"Throughout my years visiting the Magiaville stadiums, I never knew there were stairs going here."
"Myshart-sensei, you're finally here."
She waved it off. "Don't use my surname, use my first name."
"Okay.. Ardell-sensei?"
Ms. Ardell nodded. "So, why did you call me here?"
The girl standing before her grabbed a scroll from her belt. "I called you here to give this."
Ms. Ardell wore a soft smile. "Oh wow, you came here just to give me this?" She reached out for the scroll. "How kind of you. You used the Magiaville Forest route?"
The girl giggled. "Yes, I did. It was fun."
Ms. Ardell's eyes observed the girl from head to toe. Standing at around Minerva's height (–which isn't the tallest, but not the shortest either), her black hair and soft pink eyes complemented her grey and burgundy dress.
This girl is different, I like it. "Have you made a decision already?"
The girl shook her head, smiling. "How about you read the scroll, Ardell-sensei?"
"It seems like you haven't decided yet." Ms. Ardell unrolled the scroll, reading its contents.
I witnessed drama between students yesterday, it was interesting. The girl turned around, looking down, the arena was a huge circle, and surrounding it was yet another huge circle that was filled with a sea of students; Stepan students, Predator students, and students from other academies–the auditorium.
I've already made my decision, you just have to wait, Ardell-sensei.
"This.." Ms. Ardell's brows furrowed. "This looks bad."
"Now now, I wouldn't say it's bad, I'd say it's.. Great." She turned around again, facing Ms. Ardell. "I haven't been shooting in a while, I might just go back and take them all by myself~"
A chuckle escaped her little devious smile, Ms. Ardell smiled back. "Leave some for us, will you?"
The girl nodded, clasping her hands together. "Of course, I will! After all.. Sharing is caring, right~?"
Ms. Ardell looked at her hands. "I noticed you wear 6 rings.. It's quite odd."
The girl looked down at her hands, there were 3 rings in both hands; one at the index, one at the middle finger, and one at the ring finger. These golden rings held small gemstones of different colors and were filled with intricate designs, all being different from each other in their own right.
"Well—"
A deafening sound came from behind, the girl turned around, Ms. Ardell walked closer to the edge, both looking down.
It was the cheers of students–Stepan students as a "familiar" figure appeared in the arena.
"May we welcome our first fighter for today; the Phrygian student that took yesterday's tournament by storm and SNATCHED the title of the 'Eighth Undefeated' from Thomas Segerson, the Eighth Undefeated—BREAH ANNORA!"
The girl stood around Minerva's height, her chocolate brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, complementing royal blue eyes and the uncommon mole under her left eye. Those, and her walk forward; one that gave the aura of a strong and courageous person, made her stand out from the rest.
"Say, as far as I know, this girl joined just last year, and has been committed to winning again and again, to reach the Undefeated Octet."
Just as she stopped, the gate from the opposite side opened.
"Putting that aside, for her opponent–or rather.. Her OPPONENTS!"
A set of red eyes glowed from the wide hallway, followed by even more sets of red eyes.
One by one, they slowly emerged from the darkness of the hallway, revealing themselves.
They were a duo. In the right, stood a large, wolf-like, hedgehog-like creature with a very soft and long tail, it was coated by metallic skin at most parts, it snarled to the sight of Breah Annora just across the arena.
Beside this familiar beast, stood a flightless bird; similar to a cassowary, it was covered in black feathers, sporting a casque atop of its blue-feathered head. Its growl was loud and raspy, enough to send shivers to anybody–like how its long, dark claws would.
"A Magic Cassowary and a Hedgewolf!"
Breah, however, stood undeterred despite the fact two magic beasts stood right in front of her.
She drew her longsword and threw her scabbard away, turning her body at a slight angle and took a step back, slightly bending her knees as she gripped the hilt with her two hands right by her hips.
Her sword was poised and stuck out as an invitation; an invitation to fight, and the beasts were quick to figure it out.
"Obex-Aura!" She exclaimed, a bright yellow aura engulfed her, it looked large and powerful, but this didn't deter the beasts, they charged at her at full sprint.
The Magic Cassowary reached her in no time, it was very quick on its feet. Once it got close enough it jumped towards Breah with the intention of clawing her.
But she was as quick as the Cassowary and blocked its attack with the flat of her blade.
Its claws scraped the blade, but didn't do any else, the Cassowary took a few steps back as Breah extended her arms and took a step forward, threatening to attack the beast.
Her gaze adjusted to the Hedgewolf at the same time, it quickly turned around and its tail swung right at her.
She ducked as if she expected it coming, quickly backing off right after.
She poised her sword in front of her, keeping her eyes at the two beasts in front of her that slowly walked closer.
Minerva watched the fight from afar, a frown was etched on her face as she kept her gaze at the Hedgewolf.
...
The Hedgewolf swung its tail at full force, whereas Minerva held her ground with the intention of blocking such force.
The sword flung out of her hands as the tail hit it, much to Minerva's dismay.
The angry beast roared and swung its claws at her non-stop, with the disarmed girl just barely dodging them.
Dammit, this guy is getting more aggressive! She kept backing off, only to meet the wall behind her.
The beast swung its claws again, only for Minerva to duck and roll to the left at the last moment.
A burning sensation surrounded her eyes as she put immense concentration on the Hedgewolf's movements amidst the dark room, with the only source of light being its red eyes.
This is the first time I've been disarmed since my last defeat.. How are we going to win this?
...
The memories of that night returned vividly in her mind as if it just happened, her hands shook as she clenched it much tightly, holding in the burning anger flowing inside her. I haven't given much thought to it ever since.. But I wasn't disarmed by a human, I was disarmed by a mere beast.
As the seconds passed by, her hands loosened up, and her frown faded away. It's fine, I'd clearly win if I fought it with more lighting than when I first fought it.
A smug smile grew on her face, as if she was satisfied with her conclusion.
Sévir watched Breah and the beasts go at it, his eyes were not set on the Hedgewolf that he fought two nights ago, but at Breah, who was still engulfed in a large yellow aura.
Percival leaned forward, squinting his eyes. "She seems powerful, don't 'ya guys think?" He too, was looking not at the beasts, but Breah, observing her as she dodged, blocked, parried and attacked.
"Sure, you can say she's powerful. She's the Eighth Undefeated after all." Sévir commented with the ever-uninterested tone in his voice, although he was still watching her.
He stood up and dug his hands in his pocket. "I'm off."
Percival and Kalvin looked at him, his leaving was sudden after all. "Where're you going?" Kalvin asked.
Sévir walked away without giving any answer.
As he entered the dimly lit hallway that connected to the stairs, a girl who wore the same female Stepan uniform as other girls did, passed by him.
Her green eyes, burning with a powerful hint of anger, met his golden eyes that were filled with mystery. What seemed to be for a very brief moment, seemed to have taken forever for the two.
The green-eyed girl stopped and turned around, Sévir on the other hand did not stop walking.
She glared at Sévir more and more as he slowly escaped her vision, before turning around and walking again, her hot pink hair flapping as she took heavy steps forward.
Zephyr told me about her friends finding out we're siblings. That Deleena girl seems to have the most reaction.
He quickly descended the deep spiral of stairs, as though he was running. I can only hope she doesn't spread it, if she does..
He descended the final steps, slowing down as he reached the flat floor. Maybe I'll have to kill her.
The image of his little sister wearing a big smile appeared in his head, fading away right after. After all, she'd be ruining the good life Zephyr established for herself.. I won't tolerate that.
...
Sévir turned around as he heard the sound of footsteps from behind.
Before him, stood Zephyr, he looked up at the bright white moon, then looked back at her. "It's quite late, isn't it? Why're you here?"
She walked over beside him and sat by the ledge of the fountain. "I don't want to stay inside."
Sévir didn't fail to notice her rather monotonous voice, it was as clear as day that she wasn't in her usual mood.
He sat down beside her, crossing his arms. "Why not?"
She gripped her skirt, biting her lip as her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. "I slapped Deleena."
Sévir's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to what he just heard. "What?" This is a valid reaction, after all, you wouldn't normally expect someone as kind as Zephyr to slap someone.
There was a moment of silence, Zephyr slightly shrinking as she waited for Sévir to scold her for doing something like that.. But it didn't come.
"Why did you slap Deleena? Isn't she your friend?"
Zephyr quickly shook her head. "Not anymore. She found out you're my brother, I found out she hates our family, and she insulted you and them right in front of me." Her voice deepened as she continued on, hinting at the growing anger that had already been suppressed earlier.
Sévir kept silent, only slightly nodding. She hates our family, huh? He shrugged, as if he expected such an outcome. "Why does she hate our family?"
"She told me her dad died at the Doreville Insurrection."
He nodded again. "I see.. It makes sense now."
"What does?"
"When.." He bit his lip, as though hesitating. "Bernard Trysta took over, he ordered the capture and genocide of all Dorevilleans, since that's where our family hails from."
She flinched at the word 'genocide', but moreover, she was just as surprised. "What!? I mean, I've heard of the reason, but not this!"
"I can only assume he targeted Doreville because he must've thought I took refuge in the city after the coup, and with Doreville producing such well-refined magicians at the time, he must've felt threatened. Just my take."
Zephyr too, crossed her arms and pouted. "Wow, he's such an idiot!"
Sévir snickered. "You're right." That said.. Where could that old bastard be as of late?
An image of Bernard's face appeared in his mind, just from the mere thought of his face already made him frown, now his face was flushing.
"Bro-Brother? Are you okay?" She poked his shoulder with her finger, her voice expressing just how worried she got.
Sévir looked at her as he snapped back to reality, nodding before looking away. "So, what's your plan?"
Zephyr followed suit and looked away, hugging herself as her eyes slightly narrowed once more. "I don't know.. Today's been such a bad day."
She stuck out her index finger. "First, there's me losing." She stuck out her middle finger. "Second, there's me disappointing Ms. Minerva." She then stuck out her ring finger. "Third, there's me arguing with Deleena." Followed by her pinky finger. "Fourth, there's Deleena finding out we're siblings." And finally, her thumb. "Lastly, there's me slapping her in the face."
The crestfallen girl sighed, one hand gripping her bangs. "It's all going downhill in the blink of an eye!"
Sévir patted her shoulder as he noticed the near-broken voice of Zephyr, as though she was about to tear up. "I want you to confront Minerva by the end of the tournament."
"Eek!" She shrieked as her body tensed up. "N-No! I can't do that.."
Her voice lowered, akin to a mumble. "It's scary.. Ms. Minerva's disappointed face was so scary." She brought up her legs, hugging it tightly. "What if she hates me now?? I don't want her to hate me!" Zephyr exclaimed.
The thought of Minerva hating her scared her to the core, her heart stopped again and again just to the mere thought of it, just as much as the tears she fought to hold back at this very moment,
"I understand," A soft voice from her left spoke out, "you're scared, and that's alright, but what isn't alright is running away from the problem.
We Dorens never run away from a problem; we face it. Isn't that right?"
She nodded.
"So then, talk to Minerva tomorrow." He let go of her shoulder and stood up. "I'm off."
"Thank you." She blurted out. "I'm grateful for having such a cool big brother like you."
Sévir couldn't help but turn red in embarrassment, she said it so sincerely, and so suddenly. "S-Shut up." He retorted and hurriedly walked away, hearing Zephyr's giggle grow fainter every step forward.
...
His reliving of that night abruptly came to an end as he bumped into someone.
"Ah, sorry–" Their eyes met and they instantly recognized each other.
"Sanguine?"
Sanguinex stood right in front of him, who he had not seen for the entire past day. "Sévir? Whatcha you doing here?"
"Nothing, just wanted some fresh air."
"What about the match? Who's fighting who?"
"That new Eighth Undefeated against some two beasts."
A moment of silence engulfed as they both kept their gaze at each other.
Sanguinex looked down, as far as Sévir could see, her ears quickly grew red.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He leaned closer and tilted her chin up.
This only made her blush intensify, and she quickly nudged him off. "I-It's nothing!"
And so off she went, leaving Sévir with a clueless look on his face.
Meanwhile, she covered her face with her hands as she felt it getting hotter and hotter. Just 'cause I haven't seen him in one whole day, I forgot how handsome he is! God dammit, my heart can't take it!!
...
The crowd grew silent as the bloody cassowary fell to the ground, headless.
Breah pointed her blood-soaked sword at the Hedgewolf, you're going down with that cassowary! Her eyes beamed with her fiery determination.
The Hedgewolf roared, standing firm and ready to fight, despite being injured too.
The Hedgewolf's tail laid motionless on the ground, it was long and grey, heavily coated by fur, whereas its top was soaked by its own blood.
It charged at Breah, paying no mind to its injury whatsoever.
It was as quick as it was in the beginning, with Breah just barely dodging its razor-sharp claws.
I can't use my longsword to create enough distance like how I did with that cassowary.. Most of this Hedgewolf's skin is literally metallic! I can't get up to attack it on its soft parts either, the tail was basically the only one I could attack!
Her breathing got louder and faster, alongside wiping the sweat off of her forehead, it hinted at her exhaustion. I'm getting tired, I've never used up this much mana in one go before.
If I had to guess, my mana count's probably at 20,000 remaining, and by how fast this spell consumes mana, it's too low!
As she had those thoughts, the beast went in and clawed her, sending her flying. She rolled over and over until she stopped, only to stand up as if nothing happened.
I best not worry about that, but worry about what I can do with my remaining time before I'm depleted of mana.
She turned her body at a slight angle as she took a step back, slightly bending her knees as she gripped the hilt right by her hips; it was the stance she held at the beginning.
Control your breathing. Her erratic breathing then slowed down to a normal pace.
Calm down. Her unsavory thoughts and fast heartbeat dissipated and slowed down upon her command.
The stability of both mind and body came into play as the beast launched yet another attack, sprinting at her with as much strength as it could draw out.
It's risky, but there's no turning back now. She inhaled all the air she could, raising her sword as high as she could whilst retaining the balance of her stance.
"Steadfast fortitude, empower my resolve against the obstacles standing in my path," gone was the conflicted look in her face, and gone were the disrupting thoughts that hindered her performance "Unveil the true might of 'fortitude'!—" there was only one thing to do–to kill the Hedgewolf before her.
"CAESA MENTEM!!!"
She slashed her sword downward with all her strength, surging a mysterious wave of light that raced towards the beast. Its brilliance illuminated her unwavering will to fight, its expansive size matched her determination to emerge victorious, and its speed, driven as if to hastily kill the enemy–heightened her instinct of self-preservation.
The bright light blinded everyone watching, forcing them to shut their eyes.
Then, they pried their eyes open, beholding the grim sight of two Hedgewolves–the Hedgewolf split in two, revealing its organs and the like before drenching itself and the ground with blood.
...
"VICTORY FOR BREAH ANNORA!"
The crowd erupted in cheers, she turned to face the Stepan section, a big smile formed at her face as not only her fellow Undefeated Octet members applauded, but even Noelle and Minerva gave her a standing ovation.
Then she turned to the Praefator section, as though attempting to find someone in the black sea of students.
"Wooh! That was an intense match! What're your thoughts about it, Ms. Phoebe?"
"I agree that it was an intense match, the way she handled those two beasts that're to be reckoned with was exceptional. With only a sword and the magic she used.. As expected of an Undefeated Octet!"
"And now that we've heard of Ms. Phoebe's thoughts, let's no longer waste more time and move onto the next match! Breah Annora, you may exit the arena."
Breah picked up her scabbard, sheathing her longsword before leaving the arena. Four people on the other hand, entered the arena and quickly disposed of the bodies of the Hedgewolf and the Magic Cassowary, never to be seen ever again.
"Alright! For our next fighter in the 'Man Against Beast' series, may we welcome the Seventh Undefeated–KEAHI SAMPSON!"
Keahi Sampson stood forth as he revealed himself from the dark hallway, smiling and brushing his bangs up.
He turned his eyes to the Stepan section.. And winked.
Almost instantly, chaos ensued within the Stepan girls as a whole wave of them cheered in giddiness.. Was he literally hot enough to be able to pull that off?
"Oh, look at the little playboy! Not only does he have the looks, but he has the skills, and he has the GUTS! But can he translate all these assets to the arena, like how he can translate his 'I love you' to ANY girl in ANY language in ANY NATION!?!"
Ms. Phoebe chuckled. "That aside, you have to tip your hat to this 19 year old–his ascension to the Undefeated Octet was lightning fast with a record of 8 months! Just a little longer than Noelle Trysta's 4 months!"
"Alright, enough with the filler! May we introduce his contestant..."
The gates of the opposite hallway opened.
A pair of red eyes emerged from the dark, wide hallway.
The red eyes stared at those conceited eyes of Keahi from across the wide arena, Keahi could only wear a sly grin.
"Well then? Reveal yourself.. Show me if you're worth my time."