"Way to go, Kai! That was awesome!" Grinned Aria, giving me a high five as I returned to the waiting room.

"Thanks, Aria," I smiled, before patting her head.

Jaden had been escorted to get healed up, his left arm was still pretty damaged, not to mention the internal damage I inflicted with Mana Pulse.

I do feel a bit disappointed that I used Invidia to win that fihht, I was really gunning to try and beat Jaden without summoning any of my Apostles...but the guy's got some insane tenacity, he just keeps coming no matter how much damage I inflicted.

So long as an attack isn't fatal and doesn't trigger the barrier, he won't stay down.

It was honestly both frightening and impressing how quickly he adjusted and adapted to keep fighting effectively while injured, he was only marginally less of a challenge after I damaged both his arms.

And since he has the Status Effect Immunity Skill, I couldn't use my debuffs on him, I probably wouldn't have needed to summon Invidia at all if I'd been able to weaken Jaden with my debuffs in the first place.

Taking away the use of his Magic sure made a massive difference, and it made it quite abundantly clear just how immensely his incredible mastery and control over his Magic helped him overcome the disparity between our stats.

Though, to be fair, he probably could've put up a better fight even without his Magic if he'd been at his best, but he was pretty badly battered and beaten up by the end of the match.

He couldn't move his left arm, his right arm was barely back in play, and his head was probably in a lot of pain from the damage I inflicted with Mana Pulse.

Anyway, the arena's currently being repaired, it had gotten pretty wrecked, so there's going to be a slight delay before the next match.

"So, does this make you the strongest Hunter in the world?" Aria asked me with a smile.

"Well, he did just beat the one who currently holds the title, so I'd say so," Chimed in Beatriz, giving me a thumbs up.

"I mean, it could've gone either way if I hadn't brought out one of my summons, I barely won," I pointed out with a wry smile.

"Since that counts as one of your abilities, I'd say it's fair. But the ability to call on summons has never been seen before, so some might disagree, there's no precedent for it," Spoke up Jin thoughtfully.

True, the power to summon beings you command doesn't exist in any of the standard Hunter Classes, and there haven't been any Arcane Hunters with such an ability either.

Personally, I count the Apostles of Sin as separate from myself, I don't really think of them as a part of me, at least not in the same way I perceive my other abilities.

It might be different if they were just mindless puppets that I have to control or whatever, but they've got their own personalities and can think for themselves, so I view them as separate individuals rather than just a part of of an ability of mine.

<Looks like they're pretty pleased you see them that way>

Huh? Are they awake?

<Yes, I talk to them from time to time, and I happened to be doing so right now>

Cool, that's good to hear.

I think it's a good thing that they're getting some interaction outside of fighting, I should talk to them more too.

Come to think of it, it's been a while since I summoned Luxuria and Invidia just to chill and hang out.

I should let them out soon...I'd say the same of Acedia, but he doesn't want to be summoned unless necessary, right?

<Yes, he's quite content laying dormant within you when he isn't needed>

Well, to each their own.

"Setting aside whether it was fair or not, I wanted to beat him by myself, without my summons. I am glad I won, of course, but I'm not altogether satisfied with this win," I sighed wistfully.

"Heh, I guess you could say...summon feels bad," Responded Aarav, letting out a snort of laughter.

Huh? I don't get it, what-...ohh, it's a pun on 'someone feels bad'. Well, I suppose that's creative, at least.

"So, uh, is he always like this? I haven't heard him say a single sentence that isn't a joke so far," I said to Jin in bemusement.

"No, he is capable of being serious, but he's usually like this around new people...he's awkward around strangers and struggles to talk to them normally, so he cracks dumb jokes until he feels more comfortable around them," Explained Jin with a sigh.

"Come on, man, don't-...," Frowned Aarav, before averting his gaze as the rest of us glanced at him.

So that's what it is, he's masking his social awkwardness with jokes. I suppose I can't judge him for that.

"Hm? By the way, where's Iseul?" I inquired, looking around the room.

"Oh, she passed out behind that couch," Responded Beatriz, as she nodded at one of the couches in the room.

As I glanced that way, I spotted a glimpse of a head of black hair with dark blue highlights peeking slightly over the side of the couch, a quiet snoring echoing out.

Yeah, considering how much alcohol she'd guzzled down in a such a short amount of time, that tracks.

"Hm? I hear footsteps, looks like we're set to continue," I remarked as my ears perked up, right as the door swung open.

"Ariella Velle and Jin Suzuki, please follow me, we're ready to begin the second match."

"Alright, not particularly thrilled about my odds, but might as well see how I do," Sighed Jin, stretching his arms up.

"You've got this, good luck out there," I encouraged Aria with a smile, as I lightly slapped her back, giving her a slight push.

"Yeah, I'm not about to lose after you won your first match," She stated confidently, adjusting her gauntlets before heading for the door...

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