Aressa looked at Vynaria and nodded at her as she stated that she wanted to apologize to the Xorshid for wounding him in battle. Surely Niloofar was not lying when she said that he would probably brush it off as an unfortunate accident and not blame her for it, so she was not too concerned about that, though she was disappointed to see how the injured warrior's sister reacted to Vyna's apology. She understood how one could feel when someone dear suffered an accident like that, but she firmly believed that lashing out at people who held no responsibility for the incident was not going to accomplish anything positive. On the other hand, it was clear that Niloofar was restraining herself in an attempt to give a polite answer, something that the golden-robed woman had to give her some credit for.
With zero amusement, the red-haired aspirant watched as Ritz' efforts to calm down the girl were met with a sudden outburst of aggressivity, something that managed to surprise even her, more so than the strange aqua glow that had permeated the Xorshid's hair and eyes for a moment. She had not expected such a seemingly disproportionate reaction to come from someone who hailed from an order of scholars, and certainly not towards something like that. She watched, rather frustrated, as both Ritz and Niloofar walked away from each other and the group. Having heard the latter's request, she took a couple steps in her direction before calling out to her.
"Floor one hundred. There are instructions on how to get to the medical area on the wall." Aressa said to the Xorshid, before turning and walking back to Vyna.
"Oh, this is going to be a fun group." She said after letting out a slightly exasperated sigh, before looking at the noble blooded girl before her. "Anyway, follow me. I'll take you to the infirmary so you can apologize to Mehran." She said, before turning towards the door through which Arcander and the medics had left earlier and walking towards it, heading out into the hallways and swiftly making her way to the elevators. Once there, she waited for Vynaria and whoever else had decided to tag along, before inputting the number 100 on the control pad of the transparent chamber. It did not take very long for the contraption to reach its destination, and once there, Aressa stepped outside, leading the way and arriving next to the large door of the infirmary in a short time. The armored medic stationed outside glanced at the two students that had just arrived, noticing the blood on the hands of one of them.
"That better not be infected." She said to Vyna, before speaking into a device on the wall once again, the door opening up swiftly, allowing them entry onto the infirmary, where they would see Mehran on one of the hospital beds, with Arcander sitting down on another that was next to the first. The white-haired aspirant glanced at the door and then at Mehran upon seeing the people who had just entered the room.
"Looks like you've got visits." He said cheerfully. "And it's two cute girls to boot. You're a lucky guy, Mehran." He added afterwards, joking around as if to cheer up the Xorshid. Aressa sighed, and put her hand on Vyna's back to give her a little push forward, prompting him to go towards them.
"Apologize already, or he'll make another silly statement before I can get out of here." She said to the recruit, though her faint smile gave away the fact that she, too, was only joking around this time. "Oh, and you might want to wash your hands. There's a restroom somewhere around here."
As Arogisl's last name was called by the blindfolded master, so too was that of another student, one that was, curiously enough, not from the same group, as had been the case with the other match-ups. Of course, it was entirely possible that he had caught a glimpse of her during the landings or the ceremony, or perhaps even heard of her or her lineage if he happened to know something about the Order of the Valiant Fang or foreign nobilities of the allies of the Phantom Blade. However, such was unlikely and the fact remained that this was likely the first time he would get to see his opponent in detail. The girl, called by her family name, Salasanger, strode forward boldly, a confident grin on her face as her hair fluttered behind her, eyes set upon the one who was to be her opponent. She wore the silver robe of the recruits proudly, and on her uniform, opposite to the sigil of the Phantom Blade, was the
image of a fang, a claw and an eye inside of a circle, representing the Order of the Valiant Fang.
The woman, whose given name was Elsis, strode up to the disk in front of the dueling arena, and observed Arogisl intently, her confidence never seeming to leave her. He didn't seem like much of a threat, she decided, and though she was well aware that she was yet to see him in action in the battlefield proper, she was certain that she could defeat him. She was one of the strongest braveblood scions of the Valiant Fang, after all.
Swiftly, the descent into the arena began. A snap of her fingers, and as Elsis stepped out into the battlefield, one could see that her armor now covered her whole, the blood red light patterns on her armor ressembling tiny flames running all across her body, converging on her armor's chest, which bore the emblem of the Phantom Blade just like the rest. Quickly she strode forward one third of the arena's length, where she stopped just like the aspirants before her had done, and waited as the tedious pre-battle procedure began, bowing when appropiate and then summoning forth her blade with an ominous word heard of in the ancient legends and folklore of many civilizations throughout the Known Universe.
"Salamander." She uttered, and at once, in her hand, a large metal hilt appeared, soon followed by the eruption of a massive energy blade whose color and glow made it seem not unlike the earthen blood of countless planets, the magma that slept uneasily beneath the surface as it waited for an opportunity to blast through the earth. It was easily about half her size, though the one-handed grip with which she held it casually to her side seemed to indicate that she was able to use such a weapon easily without having to use both of her hands. Her other hand placed on her waist, she waited impatiently for the ten seconds to pass, tapping her foot on the ground until the blindfolded master uttered the word 'zero'. Even then, she showed some more restraint, continuing to stand still as she observed her opponent intently. Quiet mutterings soon reached her ears, and she waited for him to make the first move, eager to see what her opponent was truly capable of, wondering if he could give her a good fight.
However, soon the mutterings reached their end, and still nothing happened. No blast of lightning. No force impact. No slash in the air.
"Tch." The girl muttered, a frowning expression of annoyance taking over her gleeful confidence. Lifting an arm, she casually tossed her broadsword at her enemy, the large blade spinning and cleaving through the air as it flew towards Arogisl. And then, she herself launched off towards Aro, as if following the path carved by her sword.
Of course, Arogisl hadn't arrived at the Silver Hand Academy for nothing, and he was certainly able to sidestep an attack like that, however narrowly, even taking the opportunity to tap the blade with his own, further deflecting it and sending it away from its owner, in hopes that Elsis would find herself disarmed and yet forced to go through him if she wanted to recover her weapon.
And yet, right before his eyes, with but a thought from the braveblood, the sword vanished in thin air.
"SALAMANDER!" Came the enemy's roar, right next to him, and as he turned to look, he saw her with the broadsword in her grip once again, this time held with both hands. She was right next to him, and her black armor shone under the stadium's light as she raised her arms, swinging the large blade in an ascending motion, like a skyward cannon ready to blow up the moon. Aro was taken by surprise by this tactic, and so, was unable to block or parry or dodge in time, the blade coming in contact with his armor's energy shields, a shrill noise like a sawblade cutting through steel echoing in the air as her blade continued ascending, leaving a short-lived trail of searing fire in the air right in front of Arogisl's armor as golden and crimson sparks flew everywhere.
But Aro was not defenseless, and even though he had already taken the hit, his armor's energy levels dropping significantly, he decided to make the most of it. Twisting his body around to avoid taking any more damage from the Salamander's ascending path of destruction, he brought his own blade to slash at Elsis' exposed torso. The girl noticed, naturally, and with a grunt she took a step to the side and away from Arogisl, bringing her sword down like a guillotine upon Aro's own blade, sending his arm down from the sheer force of the impact, though not before the nobleman's sword had drained some of her own energy. Annoyed by this turn of events, the girl took her sword and raised it, swinging it in a descending arc this time, throwing subtlety to the air as she attempted to bring down what remained of Arogisl's defenses in a single strike.
However, she was unable to do this. The nobleman's sword, though much smaller, rose to meet hers, blocking the strike. The frown present on the face of Elsis intensified as she withdrew her blade and swung it towards her opponent again, and again and again and again. And though every time the energy blade of her adversary quivered violently under the sheer force of the blows it was blocking, and the ground beneath his feet cracked from the pressure, he still managed to block every swing with precision, even managing to anticipate and parry a few of them, forcing her to release one of her hands to deflect the incoming blade with her gauntlet so as to avoid further damage, even though energy still drained from her armor by doing this. Though she did not feel that she was going to lose against this opponent, his swordplay was something to be respected, she would grant him that much.
Thus, because she was unable to gain an upper hand with her blade, she decide to switch techniques. As she continued to swing her weapon at Arogisl, the two blades clashing violently under the light of the stadium and the unwavering gaze of the many students observing them, she also began to mutter an incantation under her breath, barely audible beneath the screeching sound of energy blades pressing against one another, though the nobleman would undoubtedly hear if he paid attention. Words of ancient power flowed through her lips, slowly but surely summoning forth the potential she held within herself to bend the energy of the world to her will.
Finally, as she neared the end of her incantation, she raised her sword once again, her right hand gripping the part of the hilt closest to the crossguard. And then, she swung in a descending arc, spelling the final words of her chant. Aro raised his sword to block against this brutal swing as well, but just before the two blades met, with a thought, the Salamander disappeared again, leaving Arogisl's weapon to clash with nothing but thin air. At that moment, Elsis reached forward, gripping Aro's shoulder with her right hand while the left was withdrawn as much as it could be. To any onlooker, it would be obvious what would happen next, and yet, there was hardly any time to react, for it only took a moment for her to attack.
"INFERNAL STRIKE!" She shouted, and her entire upper left limb was covered in burning flames, from her fingertips to her shoulder. At that moment, she released Aro's shoulder as her fist shot forward towards her opponent's torso, propelled forward not just by her great strength, but by a jet of flames shooting out from behind her elbow, increasing the power of the strike, which hit right in the middle of Aro's body, the sheer potency of the impact sending him flying swiftly towards one of the walls of the arena, which cracked under the force of a grown Redemit male being thrown against it with such speed. Indeed, though the armor had helped absorb some of the attack's force and minimize the damage done to Arogisl himself at the cost of some more energy from the shield generators contained within the armor, it would undoubtedly hurt quite a bit.
"Salamander." Elsis said casually after seeing Aro hit the wall, and began calmly striding towards him, one hand holding her blade off to the side and the other resting on her waist. "Is that it, then, Ignobilis?" She said, boredom in her voice as she walked towards him to deliver the final blow.