On hearing this in his sleep, Scarlett woke up sharply with fright and attention, chills ran down his spine. He opened his classroom windows and vaulted over it. He immediately ran to Aether's classroom to secure her safety.
On getting there, he saw that she had woken up but she was still on the floor leaning on her right arm while her left arm was on her forehead.
"Aether, we've got to go now, what's wrong?" Scarlett said as he attempted to put Aether on her feet.
"Scarlett, what's going on? What was that loud sound? Ah... my head hurts... the hangover of yesterday is starting to kick in," Aether said with a lazy and frail voice.
"Shit! Of all times. I have to get us out of the school's premises as soon as possible," Scarlett responded while holding Aether as he walked her towards the window.
"Ah... please slow down a bit... My head hurts and I still feel sleepy... Sorry I'm whining but I feel so bad right now," Aether said as Scarlett carried her from her legs and jumped over the window.
"Sorry, I just want us to leave the school's premises right now," Scarlett responded as he put her legs down while still supporting her to walk.
6:10 am in the Four Rose Petals High School, something unusual was happening. The biggest battle among the boarding students. The birds flew off in fear as two red smoke grenades were shot up simultaneously. This initiated a battle cry.
…
Hector, 19 years old, stood with his arms crossed. He was 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 70 kg, with dark brown long hair partially tied at the back. He wore a gray tech jacket with thick black leather vambraces at the end of the sleeves, black combat trousers, and black tech boots. Beside him was Aeron, also 19, standing at 6 feet 3 inches and weighing 64 kg. His light brown hair, styled in high fades, fell to his brow level, and his light green irises were striking. Aeron wore a black tight-fitted long sleeve shirt underneath a long, armless robe, black combat trousers, and black tech boots.
They were Emrys' left and right-hand men, having been with him during the early hellish days in the boarding school, fighting alongside him through their battles.
Behind them stood 2000 male boarding students from the factions Emrys had conquered, now united under the banner of Crescent Dawn. They wore a headband with a white crescent moon having a four-point star on its curvy outline to distinguish themselves. Each design was unique to each member as they had grafted the design on their black headbands themselves.
They were prepared for what was to be the final battle within the school's premises. But something was amiss.
Their opponents were nowhere to be found. Despite blowing the horn, firing red smoke grenades upward, and letting out a battle cry to challenge the opposing side, there was no sign of movement from the enemy. The 2000 members of Crescent Dawn were left stunned, confused, and anxious.
"Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Aeron asked Hector.
"Yeah.... we've been had," Hector answered, his voice without a hint of flinching.
"Not yet, there's a hole," Aeron responded as he placed his finger on the tactical radio in his left ear and said, "Scatter in twos." He commanded.
On hearing this, the 2000 members silently dispersed in twos into all the classrooms and offices on the school premises.
"Hold on, does this not mean someone gave us out?" Hector whispered while looking at Aeron.
"Maybe, maybe not, Veda is formidable, he could've seen through this," Aeron responded as he folded his arms.
"Interesting," Hector laughed and tied his hair well.
The sound of glasses breaking and steel clashes from every direction was a sign that the battle had commenced.
"You guys, head to the football stadium, someone is running there. Veda and Fortis are most likely there," Corsair said through the radio comms.
"On it." They immediately started jogging.
As they got near the stadium, They saw a traceur from the Starfall Reach jump from the top of the gymnasium building to a nearby cafeteria rooftop.
Since there was no specific uniform worn by the spies in each faction, recognition required great perception.
"THUMP! ROLL!" he jumped off the cafeteria's rooftop and onto the mini stadium.
He ran all the way through the football field to the player tunnel where he went off their radar. On realizing that he could be a spy, the two rushed in the direction the traceur went at top speed.
Meanwhile, Scarlett had been looking for a safe way out of the school while supporting Aether. Every corner of the school was filled with battle cries and exclamations as well as breaking glasses. They would rush to a safe location, take a short break and continue going.
On getting to the players' tunnel, the traceur knocked on the door. "Who's there?" a deep voice came from behind the door.
"It's Hakera," the traceur responded while breathing heavily. The door was then opened and he went in.
The room was dark with only blue ambient light running through all the corners of the room with an air conditioner. A 5'8 figure was standing in front of a table backing the door with pictures of previous faction bosses and Emrys on the table.
After controlling his breathing to some extent, the spy took off his mask. "Emrys Arlorias is not on the battlefield," he said.
This made the mysterious figure look back at the spy partially with a side eye; it was Lucrious Veda of the Starfall Reach. "Then who the hell is giving commands to the members?" Veda asked the spy.
"They're two, but I don't know their names."
Immediately after the spy said this, "BAM!" Veda slammed the table and said in a rising tone, "Why don't you have important info at a time like this? I thought this was your forte, why so many uncertainties? What have you even accomplished in this battle?!"
"I watched and listened carefully but there was nothing to gain from them." the spy replied.
"Then why did you return?!" Veda yelled.
"To let you know Emrys isn't on the battlefield and also that the surprise ambush failed. Xavion's two saw through it after our ghost response to their declaration." the spy responded with a face looking down and a low pitched tone.
In order to avoid enemy factions from spying on their communication, Veda abolished the use of radio to pass information. He made Hakera the only spy who would acquire info and bring it to him directly.
He passed instructions to the members through radio communication only during a battle, but before battles, he would call them together one hour before the battles begin, to give them instructions. This was part of what made the Starfall Reach the most difficult faction to take down.
After the spy delivered his report, Veda's face briefly showed surprise. He quickly recovered and asked, "What's with that expression? Are you saying you're tired and want to quit?"
Hakera locked eyes with Veda, his gaze intense and his teeth gritted.
"You're damn right I want to quit!
"Last year, Emrys proposed a peace treaty to every faction in the boarding world, promising a better future for all. But the faction leaders, in their selfishness, rejected it, ignoring the needs of their members.
"He disappeared after that. Not long after that, Starfall Reach faced EchoWood retreat, both sides suffering heavy losses. It was almost the end for Starfall Reach until Upperman Klause painted you as the real leader before his defeat to preserve the faction.
"Shortly after, three factions were mysteriously destroyed. Aurora Bluffs and Seraphic Summit annihilated each other, and Shadowmere Groove fell to a civil war, all due to the leaders' selfishness.
"None of this would have happened if Emrys's peace treaty had been considered. He never closed the offer, and yet you continue to ignore it!
"You think you're clever, following Klause's path even after seeing his downfall? You're not! You just want to flaunt your intellect like this is some game.
"When will you grow up, you damn kid?"
The only sound in the dark room was Hakera's heavy breathing. After a tense silence, he continued,
"Members from the destroyed factions flocked to Emrys' side, forming the Crescent Dawn faction. Now, we're up against him, and given his track record, he's going to win!
"The only reason I'm still here is my bond with some members of this faction. I had hoped you'd consider the peace treaty, but you've failed to make an honourable decision, and it's going to cost you dearly!"
As Hakera spoke, Veda began to rub his head in frustration.
"Shut up... shut up... shut up! You don't know anything, you're naive!" Veda yelled.
"I thought you were calm and collected, but that's just an act. You think you're the only one who can think? That's your downfall! You'd have been better off as a spy." Hakera retorted, taking a defensive stance. He pulled out an oval object and hurled it at Veda.
On seeing this object, Veda screamed out, "FORTIS!" Suddenly, the whole players' tunnel exploded with an invisible force with smoke bursting into the football pitch.