The girl let out a gasp as she heard Emora announce the sparring match, her eyes widening as her heart skipped a few more beats than it was normally used to skipping. She let her butt fall onto her legs as she sat on her knees, both of her hands covering her mouth as she continued to watch the courtyard.

The teachers and instructors chuckled to themselves on the sidelines as they observed the reactions of the trainees. They exchanged little quips, comments, and whispers as they pointed and chuckled quietly, trying not to make their amusement obvious. The Alphas all stood bunched together among some of the instructors, all exchanging smug glances as they observed the courtyard.

"You guys think she's got this?" Cyrus asked around to his fellow Heroes, looking to them with his hands on his hips. The other Alphas looked over to him with expressions akin to one another's.

Cinder shrugged, tilting his head to the side a bit as he eyed the arena with a wary expression, eyeing Emora from the sidelines. He remembered back when Emora was first starting off as an outdoor patroller, going off on her missions after two years of essentially being an 'intern' Hero. He smiled to himself, knowing she was still fairly new and had much to learn, but had already been through so much, and had gained so much experience, prestige, and ranking from her achievements. The Commander nodded, his wariness converting into a look of pride. "Yeah, for sure. She's been training hard and diligently, so… I trust she can handle this."

Apollo scoffed, looking at the arena with his arms firmly crossed across his chest. The Centurion was Emora's 'favorite sparring partner,' and knew well of her progress. "Heh, I think she'll do just fine. I mean, she still can't match up to someone like me, but… hey, against students? For sure!" He exclaimed, what he had said being far from his truth.

The other Heroes just let out small huffs and eye rolls, focusing back on what was occurring on the arena.

The trainees all began to take a few careful steps back, their arms out towards one another, as if saying "just stay far away", for a lack of a better gesture. They all had different expressions, such as expressions of disbelief, excitement, fear, worry, or pensiveness. Some of the more confident trainees faced the front, looking at Emora with a careful gaze.

The Warden let her hands fall to her sides as she analyzed the circle of trainees. She knew there were 60 of them and the fact that their levels of combat experience could vary, depending on dedication to martial arts training, along with their styles of fighting, which varied due to each individual Hero type. With a light smile, she curled her hands into fists, and got into a light stance, her left arm further out then her right.

"Go on, then! Any of you can come forward whenever you feel comfortable! Don't bother going one by one, either. Fight as a team, as a unit, as one!" She shouted, continuing to crane her gaze about in order to stay aware of her surroundings.

The girl behind the armor stands sat up, still on her knees, rising up to try and get a better look. She spotted her friend, Amybeth, watching from a safe distance, as she was not in the front lines of the circle. The front few trainees mostly consisted of strong, tall, burly teenage men who sported stern glares, all of them willing to show their skills off in front of their fellow peers. The girl bit down on her lower lip with worry, wishing she was among the trainees.

"Th-This isn't fair… I—I want to be out there with Amybeth and the others! I spend so much time practicing and training, and yet…" The girl stopped herself, looking down to her little hands in self-pity. She couldn't blame herself for her age, but the girl couldn't help but feel helpless with her situation. She couldn't stand the thought of waiting two whole years at the Hero Academies before having the chance of making it to the Hero Barracks. This was the first time the Hero Barracks was receiving this kind of service, with the Azure Legion at its peak of popularity, and the brand-new team of Alpha fighters attending to help.

The girl wasn't completely sure if this was going to be a one-time thing, as she figured that the Alphas wouldn't make their visits common, as they were typically busy with their jobs, and if they were to appear every two years for every new class of trainees at the barracks, the experience of meeting the Alphas would get worn out. The girl knew this was a special opportunity, and the fact that she wasn't able to experience it directly, and only from the sidelines with a bad view, discouraged her.

She clutched her fists, her teeth gritting with tension as she looked out onto the courtyard, the trainees all preparing themselves for what was to come. "I guess one good thing is coming out of all of this. I get to see how she fights! Ugh—I wish I had my notebook… I could learn so much from her!" She thought to herself as she gazed at Emora from afar. The girl, ever since meeting Emora for a brief moment about half a year ago, she had begun to train even more diligently than she already was. Her friend, Amybeth, was her personal training partner and close friend who also hailed from Cherrytown, which served as a bonding point for the two girls. Both girls received training from Amybeth's father, who was a Warden. The two girls were skilled fighters, far ahead of many other girls in their class, which only pushed the two to want to learn more and more.

This didn't help the tension that the girl was feeling in her body.

The frontline of trainees stood with their fists clenched and varying battle stances, their faces were as still as rocks, their stern expressions eyeing their dirty blonde opponent closely, trying to put together a plan of attack. Emora stood in the middle, her golden eyes darting between the different trainees. Some were taller than her, some shorter. Most of the leading trainees were teenage boys who were eager to show off, so in turn, Emora figured she'd pull her punches less for each of them.

"I'm ready when you all are." Emora said simply, standing patiently in her stance. She looked calm and collected, her loose bangs billowing softly in the passing breeze, her expression reflecting back a light smile.

The front few trainees all exchanged a few glances, before nodding their heads at one another. They all tensed their bodies and took slight breaths as they eyed one another, circling the Warden slowly. All it took was for the first, most confident boy to step up, and the match would go from there. The Warden waited patiently, before finally, she locked eyes with a single trainee.

He had a strong, confident expression, his figure was large and fit, and he stood taller and larger than Emora, even at his young age. Fitted with bright blue robes and shining silver armor, he briefly looked over his shoulder at a few other trainees, before looking back to Emora, making eye contact, and gritting his teeth.

The Warden let out a small exhale as she watched the very first brave trainee skip forward at a decent speed and aggression level, his fist reeled back to strike her. But before he could even throw his attack forward, Emora shot her left fist into his side, causing him to gasp out with both surprise and pain. She let out a small breath as she sent her right leg upwards, striking the boy right in his armpit, rendering his arm useless.

Emora took a second to reel her fist back, observing the boy's pained expression as he weakly staggered to the side. She shook her head in a taunting way before shooting her fist upwards, connecting with the boy's chin, performing a clean uppercut that sent him onto his back, half KO'd.

"That's one down—oh!" Emora shouted as a second trainee came forth. At this point, she knew that things would be nonstop from here, and therefore shut herself up for the time being. She changed stances as she took a step back, avoiding a hook punch, before leaning forward and putting her weight into a right cross, her fist colliding with the second trainee's chest, and sending him launching back, breathless and incapacitated. The Warden heard shuffling behind her, and quickly turned over, instinctively firing her leg out in a locked out side kick, her foot slamming itself into the stomach of a third trainee.

"Agh—" The trainee cried out, hurtling backwards into other trainees, who stepped out of the way and watched as he collapsed onto his back, coughing up saliva.

A small smile came over Airi's face. "Mm. I taught her that one." She'd say, nudging Alban, who stood next to her. The Highlander smirked to himself as he nodded in response, the Nobushi feeling a rush of pride in her heart.

Emora looked away from the scene, only to see a fourth trainee come her way. She ducked underneath his straight punch, before returning with her own outwards right cross, her knuckles crashing into his nose as he fell back, his hands covering his face.

Emora stepped back, adjusting her battle stance as she looked at the four down trainees, the other 56 trainees still standing in their nervous stances. The Warden put her hand out, wiggling a finger. "Come on! There's no point in being shy!"

It was then that Emora could hear someone shift behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw a trainee who was taller than her getting ready to grab her from behind. She spun about and led with her elbow, sending it directly into the boy's liver, bringing out a yell of pain from him. She quickly switched targets as another trainee came up with a straight punch aimed at her head. Emora let out a small grunt as she ducked under the punch, raised her leg, and shot it upwards into the other boy's chin, making his head shoot back. She watched as the two boys collapsed, before turning to a new opponent. She was surprised at his speed, and swiftly dodged two of his blows before jumping up into the air, and sending her right leg into the side of his head.

With a light grunt, she landed back on the ground as the seventh trainee fell with a thud. She quickly turned over, and leaned backwards, feeling the wind of a hook punch that a trainee unfortunately missed. She swung her left leg out in a roundhouse, the trainee flying to the side, and hitting the ground on their side. She quickly spun back around, pumping her fists. "Come on, there's whole lot more of ya', bring it!"

Two trainees rushed forward, a boy and a girl. Emora was glad to finally see a lady step forward to fight. She skipped towards them, watching as the boy rushed forward and attempted to throw a powerful punch using the momentum of his sprint. Emora merely dashed to the side, and sent her heel into the back of the boy's knee as he missed his punch, instantly sending him face first into the ground. She looked up to the girl, before looking over her shoulder to see yet another opponent. "Now you guys are pickin' it up, good!" She shouted, dashing forward.

She leaned low and rammed the tenth trainee, the girl, into the ground with an elbow to the ribcage, grinning as the poor brunette groveled on the ground, holding her side. She turned to the other trainee, dodging a punch, and retorting with a left hook to the temple. The boy staggered to the side, before losing his balance and collapsing, his vision disoriented. Emora spun around, to scan for incoming opponents. She set her eyes on her next attackers, putting her hands out in front of her. A fist fell into her palm as she blocked, before suddenly, before she could react, a fist found itself in her back.

With a sudden cry, she fell forward, and hit the ground, two trainees standing above her. Fell onto her side, and used her arms to lift her body upwards, her left leg up in the air to sweep at the shins of the two trainees. She used her momentum to send them both off their feet, before standing back up, having them fell onto their tailbones. She lightly brushed herself off, grinning. "See? They almost had me there! I'm not that tough, come on. Have some confidence!" She yelled out, trying to encourage the group.

She raised her hands up, as if surrendering. "Watch, I'll try not to use my hands. Just my feet!" She suggested, crossing her arms underneath her bust as a trainee rushed forward.

Alban shook his head with a grin, his hands at his sides as he watched his friend in the training arena, taking on the trainees all on her own. "Using her legs only, that's quite the handicap. I hope all the training she's done with you has helped her flexibility and prowess with her balance." He'd say, craning his neck over to look at Airi. The Nobushi looked up to Alban, a small, somewhat snarky smile on her face as she gave him a nod. "Trust me, she's a quick learner, and her earnest personality made the process of making her a gorgeous dancer beautifully smooth and productive. After all, we've already seen some marvelous kicks." She said as she looked back to the arena, lightly biting onto her lower lip as she watched.

A trainee approached the Warden, Emora letting out a light grunt as she shot her right leg into his gut, instantly crippling him, watching as he slowly fell onto his back. She kept her leg arched in the air as another trainee came forth. She briefly placed her right leg down on the ground for balance, before spinning about, and sending that same leg's heel into the trainee's side, performing a spinning hook kick. That trainee flew to the side and rolled to a stop, holding his aching body.

Airi giggled, looking to Alban briefly. "See?"

The Highlander closed his eyes for a second, reopening them as he peered down to the Nobushi with a small smile. "Yeah. You sure know your wife."

The Nobushi looked away, putting a hand on her heart as she watched. Her cheeks flushed with red as her body's warmth rose, her heart beating a bit faster as she nodded to herself. "I know I do…" She whispered, half to herself, half aloud.

"This is free handicap, come on!" She urged, turning to a brand-new attacker, her arms still crossed. The girl trainee shot a fist out, missing her punch, and watching as Emora jumped up and sent her kneecap right into her chin. The girl's head shot back, her spine going with it as she collapsed onto her back, her world going black. Emora landed with a brief moment to rest before she was forced to spin about, sending her left leg outwards in a side kick, sending yet another trainee flying backwards.

"Seventeen…" Emora murmured, turning to another girl, who led with a kick. The Warden raised her leg, and blocked the kick with her shin, before snapping her leg to the side, the trainee's leg being knocked aside. Emora shot her foot into the girl's stomach, sending her launching backwards. The Warden turned yet again, hopping backwards to dodge a push-kick, and sending her foot into the lower spine of her attacker, watching as they flew forward and hit the ground harshly on their stomach.

Emora quickly looked forward, and saw a trainee rushing forward directly, as if preparing to tackle. She knew she had an easy range advantage, so she took the opportunity to spin about swiftly, her ponytail flailing in the wind like a flag as she sent her leg left into the trainee's abdomen in another spinning hook. She placed both feet on the ground, her arms still calmly crossed. "We've hit twenty!"

She readjusted and looked to her right, rolling her eyes as she easily fired her leg upwards in a locked out side-kick, her heel crashing into the trainee's forehead, sending them directly onto their backs. But then, she felt as someone grabbed her from behind, sliding their arms underneath her armpits, locking her shoulders as they placed their hands behind her neck in a full nelson hold, trying to hold her still for a second incoming trainee to come attack.

The girl's eyes widened, seeing no possible way the Warden could escape the attack she was facing. Her bright, diamond blue eyes sparkled as she leaned forward a bit, threatening to knock over the armor stand she was hiding behind. She let out a small gasp as she leaned back, quickly scrambling her head between a crack that was between the armor's leg and some large great swords. "Oh gosh… wh-what's she going to do?!" She thought to herself, in panic.

Emora panicked, unable to use her arms properly to try and escape the hold. She leaned forward, and overpowered the trainee behind her by snapping her head backwards in a reverse head-butt, the back of her head slamming into the trainee's nose. She pushed forward, leaning sideways, and launching her leg behind her in a back-kick, sending one of her attackers flying back. She turned to the second, who tried to abort the plan by sliding to a stop. Their boots slid into the dusty courtyard floor, before Emora's foot rammed into their chest, knocking the wind clean out of their lungs, and sending them harshly onto their back.

"Oou… that was a dirty move by those two, gosh! I think I'll take back what I said about the no-arms handicap, you guys are getting smarter!" She complimented, watching as two more trainees rushed at her from opposite directions.

The girl found relief as she allowed herself to sit back down on her legs, still on her knees, her pants and white robes dirtying as she continued to… stalk, the battle.

Emora inhaled sharply, drawing in some air as she prepared herself, her heart rate steadily increasing. She waited for the two trainees at hand to get close, before hopping backwards, watching as one of the trainees accidentally kicked her fellow peer in the side. Emora slid back, laughing lightly at the mistake as the two trainees both turned to her, the one who got kicked rubbing her side in pain.

"Come on, you're not done with me already, are you?" The Warden teased, smiling cheerfully as she watched one of the trainees rush towards her. The trainee was a somewhat short, small girl who didn't have enough reach to properly strike Emora before getting hit herself. And that's exactly what happened. She fell onto her back, her cheek reddened as Emora shot a clean right cross into her face. The second trainee came shortly after, leading with a powerful right hook. Emora slid beneath the attack, smashing her elbow into the trainees' liver, immediately rendering them incapacitated. The Warden stood upright, spinning about on her heel as two more trainees rushed towards her.

With a grunt, Emora fired her right leg out into one of the trainees, sending them up into the air, before they collapsed back onto the ground, coughing up saliva. The blonde quickly readjusted, briefly placing both of her feet on the ground, before cracking her left leg into the second trainee's stomach in the form of a brutal spinning arc kick. As she recovered, a daring trainee dashed forward, attempting to lead with yet another right hook. Most of these fighters were right-handed, and were therefore used to leading with right-handed attacks. Emora read through all this, easily being able to counter any approach from the right, and only briefly hesitating when countering from the left.

"Hya—not so fast!" She'd grunt, thrusting her left hand out into her opponent's chest, knocking the air straight out of them. She wound up her left leg shortly after, using the time she had bought herself with the guard-break to launch the trainee backwards with a fully fledged side kick, which hit the trainee devastatingly hard.

"Aaaugh!" The trainee cried out as they crashed into three others, knocking them onto the ground. The three stood up, dusting themselves off as they stared at Emora with wide eyes and startled fighting stances. Emora raised a hand up to them, before turning her palm to herself, and signaling for the three to come right at her. The three exchanged glances, before all rushing forward, the centermost fighter leading the trio. They lead with a right hook, which Emora easily blocked and parried with her forearm. She shot her palm out and upwards, the bottom of her palm slamming into the fighter's jaw and sending his head rocking back, along with the rest of his body, down onto the ground. Emora looked to her left, her eyes narrowing as she countered her fifteen thousandth right hook, AGAIN, before deciding to punish with a heavy sidekick, the trainee gutting out with saliva as they slid back onto the ground, incapacitated.

Emora spun over, realizing that the two remaining trainees were attempting to come in front either sides of her. Unfortunately, their teamwork was off, and Emora was able to counter by picking them each off at separate time intervals due to their poor coordination. She turned over to her right, watching as the trainee threw a somewhat unique attack, attempting to strike the back of Emora's head with a right-handed chop. The Warden grinned to herself as she blocked with the outer face of her forearm, harshly countering the chop with the blade of her forearm, which hurt her attacker from recoil. She then swung her leg up, sending the trainee flying forward and tumbling into the ground with a swift roundhouse kick.

The Warden slammed her fist into her own palm, looking around with her brightly colored golden eyes. "That's thirty! We're halfway through, and I've only been hit once! I'm gonna need you guys to come in a lot quicker, and with more unique movements. Trust me, you'd all fare fantastically in street fights, but in real battles against real opponents, you've gotta be sharper!" Emora lectured, getting herself back into position. Her eyes snapped to glance over her shoulder as a trainee rushed up behind her, quickly grabbing onto her left arm. She beamed with an eager grin, looking up to Emora with a proud look.

"I've got you!"She celebrated as she tried to yank Emora's arm back with everything she had. The Warden looked down to the trainee with a sly smirk, raising her arm and resisting the pull. "Yeah, you caught me! Too bad you didn't punish me properly!" Emora said, turning her arm over and bending it downwards, sliding her arm beneath the trainee's armpit before proceeding to hook it upwards, performing a painful joint lock. The trainee's shoulder bent at an awkward angle as Emora lifted the girl upwards, before releasing her down into the ground with a slam. The trainee hit the ground and immediately went to grasping her injured arm, groveling over the pain. The Warden was about to apologize for the maneuver, figuring it was a bit too advanced to use against such young fighters, but was stopped by shuffling footsteps to her right.

Emora spun over, moving her right arm to block a roundhouse kick from her left side, her eyes simultaneously looking to her right at a second attacker. She knocked her first opponent's leg away to deter the kick, before quickly turning to the second attacker to slam down an attempt at an uppercut. The Warden used her right hand to grip on tightly to the hand the second attacker used to try and uppercut, and shot her left leg out into the first attacker, who was still recovering from his leg being knocked away. He flew backwards with a loud cry, saliva flailing from his mouth as Emora's soles crashed into his stomach. The Warden then focused back on the second attacker, who was throwing a left hook to try and break his other hand free. Emora swiftly weaved her head out of the way, before pushing the trainee back, releasing his arm, but firing her heel into their ribcage shortly after. The trainee, unable to block from being shoved, flew to the side and slammed into the ground, slowly skidding to a stop.

The Warden had little time to rest as she spun right back around, letting out a light huff as she ducked clean under a roundhouse kick that was aimed to her temple. She let her leg fold forward, using her arm to support herself as she fell low to the ground, firing her left leg out in a brutal leg sweep that struck her attacker clean off their feet, crashing down to the ground and hitting the back of his head against the dusted ground, the impact of the floor on his back knocking the air out of his chest. Emora twirled around, recovering from her leg sweep and backstepping. She let out a small exhale, inhaling sharply shortly after. "That's more like it! I think I feel myself getting winded!" She'd say with a confident, bright smile.

Katsue put her hands together at her chest, squeezing them as she watched the arena from afar, a hopeful, excited smile on her face. "She's doing great! Oh, but imagine how much fun it must be to do that… if we ever do this again, I'd like to try!" She commented with an eager tone. Cindra looked over to Katsue, the Shinobi looking back up to the taller woman. The Commander brought a hand to her chin, rubbing it lightly. "Hm… I'm not quite sure if we are going to do this again. If we were to come every new class, it'd get dull very quickly, no?" She brought up, aloud to the other Heroes.

They merely nodded in response, not really bothering to say something back. A couple seconds passed. The arena seemed quiet for a brief moment. Cinder answered eventually, his voice pretentious. "I think it would, yes. I'd rather keep up the old tradition of simply bringing in Hero trainers to speak. After all, we're only here because it's the first year of our founding." He explained, not taking his eyes off the arena.

Katsue slowly nodded as she looked down to her feet briefly, peering at the small brown boots she had on. The Shinobi looked back up, smiling lightly to herself as she watched a couple instructors and teachers begin to assist the trainees that were already downed, knocked out, incapacitated, or otherwise rendered unable to continue fighting out of the arena's area, in order to help them recover, and keep them safely out of the way.

The remaining trainees took a minute or two to look around, all of them looking at one another as they took a few steps back from the Warden. The blonde was constantly looking around, her bright locks whipping about with her head's rapid movement. She paused for a bit, standing upright as she set her eyes on trainees in front of her. "Let's go!" She cheered, watching as trainees charged towards her, poised to attack. One charged with a right hook, which she knocked aside with her left hand, and punished with a harsh right cross to the jaw, which ended in an instant knockdown. As she threw this right cross, she saw a foreign leg flying towards her in her peripheral vision, which caused her to duck immediately after throwing the cross punch, readjusting as she leaned back, charging her left leg, before crashing her foot into the second opponent, sending them launching backwards. Emora inhaled as she spun around, her eyes darting around frantically as she looked for her next opponent. Her heart sort of stopped once she saw him.

"Jesus, you're big!" She'd exclaim to the trainee before her, who stood 6'5, towering over the smaller blonde, who only stood at 5'9. The Warden watched as he launched a massive right hook, his fist curdling towards her as her eyes widened. She let out a yelp as she weaved sideways and under, dodging the punch, her eyes still wide as she felt the wind of his punch hit her face. The world moved in slow motion as she thought about whether or not she should just… take this guy out quickly, or see what he could do. Realistically, getting hit even once would deal far too damage to the smaller, more delicate Warden. So, she chose the first option. The world sped back up again as she aimed for the buff trainee's liver, letting out a grunt as she threw out a powerful right straight punch, throwing her first blow that she decided not to hold back on. Her fist dug into his body, her knuckles sending a shockwave through the trainee's body that caused his eyes to widen harshly, his mouth opening up wide as he yelled out savagely, saliva launching outwards from his mouth and splashing out onto the dirt ground.

"Woaah!" The trainees all exclaimed at the same time, watching as the big-bodied trainee was instantly incapacitated by the blow the Warden had thrown. They all watched as hunched over, holding his gut, leaning into Emora. The Warden looked up, panicked. She tried to stagger back, but the punch she had thrown was too low to properly knock the trainee back, so instead, it folded his body, and inclined him to collapse forward onto her. Emora tried to hold the trainee up, to soften his fall, but instead, she found herself unable to properly support all the weight as the trainee fell. She let out a small cry as she fell along with the trainee, his body collapsing on top of hers as she hit the ground with a grunt.

Airi gasped from the sidelines. Katsue did too. Elea and Apollo let out small chuckles, while everyone else simply watched closely with silent, neutral expressions. The girl did the same as the two Samurai, gasping as she watched Emora become invisible. She no longer had a proper view of her as she fell to the ground, the trainees all standing around her, creating a wall that her clear, vibrant blue eyes couldn't see through. "I-Is that it?! Maybe he tackled her, and she lost! G-Get up, Emora!" She frantically thought to herself, internally yelling her lungs out.

"AHH—ngh… get offa' me!" She cried out as she grasped the trainee's massive body, and began to move it to her side. As the Warden worked to get the body off herself, other trainees all exchanged confused glances, unsure if… they should attack or not. Two trainees, looked at one another, nodding their heads at the same time.

"She wanted us to be quicker, start being smarter with our attacks, right?" The first trainee asked his fellow fighter. The other trainee nodded his head, clutching a fist. "Yeah, she did. If that's the case, then let's take advantage!" He yelled out, looking around and pumping his arm. "Come on, let's get 'er!" He'd say, other trainees cheering along and getting into excited fighting positions.

Emora hurriedly moved herself out from beneath the heavy trainee's body, looking up to see a horde of eager trainees rushing at her. This wasn't good, she was off-guard, panicked, and uncoordinated. But… for some strange reason, she felt kind of proud. These teenagers were taking this test seriously! Their objective was to take down Emora, and that's what they wanted to do, and it seemed like they were ready to take advantage of any situation to get it done. That's what the Warden wanted. To teach them that in battle, there are no rules. You do what you've gotta do to win.

The blonde staggered back, gritting her teeth with effort as her feet scrambled everywhere, trying to find their rhythm again, the Warden's footwork off kilter. She grunted as she raised her right forearm to block a left hook, which was a move she wasn't used to blocking much from these trainees. She let out a yell of effort as she launched her left fist into the trainee's cheek, sending them flying back. She turned around, a trainee jumping at her from behind. They attempted to throw a kick at her, but before they could, Emora spun around and used that momentum to slam her elbow into their gut, launching them backwards. Suddenly, she felt as a downed trainee grasped onto her ankle, trying to take advantage of the slightly heightened heel of the boots the Warden had on. This was also new, no one had tried to grasp onto her after they were downed. Emora nearly tripped as she stumbled back, shaking her ankle loose and slamming her boot down on the trainee's hand, before looking up to her attacker.

"AHH—" She yelled out as she was barely able to dodge her way out of a roundhouse kick, which flew clean overhead as she spun about, bending her lower body downwards in order to dodge the enemy kick itself, and simultaneously swinging her right leg up in a massive high arc, supporting herself with her left leg. Emora dodged the kick while twirling down low, her heel slamming into the back of the trainee's head as she performed a brutally executed spinning hook kick, staggering back from the effort it took to launch her leg so far up into the air.

The Alphas all let out cheers, clapping their hands, along with some of the instructors and teachers. The girl was about to explode, her hands clasped over her head, her cheeks puffed up, her eyes gleaming with tears of elation as she struggled to hold back all her excitement and exhilaration.

She frantically looked around, watching as MORE trainees rushed towards her. This was getting out of hand. Emora turned tail for a split second, sprinting to a clearer area of the arena as she spun about to continue fighting. The Warden was now visibly winded, fired up, and sweating from both effort and nerves. She watched trainees sprint at her full speed, with no sign of slowing down.

She put her hands out, stopping a trainee in their tracks as she supported their body with her left hand, and crushed the knuckles of her right hand against his gut, shoving him back with her left shortly after. She quickly turned to her right, exhaling sharply as she cracked her knuckles into another trainee's nose, a bit of blood firing out from her nose, despite Emora having pulled the punch back shortly after the strike. Emora didn't have time to tend for wounds, the momentum of the fight was too high already. She'd worry about it after it was all over. The Warden turned over, watching two trainees charge her at roughly the exact same time. She hopped upwards, first firing her left leg out into one trainee's chest, then coming down, holding herself up with the leg she had just used to attack, and show her right leg out against the second's spleen. Both hurtled backwards, collapsing onto the ground shortly after. The Warden panted as her eyes narrowed, her body calling for more freedom as she struggled to control the strength of her blows, as to not hurt the young fighters. She dodged a left cross, which she was briefly impressed at, due to the rarity of such an initial attack from mostly right-handed students. Emora swung her left arm up, upper cutting the trainee up into the air and onto the ground with a bruised jaw.

"Huh— ah!" She grunted through a surprised expression as yet another trainee rushed with a right hook, still reeling it back for more power. She took advantage and catapulted her right leg outwards into the trainee's jaw, folding his body back as he collapsed. A second attacker slid forth, trying to take advantage of the fact that Emora had just thrown a kick, and had to take time to recover. However, Emora easily countered this by doing one simple thing: not putting her leg down to recover. She kept her right leg into the air, twisting her body about on her left foot, using the jerk of the motion to plow her right foot into the trainee's ribcage without having to risk getting knocked off balance by recovering from her first kick, and instead just using the same foot for two kicks.

Emora set both of her feet on the ground as she clutched her fists, panting as she looked at the last few remaining trainees. She had fought consistently for about 10 minutes, taking on opponent after opponent after opponent. Thirteen trainees stood before here, among them, Amybeth, the friend of the girl behind the armor stands, who was watching eagerly with the world's brightest grin on her face.

The girl's bright blue eyes were watching the entire time, her throat releasing small sounds of amusement and wonder during the match, taking mental images and videos of maneuvers Emora performed, the girl engraving them into the back of her mind, and replaying the moments over and over in her head. This was truly a dream come true.

However, the girl was getting… a bit too excited. The armor stands she was hiding behind was beginning to shift and move about as the girl rattled and shook it in her uncontrollably enthusiasm, being too enamored by what she was watching to worry about what her own body was doing in response to her jubilation.

Emora watched as the 13 trainees surrounded her. She looked to her left, watching as a few trainees slid towards her. She expected to engage with them, and not a tall, slender trainee with long, powerful legs that stood behind her. Emora let out a yelp as a powerful kick rammed into the center of her back, sending her launching forward, clean off the ground. Everyone watched as Emora hurdled forward, the Warden attempting to recover in midair by using the momentum of the kick to roll her into a front flip. The attempt failed as she landed on her back, rolling forward and tumbling against the dust-covered ground, before finally recovering and sliding to a stop, crouched down on one knee.

Cyrus pumped a fist into the air, cheering out in support of the trainees. He looked at the arena, standing along with the other Alpha Heroes, who were still watching. "Hell yeah! Good hit from behind, kid!" He cheered out with a flashy grin. Airi uncrossed her arms, looking at Emora from afar. Her wife had done great so far, but she understood that she must be getting tired at this point. The Nobushi had a small smile on her face as she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Come on, Emora! Get up!" She shouted over, encouraging for the Warden to keep going, since the blow she had received did not render her unable to continue fighting. The Warden moaned quietly as she stretched her shoulders out a bit, trying to ease the pain she felt on her back. She slowly brought herself to stand as the remaining trainees all glared at her.

"Heh… a solid blow! You used a visual distraction, I locked onto my tunnel vision, and was unable to react to a swift attack from behind!" She'd say, taking a second to look at the tall trainee that had kicked her forward into the ground. "Those long legs served you well! It's clear you know how to use 'em…" She grunted, rubbing her back a bit, or… as much of it as she could, at the very least. The blonde raised her fists as she prepared herself for these last couple fighters. She tried catching her breath, but was interrupted as the attacks ensued.

A left cross came straight at her face, her expression stern with concentration as she dodged swiftly to the right, grasping her attacker's arm and used it to throw the man into the ground, kicking his jaw down afterward. She looked up, gritting her teeth as a second assailant came at her with a back-kick, which was impressive, yes, but not the best for first attacks. Emora dodged under it, before shooting upwards and grasping the leg, twisting it, and turning her body about to bring the person along with her turning, slamming them into the ground harshly they lost their balance. She shot her leg into their gut once they were down, to finish it.

Suddenly, her arms were locked to her chest as a large trainee came up behind her and squeezed her with all his might, trying to take advantage of her thinner frame. Emora thrashed around, panicking as more trainees rushed towards her. She spun around, using her legs and twisting her core to force the man to shift his arms. Emora crept her hand behind the man's back, right above his ass, before jerking her body harshly, forcing him to fall forward as she used the hand she had placed on his backside to shove him forward. She shot her fist downwards, crouching as her knuckles collided with the trainee's face, his nose stunning him on the ground. Emora looked up, panting steadily.

"Ten more of you, come on!" She'd cheer, raising her fists up. She rushed forward this time, deciding to go on the offensive instead of the defensive. The trainee attempted to stop her with a right cross, but she dodged to the side swiftly, coming back around with her elbow, which found itself slamming into the side of the trainee's head, his body collapsing onto its side. Emora watched as another trainee came at her with a spinning hook kick, which was definitely respectable, but the Warden had no time for compliments. She ducked beneath it and hit the trainee with a left hook, which left her staggering back, holding her face. Emora lifted her leg up and thrust it into her stomach, kicking her Sparta-style, directly into the ground, harshly. The Warden looked up, her eyes widening in shock as THREE perfectly coordinated trainees rushed towards her at a blinding speed. Emora, surprised by the teamwork, speed, and avidness of the three, found herself struggling to block three different attacks at the same time.

She hid her head behind her forearms, hunching over a bit to try to make her frame smaller. The tallest trainee shot an overhead punch, which collided heavily with Emora's left forearm. The middle trainee attacked with a powerful right cross, which crashed directly into Emora's right forearm. The lowest blow came from the third trainee, who shot a leg straight into Emora's gut. The Warden's eyes widened a bit as her forearms were pushed back by the heavy force of two powerful punches hitting her guard at the same time, and a kick thrusting into her tensed-up gut. She tried to tank the kick to the stomach, her abs absorbing most of the blow, but air still found itself shooting out from the Warden's mouth as she gritted her teeth with effort, sliding back with stinging forearms, a breathless chest, and a hollowed gut.

"Woah! They're fightin' good, and right when it matters, too! Emora's tired from all the fightin' she's been doin', and it's beginnin' to cost her! Too bad there ain't too many of 'em left in the fight." Said Elea with her loud, spunky voice. The other trainees nodded, Cinder in particular paying extra close attention. "Yes, indeed. Those three delivered an impressively perfect coordinated attack." Cinder replied, his piercing silver eyes narrowing at the battle.

The golden-eyed knight stood there, breathless, as the three trainees continued their attack. She inhaled sharply, leaning into a left-handed gut punch that slammed into one of the trainees, sending them back, wailing in pain. The second trainee came shortly after with a forward kick, which Emora stopped by the ankle, and struggled to push back in time. Because she was unable to block the kick and parry it quickly, the third coordinated attack came in too fast. Emora felt as a left cross struck her right on the right side of her face, smack-dab on the cheekbone. "Gauh—" She shouted aloud as her head snapped to the side, her body following short after as she quickly looked back to where the attack had come from, staggering away with now unstable footwork. She let out an exhale as she rubbed her reddened cheek, her teeth grit as she looked at the now seven remaining trainees.

Apollo grinned as he watched Emora from afar, his arms proudly crossed. "That guy hit her hard, good on him. Hell, even I felt that punch connect." He said with a small smile. Cyrus, who was standing next to him, nodded with agreement. Katsue had a hand placed on her chin, analyzing the fight. "It's clear those three trainees that attacked Emora must've been friends of some sort. Their coordinated attack was very impressive, just like Cinder said. It's definitely set some strain onto her…" She commented, her voice smooth and calm. Airi stood, her hands together down below her waist, a hopeful look on her face.

"Almost done, Emora! Don't sputter out here at the end!" The Nobushi yelled over, the Warden hearing her loved one calling to her from the side. She blinked a couple times as she focused back up, slowly raising her fists to continue her guard against the two trainees that she was currently engaged with. The Warden slowly put on a small grin. "Now there's only two of you! Were you three friends? How long did it take you three to plan up that type of coordination?" She'd inquire, looking at the two trainees with a slightly angled head. The trainees exchanged brief glances, before both turning back to Emora.

"We're all from Myrefield, Lady Ryon! The three of us, we're siblings." One of the trainees replied, who briefly looked over to the second, who was peering down at the sister, who Emora had gut punched. The Warden looked down to the sister, who was down on all fours, coughing as she held her stomach. The second brother called out to her, keeping his eyes on Emora, just in case.

"Stay down, Kaede! Yoshio and I will take it from here." Said the second trainee, getting into position in front of Emora. The first brother, who had dealt the punch to Emora's face, stood right next to him, his fists also raised out in front of him.

The sister collapsed onto her side, slowly being helped away by a teacher, to get dragged off to the sidelines. "G-Good luck, Yoshio, Tomohiro…" Moaned the sister with a low, strained voice. The two brothers nodded, facing Emora with narrowed eyes. The Warden stood before them; the other five trainees stood behind the two brothers. The ginger-haired Amybeth stood amongst those five, panicked for her turn to fight.

The girl watched anxiously, her eyes glued to both Emora and Amybeth, her teeth grit tightly together, in anticipation of how the fight was going to go.

Emora watched as the second brother rushed forward, leaving his brother behind as he launched a right cross towards the Warden. She knew these two knew how to work together, so she sidestepped the punch, before snapping her head to the right, facing the first brother, predicting that he was going to attack right before she was able to counter. The Warden shot her right leg out into the first brother's stomach, watching as he gutted out, saliva spurting from his mouth. He staggered back, holding his stomach as he collapsed to one knee, trying to continue fighting. Emora meanwhile used this time to fight the second brother properly, without having the looming threat of another coordinated attack.

The second brother attempted to cuff the Warden a right hook, trying to make up for missing his left cross. He let out a gasp as Emora firmly blocked his punch at the joint of his arm using her forearm. The knight grinned as she snapped her left arm out, knocking his punch aside, and sending her fist into the brother's gut. She quickly brought her arm back, and jabbed his gut a second time with a right punch. The brother hunched over, exposing him even further. Emora punished this by sending a fully fledged uppercut with her left, her knuckles smashing his jaw upwards. The brother staggered back, helpless to do anything as Emora finished him off with a brutal roundhouse kick to the side of the head, which sent him flying to the side, crashing into the ground, unconscious.

She turned back to the first brother, who was panting from the powerful blow to his stomach. He saw that his brother was taken out, and let out a roar of adrenaline as he rushed forward, still a bit slowed by the pain of his injury. He approached with a wound-up right hook, which Emora stepped back from, knocking the fast punch away with her right hand. She watched as he quickly sent out a follow-up left cross, and finally saw a clear opportunity to counter. She ducked beneath the punch, sending her elbow into his ribcage, then chaining the move with a left to his side, and finally, with a third punch from her right straight to his side. The brother staggered back, having been hit three times in the span of a single second. Emora grunted as she fired a left cross into the trainee's nose, the brother grunting out as he was stunned completely.

"Sorry, triplets! It's over!" She'd say to the final brother, sending him flying back into the floor with a left side-kick that crashed into his chest. Emora huffed as she spun over, facing the final five trainees. The Warden was panting lightly, putting her arms out and puffing her chest out.

"I'm all yours!" She'd yell out.

A trainee rushed forward in response to Emora, yelling out with power as he sent forward a right hook that had all his body weight put into it. The Warden put her right arm out to her side as she leaned away, the punch flying right past her head as she forcefully slammed her right wrist into the man's spleen, which caused him to let out a heavy grunt of pain. Emora quickly punched the trainee into the ground with a brutal left cross to his chest.

Katsue clapped her hands aloud, a wide smile on her face. "I taught her that one! Wrist to the side, cross to the chest, they're in a whole new world of pain in that torso!" Giggled the Shinobi, the other Heroes nodding their heads with approving looks, noting that down in their heads.

"Four more…!" She'd say, looking up to the final four trainees. They all stood around her. Amybeth seemed to be… a bit further back than the other three. She stood with her fists ahead of herself, up at tight angles around her head, her legs not to spread apart, her toes aimed forward for the most part. It was a very specific stance. One that the blue-eyed squire girl knew all too well. Amybeth was trying to keep herself calm, while the other three trainees all attacked.

Emora skipped towards one as she launched a right roundhouse kick into one of their heads, the trainee was unfortunately unable to block, as they were in the middle of throwing a left hook. A leg as more range than an arm, and therefore, the trainee's head was forcefully whipped away as he fell back, unconscious. A trainee was right behind Emora, positioned to attack perfectly with a powerful right cross. The Warden used the momentum she had gathered from the roundhouse to turn around and whip right arm outwards in a massive hook punch that connected with the trainee's cheek as they let out an abrupt cry of pain, before slamming into the ground, out cold.

Amybeth was quivering uncontrollably as she watched Emora turn to the final trainee before her, who was a short, small girl who attempted to launch a roundhouse kick with their right leg. Emora easily blocked the kick with her forearm, before using that same arm to slide upwards, her knuckles smashing into her opponent's jaw, harshly knocking her head up, giving Emora a chance to stand up tall, towering over the shorter trainee, put her hands together, and slam them down upon the her head in a sledgehammer maneuver, forcing the girl down into the ground beneath Emora's feet, the trainee's hands reaching up for her aching head as the girl cried out with pain.

Emora turned to the ginger, who was the final trainee standing against her in the arena.

Instructors and teachers helped the wounded trainees away and out of the arena, tending to them using wet rags, bandages, and chunks of ice from the Fortress's icehouses that were wrapped up in thin cloths, for primitive ice packs, methods of the Vikings up north.

The blue-eyed squire couldn't believe her eyes. Her friend, the one who had alerted her of this event going on, was the final one standing against Emora, her top idol. And what made the whole thing worse was that the girl knew exactly why Amybeth had waited to be the last trainee up against the Warden with a heart of pure gold.

All the training they had done together, assisted by someone who was a Warden themselves, older and potentially more experienced than Emora, it gave the two a considerable advantage over the average trainee, who merely took intermediate combat training back in the Academies, and were otherwise left to their own devices when it came to developing martial art prowess, as that part of their training would take place here, at the Barracks.

The squire could barely contain herself. She knew that Amybeth was going to put up a fight, but it killed having to choose who to root for. She bit her bottom lip as she squeezed her hands together, sweat building in her palms as she watched the arena with eyes full of emotion; all types of conflicting, intense emotion.

The Alphas watched closely, the two girls standing a few feet away from one another, both of them in their guards. Apollo huffed, a smug grin on his face. "Well, Emora did it! Sixty motherfuckin' trainees, roughed up and ready for school." Said the Centurion, looking at his fellow Heroes, who nodded along with small chuckles.

"Hey, we never know. This last one might kick her shit in!" Joked Elea, bringing out laughter from the other Alphas. Amybeth heard the laughter and looked over, her hands sweating with nerves as her heart dropped. The Alphas were all looking right at her, and…

Laughing?

The ginger's stomach churned as she slowly began to drop her guard, still looking at the Alphas, who were beginning to quiet down. She immediately assumed the worst and thought that they were all laughing at her. Sure, it didn't seem like them, but… who knew, right? Amybeth's face darkened as her fists unclenched, her arms going limp at her sides as she seemed to shrink, her fellow trainees all looking up at her in silence.

"Guys." Airi spoke in a stern tone, looking right at Amybeth. Apollo, Elea, and Cyrus all quieted down, Alban shaking his head with a cough as the group turned their attention to the arena. Cinder cleared his throat as he peered up, Cindra doing the same as she inhaled some fresh air. Some of the teachers and instructors were looking their way too.

"Oh…" Apollo said, wincing. The other Alphas straightened out, Katsue hiding her face behind her hands as she cringed.

"We just made ourselves look bad." Cinder grunted, looking out to the final trainee. The other Heroes were all straightened out, looking out to the trainee as the instructors and teachers continued to help the trainees that were already out of the arena back onto their feet. Cinder stepped out, walking forward a bit.

"We apologize, for the disruption, everybody! The laughter was merely one of our more… loquacious members speaking their mind and making a snarky comment about our dear Emora, over there." He announced, projecting his voice as he looked over to the Warden. Everyone turned their attention to the Warden, whose cheeks became tinted with a small pink tint as she nervously chuckled, which made a few people chuckle aloud.

Elea was just hitting her own head with her wrist.

Cinder looked to Amybeth, giving her a nod. "Give it your all, young fighter. Emora isn't that tough." He said with a small smirk on his face. Amybeth couldn't help but return the gesture by giving him a smile and nodding, turning back to Emora and curling her hands back into fists.

The Warden looked back to Amybeth, giving her a warm smile. "They like making jokes. Probably one about me fighting in half-inch heels. But hey, we won't talk about that, right?" Joked the golden-eyed knight, letting out a small chuckle afterwards. Amybeth looked down to Emora's feet, before her eyes rose back up to meet hers.

"Even like that, you… did really well… I-it's only a matter of time before I'll be in need of one of those ice packs too..." Amybeth sulked, her heart still in the gutter after potentially being laughed at. Amybeth wasn't really one to fight back against being verbally called out.

She wanted to be a Hero for her father. She looked up to him like nobody else, and wanted to follow in his footsteps and become a Warden. She was strong when she wanted to be, but sometimes struggled to find the strength to do so. Her own insecurities, timid nature, and upbringing from an outer town, Woodbury, sometimes managed to get into her head, and bring her down. The fiery-headed finger wasn't fiery at all. Quite the opposite, really.

Emora saw all of this, taking a second to look at Amybeth with a reassuring gaze. The redhead looked up to Emora, who was only a bit taller than her. She looked into her vibrant golden eyes with her own emerald green colored ones. The Warden dropped her guard a bit, her lips slowly parting to speak. "Hey. Just do your best, okay? All of your other trainees did the same, and I don't want you to be any different. They didn't laugh at you, okay? I can tell they didn't. They're my friends, I know them, and… they wouldn't do something like that." She said in a comforting, gentle voice. The Warden's expression was strong and confident, while Amybeth's was nervous and unnerved.

Emora got back into position. "You look like a strong girl, come on. Give me everything you've got, just like everyone else did. Everyone's looking at you, rooting for you, trying to see what you've got! So show them, girl. Don't you dare hold out on me." Said the Warden, winking at the trainee, before sliding into a new position that faced opposite to Amybeth's.

The young blonde squire held her breath, her hands clutching her chest at her heart's position. The Alphas all watched closely with silent, stern expressions. The trainees and instructors and teachers all turned their attention to watch as well.

All eyes were back on the arena for the final one versus one.

The ginger trainee's heart fluttered as she watched Emora get into position. She lowered herself a bit, shifting her feet into the sandy ground of the arena, her trembling eventually diminishing into a light prance of excitement. She nodded to Emora, gritting her teeth a bit as she let out a shaky exhale.

"I'll give you everything I have, Lady Ryon!" She yelled out, before rushing forward.

Apologies for taking so long to update. Despite being quarantined and stuck inside, schools are NOT letting up on the amount of work they are forcing their students to do. And I'm feeling the brunt of it, for sure. I'll keep on trying to update more frequently in the future. This chapter was long, too, so that also contributes to the time it took to come out. I hope this proves that I haven't lost my touch when it comes to choreographing fight scenes!

On a side note, I do hope everyone is doing well in this epidemic that's currently going on. I'll assume that most of my readers live somewhere in the US, where things are pretty bad, so... yeah. Please, be safe, keep yourselves clean and wary of your surroundings when outside, keep some distance from others, and... trust me, I know it's hard, but... try to stay inside, so that this whole thing can hopefully end soon.

Stay happy and healthy! 'Till the next one.