18 Presence

"Oh my gosh...is that the student president?" someone whispered. "He's fighting Miss Zylith!"

"Whoa, really? I thought that was someone else! I didn't think he was a mage too!"

"That's so cool!"

"But Miss Zylith is one of the country's top fighters, you don't think she's going to lose, is she?"

"Did you hear? Someone from my friend's class told me she came to search for a recruit..."

Jade frantically pushed through the crowd of students to the shattered window, glass shards cracking underneath her feet. What the heck are all these students talking about? Fighting? Emrys wouldn't-

She flinched, goosebumps running through her arms and back as an explosion followed by a shockwave shook her to reality. The students around her screamed as she looked down at the rumbling quad in horror.

Nothing but a gaping hole of dirt and cement stood between the two figures on the cracking pavement. A gust of wind blew dangerously around the white-haired lady like a miniature-sized tornado while Emrys crouched with one knee and hand on the ground, an ice sheet spreading throughout the floor from beneath his fingers.

Jade gasped and leaned out the broken window, careful not to cut her hands on the sharp glass that stuck out of the frame. She wasn't sure what was going on, but if they continued, the whole campus would be demolished if they weren't careful enough.

They've already carved a hole into the ground, the side gates were bent and twisted...next would be the buildings. People could get hurt.

"Emrys!" she shouted anxiously, drawing attention from other students and teachers who came out to see the commotion. "Emrys, what are you doing? The lady is from the M.A.!"

Emrys paused. His head snapped up at her voice, eyes filled with confusion. "What-?!"

Before Jade could repeat what she said, her eyes widened as she noticed the woman raise her arm in preparation for an attack. "Look out!" she shrieked, fear swarming in her chest.

He turned his head just in time to see a whirlwind shooting his way, but he barely had enough time to put up his guard and summon an ice barrier to protect himself. Emrys was knocked off his feet and sent flying back as the monstrous billow of air drove straight through his barrier, narrowly missing him and striking the wall behind him.

The building to her left shook alarmingly, shouts echoing in the halls, and Jade could feel the tremors beneath her feet.

She panicked, whimpering, and whirled around to see if there was anyone around to stop this ridiculous fight. What the hell is that lady thinking, to do this sort of thing on campus while classes are supposed to be in session?

She found a teacher within the crowds and seized his arm without thinking. "Sir!" she pleaded. "We have to stop this! That woman is too powerful! She can hurt Emrys and the others, too!"

She looked up to see that the teacher she was talking to was none other than Mr. Kinoshi, and she hoped for him to take action. But to her shock and disappointment, he only shook his head, helpless.

"I- I'm sorry, Jade," he responded hesitantly. "I'm afraid no one can do anything now. You've heard the others...Miss Mai is from the Association's Headquarters, and not only that, she's ranked in the country's top ten. We can only wait until this is over and hope she doesn't go overboard..."

Jade let go of his arm in disgust. She couldn't believe his words. Maybe if it was from another teacher, but this was from the teacher who claimed Emrys as a student he cared about.

She clenched her teeth and shoved her way back to the open window to see Emrys still on the ground, clutching his arm to his chest in pain. That woman was drawing closer, and judging from her sudden power boost, she didn't look like she was done yet.

"Get! Up!" she hollered at him. "Get up! Do you hear me? I'm calling Gray!"

Emrys must've caught her words over the loud whistles of wind, thus he forced himself to sit up and get back on his feet. He bared his teeth and held his left arm tenderly to his side.

It must be broken, Jade thought as she dug out her cellphone. She glared down at the woman's head of white as she held the phone to her ear in frustration.

"M.A. or not, top mage or not, just watch when Gray comes and beats up your sorry ass," Jade hissed under her breath as she waited for someone to pick up the phone. She wasn't the type to curse, nor did she usually get this worked up...but Emrys was being attacked, and this was all wrong.

She wasn't aware of the fact that many students began to take notice of her, one of them being her recently estranged friend, Manning.

_______________

"Gray!" Althea called. "A call for you! It's from that girl, Jade!"

Gray stepped out of the storage room that he'd been tidying for the last half-hour and scratched the side of his head. "Yeah?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "Isn't it still school hours?"

The storeowner shrugged and handed him the store's phone, and he wiped his hands on his jeans before he answered it. "Hello?"

"Mister Gray- I mean, Gray! You have to get over here!" Jade fretted, her voice agitated. "A lady from the Mage's Association came to our school today and she's fighting with Emrys right now!"

Gray frowned. What the hell are those people doing here? Was this perhaps a coincidence? "Hey, is he winning or losing?" he inquired curiously. "And that lady you said, do you happen to know who she is or something?"

"Gray!" she cried, exasperated. "He's got broken arm, for god's sake! And that woman? Her name is Zylith Mai, she said she's from the capital! Can you just hurry over?"

"The capital...?" he repeated gravely. A dark look passed over his eyes, and Althea winced when she stepped by him and caught the terrifying expression on his face.

"Yes, so can you come now...please?" she begged over the phone.

Gray reached up, removed the worker's tag from around his neck, and placed it on the counter. "Two minutes," he said. "I'll be there."

Jade sighed, relieved. "Okay..."

Gray hung the phone back on its receiver and hurried for the exit. "I'll be back!" he said loudly enough for Althea to hear.

As soon as he heard an 'okay', he took off out the door and in the direction of the school.

Whoever it was must have a death wish for them to mess with his people...

_______________

Emrys heaved and gritted his teeth, clutching his throbbing left arm close. It was painful, but the ice and adrenaline that pulsed through his veins seemed to help with that matter.

It was helping, yes, but it wasn't going to heal on its own. How Gray managed to save him while he was half-dead was a mystery beyond his mind...

"Not bad," said the woman, her calm voice somehow audible over the roaring wind. "But it's not enough. I know you can do more than that. Show me."

Emrys glowered up at her as the wind suddenly picked up her feet and rose her up into the air. Gray had taught him about the types of kinesis and their powers over the last week, and this woman had one hell of an aerokinetic ability.

She was powerful, but her hits were more or less the same as what he endured while training with Gray. He recalled Gray telling him to never get distracted in a fight, and he glared bitterly down at his arm, having learned the lesson in the hard way.

What did Jade say about this woman again? M.A.? But what did M.A. stand for?

"Tch...screw it all," he grumbled. He stared up into the sky where the lady was waiting for him to make a move. The sky was her domain, and it was clear that she had the advantage against him.

He looked down at the ice sheet he'd barely began to form on the ground and clenched his teeth. If the sky was her advantage, then the ground would be his.

He slammed his working hand down on the floor and pulled at his core, giving a sudden surge of growth to his own little domain. Crispy flakes began to appear as the layer of frost spiked and stretched through the entire quad, climbing up the sides of the buildings.

The woman raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "That's pretty impressive," she remarked. "Tell me, did you get to this all by yourself or has someone been coaching y-"

She glanced down at the mountain of rigid ice that had erupted from the ground and trapped her legs, holding her in place so that she couldn't move. The crystals didn't stop and continued to crawl up to her chest.

Emrys sucked in a breath, waiting for a reaction. That should hold her in place, right?

But to his dismay, the mountain cracked and burst into bits as if it were nothing but a simple little pebble that stood in the way, letting his efforts go in vain.

If she was by any means affected by his attack, she didn't show it. "Heh, interesting tactics," the woman murmured, her palms outstretched beside her.

Emrys watched dreadingly as the ice shards from his mountain remained suspended in the air by her power, the sharp tips slowly turning to face him.

Another skill, another convenience... He'd seen Gray use this trick before, but he didn't know how to counter it, especially not one to this extent.

The woman sneered, holding her arms out wide. "Let's see how you can hold out against your own power!" she declared. Then she directed her arms at him, the crystals flying towards him at high speed.

D*mn it...just why was he always the one who couldn't do anything at the most crucial moments? It seemed that he was fated to die before he could even get to the point where he could be considered 'powerful', he thought so bitterly.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shielded his face with his right arm, bracing for impact...

Suddenly, he felt the air crackle hotly near his skin, followed by an aggressive whoosh. An ear-splitting boom shook him down to the bone, and Emrys opened his eyes to see a white haze of microscopic particles floating lightly in the air.

A dark silhouette stood before him steadily, the head inclined up towards the sky.

"Gray?!"

All he got in response was a "hmph", but that was enough to reassure him.

The mist quickly settled down and cleared the view for all, revealing the addition of a new presence.

Gray's black hair was unmoved, even with the strong currents the woman provided. The sleeves to his black hoodie were pushed up beneath his elbows, and he stood in front of his student like a reinforcing shield...only better.

The white-haired woman dropped back onto the ground, her heels clinking on the frozen crystals. She brushed down her suit and looked directly into Gray's eyes, attempting a staredown.

He stared back, unmoving.

She smirked, amused. "Another unregistered mage...," she marveled. "Could you be that hydrokinetic mage I've also been looking for?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gray answered darkly. "...You need to leave."

The woman was taken aback, stiffening at his words. Still, she straightened up and pulled a card from her pocket, persistent to get what she came for.

She shot the card with a sharp flick of her wrist, and Gray caught it with two fingers without a bat of an eye.

She brushed aside her white locks and folded her hands in front of her politely, growing a bit uneasy. "I'm Zylith Mai from-"

Gray cast her a look of disregard, the card between his fingers burning into smithereens. The charred bits dusted away, and Zylith furrowed her brows, conflicted.

"I said. Leave," he repeated. "You've done enough damage already." His tone was harsh with a distinct edge to it, and Emrys cowered as he suddenly felt the chilling pressure of Gray's aura rattle his nerves.

The woman flinched, experiencing the same terrifying sensation. Desperately, she stepped forward to try to clear her name but thought better of it when she saw his unbudging posture.

She sighed and turned on her heel, defeated. "...I'll be around," she said.

Then she was gone.

It was silent for a moment, and the whole school seemed to be staring at Gray in amazement as he stood frozen to the spot.

Zylith Mai is a top ten-ranked mage, known famously throughout the whole country for her power. Yet, here at this school, someone has managed to scare her off without raising a finger against her.

Who was this man?

Just as Emrys opened his mouth to say something, Gray turned around and held out his slender hand. "Let me see that arm," he said flatly.

Emrys held out his left arm without complaint and let Gray work his healing on his bone, the warmth flooding out any pain. He couldn't read his thoughts, but from the way Gray kept silent about the whole situation told Emrys that he wasn't in a good mood.

Soon, his broken bone mended with a painful snap, and Emrys hissed as he rubbed his aching limb.

Gray let out a breath of patience and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Finish your classes, I'm going back to work. Don't move that arm too much."

And then he was gone as well, leaving the boy alone to deal with the aftermath of the wreck in silence.

It was over, and some distance back on the second floor of the main building, Jade cheered, pumping her two fists in the air in victory.

The identity and relationship between the three individuals went on to remain a mystery for the rest of the school personnel.