Yvonne stepped toward the Ember pillar as though she were walking toward her own execution.
"Alessandra!" Mr Collins called stopping Yvonne in her tracks. "Where are you going?"
Confused, Yvonne answered. "To test."
"What test? You don't have Ember." Mr Collins frowned.
"Then why did you call me?" Yvonne asked, more confused than ever.
"To test your combat ability. Hopefully, you haven't fallen behind." Mr Collins answered while Yvonne breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go." Mr Collins ordered and they all returned to the training ground.
With, Mr. Collins lecturing them the entire way.
"To whip you back into shape," he continued, "you will undergo intensive combat training. Anyone who underperforms will train an entire day without rest."
The students were dismissed to change.
When Yvonne received her combat uniform, she froze.
…What.
What is this?
The outfit was long. Excessively long.
Covered from neck to ankle, wide sleeves, heavy fabric.
Yvonne stared at it in horror.
Is she going to pray or fight?
Absolutely not.
Yvonne looked around carefully.
No one was watching.
Good.
She quietly opened another wardrobe and found another combat uniform tucked into the corner of the wardrobe.
"WOW..." Yvonne couldn't help but muse. This combat uniform is exactly what Yvonne wants.
She tried it on and it fit perfectly.—flexible, practical, and elegant. The fitted uniform hugged her figure without restricting her movements.
Perfect!
Satisfied, Yvonne headed to the training ground.
The moment she stepped in—
Silence.
Every head turned.
Shock.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Mr. Collins stared like Yvonne had just summoned a dragon.
Cassandra was the first to speak.
"Alessandra… what are you wearing?"
Yvonne tilted her head. "Combat clothes?"
Cassandra lips parted slowly in disbelief. "Since when did you dress like this? I would never wear something like that."
Yvonne frowned. "What does what you wear have to do with me?"
Cassandra froze.
Yvonne glanced at her outfit—and realization hit.
Don't tell me Alessandra used to copy Cassandra's style.
Yikes.
"WOW... Girl. You look... Sexy!" Amanda grinned as she walked towards Yvonne, assessing her.
"You think so too?" Yvonne asked with a smile.
"Yeah. Like a seductive little witch." Trancy commented.
Yvonne lips twitched but said nothing.
Kael snorted. "She looks like she's about to start a runway show instead of training."
Lucen grinned. "Better than some of you… I'm just saying."
Cassandra's glare could have frozen water.
"Enough," Mr. Collins snapped.
"Alessandra, take your weapon."
Yvonne approached the weapon table. Her gaze moving past the weapon. Spears. Blades. Whips.
And then—
Twin swords.
The moment her fingers wrapped around the hilts, an unfamiliar sense of comfort washed over her.
As though...
She had held them countless times before.
Eric's brows lifted.
"Twin swords?" Eric said, surprised.
"What's wrong with them?" Yvonne replied, irritation creeping in.
"Your weapon is a whip," Cassandra said quickly. "You always use a whip."
"Well," Yvonne replied calmly, "I don't anymore."
"But that's dangerous!" Cassandra said, feigning concern. "You could hurt yourself."
That was it.
"For Valeria sake, Cassandra—mind your fucking business!"
The words echoed.
Silence.
Did… did Alessandra just curse?
Everyone stared like Yvonne just committed treason.
Even Mr. Collins blinked.
However, the corner of Eric's lips lifted almost imperceptibly.
Amusement flickered in his eyes.
"That's sharp!" Gabriella grinned at Cassandra flushed embarrassed face.
"Can we start?" Yvonne asked sharply.
Mr. Collins recovered. "Everyone—into the ring."
As the students gathered, Gabriella leaned toward Yvonne. "You look really good."
"Thank you," Yvonne smiled.
"You know " Amanda added. "This memory loss might be a blessing."
Yvonne didn't know how to answer that.
At that moment, the world shifted around them as the ground vanished.
Trees rose around them.
Dark. Dense and Alive.
A forest formed and low growl echoed.
Glowing eyes emerged from the shadows.
Wolves.
Huge. Twisted. Wrong.
"These are Watchers," Mr. Collins' voice rang out. "Lowest-ranking Dark Ember beasts."
Yvonne heart dropped.
"The test begins."
The forest exploded into motion as the Watchers lunged at them.
"WAIT!"
Yvonne threw both hands into the air.
"Aren't we supposed to fight each other first?!"
No one answered as they are already busy defending themselves against the Watchers.
Yvonne turned around to find one already in front of her in which she twisted aside just in time as its claws sliced through the air where her neck had been a second earlier.
"This is insane!" Yvonne screamed dodging the relentless attacks from the Watcher.
Focus Yvonne! Yvonne told herself, her breath becoming laboured.
At the same time, the sounds of steel clashing against claw was all around her.
Ember flared in brilliant bursts of color as students poured their powers into their weapons—fire, lightning, shadows, force.
Screams echoed, some in rage, some in pain.
"Each and every one of you is to kill at least one hundred Watchers."
Mr. Collins' voice rang across the training field, calm and merciless, as though he were announcing a simple morning drill.
"The one who kills the leader will receive the highest score—and a gift."
What the hell?!
Yvonne barely had time to register his words before she had to dodge again.
The same monster came at her still relentless, its movements fast and savage. Yvonne managed twisting away—but not fast enough.
Its claws tore across her arm.
Pain exploded through her.
"Dammit it!" She gasped.
The wound that hadn't even healed yet split open again, blood soaking into her sleeve almost instantly. Her breath hitched as her arm throbbed like it was on fire.
"Bastard!" Yvonne cursed, her face red from rage. At this moment, she stopped defending, letting her instincts take over with one thought.
Blood for blood!
Yvonne stopped retreating. Instead, she charged.
The Watcher lunged at her with a savage roar, its steel-like claws tearing through the air. Yvonne crossed her twin swords just in time, the impact sending sparks flying as metal screeched against claw.
Without wasting a heartbeat, she twisted to the side and slashed for its neck.
The Watcher reacted instantly, jerking its head back. Its claws lashed toward her chest.
Yvonne ducked beneath the attack.
There!
A tiny opening.
She sprang upward, twisting her body in midair, and drove one sword deep into the side of its neck.
The beast let out a furious howl, thrashing violently in an attempt to throw her off. But Yvonne refused to let go.
Gripping the embedded sword as an anchor, she raised her second blade high—Then brought it crashing down into the same wound.
Slash!
With every ounce of strength she possessed, she ripped both swords apart in opposite directions.
The Watcher's shriek echoed through the forest.
Its body froze.
A heartbeat later—Its severed head crashed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Yvonne landed lightly beside the corpse. Without hesitation, she kicked the head toward Eric.
"Burn the damn thing, ERIC!"
The severed head flew toward Eric. His eyes widened briefly and without hesitation flames erupted from his palm.
The head turned to ash.
"Good," Yvonne muttered, already turning toward the next Watcher. "Stay dead."
This action made both Mr Collins and Eric raised a brow as they turned their gaze towards Yvonne who was already fighting another Watcher relentlessly and throughout the fight, Yvonne kept kicking the Watchers head to Eric who burned it as usual.
Somewhere to Yvonne left, Kael drove his blade through a Watcher skull at the same time, defending Amanda against the Watchers. half-laughing, half-panicked,
"Amanda! Even if I die, my love for you will never die!"
"Fuck off!" Amanda cursed, ducking beneath the Watcher Kael was holding off, impaling her dagger into the Watcher stomach, splitting it into half.
"No, you got to believe me. You must remember me!" Kael said using his Azure Flame Ember to burn the Watcher and almost immediately, starts fighting more Watchers.
"Zyrkael!" Amanda flared up, calling Kael full name. "You try and die. I'll marry your half-brother on your burial day! He confessed to me anyway."
Kael stopped abruptly as he turned around facing Amanda looking as if someone just snatched his soul. "You are joking right?"
Shocked at Kael abrupt behavior, Amanda immediately unleash her Time Ripple power which momentarily slowed the Watchers attack on them.
"Try me!!!." Amanda growled, pushing Kael out of the way, retracting her power and continued fighting the Watchers.
Snapping out of his shock, Kael moved to defending Amanda saying, "I won't allow it."
At the order end, Kaylyn, pressed back-to-back with Samantha, screaming. "WHY are they this FAST?! Aren't these supposed to be LOW-RANKING?!"
"Low-ranking does not mean slow!" Samantha snapped, cutting down another Watcher.
Mr. Collins stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching with cold, assessing eyes. His gaze never leaving Alessandra.
Strange...Alessandra wasn't using any of the sword forms he had personally taught her. He thought. There was no rhythm. No discipline. Every strike was driven purely by instinct and yet somehow...She was winning.
Could her skills be affected by her memory loss?