‘3 manifestation stage and 3 integration stage,’ Seth thought as he inspected the stages of the other participants standing around his assigned ring.
Everyone in the hall seemed to be in high spirits as they started warming up and mentally preparing for the start of the preliminary phase. Unlike the first phase, the preliminary phase was fairly similar to what the participants did during combat practice at their respective academies. As such, all of them wanted to take advantage of the familiar situation.
Obviously, there were also exceptions.
‘That’s the same girl from the first phase,’ Seth noticed an orange-haired girl standing beside another ring.
She seemed more interested in watching her opponents do warm-ups than getting prepared herself. However, that could be due to the confidence she had in her high stage.
‘Step 4 integration stage,’ Seth thought.
The girl felt Seth staring at her and slightly turned her head, meeting his gaze. For a brief moment, a faint glow of curiosity appeared in the girl’s eyes before she looked away, focusing her attention on other participants.
Seth also looked away and focused on doing warm-ups, trying to get rid of the stiffness his visits to the medical floor had caused him.
A few minutes later, all the referees teleported into the hall and announced the first matches. The names of the first participants to fight appeared above each ring alongside the score. Not even a minute later, the hall was filled with the sounds of the participants’ abilities and weapons clashing.
Seth watched the matches closely, trying to collect information about the other participants’ fighting styles. However, he found it hard to keep focused.
‘What should I do? Even though I promised…’ he stared blankly at the floor, getting lost in his own thoughts.
“Bayard vs Carter,” the judge's voice calling out to him brought him back to the real world.
‘Step 1 integration stage,’ he thought looking at the boy approaching the center of the ring from the other side.
----------------------------------------
Everyone inside the observation lounge of Hall J-2 bowed their heads when they saw Executioner Leywin enter the room.
‘Well, it would be weird if I turned and left now,’ she thought after noticing Delta standing on the other side of the observation lounge.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
As she walked into the room, her attention was quickly drawn to the masked pink-haired girl standing near the two-way mirror.
“Had a feeling you’d be here,” Executioner Leywin said, approaching Stella.
“Good morning, Executioner Leywin,” Stella bowed her head.
Executioner Leywin’s attention shifted to a white-haired boy dodging attacks in one of the rings.
“How many matches?” she asked.
“This is his first one,” Stella answered.
In the middle of the ring, Seth was running in circles around his opponent, dodging several spikes that shot from the ground toward him.
The other boy started to grow anxious, seeing how this non-awakened was able to run from his attacks. Suddenly a spike rose from the ground just in front of Seth. Swiftly he ducked, shifting his center of gravity and barely dodging the spike.
He immediately got up and continued evading the attacks while keeping his distance from the other boy.
Stella started fidgeting anxiously, seeing how Seth struggled to close the distance. This was the first time she saw him fight, and while she recognized his skills were above average, she doubted it would be enough to close the gap against awakened espers. She also wanted to go see how her other friends were doing, but she was more worried about Seth.
Next to her, Executioner Leywin closely watched each one of Seth’s movements.
‘Why is he being so hesitant? The other boy already showed several openings that he would normally have taken advantage of,’ she pondered. ‘Something’s off, he’s not fighting at full strength. Is he holding back? No, that doesn’t seem right either. Could this have something to do with what Stella saw on the medical floor? He had never shown such eyes before.’
She kept analyzing Seth’s movements before making a decision.
“Stella, go see your other friends. You don’t have much time left, and you won’t be able to see them again after you join the Black Guard,” she told her.
This took Stella by surprise. Looking back at Seth, she saw him getting hit by the other boy and sent flying several meters back. She hesitated for a moment, but she decided to follow Executioner Leywin’s advice. She thanked her with a bow and left Hall J-2’s observation lounge.
Executioner Leywin watched as Seth lost his first three matches, though, he still managed to score some points.
“I see you’ve taken quite the interest in the non-awakened esper, Executioner Leywin,” Delta said approaching her.
“He could prove to be a valuable asset,” Executioner Leywin replied plainly.
“I wonder about that…”
“Isn’t that why you’re here too? At least I hope that’s the case, for your own good”
“I keep in mind our last exchange if that’s what you mean. If you don’t mind me asking, what’s it about him that caught your attention? Aren’t you known for never taking an interest in anything, Ice Que-”
“Watch your mouth, Delta.”
“I apologize.”
“As for your question, this is the first time a non-awakened esper has made it this far in the competition, not to mention that he took down a B-class thirio and survived an encounter with an A-class. If he was able to awaken his ability, he could have more potential than all of the recommended espers.”
Delta nodded.
“His performance during the first phase was surely beyond impressive. I reviewed some of the recordings from the drones. His fighting style which seemed at first glance self-taught, was incredibly refined and precise. Yet, it was especially in those precise and elegant movements that I noticed something: it shares a lot of similarities with your own fighting techniques.”
Executioner Leywin, who up to then was still looking at Seth’s match, turned to face Delta.
“Be careful with what you’re about to say. That is a serious accusation you’re implying, and I trust you know better than to question an Executioner's motivations and loyalty to the Black Guard Principles,” she said as she activated her ability.
Suddenly, a cold breeze filled the whole room as the other scouts froze in place. Meanwhile, Delta burned with fury on the inside as he felt Executioner Leywin’s ability wrap around him. But, he decided to back down.
“Of course, I would never dare to say such things. Please excuse me if it came out like that,” Delta said with a bow before he turned around to leave.
However, he stopped mid-way.
“We both know, that a non-awakened esper doesn’t belong in the HSA.”