Cassian stood tall, his scarlet hair gleaming like fire beneath the sun. Heat poured from his body in visible waves, as if the very air bent around him. He raised his chin slightly, eyes sharp, lips curling into a blade-like smile. "Come."
Azrael spat blood and rose from the dirt, his gauntlet dragging a faint groove into the stone floor. His grin was feral. "Gladly."
With a thought, his chain slithered forth from the gauntlet. Black links coiled like a serpent and lashed out, binding Cassian's wrists with a sharp clatter.
Gasps echoed from the spectators. He could restrain Cassian? Unthinkable.
Azrael did not hesitate. He yanked down hard, dragging Cassian's arms before hammering forward with brutal strikes. His gauntlet crashed against jaw, ribs, and chest in a relentless flurry.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts resounded across the arena. Cassian staggered, spitting a thin line of crimson.
The crowd erupted into roars.
Azrael's chest heaved, sweat cutting down his cheek. The chain trembled with his every breath, but his grin only widened.
Yet Cassian merely raised his head, blood glistening on his lip. Instead of anger, his smile deepened. "Not bad. But if this is all you have…" His voice was calm, steady. "…you'll never defeat me."
The black chain shattered, dissolving into smoke. Cassian's fist shot forward like a divine cannon.
Boom!
Azrael had no chance to defend. The strike hammered into his chest, launching him across the arena until his body crashed into the stone wall, sending rubble flying.
The stands fell silent. Even the nobles froze, unable to believe what they had witnessed. Only a handful, Liyana, Rhea, Malik, Hans, remained calm, their eyes locked on Azrael.
Liyana clenched her fists until her palms bled. "Az… you can't lose."
On the field, Cassian's aura surged like a volcano. Cracks split across his skin, filled with molten red light. His shirt incinerated, leaving his body blazing like a sun, every muscle alive with fire.
"Don't falter now, commoner!" he shouted, voice echoing like thunder. "Show me more!"
With a wave of his hand, spheres of condensed flame shot out, exploding wherever they landed and leaving craters in the arena.
Azrael burst from the rubble, weaving through the inferno. The heat scorched his skin, but his grin only grew sharper, "Is that all, noble?"
The chain lashed out again, wrapping Cassian's torso. Azrael roared, pulling with all his strength.
But Cassian did not retreat. He stepped in, smashing his forehead against Azrael's skull.
Crack!
Blood ran down Azrael's face, blinding one eye. His knees buckled, his gauntlet trembled. His body screamed at him to yield.
Yet inside, his will howled. Not yet. Not here.
Deep within, were the 4 drops of black blood that refused to e refined. As if In response to the battle, one drop melted, dissolving into his veins, sending a dark power coursing through his body. His gauntlet and chain deepened in color, wisps of shadow dripping from them.
The crowd was silent, watching as the black liquid covered his body, the instructor in Charge of the match looked on with squinted eyes. Something was wrong he could feel it.
Cassian's eyes narrowed, a spark of genuine excitement igniting within them.
"Now that… that is worth my attention."
Slowly, Azrael stood again. His chest rose and fell, his lips split with blood, yet his smile returned.
Cassian's pupils shrank. "So you still had cards left."
Azrael chuckled, low and sharp. His eyes gleamed with madness. "You wanted more? Then I'll give you more."
His gauntlet reformed, his chain manifested with a pulse of shadow. He lunged.
Bang!
His fist slammed into Cassian's jaw, hurling the golden boy into the arena wall. Stone exploded outward.
The stands erupted into uproar. A moment ago, Azrael was barely clinging to life. Now, Cassian had been the one sent flying.
Many of the nobles paled.
Azrael flexed his hand, winding the chain around his arm like a predator coiling for another strike. His grin widened, cruel and sharp."Round two, noble."
Cassian rose from the rubble, his body blazing, eyes burning with both fury and exhilaration. He spread his arms wide and launched orbs of light across the arena in a torrential rain.
Azrael spun his chain, sweeping rubble into the air. Dust exploded into a thick cloud. For a heartbeat, Cassian's sight was obscured.
And in that instant, the chain wrapped his throat.
The spectators cried out in shock.
Azrael roared, spinning with brutal force. Cassian's body whipped through the air, slammed into walls and ground alike. The golden prodigy who had stood untouchable moments ago was being dragged and beaten like prey.
But Cassian's roar cut through the dust. His body erupted in flame, fire crawling along the chain. With a snap, the links burst into glowing embers.
He landed heavily, panting, yet his smirk returned. "My turn."
Twin fists of flame blazed like suns as he charged. His strikes rained down, each one a comet.
With one punch he broke a rib. With another Azrael's body slammed into the ground, another and Cassian hurled him across the arena with sheer force.
The stone trembled.
Azrael's body screamed, but his spirit only burned fiercer. He rose, shadows leaking from his weapons, laughter spilling from his bloodied lips. Though it wasn't very clear, his body was repairing itself slowly but surely. A benefit of the black blood it seemed.
Cassian laughed as well, a sound edged with battle madness. "Good! If you can endure this next blow, I'll admit defeat!"
He raised a single finger skyward. At once, light gathered. A sphere of radiance swelled until it blotted the sun, the heat boiling the arena air.
Azrael planted his feet, his chain began to spin faster and faster until a spiraling vortex of shadow, emerged. The ground cracked beneath him as black winds howled upward. The arena began to shake, the winds were blowing it away and the fire incinerating what remained. The students began to run each more scared than the next.
Light and shadow clashed in the air, storms of power tearing at the sky. Just before they could collide, a vast, crushing force descended.
"Enough!"
The instructor's voice thundered across the arena. His soul pressure blanketed the field, extinguishing flame and shadow alike.
Cassian staggered back a step, sweat hissing into steam against his blazing skin. Azrael's chest heaved, wisps of shadow leaking from his gauntlet.
The duel had been ended.
But neither boy lowered their gaze.
Cassian smirked, his tone sharp with promise. "Our battle is not over."
Azrael's grin was bloody, unyielding. "You can count on it."
Their eyes locked and in that instant, a strange understanding passed between them. Rivalry burned bright, but so did recognition.
The instructor stepped forward, voice cold. "You two will cease immediately..."
Before he could finish, both boys moved.
Cassian's body erupted into blazing light, his fist raised high. Azrael's chain whirled in a spiral of shadow, coiling like a dragon ready to strike.
Together, without a word, they hurled their powers forward, not at each other, but at the instructor!
The arena shook as flame and darkness united into a catastrophic wave, tearing through stone and sky alike.
Gasps and screams erupted from the stands. Everyone paled, nobles and commoners alike. Who dared defy an instructor?
The man's expression hardened. He thrust out his palm, force erupting like a mountain collapsing. The attack slowed, yet it did not break. The combined fury of two prodigies pressed against him, shattering the air with every inch.
"Madmen!" he growled, his aura straining.
And then...
Boom.
A second, immeasurable presence descended.
The sky darkened, clouds spiraling as a figure descended from above, walking upon the air itself. Long black hair whipped behind her, and her robes shimmered with a brilliance that seemed woven from starlight.
Her gaze was calm, yet sharper than any blade.
"That is enough."
The voice of the Headmaster rolled through the arena. It was neither loud nor harsh, yet it struck every heart like a divine command.
With the slightest wave of her hand, the raging attacks of both boys crumbled into nothingness, flame and shadow scattered into harmless motes that drifted away on the wind.
The instructor dropped to one knee instantly, his face pale with sweat. Even he dared not meet her eyes.
Azrael's chain disintegrated into smoke. Cassian's flames snuffed out, leaving only his labored breaths.
Yet both of them smiled, bloodied and battered, but their eyes burning ever brighter.
The Headmaster's gaze swept over them, piercing, cold, "Prodigies, both of you. But uncontrolled power is not strength it is arrogance. Remember this."
The entire arena fell silent. No one dared breathe too loudly.
And yet, despite her words, one truth had already settled in both their hearts. Their battle had only just begun.