"Yo, Evvls. Why don't we have a little skirmish? Just you and me, soul weapon versus soul weapon."
Akio's question took the group off guard.
"Why should I fight you? This is a talent show, not a tournament…" Evvls replied.
Akio lightly scratched his neck, the most relaxed Akari had ever seen him.
"It's just a friendly fight. If you're worried about getting hurt, my soul weapon can help with that."
Evvls stared for a moment, then sighed. "Well… if you say so. Let's do it, I guess."
"Count me in too, Ranni! Looks like it's time for our bet to take place!"
A girl with a messy bun and tan skin approached, her bright green eyes glinting with mischief.
Akari blinked. "Hey, Sylv, what bet?"
Sylv—Sylvia—had been friends with Ranni before Akari even arrived at the prison. A risk-taker who loved bets, especially when there was something important on the line.
Rain looked visibly confused. "Huh? What bet?"
Sylvia's smile turned sly. "Remember a month ago when I said I could probably beat you in a fight since you're such a big softie?"
Rain froze. Akari found her reaction amusing and decided to edge her on, tapping Rain's shoulder.
"Hey, you'd win, right, 'Ranni'?"
Flustered, Rain yelled, "Of course I would!"
She was lost. Fighting her twin's battles was the last thing she expected, and Akari putting her pride on the line made it even worse. Still, she was confident. She forced a smile, though nerves twisted in her stomach at the thought of using Ranni's soul weapon in a fight.
Before Sylvia could respond, Shinto jumped in, eyes shining. "At this point, why don't we just have a little tournament?"
Akari's eyes widened. She knew where this was going, but before she could protest, Shinto pressed on.
"You can't start a fight and not join in. Come on, it'll be fun."
His words hit her like a train, guilt creeping in just enough to make her sigh. She didn't want to fight, but if she backed down now, Rain would be dragged deeper.
"...Fine. I'm in."
"Perfect! Now, Evv—"
Before Akio could finish, a commanding voice cut him off.
"How fun. I'll be the one to oversee this."
Everyone turned to see a man with caramel skin, the same shade as Ranni's, standing atop the prison roof with his arms crossed. Pitch-black hair formed a thick bush on his head, and a purple-scaled snake coiled around his neck, eyes closed as if sleeping. His sharp yellow eyes swept over them.
It was Ken, the warden of the kids' section of the prison.
Akari's eyes narrowed. She had assumed Ken was away during Akatsuke's death, but his sudden appearance conflicted with that. It only raised more questions.
Ken dropped down, the snake's tongue flickering as it tasted the air. As it opened its eyes, Ken's eyes shifted to emerald green.
"It's nice to have a break from time to time. To think a murder would happen in my prison, cutting my vacation short."
'Wait, so he was gone? This is getting too confusing.'
Ken's gaze scanned the group. "Looks like the matchups are already set. Evvls and Akio, Akari and Shinto, and last but not least, Sylvia and Ran… Rain? Is that you?"
Both Ken and the snake looked bewildered.
Akari and Rain were even more shocked.
Akari glanced at Rain, then back at Ken. 'How could he know who Rain is?'
Rain quickly composed herself, forcing a laugh. "Who is Rain? It's me, Ranni. How could you forget your dear sister like this?"
Rain said this specifically to divert everyone's attention from the name Rain, but Akari could tell that she was telling the truth.
Ken rubbed his temples, muttering something no one could hear.
Ken then looked at Akari, before someone said something.
"Wait a moment," Shinto shouted, "Ranni, you're related to the warden?!"
All eyes snapped to Rain.
Akari, just as stunned, thought, 'Just when was she going to tell me this?!'
Seeing Rain's panic, Akari instinctively stepped to her side, forgetting her shock and grabbing her hand. "Let's just get the tournament over with. C'mon, Shinto, it's you and me, right?"
By now, a crowd had gathered, murmurs buzzing around them, drowned out by Akio yelling,
"Everyone step back or you'll get caught in the fight!"
Akio took a deep breath and tapped the ground. A light green barrier sprouted from his fingertips as a red pendant around his neck glowed bright ruby.
It wasn't magic—this had to be his soul weapon.
"So your soul weapon is a barrier?" Akari asked.
"No, it's this pendant. It lets me create barriers. This one will heal you after the fight, so don't hold back… I know I won't." He glared at Evvls, who didn't notice.
Shinto smirked. "Sounds good. Well, 'Ranni's bro', you're the ref, right?"
Ken's snake lifted its head, watching intently as Ken grinned. "Yeah. You'll start in three…"
Akari clenched her fists, raising one to her cheek and placing the other under her chin.
"Two…"
Shinto's sludge gauntlets formed, shifting but never losing shape.
"One…"
Akari's eyes began to glow. She could activate her soul weapon at will now, even if she wasn't sure what it did.
'If she was ever going to figure it out, now was the time.'
"Go!"
Shinto's gauntlets exploded toward Akari.
As the crowd of kids saw this, they began cheering. Cries for Akari and Shinto filled the courtyard.
Akari's mana flared. Though the bracelet jammed her mana veins, she had so much mana that forcing it everywhere at once let it reach where she needed it.
She launched herself aside just as Shinto's tendrils crashed into Akio's barrier.
"How the hell did you jump that high?!"
She had jumped so high her head nearly hit the top of the eight-meter barrier. Luckily, it didn't.
'Okay, so I can use mana to some extent… Let's see if I can use magic or not!'
Akari's eyes widened, red glow eclipsing the barrier.
"No way…"
She could see exactly what the bracelet was doing to her mana veins, tracing every path she needed to bypass it. With her seemingly endless mana, she could use magic freely if she wanted to.
This was huge.
Win conditions flooded her mind, but Ken was watching. She needed to win without using magic. If what Liebe said was right, in four months, they'll have an opportunity to escape. Having magic as a trump card will definitely help in that.
But winning without magic looked a bit difficult now.
Shinto wasn't idle. His tendrils spread across the floor, forcing Akari to land in the sticky sludge.
Akari internally gagged as her legs were trapped. There was nothing she could do to avoid them. She couldn't use magic, limiting her options far more than she realized.
Rain, watching this, said, "She has super strong legs, woah."
Ken smirked as he replied, "Well, that's definitely true, but she's using mana as well."
Rain's eyes widened.
"How?! Shouldn't the bracelet make that impossible?"
"I'm not too sure myself. She looks to be overpowering the bracelet though… I wonder if she can use magic as well."
Evvls chimed in, "If that's the case, she's a serious threat. Either she's smart enough to find a way around the bracelet or strong enough to bypass this annoying feature."
Ken laughed at this, saying, "Someone sounds like he misses his magic."
Evvls turned his head back to the fight, ignoring Ken's taunts.
Akio silently watched, his foot tapping impatiently.
Little did they know, it was both.
"Gotcha!"
It was too sticky for a normal person to escape.
Akari's eyes glowed as she traced her twisted mana pathways, bypassing the bracelet's restraints. Her body twisted free from the sludge just as Shinto's tendrils lunged for her arms.
They were too late. Akari twisted her legs free and leaped towards Shinto, narrowly dodging his Soul Weapon.
Lunging towards him, she brought back a fist, planning on hitting him with a mana infused punch.
Shinto quickly extended his arms, sending sludge towards the side. It stuck onto the barrier and pulled him out the way.
"Oh! Your Soul Weapon has good mobility too?!"
Akari's eyes lit up, though, there was something strange this time.
She felt like she could mimic Shinto, though now wasn't the time to try.
She punched the ground, needing to stop herself from moving forward and trying to make an open spot without Shinto's sludge.
Shinto looked around, seeing a rock around the size of Akari's head. Pointing a finger towards it, sludge shot out, grabbed, and launched it towards her.
Akari easily blocked it, her arms slightly scraped but her mana protecting her from the brunt of it.
Her legs quickly got trapped again.
'A diversion?!'
"You think you can escape that easily?"
Tendrils wrapped around her wrists, pulling her guard open.
"I remember you said you were a mage, so I was surprised by your jumping power, but…"
Shinto drew back his fist.
"A mage is a mage. You won't be able to take this!"
His tendrils forced her guard open, leaving her abdomen exposed.
'Not good…'
Akari glanced at Ken, he and his snake's emerald eyes reminding Akari to not use magic.
Mana surged, shifting into her honeycomb formation, focusing around her stomach.
Akari had no choice but to trust in her own strength.
Smack!
Shinto's punch landed square in her gut—only for her foot to slam into the side of his head a heartbeat later.
Her fortified mana had absorbed the blow, letting her counter instantly.
Shinto flew across the arena, blood trickling from his temple as he hit the ground.
Ken and his snake stared for a moment before Ken chuckled.
"Akari is the winner."
Sylvia whooped. "Hell yeah! I knew betting on you was the right call!"
Less than half of the crowd began cheering, the others feeling bummed for betting on Shinto.
"C'mon! How'd you lose to someone so small, Shinto!"
"I just lost three weeks of desert thanks to you!!"
Shinto's crowd began complaining, overshadowed by Akari's fans.
Akari looked at her hands as the sludge dripped away. "Hm. Fighting is kind of fun…"
The barrier around them began to glow.
Shinto shot up, the wound on his head closing rapidly. "What kind of mage are you?! There's no way I lost in close combat to a mage!"
Akari smiled, the scratches on her arms healing as well. "I really am a mage. Doesn't mean I'm helpless in close combat, though."
Sitting up, legs crossed, Shinto began thinking, likely replaying the fight in his head.
Ken studied Akari, noting she hadn't used magic. He couldn't tell if she was hiding it, or if she truly couldn't use it.
Either way, it made her more dangerous.
"What a scary child…" Ken muttered.
Rain smirked, crossing her arms. "What, scared of my bestie?"
Ken laughed, the snake watching Akari intently. "No… but I'm a bit afraid of what she's capable of."
"Hey, Ranni, you ready?"
Akari looked at Sylvia, her eyes immediately starting to glow as her face was filled with admiration.
Sylvia smirked with her arms crossed, a scale with a yellow orb on the left and an emerald orb on the right was levitating over her head. It was tipped towards the right and Sylvia's mana, a bright gold aura, was overflowing.
Akari thought it looked amazing before a question flew through her mind, causing her face to morph into shock.
'Wait, how is she using mana?'