Chapter 7: Fight

Chapter 7: Fight

"You don't have to do this, Miko."

Since she got challenged to fight, I told her it might be better to just let it go. But Miko seemed obsessed with the thought of being able to go against another mage.

"Don't worry. It's just for fun." She tried to reassure me.

But all these rumors I talked about with the student council made me nervous. What if there is some truth behind it?

I hated myself for thinking about Miko that way. Still, in the end, she admitted to killing several people, self-defense or not... She took lives.

"Why are you looking like that? I know you got something on your mind."

"It's just I am worried."

"About whom? Elliot or Me?"

"Both of you, I guess."

"Kayla, listen. Sparring between mages is nothing special. How do you think I will train with you these next weeks?"

"I know, I know… But both of you seem a bit too excited, in my opinion."

"I'm honest. I really want to teach him a lesson. You remember the acquaintance of mine I met?"

"Hmm, which one? Ah... you mean the one you hugged like you were lovers, finally meeting again after you tragically got separated by fate."

"Is the thought of me having a boyfriend that bad?"

"No comment."

Of course, it would be bad. I know that Miko doesn't feel that way for me, and I don't even know how exactly I feel for her.

I guess I am just a pretty selfish and jealous person who wants her for me alone.

"However, let's get going," Miko said as she stood up while I still sat on the bed. "Or do you don't want to watch me fight?" she asked.

I just reached my hand in her direction, and she understood what I wanted. She took my hand, pulled me up, and didn't let go.

"You're very needy, don't overdo it. See it as my apology for skipping that dinner."

So, we ended up walking hand in hand until we arrived at the backdoor of the dormitory.

◆◆◆

The fight was held in one of the three gyms on the school grounds. Upon arrival, we were surprised to find that numerous spectators had already arrived.

Again, we were met with several cold stares. I wasn't sure if beating up a student council member would help improve the hostility of the other students.

"Ah, there you are," Elliot called out, walking to us. "Am I allowed to take her away from you for some time?"

Did he ask me? At that moment, I realized that I was holding Miko's hand again. I grabbed it instinctively when I saw all those students.

"Cheer me on, ok?" Miko said as she followed Elliot into the building. I felt a pressure on my chest and sighed loudly, trying to exhale my worries.

"Don't worry." A voice spoke behind my back. I turned and laid my eyes on a man who wasn't wearing one of the school uniforms.

"Would you like to sit with me?" he asked, smiling slightly. "They say that a friend of a friend is also a friend."

"Hmph, first explain why you hugged her yesterday, and I will consider it."

He started laughing. "You are as she described. Do you both never hug? I thought that is normal between friends."

"Aren't you a bit old to be her friend?"

"Ouch, that hurts. I am not that old."

"Ok, let's go in before we miss the start," I said, eyeing him with furrowed brows.

Miko trusted him, so I tried to do the same. He is a teacher at this school, so he must be at least something like a decent person.

We walked up some stairs and ended up in a spectator area in the second floor, about 20 meters from where Miko and Elliot were standing doing some stretches.

With us, about thirty other people were waiting for the fight to start, a lot considering that it was 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Are you excited?"

"Of course I am."

"Do you know her combat style?"

"No, there is a lot that I don't know about her," I answered, sighing again… this pressure on my chest won't disappear.

He just chuckled, "This is going to be a spectacle."

As we spoke, a murmur went through the crowd. Nada, the young girl from the council, walked onto the field with some device in her hand.

"That's a magic barrier that is supposed to protect the audience." He explained without me asking.

"Thanks…"

Nada placed the object, which looked a bit like a robot vacuum cleaner, on the floor, put her hand on it, and suddenly, a shimmering blue veil spread across the center of the gym.

As she finished, she walked away, leaving the barrier.

Suddenly, you heard a loud scratching sound coming out of speakers placed at the corners of the tribune.

"Test…Test. Great, it is working; this is Hannah speaking to you. Many thanks for your numerous attendances. Today, we present you a sparring match between Elliot, a member of the student council, and Miko, a school guest."

The moment Miko's name was mentioned, some spectators started whispering to each other.

"I just wanted to explain the rules. The fight is over if either fighter surrenders or can't get back up within 10 seconds of being knocked down."

"Have fun, and let the fight begin."

It became surprisingly quiet the moment the fight started. Maybe because nothing happened. Instead, Miko and Elliot still talked about something.

"Why aren't they starting?" I asked the teacher.

"I don't know. It seems like they are still discussing something."

My heart started beating very loudly. The anticipation was killing me.

And then it began.

Elliot rushed at Miko at high speed and shot small fireballs in her direction. At that moment, I realized how dangerous this whole situation was.

But Miko simply dodged the projectiles and let him close the distance. I never saw any combat in real life. You could feel the power behind every movement, behind every punch Elliot threw in Miko's direction.

"Why isn't she fighting back?" someone out of the crowd complained loudly.

I asked myself the same question; she limited her actions to evading everything that came her way.

Elliot's moves became faster and more aggressive as the fight went on.

Frustration was dwelling inside me, not because I felt for Elliot, who did not land a single hit. Miko told me that she wanted to teach him a lesson. Was she holding back because of the rumors? Because of me?

"Oh."

There was only a split second between the surprised sound that escaped my seat neighbor's mouth and the spinning kick from Miko that slammed Elliot into the opposite wall of the gym.

Everyone gasped the moment they realized what just happened.

While most of them were worrying about Elliot, I was watching Miko. Her gaze fixed on the point at which Elliot was slowly trying to get up again.

She changed her stance, much like a runner, before the start of a race, and the second Elliot stood back up, Miko ran toward him at a pace that would break any record in the world of regular people.

Just before she reached him, she jumped and tried to dropkick him. Elliot reacted quickly and created a barrier of several stone walls, which were pulverized by the impact of Miko's feet.

Small rubble went flying in every direction of the gym, hitting the protection vale.

I was so excited that I didn't even notice that I had forgotten to breathe for the last 30 seconds.

The spectators were also silent. The shock about the rapid escalation of the fight was too overwhelming.

"Shouldn't you stop them?" I asked the teacher, still out of breath.

"I couldn't," he laughed. "I might have the authority, but my magic isn't up to the challenge.

Magic, the moment I heard him say that out loud, I realized that both Miko and Elliot were fighting hand-to-hand and not using their magic as I had expected.

But of course, if they plan on knocking out the enemy, it wouldn't be wise to just throw mana at each other in all sorts of forms, so instead, they strengthen their bodies with magic and end up in close combat.

Meanwhile, Miko changed from just dodging to throwing punches as well. The difference to Elliot? She hits constantly.

You could hear every blow she threw at Elliot's body; second by second, it felt less like a fair fight and more like a beating.

It seemed like Hannah was thinking the same thing. She slowly walked onto the field from the room where she made the announcement earlier.

Miko got distracted for a second as she looked at her.

Elliot took that chance and punched Miko in the face. A gasp went through the whole gym.

"Shit." With these words, the teacher stood up and ran to the stairs. I didn't understand what was causing this panic I saw on his face.

But as soon as I turned my gaze back to the fight, I also jumped up, running downstairs without a second thought.

Miko snapped, and when I looked at her, she was already on Elliot, ready to beat him to a pulp.

As I arrived downstairs, Miko was luckily sitting on the ground beside him.

I heard the relieved sigh of the teacher despite seeing Elliot lying in a small puddle of his own blood.

My body was shaking because of the adrenaline rush.

"How was it?" Miko asked, grinning at me. Bleeding heavily from the nose.

"Terrifying."

"Good." She simply said.

Hannah was already bending over Elliot, her hands pressing on his body, trying to help him.

I kneeled before Miko and touched her cheek, healing her nose instantly.

"You think we are still allowed to stay?" I whispered.

Miko chuckled. "Who knows?"

MIKO

I walked with Elliot into that gym, thinking about how to fight him.

"Should we use weapons?" he asked as we stood in the middle of the field.

"Better not. That could go very wrong."

"You are right." He said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Why exactly are we fighting? Is there someone you want to impress?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Oh wow, it's a girl?"

"It is you."

"Me? Love on first sight?"

"You could say so…" he swallowed loudly, "I was there three years ago. I was one of the people you saved. Despite being a praised fighter, I froze the moment we were attacked by these terrorists."

"I see."

"You can't imagine how much I thought about that day, about you since then."

"Sorry, but I am not interested."

"Please don't misunderstand. I don't crave your love in that way. Rather, I want you to acknowledge me, to show me if I could have helped at that time."

What a strange guy... I understood that he was longing for redemption. I know exactly how it feels when trauma eats you up from the inside. But I was unsure if I was the right person to help him.

"Ok, let's get ready." He said as the first students entered the tribune, which was placed around three meters above the floor.

"Wow, spectators. Do you have some fans?"

"Not as many as Hannah, but I'm sure some girls are rooting for me."

I simply smiled and started stretching. My fighting style is pretty destructive for anyone involved, so getting my engine started was important.

"Don't complain if I embarrass you."

"Try it."

I was glancing over at Elliot. He seemed very tense. Despite these black rings on my body sealing away much of my power, I was pretty relaxed.

I expected him to be superior in decision-making since I got some information about his background from his own teacher. And apparently, Elliot was a mage with a high standing in his old guild, but after the incident three years ago, he quit and enrolled in this magic school.

"I am ready," he said.

"Me too." He gave a sign to someone who stood in the hallway. Moments later, the young girl from the council walked to us and placed a magic item in the middle of the gym.

"Don't worry. The device itself will also be protected by its own veil."

Funny, I start to feel a bit nervous now, just a moment before we start. I was weirdly confident, but when was the last time I actually fought anyone or anything?

The girl walked away, and Hannah announced the rules we had agreed on yesterday.

"They are waiting. Should we start?" Elliot asked, his eyes starting to shine red.

"You want a countdown?" I asked, activating my mana flow too.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

He instantly launched in my direction, shooting small fireballs at me. I felt the heat in my face as I dodged without pushing my body with magic so far.

As expected, he simply wanted to distract me and started throwing punches after he closed the distance.

Until now, everything worked out as I planned. I wanted to stay passive and observe his fighting style.

He surprisingly seemed to be out of breath pretty quickly. His panting was undeniable.

"Everything's fine?" I was worried about his condition. I recently witnessed what happens to someone who ignores their limits.

He did not answer. Instead, his attacks became more violent, it was not my intention to provoke him, but it was hard to explain that while fighting.

The crowd was pretty quiet so far. I quickly peeked at them, searching for Kayla.

That was a big mistake on my part. Elliot just waited for me to get distracted.

Again, he threw his fist at me, and I knew I couldn't dodge his attack this time.

So, I channeled mana into my leg, spun to gain momentum, and kicked a wind spell in his torso, sending him flying until he crashed into the gym wall.

My heart rate increased; I forgot how exciting fighting was.

I missed that.

Luckily, he stood up again. I wanted to continue.

I distributed the mana to my whole body, readying myself to attack.

He reacted insanely fast as I ran towards him, creating several stone walls as a buffer between us.

Instead of running around, I went right through them with a dropkick.

The impact sent a sharp pain through my whole body, and some of the shattered parts of the wall hit me in the face.

I don't remember much about my childhood, but I know I hated getting hurt for as long as I can remember.

Pain can trigger two inevitable reactions: I become sad or angry.

So, I started punching him again and again.

I dodged his weak attempts without thinking anymore.

Every time my fists landed on his body, my grin became bigger.

In my head, I played out several scenarios, several spells I could use to end this now, while I continued to beat him up.

But again, something distracted me.

Hannah walked through the veil and came closer to us.

"Please stop that," she said.

I averted my eyes from Elliot momentarily, and he took advantage of that to punch me right in the nose with everything he had left.

The first loud crack I heard was clearly my nose. The second was his legs, which I kicked with all my power.

As he fell to the ground, I jumped at him, beating his face once before he managed to say, "Surrender… I surrender."

I sighed and crawled down from him while he groaned in agony.

Slowly, I managed to calm down and carefully touched my nose. It was bleeding very badly.

I need Kayla now.

So, she walked down the gym floor toward me as if she could read my mind.

"How was it?" I asked genuinely.

"Terrifying." She answered, looking pale as a sheet.

"Good."

She should have more of these experiences before facing a real threat, if possible.

But I hope she wasn't put off by the slight temper I showed today.

Honestly, I was pretty glad she came to me instead of running to the more seriously injured Elliot.

And in the end, when she put her hand on my cheek, I had the feeling that she wasn't that mad at all.

KAYLA

In the end, it was all good somehow. Hannah could not heal Elliot completely, so the school doctor said he would have to be on crutches for the next few days.

Since he was irrelevant, I did not even think about healing him. Much more important was Miko, who luckily looked as if she had never been hurt.

"How exactly did you kick him through half the room?" I asked, sitting on our double bed.

"You didn't see it? That was wind magic that I used through my leg. The kick at the end, where I accidentally broke his legs, was just my body strengthened by magic. Think of it as a magic suit that boosts your stats."

"So, I can learn to do the same?"

"In theory, yes... But first, you have to train your body because even though you use magic, these movements strain your muscles. Without training, all my attacks would have destroyed me."

"So, I can become as strong as you?" I grinned.

"Nope, not at all. But you don't have to. As a healer, you are the most important person, and if you risk fighting directly, you could decide the end of your whole team."

"Can we stop talking about depressing stuff…"

"You started it?"

"No, I didn't."

"Stop it, or I'll have to punish you." She stood up from the chair and slowly walked towards me.

"How?" I asked, hiding half my face behind my hands.

"I don't know, everything I can think of seems more like a reward for you..."

"Sounds like a you problem."

The whole time, I was smiling widely. I loved the atmosphere between us, and honestly, I didn't even care if she got a little scary or broke other mages’ bones from time to time.