In the observation room, Atela watches the battles of Émilia and Noa simultaneously through holographic projections. Marie is sitting on her lap, silent.
She stares at the screen, focused.
— Hold on… just 28 minutes left.
Suddenly—
— ÉMILIA IS TOO STRONG! AND THE OTHERS TOO, THEY'RE AMAZING!
Drago, right next to her, suddenly exclaims, making Atela jump… and indirectly Marie as well.
Atela looks at him with a puzzled expression, then turns her attention back to Harman in the background. He is calmly noting down participants' data in a small notebook.
Atela hesitates, then calls out to him.
— Mr. Harman…
He immediately looks up.
— Yes?
She pauses, as if trying to choose her words carefully.
— Do you… do you remember me?
Harman blinks, clearly surprised by the question.
— Well yes… you are Princess Atela, first daughter of King Nafaris, princess of the kingdom of Reiva… why?
Atela insists, not breaking eye contact.
— Is that really all you know about me?
Harman slightly furrows his brows, still not understanding the meaning of the question.
— No… well, that's all I know. At least… I think?
Atela stares at him for a moment longer.
In her mind, Maëlle immediately intervenes:
« Rest assured. His heart is stable and there is no trace of lying. The memory alteration has indeed modified information regarding your role as a guardian. »
Atela lets out a slight sigh of relief.
Harman, meanwhile, is starting to seriously wonder what is going through her mind.
On his side, Kobra notices that Harman keeps writing down all combat data on the projection.
— What are all these informations about us for?
Harman replies with a smile, arms slightly open.
— It's a surprise. Let's say… I'll give it to you if you succeed in the first round.
Kobra looks at him, exasperated.
— A surprise… if we win?
Harman almost ignores his reaction. Then another question comes to his mind.
— Tell me… how is Marie going to participate in the duels?
His gaze briefly lands on the little girl.
— From what I know, she has neither offensive nor defensive abilities.
Atela answers immediately.
— She doesn't need to be on the field. Her technique is very useful as support.
She adds more firmly:
— And I will never accept a child fighting.
Harman slowly nods, but reminds her of an important point.
— I already explained this… if you pass the selection, your ranking will depend on your performance. And for Marie… if she stays in the team without participating in combat, she will be ranked E.
Silence settles.
Marie, still clinging to Atela, says:
— It's okay if I'm ranked E… I don't mind.
Harman blinks, surprised by her calmness.
« She's… too cute. »
Atela gently stands up and puts Marie down.
— I'll be right back. I have something to do.
She asks Drago to follow her.
He agrees enthusiastically.
A few minutes later, in a completely dark corridor.
Atela leans against the wall. Drago stands nearby, scratching his head.
— Drago… do you remember what you said in the training room?
« Drago has always been an exceptional being due to the fact that he has no Chaos energy. He has a certain immunity to techniques that rely on targeting him. »
He closes his eyes, thinks for a long time… then shrugs.
— Nope, no idea!
Atela insists.
— When Émilia said you hadn't seen each other for six years… you said the last time we met was one month ago.
Drago frowns, searching his memory.
Then it clicks.
— Ah! Yeah! I think it was a meeting with different generals and my brother… to discuss your status as guardian of the Ava Corrector.
Atela's face immediately freezes.
Pale.
As if her blood had frozen.
« And this immunity… also includes mental influence techniques… »
Drago notices her expression change.
— Hey, Atela… are you okay?
She doesn't respond.
Her mind is racing.
« Why didn't I think of that possibility earlier… even the Ava couldn't alter the memory of a being without Chaos… »
She suddenly places her hands on Drago's shoulders.
— Did you tell anyone else? About my status as guardian?
— No, I haven't told anyone since that week.
Silence.
Then Atela takes a deep breath.
She relaxes slightly.
And makes Drago promise never to speak about it, nor mention her status to anyone.
Drago agrees without really understanding the importance of the promise.
Back in the ruins
Émilia and Power faced each other for their final dance, while silence began to weigh on them.
Émilia is the first to move. She throws herself at her opponent with a straight punch that Power easily absorbs.
He still had energy left. He creates a massive sword and tries to knock her out with the flat of the blade.
Émilia dodges and delivers a kick so powerful it partially breaks the newly formed sword.
She follows up with a second punch that forces him back further.
« Close combat has never really been my strong point. I'm not as skilled as Atela and I don't have Drago's endurance. »
Her opponent wastes no time and charges again.
« But well… I can't use my technique in the first round. »
Émilia blocks a strike from Power, but he grabs her wrist and violently throws her into the air before kicking her into the rubble.
No respite.
Power charges again. She blocks with difficulty.
« Alright… I'll have to do it like this. »
Unexpectedly, Power notices Émilia smiling.
Without warning, she delivers a violent kick to his jaw, followed by another that sends him flying backward.
« That's starting to get annoying… »
His thoughts are interrupted as Émilia immediately resumes her assault.
The two exchange blow after blow, blocking and countering without pause.
Power manages to grab her and throws her upward, then jumps to finish her mid-air.
But Émilia catches his leg and slams him violently into the ground, further damaging his mask.
He breaks free without counterattacking.
— Already struggling…
Power touches his mask.
Émilia looks at him with a playful, mocking smile.
— I suspected your mask wasn't just for decoration.
A drop of sweat runs down Power's face.
He stands back up despite exhaustion.
— When I brushed your neck earlier, you did everything to keep me away. You protect that mask more than any other part of your body.
She walks slowly forward.
Power backs away but suddenly starts coughing uncontrollably.
— This mask allows you to breathe properly, doesn't it? And since it's damaged… you can't fight anymore. Which means you're eliminated.
Next chapter: The flame in the ice