The next morning, the squad assembled in the common room for breakfast—if it could be called that. Charmy was enthusiastically overloading the table with an ungodly mix of meat pies, omelets, chocolate waffles, and something that vaguely resembled fried cabbage.
"Eat up!" she beamed, "Victory fuel!"
"Victory for what?" Magna asked, blinking blearily.
"For the sparring rotation Yami-sensei just announced!" Charmy grinned.
"Oh no…" Finral muttered. "My dignity can't survive another round with Luck."
Luck cracked his knuckles. "I already picked Finral! You can teleport, I can chase!"
As the others paired off, Yami glanced over to Astra and Noelle.
"You two—final match. Let's see how our silver-haired aristocrat stacks up against the new blood."
Noelle's eyes gleamed with excitement and a flicker of anxiety. "Don't hold back."
Astra gave a faint nod. "I never do."
The courtyard cleared quickly, the squad forming a loose circle around the field.
Vanessa passed out drinks. Magna bet five silver coins on Noelle. Charmy handed out snacks like it was a festival.
Astra stood barefoot in the grass, grimoire pulsing beside her. Noelle raised her hand, water beginning to orbit in elegant arcs.
Yami lit a cigarette. "Begin."
Noelle moved first, summoning a veil of water into a spiraling dragon's claw. She launched it with pinpoint force, the projectile lashing through the air.
Astra didn't dodge.
Instead, she whispered, "Stellamortis: Null Bloom."
A single rose of black starlight formed in her palm—and absorbed the water spear, disassembling it into glittering mist midair.
Gasps rose from the squad.
"Yo, she just unmade her spell!" Magna shouted.
"She didn't reflect it," Vanessa said slowly. "She... unraveled it."
Noelle narrowed her eyes. She wasn't insulted. She was thrilled.
"Sea Dragon's Fang!"
Water coalesced around her like living armor—then exploded outward in a flurry of sharp, high-pressure needles.
Astra moved this time, her bare feet gliding across the grass like she weighed nothing. She danced through the rain of water, her body guided by instinct, not thought.
Then her grimoire glowed again.
"Stellamortis: Orbitfall."
Six violet stars formed above her, each humming with celestial weight.
They dropped.
The ground cratered as the gravitational orbs pinned Noelle's attacks to the earth, snuffing out the magic with terrifying precision.
Noelle exhaled, lowered her arms.
"Draw," she said.
Astra gave a small nod. "You're strong."
"So are you."
Their eyes met again.
And something silent passed between them.