"Alright, so, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get straight to the point, shall we? We'll be holding a number of exhibition matches tomorrow between all of you X-Aces, it'll be a surprise event that's going to be announced to the public tonight.

With how tumultuous this last year has been, and after Jaden here reached out to the Chair of the Union in Sanctuary Alpha, expressing that he wanted to meet the two newest X-Aces, the HUC surmised that this could be a good way to lift the people's spirits. The other X-Aces were contacted shortly after, and here we are," Explained Charlotte with a smile.

Wait, so...I won't just get to spar against one of them, but potentially all of them? Okay, probably not all, it'll be a pretty long event if we did a seven-person round-robin, not to mention we'll probably be seriously worn out after just two or three matches.

"Alright, I'm game, that sounds like fun," Grinned Aria, a look of anticipation on her face.

"Same here, I was actually considering asking to spar against some of you on the way here, but I guess there's no need for that anymore," I added with a smile.

"Nice, that's what I like to hear! On that note...how about a little warm-up before the main event tomorrow? I'd like to spar against both of you, at the same time. What do you say?" Suggested Jaden with an eager glimmer in his eyes.

Aria and I exchanged a glance, as we considered the proposal. Based on her expression, I think we're both on the same page.

This guy's supposed to be the strongest, so, in other words...he might be the ideal opponent to test out our newfound power against.

"Alright, sure, why not?" I replied with a nod.

"Great! Oh, but you guys didn't bring any gear or weapons, did you? What should we-...?" He began with a look of concern.

"No need to worry about that. Chairwoman, mind showing us to changing rooms?" I requested, as I glanced at Charlotte.

"Sure, that's fine. I'll need to get a safety barrier generator too, it'll be disastrous if I don't," She mused, before leading us out of the room.

I've got all of Aria's gear stored in Treasury too, including Pyro Impact, her new Personalis Arma gauntlets.

Thanks to our link that was established when we resonated and synchronized after we were both simultaneously hit with the Demonic Art: Demonization, and further strengthened when we swapped bodies, Ai informed us that she was able to let Aria access Treasury.

So, it's basically a shared Skill now, Aria can freely use it just like I can.

She can also use Appraisal too, so both my Greed Skills are accessible to her now. But it's only my Greed Skills, Ai wasn't able to link her to any of my other Skills.

Maybe it's because of the inherent nature of greed? Greed is all about wanting more, and by having two users, Treasury potentially gets more items stored in it, and Appraisal potentially gets more info stored in it.

So, maybe that's why Ai was able to link Aria to those two Skills?

<That does make sense, I suppose>

<Because I don't see any distinct reason why I was only able to link her to your Greed Skills>

Well, it's not just that, she can also view her stats now in a display only visible to her and I, and naturally, she gets a display when she uses Appraisal. And she can also see my System screens and displays now.

Anyway, as Charlotte led us to the changing rooms, I handed Aria copies of her gear and Pyro Impact, before picking out a set of gear for myself and taking out Desecrator, strapping it across my lower back as I got changed.

Once we finished getting ready, we headed back to the room, an impatient look of anticipation on Jaden's face, before he perked up as we walked back in.

The staircase extended out, before the three of us made our way down from the gallery, the others approaching the railing to watch as we headed for the middle of the space.

As we took our places, Charlotte activated the safety barrier around us, before we began stretching and warming up.

"Hm? Is it just me, or have your Auras gotten a bit bigger?" Frowned Jaden, narrowing his eyes slightly, an uncertain look on his face.

Wow, he picked up on the boosts we get from our Personalis Arma? Well, his Perception is really high, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

"Yeah, good eye. But we haven't even gotten started yet," I replied with a smile.

"Nice, that's pretty encouraging...this should be fun. Alright, come at me with everything you've got, hold nothing back!" He called out, as he stretched his arms up.

His Aura was translucent with a slight shimmer to it, and while he wasn't wielding a staff or any other weapon, he had on gloves with Mana Orbs embedded into the material over his palms, the orbs a similar hue to his Aura.

As for the rest of his gear, he had an armored black compression t-shirt with long sleeves, under a grayish white sleeveless jacket with a black outline across the edges and the collar turned up, going halfway down his calves...yeah, that looks pretty cool, I definitely need to get a long jacket or coat for myself too.

As for the rest of his gear, he wore dark blue trousers and black boots with thick soles, along with leather-armored braces over his knees and elbows.

"Alright, then, here goes...<Descent>, followed by <Enrage>!" I chanted, a fierce eruption of Negative Energy and purple energy bursting out around me as I tranformed, the horns, wings and tail extending out as I felt my power surge immensely.

"My turn, <Descent>, and <Blaze Ignition: Flare>!" Exclaimed Aria, a stifling heat erupting around her as her Demonic features manifested as well, an intense, fiery glow emanating around her entire body as her hair got set ablaze into a roaring mass of flames above her head.

Jaden's eyes widened, before a wide smile spread out across his lips...

"Holy-...I've never seen Auras that immense before! Ohh, hell, yeah! This is gonna be a blast, come at me!" He exclaimed gleefully, a bright gleam in his eyes...

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