The Semi-Finals of the Annual Magical Knights Tournament have finally concluded. Simon Windblade has won against Isaac Terrastone, and Allen Fleming has won against Stephen Windblade. Both Simon and Allen shall proceed to the finals, where they shall face each other to determine the winner of the tournament.
"So much has happened in so little time," Allen muttered to himself, as he stood alone in the training room.
Only a day has passed since Allen won against both his friend and rival, Stephen. While his injuries were more or less still healing, Allen decided he needed some alone time to go over his thoughts, in preparation for what is to come.
From winning against Nathaniel Rivertide and Rose Marion, passing his condition to win four consecutive duels, and now winning against Stephen Windblade, Allen has come so far in the weeks the tournament has lasted. Despite managing to win against a lot of the best the academy has to offer, Allen still couldn't help but feel weaker than ever. His academy year was already almost over, but he still had a major hurdle to accomplish - to win against Simon Windblade.
Only knowing a little bit of what Simon is capable of from Thomas, Allen can already tell that his chances of winning against him are closer to zero than anything else. If Simon could best his friend Thomas within mere seconds, then just how well could Allen pose against him?
This whole situation will pose a huge problem for Allen, as his goal right now is to try to stand out as much as possible, in an attempt to overthrow Ellen's ridiculous ideals and methods, in order to return his former mentor William Windblade to his rightful position as Head Director of their esteemed academy.
"William, just how would you deal with this situation?," Allen asked out loud, as if William would answer him. "How would you try to beat an opponent stronger than everyone else?"
Without warning, the doors to the once quiet training room were opened. A familiar figure walked in, surprising Allen. They had an all too familiar grin on their face, almost brightening the previously dark room.
"Y'know, I just couldn't help myself," they said out loud, as they closed the doors behind him. "You did tell us you wanted some alone time, but something told me I needed to ignore it"
"Stephen?!," Allen said, taken aback.
"The one and only," he pointed at himself, right before walking up to him.
Just out of anyone that could've bothered me, it had to be both who I defeated yesterday, as well as the son to my former mentor, Allen thought, as he sighed.
With a few of the scars left from their duel yesterday, Stephen managed to keep a brief pace as he approached Allen. Out of the two of them, Allen arguably suffered the most damage, but that didn't mean Stephen still needed time to heal and recover.
"We're both fortunate that despite us both going all out, not one of us needed a trip to the infirmary," Stephen casually said, as he finally stood next to Allen. "Crazy, right?"
"I can hardly believe it myself," Allen sighed, as he took a seat on a nearby bench, with Stephen following him. "And yet…"
"Yet you have worries, don't you?," Stephen asked, right on point. "You're worried about your future duel"
"You saw right through me," Allen admitted, as he kept eye contact with the floor, unable to look Stephen in the eye. "But why are you even here?"
"I thought that would be obvious," Stephen answered, crossing his arms. "One of my friends is worried, and you expect me to sit idly still and leave him be?"
"Yeah, but-"
"No buts," Stephen cut him off. "You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?"
"Yeah I would," Allen admitted.
"There you go. Besides, I promise I came alone. Everyone else is worried about you, y'know. It took everything I had to convince them to let me come alone," Stephen explained. "We're all going to see each other later for our meeting, so most of them led it slide"
"I suppose that's true," Allen agreed with him. "Mr. Garet wants to hold a meeting before my next duel, just like any other time"
"And that's good, considering what's to come," Stephen continued. "If anything, I would've expected you to at least be a little excited, making it this far. And yet, you're the complete opposite. So Allen, what's going on? Tell me about your worries"
"I-," Allen started to say, but didn't know where to start. Tell him about his worries about his upcoming duel? What was there to talk about? And how would he even tell him?
"You're also worried about me, aren't you?," Stephen asked, seeing right through him again. "How I lost to you"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't," Allen answered. "Beating you means you won't be going to the finals. Out of the two of us, you might have a better chance against your cousin. And yet-"
"Don't give me that crap, Allen!," Stephen raised his voice, annoyed. "Look, I also would be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed that I lost. But the thing is, we both fought fair and square, using whatever magic, abilities and tactics we could use to try to beat the other. In the end, you beat me, and you proceed to the finals. That's how it works in the tournament. And I will respect your victory"
"Yeah, that's true," Allen started to agree with him. "It was a good duel, and you had me on edge almost the entire time. You've really improved since the beginning of the year"
"Right?," Stephen said, excited. "I'm finally starting to understand how you and father use your mana the way you do. And you know what? I wouldn't be as strong as I am now without your and everyone else's help"
"We've all really come a long way, haven't we?," Allen said, the smile on his face forming once again. "I still almost cannot believe it"
"And you know what? Just because I lost to you doesn't mean our friendly rivalry isn't over!," Stephen grinned, with Allen finally making direct eye contact with him.
"You're right," Allen agreed with him. "No matter what, we'll all aim to grow stronger, so we may one day become the strongest there is!"
"Exactly!," Stephen responded. "We're all here to work and grow stronger together. Just like how Rose cleverly put it after your duel with her"
"Don't remind me about that!," Allen immediately cut in, his face turning red.
"Oh? Still hung up about that?," Stephen asked, a smirk forming on his face. "Does Rose's confession still get to you that much?"
Allen didn't respond and only ignored him as he looked the other way.
"Oh well," Stephen said, finally going back on topic. "Overall, I'm just glad at least one of us is making it to the finals. It's pretty rare for a first year to make it to the finals"
"Seriously?," Allen asked, almost in disbelief. "Wait, that actually makes somewhat sense"
"Yeah, with how strong students can grow, it's pretty normal for the third and second years to come out on top," Stephen explained, stretching. "There's only been a handful of cases of first years making it that far, lest winning the tournament"
"I bet those first years must have been really strong," Allen added, his thoughts drifting to William. If anyone could've done it, it was probably William.
"And there's only one case of one person winning the tournament all three years attending here," Stephen continued. "You've probably heard about her. Christina Windblade, my father's late older sister…"
There's that name again, Allen thought. Christina Windblade. Why do I keep hearing about her? How important was she?
Though Allen only knew the few important details about her from primarily Mr. Garet and Ms. Florence, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. She supposedly attended the academy, was looked up to by everyone, made a name for herself, and then later became the leader of the now former Council of Magic.
And yet, he's only heard about her a few times. Despite being surprised she's been brought up a handful of times, Allen is more surprised he hasn't heard about her more. You'd think that his former mentor would talk more about his older sister, right? Or was the memory of her that painful for him?
"My father doesn't like talking about her for good reason, but I still hear facts about her here and there," Stephen continued. "Sure, she was my aunt, but I never got to meet her. She had died before I was born, so I never got to form a bond or connection to her or whatever. So, it doesn't really hurt me when I hear about her. If anything, it's nice to hear how great of a person my aunt was"
That makes sense, Allen thought to himself again. William already doesn't like talking about himself, so why would he want to talk about something like his late sister? How important was she to him?
"But still, it would be pretty cool to win all three years attending this academy, huh?," Stephen brought up, grinning. "With her being the first, she had earned the title 'Prodigy of the Academy', and so far she's been the only person. It would be so cool if I managed to pull that off! Then again, I already lost that chance, but it's alright, I promise!"
Winning all three years, huh?, Allen thought to himself again. Could I really pull something like that off? Even if I manage to defeat Simon, could I really do that again two more times?
"You are simply put, an outlier. An unexpected variable. A piece on the chessboard that could change the once expected outcome of the game," Mr. Garet's former words echoed inside Allen's head.
"There has been only one other individual similar to you, yet different in many ways that attended this academy"
"Yes, you two are by far very different in many noticeable ways… But the one major thing that marks both her and you as the outliers I have called you two is your end goal - to leave your mark, whether for good or for bad"
"Both you and Christina… while different in many ways… are both very similar"
Allen's brain was bombarded with Mr. Garet's words he previously spoke, back when Allen first agreed to join their small resistance. He wanted to shake the thoughts away, but for some reason he just couldn't. Was comparing himself to the great Christina Windblade seem that reasonable? Did Mr. Garet really think that the Weakest Mage, Allen Fleming, could hold a candle to the 'Prodigy of the Academy' and former Council of Magic Leader, Christina Windblade?
Why do I feel this way all of a sudden?, Allen asked himself, as he felt a slight pressure in his head. Why does all of this feel so familiar, yet so new?
Allen's attention was suddenly directed towards his sword, which lay next to him where he had set it before taking a seat with Stephen in the stands. It almost felt like a strange energy was radiating from it, almost beckoning him to pick it up.
Everything had been strange about his sword from the beginning. Supposedly being his mother's former sword, handed to him by William at the end of his five years training. It having the ability to cut through magic, and even later realizing it could release said magic. Everyone else unable to carry it or even pick it up, shown first by Nathaniel in Allen's first duel against him, then August when Allen first dueled against him, and even Charles before Allen's tournament duel against Nathaniel.
The fact of the matter is that it seemed only Allen could use it, and he's been learning more and more about it as time passed. But what truly was his sword? Was it some sort of magical artifact? A sword of unknown origins? Just who was his mother, and how did she even get it?
The more I learn about everything, the more questions I seem to form, Allen thought, gritting his teeth.
"-Allen?," Stephen yelled, shaking Allen in place.
"What?," Allen asked, shaking himself out of his thoughts.
"You seemed out of it there, are you okay?," he asked, worried about him.
"Yeah I'm fine, I promise," Allen reassured him, putting his thoughts aside for now.
"Thought I almost lost you there," Stephen sighed. "Either way, I'm glad you're feeling better"
"Thanks Stephen," Allen smiled.
"Anytime man," Stephen grinned, giving him a thumbs up.
With Allen finally coming to terms with himself once again, he is reminded of his goals. He just needs to remain focused on his goals, and work with his friends and small resistance members towards their overall goal of returning William as their head director.
After they finally finished their conversation and small talk, Allen and Stephen made their way over to Mr. Garet's office, where the rest of the resistance members awaited them.
Mr. Garet remained sitting at his desk, with Ms. Florence and Mr. Lyon standing on either side of him. The rest of their friends Thomas, Cecily, Rose, Alice, and even Charles were already seated around Mr. Garet's desk. August still remained absent, as outlined by himself when he advised them he had things to do with his father, the king himself.
"Take your seats, Fleming and Windblade," Mr. Garet advised them, after clearing his throat.
With Allen and Stephen silently greeting their friends in the room, they finally took their seats in front of Mr. Garet's desk, and awaited their meeting to finally begin.
"I have news," Mr. Garet began, looking at each and every one of them. "News regarding the tournament, Simon Windblade, and even William himself…"
News about William?, Allen thought, completely surprised. Could this be good, or bad news? Just what will Mr. Garet inform them?