As the virtual "referee" counted down, Ragna prepared himself by drawing his customized twin blades. The amount of precaution his opponent had taken would've been laughable to someone like Tempest, but Zarek had to be more perceptive of how she moved. Even at her level, she could possibly defeat him if he wasn't careful. As she moved back, he cracked his neck by tilting his head side to side. ... [i]The duel between Aoina and Ragnarok_Red will begin now.[/i]

"I at least hope she knows what she's doing," Celes pleaded, being a High Mage herself. If a member of a private chat entered a duel, other members in the chat could opt to watch it remotely. It was the more entertaining option versus standing around watching tumbleweeds pass by. "Listen to yourself," Tempest said, "Look at how slow she casts, even a tank like Ragnarok would be able to wipe her out before she'd even finish."
Yet, even after taking a few steps, Ragnarok simply stood there, waiting for the green-haired woman to finish casting. It left Tempest speechless, earning a giggle from Celes. Perceptive, like her brother, she could see where this was going. When Aoina fired her fireball, Ragna inhaled a deep breath and swiftly brought up both of his sword in an X-shape out in front of his torso. He simply let the fireball hit him like that, causing smoke to cloud their entire movement range. Tempest remained speechless. Ragnarok's ability to tank damage wasn't close to that of a Sentinel class, but he could block Aoi's fireballs without suffering fatal damage. While the smoke still fogged the movement area, Zarek took this opportunity to charge forward to where he assumed Aoi would be. She'd at least have somewhat of a cooldown time before she could greatly move. However, just to make sure...
"[b]Flurry,[/b]" muttered Ragnarok, unleashing a rapid, almost majestic dance of his blades. Slashes and stabs all over. Even if she did move, something was bound to hit. Anything to keep her from running quickly or the like; he wouldn't let her cast another spell.