Levi dressed roughly into his uniform before rushing out into the hallway. For a moment, he thought he was going to encounter lots of stares and looks, but the hallways were almost empty.
Fortunately, he bumped into Brody who was coming his way. "Hey, Levy, are you alright-?"
"No time, Brod. Get me to The Colosseum," Levi said, as he fit his feet into his boots properly.
After an extremely long walk from the main building and across the short streets, they finally arrived at a massive edifice resembling a stadium. Brody guided him inside and led him to a locker room. Levi quickly noticed that the building was bustling with academics. So this was where they were?
"Is this 'em?" A scruffy young man with a moustache approached Brody and Levi. He had a hoarse voice like he drank a lot. "He looks more oafish than I expected." He ordered Levi to sit on a bench.
Levi glanced around the locker room as the man handed him some safety supplies. He noticed a few boys huddled in the corner, sneering mischievously at him.
"You've pulled in quite the crowd, Nine," the man spoke up. "I'm Loras, one of the instructors around here," he introduced himself. "Normally, no one gives a rat's behind 'bout a grey academic brawl. But the whole damn institute's gathered around to see what the murderer can pull off."
Levi silently armed himself with the safety supplies. Brody leaned in next to his ear and questioned, "Is it true?" Levi remained silent, offering no response. Brody continued, "Abby was meant to bring you here. She's never late. Any issue?"
"We had a fight," Levi replied simply, feeling his mood gradually turn bitter. Brody looked both shocked and confused. "So, how does this thing work? What am I supposed to do?" Levi asked.
"You will be given an opponent, at least that's how mine went. I'm sure during the battle, your instincts will guide you to apply your abilities."
Battle? He was expecting a few Q&A's, maybe place his hand on another dashboard. Not to fight.
The loud chatter of teens drifted through the door of the locker room, with some of them peering in to catch a glimpse of the maiden-killer.
"C'mon! Chop chop let's go" Loras exclaimed as he stood up.
---
They seemed to be walking underneath the main building, which led them to a large auditorium with many seats. It was dark but the lights shining from the ceiling in the middle gave it an almost surreal, fantasy-like appearance. Levi was awed by the opulence of the space.
Academics were already seated, and as Loras had mentioned, it seemed like everybody was present. It made Levi feel uneasy. The place was quiet, with distant dialogues echoing in the background. As Levi emerged from a tunnel, all eyes turned towards him.
Levi could see six tall pillars with grids on them, the pillars were the center of vision. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Was he going to fight as high up there?
He noticed Loras nodding towards a few individuals in a glass room high above. Levi recognized The Dean's figure among them. They must be VIPs, Levi thought to himself. As they reached the base of one of the pillars, he noticed a platform with rails attached to it. Loras instructed him to step onto it.
"Who am I fighting?" Levi asked.
"Possibly a red academic," Loras replied. He gave a signal to a staff member far away.
Red? Levi thought. Why would they give him someone stronger than him to battle? The platform beneath his feet shook and started to rise. Levi was startled and nearly lost his balance but managed to hold onto the rails. He was definitely going to battle at the top of the pillar.
Brody gave him a thumbs-up before making his way to find a seat above.
The Colosseum was quiet as Levi ascended slowly to the top of the pillar. Once he reached the top, he stepped onto the main floor. Levi surveyed the surroundings, spotting the other five pillars illuminated in the bright light. Although he couldn't see the crowd, he knew they could see him.
He stood still, awaiting his opponent. From the farthest pillar, a head gradually surfaced, followed by the rest of the body. Levi immediately recognized the boy—it was the same one he had seen with fire powers at The Den. Levi backed away with fear. He looked down from his pillar at Loras with an are you crazy? expression on his face. No way he was going to fight someone who could shoot out flames from his hands. The boy hasn't even activated his powers, but Levi could feel himself getting hot.
A feminine voice echoed, announcing the participants' code names. Levi discovered that his name was Box. She listed a few basic rules, providing Levi with a sense of relief. This wasn't a deathmatch; it was merely a test to uncover Levi's abilities and train Box at the same time.
There was a loud buzzer, and the pillars began to move up and down in a stable manner. What? How was he supposed to defeat this guy when he couldn't poise on his feet efficiently. The boy wasted no time, he rose up to the air with flames in his hands and fired them at Levi.
Levi, who was still adjusting to the movement of the floor, suddenly saw a fast-approaching ball of fire. He managed to dodge it at the last second, rolling to his side as the flames dispersed upon impact with the floor. The crowd laughed at Levi's funny visage on what just happened.
Just as Levi was about to stand up, the boy tossed another fireball his way. Levi made another attempt to dodge, but this time the fireball hit his arm, knocking him off the pillar. Thankfully, his protective gear prevented his arm from getting burned.
He managed to hold on with just one grip. Levi glanced down, seeing that he was 64 feet above the ground. He spotted a white trampoline surrounding the pillars, providing some reassurance that he wouldn't meet his demise if he fell. Why don't he just let go and decided not to do this anymore? He quickly brushed off the thought and pulled himself back to his feet.
The boy patiently waited for Levi to recover, adhering to the rules of The Colosseum. Once Levi regained himself, the boy conjured flames and started hovering again. Levi tightly clenched his fists, sprinted with all his might, and leaped to another pillar just as the boy unleashed another attack.
Holdback, Levi plotted in his mind. He could get tired. Levi skillfully jumped from pillar to pillar, narrowly evading two fireballs in quick succession. "Fight ya caward!" Levi heard someone shout from the audience. How inspiring, Levi thought.
Levi jumped from his current pillar to another without realizing that the pillar he aimed for was descending. Shit. Levi totally forgot about the moving pillars and he landed hard on his ankle, toppling awkwardly.
He had hurt himself. The boy was about to attack again but he hesitated. In that moment, a feminine voice spoke up, making it clear that Levi was no match for his opponent. The voice announced that he would be getting a teammate.
Levi winced as he rose to his feet, but a small smile managed to grace his lips. Lucky, he thought. Behind him, another male was raised with a platform onto the pillar. Levi turned to see his new teammate.
Levi approached the boy, who wore glasses and had freckles, giving him a slightly dorky appearance. "What's your ability?" Levi inquired.
"Understanding many languages"
Levi's eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed up at the glass room above him. "You gotta be kidding me," he muttered.