Assemble

Valentine walked down the hall toward the locker rooms. The assembly for incoming students was in a few hours. The fights had concluded, Valentine and Elof were held off from competing in the fights with Halos in fear of possible fatal injury. With the power rankings, multiple things were considered when making them. The first was raw strength. That being how much damage someone could deliver in a single blow. The second was speed, the perfect partner to strength. All types of speed were included such as the individual's acceleration, their top speed, their reaction speed, and so on. The last and arguably most important was skill. How truly good of a fighter someone was based on how they used the weapon that is themselves. Even if someone might not be the strongest or fastest, they can still be the most potent. If one has perfected their technique and understands themselves well enough, they can be a lethal weapon. After the conclusion of all the fights, and the victories coming from both twins; the Headmaster believed he had seen enough to make a decision on them.

Power Rankings

#1: Tyson Kurosaki

#2T: Valentine Baran

#2T: Elof Baran

#4: Ubel Maddox

#5: Wade Alleva

#6T: Issan Sato

#6T: Caira Hall

#8: Ailani Kāne

#9: Calden Abbot

#10: Thema Barron

"What the fuck?! How the hell did I place below the only two people here with Halos?" Calden gritted in frustration.

"The answer is pretty simple. Skill." Replied Caira "It's the same reason I'm below them. They might not have a Halo, but they are without a doubt the most skilled out of everyone in our group. possibly in the entire school." She continued. It was true, no matter how much stronger Calden may have been, he couldn't even hold a candle to the pure skill that the twins possessed. Calden knew there was nothing he could do to match their martial arts ability. At least, not in the near future.

"Listen up everyone!" Sheppard yelled. "You are all being sent to your dormitories! Your dorm section is on the third floor in the west wing. Girls on the right, boys on the left. DON'T GET IT MIXED!" He drilled. Valentine began to walk toward the stairwell when he realized something was off. There were only seven kids rather than ten like before. He knew that Issan had gotten a concussion from the first fight but other than that the medics were able to deal with almost every injury on the spot. Then he realized. Caira, Wade, and Ubel weren't with them.

"Um, Mr. Sheppard, where's the other three?" Valentine asked.

"The Headmaster wanted to see them for some reason. I'm not too sure why myself, but who the hell knows what that crazy old bastard is ever thinking." Sheppard chuckled. Sheppard walked away toward the stadium prep room. They had about two hours until the assembly. So while the students got settled, Sheppard began the preparations for his presentation.

"So this is our own little lounge or something?" Issan asked sarcastically.

"Yup, the place is nicer than expected. It seems like they want us to be self-reliant, I mean shit we have a whole kitchen over there and a laundry room." Replied Valentine. Almost as soon as he said that he heard footsteps getting closer to the lounge door. The door opened and standing in front was Wade followed by Caira and Ubel.

"Finally back?" Ailani said. "We heard Headmaster kept you guys back to talk but what was he talking to you guys for." She continued.

"Something about our Halo. Apparently we all share a specific type, hell I didn't even know there were specific types but I guess you learn something new every day". Replied Caira. She walked through the lounge heading toward her dorm, all the while eyeing Valentine. He noticed this and when he made eye contact she quickly turned away.

"What was that about?" He thought. He didn't dwell on it but kept it in the back of his mind. He walked toward his dorm as well, wanting to shower before the assembly. When he entered the shower room his jaw dropped. The place was spotless, everything looked like it was premium quality with not a spec of dirt. He walked over to a shower stall, there was a little cubby to store any clothing to other items while you bathed. He got into the stall and cleaned up. The shower felt great especially after the fight against Ubel. The fight... it was different. He couldn't put his finger on it but he knew that there was something different about it. Ubel was probably the most powerful opponent he had ever fought that wasn't his brother. But it still didn't explain one thing.

"The stance switch... He was in the air and already was on the wind-up. How did he switch his stance if he was already following through?" Valentine asked himself. "Even for me, that's absurdly difficult. Probably harder than the 720 spinning back kick, and that's kinda my signature move." He pondered. He got out of the shower and began to freshen up, still thinking about the fight.

"What's on your mind?" A voice asked. Valentine was caught off guard, he thought he was the only person in the bathroom. "I heard you talking to yourself, but I couldn't tell what it was, something about the fight I'm guessing?" The voice continued. Valentine looked around but couldn't find where the voice was coming from.

"Who are you? No better yet WHERE are you?" Valentine urged.

"These walls have a connecting vent." The voice responded. "I'm in the other bathroom." It was Caira.

"Oi. Well back to your original question yes it's about the fight. I don't know why but something felt different. It wasn't just that he was strong, there was something else." He said. There was silence. He hadn't moved an inch since Caira first spoke. The second he was about to move;

"I don't think he likes you much. It probably got on his nerves that he was dropped down to the number two spot after the selection, and you beating him likely only made it worse. I'm not saying you're in the wrong by the way, just trying to figure things out. My guess, he might have cheated." Caira suggested. Valentine was shocked, he couldn't even begin to fathom the idea that he might have beaten someone who was using Chayil in a straight hand-to-hand fight. The idea didn't even pop into his head because of how absurd it was.

"Do you really think he would have cheated? He scored first place in the sparring matches when Halos were allowed. Why would he even risk cheating?" Valentine Faltered. A few minutes passed by, he got dressed and went out to the lobby. Everyone else was dressed up and ready. Issan, Wade, and Elof were sitting off to the right of the tv, everyone else was off to the left and in front of it. Everyone was in their Sunday best, but he couldn't help but get distracted by one in the corner. Caira, She had a white top with a black dress skirt. Her long ginger hair had some type of Nordic braiding in it. On her right hand were 3 black rings and on her left wrist a white bracelet. His eyes moved back to her face and to his horror she was looking right at him. In an attempt to save the situation he nodded as a kind of hello and began walking over.

"Why is my heart beating so fast?!" He thought. Right before he got to her Calden spoke up.

"Hey guys we should head down, the assembly is in eight minutes."

Saved by the bell. Valentine turned and began to walk to the door. Then his phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.

"It's Caira, what did you wanna talk about?" The text read. He tried thinking of something to say but his mind was drawing a complete blank.

"Nothing just was going to follow up with what we were talking about." He replied

10 Minutes earlier:

Caira turned off the water, still thinking about what Val said. She had known Ubel for about seven years prior. He had a short temper and always had to be the best no matter what. But she didn't think he would cheat. Until just today she had never met anyone stronger than him. He had always been the apex predator, the pinnacle of power. He had obtained his Halo at an early age, prior to anyone else she knew. For three years straight he was the number one student of their class. His power was incredible. However, his one major flaw was he relied too heavily on pure power. He was incredibly skilled, but nowhere near the level of skill of Val. She had watched some of Val's fights and other than against his own brother and from very early on, he had never lost a fight. On top of that he had finished every fight in almost any way you could think of... all in the first round. He was sublime with a Maverick mind. His brother was by no metric inferior, but there was something about Val that was different. She needed his Halo to bloom, not only to see his true power but to find out what truly separated him from the rest.

"Perhaps it's his Irade? No, if it was I would've known by now." She thought to herself.

Present:

Valentine walked down the hall toward the stadium. Standing at the end of it was Mr. Sheppard, ready to guide them to their section. Valentine sat down next to Elof, with wade and Issan to his left. There looked to be over two hundred people. About fifty per class. The lights began to dim as a big spotlight began to shine on the podium. The Headmaster walked up the steps toward the microphone.

"Good Evening to all of you, New and old. As you know I am the Headmaster of this school, and to introduce myself to the newcomers this year; my name is Doctor Faulknor. I have been Headmaster of this school for over two hundred years. That may be a shock but it is generally for most considering elves have almost gone extinct twenty times in modern history. I am one of the few remaining elves left on this planet. We generally have far greater lifespans than humans and remain in our prime for far longer as well. However, I digress. This Assembly is to help the new students get acquainted with their new home for the next few years. With that, allow me to introduce the main staff..."

Later that night:

Valentine walked up the stairs from the cafeteria, they had served one of the best steaks he ever had, and was prepared to go to bed on a nicely filled stomach. He walked through the lobby, pretty much everyone was already in their rooms. The clock on the wall read quarter past ten. Then he noticed out of the corner of his eye the kitchen light was on. He walked over and peaked his head around the corner. There standing in front of the stove was Thema.

"Whatcha doing in the kitchen this late?" Valentine asked.

"Cooking, what else?" She responded.

"Did you not get dinner?" Valentine continued.

"Nope, I Liked the food, but I like food more when I make it myself." She replied.

Valentine raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment and walked over toward his room. He sat down on his bed and got changed into pajamas. He was a little sore already from earlier and ended up knocking out relatively quickly.

"You're weak." Said a voice. "What makes you think you could have saved them? Much less hurt me." It continued. Flashes of what appeared to be combat whipped by as he could barely make out any faces or real scenes. A person clad in black amour of some sort stood over a body laying flat, lifeless, in a pool of blood. Then, an excruciating pain came from his chest. He snapped up in a cold sweat. He was shaking, he didn't know why but the dream felt so vivid. He looked at his phone and the clock read 8:17. He got up and decided to get his day started. The best way to forget about his nightmare was to be active. He quickly got dressed and took a cold shower to wake himself up. Valentine went downstairs and immediately went toward the training grounds. As he walked briskly toward the door someone grabbed his arm. He whipped around. It was Caira.

"You ok? It's only eight twenty and you seem like you're itching to train." She asked.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine. Just had a nightmare. Just tryna get out of my head is all." Valentine replied. She had a cold look as if she knew how he felt.

"Do you wanna come?" Valentine asked.

"Um sure." Caira said. They walked out to the field where they were shortly followed by Elof, Issan, and Wade who had been eating in the lounge; confused by the pace of Val. Right as they were about to ask Val why he was in such a hurry a bell rang. The speakers buzzed and a voice came over the intercom:

"A Titan has been reported in the city of New Alubon. All Tier One and Higher students and staff are to be vigilant and ready if needed. All first years report to the training ground."

"A Titan?" Valentine thought to himself. "I thought they were only in the west and central plains?" The Titans were an ancient pseudo-organic creature created by the Alliance of the Colossus. Most of the Elders of the alliance were slaughtered in the second war of the Old Gods, and few remain. However, their creations still plunder the land in search of Halos to devour. This was their only purpose and the only thing they truly knew how to do. The one currently attacking New Alubon was known as Mantes. Ranked as a tier 2 threat, One of the highest ranks given to the Titans that are Left.

Titans (and other threats of the sort) are ranked on a list of tiers, those being:

CODA CLASS: Only one threat in recorded history has reached this level.

CHAOS CLASS: Less than 1% have reached this level. Threat to all celestial bodies in the universe.

X CLASS: Less than 5% have reached this level. Capable of destroying a galaxy or more

S CLASS: The beginning of the Class rank, 10% have reached this level. Capable of destroying solar systems and up to a small galaxy.

Tier 1: End of the Tier ranks, about 25% of threats are ranked here. Capable of destroying a continent and up to even a planet.

Tier 2: Threatens a city and up to an entire country.

Tier 3: Lowest level threats. Possibly capable of destroying a city given enough time.

"Ok listen up everyone! I've been instructed by the Headmaster himself to be your escort to New Alubon. This is going to be EXTREMELY dangerous, so do not leave my sight. The Headmaster says this could be a learning experience, I think otherwise, but I digress. Now everyone on the airship! If you try leaving it when we get there, Mantes will be the least of your worries!" Bellowed Sheppard. The airship lifted off as Valentine and the class went on their way to witness their first sighting of a Titan and an incredibly dangerous one at that. It took about forty-five minutes to get to the city, but when they arrived they saw the devastation Mantes had already caused. Then they saw him. A giant, nearly forty meters tall. He had an angular, bug-like face with seemingly every part of him being razor-sharp. Off to the left something flew towards Mantes, it looked like a fireball. But Valentine took a closer look and he saw it was a person.

*BOOM!*

A massive fireball launched from the man's hands, striking Mantes in the side of the head. He faltered but was seemingly unfazed. He roared in anger and swung his arm out toward the fiery man. He was far out of reach from Mantes but that didn't seem to be an issue. As the arm swung his fingertips shot out on what appeared to be cables. The razor-sharp blades that were his finders barreled toward the man. He dodged them but was noticeably caught off guard.

"BE CAREFUL JONATHAN!" Yelled a woman about two hundred meters away. Her name was Farica, which was fitting being she was the captain of the 18th coalition.

Jonathan Barreled toward Mantes again, he was reckless but brave. His biggest strength was his speed. He used his flame Chayil to launch himself at nearly the speed of light, while simultaneously creating a barrier of fire to act like a flaming javelin. He pierced the strong hide of Mantes, cutting through him like a hot knife on butter. The beast let out an awful scream of agony. A devastating hit, but at a cost. Where his speed was his strength, his recovery was his weakness. Jonathan landed about twenty meters away from Mantes in an ungraceful manner. Slamming hard into a crumbling building. He attempted to get up but as soon as he looked up...

*Shling!*

The tail of Mantes had skewered Jonathan. He hacked up blood, his eyes full of shock. He was lifted up and brought face to face with the devil. In his last moments, he could have sworn he saw mantes smiling before his Halo was absorbed by him. The most dangerous aspect of titans. No matter the size, if they can strike a lethal blow, they can absorb the Halo of those they have killed. As the life left Jonathan's body he went limp. At the same time, Mantes began to glow an angry red. His eyes lit up and fire began pouring out of his eyes and mouth. The palms of his hands opened revealing valves of some sort, they blasted out fire toward the ground that spread in every direction. Mantes stood there, seething with anger, and power. He now had the Halo of a flame prodigy. A new form. The beast of the north ridge was now:

THE BURNING BEAST.