I look at Ugo with a smug smile decorating myself. A part of the reason that I wear this expression is in part to agitate him further but also because I do feel a tad bit confident. This first small victory against the air rider has increased my certainty in winning this altercation. Nonetheless, despite my surging confidence, I immediately return to battle-ready and begin rotating my shield. Ugo’s eyes expand and she shouts orders.

“Don’t let him do that! Shoot, now!”

In no more than a fraction of a second, a burst of water is hurled in my direction. Its might and its speed is such that I decide that evading it would be the wrong choice. I quickly place my shield in its path and skillfully prevent it from harming me. What surprises me, however, is that thin cracks have appeared on my shield despite it having endured only one attack. Upon a closer look, I also notice marks of corrosion upon the shield’s surface.

‘Acid…!!’

I know that the blastpipe’s sole purpose is to amplify power, but to have it be to this extent surprises even me. I’ve only ever met one other person who could hope to break through my shield within the same level, Sylvia. I sense that I cannot give all the credit to the instrument he is wielding, the man with the mohawk is certainly exceptional in his own right. Ugo takes a deep breath and spouts a few words at me as I attempt to regain my composure.

“You must think that all of us nobles are arrogant and hot-headed by now, right?”

I shrug.

“Well, except for a few exceptions, I haven’t really been proven wrong yet.”

Ugo smirks.

“Then, now I’ll show you the real difference between us and yourself. This fight won’t go like your previous ones.”

He grunts as 2 sets of fiery wings sprout from his back. With a leap, he rises into the air, aided by the rapid motion of his two sets of wings. Then, a third set sprouts from his back. The emergence of this new set of wings is accompanied by an even louder grunt from Ugo. When they have fully manifested, He points his sharpsong towards me and declares:

“Today, you shall fall! I, Ugo Brightscar, will put an end to this nonsense about a commoner besting a noble!”

‘A transformation ability… haven’t seen one of those before.’

I am given no time to admire Ugo’s form. Another burst of acid is hurled in my direction, but it is blocked by my aegis which moves to intercept it. More cracks appear on it and more corrosion riddles its surface. I have no choice but to repair it by using some flow. My goal is to not let my shield break or have to release its manifestation. To accomplish that, I quickly realize that I will need to start avoiding these attacks instead of blocking them, lest I want to suffer from flow exhaustion. Without giving me time to think further, a ball of fire approaches me at high speed. I glance at it, and something deep within me warns me that this is no normal fire. As I peer into his soul, I am unsure what exactly gives me that impression, but somehow, it only makes me more certain. Listening to my intuition, I evade his attack and roll to my right. The earth is scorched in the wake of Ugo’s assault. He turns around and a large smirk covers his face.

“Not so confident in your defense anymore, are you?”

I frown.

“...Shut-”

A booming sound resonates throughout the theater. The man with the unique haircut has shot his blastpipe towards the sky.

‘What the..?’

Following this act, rain falls from above. Before it even reaches me, I realize that it is not ordinary rain. I promptly place my aegis above my head in the form of an umbrella to protect myself. A triumphant voice is carried from the back of the theater.

“Taste my special move: Ultimate rain of deadly corrosion!”

Ugo and I both freeze. He closes his eyes in embarrassment and I notice his tanned face slightly reddening. The blastpipe user must think that naming his attacks adds to his style. I cannot really blame him; I still think it would be insanely cool to yell out my attack’s name before performing it. If it wasn’t for Sylvia making fun of me some months ago, perhaps I’d be doing it even now. Ugo, however, is clearly not of the same mind. I see his fiery body trembling with shame as he processes his teammate’s words. I do not let go of this opportunity and tease the great family heir.

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“Hmm, yes, I see what you mean now. Nobles are certainly different!”

His face reddens even further and he mumbles something through his clenched teeth.

“...Shut up.”

Without wasting any more time, he lunges at me once more. While the other man’s attack was accompanied by a rather interesting name, I cannot deny its effectiveness. I can feel my aegis crumbling under the droplets of acid. I would expect Ugo to also suffer from the same predicament I am, but the heat surrounding him is such that the droplets evaporate before even reaching his body. I am unsure if this was planned beforehand, but it is working splendidly. This has put me in an especially precarious situation. As I am having these internal thoughts, Ugo is a mere few meters from my face. He attacks me once, then turns around for another strike, and keeps on applying pressure. All of this occurs while I am still under the threat of the acid rain. Still wary of the fire emitted by Ugo’s body, I evade every single blow while attempting to maintain the shield above my head. Unfortunately, I am far from perfect. A few droplets have reached me, corroding my clothes, and soon my skin.

What’s more, I notice that the fire from Ugo’s first attack has yet to disappear. I squint my eyes at the sight. The flames dance under my gaze, showing no sign of growing any weaker. This is even stranger when considering that stone, the main material from which this theater is built, is non-flammable. Yet, the flames refuse to dissipate. Ugo notices that my attention has wandered to the aftermath of his first assault. He points his sharpsong towards me, and it bursts with shining radiance.

“So you’ve noticed. Are you surprised that you’re not the only one who has improved?-”

‘This guy is kind of talkative isn’t he.’

“-In my training, I have realized that these flames are far from ordinary! In fact, for as long as I will it, they will burn everything in their path!”

I raise an eyebrow.

“...Why would you tell this to an opponent? Are you dumb?”

His left eye twitches in anger. Without even answering my question, he signals the man in the back to attack me, and a wave of acid is hurled in my direction. Simultaneously, a ball of fire descends from the sky in an attempt to block my path of escape. It seems Ugo has decided it is time to put an end to this. The me from a week ago, if he even survived, would have suffered terrible injuries if faced with this attack. Thankfully, I am not the me from a week ago. What separates us is that I have been tirelessly practicing a single movement taught in Professor Rivaldo’s pureflow control class. That movement is a simple leaping motion.

I accurately guide streaks of pureflow to the different muscles in my legs and match their frequencies to each of their fundamental rhythms. My lower body bursts with power, and I launch myself out of the way before Ugo can even reach my location.

My mastery of the process is still lacking, as such I am nowhere near Maestro Lauren's level of speed, or even Zora’s when she uses her [melody]. Fortunately, it is more than enough to surprise Ugo who misses me by a hair’s breadth, and lands on the stage. Not giving him the time to understand what just occurred, I repeat the same action, but with a substantial boost in power.

‘Crescendo’

The second leap is much faster than the first, and is aimed at Ugo. My speed isn’t enough to surpass his reaction speed, but it is sufficient to destabilize him. I aim my sharpsong at his throat, and he has no choice but to clumsily parry it with his own. Without giving him a moment to think, my aegis leaves its preposition above my head and flies towards him, biting into his side. He grunts in pain, and his eyes emit a strange light. Sensing danger, I quickly step back. Ugo’s body shines, and becomes enveloped in flames. He swears at me while holding onto his aching side.

“You B*stard! You’ve already mastered the leap movement!!?”

I do not rush to answer his question. I return my aegis to its original position above my head to protect myself from the acid rain. Then, I inspect my body. Unfortunately, I have suffered injuries from the acid in that short exchange, but none of them threaten my life. Finally, I look in Ugo’s direction and tilt my head.

“What, you haven’t?”

He looks as if he is about to explode with seething rage. I sincerely hope that this is what happens. If he loses his cool, he will be much easier to deal with. I generally do not like to make use of this tactic when battling opponents, but how could I not when this man is this talkative? It’s like he’s asking for it.

I watch as he appears to be reaching a breaking point. A vein bulges on the side of his head and I can nearly hear his teeth creak as he clenches them. Against all odds, however, Ugo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When his eyes open, I immediately realize that he has regained his composure. He lets out a soft sigh and stares me down with a determined expression.

“... I’ll admit it, you are strong, Alden Thorne… Even among nobles, you stand out.”

“That feels weird coming from you. But thanks?”

He continues, disregarding my comment.

“You would have surely won your battle against Peregrine even without that strange ability you displayed towards the end, that much is true-”

‘I guess he’s actually not an idiot.’

“-But you will not, no; you cannot win today. From now on, I will truly fight. Not as a noble attempting to put a commoner in his place, but as a warrior of the Brightscar family. Prepare yourself.”

The atmosphere shifts. Ugo retracts his wings, only keeping the upper most set. The flames which have been enveloping him are entirely dragged towards his sharpsong, creating the image of an incandescent blade. All of my senses are now on extremely high alert. I am unsure as to what exactly has changed, but I am certain that Ugo means his words, he will now fight me seriously. I ready my stance, tightly gripping my sharpsong. With cold sweat dripping from my forehead, I prepare myself for the coming fight. One hundred percent of my attention is concentrated toward Ugo wielding the blazing instrument, when another wave of acid approaches me at frightening speed. It takes me by surprise, but I quickly turn my head in its direction. However, simultaneously, Ugo’s sharpsong approaches my neck at an even more terrifying speed.

‘Sh*t!!! I can’t dodge both!!’

As I resolve myself to forfeiting at least a limb, icy mist covers me, and pillars of ice emerge from the ground, blocking both Ugo’s charge, and the blastpipe user’s acid attack. Following the appearance of the pillars, a female voice resonates from the entrance of the theater.

“Ganging up on a commoner, and you call yourselves nobles? Pathetic.”

Ugo clicks his tongue and glares at the approaching figure.

“Tsk… do not interfere in this battle… Sophia Thunderblade.”