Chapter 9

Timeskip three months later

"Ugh, I really wish that we don't have to this stupid tea party, Alpha." An annoyed groan escaped Vali's lips as, like all good things, his happiness had come to an end. The reason? He currently stood within the classroom which normally would be a place of learning. However, now it had been cleared out and turned into a butler cafe, meant for the rich noblewomen to come and enjoy themselves (translation: them to frolic about whilst ogling him like he were an animal in a zoo, and this time they had the excuse of this being his 'job' to serve them as a backup in case he wanted to try anything like his usual behavior). Not to mention that he had been stuck wearing a stiff, almost suffocating butler outfit complete with a twin-tailed waistcoat, a jacket, white shirt with a red tie, black pants and matching dress shoes. Every now and then, Vali had to wrestle with the urge to take off his tie and expose some of his torso just to get some air into his body.

However, this time he wasn't the only one who had their reservations about this whole thing. "Me neither, but it's routine Vali. We have to do it or else it will be a great setback on our grades." Alpha stated, although just from looking at her one would be able to see that she would be one second away from pulling out her sword on someone. She wore a maid-like outfit, one with the skirt reaching to just above her thighs complete with some nylon stockings and stiletto heels. The Heels and stockings she didn't mind since they not only made her look more mature (especially in front of Vali), but the rest of the outfit she had a problem with since it pretty much made her look like she would be catering to the bratty rich kids who didn't do anything useful in their lives. The only reason why she had even bothered doing this, aside from the one she had just mentioned to placate her savior, was that Olivia, Angelica and Emilia would also be wearing this outfit, and she didn't want them to get ahead of her.

It had been three months since he and his companions had come back to the academy (to much of Vali's displeasure). During these three months of summer vacation, there had been word from the Basilicom in the Capital that, instead of being expelled from the Academy and stripped of his titles, Vali had been requested to attend a promotion Ceremony at the Basilicom held by the Oracle. As a Combat Saint, a position similar to the Sword Saint that Reinhart possessed as a title. Apparently, his accomplishments combined with his actions as Angelica's representative had allowed him the opportunity to advance up in the ranks. Of course, the boy had not been too thrilled by this, but it was much better than the alternative, according to the girls anyways. Therefore, Vali had gone there and attempted the ceremony, kneeling in front of the Oracle and CPU herself (although he had to make sure to not look them in the eye any more than necessary), officially obtaining the title of Combat Saint.

Anyway once he was done with the coronation they went home and Vali had asked his mother for some help with Angelica to get out of her depression, to which she had graciously accepted but only told him that HE himself had to get the girl out of her depressed mode. When he'd asked her why, she'd responded that it was connected to the things happening with the girls too, the ones where he'd notice them acting weirdly around him, so if he did this she would explain to him what was going on.

Therefore, Vali had accepted.

To that end, they had been coming to the Hot spring everyday because they enjoyed the sensation of the water it gave them, with Olivia requesting for the others to call her Livia because she used to be called that when she was back hometown. In addition to this, Angelica had then requested to be called Angie, something she only allowed those who were close to her to address her by. Though, one highlight of the vacation had been how he had managed to pull the Duke's Daughter out of her depression.

Flashback

"I've... caused you all lot's of trouble, and yet you still help me…..why?" A sad, if not broken Angelica questioned the others of the group after they had exited the Hot Springs… which fortunately had a divider installed so Vali could bathe in it as well.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired male who currently wore nothing by a kimono and some briefs underneath it stared down at the broken Angelica who sat at the bottom of one of the walls, her eyes empty and devoid of light. ".....Do I need to explain it Angie? I've always kept my promises, as well as repay the debts that anyone gives me. I go by the following '"Life is like a trampoline. The lower you fall, the higher you go." so no matter how low you can get the higher you can reach just by toughing it out."

".......Your really are an interesting man, Vali. I wish I could've met you earlier, then Julius..... Might have gotten interested in me."

'Damn, she is really that depressed. Wouldn't blame her, Julius DID just dump her for that bitch Marie. No idea how that even happened, but it did. It is impressive that she can keep it together like this. Did Julius even make the right decision by picking that girl over Angie?' Vali wondered, though a few seconds later he concluded that he had NOT, and he would prove it right here and now. Thus, Vali kneeled down beside the broken woman, placing two hands on each of her shoulders much to her surprise, alongside the others. "Angie, listen to me. What do you think a loser is?"

"Huh?"

When Angelica heard that and questioned him, the other girls who had been silent over this matter also became confused, their faces clearly making this known to him.

Even so, Vali idly glanced at them with a few simple words coming out of his mouth. "This can be useful for you all as well, so please listen." He requested of them, getting nods in return as he returned his gaze to Angelica. "When I was constantly being beaten down by that bitch Zora's cronies, do you know what I learned? I learned this: life isn't like some sport, it doesn't have 'rules' and will beat one down if they let it." he told her, continuing on before she could ask him what he was talking about. "Thus, one isn't a loser when they fall down, it's when they can't get back up that makes them a loser." he declared, and in that moment Angelica swore she saw something… flash, behind Vali's eyes when she said this. "Even when one is kicked down, as long as they can keep breathing and are alive, then they're not out of the game yet. They can still keep going. Angie, you may be down now, but will your pride as a noblewoman, no, as a WOMAN let you wallow like this forever? Will your pride as a PERSON let you take this lying down?"

"...... You're right Vali. I won't be a loser. Instead, I will not let my pride as a woman go away! I will not stand down like a loser, instead I will stand up and rise higher and higher than that BITCH Marie!" After a moment of deliberation, the visage of a broken woman slowly got burned away, a fire igniting within Angelica's eyes. She soon stood up tall after Vali let his arms fall back to his sides as he stood up with her, a small smirk of approval on his lips.

"That's the spirit Angie. Keep that pride of yours and never let go of it, for having pride in ourselves is something that defines us. No matter what those of Gamicademi, or what anyone may say, you will reach higher than those dumbasses Brad, Greg, Chris, Jilk, Julius, and that bitch Marie. Remember that, Angie."

Flashback end

After that, Angelica literally 'transformed' herself, kind of like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its former remains, reborn anew. Not only did she do what she had said she would by getting the fuck out of her depression, but also the first thing she did afterward was asking Alpha to help her with her swordsmanship. In her mind, she didn't want Vali to always fix her problems like being a damsel in distress all the damn time. Of course, Alpha had accepted since she was now officially a part of Vali's group, the Shadow Garden, it had happened the moment that she had accepted his words the way she had, fully becoming Vali's friend and accepting that, whilst she may have lost now, didn't mean she couldn't just bounce back to keep on swinging.

After this, Angelica had proceeded to learn much about the way of the sword from Alpha, truly embracing that way of living. Once, she had wondered how she would feel if she would ever have to kill someone, since as a sword wielder she may have to do so, especially since according to her killing a person would feel different than killing a monster. As such, Alpha had simply responded with this philosophy: 'one sword keeps another in its sheath'. Sometimes, when taking a life, others could be preserved, saved from the jaws of death. It was something she had learned from her instructor who had believed in tales of warriors called 'Samurai'. It had stuck to Alpha, and now it would stick to Angelica too.

Regarding that philosophy, it had been known that many people would wonder why warriors spend so much time training when they may never use that training in the real world. One answer however, came from the teacher of Alpha, a man by the name of George Herbert, Even if it may seem like one doesn't use their sword training in real life, in actuality, they do. Nobody ever truly knows the total amount of times a violent confrontation got avoided because of their training. The confidence that one builds up from training, alongside the way they present themselves physically, has a HUGE effect on the psyche of thugs and ruffians. Those people always seek to prey on the weak. The bad guys do not want to get into a physical confrontation with one who appears to be able to defend themselves. They would rather bully the ones who seem like they couldn't hurt a fly, a cowardly way of living but many do it regardless. Therefore, by this point of view, one who trains in the sword may not even realize just how much it actually helps them in real life. Furthermore, one never knows when they will be called on to pull their sword out of the sheath for real, so that sword must be kept sharp and ready at all times. It does little good to carry a sword if one doesn't know how to use it.

Hence, with that philosophy, Angelica didn't feel like she would hesitate as much when killing something.

Whilst she trained with Alpha during those months, she proved herself to be a quick learner and almost a natural with a blade. Almost like the way of the sword had been her true calling her entire life, though part of it had been due to her own determination to win too. In the end, by the time that the three months had passed, Angelica almost became on par with Alpha. The reason why she lost was that Alpha had more experience than her, but still that wouldn't mean she would give up. Angelica would REFUSE to give in until she managed to beat Alpha. Vali is proud of her determination, it reminded him of him that he won't stop fighting against Reinhard until he wins their everlong lasting rivalry.

She wasn't the only one who trained on Vali's island either, as Olivia also wanted to train herself. She wanted to do this so she could discover more about magic mysteries, not to mention that she didn't want to be left behind. Though, she kind of fell behind Angelica in sword training mostly due to her having an innate desire to not fight too much, due to her personality. Hence why her sword style took on more of a defensive tone though some offense was there due to her resolve and some words of wisdom from Vali. Guy may be a battle maniac, but he sure knew some interesting stuff.

Her skills in light magic were impressive and improving as well. One time when Vali had given her something like a white orb charm from the adventures he had gone through before taking Emilia and Alpha with him, she'd managed to manifest an ability to summon a large sphere to consist of magic circles that not only provide powerful protection to her and her surroundings from attacks but also shoot beams of light that can pierce her targets. However, she seemed unable to hold this level of power for an extended amount of time, as shown when Vali had tested that by throwing constant MRs at her.

Not an experience she enjoyed, especially when he'd get a LITTLE carried away from the experience.

Despite this, she remained quite talented in Healing Magic, being able to both heal major wounds and ease the pain that Vali would feel when he'd immerse himself in training with the combat robots that Luxon would create for him. They'd even found out once that she could heal major wounds that were almost fatal as long as she concentrated on the person she heals.

Though, despite all of these changes, none of them managed to get their own Slime Suits just yet, as the Mass Produced models (the one Alpha wore) weren't ready at that time. Hence why only she and Vali had theirs at the moment. Plus, when they'd heard of them from Vali as he'd recounted the events of the duel to them, each of the girls had expressed a surprising amount of interest in wearing one, especially when Alpha showed them hers by willing the suit onto her form with Mana Manipulation. It just seemed so useful to them on the battlefield, not to mention practical.

Anyway let's get back to the present.

"You, boy! Come here and bring me tea!"

".... Have the others do it for you, bitch."

"What did you say to me?! I will-"

"You'll... what?"

"Eeep! Uhhhhhhhhh nothing!"

"...(Scoff) this is starting to make me feel very angry."

"Well you have to hold it in Vali, because as much as I don't want to do this, we have to or else we'll have the teachers on our asses." Alpha repeated for the tenth time while serving a group of boys that was leering at her. It took all her willpower not to smash her tray into their pathetic faces, but she managed. 'These assholes better not try anything, the only one I'll let stare at me would be Vali!' a sinful part of her mind screamed like a banshee deep within her.

"Ggggrrrrrr.... Fine, but this HAS to be the only time we do this, Alpha."

"Agreed."

As they were serving, Olivia gave out drinks to a female group that was about to make a mess for her, likely due to her commoner status since that was a common thing for her. However, with one look at Vali when he glanced at them, they wisely kept silent as they quietly drank their drinks.

Over at another table, Emilia (clad in a maid outfit that looked a lot like her dress but with different colors) gave out desserts to a familiar black-haired boy and his group as they were having a conversation without being like the other boys.

And finally, Angelica who decided to help around with them served a familiar silver-haired girl by giving her tea while her maid was behind her. Said girl then proceeded to thank Angelica, much to her surprise, before her red eyes glanced over at Vali with intrigue.

The maid spoke to her whilst kneeling close to her ear. "Are you sure you want to do this Mistress, because this is your very last chance to back down and I can explain to your parents that you have arrived with many broken bones and internal bleeding."

"..... I have to Mary, because this is a one-of-a-lifetime chance I get to have." The girl replied once Angelica had left, her gaze never leaving her target. This had been the first chance she had in order to get close enough to have a conversation with the guy since the other times she'd tried got thwarted by the growing popularity the Unbeatable Prince apparently had despite his brutal beatdown of the four Princes.

The Maid frowned at this, but in the end had relented to her lady's wishes. After all, she had spent the entirety of the summer vacation subtly trying to convince her liege that this would be a bad idea like using his brutal beating of the Princes, his reputation as a 'hot commodity' among the women, among other things. However, none of this had worked and instead, Alexa had only been spurred on even further. Perhaps the fact that she didn't believe that her Fiance was even a good match for her also helped, although she didn't know why. Her fiance, Zenon Griphi, had been a fine choice for a partner, not only was he a decent looking man, but he also came from an influential family, had many military achievements among other things, resulting in a practical diamond in the rough especially when compared to the foolish Princes.

Yet, just when she had made to call Vali over to them…

"Oi, brat!"

"Grrr…" Growling under his breath when he heard a loud, boisterous female voice that reverberated throughout the entire Cafe, making it become silent. The source of the voice came from the entrance, where a young woman about the same age as Angelica stood with her arms crossed, a pompous smirk on her face. She wore the school uniform as well as had her blonde hair done in circular braids, her blue eyes alight with sinister and wicked intent. Not to mention that a second girl stood behind her, looking like someone who just played follow the leader all day long. Aside from that, there were a couple Demi Human servants in butler uniforms, looking bulky and muscular (nothing which Vali hadn't seen before) with their arms crossed standing on opposite sides of the two girls. In short, the kind of people Vali KNEW he would be facing off against in the near future. "...What. Is. It. Woman?"

The girl, seeing the hostile look that Vali had aimed at her as well as the slight irritation on several other people's faces, promptly ignored it as she pointed a finger at the boy whilst declaring the following with an almighty, demanding tone. "Your display in that Arena impressed me boy. Henceforth, I've decided that you're going to be mine!"

Just how predictable, not to mention stupid, was she? Thinking that this would work on him despite most CERTAINLY being aware of his reputation. ".....Fuck no bitch. Find someone else that can satisfy your lust." he snarled, holding back his Mana in an attempt to stop from committing mass genocide like he always did when girls got like this with him.

Of course, this didn't sit well with the girl whose lips twisted into an ugly look of pure malice. "What did you say to me, boy?! Drop down your knees and apologize!!" she yelled like a commander disciplining a disobedient subordinate.

Though, that could NOT be a description fit for the silver-haired male as he simply retorted with the following with a look of a wild beast about to break free of it's chains. "That will be the day when hell freezes over." he spat out, having placed his tray on a nearby table whilst taking a couple steps forwards, his hands twisting and flexing like they were literal claws. He no longer bothered holding back his aura as much now, activating his MSK which resulted in his eyes becoming silver and slitted along with that thin silver aura manifesting over him.

This did not bode well, and any wise person would have fled at this. However, this girl turned out to be the more persistent of the girls in this Academy. "Grrrrrr, that's it! Leon, George, Luke, teach this brat a lesson!"

"Gladly, my lady!"

The three Demihumans (seemed like one of them had been in hiding, which nearly made Vali snort thinking that these guys were even more idiotic than he'd given them credit for in his mind for thinking this would change anything). Instead of activating any of his Techniques aside from his MSK, Vali saw one of them, an elf-like Demihuman with long black hair and eyes with pointy ears lunging at him, swinging his fist towards his face. However, Vali didn't let that happen as, after tilting his head to the side to dodge the fist, he slammed his own in an under-arcing swing into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and bending the demihuman forwards.

Sensing that the other two were also coming in whilst he had been distracted with their comrade, Vali promptly roundhouses kicked the first demihuman in the side of his head, knocking him to the ground and sending him tumbling towards the one on the left side, knocking out his legs from under him before the second Demihuman could react. As a result, the demihuman smashed into the ground with his buddy, whereas Vali dodged a kick from the third by ducking, then backflipped into the air.

Only a few seconds passed before he came back down however, slamming both feet into the back of the second demihuman's head, smashing him into the floor with immense force as well as knocking him out. Vali then proceeded to grab a nearby tray and threw it at the third Demihuman, who managed to dodge it by tilting his body around it whilst still keeping his stride. However, this turned out to be a distraction, for Vali had already jumped into the air and, with both fists raised above his head, smashed them right down onto that of the Demihumans, making him bend downwards before forming two claw-like formations with his hands and THWACK, THWACK, THWACK, smacking the living hell out of him. He soon ended with one last palm thrust to the third Demihuman's face, sending him flying backwards and onto the floor, out cold…

Though for good measure, personal satisfaction and to spite this girl, Vali heavily stomped on his face, grinding his shoe into it to make the face as dirty as possible. "Hmph, weakling." he scoffed, further mocking his opponent as well as the previous ones.

"Oh boy, there he goes again."

"I know man, he's already got a rank and he's still in this Academy?"

"I don't know the answer to that question, mate."

Off to the sidelines, the three boys from earlier had their own conversation as they discussed how ruthless Vali was. Though, considering his reputation, they figured this to be his 'normal', especially around girls like this one.

Said girl looked like she would explode, with her face completely red whilst multiple veins could be seen bulging from it. All the while her companion looked like she wanted to get the fuck out of here, but like a typical follower, she stayed under the tyrannical rule of the angry one. "Yooouuuuuuu-?! Do you know who I am?!" The girl exploded with a hand on her chest, looking like she would breathe out flames like a certain lizard.

Instead of just replying like he normally would, Vali made a show of thinking about what she had asked him, even though it was unnecessary for those who knew him. "Hmmmmmmm..... I don't know and I don't give a fuck about it." he finally stated, shrugging his shoulders with his best 'I don't give a fuck' face.

"Why you-?!"

"Alright, I think that's enough of that."

"?!"

All of a sudden, a low sounding female voice broke into the conversation, surprising all involved even Vali. The girl in question stopped when she heard the voice from behind her. Glancing behind her, the girl saw that it was the silver-haired girl that had decided to finally step up.

"You, don't get involved with this-!"

SCHWING!

"Eek!"

When the girl made to say something, the silver-haired female then promptly shut her up by pulling out a sword from her Inventory, putting it to her neck whilst her gaze became that of a predator. "I assume that you think that just because your family is that of an Earl, a level above a Duke, that makes you entitled to threaten others below you. But, let me ask you this…?" Leaning forwards, the silver-haired girl then proceeded to whisper in a tone which sent shivers down the girl's spine. "What do you think a Predator always fears? I'll answer you… ANOTHER Predator."

"D-d-do you think that you'll get away from this?!" The girl began to ask with slight panic in her voice, although a frightened squeak then escaped her throat when she saw the sword's blade inch ever closer towards her neck, nearly drawing blood.

"No.... well, not really, but since I haven't introduced myself, I might as well tell you. My name is Alexia Midgar."

"(GASP)!"

"Well, shit! The more we are with Vali, the more things get unpredictable!"

"Ah come on, why must things get so complicated?!"

"Th-The M-M-Midgar family?!"

Yet, whilst everyone else looked to be quite shaken from the experience, Vali just looked confused. Although just why they were acting like this befuddled him, so he decided to ask the sole person he knew had the answers. "Huh?...Hey Angie, who is this 'Midgar' family?"

Upon hearing him ask her, Angelica turned to him with a surprised look on her face, as if she couldn't believe that he had asked that. "You don't know, Vali?"

"I don't spend time researching other people... unless they are interesting or strong, of course." Vali answered like that was the most normal thing in the world.

"(Sigh) should've expected from you Vali. Alright, the Midgar family are known to be an extremely powerful family, with close ties to the military side of things. To them, might is an important part of their lifestyle, so each of their members is raised under the way of the blade. They've produced some exceptionally powerful people, such as Iris Midgar who is a Guild Agent and an incredibly strong one with a high monster kill count along with an impressive track record. There were even rumors that Alexia was the champion of swordsmanship that is almost on par with Reinhard, your rival. You have to be careful around them Vali, because my family heard that they are planning on having a marriage proposal between you and Iris Midgar, Alexia's older sister."

"..... I see."

Satisfied that she had sufficiently scared the fight out of the girl, Alexia then lowered her sword whilst stepping beside her… before back kicking her in the stomach with her right foot. The girl gasped at this especially as the heel of her boot dug into her abdomen, knocking her flat on her backside as her companion rushed to help her up. Meanwhile, Alexia spoke whilst only glancing behind her with one eye, one which was filled with contempt for her as her blade glinted from the room's light. "Now, I would kindly ask you to leave… NOW."

Where she had once been someone who had a threatening demeanor, now she looked more like a scared little rat, as the pale-faced girl stood up with her comrade. "Do you think that this is over Midgar, I will have my revenge!" The rude girl left as she was followed by her follower (who also had grabbed the legs of her servants to drag them like sacks of garbage) as she stormed out of the tea party.

"..... (Sigh) finally, she was really such an annoying bug. Now that's out of my way…" She then proceeded to deposit her sword back into her Inventory, and then walk towards Vali as he kept his neutral face, wary of her intentions. With his past experiences, he didn't trust that many women outside of his small circle, Shadow Garden. Plus, there was something about this woman, something which unnerved him for some reason, and he didn't know why. "Your name… it was Vali, was it?" she questioned him.

For a moment, Vali remained silent, until he finally answered her. "..... Yeah, that's my name. What do you want, Midgar?" he asked her, his eyes narrowing as he kept his MSK up. He had to admit though, as suspicious as he was of her, she did seem to possess more guts than the average woman since she hadn't flinched at his silver, slitted eyes yet.

Proof of this was when she continued without even minding his barely hostile tone. "Oh, why that's simple Vali...… I would like to have a private conversation with you, alone."

Alright, so far she hadn't made anything unreasonable of him, nor had she been even slightly demanding as of right now, but Vali still didn't trust her. Not when his instincts were telling him to be wary of her. ".... What makes you think that I would even accept that, Midgar? For all that I know about you, you might be those girls that want me for their playtoy." he questioned, narrowing his eyes to see how she would answer. This answer would decide on whether or not he would spend any more time in this conversation.

Yet, the silver-haired girl showed no signs of backing down from this 'challenge' he had presented for her. If anything, Vali swore that an excited 'glint' had briefly appeared in her eyes when he'd said what he did, but it vanished just as quickly as it had arrived. "Ohohoho, I see.... Trust me, I am not like those bratty kids that are interested solely in marriage." Briefly, a flash of disgust appeared in her eyes, but it vanished just as quickly like that previous glint. "Instead I have something that can interest you, follow me and I swear as a member of the Midgar family that I will not trick you."

"...... Fine, lead the way."

Hearing this shocked pretty much everyone involved, both the onlookers as WELL as the girls he was close to. Olivia looked like she was about to faint whilst Alpha looked absolutely dumbstruck. Emilia had a hand over her mouth whilst Angelica had to question the guy on his intentions. "Vali, are you sure about this?!" In all the times she had known him, Angelica had not ONCE seen him agree to a random stranger's request, especially if that was a woman demanding something out of him. It must have been the same for the others, too, to their knowledge Vali wouldn't be caught dead adhering to another woman's whims. What made this girl any different?

Glancing behind him, Vali nodded whilst responding to her. "Its fine Angie. whatever happens to me, I will not let affect you all, and besides I'm tough guy, you know that." he told her. That and, despite himself, part of him was curious about this person. Not only did she have the gall to request something of him when she seemed to clearly have the political backing to try and 'force' him into something, but the fact that she'd CHOSEN to make it like a request instead of outright demand it out of him showed Vali that there was more to her than the average woman here. That and his baser instincts were telling him that this woman had a strength to her, a strength which he wanted to see for himself… something which had been compounded by what had been told to him by Angelica herself.

Said woman looked like she wanted to say that this wasn't a good idea, that messing with families higher than his would bring trouble to him and his loved ones, but in the end she relented. Knowing Vali like she did, Angelica believed that he wanted to fight this person especially since she'd told him about the way her family operated. "... Alright, Vali. I'll trust your judgment, but be safe, remember what I said about her family."

".... I will, Angie."

With that said, Vali began to follow Alexia and her Maid, as they both led him out from the tea party room.

"...... Why the fuck did you bring me to the Arena, Midgar?" Vali questioned, seeing that they were in the same Arena which the male had fought the dumbass Princes in. Seeing it still being decimated somewhat, although to a lesser degree than the initial aftermath of his fight, brought back some uncomfortable sensations. Especially the anger which he had felt when Jilk had threatened his family's safety… Vali didn't like how he had seen only red at that point, it made him feel like he had been powerless over his own emotions.

"... I want to see it again."

Her response, quick and straight to the point, confused the heck out of him. What did she want to see from him? And again? A growl of anger and frustration began to build within his throat, but he held it back for the time being. "See what girl? What is it that you want to see?" he questioned, and as he did so an idea began to form in his mind about what she might be hinting at.

Something which got confirmed to him with her following answer, as Alexia once again drew her sword from her Inventory and held it in her right hand whilst facing him. ".... Your lost item, I want to see it again."

At this point, Vali stopped holding back the growl as he let it out, shaking his head whilst rubbing the side of said body part with his left hand. "Look girl why would I even show you my lost item, I can't unlock it now, but even if I were to unlock it again, why would I?"

"Then, perhaps this will convince you."

After saying this, the noblewoman then raised her sword up and pointed at the frustrated boy, challenging him with not just this but her gaze too. The following words escaped her lips and confirmed her intentions at the same time. "I want to have a spar with you. To see if you are worthy of a rival against Reinhard."

"..... Then it looks like you're in for a fight of your lifetime Midgar, I've been waiting to beat up someone just to relieve my stress." Vali replied slowly, cracking his knuckles as his Slime Suit began to form over his regular clothes, soon completely covering him and shapeshifting into his coat, shirt, pants etc. He then threw his right arm to the side, activating a MS over it whilst ignoring the sensation he had been getting from his gut regarding this woman. He wasn't lying either, Vali had been building up a large amount of stress from having to serve all these pathetic excuses for living beings called women, so the fact that she was literally offering him a way to relieve it meant he would damn well take it.

"Ha!"

"Ngh!"

CLANG!

Both combatants burst forth in the following seconds, clashing with one another in the space that had once existed between them. The male had gone for a downward slash towards her sword arm's shoulder, whilst the silver haired woman had gone for a diagonal upward slash towards his left rib up to his right shoulder blade. His MS and her physical sword smashed together like two large shockwaves, rebounding off each other in a couple seconds before the two repeated their blows, going for different body parts each time and thus striking from different angles per collision.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-!

The sounds of their weapons clashing filled their ears, as well as the vacant Arena, as the two ruthlessly duked it out, mixing a few punches and kicks in too in order to try and get the upper hand. Hoping into the air, Vali made a spinning helicopter kick towards Alexia's face, only for the girl to bend herself backwards and let him fly over her, thrusting towards the direction his exposed left thigh would be heading to. However, Vali leet one of his Coat Tails thwack the blade away from her intended target so she only stabbed at air, letting Vali land behind her and launch a sweep kick.

This resulted in her hopping sideways in the direction of his kick, allowing her to dodge it whilst jumping back in for a downward slice that she followed with a side slash and lastly finished with a diagonal downward slash. Vali blocked the first one, letting it slide down his MS, parried the second one by angling his weapon slightly, then hopped back to avoid the third one. Pumping Mana into his blade, he then went and thrusted it forward, allowing the Mana to extend the blade forth which Alexia flipped forwards to avoid.

Even as he retracted his MS back to its original length, it didn't stop the following counterattack from happening. Alexia landed in a handstand-like position, then pushed herself into the air again to launch a spinning kick to Vali's face in a similar manner to how he had done to her before. This strike however, Vali blocked by raising his free forearm and reinforcing it with Mana, the slime Jelly making up that part of the Slime Suit, hardening itself in response to block the blow easily. Behind his Domino Mask however, Vali's eyes slightly widened when, even under the combination of his MSK and his Slime Suit, that kick still had the power to launch a shock wave throughout the area, sending him sliding backwards slightly, but only for a few steps.

He didn't let this stop him though, for he responded by launching a couple MRs from his free hand, ones which Alexia hopped forwards in a zigzag motion to dodge causing Vali's frown to deepen. 'Looks like she knows their weaknesses, and has sharp instincts to boot as proven when she avoided my surprise extending attack earlier…' Vali thought, growing slightly impressed with her despite himself. 'This woman… she's not like the others, is she…?' he wondered, for multiple reasons.

Strength.

Confidence.

Pride.

Ambition.

These things she possessed in spades whilst the rest of the girls outside his circle did not… yet he couldn't help but feel similar to her, and he wasn't sure why. Even though he was holding back since he wanted to have a chance to vent some stress, slowly he found his battle loving instincts started to take hold… as shown by the growing smirk on his lips. "Not bad, Midgar…" he mused, kicking at her approaching kick resulting in their legs connecting as if they were swords, forming an X if one were to look at them from the side. "Looks like you've got more spunk in you than those dumbass Princes and the rest of those dumb broads."

"I'll agree with you in that they're dumbasses, but at least they're predictable enough to be used as pawns." Alexia replied as the two fought on.

And as they did so, the feeling inside Vali kept on growing bit by bit, gradually gathering itself at his back whilst the two collided like two titanic plates, again, again, and again. Eventually, it reached a point to where, as they made to strike again…

"(DIVIDE!)"

That feeling condensed itself as Vali once again released a mighty howl during their next sword collision, the two silver and blue wings manifesting from a bright flash of light. They protruded forth from his back and spread themselves wide, much to Alexia's shock as her eyes widened, a loud announcement coming from them as the young woman felt something leave her body, causing her to gasp at the sudden increase in fatigue. Meanwhile, streams of energy escaped her body and went into Vali's new wings, whereas the boy himself felt his energy overflow itself, allowing his sword an increase in cutting power that resulted in him cutting right THROUGH Alexia's sword. Much to her horror as she instinctively jumped backward and arced her body in the same direction.

Barely avoided being sliced in half by that strike.

However, when this happened, Vali did NOT expect a crescent wave of his silvery Mana to burst out of his MS, shooting through the air and crashing into the wall behind them. As such, a loud BOOM sound accompanied a large explosion, one which ripped through the air and left a smokescreen in its wake. 'Holy… I had not intended to do that… It would seem that I subconsciously tried to fire a Mana Ray from my MS, even though I knew for a fact that it shouldn't be possible… perhaps I could find a way to replicate that and form a technique out of it.'

'Developing new skills… how like you, partner.'

'?! You!'

'It would seem like this fight of yours is getting interesting… for it to draw me out like this… hmmm, very interesting… I will not be around for long partner, but know that you are very close to awakening me fully. In the meantime, stick around this woman, and you may find it to be a major boon.'

'Huh? Wait, what do you-?!'

Vali tried to get some answers from the voice which had suddenly spoken to him, only to feel its presence vanish as he tried doing so. However, the Wings remained there, yet this time when Vali tried dismissing them like he did usually with his MSs, he saw them vanish into silvery particles, then come right back in the same way. Looked like he could call upon them at will now, finally, Vali realized, but without that voice's presence, these Wings didn't feel as powerful as they did back in that battle.

He REALLY needed to figure out how to contact that creature again, it had a lot of explaining to do.

Still, these Wings seemed to have done SOMETHING right despite their weakened state, since Alexia now looked like she'd been exhausted after running long distance. Seeing this, and knowing that further combat would be pointless now that he had both gotten THIS out of it as well as de-stressed himself, Vali straightened himself. "Had enough? You got what you wanted to see from me…"

".... Yes I have."

"Then are we going to continue, or what?"

".... No, I've seen enough."

"Wha? What did you say Midgar?"

"I've seen plenty of enough of your power, I surrender."

"........ The fuck, just like that?"

"Yes, I know when I'm beaten and overwhelmed."

"Huh..... alright, if that's all then I'm leaving." Vali declared, making to turn on his heels and leave with his Wings vanishing into him, his MS dissipating and his Suit sinking back into his skin…

"Wait Vali!"

Only to stop himself when he heard the silver haired woman call out to him, causing his brow to twitch. Really, what was up with women and wanting him? ".....(scoff) what is it Midgar, didn't you get what you want?" he questioned whilst glancing behind him at her with only one of his eyes.

"I did, but I have a proposal for you."

Hearing this, Vali began to turn his upper body around to look at the woman on the ground still. "A proposal? What kind of proposal is it that you have, Midgar?"

Now that she had his attention again, Alexia gathered her strength and managed to get herself back onto her own two feet… although her legs trembled a bit from the lack of power she had right now. "This will be beneficial for the both of us. I would like for you to be my boyfrie-"

Aaaaaaand like that, he began to walk away. "Fuck no, find someone else bitch."

"WAIT! YOU DIDN'T LET ME EXPLAIN!"

"Then explain it, woman!"

"...Hhaaaa the reason is this Vali, if you become my boyfriend I will help you find stronger opponents that you seek. In essence, we just need to hangout, tell people that you're my boyfriend. In return, I'll use my family's power to find a good match for you." she explained, although she didn't mention everything. As a Noblewoman, she had too much experience with things going wrong to throw down all the cards.

Now THIS caught his attention, and Vali began to ponder on it despite himself. On one hand, he'd likely be playing right into her hand and THAT was something which he didn't want to do no matter what, especially since it would be like adhering to some of Zora's wishes which absolutely disgusted him. To him, Zora represented everything he hated about this society, and yet on the other hand despite what she had said to him before it turned out that there really was a difference between her and other women.

For one, she made it more like a business proposal than an outright demand, knowing that he would like to keep fighting opponents and used that to her advantage. No other woman tried that approach, which showcased the guts and balls she had to have done this. Then there was how she had sparred with him, and so far if he didn't use those wings (not like he could use them properly yet since this WAS the second time he'd summoned them) then she could be a decent sparring partner. Plus, there was that message that voice had left him with, to stick with this woman for some reason, though it'd partain why he had been able to briefly talk to him. As such, Vali began to wonder if there was more to this than even the two of them knew, something which he believed might actually be a reality. "...... Fine, but only in name, nothing physical girl."

Alexia nodded, not minding that last part. "That's fine." she replied, and it was. She didn't need this to be an ACTUAL relationship, since she had her intentions for this that didn't involve something tedious and unrealistic as romance. However, having managed to play the 'fighting opponents' card the way she had made her feel like she'd just barely dodged a bullet. If she hadn't done what she had, then this conversation would have been a bust and the plan would have been ruined.

On his side of things, Vali nodded as well, already mentally dreading what would be happening in the future days, especially with how the girls would react. Because of all the training he had been doing with them and supervising the others' progress, he never got the chance to ask his mother for the advice that he had sought, meaning that he wasn't closer to understanding their feelings. Something told him he would REALLY need to get that advice and FAST, if he wanted to save his camaraderie with them. "If that's all, I have to get back to that blasted tea party and explain to Angelica what happened."