Part 1

- DANTHE HANNES’ POV -

A warm dim light broke through the curtains of my window. Before I even realized it, morning had come. The loud and arrhythmic snoring of my roommate resembled the sound of a carriage going through a broken road. It was calming in its own way. Reassuring and unchanging, something very different yet needed in my current mental state.

I rubbed my still sleepy eyes and looked around me. The papers I was studying at night were still there. Some had small drops of drool. I must have fallen asleep on those at some point.

I felt tired. Tired like I’ve never been before. Not even the hellish training back home left me with such tiredness. That morning I envied those who had the brains to pull an all-nighter. In the first place, those who had such brains wouldn’t even need to pull an all-nighter to cook up the plan I made. I felt stupid, but it’s always been like that. I’ve only ever been good at fighting, nothing else.

“*sigh* I should get going soon. It won’t take much for Raphael to go out for his morning run. I’ve already paid for her roommate’s silence, now I just gotta figure out how to take her away silently. She won’t just follow me…right?”

I was worried. I was putting up a tough act barely to convince myself that it was all fine, but it really wasn’t. I didn’t like what I was doing in the first place and soo many things could have gone wrong. Furthermore, I had to act fast and I had already wasted an entire night. The pressure of the hourglass’ sand was suffocating. If I were to fail…I didn’t even want to imagine how screwed my life would have been if I failed.

I quickly picked up a few strings of beef jerky I had left on the kitchen counter. They must’ve been there for an entire week since their taste was soo awful that it could make a starving man barf. Not me though. Not in that situation. Both body and mind were in such a mess that all tastes just seemed plain. The gods must’ve felt pity and spared me the experience.

Silently, so that I could let at least my roommate sleep, I picked up my shoes, jacket, hat and left the room behind me. I rapidly dressed in the dead hallway and went down the stairs.

No one on sight. Not a single soul out in the open. Not even the guards making their usual rounds, right now it was time for a change of shift. The time was right. No one had to see me go into the girls’ dorms.

“Hoooyy!-” Shouted a familiar voice coming from right behind me.

I turned around in that same instant, searching for the source of the voice but it was only when I pointed my eyes upwards that I could see the source of the voice. Constantine Gildoor was waiting for me. He was perched in a squat-like position on the railing of one of the balconies, looking at me through those damned shaded glasses.

“- You look troubled, might I assist you in some way?”

His wicked smile that said “You really couldn’t do anything without me!” was sickening. I didn’t want to admit it but he was right and I had no leisure to be stubborn about it. I needed his help and I needed it fast. The guards were bound to come any minute now.

“I have to kidnap Kiara Saifri, one of Bluescale’s friends.-” I blurted out as I bite on my own lip out of frustration “-I’ve already paid her roommate to stay silent about it. All I need is to get her and leave a message for Bluescale to come alone, he’ll probably figure out it was from Gallher and the rest”

“But you don’t know how to get the girl, right?”

“...Yes”

“Then leave that to me. Where’s the place you chose?” Asked the man as he cracked his neck.

“It’s a broken-down shed out of town, close to the west entrance. You can’t really miss it. It’s a big, red building made of rotting wood”

“Alright! Then give me the message and start heading there…I’ll catch up to you soon enough!”

“Do I really have to trust you?”

“You are breaking my fragile, little heart, my dear Hannes. I’m a teacher, I could never disappoint a student, can I?”

I clicked my tongue as a reflex to the clear taunt he had thrown my way. I proceeded to rummage through my pockets and hand out the small piece of folded paper to the tall man now in front of me. Who, with an incredibly swift gesture of his hand, picked it out of mine.

“You better prepare for the fight-” Constantine whispered as he leaned to my ear with an arm on my shoulder “-because I’ll leave a little gift that’ll make Raphael a little more focused!”

And, with those last words, he sprinted away as if he had wind under his feet. I was sure he was no mage, which meant that all that speed was simply the result of his strength alone. Incredible.

All I had to do was to follow through with the plan. I was going to wait for professor Gildoor at the shed, talk to Kiara about her kidnapping, wait for Bluescale to show up and, finally, fight him at our fullest. Unbound of the academy rules. Though what worried me now were professor Gildoor’s words.

[A surprise that’ll make him focus? I just hope he doesn’t go overboard!]

Part 2

- RAPHAEL BLUESCALE’S POV -

Fresh air in…warm air our….fresh air in….warm out….in….out…in…out.

The shape of the boys’ dorms was getting into view, meaning that my morning running routine was coming to an end. Recently, running around the whole academy had become somewhat easy.

[Should I…upgrade it? Mmhhh…I could probably run with sandbags on wrists and ankles. That oughta do something!]

By the time I reached the front door, I was hot and sweaty as always. A cold shower was in dire need, both for me and for those around me. I wouldn’t want to smell bad in front of all those people, especially the nobles. They already had enough reasons to pick on me, adding a new one was not on my list of things to do.

I silently entered the room, half undressing even before opening the door. I gently placed the shoes on the side of the door as a good Japanese would. A habit that I found hard to get rid of. Then finally taking off my training clothes and approaching the bathroom in my birth suit.

My brother was still soundly sleeping as always. Even the rays of sun shining on his face were desperately trying to wake him up, yet unsuccessfully. I could’ve probably made all noise I wanted, he still wouldn’t have woken up. It was as if he had some kind of internal clock that, before a certain hour, forced him to sleep.

As I closed the door between me and him, I turned the knob of the shower. It was a truly refreshing sensation that of the cold water on my still hot skin. Just like gently pressing an ice cube to your body on a hot summer day. That cold shower was the signal of the start of my day. A ritual one would call it, one that I hated being disturbed.

“RAPHAEL!” Shouted a loud, high-pitched voice followed by a storm of heavy knocks on the door.

The surprise scared me so bad that I almost fell out of the tub trying to react to the sudden loud noise. Even my brother reacted to the noise, he even fell out of his bed. Without even time to dress up properly, I put on the closest thing to me, at that time being a white towel near the sink, and ran through the room still dripping. On the way, I almost had to jump over my brother, now wiggling on the floor like a drunk snake in what looked like an attempt to reach back to his bed.

I didn’t even have time to fully open the door that two people stormed into my room.

“They took her!-” Shouted Sora “-She’s not in her room! We don’t know where she is!”

“C-calm down, please…..Legis can you, I don’t know, explain a little?”

“Kiara has *cough* suddenly disappeared”

“What?!” Replied in unison me and my brother.

“We can’t find her Raphael!-” Cried again Sora “- A-and there’s blood in her room!”

[Blood in her room? They can’t find her? Has someone kidnapped her? But why though! And wh-...]

The blood was boiling in my veins and rapidly rushing all the way to my head. The thought of blood being spilled in her room, a possible kidnapping. The o ly name I could think of was his.

“...Gallher that bastard. He has just crossed the fucking line!”

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold your horses Raph! Let’s check first!”

“Youm is already *cough* asking around if anyone has seen her. We should go to her room…just in case I *cough* guess”

“Right, right…I got caught up in the moment, sorry. Let’s go!”

“First you *cough* should dress up…”

“Oh….right!” I said as I finally realized that in the heat of the moment the only layer of clothes I was wearing had just fallen to the floor.

In a matter of minutes, we had reached Kiara’s room and had begun searching for some traces, some hints of what transpired in there. But all we could see were some drops of blood on the floor, the kind that comes from a swallow sword wound, some scattered books and a series of pieces of paper with them. Everything made it look like there was some kind of fight. In the first place, Kiara wouldn’t have let herself get kidnapped without putting up a fight. But something was missing.

Why her? Why now? What about her roommate, why is she safe here? I had soo many questions going through my head. Half of them were about my involvement in this matter.

“Raph look! This letter…isn’t the handwriting different from the rest?” Asked Lucas as he sowed me a sand-colored piece of paper stained with little drops of blood.

“Let’s ask her roommate!” Suggested Youm who had just recently joined us after going through the nearby room in search of clues.

We took his suggestion and asked the still shocked and somewhat pale roommate if it was her’s, some sort of note. It would’ve been rude to open it if it was some kind of private diary so we refrained from reading ourselves. Instead, we gave that piece of paper, with the only result being the worsening of the poor girl’s pale face.

Lucas took away the piece of paper from her trembling hands and read it out loud.

“I have your friend, Bluescale! She is the first but not the last if you do not follow exactly what I tell you. There’s an abandoned shed outside of the west gate. Come here, alone, so that we can speak about your friend’s “well-being”!

-Your dear friend.”

The more Lucas read the letter the more my fists clenched. When he finished reading, I had my nails already deep into my palm’s skin. I felt my whole body burning. It was a familiar sensation, one that I had already experienced once or twice. As if my stomach began generating fire, ready to be breathed out.

“I can’t believe it-” Said Lucas “-...is this seriously Gallher?!”

“I think I know where that shed is!-” Replied angrily Youm “-Let’s just go all together and deal with him at once!”

They were all making a fuss, screaming at each other and cussing Gallher’s name. I don’t remember how but at some point I stopped hearing, not because I didn’t care but simply because my ears stopped working. I could only hear the accelerating beating of my heart. My eyes were fixed on the letter in my hands with the few drops of blood on it.

[Have I been too lenient?... Shouldn’t have I treated him as a kid?]

Those questions kept pestering my head as if they were trying to prove it was my fault Kiara was kidnapped. And it indeed was! Other than just defending against him, I had done nothing to get even with Gallher.

“...If I had just crushed him sooner…” I whispered without even noticing.

“D-did you say something Raph?” Asked Lucas in a rather preoccupied tone.

The room was now silent. Tense in a way. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me some with a perplexed expression and others with a troubled one. The mood had just turned heavy.

“...You guys stay here together-” I said as I finally raised my eyes to meet my friends’ “- I’ll be heading to the shed”

“What? Alone?!-” Shouted Youm “- Raphael, it’s obviously a trap! You can’t go there alone!”

“Youm’s right, you can’-” Tried to say Legis before being interrupted by a sudden gaze of mine.

“I’ll bring Kiara back here safely-” I said as I opened the door “-do not worry about the rest”

Shutting the door behind me I walked off towards my room in order to grab my sword. though before walking far off Kiara’s room I was able to hear some words from inside the room.

“I-is it really fine to leave him alone?-” As in a shaken tone of voice Sora “- He really seemed…unlike himself!”

“Right..-” Replied Lucas “- but I don’t think he would listen to any of us right now…also, I’m more worried about the guys over there. His expression…I’ve never seen it before and I don’t like it…”

Part 3

The bright red shed was right in front of me. It took me around half an hour to reach the west entrance and ten more minutes to search around the outer fields for the shed. When I finally found it, I understood the reason why they chose that place. It was the furthest away from everything. Furthermore, none would care if a broken-down shed suddenly got destroyed. Smart move.

I stopped in front of it for a brief moment, contemplating what to do next. Looking around the place, it didn’t seem like anyone was hiding nor planning an ambush or something. Strange, since we were talking about Gallher and his cheap methods.

I didn’t really believe that Gallher himself would come down and see to this kidnapping personally. It really wasn’t his style to dirty his own hands. He was more the type to send a henchman to do the job. The word coward would describe him rather perfectly.

“Fuck it I don’t have time for this!-” I told myself as I kept looking around in search of traces of a trap “- Gust!”

My words were followed by a sudden wave of air that broke down the already decrepit wooden doors of the shed. A thick cloud of dust, composed of the road’s and shed’s dust, formed right over the entrance, separating me from my opponents. Without a second thought, I began walking through that dust.

My heart was beating fast. It was a strange sensation. It first started with pure anger when I left Kiara’s room, but now something else was mixed up with it. It wasn’t fear. I knew well that only a handful of people from our year could actually pose a threat to me. No, it was excitement. Excitement for the upcoming fight, excitement to finally try myself. It had been ever since the fight with the fiend that I felt like something was amiss. As if I was looking for something, a part of myself perhaps or the last piece to a puzzle. The sensation was the same as when one craves a specific type of food yet the fridge holds none of it.

“You are more of a fool than I expected! Coming here alone just as I said…Bah, how exhilarating!” Shouted a somewhat familiar voice from the back of the shed.

The dust had already cleared when the man spoke. A sense of disappointment and surprise filled me. The man in front of me was the famous red hair who placed first in the first year’s ranking as well as the one considered the strongest of our year: Danthe Hannes.

“Raphael Bluescale, I was waiting for you! Finally, after over a year, we’ll be able to cross swords! Aren’t you excited?!” Shouted the red-haired man at the end of the room.

I looked around, ignoring the taunt sent my way by the Gallher’s subordinate. I was too busy searching for the reason I went there, Kiara Saifri. Although I did look around, I found no traces of her being there. No blood, no ropes…nothing of the sort.

“Where’s she?” I asked, trying to sound intimidating.

“Talking about your big-boobed friend? Don’t worry about her, she’s safe and sound, waiting for our…conversation to come to an end!”

[Motherfuckers…of course it was way too easy to just come here and rescue her!]

“I’ll ask this once. Are you under Gallher’s orders?”

“HA! What kind of question is that?-” His expression seemed to show slight trouble as if something was bothering him “- Of course I’m under his orders! Now what? Are you gonna chick-”

“How disappointing, Danthe Hannes. I judged you to be different than the rest but it seems I was wrong…”

“Tch! Stop acting all mighty and take out your sword you coward!” Shouted the redhead as he pointed the tip of his spear at me.

A sudden slightly cheeky laugh was able to escape my lips. I didn’t even notice that the thought of crossing swords with the one considered strongest excited me that much. My muscles were already tensing up as all my nerves began sending little sparks around my entire body. Sounds and smells became suddenly more clear, more accurate. My body was getting ready for a fight.

“You see-” I replied to Danthe’s dumbfounded expression “- It’s been months since I felt this excited so I hope you’ll forgive me if I’ll go all out on you!”

Unexpectedly, his reply was a surprisingly wide smile full of reciprocated excitement.

“Fire burst!” Shouted the enemy in front of me.

In the blink of an eye, a sea of flames began spreading in front of me generating from the tip of his crimson spear. Even from all the way at the entrance of the shed I could feel the heat of Danthe’s flames. It was the same sensation as standing too close to the fireplace on a cold day. The difference in temperature was almost overwhelming. But it didn’t bother me, rather, that painful sensation was fueling my excitement.

“Typhoon’s edge” I said out loud.

As my words commanded, mana followed. From around my body, mana began gathering on my now stretched arm in front of me. In the next second, the image in my mind connected with the words “typhoon's edge” formed in front of me. Two huge spinning wheels of cold air appeared in front of me in a triangular shape with my hand as their foremost point.

The burning red flames split in two right before my eyes. The typhoon’s winds were shielding me, fending the flames intensively crushing on them. I felt the heat of the flames no more, I was in complete control.

One foot before the other, slowly, I began walking towards my enemy. The bewildered look on his face that appeared every now and then, when the flames were shorter, was soo satisfying. Stupor could be read in his eyes, along with hints of curiosity and excitement. In a way, he was enjoying this.

With the right hand, I reached the hilt of my sword on my side. I was no fool to fight unarmed against a spear user, more so one as dangerous as Danthe Hannes. It was my first time seeing him using that spear, too big for his already tall body, but a gut feeling told me that weapon was dangerous.

“Did you really think I spent my entire summer idling around?!-” I shouted “-This is what I achieved in my training…my own magic! So, how is it? Wanna try with hotter flames?”

“Don’t get cocky!-” Shouted the redhead in response as the intensity of his flames seemed to increase “-You won’t be able to hold my flames with that petty wind!”

“Petty, you say?... Then I suggest you dodge this!”

With a smug smirk, Danthe thrust forward his spear, leading to a sudden increase in the size of the flames. But it was too late to try and counter my magic. I had already begun circulating new mana, this time around my right arm.

With a swift movement, I threw my sword tip first into the scorched wood and struck the air around my left hand with the right one, now saturated with mana. In addition to the increase in size and speed of the two wheels, they began moving forward, as if remotely controlled, cutting everything in their path. Be it flames, floor or wooden columns, everything was cut down. Even the wall behind Danthe. A triangular shape was cut out from the wall just a string of air away from Danthe.

The look full of fear on his face was strangely addicting. I didn’t realize it at that time, but I was turning more and more into a beast who solely relies on instincts.

Crouching and sprinting forward, I picked up my sword and jumped in Danthe’s direction. I was holding my sword my both hands, yet, when our weapons met, my hands felt as if needles pierced them all over.

[He’s strong!]

“Ohh, and here I thought that sword on your waist was only for show!” Taunted the spearmen strongly carrying his weapon over his head as he parried my strike with its handle.

“Are you really telling me that Gallher hasn't had me spied at the dojo? Please let’s not kid ourselves!”

I didn’t even have time to create enough space between us that a powerful sideway slash came my way. As Danthe grabbed the furthest end of his spear, the reach of his weapon turned incredibly higher than what I could cover in a single dash with my unenhanced body.

[Shit! Lower speed boost!] I rapidly chanted in my mind.

My body suddenly became lighter as mana pervaded my leg’s muscles. Without a second thought I crouched, just in time for Danthe’s spear to pass over my head. With my speed enhanced thanks to the only spells I could cast without vocally spelling them, I took the opportunity to strike back.

He was in no position to either parry or counter since he was still in the middle of his long-reach side slash. As I dashed forward still in a crouched position I cast a “Lower strength boost”. My blade now was more deadly than ever. His belly was in my sight. With the right thrust, I could have pierced him from side to side.

As I was about to retract my sword, ready to spring it forward for increased damage, our eyes met. Strong gazes, both full of killing intent, something fairly absent in the first stages of our fight. Something had changed in that small time.

With the few times our weapons met, we came to the same understanding: “If I’m careless I’ll die!”.

Seeing my sword ready to swing, Danthe didn’t retreat nor try to dodge. Instead, he firmly pressed his feet on the creaking wood and lowered his waist. With all the strength his arms could muster, he stopped the side-swing of his spear and had it fall directly over my head.

The speed of the previous slash was still in the new one. I knew that it wasn’t as deadly as the first but the looming idea of being unable to use my shoulder if that handle hit me stopped me from continuing my thrust. Instead, I turned the sword on its flat side over my head and placed my palm under it. One hand wouldn’t have been enough to stop the strike.

When the spear hit, it hit soo heavy that I was forced to fall to one knee as the parts of my palm exposed to the sides of the sword began painting with the crimson color of blood.

Our gazes still hadn’t detached from one another but on both our faces, ecstatic smiles had already slashed through our cheeks. It wouldn't have been an understatement if one said we were baring each other our fangs. We were simply two beasts completely immersed in a fight to the death. Not even our surroundings mattered to us. The whole shed was now caught up in flames. The roof and walls were burning, alongside the unscorched pieces of floor. Not even the falling boards still clad in red were bothering us. There was only us. me and Danthe. Danthe and me…nothing more.

A sudden scream erupted from our throats as we simultaneously took one hand off our weapons and pointed its palm against the enemy. Mana was flowing like a riptide in both our arms, rapidly gathering in the palm of our hands. A sign that a strong spell was about to take form. At such close range, spells of that caliber were bound to injure either way.

It could be read in both our eyes…The fight could only keep escalating from that point onward.