"That's my son?"

Tiero said in awe, more of a statement than a question as he gazed at his son on the television screen. Amaya sat near his bed on his left, while Nala sat on the right.

Onscreen, the trio watched as Sero held his own against the face cards, eventually pulling out the Jury axe. Amaya couldn't help but share a smile with Nala as they watched Sero's father gaze in wonder when Sero performed his Starfall Nuke.

"Yeah. He's become a very strong Ascendant, going from F-rank to A-rank in a matter of days," Amaya explained to Tiero. "In fact, I think he has potential to be an S-rank."

Tiero looked back at Amaya, his eyes filled with pride. "I always knew my boy was special," he said, a small smile on his face. "He always had that spark."

Amaya felt a sudden tightness in her chest, thinking of her own deceased father. She forced the feeling down, nodding in agreement.

"Well, he's special all right. He's the only known Scholar class right now." The liaison paused for a moment. "In spite of that, he can be a little bit-"

"You're beautiful."

Sero's voice echoed out from the television speakers as Anya brought out the Joker familiar. Amaya stared at the screen in shock, seeing Nala also look slightly off-guard.

"That's my son!" Tiero chuckled weakly, causing even Nala to appear visibly stunned.

Seeing Tiero's prideful expression caused the two women to realize where Sero's shamelessness came from. Amaya silently sighed, sharing a look with Nala.

"Oh, sorry," Tiero saw the look on their faces and smiled sheepishly. "I'm just glad to see my son so confident."

"N-no, it's fine," Amaya quickly composed herself. "It was just... unexpected."

"Yeah," Nala nodded. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Sero's father appeared thankful, smiling at the women warmly.

"I'm happy to see that he has such wonderful friends," Tiero began. "He was always so lonely."

Amaya and Nala exchanged glances again, understanding the subtext of his words. "He's not lonely anymore, sir," Amaya assured him. "He's got us now."

"Thank you, both of you. I was always worried for him when his mother died," Tiero sounded melancholic. "He used to be such a curious child. It helped that his mother encouraged him to explore and learn as much as he could. Probably explains why he switched his majors so much."

Sero's father took a shaky breath. "We were pretty poor, so even sending him to grade school was a struggle. Not to mention we had to portion our meals every night." He paused for a moment. "Even then, Sero and Val shared a strong bond. She kept his desire to learn going, up until she passed away before he graduated high school."

The two women nodded solemnly. They knew a bit of the hardship Sero had faced growing up, but hearing it from his father made it all the more real. "He's come a long way," Nala offered, trying to lighten the mood. "He's become such a strong person, and he's found friends who truly care about him."

Tiero smiled gratefully. "I know it hasn't been long since I've met you both, but please, stay by Sero's side. He may not realize it, but it would help to have such good friends to support him. Especially with two beauties like you."

Amaya felt a blush creeping up her cheeks as the old man complimented her, but she quickly recovered, smiling back at him. "Thank you, sir. We'll make sure to take good care of him."

Sero's father sighed contentedly, glancing back at the screen. "He's a good kid. He just didn't have the best childhood growing up, always alone without any real friends. I regret not checking up on him these last few years after we..." He trailed off, deep in thought.

"You did your best, sir," Amaya assured him gently. "And he's turned out to be an amazing person despite everything. He's still got a lot of growing to do, but we'll be there for him every step of the way." She glanced at Nala, who nodded in agreement.

Tiero seemed to relax a little at their words. "Well, I'm glad he found someone like you, Amaya. You seem like a strong, kind woman. And Nala as well. I'm sure Sero would be lucky to have either of you as his partner."

Amaya laughed uncomfortably while Nala forced a strained smile. It seemed that they were learning a lot about where Sero's tendencies were coming from, much to their dismay.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, back at the arena, the Joker faintly blushed, staring at Sero in disbelief. "I-I... t-thank you?" She stammered, sounding more confused than anything. "I-I didn't know people thought that of me..."

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Even though she didn't say anything, Sero could sense Aphiel's shock within his thoughts. Anya had composed herself, but she still seemed stunned at Sero's sudden change in behavior.

"Well, I'm glad I'm the first to let you know," Sero grinned at the Joker. "You might be Anya's familiar, but I'd love to get familiar with you."

The Joker's blush deepened, and she looked away, fidgeting with her hands. "T-that's... nice of you, I guess..." she stammered, sounding more flustered by the moment. "B-but I'm not allowed to... you know..."

She suddenly shook her head and faced Sero with a look of confusion and apprehension. "Wait, you realize this is a match, right?"

"Yeah!" Anya shouted from behind, coming back to her senses as she glared at Sero. "What do you think you are doing, flirting with my familiar?"

"Whoops, sorry," Sero said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "Just being honest, you know? I mean, if you don't want me to, I won't. But I can't help but think you're really, really cute."

Anya's eyes narrowed even further as the announcer, who had finally regained his composure, spoke up again. "Well, it seems like our players have taken a detour from the battlefield for a moment. But we still have a match to finish, don't we?"

The Joker gave Sero a disturbed look before she disappeared with a golden flash, reappearing next to Anya. The two shared a look, and the Joker suddenly dissolved into golden mana, swirling around the Courtmancer.

"It appears like I must do this myself!" Anya declared as she absorbed the golden light. "I will take you on!"

Sero clicked his tongue in disappointment, his analysis determining that Anya had merged with the Joker. He brandished his sword, anticipating Anya's next moves. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he'd be able to summon the same Joker using his copied skill, or if it would be a different familiar altogether. That was something he'd figure out later.

As Anya charged at him, Sero met her golden cards with his sword, parrying each projectile effortlessly. It seemed as though the Courtmancer had absorbed the Joker's agility and grace, as she moved with uncanny speed and precision. Sero found himself on the defensive, his sword dancing through the air as he tried to clash against her golden club.

He fired off mana railguns in between his sword strikes, but Anya either avoided them or conjured a translucent golden barrier to defend against them. Sero realized that the Joker was the culmination of all four suits, seamlessly blending the stats together to create a powerful individual.

For most other Ascendants, facing another's greatest skill might be daunting. But to Sero, it was perfect.

"You should've kept her out here," Sero grinned as he countered each of Anya's card projectiles midair with his mana knives. "You might've had a chance of winning."

"And be forced to watch you pine helplessly after my familiar?" Anya retorted, slipping past Sero's guard and landing a solid smack to Sero's stomach with her golden club. "Nyet!"

Sero doubled over in pain, registering Anya's golden mana beam firing at point-blank, but unable to do anything except take it head-on. The magic blasted Sero off his feet, but he managed to morph into shadows mid-flight and solidified back to land in a crouching position. He growled in agony, quickly casting Recovery and allotting more energy towards the skill.

As his body healed, Sero quickly gathered his bearings, seeing Anya charge at him once more as she threw more golden cards. He jumped over the first wave, then rolled under the second before coming back to his feet and thrusting his sword forward, clashing against the third. Anya's eyes narrowed, and she pulled back slightly, her golden club glowing brighter.

"You think you can win with just that?" she growled, swinging her club in a wide arc that sent a wave of golden cards flying towards Sero. He raised his sword to block them, but found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks. As he struggled to maintain his defense, he noticed Anya moving in for a killing blow.

"This is gonna hurt." Sero muttered to himself as he poured a significant amount of energy and mana into his Iron Skin.

As Anya smashed her golden club into Sero's right side, he quickly dispersed his sword and summoned the Jury axe, gripping the handle as it fell. Anya's club connected, causing Sero to feel like he'd been hit by a truck. The Jury hit the ground, missing Anya completely as it smashed a crater into the arena. The force of Anya's club almost sent Sero flying, but his grip on the Jury's handle kept him in place even through the searing pain. The look of utter disbelief on Anya's face at how Sero stood his ground almost made taking the hit worth it.

"Fuck!" Sero coughed out as Anya recovered from the Jury's shockwave, preparing to swing her club again. Before she could, Sero quickly let go of the axe, holding a palm out towards her.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sero smiled wickedly as he casted Fairness.

Anya faltered, feeling her strength become forcibly stolen from her. Her club wavered in the air, which gave Sero the opening he needed.

Gritting his teeth, he forced his body to move, getting close to Anya and prepping a punch into her stomach. He deactivated all of his skills save for Fairness and Inspiration, sending a right hook deep into her abdomen.

The Revenge activated, covering the Courtmancer in a green aura and exploded, sending her flying away. The damage Sero received from her was tripled by his skills as he watched her hit the other side of the arena.

Without missing a beat, Sero dashed forward, ignoring the protests of his screaming body, charging up a decently powerful mana nuke that he fired after Anya. The magic connected with a boom, causing a green explosion that swallowed up Anya's golden aura.

Sero conjured his sword, reaching the other side of the arena and priming the tip at where Anya landed. When the smoke cleared, he found her slumped and passed out against the wall, a crater left behind her.

"A-amazing! What another explosive performance by the Scholar!" The announcer shouted after processing what just happened. "Sero's ending blow seems to be his staple! Reflecting back all the damage he's taken is a seriously risky move, but it seems to work in his favor!"

The crowd screamed their approval, causing an uproar of cheering as the referee called the match. Sero fell to his knees, feeling his entire body ache with exhaustion and effort.

"I really need to... figure out a new way to use Revenge without breaking my body..." Sero grimaced, panting heavily. He couldn't believe how close that last attack had been, and how much it had hurt. He felt drained, like he'd been through a war.

As the medics rushed to treat him, Sero looked at the excited crowd, grinning with triumph as he held a thumbs up.