Chapter 15 - To Prove Myself (Part One!)
Finally. Here it was. My chance to prove to everyone - Yui, my teacher, my mom and more importantly, myself - that I'm not weak anymore. I took one look back at Yui, the girl that I had only known for a few days, and yet swore to protect with all my power.
I calmly walked out onto the place that would soon become our battlefield. 'I can do this. I will do this. This power of mine, I got it for a reason. I got it to finally be able to achieve my goal. And this… This is the start of something great. The start of my legacy.'
I looked over to my left and saw my teacher, the 3-A teacher and the principle all sat on the stands as spectators. On the principle and 3-A teacher's faces, I saw a look of disappointment and pity. They didn't see me as a threat. 'Well, looks like i'll just have to prove them otherwise,' I thought to myself, a new wave of determination spreading throughout my body. I won't be left behind. Everyone will follow the path I walk.
I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts as the Top 5 appeared in my vision, their outfits bringing a smile to my face, one that was full of humour. They were all dressed like superheroes out of those manga or web novels that so many people seem to like. 'There's really no need to be that extra honestly.'
A sigh of annoyance left my mouth. I really didn't see a reason for that outfit. On the other hand, I wasn't wearing a particularly good battle suit either.
I looked down and gave a disappointed sigh towards my casual clothes. They were the only things that felt comfortable, despite being far less practical than the superhero costumes that the Top 5 seemed to like.
I stared conflictingly at the newly bought book strap that held tightly around my waist carrying Mazoku's book. This was the thing that made me hurt Yui. The book that gave me so much power, but also so much anger. 'All power has a cost,' I thought to myself. I knew that I wouldn't stand a chance without it, so I didn't really have any other choice than to either fight with all I've got, or go back to being the weak, useless Amon. And for me, that choice was incredibly easy. The book seems to give me an insane amount of strength, but very easily clouds my judgement with anger. So, all I had to do was stay calm, right. Much easier than it sounds. But, this is just a bump in the road leading to my destiny. I have to overcome this. I need to. No matter what.
Once again, my thoughts were interrupted by Okashi's voice.
"Ignis. Are you ready to get your ass beat yet?"
Ignoring the comment, I lifted my gaze to meet Gale's.
"Gale. Don't go easy on me just because you're my best friend. I'm sure as hell not going easy on you. After all, I'm going for number one, and you're in my way."
Gale's face quickly lit up at the proposed challenge. He always did love a fight when we were younger.
"Yeah, you bet Amon. But, in the end, you're still going to lose to us."
I lowered my hand, grabbing the hilt of Apollo and drawing the sword in one quick movement.
"Yeah, sure. You keep telling yourself that."
I turned my attention to my teacher.
As I spoke, I took a deep breath. Now or never. I activated my flames. They started as a dull orange, before flickering blue, and exploding with power. I willed all the flames onto my index finger, and dragged it down Apollo's blade, lighting it a brilliant blue.
My teacher's face lit up with pride, I could sense that he wanted to see it in person. To see what I could really do. My heart felt uplifted. I finally found an adult beside my mom that wanted me to succeed. Who shared my belief of myself at the top.
However, the cost of such power soon became apparent. I glanced up, and a wave of rage flooded my mind. The Top 5. The strongest there is. Looking down on me, with looks of pity. It was only Gale who looked genuinely proud of me, and that toned my anger down by quite a bit. However, it still wasn't enough. They were nothing but mere obstacles to me. And as my eyes closed and focused on my magic, I had only one thought.
WIN!
A whistle was blown and with zero hesitation, footsteps came rushing towards me.
I thought to myself, using my analytical skills to form a brief plan of action.
'If it's someone running towards me, then it's not anyone with a ranged ability. So, that discludes the earth guy, the small water guy, and Gale. I doubt Okashi would charge at me first, unless he was intending to end this fight quickly. But he probably wants to break me down. Break down my body, and then my spirit, before ending it. Therefore, there's only one option remaining…;
My eyes jolted open, the blinding light blurring my vision slightly. However, I currently had no use for my eyes just yet. All I needed was a prediction, and a lot of hope.
CLASH!
I swung Apollo with my right arm, tensing my muscles and putting all the physical power I could muster into it.
Apollo hit something, and I immediately felt a shock wave run up my arm. A slight wince of pain flashed on my features, before burning out like the fire within me. I had no time for pain. I only had time to win.
My eyes finally adjusted to the intense light, giving me my sight back. I looked dead ahead to see our school's apparent sword master right in front of me, struggling to fight against Apollo's advance.
Strained words left my opponent's mouth,
"Looks like you know your way around a sword Amon. Unfortunately for you, however, I don't plan on losing this."
I felt my eyes flash with anger, as a cocky smirk formed on my face.
"Really. I was just thinking the same thing."
Now was my time, his guard was low as he kept fighting my advance.
I closed my eyes again, this time, only for a second and stopped concentrating on holding in all the magic, all the rage, that I knew was inside me.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then…
My body burst into majestic, blue flames. The feeling of them surrounding my body bringing me nothing but pure joy as my anger subsided.
I was right. My opponent hadn't been expecting this, and therefore, hadn't cast any protection magic on his clothes. This turned out to be a mistake, as slowly, his clothes caught a blue fire, now spreading further along his body.
His face turned into one of pain as I weakened the force that I put behind Apollo, allowing him to turn the tables and start advancing towards me. My opponent took a step back and swung his sword down, aiming for a well timed strike against the shoulder. Unfortunately for him however, he was facing a professional.
And so, Amon easily used the flat side of his blade to parry the sword and deliver a strong kick to the centre of his chest, knocking him back, and taking the air out of his lungs, giving him the opening he needed to finish this fight.
Here it was, Apollo's turn to finish this. I maneuvered my body into the strongest sword stance that I knew, and I swung my sword with my remaining strength, making the blade hit him directly in the chest. The flames made short work of his clothes, burning them, and his skin, leaving a new diagonal mark along his chest.
I stood there as what used to be my opponent ran back to his teammates.
I held my hand up, admiring the strong blue flames dancing along it. A powerful, and victorious smirk crossing my face.
"It was a good fight. I'll give you that."