LEGACY OF THE FALLEN
Chapter 13
"By the time we returned to the academy, rumors had already spread across the entire city," Ayesha said, her voice low and her face dulled by sadness. "They claimed that the students of Mahakal Academy deliberately caused trouble—then challenged Immortal Academy at the Ascendant Arena. When the principal heard about it, she lost her mind and confined us here.
We didn't tell anyone, because no matter what we say... they'll just twist it and make it our fault anyway. That's why we were waiting for you to return."
"Hmm, what do you think about this, Aksh?" Arihant asked, turning toward him.
"Why are you asking me?" Aksh replied, expressionless.
"I just want to know what you think about all this," Arihant said, folding his arms.
"According to me... it's their fault," Aksh said, pointing toward the group inside the cell.
"What are you talking about?" Ayesha snapped, her voice louder now, anger rippling through it.
Before she could say more, Aksh cut in.
"There were three mistakes you made."
"First—Shreya took the enemy too lightly. She didn't prepare for the unexpected. Maybe she was overconfident in her abilities, but she didn't foresee anything going wrong."
"This is just bullshit!" Aman interrupted, adjusting his specs sharply. "It was already decided that the duel would be without Tejas—but he used it and broke the rules!"
"Are you going to make the same excuses on a battlefield?" Aksh asked coldly. "If that hadn't been a duel but real combat, your friend Shreya would've lost her life right then and there."
The group wanted to argue—but deep down, they knew he was right. So they stood in silence, unable to refute his words.
"As for your second mistake," Aksh continued, his voice steady, almost bored. "You let that Neil—or whatever his name was—play social politics. The moment you told him about Rudra's age, the situation was already out of your hands."
"So you want us to lie?" Ayesha snapped, her voice laced with anger.
Aksh didn't flinch. "Have you never lied before?"
Ayesha opened her mouth but said nothing. Her eyes dropped to the ground in silence.
"Those guys came to play dirty," Aksh said coldly. "So you should've shown them what real dirty looks like. How could you let that Neil guy manipulate the situation so easily? The only thing you needed to say was—'check for traces of Tejas on Shreya.' That one line would've shattered his little game before it began."
"What was the last mistake they made?" Arihant asked, clearly amused.
Aksh didn't hesitate. "Their final mistake," he said, "was letting Neil decide the conditions of the match."
"If you lost, you'd be forced to bow to his feet, apologize, and admit to things you didn't even do. And if you won... he'd twist it anyway—saying something like, 'If your team is this strong, how can you claim that a weaker, younger student from our academy injured your companion?'
**He'd throw out an apology, play the victim, and turn public opinion in his favor—**making everyone believe you were the aggressors all along. Even in victory... you'd still lose."
Rudra stood up, stepping closer to the bars of the cell. His blonde hair fell like a curtain over his eyes as he looked straight at Aksh.
"Then tell me… what would you have done if you were in our place?" he asked quietly.
Aksh didn't even blink. His face was blank, voice emotionless.
"If he had hurt someone close to me…" He paused for just a breath. "I would've killed him."
A faint smile crept onto Rudra's face as he turned to Arihant.
"Where did you find this little beast, Captain?"
Arihant chuckled, arms still folded.
"So you like him, huh?"
Rudra nodded, that glint still in his eyes.
"I think this academy won't be boring anymore."
"Now that Aksh told you about your mistakes," Arihant said, eyes scanning the group, "tell me—why do you think the principal confined you here?"
"Because we didn't kill those guys," Tushar said nonchalantly, munching on chips straight from the packet.
Ayesha glared at him, grabbed a fistful of chips, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Just keep eating and don't say anything, idiot."
"Because we broke the rules—we're not allowed to clash with students from other academies, especially since the principal is doing everything she can to keep this place a secret," Aman said, adjusting the buttons on his blazer.
"That's only part of the problem," Arihant cut in, his expression darkening. "The real reason she confined you here is because..." He paused for a breath, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Because you let one of your own get injured. And instead of getting justice for her—you escalated the problem even further. You made things worse." He looked at them with a hint of disappointment.
"And yeah... you revealed the name of our academy. After all the effort we've made to keep it hidden."
"Since I'm your captain, I'll be the one to hand down your punishment," Arihant said, his voice calm but firm. "Stand up and hear the verdict."
The group inside the cell straightened immediately, the air shifting as they sensed the seriousness in his tone.
"As punishment for breaking academy rules, the training regimen for the Mad Dogs will be doubled—effective immediately—until the tournament three months from now."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.
"Furthermore, you are ordered to win that tournament." His voice dropped lower, colder. "If the Mad Dogs fail to accomplish this task... you will all be expelled from the academy."
Everyone in the group let out a subtle breath of relief as they heard the verdict.
"So it's another one of those 'you're gonna get expelled' warnings, huh?" Rudra muttered with a yawn, picking up his blazer from the floor and dusting it off.
"I thought it was going to be something serious this time," Aman said dryly as he adjusted his specs with precision.
In the background, Tushar was still munching on his chips, completely unfazed by the entire exchange.
Ayesha shot him a glare, then reached over, squeezing his cheeks. "Will you stop eating for one second, idiot?"
Aksh stared at the group, visibly confused by how relaxed they all seemed.
Jasmine leaned toward him, a sly smile on her face. "You're wondering why they're not worried about getting expelled, right?"
Aksh turned his face away. "No. I'm not."
"You don't have to hide it," Jasmine teased. "I can read that confused little face of yours. So let me clear it up."
She crossed her arms and tilted her head.
"They've already been threatened with expulsion four—no, maybe five times now. And every time, they've managed to pull it off and complete whatever impossible task was thrown at them."
She glanced at the group with an amused expression.
"Honestly, they might've been worried if the condition had been to score above average in their academic tests. But since it's just 'win a competition'... they're not sweating it at all."
Arihant unlocked the cell door with a metallic click, and the group of Mad Dogs stepped out.
"Now—Mad Dogs, move to the training ground and run until I tell you to stop."
Without hesitation, everyone bolted out of the prison like a pack of wild animals. The hallway echoed with their fading footsteps… and soon, only Aksh, Jasmine, Arihant, and a lingering trail of dust remained.
Arihant turned, eyes narrowing.
"Why aren't you moving?" he asked coldly. "Go run in the training ground."
Aksh met his gaze with that same unshaken expression.
"Why should I? They're the ones getting punished—not me."
"Oh, did you forget?" Arihant said, voice low and sharp. "You're part of the Mad Dogs now. That means you share their rewards… and their punishments."
He took a step closer, eyes locked onto Aksh like a predator sizing up its prey.
"And remember—you're participating in the tournament too. Three months from now. If you even dare to lose a single match…"
Arihant's tone dropped into a quiet threat as his glare intensified.
"Forget expulsion. I'll make you wish the slums you crawled out of were paradise."
Aksh turned his back to them.
"Slums, huh?"
He remembered his mother's hand trembling as it covered his bruised cheek.
He remembered Tejasvi crying herself to sleep.
"Fine," he muttered.
"Let's see if this 'academy' can survive me," he muttered—then ran, vanishing behind the pack of mad dogs.