"You sure he is out?"
Ray asked as he stuck his head from behind Oliver and looked warily at Taros.
The defeated Vaharis lay unmoving before them. Fortunately, he shrunk down as he fell so there was no danger of his squishing anyone under his boulder-like body.
Arthur poked Taros's face with the tip of Ghost.
No response.
He and Magnus looked at each other. He crouched down next to the fallen Vaharis and smacked him in the face.
"Hey! What are you doing?!", Ray yelped and the others tensed up, ready to bolt.
Arthur grinned, "Yep. He is out."
"Please don't do that.", Ray pleaded, "I wrapped him up in chains quite well back then. He'd be very pissed off at me if he woke up."
Oliver looked at the unconscious Vaharis, "Should we restrain him? He will be a problem for us when he stirs."
"We'll be in the tower by then. Don't worry.", Arthur assured him and looked at his bracelet.
He whistled, "Damn. Four more participants have entered the tower. We were so focused on bringing down Rockhead here that we didn't notice the alerts."
"We should hurry.", Flare said and then looked warily at Magnus.
The guy just defeated an enemy they were struggling against so quickly. She, Oliver, and Gray were tensed in his presence.
"You're right.", Arthur stood up and put away his sword, "But there are still twenty-two slots left. We'll make it.", he spoke with a confident smile.
He then glanced at Magnus, "That is unless you wish to stop us."
Magnus arched his eyebrows, "And why would I do that."
"You know as well as I do. We're from different classes. Surely you have friends you want to see in the tournament phase."
Magnus chuckled, "Oh. Don't worry about that. Like Special Class A, Class S has few students. So there is plenty of space for both our classes."
"What I am more interested in is your plan. Simple but cunning."
Arthur grinned, "So you figured it out?"
"I mean, It's not hard to figure that one out.", Magnus shrugged.
"You planned to have everyone join into teams or a single big team and enter the tower."
"You knew that almost everyone expected Jason Kain to enter the tower right after Aaron Cadis. So you sent Minerva and Robin Sylran ahead."
"That was Minerva's plan.", Arthur interrupted.
"She wanted to make an impression on everyone regarding Special Class A. Using her intellect and powers and Robin's shadow attribute, they were able to accumulate a lot of points and enter the tower right after Aaron."
"And it worked. Everyone was shocked.", Magnus gave an impressed nod. He tilted his head, "Using Minerva's plan as a diversion, you sent Jason after Sierra Louvre."
"Sierra stepped down from the power struggle but she is still among the strongest in the academy. So you sent Jason and Kate Phaes against her."
Magnus narrowed his eyes, "It was an intense battle that went unnoticed due to Kate's powerful barrier skills. You gave Jason and Sierra a good battle and even accomplished your goal."
He stared at Arthur, "To weaken Sierra Louvre."
"You think you will have to fight her in the future?"
Arthur shrugged, "I'm just taking precautions."
'How can I tell them that I saw a vision of her chasing me around an arena with a sword?', he thought.
[Oh they will definitely think you are crazy.]
'Any explanation for my visions of the future, oh mighty Inferno?'
[I have a few hunches but I'm not telling you. I'll let you know about that at the most random moment.]
'Oh, you little-'
His conversation with Inferno was interrupted by Magnus.
"So. Can I ally with you?", he asked.
Arthur blinked, "What a coincidence! I was about to ask the same from you."
He looked at his friends and they nodded, agreeing to Magnus's request.
"Sure.", they shook hands.
"Now let's get out of here before this guy wakes up.", Magnus nodded at Taros.
None of them had any complaints about that and started to move away.
"Oh yeah.", Magnus pointed at Arthur's long hair streaked with blue and white, "Going for a new style?"
Arthur smiled, "Well, I thought about having a few changes."
*******
"How disappointing."
The man remarked as he held a struggling Clara by the neck.
His glowing eyes fell on Nichole and she swallowed hard. A drop of sweat went down her spine and she shivered.
She couldn't believe it.
The mysterious man came out of the woods without alerting any of them. It was as if he had no presence.
Nichole should've known something was wrong from the way he smiled casually at them.
In a matter of minutes, he subdued her entire team. She still couldn't wrap her head around what just happened.
Of course, Jaimi was the first to attack. She jumped at the man with an excited squeal, black lightning shooting out of her hands, only for her to plow in the opposite direction straight into a cluster of rocks, pulverizing them.
Next was Clara, who appeared behind him and swiped at him with beastly claws wreathed in black flames. The man just moved to the side and dealt a powerful kick right on her stomach.
She flew into the trees with a splatter of black blood from her mouth as her organs ruptured internally.
The unluckiest of the three was Aya.
She realized just how dangerous the person was and went all out from the start. She popped open a vial of concentrated black magia and consumed it, unleashing her true Fallen form.
With blackish-purple veins pulsing on her ashen skin, long hair that writhed like angry snakes, tattered batlike wings, needle-like fangs, and scythe-like black claws, she lunged at the man with a terrifying screech.
As he faced the terrifying Fallen coming at him, the man just smiled.
He dodged all of Aya's strikes and in a single swift motion ended the fight. The next moment, he was holding Aya's head, ripped from her neck.
She was still screaming as he tossed her head to Nichole's feet. She had seen worse things but this was different.
For the first time since she became a Fallen, Nichole was repulsed by the sight of blood and she stepped back, away from the ripped-off head of her subordinate.
That was when Clara flew from the woods in a half-beast form and Jaimi came from the boulder field, enveloped in black lightning.
Both attacked at the same time which resulted in a powerful explosion. Nichole had shielded her eyes from the dust and smoke only for them to widen in disbelief when everything cleared up.
Jaimi had her head buried in the ground while the man held Clara by the neck. His carefree expression didn't falter a bit during the entire confrontation.
"Are you just going to stand there looking dumbfounded or will you do something?", the man's words jolted her from her flashback.
She looked him in the eyes and his gaze penetrated deep into her soul. Her heartbeat quickened when she realized the identity of the one facing her.
Deep amethyst purple eyes, messy raven-black hair that reached his shoulders, and porcelain skin with no imperfections. A man with unparalleled beauty who even caught the eyes of her master.
Out of the many instructors on the list she received for her mission, this man stood out the most. Not because of his divine looks but for another reason.
All the details about him were unknown.
A man who is as mysterious as he is handsome with a strange name, the instructor about whom everyone talked about.
The teacher of Special Class A, the worst class in Cardinal Academy.
"Instructor Seventeen.", she spoke up.
"Huh. Interesting.", Seventeen dropped Clara and cocked his head.
"You seem to know me. You are well informed. As expected of an infiltration team. But..."
He looked down at Clara and Jaimi and gave Nichole a disappointed look, "Are Fallen really this weak?"
Nichole gulped.
Weak? Those three are among the elites under her command and are stronger than most vice-captains of the Cardinal Knights. Jaimi herself was on the same level as the infamous Allistair Night.
Now her body is sticking out of the ground with her head buried in it.
Nichole began to tremble under his gaze. Instead of Inferno, her master should focus on him.
This guy is worse than Inferno.
She took a deep breath and calmed herself down and glanced at Clara who was slowly stirring from the ground.
If they can work together.
Perhaps they can escape this monster.