65 No time for rest, The Games continue

Maria's Guild House,

Living Area

"Chen's village was attacked by a hoard of shadows not to long before he came back home, killing everyone in the village." Isabelle said sadly " He told me the story in one of our therapy sessions. Ever since that incident he felt like he was trapped inside his body, not really being in full control it. That time when people went to the village, his body would just go on berserk killing all of them without mercy. It must have traumatized him not being able to take control of his own body. He also told me that, that memory doesn't even feel real, like his mind was playing games with him, almost driving him over the edge. While he was telling me the story it was like something wanted to burst out of him. Like caged beast wanting to freed from it's long imprisonment. I knew somehow it was serious but I would have never imagined that it would be this serious" Isabelle continued, blaming herself from what happened. If she just knew that this would happened, she could've found a way to stop it.

"It's not your fault. Everyone in here knows that you did what you think had to be done and was best for the Guild. No one could have predicted that this would happened" June said in comfort, gently squeezing one of her hand.

June knew how stressed and tired Isabelle has been for the past months, with little to no sleep she tried her best to make everyone stronger and grow. She didn't have to work so hard, knowing that it wouldn't benefit her in the long run, but still she chose to give it her all. And everyone knew this. It's because of her deep longing to be extraordinary, that just being with them made her feel like she was one too.

The atmosphere in the living area was gloom, as everyone felt somehow down and dejected. The room was quiet when suddenly a loud siren rang so loud, taking everyone's attention. Then a mirage of a man appeared in the center of the room, taking everybody by surprise.

"It's….. General Ashe" Minerva said, for everyone not to freak out too much.

Before anyone could respond, the mirage spoke.

"Everyone excellent job so far" The mirage said emotionlessly "You must be all wondering what is this all about, worry not this will not take long. Now that the first round of The Games has ended, what better way for us to continue that moving on the second round of The Games."

"Welp…. There it is! No wonder I was feeling uneasy ever since this guy appeared" Fleur said, throwing her hands in the air in surrender, then let out a sigh while slowly shaking her head from side to side.

"The rules are simple. Each Guild will each have 100 points that will be distributed to its members; how you will distribute it will be up to you. The main goal of each Guild is to take as much points from any opposing Guild as much as possible. Now that everything is set, I wish you all the best!"

Right after the mirage finished talking. The mirage vanished leaving everyone in such a state of shock.

They haven't even recovered from the last round and yet the second round is beginning already? It was truly outrageous. They didn't even had the chance to sleep because of worrying. The Castle might call it "The Games" but it was like torture instead.

Pear and Alex already realized that they were at a disadvantage from the other Guild when they turned to Isabelle massaging her temples. Yes, right after the words came out from the mirage, Isabelle already felt the dread spreading through her body. Equations after equations appeared in her head giving her a massive headache.

"Hey, are you alright?" Caleb asked in a soft gentle voice, as he wraps one arm around her.

"Not really, this whole thing is a mess" Isabelle replied as her brain worked on overdrive.

"Isabelle, if you've already realized, then you already know that we are a great disadvantage this round, and not like the previous one, this time we are really at a huge disadvantage" Alex said, lowering his voice so only Isabelle and Caleb could hear.

"What do you mean we are at a disadvantage? How?" caleb asked with a frown. He didn't think they were at a disadvantage, but just by looking at Isabelle, Alex and Pearl's expressions, he knew that something's up.

Before Alex could give Caleb a reply, Isabelle spoke in a loud voice so everyone could hear "Could guys leave Alex, Pearl and I for a moment. We just need to really need to plan for this one"

Caleb didn't look happy and wanted to protest when Isabelle was making him leave as well, but Alisa just dragged him outside of the room without room for complaint.

When the three were finally alone in the living area, all their faces turned serious. It was so serious that no words were needed in order to know how grave the situation was.

"We don't have much time; both of you already know the situation, so we'll be moving on to the solutions we can make." Isabelle said without beating around the bush and getting straight to the point.

"Thankfully we didn't send everyone to fight on the first round, so we still have some man power. But the problem is, the other Guilds might not have also sent in all of their members and reserved them for this kind of battle, so technically speaking we might be still at a huge disadvantage, but we can still utilize everyone to take down as much points as we can." Alex said, as he carefully analyze the pros and cons of the situation.

"Either way, there are 100 points per Guild, so most likely we will be facing a hundred members per Guild, having one point each. Compared to us, since we are inferior in number, even if everyone was distributed a point, some will have to carry more than one point, and if that individual was defeated, then it will surly cost us a lot" Pearl said, frowning at the fact that every solution they came up with; one by one it was knocked down like it was nothing.

"But we still have one thing that we can use" Isabelle said

"What?" Alex and Pearl asked in unison, confused. They tried racking their brains on what could it be, but their exhausted minds came up with nothing.

"What strategy did we use, that night at the school?" Isabelle asked

Suddenly Alex and Pearl's eyes widened in realization "You mean….."

"Exactly!" Isabelle nodded in confirmation "We still have the element of surprise. Given the situation, it might be a stretch but if we do it right we can succeed"

"You're right" Alex said as his and Pearl's body relaxed even if it's just for a little, at least there is hope after all.

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As the day progressed, The Castle descended in chaos as battles rages everywhere.

In Master Egor's Guild

"Master, there's still not one member form Lady Maria's Guild that has been spotted" A hooded scout informed respectfully, kneeling down with his head bowed.

"What are you planning Maria?" Master Egor thought very hard, but then a smirk appeared on his face "No matter what you plan Maria, this is the time that you go down!"

"Be patient and keep an eye out for Maria's Guild, eventually they will have to make their move" Master Egor said, feeling very smug as he bids his time to finally get his chance in destroying Maria"

In Master O'Brien's Guild

"Still no movement, Master" A guy with blond hair informed

"Can't we just attack the other Guilds?" Trace asked impatiently

"We can't" Dave said, giving trace a cold look "The best way to accumulate the most points while conserving energy is to focus on Lady Maria's Guild. I have already calculated, at least one of them is equivalent to more than one point"

"You're really underestimating them aren't you? Is the last round not enough to convince you that there are monsters in that Guild!" Gabe said with a worried and a hint of disdain in his voice. Sometimes Dave's arrogance gets in his nerves.

"I'm not underestimating them, I am simply stating what is the most efficient way for us to be on top" Dave said coldly

"Master what are your thoughts?" Arthur asked, turning to their master who's been quiet all this time

"Go with Dave's strategy, I don't want to say it but Lady Maria can only do so much with what she has" Scott said with determination. It hurt him to say those things to his former teacher, but he steeled his resolve. He was no longer a student anymore; Now he is a Guild Master and his Guild depends on him, he can't let his emotions and his past ties get in the way of their victory. He has to man up for his Guild.

"They will make their move, and once that happens we will be there to greet them"

In Lady Oba's Guild

"Lady Oba, what are we waiting for? Why are we still not moving?" Camille asked impatiently. Her blood has been boiling, iching to get into a fight. This was her chance to show Lady Maria that she made the right decision in leaving her Guild. She wanted to show and prove that she has grown exponentially, but Lady Oba didn't pay her no mind.

Camille gritted her teeth as she could just shut up and wait for orders. Just as she was about to lose her mind, a girl popped out of nowhere.

"Lady Oba" The girl bowed in respect

"Proceed" Lady Oba didn't beat around the bush

"You were right! Master Egor's and Scott's Guilds has been waiting near Lady Maria's Guild house" The girl reported

A smile lifted on Lady Oba's face upon hearing the report "All according to plan, then?"

"Yes Milady!"

"Very good!" Lady Oba said in good spirits. "Now, those two meatheads will never know what hit them"

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The Guilds waited patiently for any movements form Maria's Guild. The sun has already set and Maria still hasn't made her move.

"Master, if I may?" Pietro walked up to his father and bowed respectfully.

"Speak" Master Egor said in a cold voice. Clearly he was losing patience.

"I'm afraid that Maria will just continue hiding in fear of being crushed by us" Pietro said smugly. He was confident that Maria was truly afraid of them, so to save themselves from further embarrassment they just hid in their Guild house like cowards.

Master Egor was on the brink of exploding. He wanted to destroy Maria once and for all in this round of the game and make her submit to him. So when he heard what his son said, which for once made sense, he was furious.

Just as he was about to explode, a scout appeared behind Master Egor.

"Master a report just came in" The scout knelt down, "Lady Maria has finally made her move."

Hearing the excellent news, Egor's fury transformed into excitement.

"Excellent!" Master Egor's voice boomed, he then turned to his son and commanded "Get everyone ready! This time we will definitely let Maria know what real power is!"

"Understood" Pietro said with a stern voice, but his eyes were filled with unspeakable bloodlust.

He was really starting to think that he wouldn't have the chance to take his revenge yet, but alas he was mistaken, and he couldn't be more ecstatic. He quickly turned with a vicious smile on his face, as he heads to the battle field.

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"Master Scott, Lady Maria has made her move" A young man said as he opened his eyes.

"Everyone get ready!" Master Scott said with a loud commanding voice, making everyone alert and ready to take orders.

"Master it's not too late to turn back, we can still think of another way" Arthur said, as he tried reasoning with Scott. He knew that this plan was never going to end in a good way.

"I'm already in too deep, I cannot back out now" Scott said with serious expression.

Arthur could just let out a sigh, knowing that there really is no going back.

As every Guild gets ready to attack, on the other hand the atmosphere on Lady Maria's Guild was somber.

"Everyone, remember that after this, you are still you! You are still the same family, friend and guildmates and that will never change. Whatever happens out there, stay true to yourselves. I love you guys!" Isabelle said with a serious tone in her voice

After awhile of silence June stood up "Everyone, let's do this!" he said with a commanding voice of a general, encouraging everyone. And just like that, everyone's eyes sparked and burned so bright.

"Everyone be careful! Go and show those Guilds that we are not to be underestimated!" Maria said with pride, like a Queen ready to show those that opposes her no mercy.