The wooden door was knocked on loudly in a rhythmic 11-knock pattern.
B: "Come in!"
The figure at the wooden door was Katachi holding a carving pick in hand. With a tired expression looming over his face he dragged his feet across the carpet and sat down on a comfortable orange couch before looking up at her. That was certainly unusual. Katachi wasn't the proactive child to approach another so openly… Or perhaps he warmed up to her enough to do so? That notion excited Bael briefly.
K: "Bael..."
B: "Katachi?"
Bael placed her notes down and manipulated a couple of teapots to begin serving her guest immediately.
B: "What- What brings you here? It's not like you to visit me. Usually, I'd go to you instead."
K: "N-nothing much. I just wanted to uh... Ask you something."
B: "Something? What do you need?"
K: "Do you happen to have a map of the world?"
B: "What do you plan to do with one?"
K: "I've never had an actual map of the world to refer to when I was back in Mielfeud, and since you collect a lot of data and meaningful stuff, I... I was just thinking, you know... If you'd have a map of the world."
B: "I do have a map, but it doesn't show the whole world. Western Anik isn't mapped out."
Since Western Anik was a massive jungle ridden with plague and dangerous swamps which only the toughest animals survive, it made sense that the area would barely be mapped, if at all. The most they could actually do with Western Anik was sketch out the divider between the forest, Findel and Eastern Anik, a simple outline skirting along the borders of safety. No towns were marked nor recorded down even if they did exist in the past.
K: "That- That's good! That's good enough! Can I take it to my room to trace it?"
B: "Sure, as long as you don't wrinkle it."
K: "Thank you Bael! That's a great help to me!"
Katachi sauntered from his seat to the map on the messy table and picked it up delicately with a grateful look on his face.
B: (Heeheehee, he's so lively when he's happy, just like a pet.)
As Katachi stored the map into his bag delicately an itching sensation could be felt from the magic circle at the top of his left arm.
(Contestant Katachi, your match begins in thirty minutes. Please assemble at the entrance to Cosmatral Tlod.)
K: (Huh. That weird voice again... She sounds rather familiar, for some reason.) "Bael, I'm afraid I have to go."
B: "What, already? It hasn't even been five minutes!" (He hasn't even explained to me why he cooped up in his room the other time! Am I really that displeasing to him?!)
The sudden departure was unannounced and unruly of him, but Katachi could only excuse himself politely from the room-
K: (... ?)
-but that action was quickly rejected by the locked door.
K: "Uhm... Bael, the door's locked."
B: "I know."
Despite the unsettling answer, Bael smiled at him with a cheerful demeanor. It was quite unnerving to affirm and acknowledge the door being locked as 'normal'. Her face was starting to take a creepy turn in all the wrong ways.
K: "Bael?"
B: "You think I'd let you leave that easily? You owe me an explanation to the other time you left me hanging, Katachi! I won't let you weasel out of this one like you did the other day!"
The situation was turning sour real quick.
K: "Bael, I'm serious here, the magic circle told me to assemble at the atrium before everyone else for the next match so I really have to go. Where's the key to the door?"
But the senior was clearly not entertaining the idea. Bael accosted Katachi with a wicked smile, one which sent shivers down his spine and made him subconsciously retreat to another part of her house. If anyone was asked to describe the scene with a suitable metaphor, it was akin to an injured pigeon running away from a child keen on holding the poor frightened animal.
B: "Why are you running away, Katachi? Am I that scary?"
K: "Unfortunately, yes! You're freaking me out right now! I don't have the courage to approach you!"
B: "Come now, I won't bite! You know that, don't you?"
Bael's attempts to approach Katachi at the couch section were futile as he pulled back to her workbench.
B: "Katachi, be a good boy and let me pet you!"
K: "Stay away! Stay away! I don't want any!"
B: "Don't be like that, it's my turn to tease you!"
K: "When have I ever teased you? That was never a competition!"
Katachi was starting to feel like his life itself was at stake. He had the vague feeling that he would, once more, relive the experience of being stuck in her house for five hours on his first day at the academy. An animationist like herself was at her strongest when surrounded by her tools, and her house was essentially a giant tool used to keep all her smaller tools, hand-sized or otherwise.
He tried to topple a life-sized model of Byrh to his right so it could serve as a blockade impeding her advance but the model ominously resisted his efforts. Even after he leaned its head on the table slanted at a perilous angle that threatened to damage and destroy the model should it slip and fall, it miraculously levitated for a brief moment and assumed its original upright position. He was wasting time with that fruitless attempt.
B: "Are you kidding me, Katachi? I'm an animationist! Everything in this room is under my control!"
K: (What do I do?! Everything in this room is controlled by her! There's no real way to impede her progress, and I don't think I can outlast her in terms of stamina!)
Katachi retreated further back to a water purification model and shoved at it towards the region between the workbench and walkway, but that was quickly rendered futile with the model resisting his push deliberately.
B: "How else did I lock the door without using my key? It's obvious, silly!"
K: (Even the model!? What's next, the carpet will swallow me up like some kind of man-eating plant?! I need to get out quick!!)
He made yet another round back to the workbench in what appeared to be a ceaseless game of cat and mouse. Unfortunately, time was running short for Katachi both in his deadline to reach the atrium and in his stamina to outrun Bael. He grabbed a hat stand to blockade the path once more, but something unexpected happened.
The grooves situated at the top of the creepy duck-head lacquered hat stand knocked one of the apparatus off the workbench, and that was an act so horrifying he could see Bael's eyes and mouth widen in slow motion. The apparatus hit the ground with a solid thunk and it explosively released the catch at its base, revealing a magic circle he didn't recognize. Suddenly, the room shuddered and everything came to life at the same time.
B: "Oh no! My project! It's taken priority over my control!"
K: (What in the good woods-)
Her papers and documents, the various artifacts and objects on the workbench, the couch and sofa and rug and fire stoker, everything began to float and circle the room in an idyllic fashion. Interestingly enough, the pieces of furniture were knocking and clapping against each other and making music out of the mess.
B: "By the gods, all that research I did for Uncle Dinpill's new business! Stop! Stop right this instant!"
Bael was utterly flustered and overwhelmed by the sheer mess, but Katachi took advantage of that chaos. He grabbed his bag and headed for a blank wall in a part of the room.
K: (If the door won't budge then I'll make my own door. It's fine every once in a while, isn't it?)
Katachi jabbed his left elbow into the wall and performed a series of complex actions with his hands. He rotated the arm so the palm faced the floor, pulled the middle and ring fingers out and shoved them back into his fist with his right hand over the left.
He then twisted the left hand so the palm faced him, pulled his index and middle fingers out and used his right hand to grab and direct both fingers to face the ground. After that, he twisted his hands again so the palm faced the floor once more with the right hand still on the index and middle fingers like a door hinge being lifted.
Finally, he loosened his right hand while swinging at the door with his left hand still shaped like a hinge. The wall gave way to his spell and opened a rectangular hole in the wall. Katachi quickly escaped the house and uttered his partings.
K: (I feel bad, both for reanimating the furniture and staining her nice clean wall with my sandy sleeves. But that can come another time.) "I'll leave the mess to you, Bael! I'm really sorry!"
He didn't give Bael any time to rebuke and closed the wall on her gently.
B: "Don't say it like it's that easy, Katachi! I made the trap difficult on purpose so there won't be any gatecrashers that would disrupt the- He's gone already?! Damn it!"
*** ***
K: (That was exhausting.)
The incident drained him thoroughly, both in escaping from Bael and in racing to the opposite end of the academy to reach the coliseum in time. By then it was about an hour after noon.
The first round to decide the sixteen remaining ended off at roughly noon before shuffling the initial divisions together. The students who returned early from an hour lunch were waiting for the next event in anticipation.
"... You there, with the black hair."
Katachi spun around to see a boisterous lady with brown wild hair accompanying a tanned and slim figure, her bare feet with her uniform tattered, worn off and torn in some places – It was unkempt just like his own but it was damaged and torn rather than sandy and stained. Or perhaps she rolled only on her back instead of rolling towards the side, which caused her back to be dirtied; in which case Katachi could not tell because she was leaning her back against a wall with folded arms.
Katachi didn't have the time to change out of his tattered uniform from when he fought Cillian. What he originally planned for was to head towards Bael for a world map before heading to his room to change and sketch. But he was interrupted by a few students who wanted his carving autograph for defeating Cillian. Along with the shenanigans that Bael pulled, a majority of the free time he was allowed had been consumed involuntarily.
"Heh, you rolled a lot too, didn't you?"
K: "Y-yeah... My opponent was pretty tough. I had to wait for a good opening before I could hit back."
"That's cool. I just go on the offensive from the start."
The girl brushed her wild hair hanging from her left collarbone to the back and ruffled it up. She now looked like a wild, primitive cave woman with disheveled hair frizzy like an afro.
K: "May I know your name?"
N: "Chotil Nea, from Casa del Chotil. Everyone calls me Chopstick Nea, though."
K: "Oh, er... That's very... Creative, I guess." (A chopstick?... A pair? With whom?)
N: "Thanks. I managed to beat up poor Aldia, the gods have mercy on the first year. The only ones stopping me now are Deku and that kid who beat Cillian... What was his name?"
K: (It's better if she doesn't recognize me. In fact, the less she knows about me the better. It makes me wish I was paired with less competent fighters.) "Uhh... I think it's Katachi."
N: "Right, Katachi, that fly-boy they were talking about-"
"Contestants, please stand by. The next match will begin shortly."
The crowd cheered excitedly for the next match. Katachi didn't actually remember the tournament sheet, nor did he take note of who the remaining contestants were. He wanted to see the tournament bracket but he was cropped up by the incredulous events bordering along atrocity that transpired. Despite that, the free carving pick was a reward in and of itself. Katachi made a mental note to view it sometime after the match with Nea.
N: "That's my call. See you around, kid."
K: "Actually, that's my call too."
N: "!? Wait... You're Katachi!?"
K: "... Yes. Yes, I am."
She gave a brief pout that was rather cutesy, but as someone younger than her he felt weird watching the act performed.
N: "Aww, what a pity. I wanted to save you as some kind of dessert after the main dish, you know? Oh well. We can't all have nice things, can we? See you inside."
Nea walked towards the obelisk with a sharp crystal at its top, and with a touch she was sent towards Cosmatral Tlod.
K: "... Best of luck to you too."
A bitter look flashed on his face briefly.
K: (That's what I wished for as well, but I ended up fighting Cillian for the first round.)
Katachi could only sigh. Even the best-laid plans go awry, but such was the cruel and beautiful world. It was as though the tournament altered the contestant allocations for its own amusement. In what appeared to be mischief manifested it defied Katachi's wishes of fighting weak opponents. It also appeared to have gone against the wishes of other competitors as well.
Mafer had his hands full fighting the Vikarr guy, Nea had to prematurely accelerate her own plans and fight Katachi immediately, and he already had his first two rounds sparring off with tough opponents like a finalist and a senior. Katachi wondered if the other contestants faced similar problems.
*** ***
Nea and Katachi stood in Cosmatral Tlod quietly looking at each other from a distance. One was a semi-finalist of last year's tournament – A monstrous brown-haired student whom evenly challenged many of the older opponents, only to fall before Cillian in the semi-finals. With a fiery passion to win she stood proud and tall once again, prepared to face the adversaries before her.
The other was a kid nobody knew.
Both were about to begin the match for eliminating contestants. At least, that's what the students roaring on the coliseum benches were waiting for. It wasn't that those students were poor at magic, but that some of the students did not specialize in magic as a form of combat. Magic's potential in support was, after all, much more frightful than magic as a means of offense.
N: "Let's enjoy ourselves."
Had he spent time watching the matches he would have at least seen what Nea was capable of, but it was far too late to regret now.
N: "And so his hands grew, and his nails sharpened into those of a beast's."
Her hands grew into paws with sharp claws. Nea stared into Katachi's eyes and gave a cheeky smile.
N: "I hope you're ready!"
K: (A transformation? I would like that as well, but my reflexes are poor so agile ones are out of the question. There're multiples tales of people transforming into monsters, but paws probably mean a predatory animal.)
Katachi took his dagger out from his back and readied his stance. He bent his legs down and held his hands up to protect his front. Nea looked carefully at him and his posture before determining the best means of attack.
N: "And his legs burst forth, a new, unbound strength."
Her leg muscles rippled and grew, and her bare feet changed into paws. With a celerity befitting her slim figure, she leaped towards Katachi and-
N: (Foolish little man! You can't beat a cougar.)
K: (A head-on charge?!)
-changed her direction right before hitting him, and got behind him before he could react and spin around. The lethargy from the commotion and ring-around-the-rosie earlier persisted, rendering Katachi too sluggish to respond. Nea proceeded to pounce on him from the back. With his rear exposed, striking him down was a feat too easy-
N: (He won't go down?!)
K: "... Heheheheheheh."
-except that the boy stood stalwart and unyielding, contrary to his demeanor.
N: "!? What!?" (Why is he chuckling? Did he figure out the spell I used?!)
Nea leaped back to put distance between them and quickly transformed back to normal.
K: "I'm surprised you fell for my trap."
N: "What?! What trap?!"
*** ***
Katachi executed a clutch move at that moment. Using 恒定 – Constant status on himself, he set his status of 'standing up, unmoving' as constant. He managed to pull it off right before Nea hurled her body weight at him.
K: (Her magic is derived from the tale of Qin Tsung Yao, an Anikan hunter who traveled into Western Anik and transformed into a cougar. Its obvious weakness would be how Qin Tsung Yao died – Impalement from a thrown spear by a hunter. In that form her stab wounds won't recover.)
It was often dangerous for magi to engage each other in close-quarter combat. Placing one in a range where the other could kill you easily was something suicidal, especially if one did not know what forms of sorcery and magic the other knew.
For example, there was a tale of an Auseri pope cursed by the reincarnate of a Findeli god in that he had bone spurs growing on his entire spine. The spurs, as a mockery of his indolence, grew to monstrous sizes half his height and gave him a proper reason to resume his indulgent lifestyle.
Using the tale as an attack spell one could simulate the curse and create a fan of bone spears on their back, which would have spelled a fatal blow for Nea... Provided the caster was prepared for the attack. He cackled on purpose so he could take advantage of her paranoia and force Nea to cancel the transformation.
K: (固定! Fixate position – Nea!)
A 定 word was placed on her back without her knowledge, and Nea was rendered completely immobile just like Cillian's sword. Her transformation back into human form was crucial because the cougar's fur would not suffice in concealing the 定 in the slightest, should she opt for the full transformation.
N: "What... !?"
It was therefore imperative to deceive and manipulate her train of thought to discourage the cougar form immediately. Katachi walked towards her with the dagger in hand and pressed it against her throat.
K: "I'm sorry. I don't know what history you have, and I don't know why you need to win. But I need the champion's prize. Once I win, I won't need to stay in this academy or pretend to be someone I'm not any longer."
With an unexpected, abrupt ending, the divisional best of eight concluded.