The field was silent save for the rustling grass and the faint hum of tension in the air. Violet stood tall, the metallic rope of her weapon lazily shifting between her hands like a serpent waiting to strike. Her amber eyes glowed faintly as they tracked Zane and Elisa, not with concern, but with the detached amusement of someone watching children test their limits.

  Zane’s body buzzed with electricity, arcs of faint light dancing down his legs. He crouched slightly, muscles taut, golden sparks flaring with every breath. His grin widened. “I’m not waiting.”

  Before he could launch forward, Elisa threw her arm out, barring his chest. “Don’t. Not yet.”

  He blinked at her, frown forming. “What? Why not? She’s right there—”

  “You think brute force will work on her?” Elisa’s tone was sharper than usual, her expression unusually stern. Her hands glistened as water collected around her fingertips, small orbs hovering near her wrists. “I’ve watched her fights. Every recording they ever made of Violet. She’s not someone you can just overwhelm.”

  Zane’s sparks dimmed slightly, uncertainty slipping into his golden eyes. “Then what do you want me to do? Just stand here?”

  “No,” Elisa shook her head, stepping into a low stance beside him. “We work together. Hit her at the same time. Force her to split her attention. That’s the only chance we’ve got.”

  Violet’s voice cracked across the field like a whip itself. “Are you two going to whisper forever, or actually fight?” She yawned, twirling her rope until it whistled through the air. “I’m starting to get bored.”

  The words dug into Zane. Elisa’s eyes flicked to his. For a moment, their gazes locked. A silent agreement passed between them.

  “Fine,” Zane muttered, sparks flaring brighter. “Together.”

  And they moved.

  Zane exploded forward first, lightning sparking off the ground as his feet slammed against the dirt. He zigzagged in erratic bursts, forcing Violet’s eyes to track him. Her rope snapped forward with lightning speed, slicing the air toward his chest.

  He ducked under the first strike.

  But the rope wasn’t finished. It whipped around with unnatural speed, curling like a striking viper toward his back.

  Snap!

  The impact never came. A wall of water surged up from Elisa’s palm, bursting into a suspended orb that intercepted the rope mid-swing. The metallic threads hissed against liquid, spraying droplets in every direction.

  From the sidelines, the crowd gasped.

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  “Whoa…” Daisy’s eyes lit up as she leaned forward, clutching her hands against her chest. “They’re actually keeping up!”

  “They’re not just keeping up,” Caleb muttered with a small nod. “They’re adapting.”

  “Not bad,” Carter admitted, adjusting his glasses. “Not bad at all.”

  Even Iris tilted her umbrella slightly, her usual calm expression holding a faint hint of intrigue.

  But Jian’s sharp eyes didn’t share the same awe. He folded his arms. “You’re all forgetting something.”

  Oliver glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s not even trying.” Jian’s tone was low, but his certainty carried weight. “Violet set her own rules. She’s only defending, and even then, she’s pulling her hits. Did you see the last three exchanges? She had at least two clear openings to end it. She chose not to.”

  The group went quiet, though skepticism lingered.

  “Maybe you’re overthinking it,” Zane’s voice echoed faintly from the field, but it was Oliver who scoffed from the sidelines. “She doesn’t look like she’s holding back to me.”

  Casper, however, frowned thoughtfully. “No… Jian’s not wrong.”

  That earned him several surprised looks.

  He shrugged. “Once, I asked the captain about Violet. Wanted to know what she was really like. He told me mostly useless stuff. That she’s a lazy glutton who spends all day playing RTS and rhythm games.”

  “…That tracks,” Carter muttered dryly.

  “But,” Casper continued, his tone serious now, “he also said something else. That when it comes to raw intelligence, in and out of combat. No one can compare to her. He said Violet’s basically a human supercomputer.”

  The words landed heavy, silencing the group. For a moment, all they could hear was the clash resuming on the field.

  ---

  Zane lunged again, sparks trailing his movements. Violet twirled her weapon in one hand, deflecting every strike he threw. Elisa followed in with sweeping motions, launching condensed streams of water to cut off Violet’s angles.

  Violet barely shifted her stance. Her rope hissed and cracked, batting away Zane’s electrified fists and Elisa’s water bursts in the same breath. Her expression was almost bored.

  She yawned loudly.

  The next instant, her rope shimmered, shifting mid-swing. The threads compressed and fused, elongating into a solid pole that swept across the ground in a wide arc.

  Whump!

  The pole slammed into Zane’s side, sending him tumbling backward. Elisa caught the edge of it too, forced to leap away as dirt exploded from the impact.

  Violet rolled her shoulders, smirking faintly. “I’ll give you this, you’ve improved a little. But you’re still predictable.” She tilted her head, the pole resting lazily across her shoulders. “Is this really all you’ve got?”

  Zane pushed himself to his feet, electricity crackling fiercely around his frame now. “I’ll show you more than that!”

  “Zane, wait—!” Elisa cried out, but he was already gone.

  Lightning burst across the field as Zane’s speed doubled, his body a streak of gold. He aimed straight for Violet’s centerline, pouring everything into raw speed and force.

  Violet’s amber eyes sharpened.

  The rope-turned-pole twisted fluidly, slipping past Zane’s strike like water. In a blur, she redirected his momentum, hooking him by the arm.

  “Two minutes are up,” she said flatly.

  With a sharp flick, she hurled him across the field.

  He crashed toward Elisa. Who barely had time to dive aside before Zane skidded across the dirt, sparks sputtering.

  The air seemed to still. Violet straightened, her grin widening as she tugged her jacket off and let it fall. Her weapon coiled around her arm again, hissing like a serpent ready to shed its skin.

  She raised her hand, voice cool, decisive, and absolute.

  [Grace, true form. Gearshift.]

  Her body ignited in violet aura, a radiant surge that wrapped around her like fire and metal fused into one. The ground itself hummed beneath her feet as the glow expanded, overwhelming.

  [End of Chapter]