The golden glow of sunset engulfed everything.

With his shadow lengthened by the twilight of the sun, Noah looked up to see the distant clock tower. He grinned.

Ding dong ding dong

Like a warning bell before the storm, the clock tower emitted loud sounds that told them it is time to rumble.

The New Duo battle is about to begin.

Noah stood at his designated spot. They all drew lots to determine who is fighting who. The air immediately felt heavy the moment the clocktower chimed.

With the golden glow of sunset as the backdrop, brilliant crimson glows took over the place.

That is the light of Blaze being manifested.

The manifestation of souls in the form of supernatural weapons.

The tension erupted in an explosive fashion.

Noah can perceive fights going on all around him although they were nowhere close to him.

Those who perform extraordinarily well will be granted the chance to undergo sublimation.

They don’t know how they would be scored but they instinctively knew they had to defeat their opponents to perform well.

It is highly possible the students will use any and all available tactics to overpower their foes.

Noah isn’t interested in fighting his classmates.

They are just superhumans with a little bit of combat training. In terms of skills and tactics, they only know how to swing their Blazes around.

Noah is only interested in three pairs of Duos.

Imari and Julie.

Tomoe and Miyabi.

Tohru and Aoi.

Imari has Kendo experience. Tomoe is well-versed in her family’s Tachibana style. Tohru and Aoi demonstrated actual combat skills the last time they fought. Julie appears to be a capable fighter too. Miyabi can fight a battle of attrition given her mastery of breathing technique.

If he is going to fight anyone, it has to be these three Duos.

Noah heard about one or two other pairs of Duos capable of fighting but they are outside of Noah’s radar.

“I guess I could use some fun once in a while.”

Noah sensed the closest target and he promptly went in that direction.

“Hiyaa!”

A few individuals rushed out of the foliage near their ambush target. They had Blazes with root-like patterns on them. They completely encircled the target.

Bam

A force strong enough to make one think of volcano eruption struck the ambushers. They were blown away by the shockwave.

The ambushers got knocked out cold. That shockwave immediately decommissioned the ambushers.

Fwish

Their Blazes were extinguished.

As the manifestation of souls, the Blazes dissipated the moment their owners got knocked out.

This is also how victory is determined.

Noah shook his head.

“Three pairs of Duos this time?”

Noah already defeated four pairs of Duos.

Some of them chose a frontal assault while others opted for stealthy attacks. In any case, Noah took them down.

Noah didn’t think they would resort to alliances.

Swish

A shadowy individual tried to attack Noah from behind with a diagonal slash.

The sharp weapon went for Noah’s back.

Noah used incredible footwork to dodge the attack at the last second. It is like the guys had eyes on his back.

Whoosh

The weapon made Noah’s hair messy but the attack missed.

“Good try.”

Noah immediately did an arm lock on the assailant.

“Too bad, your attacks are too easy to see.”

He tossed the assailant nonchalantly into the air.

That was a simple counter.

The assailant landed like an agile cat. She looked rather frustrated.

“I did think it wouldn’t be this easy.”

The assailant still looked giddy despite the failed surprise attack.

She raised her katana. That weapon also gave her identity away along with her brown hair.

Imari just attacked Noah.

Near Noah, the trees rustled.

Two figures shot out before landing on high branches. The two ladies had silver hair and black hair respectively.

The silver-haired girl had dual blades. The knives were slender and light like a pair of wing.

The black-haired girl had a Kusarigama that is basically a sickle chained to a dagger like throwable point.

Noah recognized their Blazes.

“Oh?”

Noah grinned when he identified the three ladies.

“I see, you girls teamed up.”

“We met on the way here.”

Tomoe giggled.

“We decided to form an Anti-Noah alliance.”

“Although Tomoe and I would have liked to duel you 1 v1. This time, it is best if we cooperate.”

Imari grinned.

“Plus, losing would make me look bad.”

“Yaa~”

Julie raised her twin blades with a serious look.

“Because Noah is strong.”

The three ladies exchanged a look before pouncing on Noah together.