*** Chapter 12: A Respite ***

They had done it. They had passed the test of the Cact Tunnels. It had been a long day, but it was finally over. All they needed to do was focus on recovering their magic and healing.

Before the test took place, Odin's Eye had made provisions for each contestant to stay the night in a nearby hotel. With nowhere else to go, the pair went back. Yuki informed them the additional night was also prepaid since they passed the first test.

Walking into the cosy lobby, Eren felt dead on his feet.

"You!" Eren recognised the voice instantly.

"Kena, so good to see you again," Eren said, smiling cheerfully. "I see you escaped the handcuffs."

"Yeah, I did. And if I remember right, I owe you a punch!"

"No fighting before the final Trial begins," Ash cut in. He had appeared out of nowhere. Literally.

Ignoring him, Kena made a beeline right for Eren, glowing fist drawn back for an attack. Planting his feet, Eren summoned a thick shield to take the hit. But it never came.

Eren looked over his shield cautiously. Ash was holding Kena's arm by the wrist, the glow of her fist snuffed out. He had stopped the fight before it even began.

"What an unusual way to greet your friend," Ash said, smiling softly.

"He's not my friend. This bastard broke my nose," Kena raged, thumbing her nose angrily. Ash nodded sympathetically.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to put that aside. If you were fighting, I'd have to disqualify you for ignoring the rules. That'd be such a shame when you're at the final Trial." Ash released Kena's hand. Eren half expected her to hit him anyway, but she let her hand drop. Ash nodded his approval.

"So, you made it to the final?" Eren asked.

Kena smirked insufferably. "Was there ever any doubt? I take it you lost, such a shame! If only you hadn't had to face me."

"I'm the other finalist," Eren cut in, unable to listen to her bragging for another second. He probably should've hidden it, so she couldn't prepare to face him later. But he couldn't help himself; he wanted to wipe the smug look off Kena's face. She would've found out, eventually anyway.

"Huh, guess you found an easy path through?"

"Yeah, the one where I fought you," Eren swiftly countered.

"You mean the fight you lost?"

"On a technicality," Eren protested. "You said so yourself. I was going to win."

"I don't remember saying that."

"Really? How convenient," Eren growled. Taking a breath, he stepped back. Eren tried to avoid getting too emotional, but something about Kena annoyed him. "I'll see you in the final."

"Yeah, you'll see my fist heading towards your face," Kena called, unwilling to let Eren have the last word. It took an incredible feat of willpower not to yell something back. He only muttered it under his breath.

"This time I won't be so nice."

***

"So this Kena girl, you know her well?" Lyra asked. She collapsed onto her king-sized bed, enjoying the feeling of the cool, soft sheets beneath her hands. As they had made it to the final, they had each received their own luxury room, a far cry from the basic accommodations they had overpaid for the night before.

"Not really. We had to fight for our second test, kind of the opposite to ours," Eren explained. Lyra couldn't help but be a little disappointed. She had hoped they knew each other well, in which case Eren could advise her about her strengths and weaknesses if they had to fight in the final Trial. A situation that seemed more than likely, especially given how aggressive the girl acted.

"Well, did you learn anything useful when fighting her?"

"I'll tell you what I noticed."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Eren noticed a lot in just a single fight. He explained that Kena used fire magic, focusing mainly on explosions for combat. She could do this either by shooting fireballs or making her body glow, then explode on contact. When she did this, the force of her blow seemed proportional to the explosion, though Eren admitted that was just speculation. She also used her flames for movement, sudden bursts of speed to seize the advantage, being her modus operandi. She would use this to take her opponents off guard, after which, unless you could endure her assault, it was all over. The best way to ruin her flow was to limit her movement; Eren had done this with handcuffs, but he suspected boxing her in with attacks would work well. She fought as a southpaw, but when she stole his hammer, she swung as if she were right-handed. Eren couldn't tell if she was ambidextrous or didn't know how to wield weapons properly. Her stance seemed off, failing to manage the hammer's weight, but she compensated with her magic, so perhaps it was intentional.

She also had rage issues. A potential weakness if they played their cards right. Eren claimed that was why he had worked her up earlier in the lobby, but Lyra suspected he was trying to justify his own getting riled up. He had hardly seemed in control during their encounter.

"Oh, and don't let her pin you," Eren muttered, touching his jaw tenderly. "Going to be sore for weeks."

"That's... a lot to take in," Lyra admitted, mind swimming from the sudden onslaught of information. "Do you have a plan to take her down?"

Eren grinned smugly. "Of course, but there's one big problem. Her partner. I don’t know what her magic does, leaving them as a massive unknown. So while I have ideas on how to take out Kena, we can't assume she won't just counter them; that's why we need several different plans."

"How can we make a plan if we don't even know how they fight?" Eren gave her one of his most insufferably smug smiles. Lyra almost regretted asking.

"All magic can be broken down into a few subsets. So all we have to do is make a plan for the basic types; then, we can go from there. I figure we'll need about sixteen plans."

"Huh," Lyra muttered. Eren tilted his head, asking her why silently. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought you were going to say we should talk to the other eliminated contestants; see if they knew anything."

Eren coughed lightly, his cheeks going slightly scarlet. "Yeah... that's ... a better plan."

Lyra giggled, jumping up from the bed. He's kind of cute when he's embarrassed. Lyra liked that he was honest about his oversight, so she decided not to give him too much of a hard time over it. "Let's go. While we walk, you can tell me your sixteen plans."

"Um, we don't have to do that."

"No, no. Regale me with your superior wisdom; what are the plans, oh, wise master?"

"Please stop."

What? She said she wouldn't be too hard on him. Not that she wouldn't mock him at all.

***

Jin paced back and forth in Kena's room, scowling. "So, you really can't tell me anything about his magic?"

Kena shrugged, staring at the ceiling disinterestedly. "What do you want from me? We fought; it's not like he stopped midway for a lecture. Well, maybe he would, the smug prick."

Jin decided to ignore the last comment. Kena had insulted Eren several times already, and Jin needed her to focus. "But you must've noticed something more. There's no way he could make it to the final if all he can do is turn his skin to metal," Jin groused. Turning one's skin to metal to increase toughness was impressive by human standards. But for mages, especially those taking The Trials of the Valkyrie, it was underwhelming.

"I think his weapons were magic too…" Jin turned to Kena askance, but the fire mage didn't respond.

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"Why?" Jin drawled.

"Well, at one point, I tried to hit him with his hammer. I set it on fire too; it was totally badass," Kena said, visibly excited at the memory. Jin prompted her to continue. Kena realised she had got sidetracked. "Anyway, it disappeared."

"Teleportation magic?" Now that was rare. If he could teleport, he would be a nightmare to fight, since most of Jin's techniques were focused on immobilisation.

"I guess. He also made stuff appear, too, like those handcuffs." Jin facepalmed.

"He's a conjurer," Jin said. "He can make stuff out of metal."

Overall, it was good news. Jin's magic had natural supremacy against conjurers. She could drain the mana out of his constructs, breaking them down to nothing.

Jin groaned internally. It had taken half an hour to make Kena realise what anyone else would've noticed immediately. Kena really knew nothing about magic. But, as things stood, Kena was her best source of info.

"Okay. I want you to break down the fight for me; in as much detail as possible."

Kena did, or at least she tried to. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't the analytical type when it came to combat. She remembered the broad strokes but couldn't describe Eren's fighting style in any detail. She also got distracted often, bragging about her achievements rather than focusing on Eren's abilities.

Regardless, hearing about the cape trick and hammer disappearing, Jin did figure out one thing. Despite his large build, Eren was the type that preferred to fight with his head. Rather than brute force, he relied on tricks and ploys to maintain control of a fight. Despite this, he was willing to get down and dirty when needed, even breaking Kena's nose.

"We should try to find a healer for your nose and whatever Achi did to you." Kena tilted her head like a confused bird.

"That was hours ago; my nose doesn't hurt anymore."

"We should try to get it in a cast. Just because it's not hurting doesn't mean it's not broken," Jin explained. By now, she was used to Kena.

She knew nothing about magic, despite being a mage. Was it so much weirder to not know how healing worked? She wasn't a physician, so why should she?

"Nah, that's fine. All I need is some sleep, and I'll be aces." Jin levelled Kena with a flat look.

"Take off your shirt."

"You first," Kena countered, but did so all the same. Jin was shocked by what she saw.

"Wow."

"Heh. I get that a lot."

"You-you don't have a scratch on you." Walking around, Jin looked at Kena's back. During their earlier fight, Achi savagely attacked her with his 'back breaker', yet she didn't even have a bruise. Reaching out, Jin touched where she estimated the damage to be. Kena's skin was hot to the touch. "It really doesn't hurt?"

Kena giggled, shying away from her slightly. "Hey, your hands are cold! And no. Why would it?"

"Because he hit you really hard. And you said Eren broke your nose, but it doesn't look broken either," Jin said, continuing her examination.

"Like I said, that was hours ago. I heal fast."

"Is it a part of your magic?" Jin asked, stepping back to give Kena space to put her shirt back on. Kena shrugged, a blank look on her face.

"Maybe? I thought all mages heal fast."

"Not this fast. Not even close. Mages heal faster than normal humans because of the influence of mana, but it still would take at least a couple of days to heal a broken nose." Jin paused, considering the girl in front of her. Kena was an enigma. She was so powerful, yet she never trained formally. If that wasn't rare enough, it seemed she had healing powers. Advanced ones at that.

Even though most mages heal fast, actual healing magic is quite rare. The sheer complexity made it difficult to learn and even harder to master. To have one's healing enhanced to such an extent, without even realising it. It was bizarre. What is she?

"Huh, guess I'm just that great," Kena said, laughing proudly. "Bet Eren's still whining like a bitch after the beating I gave him."

***

Eren took in a sharp intake of breath, touching the massive bruise that made up the entire left side of his body. Throughout the exam, he had been too focused on passing to worry about it much, but Kena had done a number on him.

All over his body were bruises, burns, and even cuts. All this despite his armour. That girl is a monster. I hope I don't have to fight her again tomorrow…

"Yesh, you're a baby," Lyra yelled from the main room.

"I'm not used to getting injured. Most attacks don't break my armour."

"Sounds to me like you're just whiny," Lyra teased in a sing-song voice.

"Thanks for the support," Eren muttered dryly. Hearing footsteps approaching, he quickly put his shirt back on.

Lyra stood in the doorway, a pensive expression on her face.

"You seriously not going to ask?" Eren didn't need to ask what she meant. It was obvious. Since the fight with Clay, she had been much quieter.

"If you want to talk about it, we can," Eren offered. "But, I appreciate we haven't known each other very long. It's been an eventful time, but not a long time. I understand if you want to keep some things private. It's not like I've told you everything either." Eren scratched his chest, adjusting his shirt to hide his scar. He had told her about the conflict between his clan and the Everright and that he was an exile but hadn't gone into detail. I'll tell her, eventually. Now isn't the right time.

"Yeah, well, your secrets didn't try to crush us to death," Lyra said. Eren chuckled, nodding his agreement. "Besides, it's not a secret, secret, just… Kind of a long story. Where should I begin ... have you noticed the gem in my forehead?"

Lyra pointed at the yellow gem embedded in her forehead. "No, I've never noticed it before," Eren deadpanned. Lyra ignored him, continuing her explanation.

"Well, it's not just decorative. It's actually an implant that awakened my magic powers." Lyra then launched into her explanation.

Not everyone can become a mage; some people don't have the potential. No amount of hard work and determination will change that. Growing up, Lyra had been one of those people. Lyra had always wanted magic and tried all sorts of things to attain it, but never managed even the simplest cantrip.

This wouldn't have been an issue. At least, if not for who her mother was. Angela Lux, the Heavenly Wind, one of the Nine Mage Knights, one of the strongest witches in Odin's Eye, and possibly the entire country.

Lyra spent her whole life hearing how amazing her mother was. How her power and strength always saved the day. How her magic surpassed all others. Yet Lyra couldn't do a thing.

Being a magic-less child growing up in a mages’ guild is a lonely experience. Clay was the only one who bothered to speak to her. His parents were also mages, but being blind, he was overlooked. They ended up becoming friends. Lyra always loved magic, and Clay was more than willing to show off with his magic. To Eren, it sounded like he enjoyed that Lyra was always so amazed by his magic, rather than looking down on him as the others in the guild did. But that was just speculation; he only heard Lyra's version of events, after all. The story was inherently biased. He decided not to mention this.

Lyra was trying to downplay the significance of her story, but Eren could tell it meant a lot to her. The least he could do was listen without judging her.

One day, Lyra had received a message meant for Clay. She knew she shouldn't have read it, but curiosity overwhelmed her. When she realised what she was seeing, she was shocked. It was details of a potential location of a powerful magic gem.

Magical gems are rare and expensive. Particularly ones capable of granting someone magical abilities when they didn't naturally have the potential. Those who had a hint of such things usually kept it under wraps, not wanting others to steal them away from them.

Lyra told her mother. She knew she shouldn't have because she knew what her mother would do. She went out and took the gem long before Clay could even make an attempt. At this point, Clay was still only a junior mage in the guild. To take on a mission like this, he would need help. But to a mage of her calibre, it was a mere trifle.

With the help of a magic surgeon, it was implanted in Lyra's forehead. She glanced over the next part, but Eren knew such surgeries were far from safe. Why her mother would let her go through something so dangerous to obtain magic was beyond Eren. He couldn't imagine his father risking his life just to give him magic.

Fortunately, it worked, and Lyra's powers finally awoke. But hiding something jammed in your forehead isn't easy. It didn't take Clay long to figure out that Lyra had undercut him, stealing the gem he had spent so long researching. He was furious.

Lyra had hoped she could make him understand; hoped she could make him see how important it was to her. To convince him to find a new gem for his project.

But he wouldn't listen. In the end, they had to be physically separated. It had been three years since then, and Lyra had grown a lot as a mage; because of this, her mother felt it appropriate to get her admitted into the guild. As one of its top members, it would've been easy to pull some strings and get her in. Lyra didn't want that, however.

She had already had her powers given to her. As far as she was concerned, earning her place by taking on The Trials of the Valkyrie was the least she could do. When Clay heard, he volunteered to be an examiner.

"I think that was his plan all along; to use his position as an examiner to humiliate me," Lyra concluded, letting out a long sigh. Eren took a moment, his mind still churning through her story. "I know I don't exactly come off as the heroine in that story. I've tried to apologise. Seriously, I really have. But Clay's still angry, and at this point, I don't think there's anything I can do."

Lyra stared at the ground, her hair hiding her face, making her expression unreasonable. Eren ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it's not like you did anything illegal. Like, he didn't own it." Lyra nodded, still not meeting Eren's eye. "Plus, it was three years ago. You were a kid; he should really be over it by now."

"Would you? Get over it, I mean."

Eren's lips spread into a thin line. "Perhaps not. That gem in your forehead must be worth a small fortune…" Lyra nodded, touching the offending rock. "I- I really don't have anything helpful to say. But… I appreciate you telling me. And ... I don't think less of you for what you did… "

Damn, I'm terrible at this… Eren scolded himself. Lyra hugged him before he could say anything else.

"Thank you."

Eren hugged her back, letting her bury her face in his chest. He politely ignored the wet feeling against his skin.

"You're welcome."