem is those two.'
Ryan and Nina look at Lisa with vicious eyes. The two were almost salivating at the thought of fighting her. Ryan's eyes blazed red as he thought. 'I need to fight her. It looks like those two over there are trying out a plan. I'll let them try whatever they want, but if it takes too long, I won't be able to contain myself.'
Lisa responds to Mai's question. "To be a knight, you need three skills."
Don knew this was a strategy to win, but the answer to this question caught his attention. "What three skills?"
Lisa puts one finger up. "The first is this."
Without warning, an enormous pressure bears down on the group. Ryan is startled as he remembers this familiar sensation. "Soul control."
Lisa releases the pressure. "Correct the ability to control one's soul. That's the first."
After experiencing the immense pressure, Nina could not contain herself anymore. "I want to rip you apart!"
Nina then takes off at Lisa with intense speed. Don panics as he yells. "Nina, no we still have 4 minutes left!"
Nina swings full force at Lisa. Lisa slightly dodges Nina's attack. "The second is experience."
Duke can't help but to remember the day he met Lisa as he thought. 'Lisa Normandy, working with her was the most dangerous experience of my life. Because of that, I learned everything I could about her. That's when I learned about miracles and daemons. Her miracle's name was Soldier of Fortune. It allowed the user to buy skill and strength. However, that strength is not even close to the little menace.'
Lisa swings her fist toward Nina's stomach. "One down."
A loud impact rang through the stadium. Lisa's face of confidence quickly changes as she looked down at Nina, who had caught her fist with one hand. Nina smirked at Lisa with excitement. "You thought you could match me in strength?"
Lisa grabbed Nina's arm and swiftly flipped Nina over her shoulder. "Not bad, kid."
Four gun-shots smacks into Lisa's head, sending her sliding back. Don looks over at Duke. "Duke, you shot her!"
Duke's cat-like eyes were glowing bright orange as he prepared to attack again. Ryan yell. "Don!" Then a stone wall created from Ryan's miracle spouted in front of Don. Four metal clanks smack into the wall. "Don, move!"
Don jumps back as he activated his miracle. Then the wall was broken down by a hail of bullets. On the other side of the wall, Lisa reloaded her mag before smacking it back into her rifle. "With standing simple gun fire is child's play when you master Soul Control."
Don sprints toward Lisa before she could open fire again. Lisa simply raised her leg causing Don to run straight into it. "Your miracle is not super speed. It's just hyper acceleration. Once you pick a trajectory you can't change direction until you stop. Meaning, if I know where you're going, I can easily put you on the ground."
Lisa points her rifle at Don, ready to fire. Two pink lines streak through the field, intercepting Lisa's gunfire. Sparks fly past Don as he sees's a familiar sight. Mai was once again saving his life. Lisa continued to fire until she felt a strange sensation on her neck. Lisa stopped firing as she jumped back. Mai lowers her blade into a relaxed stance. "Soul control seems very impressive. I was intending to remove your head from your shoulders."
Lisa had been to many battle fields throughout her long career as a mercenary. She's fought armies, daemons, and other miracle users. Yet this is the first time in her life she had met a genuine warrior. Mai was a scary variable to her. Even while watching the report on the daemon attack on the exam, the one applicant who caught her attention wasn't anyone but Mai.
In the stands of the stadium.
Sable watches with a small smirk on his face as he thinks. 'Team 1 is exceptional. Not to dismiss the other teams. However, Team 1 is leagues above the rest of the teams. The only team that comes close is Team 2.'
Caleb taps Sable on the shoulder to get his attention. "Sable, the high bishops are calling for you."
Sable lets his head fall back in his chair. "Why? I'm trying to watch the applicants."
Caleb gives Sable a stern look. "It's about the attack and the Hybrid. If the Union have completed their reported experiments, then the potential of another Great Miracle War won't seem so farfetched. We both know that we don't have the manpower for another Great War."
Sable stands up from his chair, frustrated. "You know what they're gonna ask me."
Caleb looks away from Sable, uncomfortable. "They will want Zero."
Sable lets out a heavy sigh as he walks off. "They really have a hard on for that scum-bag."
Caleb follows Sable. "The high bishops believe he's a nuke who we can just drop on our problems and I don't blame them. He always gets the job done."
Sable clinches his fist angrily. "Zero is a nuke and, just like a nuke, it can easily screw us over as well. Zero doesn't have a side. That bastard only cares about one thing. Killing miracle users."
In the Stadium field.
Duke yells over to Don and Ryan. "Hey guys, come over here!"
Don and Ryan move closer to Duke as Don thinks. 'Good, Duke seems to have composed himself.'
Duke leans over to the two young men. "Lisa seems to be wary of Mai. I think we can plan around that."
Lisa watches Mai carefully as she thinks. 'Great, I wanted to avoid fighting this girl while she's serious. I read the background checks on all of Team 1 before this test. The one who worried me the most was this girl. She is the heir to the greatest warrior to ever exist, Miyamoto Musashi. She is a genuine warrior with an inherent miracle.'
Mai's eyes glow bright pink as she looks over to see Duke talking to Don and Ryan. "My team mates need some time so sadly I can't hold back." Pink energy calmly engulfs Mai. "Please don't die Lisa senpai. I can't really control my self when I activate my miracle."
Lisa's eyes glow violet as she thinks. 'It's here. The one miracle I didn't want to deal with. This miracle was the reason I gave them the chance to run down the clock. Once it starts, it won't be them trying to survive the time limit. It'll be me.'
Mai readies her blade as she spoke with her dignified voice. "Guide my soul in the search for true strength. BLADE OF THE SPARROW!"