"Just to let you know, I don't like this whole partnering with you idea, Lazarus." said the prideful Damon, who set to clarify his displeasure.
Lazarus smiled at him, replying with a devious tone. "Your opinion does not matter when it's school orders." the duality said it all; he didn't care what Damon thought either.
The beast to face Stepan's final man against beast batch emerged from the hallway. Unlike the ones from before, this one's eyes did not glow–or rather, it was hard to notice because it was glowing black.
Long, coiled, and very much akin to a Titanoboa, this beast was as black as the dragon from the last match, with a deep hiss that could make anyone turn their heels and leave. If that was the case though, then there would be no tournaments at all.
Lazarus observed the snake for a brief moment before coming to a conclusion. "This one has shadow magic, doesn't it?"
This is the second time I've encountered someone with shadow magic. he watched an aura as dark as a black hole and expand like one, engulf the snake.
"You know I'm still one win behind you, right?"
"Yeah."
"I have a proposal." he faced Damon who did the same. "If I kill this beast, you're giving up your title to me."
"And if I kill it, you're going on duel hiatus for 1 month."
Lazarus kept his composure; he prepared in advance for any terms Damon could've given. "It's a deal then." he offered his hand for a handshake, which Damon accepted.
As they shook hands, a pitch black ray passed by between them, they cast their gaze to where it came from, which was from the dark snake.
Reminded of where they were, they shot a hostile gaze and poised their weapons. If Damon's was a staff, Lazarus' was a spear.
It was pitch black all of a sudden; it made a move before they could.
"It's a shadow dome!" said Lazarus, who Damon couldn't see.
The only thing that could be heard was their breathing. There were no signs of the snake.
"Lux Fax." light emanated from Damon's staff, which became bright enough to reveal his surroundings from a meter away. "Lazarus! Where are you?" his voice echoed all around the dome.
"Here!" he replied. Damon turned around, his eyes meeting the latters.
"Stick with me–you'll be my meatshield." Damon turned around again, expecting a laid back response from Lazarus, who was the type to make one.. He didn't say anything.
He's not replying.. He really is serious about our deal. Stricken by Lazarus' change of attitude to win, Damon followed suit, not wanting to lose.
A loud hiss echoed from behind. Damon turned around and Lazarus swung a fist to his face.
"GAH! LAZARUS!?" he exclaimed, confused as to why Lazarus punched him. He met his eyes–pitch black. It wasn't Lazarus; it was an impostor.
The impostor pushed him down, punching him non-stop as it got on top of him.
He groaned while it hissed, it stopped punching and went for his neck in an attempt to crush it.
His legs flailed, his hands gripped the impostors in response, desperate to get it off of him.
He clenched his teeth in annoyance and sweat in anxiousness as it got harder to let out air.
In a desperate attempt to get it off of him, he used his right hand and clawed the impostor with his nails.. It didn't budge.
…
In the middle of the dark, silent dome, was dim light that moved around here and there.
"Damonnn! Where are you???" his voice and footsteps were loud enough to echo around, but it seemed he was the only one hearing himself.
"Man! Where is he? He's not replying at all!" his body trembled little by little; he hugged himself in response. "It's a little cold here.." he looked up. "Is this what completely having no sun is like?–Pitch black, there's not even a moon."
While Damon's side was completely hectic, it was the opposite on Lazarus' side.
He sighed and stopped walking, sitting down on the ground, as if he was disregarding the snake could be anywhere near him.
With essentially nothing much to do, he stared off the distance with sighs every now and then.
It must be pretty hard keeping the high ranks.. Princess Trysta, Ms. Minerva, Ms. Meredith–even Damon must be trying so hard to keep their ranks. each and every image of them appeared in his mind. Do I really want to snatch the Fourth Undefeated from him?
I'm already Fifth, and it's so hard to maintain it! Not too long ago, I was a win ahead of Gertrude, while I was and still am a win behind Damon.
He laid down, relaxing himself and letting his guard down. Just look at how Ms. Breah snatched the Eighth Undefeated from Thomas Segerson..
He remembered it all too clearly.
…
A loud snap rang in their ears as Breah slashed her longsword down, splitting Thomas' Bo staff with relative ease. She was quick with her feet, charging in and kicking him to the ground right after the staff was split.
It was evident Thomas was inexperienced with a staff, just recently acquiring one.
Breah pointed the blade's tip right up his throat, assuming the victory, and the title of Eighth Undefeated.
…
He sat up the moment he heard footsteps nearing behind him.
"Damon?" his eyes widened to the sight of Damon–with pitch black eyes. He did not respond, nor did he hold the slight frown he usually wore in front of him.
They locked their gaze at each other for what felt like forever, breaking when Lazarus blinked. "Okay, you're not Damon." the calm guy extended his arm, aiming it at Damon's impostor. "Radius Lucis."
A beam of light passed through the impostor's chest, transforming to something like dust as it dissipated rather quickly.
"So Damon is still out there." he lied down again. "That's good." but he didn't bother caring as much, as the solace provided by the dark dome alone was enough to keep him relaxed and unwilling to move. Just as he was about to close his eyes..
He sat up once more, scratching his head. "Damon's most likely losing to that beast, I've got to help him." he stood up, cracking his knuckles. "This is a tournament fight after all."
"That said.. Where do I start?" he looked around, but it left not a single hint of where the latter could be.
He grabbed a coin from his pocket, flipping it from his thumb and catching it on the nick of time.
The side facing him was heads when he opened his hand, he looked forward and began his journey to find Damon.. Which shouldn't be so hard, given that they're in a completely flat arena.
…
"What a bummer, we can't see anything." said Percival.
The dark dome from the outside was exactly that; a dome that engulfed the whole arena–pitch black inside and outside.
"Though, if that shadow serpent can form a spell this big, it has to be quite powerful."
While both Percival and Kalvin kept watching, waiting for the dome to disappear, between them sat Sévir who already dozed off. They did not notice their buddy sleeping, he was sitting upright and completely silent–that, they're already used to.
The only thing they could hear were chatters from nearby; not only couldn't they see what's inside the dome, they couldn't hear what's inside either.
…
"L..-Lu..-" he struggled to mutter his spell, he kept trying to get the impostor off of him, but it was far too strong and utterly overpowered him.
"Radium Ahi." a quick ray of light pierced through the heart of the impostor–it let go and fell, hissing in pain.
Damon gasped for air, rolling farther from the impostor as he took his time to calm his breathing.
"Glad you're still alive, Damon." said Lazarus, whose sincerity could be felt even by Damon.
He coughed before speaking. "Where were you!?"
Lazarus watched the impostor stand up as his copy faded away, returning to its original form.. Unseen.
He scratched his head, sighing in disappointment. "Damon, let's just light up this whole place."
Damon picked up his staff and nodded in agreement. "Something we can agree to.. For once."
"Hey, you're always the one closed off, you never want to hear me out."
Damon scowled at his reply. "Shut up."
While he pointed his staff up, Lazarus extended his arm. "Lux Procedens!" they exclaimed; a beam of light radiated and sprung up–it exploded like a bomb when it did reach the top.
They shut their eyes, and when they opened it, the shadow dome had disappeared.
Damon watched the snake wiggle around, but otherwise did absolutely nothing. "Seriously? We were assigned to fight a beast this useless?"
Lazarus folded his arms, he too watched it. "Other than form such a huge shadow dome and make clones of us–yeah."
"A waste of time! That's what you call it!" he rushed to aim his staff at the snake, "RADIUM AHI!" said Damon; the beam of light pierced through the raised head of the snake, which dropped right after.
"I'll admit though, that serpent got you pretty good earlier."
Damon smacked his arm in response. "Silence!"
"Well then.. VICTORY FOR DAMON GALENA AND LAZARUS HENDRIX!" the commenter declared with a lack of enthusiasm.
Even the spectators felt the same; applauding and cheering without the same enthusiasm as before.
"It's unfortunate we didn't get to see the majority of this short match.. But it is what it is! Damon Galena and Lazarus Hendrix, you may leave the arena."
"Now, let's see.." he rustled through papers, which was audible from the large, floating shards of white gems, surrounded in a white aura that seemed to work as a speaker. "Mmm.. Alright! That concludes Stepan's Man Against Beast, and so does it conclude the Man Against Beast event overall!
We're reaching the final stages of the Dunkron Academies Tournament, and since we can't let the tournament end so fast, we'll be having a 2-hour intermission. Until then, We'll meet you all again later!"
The aura from the white gems faded away, indicating the end of their transmission.
A yawn came from beside Percival and Kalvin, they both looked at the source.
"..It's done already?" asked Sévir, who looked sleepy.
Kalvin nodded and stood up. "Yeah, we have a 2-hour intermission now."
Percival rose from his seat–his face beaming with excitement. "Finally! We can do something other than sit and watch for hours!" without second thought, he grabbed Kalvin and Sévir by the wrist, dragging them along as they tailed behind the Stepan students that had the same goal in mind.
"H-Hey! Oi!" Sévir protested; his eyes were fully open now thanks to Percival.
"You awake now, sleepyhead?" Percival snickered, his hands still gripping their wrists. Kalvin had already accepted this outcome, and didn't bother to resist.
A sigh escaped Sévir's mouth. "You know, I despise saying this but–I'd rather hang around with Minerva instead of you." the disappointment hung high in his voice as he said that, staying true to the feeling with the sour look on his face.
Percival let go of them, clutching his chest in a dramatic way. "Oh! How I've been hurt by the 'sweet for Minerva, but cold for Percival' words of Sévir!"
Sévir dug his hands in his pocket, not wanting to be anywhere near Percival; he rushed his walk as Percival had his exaggerated scene.
When he was done, he looked around, only to see Kalvin. "Huh? Where's Sévir?"
…
If I were Minerva, where would I be? Sévir contemplated as he strolled around the underground cafeteria, walking past the endless flocks of students of the same and different affiliation.
If I were her.. I'd probably be hogged around by a myriad of fans, in the cafeteria, right now. he scanned the area. ..Yet, I don't see her.
He spent his few minutes walking around the cafeteria, getting stares from others here and there. He left right after confirming Minerva was NOT in the cafeteria–he didn't even bother to get food.
He climbed up the stairs a while after he left the cafeteria, exploring around the hallways beforehand, and yet there were still no signs of Minerva Grosvenor.
To him, she was pretty easy to find most of the day and every day, since she was so popular, he could gain subtle hints of her whereabouts within the academy.. However, this wasn't the academy.
Still no signs of her.. This is quite weird. he crouched and stretched the facings of his brown leather shoes. As much as I love these shoes, I feel like it's slowly getting smaller. he stood up right after, swivelling his feet around. Alright, that's better.
And so he set off to continue his search for Minerva.
…
He tapped his shoes rapidly, hinting at his impatience. It's been one hour, I still can't find Minerva!
He has checked almost every single part of the stadium–save for the women's rooms and the rooftop.
He looked up and squinted his eyes. She can't be on the rooftop, right? just then, something black, like a shadow appeared for a split second.
Huh? Was I just imagining that? he blinked a few times, without anything appearing.
I was definitely imagining things. Sévir scanned the area, once he confirmed nobody was around.. "Bekuallpa." he mumbled underneath his breath, a pillar of ice grew and slowly carried him up like an elevator.
It took a while, but he got up to the roof, spotting someone at the opposite side. Who's that? he squinted his eyes, but it was no good.
Stepping off the ice platform, which shattered right after, he aimed to walk halfway to see who it was.. Dear lord, this will take a while.
After a minute or even more, he reached halfway and squinted his eyes again. I have perfect vision, I shouldn't be struggling to see from this far! Even if just a bit.
He recognized the blue hair and continued forward. There she is.
Another minute was spent in walking closer and he reached the blue-haired person, confirming it was Minerva, who didn't even seem to notice him.
"What are you doing here?" he sat beside her, hanging his feet off as Minerva did.
"EEK! Sévir!?" she exclaimed in pure surprise before regaining composure.
"So even you get scared? I mean, you did cry not too long ago."
Her cheeks burned in embarrassment, which she ought to hide by covering them. "..What brings you here?"
"I've been searching for an hour straight for this girl named Minerva Grosvenor." his gaze met hers. "Have you seen her?"
She smiled while her redness faded away. "Oh, I think I know where she is."
"Where?" he clasped his hands together. "I'll pay for your wisdom."
Chuckling at his reply, "I'd like your time as payment." she leaned closer with a coy smile. "Is that fine with you?"
"Anyways, I came here to tell you something." he folded his arms. "Change of plans, I can't go back to the underground Magiaville with you."
Her glee look was replaced by surprise. "Why not?"
"I just remembered me and those two have important matters tomorrow."
"Zephyr and Sanguinex?"
He nodded.
She gripped the ledge, leaning forward with a neutral face. "I see." it was the only thing she could mutter.
"Sorry." he muttered back.
Minerva shook her head in response. "I understand, it's not like you swore to come with me or anything." she smiled; albeit, a tiny smile.
She turned to him with the intention to switch topics. "Have you eaten already?"
"No."
"Me neither."
"I figured. Shouldn't you eat though? You're going to be in the final event in.. 50 minutes?" they both looked down, watching the people move around and stay still like ants.
"You're right, but I usually stay here before the final event–it helps clear my mind."
"Does anyone know of this place beside you?"
She nodded. "Meredith used to stay here with me."
His mouth opened, but no words came out. Meredith? It's been a while since I last heard her name, or seen her.
…
The brunette dashed forward, hugging Sévir tightly as if she'd never let go.
Her face was buried in his chest, yet he could hear her sob and see her shoulders tremble in what we could only assume as excitement.
His arms slowly extended with the intention of returning the gesture, but it stopped.
Instead of wrapping itself around her, it held her shoulders, and nudged her away.
"S-Sévir?" her voice cracked.
His blank gaze that was uninviting met hers that was full of emotion, "I suggest you don't approach me anymore, the students will ask all sorts of questions.." nor did it sound like he cared. He turned around with his hands dug in his pockets. "Sorry, Meredith."
To him, the mere sight of Meredith evoked enough nostalgia, but while it was uncertain whether he missed it or not, he walked away, as though abandoning his shared past with her.
…
"Sévirrrr!"
He blinked a few times before looking at Minerva. He realized he returned to reality after reliving what could be considered a bitter memory.
"You're back! Were you reminiscing or something?" she chuckled. "So, as I was saying–"
"Hey."
She turned to him once more.
"Don't you ever wonder what people think of you being near me?" there were no signs of emotion in his voice, but it indeed came out of sincerity.
She turned silent and looked away, giving thought to what he asked.
Just as he expected one answer..
"I do."
This answer caught him off-guard. Normally, he'd expect an upbeat "no" from her.
"One day, it will reach my parents." she stood up, clasping her hands together.
"Then.. Why don't you just avoid me?" to him, this was the most logical thing to do, but was it for Minerva? "Why do you keep approaching me?"
While her cheeks turned red, she twirled her hair where Sévir couldn't see.. "There is no reason."
"I don't believe that."
"Okay, then maybe it's because I'm using you to annoy Sanguinex, or maybe to prove a point…" she shrugged. "There is no reason."
He knew Minerva, and figured early on it was pointless trying to ask for her reasoning–she just wouldn't say it.
"Well then, let's go get food!" she gestured to him to get moving.
He sighed, displeased with the idea of getting food together with her.. Yet, he carried on with it.
While he walked, Minerva remained standing, watching him move farther
Maybe because you saved me.. Or maybe because I found hope. Whatever it is, you have to figure it out on your own, pretty boy. eventually, she caught up and walked beside him.
"Well then, off you go!" she pushed him when they reached the ledge.
He felt his feet leave the ground, the next thing he knew? He was falling.. Uh?? UH!?!
"WEEEEEEEE!!!" Minerva leaped off, her arms extended and she screamed in excitement.. She was enjoying it, for sure.