--
'Please, don't cry. You're making me feel bad for punching you,' TJ deadpanned inwardly.
Not only was William punched twice, heavily in the face, but he's also embarrassed by Mr. Eden. The worst part is that he had nobody else to blame except his awful behavior for this.
A popular saying goes, 'One might survive an act of God, but they can't escape a self-provoked disaster.'
This was just karma doing its work.
Now, because of this, William was stuck in a rather awkward and embarrassing position.
Everybody was paying attention now, and although William wanted to save whatever was left of his dignity, his youthful pride still burned brightly, preventing him from backing down from this fight. However, he also knows that he's no match against TJ. The two punches he suffered were a great indicator of that.
TJ was too quick for him. He couldn't even see how he moves. He will get hit before he even knows what happened, so what is he supposed to do now?
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! My father will hear about this! 'William furiously snarled inwardly.
Alas, he has already ridden the proverbial tiger's back. It's too late for him to back down, so he flourished his spear and attacked once more.
Anybody could mock the situation William put himself in, but they can't deny that this boy was strong. His fury made him unleash his greater strength and potential. The training spear in his hand bent with how hard he swung it.
If this lands on any part of TJ's body, he'd be in a world of pain. But he has already proven to be faster than William.
It wasn't just raw speed; it's reaction time too. From TJ's perspective, William was just slightly faster than before. TJ already knew what he was about to do before he even did it and was already moving to avoid it.
This doesn't mean that TJ had some insane reflexes or reaction speed; these aspects of his are only slightly better compared to most. The only reason why he could do this was because he could predict what William would do next.
TJ was using the tips and tricks he heard from Mr. Eden's handful of lessons to them.
William's attack contained all of his frustrations and anger. If it landed on him, he wouldn't just get hurt; he'd also give William a pass for his behavior, and that just simply won't do.
Obviously, since TJ was better than him in combat, he smoothly avoided the attack. He didn't even need to do much; he just jumped to avoid it, that's all. As soon as he landed, he borrowed his momentum to speed up and shorten the distance between him and William.
TJ was slower this time, allowing William to react. Still, the latter panicked, clearly flustered at the idea that he's about to get punched again. William was no longer in the right headspace to continue the fight, which was his biggest mistake and the reason why he's about to get hurt again.
William tried to launch another attack, but his previous attack contained most of his strength fueled by his anger and recklessness, which hit nothing but air, and he was left too weak to recover in time.
He then saw TJ winding up for another punch. He let out a frightened gasp; he then dropped his spear and covered his face, but the impact he was waiting for didn't arrive on the spot he was expecting it to.
Instead, he felt a force sweeping him off his feet. His balance tipped, and before he knew it, his back hit the ground. The pain made him gasp, and the heavy boot pressing down on his chest and the sharp tip of TJ's rapier aimed at his neck stilled him completely, injecting him with dread that made his knees weak.
"Pride is poison. Arrogance is a double-edged sword. You never qualified to have both, so why have it?" TJ's words sounded colder and sharper than he intended them to be, but he couldn't take them back anymore.
William blanched. He felt shame flooding his veins and burning his cheeks.
TJ spared him by lifting his feet off his chest and sheathing his weapon.
"Find me again once you're in the right mindset for combat."
That's all he said before he politely excused himself to Mr. Eden, fleeing from the intense gazes of his fellow young warriors.
**
'I'm not counting that as my first real-life battle,' TJ told himself as he chilled at a bench while drinking water.
'It's too easy and too comical to be one.'
'Still, it gave me some idea where I stand amongst my peers...in this district, at least.'
The verdict is that he's growing faster compared to them. There had been a gap before, mostly because, unlike most people, TJ didn't have the support of a family behind him. He's all by himself.
But thanks to his talent, he's able to catch up to them. He got really lucky in his draw.
If TJ continues at this pace, he'll soon leave them behind.
TJ allowed his mind to wander, imagining a bright tomorrow for himself. It's a little overwhelming because there's just too much for him. It's ruined by the voices in his head, though, but that's nothing new.
Beep!
[Incoming Call: Lily]
TJ's smartphone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that Lily was calling him. He answered it, and before he could even say anything, Lily's quivering and pitiful voice echoed in his ears.
Sniff!
"TJ! It's horrible! Too sad!"
"Why? What happened?" TJ's expression turned solemn.
Lily doesn't cry often. That's not an understatement. As the child of District 13's Medical Saint, she has been a witness to many horrible and sad things in her short life. She has long learned how to modulate her emotions so the things that could make her cry are only serious things.
Hic!
"It's Vanessa. She's dead!"
"..."
"Sniff."
"I'm sorry, who's Vanessa?"
TJ didn't mean to ruin the atmosphere, but he really has no idea who she's talking about.
"Doesn't matter, she's dead now." Lily sadly sniffled on the other line.
"Was she a friend of yours? What happened anyway?"
"We know each other. She once volunteered at the nearby Animal Center. She's really kind and sweet, you know?"
"B-But they got her. The cultists...it's them, TJ; they're back."
The term 'cultist' lit up a spark in TJ's chest. One of disgust, fear, and uncertainty.
"The cultists killed Vannesa? Why? Did she somehow provoke them or catch them doing something disgusting again?"
"It's because she awakened an S-rank boon. That's why they killed her."
TJ was unable to prevent the way he sharply inhaled at that information.
The cultists killed a teenage girl because she awakened an S-rank Boon.
It's grim, disgusting, and scary. The cultists were once human too; the fact that they could rob someone's life just because they didn't like that she got lucky was, frankly, very disturbing.
The worst part? This was nothing new.
The Black Church Cult had been around for many years. TJ was already seeing them in the news even before he became aware of the world around him.
He won't say that he knew the church that much, but they were definitely a bunch of lunatics and insane people who take lives just because.
Them assassinating highly talented youth was nothing new. It has happened before, it happened again, and there will certainly be a next time. The authorities had been trying to purge them, but the cult members were like cockroaches that just refused to die.
Their activities can be quelled for a certain period of time, but that's about it. Somehow, at some point in the future, they will return, and they will strike again.
And their operation wasn't limited to District 13; their network spans everywhere, making them hard to track and eradicate.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. You're going to be fine, though. I'm sure of it. Have you told Uncle about this?"
"No. I don't want to bother him; he's already too busy," she replied, still sniffling on the other line.
"I'll do it, then."
"Wait—!"
"Shh, I have to do this, and you know why, so don't protest now."
As he said this to her, TJ sent a message to Lily's father, telling him of what she told him.
Lily, as the only child of District 13's Medical Saint, was a prime target of the cultists. They've tried to do all sorts of bad things to her ever since, and they certainly won't stop now.
"Tell your teacher about this too; I'm sure they'd understand. Who's your teacher, by the way? You haven't told me yet," TJ asked.
"It's Professor Skywind," she said.
TJ stilled, then he asked again: "Who?"
"Professor Skywind."
"Oh. I see. Your teacher's the dean of the school. Cool. Awesome. Great." TJ rolled his eyes.
Had he known that her teacher happened to be the dean, he wouldn't have worried too much about her. There's no way the dean would be careless with her.
Beep!
[Uncle Tony: Thanks for the heads up.]
"Oh, TJ! Dad's calling."
"Talk to him then. It's the end of my break too. I'll call you later, okay? Bye."
"Mmkay, bye."