|Heaven's fall (part 1)

This was a quintessential one sided battle. It’s quite inevitable and as irksome as it looks, I dare not interrupt. It would be far too disrespectful in the eyes of the midget and his opponent. But, why the hell was he so weak??

From just a few glances, I could tell that he was a beginner level greenhorn. He was both weak and inexperienced, the worst possible combo you could receive. I might just be judging a book by its cover. He could be the true Main character, a man of humble birth, a strong, stoic man with no tolerance for injustice. A late bloomer in every sense of the word. A man that would later be loved by many. I on the other hand will remain an insufferable side character. At least I won’t be as insufferable as my sister.

It was unknown to me at the time but there were a couple of students preparing to pull a sneak attack on me. I dismissed the possibility of anyone attacking me without any prior engagement from my side.I was busy thinking up a zero to hero story for the midget. Of course, it was all in my head but it felt like he heard me. Was I capable of telepathy, too? It hit me more as a feeling. I saw his incongruous grin as he was cruelly tamed, barely standing on the edge of defeat. It was not directed at his opponent but…me?? Eww….. I placed a hand on my chin as I deconstructed his weird behaviour. I was starting to feel sorry for him but now all that was nearly gone. I wondered if he hit his head too hard or something. Suddenly, in my trance-like state,five students with different weapons all leaped forward and swung their weapons. One used a scythe that looked like it belonged to the grim reaper. In other words, it was scary, quite scary, a bit too scary. What should I do??? What can I do?

I’m nothing compared to these guys but what about Voyan?? There’s no use stressing about it now. Their weapons are a few steps away from reaching my neck……. This is a gamble, if it doesn’t go in my favour, I’m a step closer to danger, if it does, I have to prolong this unwanted facade. Now is not the time to think….. It’s the time to act.

“Attacking me was a grave mistake.”

I whispered this and drew my breath, and took a stance I saw from the popular martial arts movies I watched back at home. It was quite simple, I placed my right leg behind my left, perpendicular to it. My legs and arms were firm and stiff. There was no time to face every weapon so I focused all my attention to the middle where my fists could do the most damage. It would be sheer luck to escape this unscathed, but then it’s better than nothing.Unknown to me, the force of these fists were leagues above my imagination. Deep in concentration, I closed my eyes and pictured a straight line. Suddenly, I felt my body getting oddly restless. Better said, what I felt was a shock wave. The shock wave from my fists that hit everyone in front of me. Weapons shattered, bones broke, people flew considerable lengths like they were thrown from the air.

A brief but cruel defeat wasn’t the only thing my opponents faced. There was even a clear path right in front of me. Few seconds after, I began to feel a small sense of shame hovering over my head. It was not like I planned on releasing that much force, or any force to begin with. This was Voyan’s body doing the heavy lifting. It was similar to an instruction being given, no, better put, it was an action and reaction sequence. My blow was the action and the force was the reaction.

 Anyway, minus the fact that I happened to pound these guys hard enough to break a few bones, I had to admit. That was freaking awesome!!!!! Who the hell is this Voyan dude?? Haa, who the hell am I? If I always had powers like these, I would have undoubtedly shown them off. It seemed like an e.m pulse but that was just this guy’s raw power.

I wish I could go on and on but I couldn’t possibly give this its poetic justice. It seemed like I wasn’t the only one that was shocked by this. I picture an authoritative figure chewing me out because of this. Someone like Elaine..

Elaine…….Talking down to me…..Like a pig…no….an insect..devoid of any rights whatsoever….devoid of the skills in speech required to express my gratitude…devoid of the language skills to communicate in the same language as an equal….. I could trade a whole year’s worth of luck for this.

“What..the hell???”

The glass of the clock shattered as the clock fell to the ground. The instructor was in utter shock. This was indeed training not to be taken lightly but this was not what was pictured when the rule was being formed. This was absolutely unacceptable. The man in charge wore a red garment with traces of yellow that gave strangers the impression of a wizard, his wand that stuck out like a sore thumb only solidified it. He paused, brainstorming the next course of action. As outrageous as my actions were,it seemed like no rules were broken. His hesitation was proof that something was wrong. Surely, my title couldn’t have been an important factor in his decision making.

“Training is over. Prepare for the next class. All, dismissed. I will like you to have a word with you in private, Prince Voyan.”

“Got it.”

I kind of saw that coming……With that, the very first class (the warm up) had been concluded. Now, I had no idea how many more classes I had to take but in any case, we were all asked to leave the mini-coliseum except from me, of course. I heard murmurs and whispers but none of them were offensive. Rather, I believe I heard a bunch of compliments tossed in. Do these guys love their royal family so much?? Or are they just scared of them? Well, I didn’t have the desired answers to that. Neither that or the upcoming questions I was about to receive for my apparent “misconduct”.

“Your highness, your actions today were quite extreme. They left me both unamused and perplexed. I believe doing nothing at the time was the right thing to do.”

“You didn’t exactly do nothing. You rounded off the class early and I agree, that was the right thing to do. You also did that to soften the blow of shame those defeated will have gone through, right? You’re such an amazing teacher.”

“Y-You’re too kind, your highness.”

He crossed his arms and raised his head, taking in all the praises I threw at him with a weird but shameless expression on his face.I got him hook, line and sinker. Now, all I needed to do was look for a slippery excuse and get the hell out of here. Sensei, you might be strong enough to take anyone, even a demon lord or something, but you’re simply no match for me. I’m a master of words.

“Ahem!! In any case, I thought I told you to hold back when taking on lesser opponents?”

“That depends on what you consider a ‘lesser opponent’.”

“Huh?”

“What I mean is. They are my classmates. Considering them as lesser opponents is simply too cruel, don’t you think??”

“You have a point, however, no one is equal. I’m not asking you to withdraw from any fights. Just that you minimize your strength based on who you’re facing. If it was Rumi or Leslie you were targeting then that level of force would probably suffice but--”

“And who would do that help?? Will it help my classmates that are quite literally being labelled ‘lesser opponents’ ?? Definitely not. I believe growth and failure have a bit of history. That inevitable shame that comes will keep the flames in their hearts burning steadily. They will take this moment and remember it for the rest of their lives. It will guide them to true strength. Don’t you think so, teacher?”

“I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t know I was using my own hands to limit my students’ opportunities for growth. Every failure should be met with a compensation known as growth. We all have the chance to grow and learn from mistakes, no matter how large or ridiculous they might be. I never even put that into account.”

“Since you just realized, you too, can grow by learning from your failures and improving.”

“You’re right. I’m a failure as a teacher.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Err…You’re not denying it, are you??”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading to class now.”

“One last thing. I understand that looking down on your class mates is not right. But please, try not to kill them next time.”

“Got it.”

I left the premises but got lost almost immediately. Where the hell was class?

Before the thought of asking random people for direction became executed, I spotted my beautiful wife and Lez looking after those students who were knocked out and those I injured. It seemed like they were apologizing to a certain group of people. I had to check it out.

“I understand your words, Lady Leslie. I understand you. But wasn’t that over the top?? My younger brother broke his arms about a year ago and now he broke his legs from that blow. What do I even say to him?”

“Right..And my sister got roped in too even though she didn’t even target the Prince. She was simply facing her target and got crushed by the collision caused from the other students. An apology will not do anything for her at the moment.”

“I know you royal people wouldn’t think much of this but healing potions aren’t cheap, you know. The academy will charge us heavily for one and finding one on the other hand is an ordeal. Why wasn’t caution applied during the fight. It’s just me and my brother. Are you trying to ruin us financially??”

Around half a dozen swarmed Rumi and Lez with questions and unpleasant remarks. For the most part, Rumi said only a few words and listened.Were their concerns valid?? They were. Did they deserve to be angry?? Rightfully so. Did those two deserve this load of crap??? Definitely not. I was neither angry nor remorseful about it. I was going to offer an apology early on but I think I just changed my mind.

“Hey, you lot. It seems like you have something to say to me.”

I strode across the paved ground and faced these cowards in a dramatic manner, I nearly struck a pose.

“Here I am.”

The six of them all hesitated, they had a lot to say, not just in front of me. I didn’t like bullying people but this feeling was rather enjoyable. I watched as they averted their gaze and their lips didn’t move. Well, that was until one of them opened her mouth.

“In this academy, there are equal rights and free speech among people of different color, background and gender.”

“Indeed, there are. Why are you telling me this?”

The dark haired girl who was dressed in a gown stared at me and constructed her next words in the most polite way possible.

“That means even a prince is treated the same as any other person, right?”

“Whatever your point is, I will humour you. So speak.”

“Well, I and many others here believe your actions were…”

“Were??”

“A tad bit unnecessary.”

“I see. And what makes you say that?”

“In the warm up session, people hardly come out with broken bones, seeking immediate treatment. I wonder what could have made you use so much force.”

“I’m sure you are aware that I didn’t initiate anything, right?”

“I was told that. However, your attack managed to hit someone else that didn’t attempt to take you on.”

“Who is that person?”

“Her sister is right here..”

She pointed to one of the people in the back and dragged her forward. However, she didn’t say a word.

“So?”

“Her sister was--”

“I love how you glossed over the initial case of your brother and jumped straight to another ‘victim’. Anyway, can’t she speak for herself?”

“I mean…”

“I could hear her voice just a few moments ago. What happened?? Cat got your tongue?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Seems like she didn’t understand that.

“I’ll allow her speak. I’m done with you. Your case is done. You.”

I pointed to the girl in front of me. From the look she gave her,I assumed she was a quiet girl. A girl with glasses you would stumble into in the library. However, she was having the time of her life talking to Rumi in such a manner just a moment ago.

“Hmm.. So you can’t speak now. I wonder why you all could talk to Royalty in such a manner. Free speech??? Equal rights??? Yeah, right. Dark hair. Whether in the premises or outside the premises, I will always be above you. Got that?”

“.…”

“Let’s go. You, the poor one. I’ll make sure you aren’t charged for the healing potion. Use as many as you like. As for the others, if you don’t like it then deal with it. If you are still not satisfied with that, you could always fight me and exact vengeance. I don’t mind.”

They all bit their lips, unable to do anything. Deep down, they knew my words were true and could do nothing but deny it, whether through silence or speech.Before I walked too far ahead, the dark haired lady turned to me. The glasses girl pulled her arm but she didn’t budge.

“Your highness. I have a few words left to say.”

“Illiana!!!”