Chapter 9

Ellis is just standing near the window as he watches the scene in front of him. He was in the sixth floor and he can see so much of the city. The view is both mesmerizing and bitter at the same time for him. At first, he thought that he can just brush off his status and just go on and study then go home and finish the secrets of the maze ruins. Now that he actually experienced the life inside the city of the Kingdom of Vale, he can’t help but wonder what if he was born here and his sister too and same for his family. He knows that many things will be lost if that actually happened but he too will gain so much.

Life inside the city is peaceful most of the time. There will be no ferocious Grimm trying to rip you apart every day. There will be no more annoying warning bells when level 7 Grimms attack and most of all, he won’t experience the sight of him seeing Grimms tear apart someone.

In his life, he already saw too much blood and gore during the town defense. If not for the veterans and those brave rouge huntsman risking it all when some mishaps during the defense happen, the town of Lutton will be no more and that will be the same fate for his family.

At this time, he can’t help but think what if someday the defense fails and he goes home with no one to return to? What will be left in his life then? Strength which he has nowhere to use to? Artifact which can protect anyone but fails to protect the most important in his life, what is the point then?

He is staring blankly in the sky as his mind wanders when suddenly a hand rested on his shoulder. His skin suddenly stood up and he hastily leapt sideways ready to transform the cube in his hand to his weapon when he sees that it is only Sarah staring at him with a confused expression.

“What are you doing?” Sarah asked while tilting her head sideways.

Ellis sighed and placed the cube to its holder back. He stood back up and tries to calm his rapidly beating heart while trying to regain his bearings. He really needs to adjust his old habits. This is the Beacon academy and not the wilderness where anything close to you might just be an enemy.

“I am just trying to pass time. I got dazed while trying to.” He said as he finally regained his normal pace.

“Why are you here?”

Sarah waves her hands hinting him to come closer since it is quite awkward to talk with too much distance. Ellis also understands this so he walks back towards the window he was in earlier.

“Do you like the life in the city?” Sarah asked trying to change the topic.

Ellis frowns since he is not sure what to say about the topic actually. Sure he likes the vibe but somehow dislikes it too. The city reeks of easy life, if he gets accustomed to this pace, he will get rusty and his skills which he can’t use frequently inside the kingdom will slowly diminish. This will not go well with his plan and now he is considering if the four years of stay here will be worth but then again just the first day and he got some useful information. Even though these information might not add to his strength literally but just knowing things can make things happen. If he can utilize those information efficiently and apply when he battles then he can go through battles more comfortable and safely.

“It is useful at least so I guess that matters.” He answers as bleakly as possible it can be.

“You know, I am not confident on being the team leader of this team.” Sarah says as she looks towards the scene outside the window.

“I have this infamous Red Queen on my team, then there is this mysterious guy from the outside and lastly this blabber mouth dude who does not acknowledge my position and acts as he likes. I don’t know how to handle you guys actually.” Sarah sighed in her heart.

She knows that her skills are sub-par at best compared to the two top members of the team and Robert is such an enigma too since all you will notice to him is his rascal behavior and his contempt to those weaker than him but so far, she has not seen what he is capable of.

Unlike Emerald and Ellis which she first hand saw how capable they are, Robert only follows her back during the examination exam. You can say that he used Sarah to sneak his way in without any effort into beacon academy but Sarah can’t help but put her guards around Robert.

Sarah knows that Robert’s family might not be that famous compared to other clans but that doesn’t mean anyone can easily brush them off. If the Schnee family holds the industry of Dust, then Robert’s family holds the best weapon-manufacturing industry in two major kingdoms. Sarah heard some nasty rumors about the Brook family but she is not willing to make conclusions especially since Robert became one of their members.

“You can just tell us what to do and we will comply you know.” Ellis said.

“That sounds easier than done.” Sarah snorted. “You think people will obey those that they don’t acknowledge?”

“Fair enough…” Ellis said without thinking much.

“That is why I am in dilemma right now. I am not that much compared to you or Emerald or maybe even Robert. How will I actually keep this team together? I have no confidence at all.”

Ellis doesn’t know what to say at this point. Back at Lutton town, commanders sometimes fall during sieges of Grimms and anyone can take the responsibility without anyone questioning. In town of Lutton, everyone only thinks how to survive and nothing else. If one is confident enough to lead then people will actually acknowledge the order without much opposition as long as the command does not sound crazy.

“You are thinking too much I think.” Ellis said not confident about his statement at all. “It is just the first day. What can you prove at this point?”

Sarah also tries to absorb what Ellis is saying. It is true, it is just the first day and she does not have that much opportunity to prove herself. What she actually fears is that her teammates not cooperating with her and not the position itself. If their team gets messy because of the issue of leadership then all the blame will fall in her shoulders without a doubt.

“Want to practice while waiting for class?”

Sarah gratefully smiles and nods her head. She also realized the intent behind Ellis’ invitation. It is not just a simple sparring much or training but a chance to prove herself or just deepen their bond as a team. She really can’t understand how Ellis thinks. Sometimes, he gives this unapproachable aura around him like telling everyone that he is not the kind of guy you want to associate with. Sometimes, he also feels like your awkward childhood friend who doesn’t know how to do things but still tries to help you.

“Come on then! This big sister will show your place!” Sarah pulls Ellis hand and laughs while running towards the training yards.

People look at them with a weird stare as they passed other students along the way. When they reached the training hall, there were no other students aside from the two of them. Sarah placed her scroll on one of the stage and the crystal door opened for the two of them to pass.

The stage is just like an open space without walls aside from the reinforced glass caging the stage so that the surroundings will not be swept along the battle.

“Welcome student Sarah Lie and student Ellis Moon. You are allowed to use the combat stage for an hour.” A mechanical voice echoed inside the combat stage and the two of them split up on opposite sides to prepare.

“So…” Sarah is taking off her jacket and looking straight at Ellis. “What is this going to be like? Weapons on or not?”

“Weapons on, we can wield our best capabilities in this way.” Ellis answered as he too, took off his jacket.

Ellis tries to hide his intent because he knows that stating his intent any other way might offend Sarah instead. He too wants to see how capable his leader is.

“Oh… You are going to enjoy this.” Sarah smiles mysteriously as she closes her fists.

Suddenly, the bracelets around Sarah’s both arms started to expand rapidly. Two spikes grew from the side and another straight spike grew on the upper top which formed like a horn of a bull but with an extra at the top. The tri-blade hand claw looks bizarre and unique at the same time.

Ellis whistles out of amazement. “Fancy weapon you have there.”

“I designed it when I was still young. Back then I only know how to draw but fortunately my grandfather is a weapon smith and helped me realized this one.”

“Ok… let’s warm up a little bit.” Ellis said as he threw the cube on the ground which transformed into a handle-less blade.

“Heh… your weapon is really bizarre even though it is not the first time I see it.” Sarah said in return. “What is it called?”

“I don’t know its original name since I only picked this up from the ruins but I call it Abyss Devourer.”

“What an ominous name.” Sarah smiled. “That is just like you.”

“Here I go!” Sarah said as she charged straight towards Ellis.

Ellis seeing this doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Charging straight might be effective when fighting mid-size Grimms but when you face the likes of an Ursa or those with big builds like the Night stalker and Mammoth, anyone can be crushed here and then.

Ellis does not want to say anything at this point since he also wants to see what Sarah is capable of. The sword slowly floated from the ground until levitating a few inches above his head. Sarah quickly arrives at his front and thrusts her right arm straight towards him but the sword above his head faithfully blocks the strike. Sarah seems to expect that her strike will be block but she does not give up and delivered a left hook.

Ellis is frowning while he blocks the left and right combo of Sarah. Her fighting style is clearly meant to combat a human instead of a Grimm and he doesn’t know why. Her movements and preparations, the way she positions herself clearly shows that she is only expecting blows which human makes. He is not saying that her posture and actions are bad but she is actually good. He just doesn’t know why she is expecting that blows will only come from those angles.

At this point, Ellis wanted to show her something new so she will not be surprised when the time comes that she needs to face bigger and stronger Grimms. Ellis shoves his weapon forward which surprised Sarah making her step back. Ellis waited for her to regain her balance before advancing himself. He made a horizontal swing which aims at her waist.

Sarah seeing the massive action of Ellis is actually surprised. She is actually used in fighting and her training partners says that she is quite perfect in positioning and planning her moves but Ellis is not the same of those people. His moves are crude but the power behind it is actually too much for her to handle. Seeing the sword swing from the right, she hastily stepped back successfully evading the sword but when is preparing to counter attack, she saw how the sword which missed a few seconds ago is now crashing down from above towards her head.

Sarah hastily blocks it with her two hands infusing it with Aura. When the sword landed, she can’t help but lose her breath. It was like a mountain is crashing downwards and one of her knees actually gave up. Just when she is about to gather momentum to throw the sword sideways, she felt a sudden impact on her side which knocked her air out of her lungs. She can’t help but curl on the floor clutching her sides with a painful expression.

Ellis did not pursue at this point and waited for Sarah to regain her stance. The kick he delivered from the side is not infused with his full power since he does not want to injure her. When Sarah stood up, sweats are pouring down non-stop from her face but she did not say anything but once again advanced straight to him.

Just when Ellis sighed in disappointment, the figure of Sarah started to blur until it totally disappeared. Ellis’ eyes shone with excitement when he sees this. He knows that this phenomenon is related with Sarah’s semblance. He wants to know what it can do aside from erasing her figure.

Ellis has much experience in battle and he can recognize small disturbance around him. The slight vibrations, the air changing its course due to obstacle gave out the position of Sarah. When he is about to strike towards a direction, he suddenly felt something is wrong and did a forward roll because he felt that the disturbance he is watching did not disappear but now the disturbance around him is slowly increasing. It is like there is two invisible Sarah circling around him.

“What an awesome semblance.” He can’t help but say at this point.

Soon, he felt that there are five disturbances around him. He waved his hand and did a 180 degree sweep forcing the five presence he is picking up to step back. With this, he regained a bit of ground to work with. He dashed towards one figure and the sword made a straight thrust. He can feel the sword connect and sparks flew out in his front. When he is about to follow up, the other four presence also made their move and surrounded him from all directions. He felt his sword get clamped and he can’t pull it easily like he used to be. If he pull to hard and Sarah lets go, he will be placed into an awkward position so did not bother.

She is clearly different with her semblance on.

Ellis smiled and transferred his center of gravity while lifting his body up trying to drop kick towards his front. The presence in his front seems to read his intentions and it stepped back to avoid. When the sword was freed, it suddenly performed a massive sweep knocking all the other presence away from him.

Suddenly, Ellis felt the presence disappear one by one until only one remains which is the one in his front. He saw Sarah on one knee down gasping for breath. Their exchange is not that long but the numbers of blows Sarah delivered is no joke. With how light it is, it may feel like gloves but still do massive damage if it actually hits.

“Your sword is unfair.” Sarah said with indignation. “Am I fighting a giant instead of a student?”

“You know leader, your fighting style is really good.” Ellis said as the sword transformed into a small cube once again. “But if you face bigger and stronger in physical aspects Grimms, you will be done for.”

“I noticed that…” Sarah said a bit embarrassed. “When fighting you, I seem to fight a huge giant swinging his club around while ignoring all the damage I can give and I am forced to step back again and again. It feels so suffocating.”

“Maybe it is because you are accustomed into fighting with other huntsman and huntresses that all your preparations are expecting blows which only reach the limits of human ability. When faced with strikes you can’t parry and dodge by small margins, you will be forced to step back again and again. You can still fight at that point but the pressure you are accumulating will start to weigh on you and will hinder you significantly until the time you makes a mistake due to pressure and lose everything here and then.”

“Yeah… This is quite the experience for me.” Sarah said as she extended her arms towards Ellis.

Ellis pulls her up until Sarah is standing on her own. She is still clutching her side which seems to be stinging in pain.

“Can’t you be more lenient? I think this one will be bruised.” Sarah said unhappily.

“It’s because you don’t use your small build the right way. Why are you even charging straight just like that? Will you really have the courage to charge straight on and lock in combat with a Mammoth Grimm?” Ellis scolded in return. “Use your size to your advantage, dodge and position yourself where you can evade at all times and do not rely on parry. If you face something with big builds, even if you block it, you will be blown away easily and that will just open up the rhythm for your opponent.”

“Still… How can you kick me with too much strength behind it?” Sarah is still salty about it. “You have no consideration for women.”

“Hey! Stop sulking and listen to me alright?”

The two of them started to bicker back and forth. Unbeknown to the two of them, they are not the only ones aware of the short duel. Someone with a wide smile that seems to reach the eyes also witnessed the duel. The whole school’s facilities were al attached into the main frame of the system of the school and any authorization will be notified to the headmistress’ office especially the training grounds.

“My my my… How lovely.” Reena said while watching the two new students leave the training yards. “I think the plan is going well.”