GRAND SELECTION II

Power

Harry's team gave all and they managed to move to the second round. Despite their win they have to go Eir, all of the teams that lose and won cannot be distinguished because both are heavily wounded anyways. All of the teams went all out on the other and it was a show for them, seeing the incredible results of their hard work was enough to inspire all of the students and show them how strong you have to be in order to be worthy of protecting both worlds. All of the students gets ready as the final team for the first round gets ready.

Remi's team will go up against his sister's and everyone starts to feel excited as they are the only 1st and 2nd year that will fight head on. For Harry and Enola's team. All of the spectators starts to get riled up as hearing from the attack months ago, and how they defended their school, made their expectations especially for the first years a lot higher.

"This is scary" Logan starts to feel restless, he did not anticipate the number of people that will be watching them.

"I know, calm down Logan"

"You look more scared than me Audrey"

Logan and his team huddled up as they will be deployed in a forest like the other teams were, like the earlier battles they only have to beat the other teams down, knocking 3 of them will be a win if the other 2 cannot fight or concedes. A wipe out will be a complete victory.

"Good luck you guys, we actually really need it this time huh?"

"Yep"

As they gave each other their good lucks they are immediately deployed to a room with only a table in the middle, it has the whole battlefield. They have a small piece in the table that represented their team.

"2 minutes, all the time given to the deployment"

"Alright, where will we deploy"

"Logan?"

Both teams are in the same environment but they still have to be strategic of where they will land. The whole arena is a square and there is a water wall that surrounds the perimeter. The square is divided into 4 more smaller regions. Northeast has a forest marsh, northwest is a rocky forest, southeast has a massive lake where several rivers throughout the whole arena originate from and nothing is within the southwest but an open field. Logan and his team decided that they will be deployed on the lake. They press the piece down and so did the other team, the floor collapses into stone as it slowly floats up and disappears.

"We're, here"

Warm air comes from their north, seconds passes and it starts to become searing hot. A huge beam flies by their heads and they barely managed to dodge it, Ruth and her team has already made their move, the attack was powerful enough to evaporate the water wall, but it slowly regains it shape.

"I think I hit them?"

"Well done Kiosk, now Aesop, Ruth, go in for the take down" Adyant gave his orders.

"You got it!"

Aesop jumped onto Ruth's shifter as it slowly turns into a massive quetzalcoatl, the sight of the massive creature wooed the spectators to cheer for them. Logan and his team almost got knocked out but it was not enough. As the 5 get up they feel the ground rumbled, roots suddenly come through the ground trying to grab a hold of them.

"ITS FAUNA!"

"AUDREY GO AFTER HER!" Axar asked her, as he holds down the root.

"GOT IT!"

Audrey, learning from Hans turns into water and permeates into the root, she became so spread out that her aura disappears. Fauna panics as she tries to spot her but it was too late. Audrey catches her and engages her, the 2 girls fight it out trying to stop the other from attacking further. Fauna is left alone as part of their plan, to distract at least one of Logan's teammates. Audrey's quick maneuvering was enough to let 2 focus on her.

"You are not much of a fighter aren't you?"

"No, I was raised by nurses, so I'm more of a support" Audrey continues her quick attacks trying to knock her out or tire her, but Fauna effortlessly moves around.

"That's why I can support him"

Kiosk joins in the battle and proves herself to them as a tough opponent. Not easily falling for their tricks, nor attacks, and even dishing out the same damage to them.

"You're pretty good Audrey!"

"Thanks, now lose!"

Fauna creates a wall of trees in front of her and she tries permeates through it. Kiosk kicks the ground and he grabs the plate of stone on which the walls are standing. He threw it up into the air, isolating Audrey. Falling down as a body of water will be bad for her as her molecules will spread out, she can still revert back to her body but it will take a while. Fauna holds her up in the air and the 2 have a little chat about the whole thing.

"This is fun right, Fauna?"

"Sort off, uhm... so... I think with thi-"

"Yeah yeah, too risky, so, I'm just here then"

"Yep"

"I'll go now, Fauna"

"Of course"

Kiosk continues on and helps Ruth and Aesop take on Logan and his team, who seems to be having the worst time. All 5 of them are separated and their seniors have proven to be much harder as expected. They all resulted in running away and fighting back is not an option as they will lose.

"ARE YOU OKAY LOGAN!?" Kiosk screams as he came crashing in.

Logan summoned the Twin Fangs and deflect any attack coming towards him, his swords are sturdy but they easily picked up his pattern. As Logan only looks back in order to save himself, Adyant, appeared in front and grabbed him. He warmed his body up and Logan starts to feel tired. 2 of them chased after him.

"What are you 2 doing here? How about the other 3?"

"We got them don't worry, the clones are holding on"

"This is bad"

His whole body starts to weaken because of the heat, despite him being pinned down the 3 are still cautious of them, hearing as he is a host for a demon, his power can be explosive and will surely deal damage. Logan falls down on the ground and spins a single leaf around.

"This is gonna hurt" Logan said.

"Wh-"

Logan turns into lightning and electrocutes Adyant, he stayed on him for 5 seconds then jumps of trying to reach Ruth and Aesop, but he didn't reach them, not without the help of Audrey and Axar. Audrey has been stalling Fauna with a water clone, using the tree as its water source, but as the clone stands the tree is slowing rotting away. Audrey followed Axar's aura and gets back to the lake and reverts back to her body and then pursued after Ruth and Aesop, at the same time they also used clones to distract the clones with Remi and Sofia.

"Oh, Fauna" Kiosk looks back.

It starts to rain. Audrey and Axar forced the whole are to completely change the atmosphere, with Remi re-using her 2 mannequins, helped to create a storm much quicker.

"That is one hell of a sister Ruth" Aesop said. The sky turns dark and rumbling follow.

"Indeed, but not enough, hell"

"What?"

Logan runs away and the 3 knew what their attack is going to be, metal bars starts to form around them, and to counter act it Aesop closed his eyes and all of it suddenly gets destroyed.

"WHAT! WHAT WAS THAT!" Audrey, Axar, and Logan was suddenly pushed down. Aesop released a massive wave of Imperium around him and destroys the metal bars.

The storm rages on and all of them prepares for each other's attacks. Both team manages to group up with one another and they all started to charge as one.

"RUTH, KIOSK"

"DESTROY!"

Sofia creates a water dome around them trying to protect them. She feels a massive wave of imperium pushing down on them.

"You guys felt that right?"

"What did they scream? Remi"

Remi holds her chest Whisper starts to panic as well. He emotions are being reflected to her Shifter.

"Remi? Ar- Whoa whoa, we're gonna die!" Audrey panicked as they see something right in front of them. From Kiosk and Adyant came 2 massive bright lights, 1 crashing down from Adyant broke through the dome and the team falls. The second light grew brightly. Fauna creates a massive tree around them protecting them from the bright light, Aesop helps her and reinforces the the tree and Ruth creates an extra layer for them. Adyant and Kiosk are in no need of any protection from their own attacks.

"RUTH!" Remi screamed in anger for her sister.

I was born here in the 'Underworld' with 2 incredible parents. My mother was a Invoker and she has a natural way to communicate not just with the shifters but also the animals the come near her.

She would take care of them and feed them, treated them as one of her own. Her maternal care towards the animals resulted in all of them being nice to her. She would sing to them, with her golden voice, even simples sounds like 'la la la' can attract them towards her.

Then she gave birth to my sister, Ruth, like her she was natural at the 'Tongue of the Beast' the ability to talk with animals, and all of them become friendly with her and when I came I have none. Nothing to my name, but the fact that my parents are powerful people, and I have a powerful sister.

Both of my parents have potent Imperium they were candidates to become Elites, but they insisted stayed and take care of shifters.

"Why mother? Why do you take care of them"

"They are gentle creatures, they reflect the emotions of their parents, or those who takes care of them"

We were only eating vegetables from as far as I can remember.

Our father set free and the animals that are caught in traps and would bring them to my mother to heal them. Me and my sister grew close because of this until one day she encounters her first shifter, but unlike mother who took care of it as her own, she used it as a tool, to control it and dispose of it.

She would command them to take her to the great seas and hunt for fishes there, she ignored and did anything that is considered taboo to my family, and when my parents discovered this they were enraged. My sister came home and killed a mother Elk, a massive one that is, my mother punished her ruthlessly.

"ONE DAY, THOSE BEATS THAT YOU ARE SO FOND OFF WILL BE YOUR VERY DEATH! MARK MY WORDS!" My elder sister declared to my parents.

"YOU LITTLE, TAKE THAT BAC- COME BACK HERE!" She pushed my mother away, my father, and me. She pushed as away.

My sister ran away and allowed her feelings to come out and as a result her Shifter grew out of control and hurt herself, but inheriting my parent's potent imperium she manages to stop it. She went out on the world on her own practicing with her newly found 'weapon', hunting on her own, learning. Growing stronger than my parents will ever be.

While I stayed home with my parents and as the amount of beasts my mother took care, the more closer my sister's words were. They started to become dangerous.

When my sister gave me my very own shifter, I treated him like a friend more than a tool, and this enraged my sister. From that day on she would always talk down on me, and saying it was motivation to be stronger, and I was gullible enough to follow.

"They are a tool, like a sword, or a bow and arrow. When it stands alone like this, it is nothing, but just a a a tool right?"

"Yes"

"But when you grab it, and swing it around"

"whoa"

"And slice the tree, it becomes powerful"

"....."

"The power, is in the wielder, not the wielded, they are nothing but tools. If you treat them like us, they can and will hurt you. Will you hug a sword?"

"No, I will not, why should I?"

"correct, it will hurt you"

We came back home and found our little shack in the woods, or at least what remains of it. Destroyed and reduced to nothing but debris, our little shack.

"They died because of their own stupidity"

"Sister?"

Her anger grew big and it radiated around me, her shifter grew big as it have ever been. Her eyes turned blood-red because of her emotions. She screamed and so did her Shifter, their screams ringed out through the forest and all that attacked and killed her parents went her them. Their glowing eyes surrounded eyes, with that intent to kill us.

The shifter starts to shed. The beasts approaches them all bloodied up, and all of them are dangerous, Ruth protects her and sister by killing all of it swiftly, she is in her 'Awakening' and it is powerful. Her hair turned silver and so did her Shifter, the both of them destroyed the whole place, and the whole forest are leveled down except where out shack once stood, as her havoc ended she was still wounded

"Get stronger sister, please" She turned around with tears in her eyes and that was the last time I got to see it, her silver hair and her silver shifter. Which somehow remained the same after all this years.

"This, Remi... you will be like our idiotic parents if you treat them like people, they are not and they never will be"

The last words I heard as she puts me down.

"This creatures have no feelings, they can understand you but that is it, they will never understand how we feel, only what we command them to do. They are our tools, and treat them like one"

From that day forward she has gotten stronger, and I remained the same. When we started to use our Imperiums her power doubled in strength while I remained the same. I created dolls out of wood and when time the came, we were asked to consume the essences, and I failed.

"You are still weak sister, remember what I told you, those are tools and nothing more... get rid of those dolls or mannequins, you look even more pathetic"

She was sent to train with 2 other students while I stayed an rebuilt my parent's shack. I created more mannequins and imbued them with my Imperium and trained with them instead, you need to be in 3 in order to be accepted. So I trained harder and harder, with or without my shifter, I wanted to surpass my sister but for that I needed a tool, and that is why I created those mannequins.

I do not want to use a power that does not belong to me, I will only ask him to support me. I allowed my feelings to dictate my actions, my shifter is weaker than hers, and I am weaker than her, but I am strong. I AM STRONG, unlike her I am not alone, I have me and River to beat her.

And to beat Ruth she will.

"Can you see them?" Aesop uses his clairvoyance to look into the plum of dust.

"No, I can only see you guys' remnants, you guys went too strong did you not?"

"Maybe we killed them" Ruth said ass he is looking away from them.

"Ruth, stop that"

"Sorry Aesop... Kiosk see anything?"

*Weak, you still are weak... and now you are dead*

"Ruth!?" A call from Kiosk, but he is right beside her, and she ignored it. "I'll go down" Kiosk said. Aesop stays on him as Fauna's command.

"RUTH!?"

Ruth looks down as Kiosk calls him. "WHAT!" Kiosk looks down and everyone is startled by her scream. They see a long tendril directly in front of his face, landing a direct and strong hit.

"KIOSK!"

The hit was so powerful it sent Kiosk off the arena and pass the water wall, one of Eir's maid flew down and ensured he was okay, and he is, the only problem is that he is knocked out.

"Is the student okay?" One of the maiden asked the other maiden, and it nodded. It puts him in a stretcher and flew him out of the arena.

"What was that?!"

More tendrils in different sizes kept swiping across the air and all of them hit them. It was not enough to hit them out of the air, and they get a clear view of what they are fighting. The dust is swiped away and in the middle of it all Remi stands alone, Logan holds on to the other 3 who are knocked out, and Remi looks different.

"Remi... Remi?!" Logan tries to touch her but his body aches.

"Please, Logan, take care of them"

Her hair turned golden and River starts to have golden marks around him as well, but she unlike her sister looked perfect. River's skin starts to fall off and the both of them screamed, his skin starts to fall off and it emits a wave of golden light, everyone who is witnessing this are in awe. A huge waved came crashing down and pushed the other team down on the ground, but they persevered.

"HOLD ON!"

Remi's awakening finishes and her hair, unlike her sister's remained the same. River appears and turns into a dragon golden dragon, and only then did her hair also turned into gold.

"Remi-"

"Logan, do you think I'm strong?"

"Yes, I absolutely do"

"Thank you"

Ruth gets up from the ashes and summons her shifter. Her shifter also turns into a dragon as big as hers.

"You think you're the only one who can do that! YOU ARE NOT AS STRONG AS ME!"

Ruth unlike her sister never perfected her Awakening and remained the same, parts of her hair remained silver. Her own strength is enough to challenge that of her sister's, who has fully controlled her new power from the awakening.

"Defeat me, my weak little sister"

"Beat me, my stupid elder sister"

Her shifter grew the same size as hers and the 2 fought. Logan jumps around with the other 3 on his back trying to get to a safe place, he thought of the lake but it is already dried up.

"How strong are these people!"

He has no time to stop as he will get caught on the titanic battle between the sisters. Despite the circumstances Ruth's teammates go after him. Aesop and Fauna remained stuck on Logan's back while Adyant goes on to help Ruth on her battle.

The 2 sisters gave their all gathering and releasing large amounts of Imperium at each other.

"THIS BEAUTIFUL!" Harriet stands down the edge as she can see the tops of the beasts.

"Harriet, sit down please"

"The people I'd kill to obtain that power!"

Despite being in their awakening, a moment where their body will show how powerful they will eventually get, she is still no match for her sister.

"YOU ARE STILL WEAK!"

A tired Logan gets caught on the vines and Fauna pins him, he is incapacitated. The 2 sisters has now a much more destructive battle, completely leveling down on the battlefield. Logan still squirms as he senses something sinister from Ruth, he smells, he hears it, he feels it.

*DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!*

*What's all this?*

*Intent to kill, Logan, do something*

"AARGH!"

"What is it"

"Hey, uhm.. I think we should stop them!"

"Why?"

"This battle does not look so good"

"Yeah for you guys"

"For both of them!"

The 7 Elites as well sensed what Logan is sensing but they did not interfere, they just prepared. Waiting for what can and will happen, Harriet sent warnings to all of the guards and the teachers.

"WE NEED TO STOP THEM! RUTH WILL KILL HER SISTER!"

"Come on isn't-"

"LOOK AT ADYANT!"

"What about him"

The 3 uses clairvoyance and they clearly see what he is doing. He is trying to separate Ruth from her Shifter, but it was no use. From behind, a huge wave of Imperium came flying by them and they can see it circling around the 2, and something feels off.

"Dark im- we need to get them out of there now!"

"What's happening"

*I AM STRONGER THAN YOU! YOU ARE WEAKER THAN ME*

Logan uses clairvoyance and sees inside Ruth's mind and something seems to be taking over her, and seems to have a hold of her for so long. She sees chains wrapping around her body, and the chains are hurting her, destroying her.

"Welcome, Mephistopheles.. you traitorous rat"

What Logan saw made him tremble and it was enough to awaken Mephistopheles, as the feeling is all too familiar.

"This power, for me, keep going child, and kill for me!" The dismembered voice speaks directly to Ruth's ear.

"I... argh!"

The Fangs burned through the vines and Logan had to put the other 3 on a safe place, he warps through time and space and puts his 3 allies in the healing chambers.

"Lady Eir, take care of them" He appeared right in front of her, she seemed unbothered.

"Of course, Logan"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes"

Logan comes back to the scene and teleports everyone away, seeing what is happening the elite 7 prepared for battle, but they did so subtly as to not freak the spectators. Mephistopheles communicates to Harriet telepathically and asks for help.

"Listen to me child, separate the 2 Invokers from their Shifters, and knock the one named Ruth"

"Demon?" Harriet looks around and everyone stares at he. "ENJOY THE SHOW!" She said so that everyone would cheer up.

Remi falls down on the ground and River reverted back to normal, her body has came up to its limit and she is drained. She lies down there slowly in and out of consciousness as River wraps around her, and for Ruth everything has gotten a whole lot difficult. Something in her is building up, and no one likes everything about it.

Ruth falls down on the ground weakened as her shifters goes up to her ear and whispered, 'You will serve me well, doll'. She starts to cry and feel fear upon what she has done, and her very soul is stripped away from her, and a Demonic presence appears. Harriet feels it and she made haste to the arena.

"Now, for my next m-"

Logan appeared in front of the demon but it seemed unbothered. It swung its gigantic hand on Logan and the ground cracks but Logan stays on his place. The demon punched him more but he stayed on his feet, 'weak' he mocked the demon. His small provocation was enough to aggravate it, its attack grew stronger the more it comes at Logan.

"Well, we-"

Logan whispered a sentence and it was enough for those who have heard it to tremble in fear. The demonic presence fell down on the ground and as it starts to go mad, he rips its own heart out and drives it back into Ruth's chest. The demon starts to beg on his knees asking for him to go spare him, the demon starts to apologize.

"I am sorry, that you are, so weak!"

"I will go after your head, demon. This never happened"