What was once a place filled with people cheering for a massacre, was now a place filled with the thirst to see the Bloodless get what he deserved. The worse it got, the better.
Kaito held his shield in hand and faced the warrior in front of him.
"So, are you going to accept the challenge or you'll chicken out?"
Linus looked at the Bloodless in front of him and felt a huge urge to finish him off right there, but he couldn't. The rules were clear, there could only be one fight per period, because of that he still needed permission from a teacher or an S rank. He looked up at the Five Phoenix cabin, but there was no answer.
"I wish I could break all your bones, worm. But I'll have to leave it to lat-"
Suddenly the screen changed its message, showing the authorization. The warrior knew what it was. Azhur gave permission for him to destroy the trash in front of him, and he would gladly do it.
"Glorious blood! I'll get to break two garbage in the same day!" he said holding his sledgehammer with both hands.
The bleachers filled up completely. Everyone there wanted to see that. Everyone was looking forward to the defeat of the F rank.
Elynor walked over to his brother, and before he could say anything Kaito put Bairon in his arms, leaving him confused.
"Are you really going to fight? Do you really have to do this?" he asked, sitting Bairon down on the wall.
"I need to show who's in charge here. Make it clear that they can't step on me, understand? And there is more, if I see someone hurting a friend of mine unfairly I'm going to kick their ass!" said Kaito realizing that the cleric's blessings were fading from his shield.
"I can stop this! I'm part of the Five Phoenix now and I can stop this foolishness!"
Kaito turned to his brother and showed a serious look along with a smile taken by malice.
"Ely, don't do that. Let me show everyone today how much ranks don't mean shit."
Elynor wanted to protest, but when his brother had that look on his face the most he could do was watch and pray for the best.
"Just don't overdo it, Kai."
Kaito raised his thumb in a positive sign and walked to the center of the battlefield. His only weapon was the shield Bairon was using. The shield was a little dented, it must have been a little over four pounds and didn't look very threatening. Kaito thought that Bairon had probably taken that shield because it was mirrored in the battle against the troll. It wasn't a bad idea, but it lacked training.
"Aren't you going to ask your brother to fight for you?" teased Linus putting the sledgehammer on his shoulder.
"And why would I do that? So you can shit yourself? No, let me have a serious fight at least."
"Oh, I won't lie..." said the warrior with a smile on his lips "I'm really going to enjoy this."
Suddenly the warrior raised his sledgehammer and moved forward to lower it all at once, hitting the enemy he saw in front of him. The ground shook slightly and dust rose at once, but something was wrong. Linus felt no contact.
"All that power used in such a dumb way..."
The voice came from behind him. Turning around he saw Kaito standing there looking at him with a bored expression.
"You're pretty slow, aren't you? Are you sure the sledgehammer is the best weapon for you?"
Linus turned at once, striking with all his strength and weight from the side, but his opponent was no longer there. Paying closer attention the warrior could see that the Bloodless was passing by on his right at high speed, heading for his back.
"If I knew it was going to be so boring I would come unarmed."
The warrior took a deep breath and concentrated his strength at once. His eyes glowed a bright red as his muscle jumped through his body.
"Burst of Strength!"
Kaito had expected that. More strength and less control, just as he wanted. The warrior struck countless times at the chance to try to hit the classless one, but he couldn't connect even one blow. Kaito seemed faster. More than that, it was as if those agile movements were something more than just speed. What the warrior didn't realize, the crowd noticed in shock.
"That... can't be..."
"Is that the Quickstep of the rogues?"
"It's the Quickstep, but it's no faster than a real thief's. I would say it's at the level of a E rank or even lower."
Ranks didn't matter to Kaito. He only needed to predict what his opponent would do. In his month of training, he was forced to learn from Selize Salibar how to use the basic skills of a rogue. Apparently the training was paying off.
He slid from one side to the other, tiring more and more the warrior, who became irritated and tried at any cost to hit him with easy-to-read blows. Until finally Linus gave up trying the physical attacks and tried something bigger.
"Red Tremor!"
The warrior raised his sledgehammer to the heavens, and Kaito could see a red energy take over his weapon. He knew what was coming, and it was not going to be good.
Linus brought his sledgehammer down on the ground at once and a very strong tremor struck the entire arena, leaving Kaito too unbalanced to use Quickstep. The warrior jumped at once and came down on F rank foaming rage from his mouth.
"IS YOUR END, WORM!"
Kaito could not dodge and he too was already starting to get tired. The blow coming towards him would be very heavy, but he could deflect it if he enchanted his shield with some blessing and some element like ice. The impact would swing the attack back towards the warrior, but the damage would still hit Kaito. With no time to think, he did what first came to mind.
"Enchant with Lightning!" his weapon was taken by small blue rays "Burst of Strength!" his muscles increased and finally he used everything he had "Electric Arrow!".
What everyone saw there was something impossible to do. The Bloodless did something much bigger than just using skills, he used mage and warrior skills together.
Kaito turned around at once and threw his shield. With his newfound strength and the weight of Blood the weapon flew with more speed, and with the lightning affinity he placed and the support of the basic magic Electric Arrow the shield had been fired like lightning at high speed at the warrior.
Linus was hit while still in the air and with such force that the shield made him spin and fall once while the deafening sound of thunder filled the whole place and the lightning generated a small blue explosion.
Kaito went over to the warrior and examined him, seeing that he was injured but had no broken bones. Linus looked at him without understanding and feeling a huge shame of his defeat.
"How...? It was supposed to be... impossible..."
"That's the point, mate, it's not."
With the battle over, he went over to Bairon and helped him up by the shoulders. Kaito and his brother left the place taking Bairon to the infirmary. The entire gym had been taken over by silence and the shock of the enormous power of the F rank that had shut them up entirely.
* * *
Kaito took Bairon to the infirmary, which for some reason was in the first sub floor. He and the cleric did not speak for a while, and Elynor was no longer there to break the ice, for he had gone to speak to the Five Phoenixes to see the impact of what Kaito had done. But as they descended into the first basement, the cleric finally began to speak.
"I wish I could win by myself..."
Kaito wondered what he was going to say or what excuse he was going to give, but that had been far more honest than he expected.
"It's just a matter of time. You'll beat him and everyone else. I can guarantee!"
"I don't think so. I'm a cleric and I have almost nothing to attack. You, on other hand, can use abilitys from of others classes, so it's easy to talk."
"Easy there, I can use only the basic skills and they are still very weak. I have powers of a D or F rank."
"But that doesn't matter, because if you can use everything then you can win!"
"So you're telling me it's good to be a Bloodless? Is that right?"
"If you have multiple abilities it's good, yes!"
"Look Bairon, I can listen to a lot of shit, but this I don't want to hear. It pisses me off!" he stared at the cleric closely. "I won because I worked hard and trained like crazy! I studied all the classes and understood everything about them. I don't want to hear from anyone that I won or lost because I'm a Bloodless!" Kaito took a deep breath and added "Even because my life would be a lot easier if I was just a high rank."
Kaito's words echoed down the hall and brought an uncomfortable silence between the two.
"It would be dull." said Bairon after a while.
"What would be dull?"
"You being just like the others. It's cool that you have these powers and prove everyone wrong. I think it's cool."
Kaito smiled more cheerfully and gave his friend a brief pat on the back.
"And you'll do the same, Bairon! I guarantee if you stick it to me I can help you beat even an A rank!"
The infirmary door opened at once and the two soon saw someone they weren't expecting.
"Beat an A rank? That's dope, but I only really listen to you if you make me beat a S rank!"
The speaker was Opame. She was wearing the red uniform with the B embroidered on her right arm. Her blazer was open, showing the white shirt inside, and the sleeves folded up making her strong forearms evident. Her skirt was shorter, black, but she had a longer black short that matched her black boots.
"O... Opame?" asked Bairon overcome with fear.
"I wondered where you were, but I never imagined it was in the infirmary." said Kaito looking into the place "You didn't leave anyone hurt, did you?"
Opame faced the two and gave a deep sigh, making room for them to pass.
"I got beaten the first day. I challenged some guy and lost."
"By some guy you mean Gael! The quintanist and the most powerful A rank warrior in the whole school." said Bairon excitedly "you had to see it, Kaito, he kicked her ass! He was fast, strong, accurate and broke Opam-." Bairon felt the heavy Opame's gaze on him "it didn't break that much. It was actually a pretty even fight."
Kaito placed his friend on a bed and checked his injuries more thoroughly. They were ugly. Those were bruises made by repeated blows in the same place. A cleric didn't have the means to sustain that much damage, and his healing magic has less effect on himself from the vibration effects of white blood cells. Something that was similar in mages who used red blood cells.
"We need to heal you, but my healing will do almost nothing." said Kaito somewhat annoyed.
"Wait a minute, can you heal too?" asked Opame excitedly.
"My little Kaito can do much more than that, my love!"
Kaito knew that deep, teasing voice. He turned toward the entrance and couldn't believe his eyes. Tall, light-skinned, blonde and wearing dark glasses in an enclosed environment. That woman was unmistakable in any situation.
"My Kaikai can beat anyone he wants, my darling!" said Amara removing her glasses and showing her bright yellow eyes "And with my help, there won't be anyone who will stand in front of him. That, my loves, you can bet!"