…
In the arena, the students continued to wait for Aria's arrival. Some began to get impatient ad began to leave, continuously raining curses on Aria.
"He's too afraid to face Sheila!" one student jeered.
But Sheila still stood firm in her place, she was not going to leave, she was sure Aria was going come, just by the way he acted, he looked like someone who wouldn't break his promises. And so, she waited.
Just as it seemed like she would be disappointed, she started hearing footsteps entering the arena. She could see his white hair shining in the sun like a beacon, and his glowing cold blue eyes staring at her as he walked into the arena, his hands in his uniform pocket, walking calmly into the arena. Aria had arrived.
The students who were about leaving suddenly turned and came back. Girls started screaming his name with excitement in their eyes.
"Aria! Please marry me." One shouted.
"Let's make babies together, Aria." Another shouted.
"Aria! I LOVE YOU" said Nia, who was up in the stands. It seemed she had also fallen, joining the fan base girls that followed Aria during this week.
Elara, who was beside her watched in disbelief, wondering what had gotten into her friend. "What's gotten into you, Nia?" She asked, but Nia just kept shouting Aria's name, ignoring her.
Elara saw this and was shocked, she then turned and shot a glance at Aria, wondering what she saw in him. Of course she knew he was the most handsome in their set, but what was with this reaction? She kept wondering how he bewitched her friend.
Aria who felt the gaze on his back, turned his head to look who that was, his cold blue eyes shining in Elara's direction. 'Ahh! Now I see' Elara thought as she began blushing hard. Aria was in the same class with her, but this was the first time he had looked at her like that, in fact the first time he had ever looked at her, a reaction she wasn't used to when it came to male students.
The female students around her almost fainted including Nia, thinking it was them he was looking at, making Elara sigh.
Meanwhile, Kael and Lirien had relieved expressions on their faces as they saw their friend enter the arena. They almost thought he wasn't going to show up.
"You're late," Sheila said, her voice tinged with excitement. "I thought you weren't going to come."
Aria shrugged, his voice cold. "I said I would be here. Why would I back down now?"
Sheila grinned, her eyes sparkling, "Let's begin then!"
Sheila and Aria eyes were locked in a fierce stare. The crowd held its collective breadth as the two students charged at each other, their movements lightning-fast. Sheila's earth abilities were in tow as she began her assault on Aria. Aria meanwhile kept the fact that his armor was completely hidden, he wanted to test how he would fair without the armor.
And so he unleashed 5% of his crimson energy, his strength and speed enhanced, as he jumped forward, his hands and feet countering everything Sheila threw at him. Their fight was like a deadly dance, displaying both their specialties, making the crowd shout in excitement.
Sheila unleashed a flurry of punches, her fists glowing a faint blue light. Aria dodged and weaved, his eyes fixed on Sheila's movements. He countered with a swift kick, but Sheila was too quick and caught his leg in midair.
With a swift twist, Sheila sent Aria flying across the arena. He landed gracefully on his feet and charged back at Sheila. The two students clashed in a flurry of punches and kicks, their movements a blur as they exchanged blow after blow.
Sheila's earth control abilities allowed her to create small tremors in the ground, making it difficult for Aria to maintain balance. But Aria's crimson energy gave him strength and speed to counter her attacks.
As the fight raged on, Sheila began to overwhelm Aria, her suit glowing with intensity. She was showing them the difference in power due to the suit. Aria resulted to using ten percent, but even with the added power, she was still pounding on him. Each blow broke the air and sound barrier, as she punched his chest, he was sent flying. His eyes widening as the blow had cracked one of his ribs.
He got up and cleaned the blood on his mouth. 'So this is the power of Sheila's suit.' He thought excitedly, as he jumped straight to fifteen percent, dashing at her once more.
Sheila increased the intensity of her earth control abilities, making it impossible for Aria to counter. Any time he tried to counter a blow, her earth control abilities would make it harder, which allowed her to keep landing blows. He tried to throw another blow, but Sheila created a massive tone pillar to block Aria's attack, but this time, Aria used his energy to shatter the pillar and send fragments flying back at Sheila.
She leaped into the air, her body glowing with a faint blue light as she unleashed a devastating to kick that sent Aria flying across the arena. But Aria used his energy to propel himself back at Sheila's, their bodies colliding midair.
The two students crashed to the floor, their bodies locked in a fierce embrace. Aria tried to pull his hands back, but found it hard as she held it tightly. "Got you!" Sheila said, excitement in her eyes, Aria's eyes widening as she released rabid fire punches towards Aria's gut while still holding him, his body being raised into the air with each punch. She then let go of his hand, and finished off with a spinning kick which sent Aria flying once more.
Sheila's fan base composed of male students began shouting her name, showering her with praises.
"Yes goddess Sheila! Beat him up" One of the students shouted with excitement in his eyes.
"Yeah! The fool actually dared to fight our goddess." Another added.
As the fan base continued cursing Aria, students who had placed their bets on Aria had faces full of regrets, they didn't know the gap between the both of them because of Aria not having a suit.
Kael watched the fight with a worried expression. 'Come on Aria, you're my rival for a reason, I know this isn't all you've got.' Kael thought. Lirien meanwhile was in a world of his own as he stared at the girls around him. 'Damn! I didn't know girls adored Aria this much, that stupid doll, what do they see in him" Lirien thought as he could see some girls crying over seeing their idol being beating, but they still cheered on.
Nia was among those with tears in her eyes, as she cheered on.
Elara was shocked that her friend would actually cry over a boy being beating. In fact, now that she thought about it, this girl has been disturbing her about Aria ever since his first ranking fight. 'What have they done to the friend she once knew' Elara thought as she stared at Nia with disbelief.
Aria then got up from the rubble he was buried under, he wiped the blood on his nose, a wide cold smile on his face as he grabbed a rubber band from his pocket and began to tie his hair in a bun type pony tail. As he was tying it, he then spoke up out loud, "I have to say Sheila, you are more than I expected, and I didn't want to use this just after I just finished creating it, but I have no choice now, do I? You really deserve to be among the top 3, but the beat down stops now!" Aria ended as he finished tying his hair, allowing some strands to fall down the front of his face.
'Ahh! I really wanted to keep my suit hidden, but oh well, fuck it, perfect chance to test it out anyway. Aria thought as his body began to glow, the black and gold suit under his uniform began to transform into his armor, encasing the uniform. The golden glow mixing with his crimson aura making it look sinister. The black and gold mask then formed on his face last as the armor had finished forming, making him look like a modern-type ninja.
All the students were shocked when they saw his suit. They all knew how strong Aria was, even without a suit, now that he has one, there is no telling how strong he will be. The girl fan base supporting him screamed in excitement, some even fainted when they saw his new cool look, which increased his handsome appearance even more.
Nia shouted at the top of her voice once she saw Aria, blood coming out of her nose as she started having lewd thoughts with a red face, making Elara close her ears.
Kael and Lirien looked at Aria with smiles on their faces. 'Finally got your suit done huh?' Kael thought, while Lirien, well, his smile was sinister, 'Ohh! So now that you got your suit done you think your hot stuff huh! Just wait till we get back to the dorm.'
…
Meanwhile, in the room, the council of ten watched the fight through the holographic display, Councilor Amara the spoke up coldly, "After seeing all this, do you still oppose that we allow the first year students participate in missions?" She asked, her eyes fixed on Ryker who had been the lead in opposing the idea.
Councilor Ryker looked at the display, his eyes wide with shock, "I…I didn't know they were this strong," he stuttered.
Councilor Amara smiled, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Exactly, and that's why we need to allow them participate in missions. They have the potential to become some of the strongest students in the academy"
The other councilors nodded in agreement, their faces filled with excitement. The Council of Ten had finally made a decision, and it would change the course of the student's lives forever.
…