Cyclone

'Calamity reporting in: 'Penance is nigh.' 

A calm yet apathetic and stony comment that could put any creature at unease.

An iridescent scarlet gleam that could penetrate all sorrow and cruelty in this world. Its cruelty was the reflection of those eyes, a self-reflecting noble that sought understanding.

Yet it could not be understood.

Stellaria's clothing was reminiscent of the past, a princess and a music box that perpetuated every waking hour.

The marigolds and roses' curling vines had become a mirage of falsehood,

Behind it was only the ghastly ivory resemblance of an elegant and pale noblewoman.

Her peachy pinkie finger intertwined with a jaundice cup and a precarious dew's essence poured into the core of her break-time. 

Each preparation was made with the suffering of extracting the dew's life - and the life of the Spatial Predator she hunted.

Each reverberating muse could only be described as peace for her, despite the after-shock of the 'space in the fractal dimension.' 

The carcass of a dead 'creature' served as her stool as she indulged in the worldly-desires of people.

It had been long executed by its hunter.

Scars of 'extensive threads' were present everywhere, as if it had been hexed or cursed by some kind of tattoo that killed it from the inside out.

"Ah, I've heard that *his* friend was supposed to be in battle."

'A shame I couldn't witness his overwhelming victory, despite such an obvious conclusion.'

Irises glanced at the translucent dimensional barrier - it turned more sickeningly vermillion by the second.

It impulsively ended due to the impact of a marbling cup hitting the table, followed by a wisp of wind - regarding a sudden movement of Stellaria's absence in the perfectly silent afternoon.

On her authentic marbled woodland-table, there was a file of data regarding students - most were mysterious, most were potential fresh mates, and some were heavenly defying.

Yes, the Pentagram Wings had been looking for candidates to eliminate and preserve - as they always had done.

One stood out the most, as the student was notorious for her unexplainable trait which could not be proven by scientific means. Only a divine instrument could detect the basics of it.

The Principal of Fallen Academy, being the eccentric lover of monikers, thus dubbed this student as following:

' The delusion of grandeur is a natural result of the trait affecting her mentality, to an unexplainable extent - it has enhanced her proficiencies in use of the eastern-style katana, her magical aptitude and an unprecedented growth during crisis, '

' Both in prudence and fortitude, as such this first year designated as: '

[ The Virtue of Pride ]

**

*Ssh*

*Shplitch!*

The baleful mist of Foul's Land was intoxicating the wuthering heights. The friction of steel forged the sparks of ember in the miasmal breath - unveiling the clash between two powerhouses of the academy.

Frail, brittle ebonstone was at the edge of resilience as they fought fiercely, with the defender blocking the boisterous dexterity of the Tachi strikes.

Laughter and exclamations of extremity roared from the attacker.

" What's wrong, did my efforts leave you in shambles? "

" I'll have you know I had my training arc before this, this venerable one believes it will deal critical damage at some point! " 

Two beauties stood at the epicenter of that one representing the crimson vermillion bird, crowning a Kimono-styled Kogai kanamono garb laced in painting of the cherry blossom.

A lady of blazing pride with the braid of a phoenix stood tall.

Contradictory as it was, her opponent would be the polar opposite in terms of piercing personality and temperament.

A dignified and rigid posture, capable of adorning the captain's combat uniform - bearing a similitude to a European world-war's ceremonial cape uniform from Aldritch's former world history.

Perhaps this merger of aesthetics made them a popular phenomenon in the academy, aside from The Star Rankers.

Their beauty and family had always been respected as two pillars, the crowning jewels of the warrior's Harmony Communion.

Isadora was momentarily distracted, clinging to the suspended beret, and the noxious gust blasted her cape in the air.

She slowly turned her gaze upon her opponent, wearing her iron mask that didn't allow any emotion to leak through.

But her own formulating thoughts were that of confusion, as she had no idea what Sakino had talked about for the entirety of their clash that had been going on for hours, afternoon had passed.

'Betrayal'

'Rival'

Those words seemed foreign and awfully strange for their first meeting - while some of it could be a misunderstanding of Isadora's actions.

Specifically, the accusation of her having not attempted to challenge Sakino to overtake her in the ranking was due to the nature of her diligence to study and not paying much attention to the practical exams.

The reason she readily accepted the challenge on this one, was the aftermath of Aldritch's companionship - she did not want to fall behind because of herd mentality.

As such, erasing a meaningless consideration became an instantaneous action that was to be pushed by a flaring titanic shield twice her height, exhibiting a luminosity that spread like veins of the central heart of the weapon. 

A fluorescent mana that charged up like a blaring siren foretelling a destructive fate for any that dare take it head on.

'Aura Blast'

Isadora intended to end the fight in a bombastic manner, as her patience was running thin - despite her tepid reputation,

She was all the same, a youngster like the others - bound to be impatient in some regards and reckless as well.

But contrary to her expectation, the swordswoman stood there with a murderous smile, the same smile that she used to destroy all obstacles in the name of pride.

If Aldritch were to describe it in person, it would be akin to the tale of a justiciar fighting against the cyclopean windmill. 

A foolish yet fanatical fighting tenacity that none would be able to fathom, perhaps not even she herself was aware of such tenacious and maniacal behavior.

The foolish katana-wielder stretched the venerable legs as the egotistic tachi were eager to be upheaved above her head - for she only knew one way to retaliate against an ultimate move.

To counter by using an ultimate technique of her own!

"I am Wakashi Sakino, The pride of the Kousugi Clan. I have defeated all 27 rivals thus far."

" Enlighten this venerable one, Berndette! "

**

*Swoosh!* *Kaboom!*

Oh, what in the Buddha's name is going on?!

Hey Sakino, you better not have done something abnormal again! Why do I hear explosions ringing like we're having a firework festival here?

God damn it, I was going to rest for a bit. Guess i'll have to work overtime again.

Anyways, I'm on standby near the site in case something out of the ordinary happens to occur.

Which is probably the case now, but as I have instructed the ethereal golems to complete digging out an escape route -

I approached the intensive toxic gas surrounding the abyssal depth manholes, I recall seeing them a lot on this battlefield.

As a human myself, I sometimes can't understand how this otherworldly humanity can just breathe in mustard gas while talking and come off as healthy after a checkup on high-tech machinery.

But it's not really my place anymore, I just have to obey my superior as usual. 

Nothing has changed from the military - except now my sergeant has been replaced with an idiotic woman who only boasts her egotistical tendencies every day.

But seriously, having to clean up after her is a chore.

And if you're a fellow countryman like me, you would try to find some way to enjoy it, right?

Wrong, the woman is flat as a board - where is all my enjoyment then?

Speaking of enjoyment, seeing how desolate this carpet bombed area is, they must have enjoyed themselves.

Hm, lemme see. Hm hmm?

What is this stupid shit in front of me?

Honestly, why is she just standing there like an idiot holding her katana like that? The guarding stance is just letting your enemy get the first attack on you.

Is she stupid?

Wait, hold on. Her clothes are in tatters and the sleeves on that kimono are entirely ripped apart, pretty much showing her skin.

It appeared to be like it was done by an explosive.

She's injured and there seems to be blood everywhere on her - it's nothing new, so honestly, I don't care much.

The intimidating sea admiral lookin' lady seems to be in a precarious state as well - her breathing is unnatural and I can see that her mana is on the lower side thus far.

It's about time I lend a hand, so shall we?

As much as there are flaws with my employer's brain, she has treated me well and with respect too. Seeing how others so-call 'summon' nowadays, I'd say I got a good deal out of this.

"Stop. Our fight has only begun. "

The katana fanatic continuously warne me, as I approached by her side - while it isn't surprising that the bout subsequently ended in my employer's victory, curiosity took hold of me and felt the need to ask the boss.

" So, what's happened here? "

In response, the swordswoman, as though she expected such an inquiry, does her finest duty to act like a chuunibyou with five fingers covering her left eye.

"I see, you've taken 5 aura blasts to the face?"

I'm not sure if having an understanding of my boss' eccentric behavior and adapting to it was the most sane decision I could have made, but nevertheless it has helped in the long run.

" My pride couldn't tolerate having my garments and strength being blown away by an ultimate attack, "

" Therefore this venerable one stood where she was and decided to resist the force of that power."

" By learning how this villain projects her mana into that crude weapon, this one managed to cut it sooner or later. "

" As for the last ones, while this venerable was taken by a mere glimpse of enlightenment by my rival's new tactics - it was over the moment I stopped taking damage from a rudimentary skill! "

" To put it simply, you wanted to fight her and somehow learnt how to not be affected by it? "

" As expected of my right-hand man, this venerable one is pleased. "

In case you didn't catch on, from my understanding, when you touch this brat's pride she will eventually learn how to become insusceptible to it.

Sounds illogical right? But it's the truth, as I know from when I was sparring with her. 

At the first time, my bullets would go through her shoulder, then the second and third were knocked away.

 When you shoot her long enough, she will eventually deflect your bullets right back.

Her pride will turn her body into a bulletproof vest.

That's one of the prideful behaviors, as I have referred to it.

"Anyways, we should finish her off now,"

"Doesn't matter if she still has some strength left. It's my duty to support you. "

With that remark, I marched toward the exhausted admiral - while my employer's frowning eyebrows and gnashing teeth echoed in my eardrums.

But before I can get a shot off, I realize a key conundrum.

'Oh shit, it's a motherfucking bug!'

Why here of all places? Shit, I have to get the living hell out of here as fast as possible.

Hastily, as I calculate the optimal escape plan, my hands already grasp my employer's waist and bag her from the ground.

"HEY! What kind of heresy is this?! "

"Shut up! If we die here, it's going to be your fault. "

Panicking, I recall a certain urban legend of the Berndette family.

It wasn't private information and it was certainly notorious for their reputation.

And it wasn't a risk I was willing to take to verify that information either.

The reason in the matter of the Berndette, is that their moniker is always a 'disaster'.

Researching this, it wasn't hard to find as to why.

'There is a certain trigger that causes the bloodline of the Berndettes to become a natural disaster, a cardinal reason why they will only use a shield.'

To be honest, I didn't want to believe it - but after a recent incident at the entrance exam…

'A student brought in an insect summon and chose to display it on the exam, only to find himself at the knees of having his summon being 'executed' in permanent fashion.'

' Half of the facility became a trainwreck for about 20 minutes after the perpetrator was exposed to the sight of the summon.'

'The culprit was not punished but instead was suppressed by, '

' Calimos Berndette after an emergency hearing from the school faculty, and from that day onward - insect creatures were promptly banned from showcases in the academy.'

And if you were to put the pieces together, you would soon realize the issue with the culprit - 'Isadora Berndette' - if you were to trigger her.

'Only disaster would ensue and anything standing in the way of that 'elimination' will be erased as well. '

Berndettes have bodies that are capable enough to weigh and use their shield, which is twice as large as themselves like a normal weapon, for their whole lifetime.

'What happens if all rationality is lost and they no longer have to use a shield?'

…

*SNAP*

*CRACKLE*

When the sun returned to the heat of death, a withering forest embraced the tide of Hades and destruction.

I was floating and unable to escape, before I could realize that everything had been turned to dust.

It was too late,

'She had already pummeled the whole mountain into dust. '

Her face was already in my sight - heterochromatic eyes that lacked any life or acknowledgement of the world around it.

An autonomous machine rather than human, as if responding to my reaction.

Her palms were firmly placed on my face, it was gentle but what soon followed became my worst fears.

*CRACK*

And then, my vision fades, as the pain on my skull and face is rendered to null in maybe milliseconds, maybe minutes. 

All of my bones were destroyed and decimated in a chain reaction. A surprising turn of events… I… no, *we* had lost the moment that…

She hadn't battled with a handicap.

<Match Result>

Isadora has won the round.

1:0

Due to the elimination of all commanding and natural intelligence officers of the opposing side, this war was hereby concluded by the authority of Teacher Adrian and Bastille.

May the victor be blessed for all the cosmic years.

< Battle Result: A clutch victory from [Isadora] >

< Promotion: Isadora Berndette [5th] >