"Enrico, why are you disappearing?"
Caelan was confused. After all, he was having a good fight against Enrico, something he had never imagined he would be able to achieve. Because of that, he wanted to enjoy the moment a little longer. He didn't want it to end so soon.
"I don't want this to end, so... let's keep going for a little while longer."
However, Enrico wasn't the only one disappearing. Caelan could also see that his own arm was beginning to vanish. This made him wonder whether everything was nothing more than a dream.
"Even if it's a dream, I want to see it through to the end!"
Charging at Enrico, Caelan created two seven-layer barriers around his body. He then merged them, combining both into a single protective aura. As a result, his resistance and defense increased considerably.
'How many minutes has he been in this state?'
[Five minutes have passed. Even so, I...]
'Then there's still time to try to wake this idiot up.'
Enrico caught Caelan's punch with the palm of his hand and, using the momentum, spun his body and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him hard into the ground.
"Caelan, it's me! You need to remember the three idiots and your leader!"
Taking a step back, Enrico managed to dodge Caelan's kick. However, before he could counterattack, his opponent grabbed his shirt, lifted him into the air, and violently hurled him against the ground, making Enrico feel the impact of the same move he had used earlier.
'Maybe if I can defeat him before this minute is up...'
Without wasting any time, Enrico got back up and charged forward again. Taking advantage of the opening Caelan had left, he concentrated his strength in his body and landed a direct blow to his chest, sending him backward and making him roll across the ground. While still moving, Caelan planted one hand on the ground and forced himself to stop, getting back to his feet immediately afterward. Two spheres of water appeared in his hands.
When he hurled them at Enrico, the boy performed two roundhouse kicks, dodging the attacks. At the same time, he used Water Magic on his feet to alter the projectiles' trajectories, sending them in another direction.
'Since I only used a little Water Magic, I can disguise it. But honestly, I'm not worried about that right now.'
[Enrico, only one minute remains.]
'Damn it.'
It was a complicated situation. While fighting, Enrico was trying to find a way to save Caelan, but he couldn't think of any solution. The magic responsible for that state didn't seem to have any obvious weakness, making everything even more difficult.
'Maybe Light Magic can do something... But I don't know where Kai or Alenya are.'
He needed to find a way to get Caelan to them, but time was running out. To make matters worse, he didn't even know where the two of them were.
Enrico caught another one of Caelan's punches and, using the force of the movement, threw him into the air, sending him above the rooftops, just as he had done before. He then bent his legs and jumped after him. As he ascended, he looked around, trying to find Kai or Alenya somewhere.
'I'll try doing the same thing Elian did.'
Ignoring Caelan for a brief moment, Enrico released a fireball into the sky, hoping they would recognize his mana and realize where he was.
However, as soon as he turned his attention back to his opponent, he received an extremely powerful punch to the face. His body was sent flying, crashing through three houses before hitting the ground and sliding along the path.
'You idiot... How much longer are you going to let yourself be controlled?'
Getting back up, Enrico resumed fighting Caelan. The two exchanged a series of blows, with Enrico managing to defend against most of the attacks while striking his opponent in the stomach and face. After receiving another punch to the face, he retaliated with a kick to the chest, sending Caelan several meters away.
Breathing deeply, he tried to think of another way to reach him.
"CAELAN, WAKE UP!"
"How strange... Was that a shout?"
Caelan looked behind him and suddenly realized that the scenery around him had changed. His fight against Enrico had disappeared, replaced by the image of a classroom where the four of them were gathered. Recognizing the place, he immediately remembered that this was the day they had first met.
'Why am I here?'
"Hey, you bunch of commoners and nobles! Know that, starting today, all of you will become my subordinates! Hohohoho!"
Hearing that sentence again, Caelan saw his leader standing proudly in front of the classroom. The students around her seemed somewhat apprehensive. After all, her family was undoubtedly the most powerful in that class.
'They seem afraid and don't want to become her subordinates... Well, I can understand that. She's quite loud.'
That day, although none of the students openly rejected her proposal, many preferred to pretend they accepted. Serenya noticed it immediately.
"I don't need fake subordinates. So get out of my sight!"
She began dismissing everyone who showed interest only out of convenience. Because of that, she spent several minutes without finding even a single subordinate. That continued until a chubby boy with golden hair approached and knelt before her.
"Allow me to become your subordinate, Lady Serenya."
"You? What could someone like you possibly do for me?"
Serenya displayed an expression of contempt. After all, everyone in that classroom knew that the boy named Enrico, besides being someone despicable toward weaker people, didn't seem to possess enough strength to justify the rank he had obtained.
"Everything."
"What?"
"I said I'll give it my all. You will be a leader I follow forever."
Watching that scene, Caelan realized that the boy was simply using Serenya to ensure his survival at that academy. He didn't judge him for it. After all, he himself hadn't been much different back then.
However, when he noticed Serenya's thoughtful expression and saw that she seemed to be seriously considering the possibility that Enrico might actually do everything for her, Caelan decided to pay attention to what would happen next.
"Since you insist so much, I'll allow you to become my first subordinate. But don't get arrogant! Being the first doesn't mean you'll be the most important."
"Thank you for accepting me, my lady."
That same day, Caelan also became Serenya's subordinate.
'Following someone with a lot of money is great.'
For the next three days, he and Enrico began accompanying her everywhere. On the third day, Elian finally joined the group.
'At first, I thought Serenya was just someone desperate to get subordinates. But now that I think about it, when she accepted the three of us, she seemed quite moved.'
Back then, Serenya tried to hide the small smile that appeared on her face, as if she didn't want to show just how happy she was. Even so, her satisfaction was easy to notice.
During the first few days, Caelan didn't pay much attention to Enrico. He ended up growing closer to Elian, who had arrived later. The three of them, however, soon realized that Enrico was quite weak, which awakened a certain sense of superiority in Caelan toward the boy.
"Why didn't that fatso come?"
"Looks like he got scared. After all, we're going to the haunted warehouse! Hahaha!"
As he laughed, Caelan imagined that only the three of them would enter that place. However, Serenya changed her mind and said they could only go after finding out why Enrico hadn't shown up.
'I'm really surprised.'
Perhaps because he had been her first subordinate, Serenya seemed to care quite a lot about him. Because of that, the following day, the three of them had to ask Enrico directly why he had been absent. It was on that occasion that they noticed a small difference in his behavior.
'His gaze seemed a little...'
It was a thoughtful, almost bored look. At first, Caelan thought it was ridiculous, but the days continued to pass, and Enrico began changing more and more. Even Serenya, when he wasn't around, showed some concern for his well-being.
Then came the day Enrico said those words about being mature.
'What an idiot! What does he mean, being mature? I don't like it when he talks to us like that. He should say those things if he were stronger.'
Caelan wanted to talk back, but he noticed that Serenya was beginning to feel embarrassed by her own behavior. Because of that, he decided to remain silent. As time passed, Enrico stopped bothering the others so often, and Caelan went so long without doing it himself that he could no longer even imagine going back to how he used to be.
"Elian, don't you think this is strange?"
"What is?"
Lying on the grass of the training field, Caelan looked up at the sky while Serenya trained, facing various attacks from objects she controlled with her magic. The two of them were also training, which wouldn't have been so surprising if it weren't for the reason behind all of it.
"We used to spend our time bothering other people. But now it seems like we just can't stop trying to get stronger."
"Of course! After all, would you like to be surpassed by someone who used to be weaker than you?"
Caelan looked up and slowly nodded. He thought the same way. Being surpassed by someone he had once looked down on was extremely irritating.
"Besides, don't you think it's better this way?"
"What do you mean?"
Watching Elian smile as he stood up to return to training, Caelan finally realized that something between them had changed. They were no longer just Serenya's subordinates. They had also become friends.
'Friends?'
That's right. They were friends.
It was for that reason that Caelan began wanting to become someone more useful. After all, he had always been kept at home by his mother, who was quite overprotective of him and his siblings. But now, he had people he wanted to be with and whom he wanted to protect.
'Come to think of it... Am I not the weakest among us? Even so, Enrico doesn't seem to look at me the same way I used to look at him...'
He respected Enrico. He liked him as a friend and saw him as someone he wanted to catch up to. Without a doubt, he wanted to fight alongside him as an equal companion, someone his leader, his friend Elian, and the person he admired so much could be proud of.
"CAELAN, WAKE UP!"
Hearing that voice again, Caelan turned his gaze toward the image of Enrico. However, this time, he noticed that the boy had no face and that a tear was running down that empty face.
Without understanding why, Caelan looked at his own injuries. It was then that he realized he was no longer fighting Enrico. Little by little, the memories of what had happened began to return.
"I understand..."
A light began to envelop him, pulling him away from that place. But Caelan didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay by his friends' sides, fight Enrico more times, and there was still the training they had promised to do together. They hadn't even had the chance to do it.
"I don't want to go... But I have to, don't I?"
He knew what was happening. He understood that his time was up and that he needed to do something for his companion, even if it hurt.
Raising one hand, he clenched it into a fist and directed it toward Enrico's image, which still had no face. Tears began to stream from his own eyes.
"Enrico..."
As he prepared to charge at Caelan again, trying to make him wake up, Enrico heard his name being called. Recognizing that voice, a smile of relief appeared on his face.
"Finally..."
"Please, kill me."
Enrico's eyes widened.
Before him, Caelan was crying as the last traces of his life faded away. His friend's soul had departed, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell of what he used to be.
With a bitter expression, Enrico closed his eyes for a moment. When he looked at Caelan again, he understood that this person was no longer his friend. Caelan was gone, and his final request was a consequence of realizing that he was dead. He knew that, from then on, his body could cause a tragedy if it continued to be used in that way.
Enrico clenched his fists.
He wouldn't allow his friend's name to be tarnished by someone he killed or by the destruction his body might cause. Caelan deserved to rest in peace without having to bear responsibility for what would happen to his own body.
After making his decision, Enrico finally spoke:
"System, I want to accept the pact you offered me."
When he opened his eyes again, his expression had changed completely. Killing intent filled his gaze as he thought of Deymon.
"I..."