Emilia could feel sweat dripping down her forehead, as she stared at the two combatants that were about to settle their score. From what she knew, Alucard was a thousand miles away from defeating an S rank. S ranks stood at the pinnacle of magecraft, and someone who was still studying at an academy would never be able to graze even his skin.
Just then, when no one was expecting it, Damien vanished in thin air. Quickly, Alucard turned around, wondering where the Paladin could have gone. But he was slower to realize that the Paladin had already appeared behind him, throwing both his hands down to crush him.
In the blink of an eye, Alucard managed to roll out of the way, grazing his bare shoulder on the ground, before he quickly got up, panting. Throwing both hands at the Paladin, he unleashed a bolt of searing light.
But the Paladin was faster than the bolt, moving in the blink of an eye, and coming out of the way. Turning around, he faced his own hand at Alucard and a something erupted from it. A strong gust of wind that knocked Alucard in the gut, the sheer force sending him rolling feet backwards.
Alucard, despite being outmatched, refused to back down. After dodging the Paladin's initial attack, he retaliated with a bolt of searing lightning. The piercing stream zigzagged through the air, and just when it was about to pierce through the Paladin, a gust of powerful wind countered it.
Alucard quickly regained his footing, his determination evident in his eyes. Pressing his hands together, he summoned streams of lightning that enveloped his hands like gloves. With a fierce battle cry, he charged towards the Paladin.
The Paladin, seemingly unfazed, dodged Alucard's lightning-infused punches with ease. But just as Alucard was about to unleash another attack, the Paladin suddenly stopped moving just in time for a massive explosion to send Alucard flying backward.
Alucard managed to roll mid-air, landing in a crouched stance. Panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face, he locked eyes with the Paladin, who wore a grin....clearly unsatisfied with what he was seeing.
"Is that all you have to offer?" the Paladin taunted.
Alucard forced a grin, but he couldn't handle the fact that he was clearly losing . "I haven't even started."
With a swift chant, "Lightning Armor!" a bolt of lightning tore through the air, striking Alucard from above, bathing the hall in a silver flash. When the light vanished, Alucard stood tall, lightning flickering across his body. His hair danced wildly in the air, and a fierce grin spread across his face. "Now we fight!" Alucard declared.
Damien on the other hand, wasn't the least shaken. He wanted something more, not a minor B ranked spell that he could counter just with nothing but basic speed. He gritted his teeth in frustration, looking for a way to end this right here and right now.
Alucard took his first step forward, but it was as if time itself had slowed down around him. The air seemed to thicken, and the lightning enveloping his body surged with renewed energy. He vanished from sight, only to reappear inches from the Paladin's face.
Alucard's fist flew towards the Paladin, fueled by the electrifying power of the Lightning Armor. But just as his punch was about to land, the Paladin's face split into a wide, unsettling grin.
Alucard's eyes widened in surprise, but it was too late. The Paladin dodged the punch with ease and countered with a swift, precise blow to Alucard's gut. The force of the punch sent Alucard crashing to the ground, the lightning enveloping his body dissipating instantly.
The sound of Alucard's collapse echoed through the hall, followed by an unsettling silence. The crowd gasped in shock, their voices hushed in disbelief. The fight had ended as abruptly as it had begun, leaving everyone stunned.
The Paladin stood over Alucard's motionless form, his grin still plastered on his face. "Is that all you have to offer?" he repeated, his voice dripping with disdain. He looked at the other set of students who were sitting in the Hall, fear clouding their eyes. "In the real face of war, most of you will be dead if this is how you planned to fight! We have a pending battle against the Demons, and this is what you call mages? People who can't even last a couple of minutes against a human? What more a demon? There are demons out there that are very powerful, more powerful than you think! If you're amongst the people who want to be recruited, show me a little fire!"
But how could they show him a little fire? Emilia bit her lower lip, feeling unease with the idea of getting into a terrible fight with a Paladin. Alucard was quite powerful for someone of his own calibre, and many people would have failed do defeat him. Making him fight against an animal, a Paladin to be precise was a wrong move and she hated it.
Just then, through the corner of an eye, she saw a man who walked towards the principal. He handed her something, a note before he quickly left the stage. She had a bad feeling about this.
*
Quinn had been sitting on one of the terraces, watching as the fight came to an end. Fear clawed at him over the mere thought of getting to fight with something so powerful. He thought the Selection was just a process where one proves the worth of their magic, and afterwards they'd be categorized into their category. But now that he had seen how intense this was, he couldn't help but wish he hadn't joined this Academy.
The principal looked at a piece of paper, and after a long minute of silence. She cleared her throat, staring back at the students with excitement. "It seems we have a very daunting request from one of the nobles." She said, her voice making silence fill the Hall. "For our next match, it'll be a tag team. Two against one. And this one is special."
Quinn held his own breath, staring down at the other students who filled the Hall. He was glad Valoric had given him some primary intel on what he had to understand about this whole thing.
First, magic was categorized into many groups — but there were two major groups that stood as the pillars of magic. There was Caster and Summoning. With Caster Magic, one could have power over spells and elements, whilst with Summoning Magic, one had access to bring forth creatures or magic beasts from an Otherworld. However, between the two, he thought Summoning Magic was more awesome because one could summon powerfully beasts to aid them in battle.
The principal's voice echoed through the hall, "Our tag teammates are, Emilia Stark and our new student, Quinn Winter."
Quinn's insides tightened as he heard his name. He wasn't expecting to be next. Feeling awkward, he slowly got up from his seat and made his way down the stairs, his eyes fixed on the ring. As he entered the ring, he was startled to meet Emilia's gaze. His eyes widened in surprise, and he pointed at her, "Huh? It's you?"
Emilia's eyes sparkled with recognition, and she pointed back at Quinn, "You're the pervert who fell from the sky!"
Quinn's face flushed, "You're the naked girl from the pool!"
Emilia's cheeks turned bright red as she crossed her arms across her chest, "You're the pervert...listen to yourself."
The Paladin cleared his throat, clearly annoyed, "Hooray, what a couple's reunion moment."
Emilia's eyes flashed with indignation, "We're not a couple!"
The Paladin raised an eyebrow, "Do I look like I give a damn? No.....give me a good fight and maybe, I might not end you like I did to your fellow noble friend."
Quinn and Emilia exchanged a tense glance. They had just met, and already they were at odds. But as they stood side by side, facing the Paladin, they knew they had to put aside their differences and work together if they wanted to survive this fight.
The crowd's murmurs grew louder, sensing the tension between the two tag teammates. The Paladin's grin widened, anticipating the chaos that was about to ensue.
With a swift gesture, the principal declared, "Let the match begin!"
*
But there was only one problem with Quinn. He had never fought anyone, ever since he was summoned into this world and he wondered if he was ever going to get anything right. There was a terrible smirk on Damien's face, his eyes staring with a daring glance back at the two.
"Can you fight?" Emilia asked.
"No." Quinn mumbled. "I wasn't even expecting to be in this ring ....."
Emilia mumbled something beneath her breath. "How did you even end up here?"
"This old man gave me a scholarship... Luther was it?" Quinn mumbled.
Emilia rolled her eyes. "Exactly as I suspected."
"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.
"That old man is my uncle and he's obsessed with helping anyone he comes across .....didn't think he'd help you out, not after what you did to us." Emilia said. "I told him everything about you, sneaking up on us and seeing us naked."
"That was acciden—" Quinn's explanation was cut short as a heavy presence settled between them. They turned to see Damien standing inches from their faces, his eyes blazing with intensity. He was faster than they could even imagine. At times, it felt like he was teleporting.
Before they could react, Damien threw a rough punch that connected with Quinn's jaw, sending him flying backward. Damien caught Quinn by the hair and hurled him at Emilia.
Emilia was knocked off balance, but she managed to land on her feet, sliding backward before releasing Quinn to the ground .He landed with a thud, groaning in pain.
Emilia rushed to his side, "Are you okay?"
Quinn grunted, struggling to get up, "I wish I was."
Emilia's eyes widened as she stared past Quinn, her gaze fixed on Damien. His eyes seemed to gleam with a sinister intent, his smile twisted and menacing. Damien's voice rose to a scream, "Why don't you hit me with everything you've got? Show me what you're made of!"
Quinn and Emilia exchanged a wary glance. Quinn didn't have to be told that the real danger had just begun, and the fear of losing to someone so powerful struck him. If he was ever going to win, he had to use everything he had. Everything that existed inside of him. He struggled to get up, still rubbing his sore jaw.
«[ New Mission: Win Against Damien Aniston. ]»
«[ Character Profile]»
«[ Name: Quinn Winter]»
«[ Race : Human ]»
«[ Title : Demon King]»
«[ Level: 5]»
«[ HP: 100 (-5 dmg) = 95]»
«[ Mana: 220 ]
«[ XP : 35 ]»
The System.....he thought.
Movement through the corner of his eyes caught his attention, and he quickly stared at Emilia in awe. She extended her hand, and the a pale flare consumed her fingertip, making it cast a glow. As quickly as she did this, she moved her finger, drawing a large circle in the air. And for a moment, he felt something that actually shifted.
Damien, on the other hand, was walking towards them, staring at her as she created a gate with such swiftness. There was something about her that he liked, maybe it was how collected she was through the gate opening.
But he was ready fo whatever she had to summon.
Suddenly, a majestic creature leapt out of the halo, landing on its feet. Quinn's jaw dropped as he stared at the creature - a white tiger with large ears and zigzagged stripes on its skin. The tiger growled and roared, its eyes fixed on Damien.
Emilia's voice rang out, "Attack!"
The tiger sprang into action, racing towards Damien with incredible speed. Damien didn't hesitate, charging forward to meet the tiger. Just as they were about to clash, the tiger's speed increased, and suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning, arcing across the ring and chasing after Damien. The students in the hall erupted into cheers and gasps, "Whoa!"
But this was the perfect distraction that Quinn needed. He wanted something like this. He turned to the System, "I need Jinx."
«[ Summoning Command: "Fox Of Fire, Come Forth!" ]»
Word flashed in his eyes, and Quinn cleared his throat, "Fox of fire..." But before he could finish, a shiver ran down his spine, and he felt a strange energy stirring within him. He finished the incantation, ".. come forth."
On the other side of the ring, Damien dodged the lightning bolt with ease. Through his corner of an eye, he thought he saw something or felt. It was a summoning, another summoning and he grinned, charging forward to take the challenge. Unlike spells that could be challenged, summonings were creatures that were already imbued with magic.
With a fierce laughter, Damien threw an uppercut that met the lightning bolt's trajectory. The force of the blow sent the bolt flying backward, and it vanished into thin air. The tiger reappeared, its body lifted off the ground, and it let out a loud yelp as it crashed back down, landing with a thud.
The crowd held its breath, Emilia staring at the tiger with fear. She felt as if the hit had been directed to her and the mere sight of watching her summoning lying limp on the ground, frightened her. And that's when she felt it, an odd sensation that crawled at the back of her neck, forcing her to turn in time to stare at Quinn.
Like the petals of a blooming fire, flames erupted from the ground in a blaze in front of him. And as quickly as they had appeared, they slowly disintegrated in time to leave something else standing there. A fox — with furs that brighter than dark, fading with accents of soft blues.
'A summoning?' she thought. "He's just like me?'