Forest Willow panted in exhaustion, her green aura flaring weakly as she crouched behind the rock outcropping. Her left shoulder was singed and bleeding, and her chin-length curly red hair was dripping with sweat.

Ace grinned, stepping forward cockily as she held up her scepter. "Good job, guys. Not bad for a couple of greenhorns, I must say. Would you consider throwing in the towel?

I frowned as Elysia, Aurora, and I quietly approached the battlefield under the cover of my Luminary Mirage.

Forest Willow narrowed her eyes, but her shoulders slumped in resignation. Then, she slowly looked over at her companion.

The boy shook his head, his black coat whipping behind him as he lowered his arm, causing the ground to crack and fracture underneath his feet.

"Sheesh. You know this is like, only a couple of moves away from checkmate, right?" Ace shouted, glancing over at the tall girl next to her. "Ready to go, Talon? Need ya to cover me."

"More than ready," the orange-haired magical girl grinned.

Ace waved her scepter, conjuring a spinning wheel overhead, flickering with multicolored light. Then, she stepped forward in a quick jazzy spin, striking her scepter down with both hands.

"Starlight Magic: Fortuna!"

The air crackled with energy as the spinning wheel snapped to a stop, and a long barb of solid blue energy highlighted with gold erupted from the center, summoning a beam of energy that shimmered and distorted like the surface of a lake.

"Jackpot!"

My eyes widened in alarm, and Elysia and Aurora immediately rushed to cover my sides as the shimmering beam of energy sliced through the air towards the two emergency contractees.

But before I could take action, Elysia shot forward, shattering the ground under her feet.

She blurred in front of the outcropping, putting up a shimmering blue barrier to block the attack. She held her body up against it, channeling her own energy as the glowing blast slammed into her force field.

I followed up immediately, pulling back mirage and clasping my hands together. "Luminary Bolt: Rapid Fire!"

A burst of orange-red energy spiraled up from my heart, coalescing into a blazing sphere of pure heat and light in my hands. I fired bolt after bolt, starting with the boy with the pocket protector and katana.

But he reached up, blocking them with a sloped wave of shimmering rock and stone that rose up from the ground around them in a wall. "Doton: Reflect!"

Aurora jumped by my side, her eyes glowing bright gold. "Refract: Glassine!"

The red-haired magical girl looked at Aurora in surprise as she intercepted my bolts in mid-air. She didn't even have time to react as my spells were sent back toward Ace and her team at twice their original speed, crashing through and destroying the earth manipulator's walls.

"Yowza! Not bad. Not bad at all," Ace chuckled, crouching as she tightened her grip on her scepter.

She cartwheeled as she dove to one side, flipping backwards and landing nimbly on a twisted tree stump as Aurora's redirections missed her. She waved her scepter in the air, causing four massive cards with burning star insignia to appear above her head. "Here we go, gang! Starlight Magic: Diamond Deck —"

But before she could finish, a glowing orb of silver light slammed into the side of Ace's head, sending her stumbling in a one-armed cartwheel. "Ow! What the hell?"

I spun around, only to find the Elysia grinning at me. She blinked, tilting her head and batting her lashes. "Oops... Did I do that?"

She snorted, shrugging as she turned back to Forest Willow and the boy with the spiky hair.

But before we could do anything else, the tall, orange-haired magical knight leaped into the air with her halberd raised, flashing with vibrant energy.

Elysia narrowed her eyes, grunting as she summoned a shimmering pair of exotic-looking silver hook swords from thin air. "Not a chance, girl."

She let out a quiet exhale as she charged at the flame-haired girl, her face set in a determined frown as she dragged her energized hook swords along the ground and burst into a blur.

The polearm user could only widen her eyes as she was pushed back, sweeping her halberd wildly in a desperate attempt to create space.

But Elysia smirked as she crouched and trapped the spear with her right hand, simultaneously forming a shimmering crystal spike from the ground that erupted in a flash of light. Her opponent dodged desperately, abandoning her weapon and tumbling across the ground with a gasp.

Elysia followed up without hesitation, her eyes glinting a bright brown as she landed in front of the stunned magical knight. She immediately stepped over and hooked her legs around her opponent's bicep, rolling the orange-haired onto the ground and levering her opponent's bicep against her shinbone.

The boy with the pocket protector exploded at Elysia in a flash of energy, his eyes glowing blue as he drew his katana back.

He bared his teeth, firing a pulse of lightning-like energy with the swing of his blade from ten yards away. "Raiton: Urami!"

But Elysia rolled back, bringing the female magical knight she had wrapped her legs around as a human shield. She promptly threw a blue barrier between them, protecting herself from the blast.

"Tch. Better be more careful with that skill," Elysia hissed, dismissing the barrier as he closed the distance.

She dragged the poor, struggling orange-haired girl around and back into the dirt as she jumped to square off against him.

"Yikes," I winced, cringing before shooting Aurora a thumbs-up.

"Lux!" Forest Willow shouted, finally breaking cover as she notched an arrow. "Thanks for the assist!"

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I frowned, furrowing my eyes as I noticed Ace waving her scepter in the air again. The cards she'd summoned were already rising into the sky, growing and spinning as they formed into four shuffling decks.

"Willow. What the hell is going on out here? What started this fight?" I shouted, shielding my eyes as I stared up at the storm brewing in the air.

Willow beckoned at me frantically. "Get behind cover!"

I broke into a sprint at her urgent tone, diving behind the rocky outcropping just in time as the swirling cards above us grew larger and sharper. They cracked and churned, splitting into a swarm of flying, spinning blades that looked like oversized playing cards.

"Hmph, if carpet bombing won't do the trick, it's time for phase two!" Ace shouted, pointing her scepter at me and Aurora as I peeked out.

"Ace, knock it off! Can't we work this out?!" Forest Willow shouted, nocking another magic arrow and firing at the stage magician.

Ace intercepted it with a card, deflecting it with a sassy wave and a grin. "Eh, maybe next time, Robin Hood. Good try though!"

She waved her scepter toward me, and my eyes widened in alarm as I felt a hum in the air. Dozens of cards shot out from the crackling energy field, raining down on us.

"Frozen Art:" a familiar voice suddenly whispered. "Soulsleep."

Just as the blade-cards were about to slash through us, a thick, shimmering swirl of ice suddenly encompassed the whole area.

It was... like a snowstorm frozen in time. No winds were pushing against us, and no snowflakes were falling, but the ice was sharp and cold, and a hazy white fog seeped out through the spaces between the crystals.

Elysia's silver-blue silhouette flickered as she dropped to the ground in front of us, her posture relaxed and confident. She looked up at Ace, smiling softly. "That's a cute trick, Ace."

Ace smiled at her, waving her scepter. "Man! I'd hate to be your enemy. You could even give me a real run for my money as is, I think."

"Thank you, but you're not exactly low on charm yourself."

"Elysia, be careful," Aurora muttered as she turned to look at the ice surrounding us. "She's tough."

"I know, but I've restrained the other two," Elysia leaned in, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Hey, Ace? How about you call off your friends and let's talk this out?

Ace grinned, shrugging as she brought her hands up. "Okay! Well, this seemed like a lost cause anyway. I was outvoted two-to-one to jump the greenhorns, and now they've called us big jerks and taken shelter with their friends. But, hey! That's just the way things go sometimes. Right, guys?"

She looked to the side, and I followed her gaze to where her two allies were facedown behind a layer of ice.

"Is that..." I stared at Elysia in surprise. "Wow, that was quick."

Elysia shook her head, smiling softly. "It's always easier to talk things out if you approach with a spirit of mutual respect, and a mountain of leverage." She laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Also, the barrier I've placed is impenetrable for them. I suspect Ace wouldn't be as easy of a fight, but..."

Ace's smile widened as she clapped her hands together. "Fair enough. But! There's still the little matter of the two keys we're each holding, and the fact that we can't trust each other. You know, the gate and all."

Elysia nodded thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "The gate, huh? Well, we don't know, exactly. Why don't you let us take a look ourselves?"

The spiky long-haired boy yawned, walking over. "Geeze, I could use a break. Plus, it's kinda boring around here."

He nudged the ice with his toe. "Are we done here? I'd like to get out of this training field, go back to the dorms, and practice my guitar at this point."

Ace giggled, but then shook her head. "Hehe, you're an interesting bunch. But, yeah. I guess I could take a short break. How about it, Elysia? You sound like a no-nonsense kinda gal. Why don't we see if there's a third option for this key business."

Ace bowed from her position at the stump and turned toward the gate, whistling with exaggerated strides.

Elysia grinned, winking at me before turning to face me. "Let's go."

To my sudden surprise, Elysia wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a quick, affectionate squeeze causing my breath to catch in my throat.

I couldn't explain it, but the feeling of her touch there was so vivid, comforting, and familiar that it momentarily overwhelmed me.

I felt tears streak across my eyes and instinctively leaned into a hug, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"L....Lux?" Elysia gasped, her aura of confidence trailing off into a whisper as she tensed in my arms.

I didn't know what'd gotten into me.

But then, a memory of a blurry, young girl curled up in a fetal position on a bed of pink flowers passed through my mind. It was strange, like I was watching someone else's dream, and it left as quickly as it came.

Elysia blinked at me, tilting her head as she relaxed, her heart still pounding against mine.

"Hey, Elysia. Can you tell me something? Are you... are you feeling okay?" I muttered, still leaning against her.

Elysia let out a shuddering breath, her heart rate calming. "I'm... sorry. Lux, I just —"

"No, it's okay. It's just you seemed on edge this whole time. Nothing's wrong, though, right?" I asked, looking up at her worriedly.

"Nothing's wrong," she sighed.

Then, with a shake of her head, she returned to her confident demeanor and patting my back. "I just thought you and Aurora were in trouble is all. Let's go, shall we?"

She smirked, looking back at Ace as we started to walk toward her. Forest Willow quickly caught up with our group, and began to introduce herself to Elysia.

Aurora's light, rapid footsteps sounded behind me, and I could feel her warmth as she caught up with our group. "Lux, wait! Are you alright? What was that a second ago?"

"I'm fine. Just... " I replied, shaking my head. "Don't worry. I think something set off my Intuition."

"Oh? Is that intuition with a capital I?" Aurora's eyes glinted in suspicion as she eyed Elysia.

"Uh, yes. Maybe." I gulped. "It's not all that reliable, but I do have improved intuition as a part of my passive skills. Elysia doesn't seem as on edge now though, so it's fine."

"Well, that's true. She's calmed down quite a bit." Aurora raised a brow, still staring at Elysia.

"I guess it's easy to forget she's still human like the rest of us with how strong she is..." I said with a small smile.

Aurora returned it softly, pursing her lips as she let the topic drop. "Ah, yes. Of course. Shall we head over to Ace, then?"

Elysia, Willow, and Null moved on ahead as Aurora and I lagged behind. Ace was waiting for us with a sly grin on her face, the unconscious bodies of her allies leaning against her feet.

As we got closer, I couldn't help but notice a glistening blue gemstone hanging from her neck, emitting a pale, iridescent light. It was small but seemed to have a complex lattice structure.

Ace chuckled as she drew a circle-shaped object from her pocket. "Alright, shall we put this thing away and take a look at the instructions with fresh eyes, then?"

Elysia had wasted no time to move forward with a confident grin. "Yes, I'd like to take a look too."

I studied her back, feeling a twinge of unease tug at the back of my mind. But I tried to ignore it.

"Well then..." Elysia tensed, staring long and hard at the plaque and altar.

The twinge turned into a flash of alarm as Elysia looked up at Ace with an angry expression. She crossed her arms and stepped closer to the stage magician.

"Are you alright, Elysia?" Willow asked, tilting her head.

Elysia cleared her throat, shaking her head. "Nope. It's game over."

"What? What do you mean?" Null stammered, stepping up beside me as his eyes widened in surprise.

Elysia sighed, and my instincts screamed at me to move. I quickly turned and dived for Aurora, tackling her to the ground and shielding us as the air around us exploded in white light and frigid air.

I huffed and puffed as the ringing in my ears slowly died down. When I finally opened my eyes, my heart dropped.

Elysia held one hand out toward me as it glowed with silver and blue energy. Ace was shielding herself with her scepter, a wide grin on her face.

My pulse raced, and my throat closed up in disbelief.

What...?

It all happened so fast. It took me a moment to register the impact as I jumped up and to my feet.

"Ah! Lux, are you okay?!" Aurora gasped, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at Elysia.

I groaned, feeling a soreness spreading across my chest and stomach. "Yeah. I'm fine. I —"

"Well, I've read the instructions and we have quite the problem on our hands," Elysia interrupted, glancing at me briefly before looking back at Ace. "You see, I've read what it takes to unlock the gate, and it seems..."

She trailed off, and a sickening twist of nerves fluttered in my stomach.

"Seems what?" Null asked, crossing his arms as he looked at her with an annoyed expression.

"Seems like I'll be siding with the standard admissions group unless you can figure out a different solution from the initial one. As much as it's been fun hanging with you guys, I don't want to flunk this course."

Elysia flashed me a pained, apologetic look.

"Sorry, Lux..."