Matt POV
I owned a dog when I was a kid.
All white fur. Too obedient for his own good.
"Sit."
He would sit.
"Paw."
He would lift his paw and wag his tail as if he had just been praised by the world itself.
He died of old age when I was in high school.
I am not sure why I am thinking about him now.
"Kneel."
I kneeled like a beggar.
"Bow."
I bent forward and lowered my head.
It was probably because I felt like that dog right now.
Nagi kept talking. Something about responsibility.
I could not really tell. Her voice blended into the cold air, sharp and impatient. I did not even know why she was angry in the first place.
"So," she said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot against the frozen ground, "you know why I'm angry, right?"
I scratched my cheek. "Um… no?"
"Down," she ordered.
"Down?" I echoed, confused.
She answered with her eyes alone. There was fury there. Clear and unquestionable.
I lowered myself until my forehead touched the ground.
Why the heck am I even doing this? This is unfair. Totally unfair. Bogus, I call it!
If she were not the main heroine I loved, I would never have done this. Not in a million years.
She crouched in front of me. I felt her hand on my head. Light. Casual.
"Good," she said. "At least you know you're wrong, even if you don't know what you did."
She patted my head just like how I patted my dog.
I swear I would never do this for anyone else.
Ever!
But when I lifted my head and looked at her face, that familiar problem came back.
The one where my brain shuts off and goes, yeah, okay, that's fine.
I realized then that she could probably commit a genocide, and I'd still be standing there like, well… she must've had her reasons.
"So," she continued, straightening up, "you came to me because you needed help, right?"
I tilted my head. "How did you know?"
"Why else would you come running toward a base we already captured at a time like this?"
Thin threads flickered around her fingers. Before I could react, the strings pulled me upright, arranging my posture like a mannequin. She gave my shoulder a firm pat.
"Unless you actually wanted to fight us and get beaten."
"Absolutely not."
She smiled. "Thought so. So who's the unlucky team we're jumping?"
I pointed toward the center.
Finster stood there, eyes closed, sword planted firmly into the ground. Energy pulsed through the blade, a low thrumming sound crawling through the air.
Nagi laughed under her breath. "Seems like we're the unlucky ones."
I glanced upward. The time display hovered faintly above the battlefield.
17:36.
Too early.
"We strike at the fifteen-minute mark or later," I said.
"Hit and run. Capture the center point. Whoever contributes the most in the fight keeps the base."
"Fair," she said. "However, are you really going to leave your princess hanging, though?"
I did not answer right away.
In the distance, lightning screamed.
Tasora was relentless.
Bolts rained down one after another, tearing through the air with violent precision.
Solaris answered every strike with ice. Walls formed and shattered.
Crystals bloomed and cracked.
The clash lit the field in white and blue, neither side giving ground.
It was a stalemate.
Tasora only used lightning. Nothing else.
"She's underestimating us," I said quietly.
Even her weakest element forced Solaris to push herself just to keep pace.
Ice layered over ice, breath frosting with every movement.
She was holding on through sheer obsession with her ideal.
The ideal of being perfect.
I looked back at Nagi. "Can you handle Finster?"
She scoffed. "So you can take all the credit and keep the point? No."
"Alright," I said. "Fine by me. They're both monsters anyway."
I turned away, already stepping back. "I'll relay the plan to my teammate. Fifteen minutes. Then we move."
"Best of luck," Nagi said.
The moment I stepped outside her circle home base, a loud thunder screamed.
I dove forward just as a bolt of lightning split the air where my head had been.
A kunai intercepted the second strike midair.
It sparked, twisted, then got yanked backward towards nagi.
"Don't forget about me," Nagi said casually, already reeling the weapon back with her strings.
"I'll cook you something good tonight!" I said, while running towards the top left base.
Countless ice needles tore through the air in a dense wave, spinning and screaming as they flew straight at Tasora.
Solaris was noticeably sweating bullets, but her pride wouldn't let her fall.
Tasora planted her foot and slammed it down.
Ice surged upward instantly, thick and jagged, forming a wall that swallowed the attack whole. The needles shattered on impact, snow spraying everywhere.
Tasora laughed.
"What, you thought you're the only one who can transmute ice?" she called out
Her tone was teasing and annoyingly confident.
The air changed.
Lightning faded out. Frost crept in.
The ground glazed over as Tasora shifted elements entirely, ice spreading from her feet in rippling patterns. The battlefield turned blue, every surface reflecting cold light.
The whole area's temperature dropped considerably as both weavers were now competing with Ice magic.
I did not have time to process it.
"Kenth, green light. I succeeded. What about you guys?"
.....
.....
.....
"…Why are you all staring at me like that? Don't tell me you failed." I asked.
That's strange. At this point in the story, Azalea was supposed to be infatuated with Kenth. To an unhealthy degree. Even resorting to slaking sometimes.
"It's fine," Kenth hesitantly said. "They agreed as well. It's just that…"
He muttered incomprehensible words, then looked me straight in the eye.
"I did not think you were that kind of guy."
"What kind of guy?"
".....The masochist kind....."
Silence.
Waffel put a hand to her chin. "It seems the rumors about Excellia students never being normal might actually be true."
Emma squinted at me. "Weirdo."
"…What?"
I replayed the last few minutes in my head.
The kneeling.
The head pat.
Oh.
Oh no.
"No!" I said immediately. "This is a misunderstanding."
"Yeah," Azalea replied smoothly. "Smiling while kneeling. Please do elaborate."
"That was what you think it is."
"You also looked pretty content," Emma added helpfully.
"Arg no!"
"I mean, yes, that happened, yet it is not my fault. I did not even know why she was angry at me in the first place."
"She?" Kenth repeated.
"I meant him," I snapped, pointing vaguely. "God damn it, there is no time for this."
Tasora's ice cracked loudly in the distance as another clash erupted. The battlefield did not care about my dignity.
"Anyway," I continued, forcing the words out faster. "Team Nagi agreed to work with us. Whoever contributes the most during the conquest takes the base. Are you all fine with that."
Azalea studied me for another second longer than necessary.
"Good job changing topics," she said with a sigh. "But I'm fine with it."
She looked to Waffel.
"I'll go with your decision," Waffel replied easily.
Emma crossed her arms. "As long as I get to hit something."
"Great," I said. "Wonderful. Fantastic. Now, we're finally back on track"
Ice exploded nearby. Solaris skidded backward across the frozen ground around our circle, barely keeping her footing as Tasora pressed forward, ice blades forming and dissolving in rapid succession.
"She's still underestimating her," I muttered.
"She is actually underestimating all of us." Waffel inputed.
However its only natural. Why would you use a chainsaw to cut a paper? I really can't blame her."
Kenth stepped closer. "What's the plan again?"
"Our team towards Finster, nagi's team, and Solaris would be towards Tasora," I said.
Another wave of ice rolled across the field. Tasora laughed again, the sound sharp and bright against the cold.
Solaris responded with a massive crystal bloom, ice flaring outward like a flower. The clash sent shockwaves through the frozen ground.
"That princess of yours is working overtime," Waffel noted.
"She always does," I replied.
Azalea smirked. "You seem awfully confident she'll be fine."
I shrugged. "She is stubborn."
Kenth nodded slowly.
The timer ticked down. Seconds stretched.
I flexed my hands, feeling the familiar tension settle in.
I looked back upwards and looked at the time. 15:03
Are you guys ready? I teasingly asked.
Who do you think you're talking to? Emma confidently said as she led the charge.