You got to be kidding me.
"Hi, my name's Josh." The boy introduced himself with exuberance.
Levi eyed him wickedly, "And how ya gonna help me? Will you preach to him?"
"I- I can help," Josh said, nodding his head.
Levi rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I've heard a lot about your ability," he said sarcastically. Levi glanced at Box who had his arms crossed to his chest. Why did they give him this piece of shit as a teammate? Clearly, he wouldn't make any difference. He had to take matters in hands. Levi turned to the nerd, "Can you at least jump when he fires at you? Can you do that?"
The boy smiled showing off brown braces. Uhh, creepy, Levi thought. He was never one to be discerning, but this, this was different. Box spread his arms, displaying impatience. The buzzer went off again.
Levi and Josh sprinted towards opposite pillars, one on the left and the other on the right. Box was confused about whom to pursue, but without much hesitation, he chose to go after Levi. Curse me, Levi thought. He rolled, hopped, and swirled, doing everything he could to evade the flames, even with the pillars ascending and descending.
Box ramped up his aggression, zipping around the six pillars and firing off shots at the evasive target. What a shame, Levi thought. He's unable to do anything just to hover above and shoot flames.
Levi started to enjoy himself, never having run so much without feeling tired in his life. He could jump, land, bend, and pivot without any joint pain. Just a few days ago, he remembered how worthless his life had seemed, how close he had been to the end. But now, here he was, finally having something to live for. Competition, friends, health.
Surprisingly, Box turned his attention to Josh, who stood unattended. Josh, perceiving the danger, started to panic. He tried to run but was slow and clumsy. He got hit with the first ball, and the second attack almost knocked him off the pillar. Idiot, Levi called him in his mind.
With Box's back facing him and his attention on Josh, Levi felt that this was it. His holdback plan was working. With all his might, Levi leaped into the air with his opponent in sight. He planned on grabbing him from behind and locking him until he tapped out. Levi wasn't going to wait for any abilities to kick in before he gets roasted.
In the air, Levi widened his arms to a span enough for Box's body. Shit. It was a set up. Box turned immediately. With Levi's arms apart, an open defence, he felt a sharp burning sensation to his chest and dropped back hard to the pillar floor in pain. The crowd gasped. Finally, something interesting.
Levi groaned in pain. He looked at his chest; the protective gear had taken the visual damage, but he could feel every pain. Box slowly stood over Levi, waiting with a ball of fire in his hand, expecting the buzzer.
When none came, Levi's opponent glowed with red as he formed a bigger ball. Suddenly, everything went stiff for a moment. Levi opened his eyes and saw lots of calculations in his view that he could decipher. He rolled his body on the ground to the left just in time as Box fired between the right and middle.
Box quickly materialized two more flames in his palms and shot them at Levi. Levi could see those calculations again, and he sleekly slid through the legs of his opponent, appearing at his back. The watching academics were wowed at this feat.
His opponent angrily turned with a wave of fire, but Levi dodged that too, along with another, and another. He didn't need to be far away from him to elude the flames. They were engaged in close combat, and Levi was ducking his attacks as if he knew what was coming every instant. The truth was, he did know. He could see his opponent's moves, anticipate his techniques even before they were applied.
Box who was now going bizarre, fired and fired at Levi who was just less than two feet away from him. Levi kept on using his opponent's body weight against him. Everyone was intrigued, never have they seen an ability like this.
After numerous failed attempts, Levi's opponent stood still, attempting to assess the situation. Both of them were panting, their eyes locked on each other atop the pillar. Box clenched his fists in a combat stance. Oh! You've given up on your ability? Levi mocked him in his mind. He clenched his fists as well.
Box reached with a punch. Levi was expecting those calculations once again, but it didn't appear at the first strike. Despite that, he was still able to avoid the attack. When it comes to physical? Levi would totally beat the hell out of him.
Box tried another attack, swinging his elbow. Before he did, Levi had anticipated the move, the calculations appeared once more. He dodged it seconds ahead of the time of swing. Levi delivered hard blows to Box's midsection which took him rearward.
Levi screamed with joy in his head. He had unlocked his ability and was thoroughly enjoying every aspect of it. The Dean had been right, not all techniques had to be flashy and aggressive. Levi glanced at his defeated opponent, who clutched his stomach in pain.
Levi realized that the buzzer hadn't rung yet. Everyone had seen his ability, they should end this before his opponent could find a way to counter it. Or before anyone gets really hurt.
Levi charged forward, he planned on giving him another blow at least that could bring him down. As he approached, Box suddenly threw his leg into the air, a streak of flame followed the movement.
Smart, Levi thought. But yeah, he saw that too. He slid on his knees, just right below the flames. He grabbed his opponent by the waist before quickly seizing his elbows from behind, keeping his two flaming hands as far as possible from each other.
Levi's grip on his elbows was extremely tight. Box yelled in pain and continuously released large flames from his outstretched hands, hoping some would touch Levi, but none did.
Box tried to wiggle his way out, but he couldn't. From the back of his opponent's head, Levi could see the creepy kid running towards them. What the hell is he thinking? Levi thought. Suddenly, a loud impact reverberated throughout the silent auditorium. Levi felt his victim's muscles relax, so he let go, causing Box to drop to the ground.
The entire place grew eerily quiet as the resounding thud of Box's fall reverberated. Levi shifted his gaze from the fallen academic to the one who had struck him. He could see Josh flinging his hand back and forth in pain, holding his broken glasses between his fingers. Did he really punch him with those?
"Good job," Levi said to him.
The boy only nodded, still focusing on the pain in his knuckles. At last, the buzzer went off.
Levi sighed with utmost relief, as he rested his hands on his knees. He looked around the dark crowd, expecting at least a cheer, but none came. It was just silence.
A loud clap started, but it was just one person. It echoed around The Colosseum. Levi quickly recognized this type of clap. He had always been applauded like this his whole life..
His ears traced the sound to the glass room above. A male dark figure was standing, bringing his palms together.