Chapter 59: All Eyes on Me

  “Are they here yet?” Scarlette asked.

  “Almost,” I replied. “Apparently there’s a lot of people coming over, so the queues are pretty long.”

  “It’s okay, there’s still about half an hour to go,” she said, exhaling slowly as if trying to calm her nerves. Even though her opponent was most certainly below her skill level, it was understandable that she still felt jittery.

  “Come on, we’re almost at the entrance. They should be reaching any minute too.”

  A few moments later, we finally caught sight of our friends. I waved my hands to catch their attention through the crowd.

  Jonah, being a little taller than the girls, was the first to see me. He quickly rushed over, with Kaede and Mira following closely behind.

  “Okay, I gotta ask the question everyone’s been wondering. How’s the food here?” he blurted.

  Kaede smacked him before turning to us. “How was the first day here? Any drama with the Horizon High students?”

  Scarlette shook her head. “It’s been rather chill actually. Hope it stays that way. The matches yesterday were quite entertaining though.”

  “Really? See anything worth mentioning?”

  “Nothing that really blew our minds. Anyway, let’s start making our way to Scarlette’s hall. We can talk on the way there,” I suggested.

  The hall was bustling with people. Inside, I could see four chambers, each separated by a transparent screen that occasionally pulsed with energy. I assumed this was the same force-field technology that was employed in our own arenas back at the Colosso Dome, designed to absorb Esper attacks while preventing them from affecting the spectators. Speaking of which, spectator stands surrounded almost the entire perimeter of the hall, stretching up to the second floor. The arenas weren’t particularly large—about roughly the dimensions of a full-length basketball court.

  “I guess this is it. I’ll see you guys after the match,” Scarlette flashed a confident smile before disappearing behind a door.

  “Good luck!” we called after her.

  A few minutes later, a whistle pierced the air. Eight participants stepped into view, making their way to their respective arenas. Fortunately, we had managed to secure a good spot in the stands.

  “Look, there she is!” Jonah yelled excitedly, pointing towards one of the arenas.

  And there she was. I could tell from Scarlette’s face that she was completely locked in the zone.

  Her opponent, Frank, as mentioned in her email, stepped into the arena after her. His nervous demeanour betrayed him almost immediately. As he fidgeted slightly, I couldn’t help but think, Poor guy. He doesn’t stand a chance.

  Various referees took to their stations as the main umpire began his announcement. His voice boomed through the hall as he reiterated the rules:

  “Each match has a time limit of 15 minutes. In the unlikely event that neither contestant concedes nor is knocked down, the judging committee will make a decision. Standard safety rules apply, and any breach will result in immediate disqualification. You may begin once you hear the bell.”

  The crowd quietened as the anticipation built up.

  Ding!

  The sound of combat immediately reverberated through the area. The hall briefly lit up as a wave of fire roared in Frank’s direction, much to the cheers of the crowd. Did she get him?

  As the flames dissipated, a badly scorched cocoon-like structure came into view. Frank stumbled out, coughing and visibly cursing under his breath.

  Scarlette didn’t give him time to recover. She launched another fiery assault, her movements all too precise. Somewhere out there among the other audience members, I hoped Krystal was watching. It was a good opportunity to see her “teacher” in action.

  Frank thrust his hand towards the ceiling, and a white, web-like substance shot out, pulling him into the air.

  “Spider powers?” Kaede speculated.

  Unfortunately for Frank, both spiders and humans were notoriously weak to fire. Any attacks sent in Scarlette’s direction were immediately vaporised. And Frank could only evade her relentless assault for so long. In one lapse of judgement, flames engulfed him before he could properly react. Thankfully, the Abizium suit prevented any major damage, but everyone could tell the match was over.

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  “The match in Arena 2 has concluded. Winner: Scarlette Falcon,” the umpire’s voice rang out, accompanied by the roar of the crowd.

  Scarlette extinguished the flames around her with a casual wave of her hand before turning and waving to us in delight.

  “That was brutal,” Jonah commented, waving back. “My boy Frank never stood a chance.”

  “It was to be expected,” I replied. “She’s a 5-Star going up against someone who probably just made the cutoff.”

  “I mean, yeah, but still. That was like watching a lion hunt a rabbit.”

  Before we could continue discussing, Scarlette emerged from the arena and made her way towards us.

  “Well?” Scarlette was literally oozing with smugness as she approached. “How’d I do?”

  “I blinked and it was over,” Jonah grinned.

  She laughed. “I wasn’t expecting much resistance. He tried, though.”

  Kaede glanced at her. “You didn’t seem to hold back.”

  “I wasn’t taking any risks,” she shrugged. “Balls in your court now, Cadel.”

  I nodded. “Let’s hope my opponent puts up more of a fight than Frank did.”

  An explosion turned our attention back to the remaining games, which were still deep in battle. Sparks flew as I watched two combatants clash in the far corner of the hall. One wielded a massive hammer, swinging it with a force that caused the ground to tremble, while the other darted around with lightning speed, launching plasma blasts in retaliation. From the looks of it, the hammer guy was wearing our school’s attire.

  He roared as his weapon slammed into the arena floor, sending shards of glowing debris scattering. His opponent, a girl from Horizon High, narrowly avoided the attack, countering with a series of rapid strikes that forced Hammer Guy to retreat.

  “Wait, aren’t weapons illegal?” Scarlette asked.

  “If they’re part of your Ability, it’s fair game,” I replied.

  Scarlette vocalised her thoughts as the fight continued to play out. “He’s powerful, but his swings are too wide. And he keeps leaving himself open. If he doesn’t fix that, it’s just a matter of time before he gets taken down.”

  Almost as if on cue, the hammer began to morph, its shape narrowing and extending until it turned into a sleek, glowing spear. The transformation was seamless, and our representative wasted no time lunging forward with his newly-formed weapon.

  “Oh. Well that changes things.”

  The rapid spear thrusts were forcing the girl to stay on the defensive. Each strike from the weapon sent shockwaves through the air, causing her to struggle in maintaining her earlier composure.

  “He’s trying to corner her,” I analysed, finding myself joining in with her commentating.

  Scarlette nodded. “The spear may give him more range and speed, but it’s not like it's invincible. If she can just exploit his overreach...”

  Sure enough, the Horizon High girl began to shift her strategy, weaving between the spear strikes with increasing confidence. Every time the weapon missed its mark, it left its wielder slightly off-balance.

  “She’s waiting for the right moment to pounce,” I observed. This was a very even matchup. Would the crowd prefer a close fight, or a landslide victory from their school representative? I wasn't exactly sure.

  Then it happened. The spear wielder overcommitted, driving the glowing tip into the ground with a powerful thrust. His opponent seized the opening, dodging to the side and firing a concentrated bolt of plasma straight into his chest. The impact sent Hammer-turned-Spear Guy sprawling across the arena floor. Another concentrated blast finished the job.

  “The match in Arena 4 has concluded. Winner: Jessica Chase,” the umpire announced to the applause of the Horizon students.

  “Thanks for the play-by-play guys,” Jonah nodded sarcastically in our direction, earning a middle finger from Scarlette.

  As Jessica pumped her fist in delight, the crowd had already shifted their attention to the two remaining matches still underway, their cheers echoing throughout the hall.

  It was almost 2:30 PM. I slipped on our school’s sportswear and entered the holding area. This hall was an exact replica of the one from earlier, right down to the transparent chambers and cramped spectator stands. The subsequent matches since then had been neck-and-neck, with wins evenly split between the two schools.

  Right across the room, 4 Horizons students stood in line as we waited for our call. One of them was my opponent, but I had no clue who it was. Oh well, I’d find out soon enough.

  A whistle blew, signalling our turn. Without hesitation, I made my way towards Arena 1. In my peripheral vision, I could see my friends cheering me on. I gave them a quick wave before turning to face my opponent.

  A girl with long, flowing black hair stepped into the chamber with me. So this was Robin Park. I examined her closely. Unlike the previous contestants, she didn’t seem nervous at all. She was in fight mode. Perfect.

  The umpire began the usual pre-match announcements, but my attention stayed on Robin.

  Ding!

  The moment the bell rang, she sprang into action. Her movements were fluid, almost graceful, as she closed the distance between us with alarming speed. Her hair thickened, transforming into tendrils as thick as my arm. The dark strands soared into the air, then rained down on me with the force of a tidal wave. Such offensive prowess, but...

  Calmly, I raised my hand, absorbing the full force of the kinetic energy in her attack. Her tendrils froze mid-strike, suspended in the air like a gigantic sculpture. The gasps from the audience were audible as they resounded through the arena. Even my own schoolmates, who had never seen my powers in action, were stunned.

  Robin’s eyes widened in shock as she realised she couldn’t move. Meanwhile, I had a few options at my disposal. I could toy with her for a while, or I could simply end it now.

  On one hand, winning instantly would help conserve my energy. However, it would be an incredibly humiliating and demoralising defeat for an individual who showed much potential. I had nothing personal against her, and it wasn’t her fault that she had drawn me as any opponent.

  So, I decided to ask her directly.

  Casually strolling forward, I stopped just inches from her. I released the hold on her mouth, allowing her to speak.

  “Would you like to concede?” I asked.

  Disbelief flickered across her face, but it quickly gave way to grim acceptance. She strained to move, testing the limits of my hold, but it was futile. “I… I concede."

  “The match in Arena 1 has concluded. Winner: Cadel Ren.”

  It was an overwhelming victory. Apart from the sounds of the other three matches still ongoing, the hall was deathly silent. All eyes were on me as the crowd processed what they had just witnessed.

  But one thing was for certain—I had everyone’s attention now.