Eriza stormed her way towards Princes. Iris’ plan relied on her appearing unhinged while remaining calm and calculating. The former was easy enough, but the latter was another matter entirely. How could she remain calm when someone sexually assaulted her sister while she was working out. Nathaniel had planned this for the moment she wasn’t around, and it was something she would not take lying down.

She wouldn’t have revenge though. She would have vengeance for her sister instead. By no means was she going to idly stand by and allow anyone to do whatever they wished with Ren. A message is what Iris had intended to send with her plan.

They would become a storm that Nathaniel would wish he never caused. One that would not be forgotten in the years to come by those who associated with them.

As the gates of the school came into view, she saw what appeared to be a welcoming party awaiting her arrival. Over a dozen students clad in Princes’ uniforms stood at the ready. A thick aura of arrogance surrounded them like a fog. It was to be expected given Princes’ reputation.

Out of all the school’s in Sydney, the top four were Lilith’s, Rosebay, Joseph Banks ESM and Princes. Of those four, only two had direct ties to London, though Lilith’s didn’t quite count since rarely did a student receive an invite to attend Lucy Cavendish. Princes, on the other hand, was a feeder school for Kings College in Cambridge. It was because of this well-known fact that its students gained a haughty attitude, believing themselves to be better than all of the others when in reality Joseph Banks ESM presented a more significant challenge.

It was one of the reasons she loathed going to the social gatherings organized between Princes and Liliths. The boys would brag about how talented they were, how they could provide for their female counterparts who would often fall into their embrace without a second thought. The top tier students of the all-girls school were always fought over, leaving Luna, Iris and herself to continuously defend Ren from the tide of ill-intentioned suitors who would approach her.

To think that the first person to lay their grubby fingers on her sister would be a man instead of a boy. At least she had the chance to make the bastard who caused it hurt. The blood debt he now owed to her family would be paid in full, regardless of what it took.

Stopping a few meters away, she studied the group to see if Luke was among them. To her disappointment, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Having no other choice, she picked the one with the biggest smirk she could see and began to speak to him.

“Well isn’t this a warm welcome. I suppose you’re ready to watch your senior get his ass kicked by a girl?”

“I believe you’ll be the one getting thrashed today. Knowing your place is important, especially for a delicate flower such as yourself.”

If he intended to touch a nerve, he surely struck home. That slight would not go unanswered, even though it was best not to start a fight before a duel.

“How about I barbeque your ass as a warmup and send you to the hospital,” she said, allowing a line of static to fly off her short hair and onto her shoulder to emphasize her point.

Fortunately for the boy, one of his mates grabbed his shoulder and quickly pulled him behind the rest of the rest of the party.

“Apologies for Michael’s behavior. He’s not the brightest but he didn’t mean any harm. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Samuel, and we’ll be leading you to your duel today with Luke,” he said, glancing up and down at her. “Will you be fighting in your current attire?”

Eriza gave an affirming nod. She’d worn plainclothes to make a statement: that even without combat gear she could quickly dispatch an opponent in a fight. It would serve as a warning to those in the future who would have ill intentions for her or her sister. It would stand to make them think twice before messing with her again.

“Shall we get going,” she suggested, eager to get this battle of the way.

“As you wish, please follow me,” the boy said as he turned around and walked through the gates of the school.

Following him, Eriza found herself surrounded by the welcoming party that had greeted her. She could understand maybe two or three of the students keeping an eye on her, but a dozen? Did she warrant such a large number of acolytes following her about? Was that not what the school’s teachers were for?

Then again, this was Princes. If anything plagued the school’s student population, it was pride. Their inability to humble themselves was ultimately what often led to their downfall in duels, because they couldn’t see the flaws in how they fought. Not that she minded it, it made breaking them that much more enjoyable.

Quickly making her way through the campus with her entourage, she observed that many students were slowly converging on the group. Was it a scare tactic they were employing to try and psych her out? If that was the case, they’d have to try better. Numbers wouldn’t scare her, as her ace in the hole deterrent spell often caused crowds to panic and disperse. It gave off the idea that it was much more lethal than it was.

Still, it seemed like everyone who was on the school’s grounds was coming out to watch the fight. There was no doubt she’d have to deliver or hear about it years from now. Luke might have been a terrible Water Transmuter but that didn’t mean she should take him lightly.

He probably had a dirty trick or two up his sleeve, which she would need to overcome. If necessary, she could use the surprise Tokiwa had helped her learn how to use. The downside was everyone would know she had access to it, but losing wasn’t an option.

Soon they arrived at Princes’ practice field. As she’d guessed earlier, it seemed like half the school was currently present, eager to watch the grudge match that was about to go down. Perhaps news of what had happened at Rosebay and Joseph Banks ESM rapidly spread and they all knew what was about to happen here. Then again, Luke was boisterous, so it was possible he’d drummed up a crowd just for this moment.

That didn’t matter anymore, she supposed. What mattered was winning. As long as she embarrassed Nathaniel’s nephew, all would be well.

Now that she thought of it, why wasn’t the boy here yet? After taking a second look around the field to confirm he wasn’t present, she found herself wondering if perhaps he’d gotten cold feet.

While accepting her challenge and then not showing up to the fight was shameful, she couldn’t blame him for bailing out. There was no doubt as to who had the advantage, and it was a significant one at that. But still, it wasn’t a good idea for her to under-estimate his talent for fighting. If she did that, she might be caught flatfooted and fall into a trap.

She couldn’t help but think how it wasn’t like Luke not to show up to a duel he’d been challenged to though. He was cocky, arrogant and it was likely he even had a death wish. Such a combination was a trifecta for disaster.

Listening to the crowd, she discovered that just like her, they were wondering where the boy was. Some of them were already insisting he wussed out; other’s said he was too noble to strike a girl. The latter made her giggle a little. Luke acting proper in any manner towards a girl was something no one expected of him. That was his vile nature.

For a moment, the Lightning Sorceress let her mind wander and soon felt a shudder run down her spine when. What if Luke was going to bring his father? Vincent was a genuine pain in the ass that she wanted to avoid dealing with altogether. The last time she’d made him mad he’d demanded her expulsion from Lilith’s and the headmistress nearly followed through with it. It was thanks to her talent that she survived that mess. Going through that near disaster again would be absolutely awful.

Waiting wasn’t going to help her either. She may have walked in feeling like she was on top of the world, but she knew her nerves would get the best of her eventually. Especially given how much pressure was on her to win this duel.

Perhaps riling up the crowd would help drag Luke out then? There was one straightforward way that immediately came to mind to do that. The school was full of airheads like that Michael from earlier. They’d surely respond to her idea the way she wanted them to.

“If Luke doesn’t show his face in the next three minutes I’ll give his fight to someone else. I didn’t come all the way out here to leave empty-handed,” Eriza loudly announced to the crowd.

In response, the onlookers surrounding her burst out in cheers and challenges. It was almost surprising that with a couple of sentences she could whip the gathered crowd into a frenzy. Was this what mind mages felt when they messed with people's minds to get them to do their bidding?

Across from her, the crowd began to part and a boy with unkempt hair began to make his way into the oval formed by the onlookers.

The unkempt, curly hair and freckled face were unmistakable. It was Luke, who wore a cocky smile as if he’d already won. That smug attitude of his served to stoke the cooling embers of Eriza’s resolve, dispelling her doubts in an instant.

If anything, she wanted to walk over to him and break him in half like a pencil, but alas there were rules that must be followed. Getting in trouble for starting the duel before given the signal wasn’t something she was looking to do, as that would make her look childish.

“It’s about time. Do you always keep people waiting?”

“Is this coming from the girl who’s about to eat dirt off my shoe?”

“Careful waterboy, I might just kill you if you leave a wide enough opening.”

“You think that scares me? Tell me, how’s your sister doing? Perhaps she’d like another-“

“Lightning Bolt.”

The moment he threatened her sister her mind went blank and by the time she’d come to, there was a large black mark on the ground with smoke rising up from it, just half a meter away from Luke.

She wouldn’t apologize for nearly hitting him head-on for his words. He’d dug himself into that outburst. She also didn’t mind if she’d looked like a child lashing out.

“I will say this once and only once. If your family goes after my sister again then I won’t hesitate to kill. Not even if it’s your father. Do you understand?”

Surprisingly enough, Luke seemed taken back by what had just happened. A cold sheen of sweat now rested on his forehead.

“Don’t think that scares me. Do you know who my father is?”

While she did care who Vincent was, she decided it was best to keep the outward appearance that she’d begun portraying. So much for calm and calculating. It was time to double down on being a loose cannon and hoped it worked.

“Do you think I give a fuck?”

“You must be joking,” her opponent scoffed. “Do you know what my father would do to you if he heard that?”

“And I should care because?”

Across from her, Luke’s fear from her Lightning Bolt quickly faded away like melted butter. Instead, he now appeared as if she’d touched a nerve of his. It gave her an epiphany: if she could get him pissed enough he’d try to blindly rage into the fight, he might give her an easy opening to connect a Lightning Bolt with his shield and end the duel right out of the gate.

“Let’s see. Right about now Iris should be finishing using Layla as a mophead to clean up the mess of Rosebay’s practice field, and there’s no doubt George has already lost. Tell me Luke, do you honestly think you stand a chance?”

“You want to say that again bitch?”

“You heard me punk.”

The boy’s face took on a shade of crimson. He appeared as though he were going to blow a gasket now, and with him sufficiently angry it was the perfect time to start the duel, that way he couldn’t clear his head.

Looking in Samuel’s direction, she nodded.

The boy quickly made his way to the edge of the field halfway between Luke and herself, lifting up his hand.

“The duel between Eriza Isozaki of Lilith’s College for Girls and Luke of our fair Prince’s will now begin. Students, are you ready?”

“Yes,” Luke affirmed.

“Of course,” Eriza snarkily replied to incense the boy further.

Looking beyond Luke, she could see all of the gathered students backing up as much as they could, as they didn’t want to get caught off guard by a wayward spell.

Why they had decided to forego a force cage for this match was beyond her understanding, but she could easily make due without one so long as she was a little more careful.

Who was she kidding? This was Princes; she wouldn’t care if she accidentally struck another student with a wayward blast of lightning. Unfortunately Iris wouldn’t be happy with her if she did so, so she wouldn’t intentionally hit someone. Glancing over at Samuel, she waited for the boy to signal the start of her assault.

Already, she’d incanted her Lightning Bolt. She just needed to aim, say the words and a bolt of hysterical electrical energy would crack right into his shield if he didn’t have the same idea as herself. Hopefully she’d gotten him angry enough that he wouldn’t think of using Control Water to try and ensnare her. So long as he didn’t do that, it didn’t matter what spell he used. She’d break right through it.

“Begin.”

“Lightning Bolt.”

“Water Pillar.”

Instinctively, Eriza darted to her left, though her leg got caught in the ensuing eruption of water causing her shield to kick in to protect the rest of her. Gritting her teeth, she hoped it would hold out while she tried to make her escape.

Across the field, a scream permeated the air.

“Victory to Eriza from Lilith’s,” Samuel shouted over the crowd who had started to go ballistic.

Just as she thought might be the case, even though she’d doubted it, Luke had fallen far behind her. It seemed like he hadn’t made any progression at all, surprisingly enough. If he remained like this, he wouldn’t even be viable at the lowest level of combat mages.

One the other hand, Eriza was disappointed with herself. She’d been so anxious about this fight, only for it to turn out that she had nothing to worry about whatsoever. She’d overwhelmingly defeated her opponent, to the point where it looked like she may have cheated.

The crowd didn’t seem to think that was the case. It was difficult to try and make out what exactly was being said, but most of them were making fun of Luke. The public embarrassment of the son was sure to bring out the father, but with her headmistress’ change in stance, there was nothing he could do. His family dug that hole on their own.

Perhaps he was the reason why she was so nervous earlier was not because of Luke himself. When she thought about it, it made sense. Luke’s father Vincent nearly got her expelled from Lilith’s, and thus she had reason to fear him, in part because he may be able to do more than that. Only now as she looked back did she realize there wasn’t really anything to fear, as he had no real leverage against her.

The most the man could do was send goons after her. That alone would be difficult given what his brother’s goons did to Ren. There was no doubt they’d be watched carefully to make sure that Nathaniel’s brother didn’t take action in an attempt to save face.

Pushing the undesirable thought from her mind, she stared at the boy in front of her, whose shirt now sported a rather large hole thanks to her well-aimed Lightning Bolt. He looked so pitiful, something she reveled in.

Time to kick him while he was down to embarrass him further.

“I thought we were going to have a duel. You can’t even weather one blow. It’s like you’ve somehow managed to get worse while I’ve gotten tremendously better.”

“Shut your mouth you dirty whore,” Luke practically screamed as he tried to make a run at her, only to be held back by several students who likely had his safety in mind.

It was smart of them to do so, as she would have been welcome to defend herself against an unprovoked attack. Capitalizing on something like that would allow her to put him in the hospital. Perhaps she could get away with just a little more.

“Funny, I thought I was looking at a whore.”

“You fucking wench.”

Before she earned the ire of those around her, she decided it would be best to wrap things up and take her leave. After all, she had no idea how many friends Luke had, and the thought of provoking the wrath of possibly more than a dozen of Princes’ finest was not on a smart idea.

“Luke, you and your family earned this. Your sleazy uncle thought it would be smart to not only send his men to break into Lilith’s but give the order to rape my sister. I will not stand by idly when someone has ill intentions for her. There will be no mercy for those who attempt to harm Ren, now or ever,” she stated.

With those words, Eriza turned around, and immediately the crowd began to part to allow her to leave. Behind her, Luke went on a tirade about how he was superior to her, but she was no longer listening.

If she fed him, it would probably weaken her position. At least it felt like Iris would say something to that effect to her when analyzing the situation. She could have sworn she’d heard the girl quote “Why feed hyenas when all they do is make fun of you in return?” or something along that line at one point.

As she made her way out of the gates and felt the presence of her escort entourage fading around her, she pulled out her Message device and punched in Iris’ glyph.

Luna sat on her bed that she rarely slept in. Across the room, Iris was picking at something underneath her fingernail. The two were waiting for the return of Eriza, whom she heard had successfully beaten Luke. The beating was so bad that it was likely only a matter of hours before the entire city knew of what Eriza had done.

When coupled with the defeat of George and the standoff with Magus Stone, Nathaniel would have to feel the pressure. If he didn’t respond to it, then that bridge could be crossed when the time came.

Fortunately, his options for retaliating were limited. Publically attacking them would likely serve to get him in more trouble. She could only imagine what would happen if he or his henchmen came anywhere near Lilith’s again. That was an express ticket to stasis.

In the chaos off everything that occurred, she’d forgotten what they’d need to do next in order for their plan to succeed. She was embarrassed that she could forget such a thing, but it was better to admit her mistake than not check and see what needed to be done next.

“Remind me, what do we do now?”

“Now we wait and hope that the rumors spread. If Nathan doesn’t respond within a day, then we go after his remaining nieces and nephews and hope that we can lure them into duels.”

Her adoptive sister’s plan made logical sense. For all this to work, they needed Nathaniel to respond to the pressure they’d put on him by embarrassing his family and stating the only person to blame for the events was the man himself. It was a risky idea given it had no guarantee of working, but given he wasn’t as thick-skinned as Arthur their plan might just work. All they could do was hope that it would.

The door to their room opened and Eriza walked in, a smile covering her face.

“I’m back, and I brought the sweet allure of victory with me,” their friend cheerfully said as she made her way over to Iris’ bed and sat down.

”Welcome back. I’m glad it went well,” Luna replied.

“Likewise. It may have been a little overkill, but the worse the defeat, the worse it is for Luke and, by proxy, Nathaniel,” Iris followed.

“I just want to see him implode for everything he’s done. So do you think this will be enough to get Zoey back?”

“If he wants to avoid his extended family taking any further public defeats then he will. Otherwise we’ll just have to ruffle a few more feathers. Though it’s possible we won’t be able to given how much sway he has. That’s part of the reason why I was denied the duel at Rosebay, at least that’s what it seems like,” the Transmuter elaborated.

“That’s fine with me. I just want to see him burn for everything he’s done. We seriously owe Ren by the way. Her request for us to use what happened to her as a weapon against Nathaniel’s family was a genius idea. Speaking of her, I’ll be spending the night with her and my parents so I’ll be leaving pretty soon if that’s alright.”

“Of course. You should be with your sister, you both have been through so much today.”

“Ah don’t worry about it. While I’d rather this not have happened, beating Luke as badly as I did was a real confidence booster. I haven’t felt so great about beating someone in a long time. What about you Luna?”

“I enjoyed beating George again. It was a good learning experience that I won’t be forgetting any time soon, as I know there’s a battle strategy I need to work on now. Better to find them now than out in the field after all,” the elf explained.

“Good point.”

Iris and Luna watched as a Silent Message spell bloomed in Eriza’s ear. Though she was initially surprised, she quickly smiled and winked at them.

After about a minute, the silent spell ended and the Lightning Sorceress jumped off the bed.

“Well it looks like my parents are here early. They want to take me out to dinner with Ren since it’s a rare moment we all get to spend as a family. I’ll catch you guys later, kay?”

“Sounds good,” the elf replied.

“Have fun,” Iris said encouragingly.

The pair watched as the girl spun on her feet and quickly made her way out of the room.

Before she asked what they could do in the meantime, Luna heard her adoptive sister’s stomach grumble needily.

“Sounds like someone’s hungry.”

Iris blushed and averted her eyes from making contact.

“Maybe.”

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

Julia flopped onto her bed like a wet noodle. She was expecting the lecture from her Master to be bad, but not that bad. She’d kept her for over an hour, telling her of all the reasons why she thought Iris was a bad influence on her.

The Magma Transmuter knew that wasn’t the case though. Iris was a close friend whom she could trust, and she absolutely refused to burn that bridge. They were only going to be children for so long after all, and once they became adults having a hybrid Abjurer-Transmuter with a Water affinity was almost as good as winning the lottery. No one in their right mind wouldn’t support someone who could become a vital part of their team.

Eventually, her Master relented, because she knew she couldn’t refute that sound logic. So here she was, laying on her bed after being told by her Master to consider what could go wrong with Iris. While she could understand the woman’s point, there was something about Iris that made it seem like she was unable and undesiring to harm those she cared about. Julia knew she was one of those people.

The question now was how she would prove it. Her Master was strict, but she was also fair and understanding when something was shown to her that changed her opinion on a matter. So what would change her opinion in this case? What could she do to change her Master’s opinion of Iris?

A knock at her door distracted her from her thoughts.

“Julia, could you please open the door. I’d like to elaborate further on why I believe Iris isn’t a good influence,” her Master said, though she sounded like she was exhausted.

It was odd for her Master to show up to her dorm without prior warning, but she supposed it couldn’t be helped. She understood just how concerned the woman was about her friend and was more than willing to listen to her opinion on the matter.

Peering through the peephole, she verified that the person standing in front of her door was indeed her Master and promptly opened the door.

“Thank you dear. And I’m sorry,” her ‘Master’ said.

Before she could react to the statement, everything suddenly went dark, as she fell into the world of unconsciousness.