The village that she was raised in. She could never see it again. Ever since that day, she couldn't stand to mention her village at all. That place was filled with many memories for her. Her childhood. Her family. Her friends. Her neighbors. In tough situations, her parents would always comfort her. When she wandered far off into the forests, the soldiers from the village would always find her, and safely bring her back. When she was down, her friends would cheer her up. Everyone is better than her. Everyone is taking care of her, and she's also taking care of herself. That village means everything to her.
It was what she assumed that the village would be like that in every part of the Kingdom of Reinburg.
However, not everyone is pleased with that idea. Those people stole the village that she adores. The filthy mess of human beings deserved the wrath of God; she believes that she carries the will of God's punishment on them. After losing the village, she vows to avenge the ones she had lost dearly. In the months following that, she wouldn't open up to people, even with classmates at Freita's schools. Her parents were now gone. The only one who is there for her is the professor from the Magic Academy of Reinburg, even though she wouldn't speak to the professor that much. She would never make any guarantees with others, have yearnings, or long-term goals, afraid of losing what she once cherished. Those occupations that those kids in school dream of wanting to be? She would never desire that.
----------------------------------------
"Kiira!" her father shouts at her, who is holding a sword and a simple gambeson.
Kiira sees that her village is in a desolate state. People are running around with swords, bows, and shields. The wooden houses are lit like kindle. Together, it forms a massive heatwave that even Kiira can feel from a distance away. People are shouting, screaming, and groaning in pain. The sounds of raucous steel are prominent as swords clash. Just as Kiira looked at her father, an arrow pierced into the side of his skull, and the arrow tip emerges from the other side, with brain matter sticking to it. Suddenly, her father trots a little, muttering something to Kiira that is indistinguishable from the sounds of this battlefield and tumbles down to the ground with his eyes open.
She froze. Kiira can only see the lips of her father simply saying, "Run."
——Wh... why...
She runs up to her father, holding his head in her arms. She can only feel nothing but their cold body of his, while his eyes stare into the midst of the fires within the village.
"No..." she utters with pain and sorrow. Her eyes blubber up, and her tears drop onto the father's face.
Then, she hears someone running up to her. It's a bandit with his sword and the bow on his back, charging at her. He's preparing to skewer her into pieces.
"F̸̬͌̂i̶̫͂̈́̓r̵͖̠̜̈́̕e̸̜̬̔̑b̵̰̰̽̄̓ä̷̬́l̴̢̺͈̈̅l̵̜̏̕." A large ball of heat is slung towards the bandit, making a huge explosion. It simultaneously vaporized the torso and sent its connecting body parts flying all over the place.
Kiira can see that it was her mother who saved her. Her magical staff, which her mother refuses to let her see, is now glowing with a blue hue. The high-quality craftsmanship of the weapon is easy to determine its worth from far away.
——M—Mom..?
'Kiira..." her mother spoke. Kiira ran up to her mother for safety, and they both embraced each other for a short while. Her mother tries to pull away, but Kiira simply keeps holding onto her.
"I don't have time for this, Kiira. We can do it later," Kiira looks up to see her mother smiling. With that, she let go. On the outskirts of the village, Kiira can see a large formation of bandits.
——Scary... but I think they can handle this...
Her mother has shed a single tear after seeing her husband die like that. But she cannot afford to let Kiira see her in that condition, and tries her best to suppress her emotions.
"Veric... the steel birds with their loud windmills..." her mother murmurs.
"Dad...?" Kiira says, barely understanding what her mother had just said. Just as Kiira hears that word, she starts to cry again on the mother after witnessing his death.
Her mother breathes in for a while and exhales, patting her daughter's head. She then kneels to her, "Run to the teleporter, Kiira."
"No! I can't leave everyone here!" Kiira sobs.
Her mother picks up Kiira and rushes towards their wooden house, untouched by the enormous fires nearby while helping many of the villagers to fend off the bandits. Kiira was trying to get out of her mother's arms hold.
"I̷̯̔̅̊ṇ̴̺̻͊̃͊ẗ̵̖̬͛e̴͙͑̽r̶̮͐̓ī̵̦͉m̵͍͐̒ ̴̧͖̍P̶̰̂ą̵͔̎̂r̵̳̳̱͆̂̔a̴͇͚̒l̴͓͆y̷͕̒̊z̷͈̦̅̓̍e̴͙̺̍̃͘." Kiira cannot move at all and was placed on a chair on top of a stone slab with multiple shiny things around it.
——Mom... what are you doing...?! I cannot move...
The thoughts that she has in her head, cannot be expressed as her body isn't listening to her.
Kiira can see her mother getting ready to do something as if she's hesitating to do it. She sees her mother's magical staff glowing more furiously than ever.
"Å̶̧̬̀̅c̵̢͖͆ţ̵̬̠̑ị̷̔̽v̴̥͊̈͒ë̵͇͕̳́͋͠ ̷͔́̇͜T̶̢̪̒̆̀e̶̼͗̄l̸͇̞̈́͠e̸̫̦͌̉p̶̘̜͛o̷̧̰͉͌r̶̪̣͐t̴͍͌͠ă̷͔̜͈t̶̮̐̈i̵̻͊ǒ̵̹͖͑̑͜ñ̸͚͉̿͆!" her mother shouts.
The magical staff is now flaming with the blue hue, and Kiira sees a large magic circle underneath the slab emitting some sort of light, and her vision is starting to fade. Her tears dropped onto the slab, demanding her mother's help.
——Mom! Save me...
Darkness ensues.
There was nothing.
——Is this what death feels like...?
She gasps for air and then she suddenly sees a whole unit of knights with horses galloping in front of her.
"Halt!" the leading knight shouts. In an instant, the clops of the horses ceased.
What the knights saw is a girl who suddenly teleported in front of them with a chair she was sitting on, who has tears on her cheeks.
"That's legendary magic..." one of the knights blurt.
"Tsk, we don't have time for this." The leading knight points to one of his men, "You, grab her and we will continue."
"Yes, sir!" He grabs her out of the chair and places her on his lap as if it was some random child. In a sense, it is. Kiira was crying out about saving her mother and her village.
Hearing the news from the child, the leader of the knights then ordered their full advance to the village ahead that is being raided by bandits.
Just as the knights went over the hill, they finally see the village in ruins. There's a large gathering of the horde of bandits outside the village walls, and villagers are putting up a noble defense from within.
Then, Kiira sees four massive magic circles appear up in the skies above the village, along with two magic circles surrounding the village. The two rings then form a giant shield bubble, and a beam of light is pierced from the village through the center of the four circles in the air. The light itself was as bright as a star. Those knights are held back by such luminosity and wonder. They were ordered to halt, as they were unaware which side the spellcaster was on. No such legendary spellcasters could've possibly lived in villages like these.
Then a large explosion follows that. It engulfs the entire village and the surrounding area in neverending flames of explosions. The whole bandit formations around the village were burnt to ashes, and the rapid detonations of explosions are soon gravitating towards the hill that the knights are on. It was like the atmosphere was ignited. The sound is deafening, and Kiira's ears are ringing.
——What is happening?! Mom!
Kiira cannot fathom that her mom is in that frenzy area. Her tears are wiped away by the knight's handkerchief that she's riding with.
"Shit! Get back!" one of the knights shouts.
Just as they were trying to retreat from the explosions, Kiira sees that the two magic circles on the village are suddenly fading away, and the light shade of the shields is dying out. After that, the explosions soon engulf the village...
Then, the blinding beam of light stops emitting, alongside the four large magic circles.
"Fuck! We wouldn't be able to make it in time!" the knight yells.
Just as he said that the rapid bursts of explosions that are nearing the knights ceased to happen.
The knights stop their hasty withdrawal and look back to the village. It's now a huge crater. The forests surrounding it are burnt to their naked form; almost as if God has punished its region.
----------------------------------------
Years later...
The city of Freita. It's the crown jewel of the Kingdom of Reinburg. Despite its large port and the large housing complexes, it bears one of the greatest education systems in magic and tertiary schooling throughout the Western Continent. Such schools are the University of Valisworth and the Magic Academy of Reinburg. Even when the city offers such great education, it's also paid for by the state, for those who are willing to pass. However, this was simply a compromise between the royal crown and the nobility. Someone seeking to get into those schools needs a recommendation from the higher nobility or by a professor or higher.
The Magic Academy of Freita is one of the largest institutions on the Western Continent. It's almost like a palace itself. The hallways are designed with elegance, and the classrooms are moderately sized, with large glass windows for the outside, facing the huge garden that surrounds the campus. The academy restaurant is unheard of and is one of the main profits for the academy. Great foods, minds, and culture are what cause the academy to obtain such outstanding students and magical developments within the Kingdom of Reinburg.
Those who graduate and pass will be placed under the apprenticeship of a Senior Spellcaster in either the army, the airforce, the navy, or the royal guards if they're lucky enough to get in.
One morning, some students from the Magic Academy are to be assigned to help investigate with the United States the unexplained spellcaster explosion at the Port of Freita. Kiira will be trying out for the task force who will be assisting Rear Admiral Micheal Wikoff of the US Navy, Carrier Strike Group 5.
"Thank you!" Kiira says with excitement.
"Good. Now, get the hell out," the headmaster shouts at her in his office.
Kiira bows as she leaves. She doesn't mind the attitude of the headmaster, as she's already used to the verbal threats that are being imposed on her. She was formally admitted into the academy after being adopted by one of their professors there at the recommendation of the knight she was with at that time. That knight simply doesn't have enough housing or time, so he gave Kiira to Professor Bael to take over. Bael is the one who provided her with life within the city of Freita.
Kiira looks up to him as more of a far-off relative who provides hospitality. But she cannot deny that Bael gave her a purpose after that event. He has taught her many things, such as magic. Especially magic. After Kiira was put to a measuring device of her mana, Bael was astounded and that's how she was in the Magic Academy.
What's different from Kiira compared to the other students at the Magic Academy is that she's classified as a commoner, even though she's is the adopted daughter of a lower-noble professor there.
Although the social classes within the Kingdom of Reinburg aren't that far apart, the more elevated the institutions go, the more irritable the nobility gets. The lower nobility is the ones who are personifying the "equal" class structures within the kingdom. But in reality, it still exists. The headmaster is one of those noble members who act absentminded to other people of status except for his own.
Just as Kiira exits the headmaster's office, she walks around the hallways of the academy, multiple passersby give her a distasteful look. "Commoner," is what their eyes say.
As she passed by one of the corners of the hallway, the two girls who sees her made a snarky comment, "Tsk, professor's pet." They then accidentally trip her.
"Woops!" one of them remarks. The two giggle as they walk away.
Kiira can only stand to take these comments at her. She clenches her fists on the floor with anger. Her parent's way of saying, "Violence isn't the only option." She took that to heart for all of her years in school. Not once has she insulted her classmates in any way or form. The students around her all laughed inside. She looks around, and they all look away when their eyes meet and continue walking as if nothing had happened.
——What's the point of hiding it from me?
Kiira knows that everyone here isn't feeling pity for her. They simply enjoy it, knowing that she wouldn't fight back. She stood up and continues walking towards her destination.
——Bael...
However, Professor Bael isn't always there to save her, just like what people in the village did.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
At one of Bael's classes, she waited until it was over. Then, she stayed until everyone left, leaving only Bael and Kiira in the average-sized classroom, not before one of the classmates utters an insult about her status. She stood up from her wooden chair in bitterness and walked up towards Bael's working area.
"Professor... I cannot take it anymore, why can't you punish him?!" she cries. Even though this happens for years, she cannot fathom why incidents like these are happening right in front of Bael. The bottle of Kiira's emotions is starting to burst.
He sighs, "Kiira... this is how it's going to be in this academy. If I were to punish him, I would instantly be removed from my position because the victim is a commoner. I'm also from a lower nobility, and the students here are mostly from the higher nobility as I cannot just lecture the higher nobility about what their children have done." He continues writing paperwork on his desk, "Do you understand that?"
Even though he has said the same thing time and time again, Kiira cannot do anything but accept it once more.
"Yes... professor..." she says.
"Hoho! Professor's pet!" one of the male classmates shouts from the door of the classroom before running.
Kiira looks at the door before being embarrassed to the professor, "I'm sorry for putting this on you." She bows before leaving.
Just before she leaves the classroom, the professor looks up with a tired face, "That's fine. The students here have respect for their teachers..." He rotates his swivel chair to have a look at the luxurious garden outside, "nevermind, good luck on your tryouts." he says with a genuine manner.
The both of them smile, not knowing the other one did so.
——Time to figure out what this tryout is.
She walks out of the classroom, and to the tryouts.
----------------------------------------
The sun over Freita is a bit over its afternoon prime, and most schools have ended. The children are out playing with their friends at home, and after-school activities are starting. The trees throughout the city are lush green, and the Port of Freita is busier than ever.
The training grounds of the Magic Academy is one of the most sophisticated buildings. It's technologically advanced in magic construction as well as its design. The training ground is even designated as a city-wide shelter if all hell were to break loose on Freita. Luckily, that hasn't happened yet. It's a fully enclosed indoor space and looks like a large amphitheater that fits around ten thousand spectators. The center of it is a big field that can be changed to be water, grass, or plain dirt. On rare occasions, it was to be used as an entertainment venue or for major events.
In the center of it, there are around twenty people out of the hundreds of students enrolled in the academy. In that small group of people, Kiira was among one them.
Kiira specifically joined the tryouts just to have another purpose within the academy, her academics are going well, and her magic abilities are surpassing others. But, this is a unique tryout. This involves a new foreign country that she has never heard about. It's the nation that is behind the two steel dragons that broke the windows of the nobility and is also the leading figure in investigating the suicide spellcaster event. Kiira recalls that the U.S. has helped out a lot in the recovery efforts and has saved many civilians of Reinburg. She owes a big favor for them helping, even though the United States is hundreds of miles away.
In the center of the field is a man wearing interesting formals on a podium with several people wearing green uniforms.
"I'm Rear Admiral Micheal Wikoff of the United States Navy. You may address me as Admiral Wikoff, or simply Admiral. I'm not that heavy on formalities, so please don't be afraid." His accent is very foreign to Kiira, and his Common English sounds strange. This is the first time Kiira hears such words be spoken that way.
Everyone bows their head in respect for the Admiral.
Normally, an admiral who leads a major fleet is regarded as one of the highest prolific positions in Reinburg. Admiral Wikoff is surprised after hearing that fact from King Aldrich of the Kingdom of Reinburg. The kingdom boasts pride within its navy, so it makes sense, especially when the U.S. boasts an unknown ship design, has no sails, and can seemingly maneuver like a wyvern in water.
Another person on the podium introduces themselves, "Former Economics Minister, Griffith. Now the Reinburg diplomat to the United States," the now diplomat speaks.
Everyone bows their head as well.
The Admiral speaks, "Now! You are all here to try out for a new task force. It won't be easy, but it will be very hard. This task force will be helping the state investigate who caused the suicide bombing at the Port of Freita. This task force might as well save more lives in the future!"
Such words bolstered the pride within those attending the tryout.
However, Kiira has no attachment to the crown, nor the nationalism of the country.
——Everyone just wants to be favored with the crown.
Of course, the high noble students of the academy are simply an extension of the influential families in Reinburg. They would seek more recognition from the crown.
"You will all be going through dozens of obstacle courses, basic fitness regiments, and a practical test!" the Admiral shouts.
There was a silence.
"Yes, sir?!" the Admiral shouts, expecting an answerback.
"Yes, sir!" the attendees shout as it echoes throughout the amphitheater.
"Only ten will be chosen!"
——Ah... why are we shouting like knights?
Before the obstacle course, one of the "Sailors" of the United States performed how to do it, and he was flawless. His brawny appearance made him the limelight for some of the girls in the tryouts.
When the obstacle courses begin, her classmate's smirk as they pass by her. "We're way better than you, commoner." is what their faces are saying to her.
——I cannot let my body down.
Her body is at an alarmingly high temperature. As she tries to climb the wooden rock-climbing thing, her arms and legs are shaking. She can barely hold onto the shelf of the wooden-like rocks. Just as she reaches the top of the rock climbing activity, one of her classmates pushes her back down. She's saved by the harness connecting to the safety rope that she's wearing.
——What a pain...
One other classmate seems to be an airhead of what's happening and is falling behind quite fast. The two of them are the only ones at the rock climbing exercise. Both of them are exhausted and started a conversation.
Kiira breathes heavily, "Hey... what's your name? I'm Kiira."
"Olivia..." She says while looking frightened.
Kiira can see that her appearance is of a blonde petite girl and looks decently developed. The same can be said for Kiira, as she's also petite, but isn't as developed as Olivia. And, she also has silver hair.
"Ah... you know that I'm a commoner, right?"
"What's that?"
Kiira stops what she's doing, and just realizes how much of an airhead Olivia is.
Kiira sighs, "It's more of a social class thing."
"I don't mind. My father is Parker, a fisherman!" she happily exclaims. It's like she's unaware of what happens when she says her mind audibly.
——I guess she's from a lower noble family? No wonder why Olivia doesn't know those demeaning terms for workers. No higher noble is friends with her, especially a father who's a fisherman, even though it's a respected job in Reinburg, particularly in Freita. But, I do respect the lower nobility...
"Must be great having a family..." Kiira mumbles under her breath.
"Oh, Kiira? Are you alright?" Kiira seems that Olivia is genuinely concerned about her health. Especially when Kiira is on the verge of tumbling.
"No, no. You should be worried about yourself."
"Don't worry! I was on their gray boats, and they're amazing! They helped my mom!"
——Is she talking about the United States? Wait... she's one of the victims of that suicide incident?
Kiira then reaches the top of the rock climbing section and gives Olivia a hand to help her up.
"Thank you!" Olivia smiles at her.
"A—Alright. I'm sorry about what I've said earlier." Kiira's cheeks redden.
"That's fine."
One of the Sailors of the U.S. Navy helps their harness and attaches them to the other side for "rappelling."
They did it without incident, although from one of the sailors overseeing that section of the course, it looked like they were having too much fun going down.
"Hey! This isn't a game!" one of the classmates shouts at them.
"Oh... are they talking about you?" Olivia says in wonder.
——Ahh! They're talking about us! But... you are like a background of a canvas. So... they're probably talking about me.
"I'm sorry if I bring you into my mess," Kiira says with guilt.
"Oh, that's fine," Olivia exclaims, almost as if she was expecting that.
Kiira can only listen to the hollers of her classmates and move forward in the obstacle course.
In the end, the two were the last ones to finish the obstacle course, and the classmates were silently furious at Kiira for holding up the time in the tryouts. Kiira can feel the intense aura coming from her classmates, almost as if she's already feeling that since the first day of school in the Magic Academy.
——Good god... they don't look pleased with me.
Later on, they would do these "Jumping Jacks," "Pull-ups," and "Push-ups." These exercises are so unfamiliar, that it looks abnormal to Kiira. Once again, the muscular sailor is demonstrating how to perform these said exercises. Unfortunately, almost everyone except for some male students had a hard time in this section.
Then, came the practical test. The test of their magical abilities. The highlight of the tryout.
The attendees were handed the magical staff by Professor Bael. These in particular are of decent quality. To Kiira, the magical staff simply brings back the memories that she tries to run away from.
——I cannot look at these things for much longer...
In the distance, Kiira can see a U.S. Sailor setting up some weird hand-held black device with a circular lens in the middle. It's now on a stand.
——What kind of magical device is that?!
Paying no attention to it, she focuses on the last event of the tryout. All eyes were on this. The Rear Admiral, Professor Bael, and the Reinburg diplomat, Griffith.
In front of them, is a lonely dummy. It's sad looking, but it at least has attached sticks for its arms and legs, and a grain bag for its torso and head. That is the target. It's also embedded with further spells to not break it and the dirt.
"Commoner... watch this!" One of Kiira's classmates was up for the test.
"F̴̯̤̀͘͝i̶̡̖̋̄͠r̴̮̫̃ȅ̴̦͔͠b̸͚̌a̶̱͐̃͝ĺ̵̟̕̚ͅl̸̗̲̺̽͌̒!" he chants.
A huge flaming ball emerges from his staff with a red hue, and it flies directly towards the target. A huge blast follows on the target, and the ground is filled with ashes, a sign of ground zero. The dummy is unaffected.
One by one, the classmates take turns hurling insults at Kiira and they perform their unique spells at the target.
"W̵͈̩̉į̴̪̈́̈́̊n̵͓͇͈̓͝d̸͍̈́̉̚ ̴͈͉̍̈́̀T̴̖͙͗͜͠ȕ̴̺̫̹̈́n̸̨̙̈́n̴̛̻͒ĕ̷̟̞̲̅l̴̩̯̍̕͘ͅ!" she chants.
A gust of wind emerges on the target, and a large funnel of air engulfs it. The whole arena is filled with the breeze, and the Rear Admiral's caps came off. One of the Sailors went to get the cap for him, but the Admiral does it himself. The classmate notices that she's done something to the Admiral and smirks at Kiira.
——C'mon, you didn't do anything to the dummy. That dummy's arm didn't even move at all!
Now it's Olivia's turn, and no one made any looks or comments at her. It's like she's nobody.
"E̵̹͝ã̵̝̜̓r̶̤͚̅̋́t̶̫͍̺̀̔h̷̯͓̱̆́'̶̩̗̅̒̉s̷̢̻̄͑͆ ̴̡̖̪͂B̶͔̟͖͒͋͘ẽ̵̺ṋ̶͓̙͊̈̓ḏ̴̠͊i̸̗̽ņ̵͕̇ģ̷̮̅̄."
Her staff glows a brighter brown hue, brighter than the previous classmates, and it caught the eyes of the Rear Admiral.
Silence ensues.
Then, the whole ground sunk around the dummy. It's like a tunnel underneath the amphitheater suddenly caving in. The length of that sinkhole would require a makeshift bridge to cross to that dummy.
——That airhead is somehow good...
In a flick of a moment, the dirt suddenly turns back to normal, and the dummy appears unaffected.
Silence once again ensues, and this time, the classmates looked at Olivia with a stare, before looking at Kiira.
Unlike her other classmates, Kiira can notice that Olivia moved one of the sticks of the dummy. One of the U.S. Sailors operating that weird hand-held black device with a large lens gives a slight look to Admiral Wikoff, and Kiira sees him nodding just a bit.
——I'm sure that the people overseeing this tryout can see that.
Then last and not least, Kiira's turn.
She holds a grip of her magical staff and closes her eyes.
"P̴̛̝̐́̒͘o̴̹̕u̷̢̨͓͎͕͐̐͝s̶̼̪͙̈́ș̸̅̿ẹ̸͕͈́̇͜ê̵̺̻̈́̂͝ ̸̥̙̗̯̓͗́̃̆ͅd̴͂̓͐́ͅé̶̡͚̮ ̶̝̜̠̜̻̀D̷̪͒̌͠é̴̲̓͘v̴̗̔̏̚̚ͅǎ̷̺̞̤̗͑͂̐̚s̶̛̙͗̄̋t̵̘̮̜̫̐͝a̴̪̅̈́͑͊̾t̶̜͓̫̑̅̂̑i̵͈̋̀̔̍ö̶͇̣̱̦͈̏̽͝n̸̯̙̲͌̔́̾͊͝ͅ."
Her magical staff lights up in a fury, it's emitting as much light as one of the amphitheater's lights.
Then, the magical staff snaps into half, the bottom part falling to the dirt, while Kiira holds the top.
She looks around and notices her classmates giggling a bit, but they knew that they had to stay formal in the presence of the Reinburg Diplomat and the U.S. Admiral.
——Those rascals.
Bael saw what just happened and immediately rushes to Kiira, with the intent to give her his custom-made magical staff.
However, one of Kiira's classmates sees the opportunity and speaks up.
"Professor! Why does she get one of yours, but not us?"
Professor Bael realizes what he's going to do to Kiira and hesitated.
He shows off to the rest of the attendees that this is just the same magical staff. Luckily, he had some spares in stock.
"Give it your all," Bael whispers.
Kiira says it blandly, "I won't."
"Do it well!" Kiira hears a sudden yell on her left, and it's Olivia.
Kiira now learns that both Bael and Olivia are counting on her...
——Alright... fine... I will do it. Thank you, Bael, and Olivia.
"P̴̛̝̐́̒͘o̴̹̕u̷̢̨͓͎͕͐̐͝s̶̼̪͙̈́ș̸̅̿ẹ̸͕͈́̇͜ê̵̺̻̈́̂͝ ̸̥̙̗̯̓͗́̃̆ͅd̴͂̓͐́ͅé̶̡͚̮ ̶̝̜̠̜̻̀D̷̪͒̌͠é̴̲̓͘v̴̗̔̏̚̚ͅǎ̷̺̞̤̗͑͂̐̚s̶̛̙͗̄̋t̵̘̮̜̫̐͝a̴̪̅̈́͑͊̾t̶̜͓̫̑̅̂̑i̵͈̋̀̔̍ö̶͇̣̱̦͈̏̽͝n̸̯̙̲͌̔!" she chants.
At this moment, her magical staff once again emits off a blinding hue of light, the rose-red colors are making shadows on everyone around it. It has become the new light source of the amphitheater. The shining red beacon has emerged.
"What the hell is this?!" one of her classmates shouts.
Five large magic circles of various sizes, from the smallest to the biggest one on the bottom, emerge right on top of the target dummy. The air surrounding the dummy is now baked into high temperatures, one of the leaves in the arena flew into it, and it instantly vaporizes.
"Professor! Isn't this too dangerous?!" the classmate rambles.
The Professor can only watch. Not once has he ever stopped a demonstration.
The air surrounding the dummy becomes so hot, that the dirt surrounding it cracks, turns into hardened dirt, then slowly melts into some hot liquid mess of dirt. The hot air suddenly rises from the dummy, and it created convection. A massive one. The cool air from the large entrances of the amphitheater combined with ventilation allowed for high wind speeds to flow within the arena. It's almost as if there was a storm inside. Admiral Wikoff is trying to stay up-right for dear life.
"Professor!" multiple classmates shout at him.
Professor Bael looks towards the Rear Admiral, but the Admiral is simply in awe to even acknowledge the danger. The Professor can only nod "No." to the attendees.
Then, something broke from the heavens. A loud thundering clap broke through the ceiling of the training grounds. A ray of light in various red hues clashes down onto the dummy, and it's so bright, that it's like the star collapsing into it. The sounds that the beam emits are horrifying, but not to Kiira. It's a loud pulsating, rumbling sound, yet unnerving.
It all ceases. The entire arena is smoked up like a wildfire.
The breeze slows down, and the ambiance feels cooler.
Kiira opens her eyes, to see a ruined hellscape in front of her. The smoke disperses. It's destruction. The dummy isn't even there. It's a huge crater, filled with stuff that's glowing an ominous red. She can't even tell where the dummy initially was at. The ceiling of the training grounds broke, and the light is fluttering in. The regenerative magic of the arena is too damaged to operate.
——I have to remember... violence isn't the only option for resolving things...
"Just... who are you?!" one of the classmates yelled at Kiira in horror.
"A demon!" one shouts.
——Sounds cooler than being called a commoner for the rest of the year.
That word is finally enough to send the attendees running away from the amphitheater. The only ones who remain were the U.S. people, Professor Bael, Griffith, Olivia, and Kiira.
Olivia is just standing there in amazement, figuring out what the heck just happened.
Professor Bael can only look at Kiira not with happiness, but with a disappointing look.
He rushes up to Kiira, "Why did you go all out?!"
"W—Why?! I did what you asked!" she exclaims, not knowing why he's angry.
He groans, "You went too far! You're supposed to hold back! Even though that's impressive, you destroyed the training grounds!" He says as he looks off into the destroyed arena.
The sounds of Reinburg's coins echoes throughout Bael's head.
Then, there was clapping. It was the admiral.
"That was exciting. Kiira, am I right? The ones who attended this tryout mentioned your name a lot."
The two stood at attention to Admiral Wikoff. "No need for formalities," he chuckles.
"Yes, sir... I'm Kiira." Kiira speaks.
"To be able to cause such firepower without any fire support. Kiira... how far do your magic abilities go?"
"Around the size of this small country. Relatively speaking, a very far distance. Capable of any kind of magic at that size. I won't do it multiple times for obvious reasons."
"Hm...? Ambassador, do you think the crown is fine about this?" The Admiral looks at Ambassador Griffith for approval of her into the new task force, he nods in favor.
The admiral continues, "Now... given what has happened today, we will explain it later."
"Hooooooh..." she says in an absent-minded way.
"Nevermind... you two are accepted into the new task force." he looks at the two, "Olivia. Kiira." nodding at the both.
Before the two could have a brief time to be happy, the admiral mentions something to the duo. He says it in a solemn way that tips Kiira off.
What Kiira heard isn't something that she has expected. Her heart for the first time starts to beat faster and faster. The restraints on her heart are barely holding.
The words that shook her:
"Have you ever taken a life?"