It was the big day.
All the nervousness I had felt the day before had apparently increased tenfold during the night.
«Calm down. Eat something,» Sophia urged me.
But the cup of coffee she was holding was wobbling dangerously, threatening to topple over at any moment.
"So you too are capable of being afraid..."
I remembered a phrase she had said to me long ago, when I had given up:
"There is nothing wrong in being afraid. In drastic situations like this, fear can help us avoid reckless choices. It's an emotion that stems from our sense of self-preservation".
"Well, at the moment, the only choice I want to make is to lock myself in my room like I did back then...."
But I knew that wasn't possible.
When Sophia and I had communicated our participation in the tournament, the professor we had spoken to had been very clear: once we had signed up, we could not withdraw.
I slapped my face with both hands.
Sophia winced and actually spilled her coffee.
As she cursed at me and wiped the table with napkins, I shoved a slice of jam sandwich into my mouth.
"I'm going to make Finch pay for reducing Amy to that state!"
She hadn't come to breakfast today either.
I hoped she would be true to her word and come and watch me fight later. Of course, I wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't feel up to it.
"If I los-."
I slapped myself again. More coffee spilled on the table.
«WILL YOU PLEASE STOP!» Sophia cried in exasperation.
«Sorry...»
I replaced her now almost empty cup with mine.
"I don't think I need caffeine..."
The hall began to empty.
Today's classes had been cancelled in favour of the tournament. Although attendance was not compulsory, there was no doubt that there would still be a lot of spectators.
It was clear to everyone that this wasn't going to be a peaceful day like the one at the end of December. With 1,000 points up for grabs, things were bound to get ugly.
How ugly? Well...
I hadn't dared speak to her about it, but I was certain that Sophia intended to kill Finch.
If it hadn't been for the rules of the Academy, she probably would have done so as soon as she'd seen the state he'd reduced me to.
While the boy was definitely too dangerous to be allowed to hang around the school, I really didn't like the idea of Sophia being the one to kill him.
"I don't want things to go the way they did with Valentine..."
But was I really ready to get my hands dirty in her place?
When I caused Chloe's death, I hadn't really meant to kill her...
«Let's go, come on!» exclaimed Sophia as she got to her feet.
«Ok...»
I followed her out of the hall.
The tournament would be held in the magic training room this time. We would have two duels in the morning and the semi-finals in the afternoon, after lunch.
If we survived our encounter with Finch and Foster, the final would take place after dinner.
"I'm sure Celeste and Philemon will be there waiting for us..."
This was another reason why we couldn't afford to lose.
If Sophia and I failed, it would mean the end for them as well. Brilliant as she was, Celeste didn't stand a chance against Finch without an innate power at her side.
"Unless she's hiding something too..."
«Will you hurry up? We're going to be late,» Sophia urged me.
I was so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed I'd fallen behind.
I pulled up next to her and gave her a look.
"She's a bundle of nerves."
Driven by a sudden impulse, I grabbed her hand and intertwined it with mine.
«Huh?»
«Does it bother you?»
Sophia just shook her head and squeezed my hand tightly.
"Whatever happens, we'll face it together."
***
The target dummy area of the magic training room had been set up with numerous benches for the occasion.
As Sophia and I took our seats in the packed classroom, I looked around. It seemed that almost the whole school was there.
Celeste waved energetically when I met her gaze, while Philemon, sitting at her side, merely nodded at me.
Finch sat in the front row with his back to me. Next to him sat an emaciated boy who looked as concerned as I did. Miles Foster didn't look too happy to be there.
"Amy... she's not here. Perhaps she hasn't arrived yet..."
But when Skylark, the last to enter the classroom, closed the door behind him, my best friend was still nowhere to be seen.
"I kind of expected it..."
Finding herself so close to Finch was not going to be easy for her.
«Very well!» the Headmaster exclaimed.
He clapped his hands and a large ornate chair appeared in front of the duel area.
Before sitting down, the old professor addressed everyone present:
«You are probably wondering why I have organised this event so soon after the last event. You will soon understand why,» he paused for a moment, «but not today. For now, let's enjoy this little tournament. I would like to remind all participants that 1,000 points are at stake. Do your best.»
Skylark's tone was uncharacteristically flat.
Sophia and I had theorised that this tournament was a trap designed to get us into a fight with Finch and Foster. Was there more to it?
But why did the Headmaster seem so unenthusiastic?
I had no time to think about it.
«Let's start with Celeste Fitzroy and Philemon Hargrave against Juniper Adler and Gabriel Sinclair!»
The tournament had already started.
Celeste trotted into the training area, Philemon following lazily behind.
Their two opponents seemed much more concerned.
The two couples lined up on opposite sides of the arena.
The barrier formed immediately and the countdown began.
...3
2
1
« Lightning bolt !»
As soon as the metallic voice sounded that last number, Celeste went on the attack with an electric spell, her speciality.
The bolt was aimed at the boy, Gabriel Sinclair, and reached its target in less than a second.
A body fell to the ground. But it was not the boy's.
Or rather, it was not the original.
A copy of Gabriel Sinclair had appeared in front of him at the last moment and absorbed the blow. Had I blinked, I would have missed it.
With muffled pops, other doubles soon began to form around the boy.
At the same time, the girl at his side opened her mouth and began to sing a melody.
"What the hell?"
Sinclair's copies began to glow with a faint yellowish light.
"She's buffing them!"
I had never doubted Sophia's assumption that there were many innate power users hidden among us. But to see two others reveal themselves in the same duel....
"How many are there..."
Something told me that they wouldn't be the only ones we'd see in the tournament. Those 1,000 points were very tempting.
Gabriel's clones had grown to about twenty. Half of them drew their swords, while the rest pointed their wands at Celeste.
«Fireball!» they shouted in unison as their allies charged at their opponents with superhuman speed.
«This is madness... But it won't work against those two!»
«Water dome.»
Philemon waved his wand, creating a huge barrier of water around him and his companion.
The ten fireballs extinguished themselves on it.
But the dome was of no use against the onslaught of the other copies. They crossed the water shield unharmed and rushed towards Celeste.
«Storm nova!»
"A classic..."
This combo was Celeste's favourite after all.
Her attackers fell to the ground, electrocuted, while Philemon defended himself with a stone shield against the blast.
But there was no time to rest.
A new barrage of fireballs was already on its way.
"Casting so many spells effortlessly... does the girl's song have something to do with it?"
The song had no words, but I could tell by its tone that it was trying to send a message of encouragement and hope.
"Reinvigoration?"
My suspicion was soon confirmed.
As Philemon neutralised the new barrage of attacks, the copies Celeste had knocked down were already rising again.
«Watch out!» I shouted.
But the girl had already noticed.
«Tornado!»
Before they could get back on their feet, a powerful gust of wind blew the clones away and they crashed into the barrier that marked the duel area.
Philemon again protected himself with his usual shield.
"If she can fight like this, it's because she trusts him..."
The two engaged nobles had not exchanged words yet, but despite facing two innate powers, they reacted in a calm and coordinated manner.
«Thunder!»
Celeste's target this time was Juniper Adler. But before the giant thunderbolt descended upon her, the wand wielding clones shouted.
«Stone shield!»
The electrical discharge shattered against the defensive spell.
Adler continued to chant. Soon, the clones that had been blown away rose again.
"What a nasty combination..."
Sinclair's copies seemed rather weak individually, but they were numerous, and as long as they were healed and strengthened by Adler's melody, they would continue to attack.
«She should just blow up the whole arena!» I commented.
If she just went scorched earth, sooner or later she would hit the original Sinclair, or at least pierce the opponent's defences and knock Adler out.
Sophia looked at me amused:
«I wonder why I had no doubt that would be your approach. But I think I understand why Fitzroy wants to avoid it... She has to preserve her mana.»
She was right. This would not be the only duel my friend would face today. Although there would be a break, it would not be enough time for her to recover all her mana. She couldn't afford to go all out in the first round of the tournament.
«Hmmm...»
Meanwhile, the duel seemed to have come to a standstill. Like a chess game heading for a stalemate, the same moves were being repeated.
Celeste had to find a solution quickly.
And so she did.
Another burst of fire hit the water shield as the other copies prepared to attack again, when the girl pointed her wand at her mouth.
«Amplify!»
"Huh? What's that spell for?"
I soon had my answer.
A terrible scream filled the room, forcing us to cover our ears.
Even the clones stopped moving for a moment, stunned.
Celeste was screaming at the top of her lungs, her voice magically amplified.
«WHAT THE HELL IS SHE THINKING?» I shouted as I desperately put my fingers in my ears.
But I soon realised. The glowing aura that had previously surrounded her opponent had vanished!
"Of course!"
That strange power didn't seem to be working like a normal enhancement spell.
Now they could no longer hear the song because of the tremendous noise Celeste was making, its beneficial effect had ceased.
Philemon immediately took matters into his own hands:
«Air bubble.»
A swirling barrier swelled up around him and Celeste and began to push away the clones armed with swords.
The wand-wielding copies began to unleash air currents of their own, trying to resist. But the power of their spells seemed to have diminished considerably.
Soon, both the many Sinclairs and Adler found themselves with their backs against the barrier, dangerously close to being crushed.
They seemed to be trying to shout something, but Celeste's deafening screech made it impossible to make out the words.
But as the copies vanished one by one, and the real Sinclair fell to his knees with his ally, their intentions were clear for all to see.
Philemon broke the spell and nudged his fiancée on the shoulder. It still took a few seconds for the girl to stop screaming.
«The winners are Fitzroy and Hargrave!» announced Skylark as the pair returned to their seats.
Celeste winked at me as she sat down.
"I bet she had a great time busting our ears..."
«And now Owen Finch and Miles Foster will be fighting Cedric Monroe and Isla Harper.»
The smile on my face faded instantly.
Finch stood up and walked towards the arena with determined steps, Foster following a few steps behind him. Unlike his accomplice, he didn't look very enthusiastic.
"Can this guy really beat Sophia?"
There was undoubtedly something strange about this guy.
But I doubted that we would find out in this first duel.
"Unless their opponents also have innate powers..."
The two pairs of challengers took their positions. As the barrier rose, Finch drew his greatsword with a blank expression.
I couldn't help but shudder.
Soon I would be face to face with that long blade.
I found myself praying to all the gods whose names I knew that Monroe and Harper were secretly the most powerful users of innate powers in the school.
I didn't care if they were going to be my opponents, at least I could use my magic against them...
But my hopes were soon shattered.
As soon as the countdown ended, my two poor classmates exchanged a confused look that soon gave way to panic.
Perhaps it was the same look I had when I was unable to cast magic in my duel with Finch.
The latter now advanced towards his opponents, brandishing his weapon.
Foster, for his part, had retreated to the edge of the arena. He did not even have his wand in his hand. He knew it would be useless.
I quickly drew mine and concentrated. I managed to release my mana smoothly and the tip glowed.
"It seems his power, however it works, has a limited range..."
Of course, now I had no way to test if the arena was big enough to go outside of it.
«We surrender!»
"Well, that didn't take long..."
I sympathised, I would have wanted to do the same.
But the barrier remained and Finch continued to advance calmly.
«NO!» I shouted, jumping to my feet.
Many students around me looked at me in surprise, unaware of the tragedy that was about to unfold before their eyes.
But I knew what was happening. The rules spoke clearly:
"The duel ends if one of the parties is unable to fight or accepts the surrender of the other."
The key word here was "accepts".
From the first week I had understood that the school rules had to be taken literally.
In this case Finch had no intention of accepting the surrender of his opponents so the duel would continue.
It was not the first time this had happened. Carl Stuart shortly before dying at Valentine's hands had surrendered.
But many probably hadn't even realised it, because of the truculent show they had witnessed shortly afterwards.
A show that was about to repeat itself.
Sophia grabbed me by the wrist, forcing me to sit down again.
She was biting her nails.
«But why?! I understand if he wants to kill the two of us! But why kill two defenceless students!?» I asked her.
Despite the fact that I hated him with all my heart for what he had done to Amy, Finch hadn't come across to me as a bloodthirsty monster like Valentine. In fact, he had almost seemed sorry he had to hurt me.
«He wants to win. Every student he kills is one less week he'll spend here. Now that he has decided to show everyone his power, he's going all in. It no longer makes sense for him to back down, killing at every opportunity is the most logical choice.»
I knew that the last few months of peace with my friends had lulled me into a false sense of security.
But despite this realisation, I was not ready for what was to come.
Perhaps I had hoped that the days would continue to pass in the same way.
But Sophia was right. The cold logic that ruled the Academy was pushing us in only one direction: towards killing each other.
When Cedric Monroe's body fell to the ground, lacerated by Finch's greatsword, the curtain closed on the illusion I had been living in. The happy moments spent with Sophia, Amy and Celeste were drowned in the pool of blood that began to spread across the arena.
Screams of horror began to rise from the crowd and all hell let loose.
Many leapt to their feet and fled the hall, while the bravest made their way to just outside the barrier, but of course they were powerless to intervene.
Calm and seraphic, Skylark watched the spectacle.
What had happened with Carl Stuart's death was being repeated before my eyes.
But this time it was not over yet.
Finch turned to Isla Harper, his next victim.
The girl tried desperately to escape her executioner, but was not quick enough. The greatsword caught her leg, causing her to fall forward.
The poor girl tried to crawl away, and when she reached the barrier, she began to beat against it with her fists.
But her pleas were in vain.
Finch was soon on top of her, the greatsword pointing at her neck and the same cold expression on his face that he had maintained all this time.
The cold steel blade fell and another life was taken.
It would not be the last on this day.