Hana shrugged. It seemed like she was gonna fight him anyway, so why not make some cash out of it? Besides, he would be a good test subject for her new abilities. Her eyes glimmered with anticipation.
Everyone else was in an uproar. A 50,000 credit bet! She was truly overestimating herself.
Song Lin frowned. He didn't have that kind of money. He was confident in his abilities, but financially . . .
"Sure." Huang Feifei answered. She winked at Song Lin, indicating she was going to pay. "But can you afford to play that big?" It was well-known that Hana was dirt poor.
"I'll cover for her so she can!" Renae dumped in her support. "Besides, Hana will win so we won't need to worry." She would side with Hana no matter what.
"Fine," Song Lin cleared his throat, "Tomorrow, I will see you — "
"Let's do it now," Hana interrupted. Song Lin looked pissed at getting his sentence cut off.
Hana merely sent him a look. "We'll just get this over with."
Song Lin gritted his teeth. "Fine, if you want to die sooner, don't blame me." He stormed out toward the dueling arena.
Like all schools, fighting among students was prohibited. However, students could challenge each other in the dueling arena. While it was rarely that someone died on the arena, it wasn't impossible.
After all, stepping onto the arena indicated no one would be blamed if death occurred. But most usually had the basic courtesy to not go too far.
The rest of the students filed out, anticipating a good show to watch.
"You sure you can win?" Renae looked worried. "Not that I doubt your abilities, but you have never experienced fighting against another person. A person has more sophisticated thought processes than monsters. Will your summons work?"
Hana's eyes glinted. "Actually, it is the boy you should worrying for." An assassin of numerous kills, she was more worried about injuring him too much. Not that she cared for him, but she wanted the money from the bet.
Outside, Song Lin stood proudly on the death platform. The bleachers were packed. After all, a duel between an F – rank and C - rank was about to begin. Although it was pitiful, no one wanted to miss a good thrashing.
Hana saw Huang Feifei smiling triumphantly at her. She ignored her and jumped into the arena.
The teacher in charge of the arena (referee) looked at the two. "You both know the rules."
Song Lin gave a brutish grin. "Of course." Hana tilted her head in assent.
The referee waved his hand. "Let's have a clean fight. Begin!"
Song Lin held his hand up, a ferocious smile visible.
Immediately, thick vines burst out of the ground. They towered in the air, twisting menacingly. The green ropes were similar to that of a Rosalian, but far less dangerous. They lacked thorns and were thinner.
Song Lin laughed. "Hana Zhao, I'd like to see how you will avoid my vines." His eyes glinted in a cruel light. "Since you actually look pretty decent, I'll give you a quick death. Learn how it feels to be strangled to death!"
With a wave of his hand, the vines rushed forward.
(A/n. Just imagine the Fairytail battle music starting here lol.)
Strangely, Hana gave off a toothy grin. Time for her to heat things up!
She took in a deep breath, her cheeks puffing up. Her iris slitted and flashed red.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
The signature blast of roaring red flames erupted from her mouth. They burnt away the vines like paper and rushed toward Song Lin.
"What the hell?!" Song Lin barely threw himself aside.
Boom!! Raging flames crashed onto the arena, sending sand into the air. The ground shook as dust and gravel covered the arena. The whole place steamed with heat.
Everyone was shocked. Their faces were almost exactly the same. WTF?!?!?
Who said an F - ranked was about to get thrashed today?!
Who was the actual F - rank here?!
Huang Feifei was horrified.
Meng Xiaoyi was shivering.
Even the referee had backed away from the arena, eyes wide in shock.
"Hahaha, go Hana!" Only Renae was cheering in the crowd's shocked silence. She didn't what Hana did, but it was awesome!
As the dust cleared, the giant black scorch mark on the arena floor was visible. In fact, it was still steaming like the ground had been branded.
It was like looking at the mark of a devil.
Song Lin sat on the ground, shaking. Half his arm was blistering red, burnt. He gripped his arm, eyes wide in shock.
A languid voice broke the silence. "Eh? So weak. I thought it would be a little stronger."
Hana's lithe figure was revealed, standing casually in front of the mark. Her ponytail swayed in the wind, red eyes framed by red glasses. Her black hair had streaks of pale pink in them, as if the flame burnt into her very body.
The crowd's heart shook. Many were torn between fear and falling in love at the dominating sight.
Hana looked at Song Lin. "Let's continue." Her fist burst into bright red flame.
Song Lin's eyes filled with vicious hate. "You just got lucky with that hit." He stood up. Although the attack had shocked him, he was more angry.
How dare she humiliate him like this in front of a crowd. He could practically feel the jeering eyes on him.
Song Lin clenched his fists. He had been born in a financially stricken family. However, the heavens didn't forsaken him and granted him a powerful ability.
While it could not compare to Renae Cao or any of the top 5, he thought he would at least rival some of the best in the school.
But now the worst in his grade dared to oppose him?
He would not accept that!
"I'll split you into pieces!" He roared. Vines wrapped around Hana's arms and legs.
Flames burst into existence around her. The vines around her turned to ash.
The vibrant red, orange, and yellow joined together and pillared into the sky.
A confident smirk bloomed on Hana's face.
"I'd like to see you try!"