Prepare for another duel.

About an hour passes by. You and Eva change back into your street clothes--you in your blue tunic armed with a trusty magic word, and Eva in her ribbon-decorated blue blouse and skirt with her brown wand that holds a pink crystal at the tip. You watch her pat one of her pouches, and stare off into space. She seems lost in thought. Her lips move, like she's repeating a mantra, and that one pouch in particular seems to be her focus. It must hold the gift she was given.

The two of you walk through the courtyard and towards the sparring grounds, though this time, it's the middle of the day. The sun's rays are strong this afternoon. You tug on the collar of your tunic, and now you envy Eva's choice of minimal clothing. It must be cool to wear, albeit embarrassing at times. You look down at her ample cleavage barely contained by her low-cut top. The breeze flutters her skirt as she moves. Her long, fluffy ears bounce with each step. As you continue to look her over, she turns her soft blue eyes towards you and smiles.

"Do you think I can do it?" she asks.

This is all happening so fast. I thought we were done after escaping Davella's dream, but now we have Malakae. I'm exhausted. Do I think Eva can take her? It's hard to say. I feel like I haven't seen Eva fight someone entirely by herself before, nor have I seen what her opponent is really capable of. But...

"I do," you say.

She giggles and grabs your arm. "Thank you."

Up ahead, you see an audience. It isn't just that. You had quite the crowd when you sparred against Larsith, but standing around the ring in the distance... is every single student and teacher at Redbloom Academy. Over a hundred bodies surround the area. Your walking is halted as Eva stops. She squeezes your arm tight, so much that it starts to hurt.

"Eva, you're--"

She screams. "I can't do this!"

"Y-Yes you can. Calm down."

Eva releases you from her grip, and scurries to hide behind you instead. "No, no. I can't. Look at all those people. I'm shaking. I'll crack under the pressure. How am I supposed to fight her like this?!"

You turn around and place your hand gently against the side of her head. Her hair is incredibly soft. She looks up to you, and you smile back. "It's all right, Eva. When I was with Niki before, we fought in this big tournament. There were stands filled with people there to watch. I was really nervous too, but I focused on the battle. I knew it was important."

She swallows hard. "Okay. If you believe in me, then I'll do it."

You both turn back to the crowd ahead. As you enter, they part ways to allow Eva to pass straight through. It looks like Lady Vraelion is already there as well, dressed in that same red qipao you've seen twice before. In her hand, she wields a pale white wand with beautiful curling branches at the end that encase a large purple sphere with a constant sparkling energy within it.

"Good luck," you whisper as Eva moves forwards.

She passes by the audience and steps into the ring with her opponent. Slowly, she draws her own brown wand and takes a few shaky deep breaths.

You look to the other side and spot Lady Sulta standing there. She locks eyes with you for a moment, smiles, and then raises her voice for all to hear. It's just like your last duel, though this one has become shockingly famous very quickly. "Welcome everybody! Normally we wouldn't call off class for such an occasion, but Lady Vraelion insisted. She told me that such a battle was of incredibly importance."

"That's right," Malakae interrupts. "A point needs to be proven. I'm glad you showed up, Beela. Everybody listen! Strange things have been happening lately, so allow me to remind you who it is you're witnessing! I am Lady Malakae of the glorious House Vraelion, and as stated before, I accepted your challenge today to prove a point to everybody here. If you insult me or my family's name, you will regret it."

Eva isn't saying anything in response. You start to worry. After a few more moments pass, you inspect her closely, and it looks like she's completely spaced out. Her eyes are peering towards something on the other side of the ring--not Malakae. You follow her line of sight to a familiar figure standing in the crowd.

It's her father.

"It's customary to introduce yourself, even if you're nothing but a commoner," Lady Vraelion mocks.

What is he doing here? He must have heard about what's been going on. He does live in the city after all, and he's an important mage.

"Go, Eva! You can do it!" you shout.

Eva shakes her head. "Y-Yes. Of course. My name is Eva Beela! And I may have denounced my nobility, but that's still my name. I'm still a great mage, and I might even be the best some day, standing right next to Kyle Warren." She thrusts her wand forwards. "You're fighting both of us today, because he's right here with me. You're right. I am a commoner now. But I like it that way. People like you give me and my father a bad name!"

Malakae sneers. "Your father may be part of the Circle, but you are not. You clearly don't care at all about your blood. So why bring it up now?"

The crowd hushes as a new voice speaks up. It's the old bunnyfolk in the audience. People turn to see, and those nearby back away. Rada Beela, a chairman for the Circle of the Unicorn--nobody expected a player as important as Lady Sulta to appear so suddenly. He raises his hand up into the fair to garner attention. People around you whisper.

"Eva," he projects his voice. There's a long silence after that. Perhaps he doesn't know what to say. "Do your best," he finishes.

Your companion doesn't know what to say either. Eva stares back for a lengthy moment before her eyes return to her opponent. She clenches her teeth, squeezes her wand, and takes one more deep inhale. "I will," she says.

"Would the two of you like to wager anything on this battle?" Lady Sulta asks.

Eva grins. "Oh yeah. If I win, you'll have to strip naked."

"How juvenile. It's just like what happened with Larsith," Malakae scoffs.

"No. Not streaking this time. You have to stay in this ring for one hour afterwards."

Pink starts to fill her cheeks. "Y-You're joking."

"Scared?"

"Of course not! Well, you'll have to do the same when you lose."

"It looks like everybody is prepared!" Lady Sulta announces with a chuckle. "I hereby sanction this duel between Malakae Vraelion and Eva Beela, On my mark, you shall begin. Please be mindful of your surroundings and follow our rules appropriately."

You look to Rada. Poor guy. I kinda feel bad. I get why she's always upset with him, but I can see it in his eyes. He's really trying.

She raises up her hand and continues to speak. "Three. Two. One. Mark!" Then, she swings her hand down, and the duel begins.