Festival Over

*TTRRRRKK*

A sound like cracking of glass was heard as I closed my eyes in response to the attack. 

'So bright.' 

It felt like a nuclear explosion had just gone off as dark mages screened the audiences' eyes from the attack.

I opened my eyes to see the stage decimated the ground sliced in two with scorch marks running along the cut. 

Adam was in a kneeling position, his hands clutching the handle of the halberd that had struck the ground as he took deep breaths. 

I looked around for Kovac in the cloud of dust and finally found him.

A far cry from his initial graceful appearance, his glasses were now cracked and his robes in tatters as a large cut was apparent on his chest. 

It wasn't that deep however he still seemed to be in bad shape.

He now levitated just a few feet of the ground with no wind dome to protect him and the mini tornadoes surrounding him were mostly gone.

Only one remained and it's size was negligible as the winds had lost a lot of their previous speed.

"AARG!"

A battle cry came from Adam as he lifted himself off the ground and ran towards Kovac again this time much slower. 

Kovac tried to release a few wind blades but they were nothing compared tot eh previous ones and even the tired Adam dodged them with ease. 

*SHING*

Three consecutive cuts.

One downwards swing towards Kovacs arm, Adam let the weight of the halberd pull him back as he spun and made a horizontal cut towards his chest before pulling the halberd upward and aiming at his neck.

*TRRR*

A buzzing noise was heard as the swing towards Kovac's neck connected, but instead of the halberd continuing, a small multilayered hexagonal shield blocked the strike.

The artifacts attached to Kovac's clothing flashed red as he gave a helpless look.

"THE WINNER IS ADAM KANE!"

The crowd was caught in a fervor as chants of Adams name filled the stadium.

The red lights indicated that in an actual fight, Kovac would be dead.

And he knew it.

He looked disappointed, which was understandable but unlike what I expected he reached out an unwilling handshake to the victor. 

Adam shook his hand, and they exchanged a few words before preservation mages began attending to their wounds. 

Earth mages began hurriedly patching the stage up as mana engineers worked on recharging the barrier that protected the crowd.

'He's not who I expected him to be.'

It was a small gesture, but the handshake completely subverted the image I had of Kovac.

I shouldn't judge him yet. 

The strength he showed was no joke. 

I'd be dead in a single wind blade; I doubt I would even see it coming. 

I looked at Adam who was currently rejecting the aid of several mages. 

'He's incredible.'

I was aware that the attacks he did were purposefully flashier than what he would use normally.

But the strength behind those attacks was real. 

I now understood why his death was such a monumental achievement for the corrupted. 

'I really lucked out.' 

Helping him might have been the most useful thing I could do to prevent the apocalypse.

It made me think if running into him was really luck at all.

But that didn't matter for now. 

Lucian should have an easier time with such a force on his side.

*THUD*

"I appreciate it but I'm fine."

The gate opened as Adam walked back in with a man in preservation robes following close behind. 

"That may be Mr. Kane but your parents, the awakened association and even the head of the church insist I stay with you and take care of your injuries." 

Adam looked at me with an apologetic look as he sat down with the mage standing behind him, his palms emitting a slight glow. 

"So? What did you think?"

Adam asked me with a smile. 

*Adam POV*

Ajax sat across from me looking out the window at the mages cleaning up the stage.

"It was good." He said with a nod.

Usually an underwhelming reply, but from this kid, it was probably the highest praise you could get.

Besides I saw it in his eye! A glint of admiration and even some determination.

I doubt even he understood what he was feeling right now but I had seen that look many times.

The look many aspiring heroes had once they saw the extent of the powers they could reach.

"Does it answer your question about mages and warriors?" 

I asked as a bit of a trick question. 

"No."

The quick denial made me break into laughter.

"Mr. Kane, refrain from moving too much." The healer said. 

"I'm fine! Would you at least sit down!" I yelled back at the healer.

The man sighed as Ajax moved to the side giving him space to sit, in response to which the man give a gentle smile.

"I'm Florian, a high priest of the order of preservation, you are?"

"Ajax." 

The two offered a quick greeting as Florian kept tending to my wounds and spoke. 

"I heard about you from one of our members, you're the one living in the shelter, right?"

Ajax nodded vacantly, seemingly not comfortable about his identity being shared.

"I don't mean to overstep. It's just that the one who spoke of you is quite valuable to the church." Florian said apologetically. 

"If you could do us a favor, look after the child, she's the best thing that's happened to our order in a long time."

"Why is this person so important?"

I had no information on such a person which was expected, investigating a church is forbidden so most information is divulged by them voluntarily.

"She has a lot of potential. She sacrificed a very strong affinity to our lord, and in return she was blessed with powers beyond what we have seen."

'Another young talent huh?'

I sighed as I thought about today, I was happy that the future looked bright for the next generation of heroes, but I wish I had heard about them before.

"Do you know her Ajax?"

I decided to ask him directly.

He nodded before responding.

"Clair, she's a volunteer at the shelter. There is no need to worry about her, she's friends with people far more capable than me." 

He directed the second part towards Florian, speaking in an overly professional tone. 

Now that he mentioned her name, I remembered Emma speaking about someone like her. 

So, the people Ajax was referring to were Emma and Marcus?

In that case 'far more capable.' was an overstatement.

Of course, my sister was a generational talent, and I was proud but even without tests I could tell Ajax was no lesser. 

"That's good to hear, everyone was worried about her. After all she is very naive."

Florian said with a smile.

"It's time to move on to the next duels! Is everyone ready?" 

The announcer started speaking once the stage was repaired and the next duel was announced.

It was between third year students, and they made for some incredible displays of power.

That's what the duels were for, to show the crowd that their safety was in hands of such powerful individuals. 

I watched with interest, occasionally glancing at Ajax to see his reaction. 

He watched intently, but his eyes were devoid of admiration, seeming colder as the duels went on.

He seemed to be looking at them more analytically, seemingly trying to find weak points in the duelists. 

I suppose it wasn't bad, but again, this was a celebration. He should really relax for some time. 

*CLANG*

The short sword of one of the duelists flew away from his hand and a spear was pointed at his neck.

"Duel Over! Winner: Tobias"

A message was displayed all over the screens as the two students took a respectful bow before leaving the stage.

"I think that's it for the duels." I said observing the artifacts being removed.

"What will you do now?"

I looked at Ajax for response.

"What's going to happen now?" He asked with a slightly restless expression.

"Traditional celebrations, song and dance, food, fireworks, you know that kind of stuff."

Ajax didn't say anything for the next few minutes as he simply stared at the sky for a bit.

"I... I'll go home now." He said after a bit of thought. 

I gave a helpless sigh. That's not the answer I wanted to hear but it was also the one I expected. 

"Just stay for some time, what are you going to do anyway? You can't train, you know that right?" 

Ajax gave a simple nod.

Good, even if the mana recovery potion was helping him, he needed to rest to prevent permanent damage. 

"Good. Training is important but so is leisure, you can stay for some time but if you really want to leave, I won't stop you."

  For the next hour or two, many displays were set up, many famous idols and bands performed, and food stalls were set up outside the colosseum. 

To be honest, I knew none of the idols performing which made me feel old despite only being 26.

But I was more than happy to try out the food.

Florian had long since taken his leave and I dragged Ajax out with me to try some of the food they had set up.

This was my favorite part of this festival every damn time. 

Nothing came close to the food they made here. 

Pizza, ramen, burgers, you name it they had it. 

Ajax hesitantly took some of the food I offered him, but he seemed to enjoy himself, nonetheless. 

The music reverberated through the academy grounds and so did the cheers of the crowd.

As the sun began to set and the performers were done, the celebration was officially over, but after a few hours, once the sky was dark, celebratory fireworks would color the sky. 

All the while you could enjoy the carnival like set up of the academy grounds. 

Ajax looked around at the stalls with curiosity, he was oddly quite the whole time, seeming preoccupied with his own thoughts. 

I was going to ask him something, but I spotted a familiar face in the crowd.

"Hey! There's the generational talent I was looking for!" 

I said in a teasing manner to annoy but also congratulate Emma on her achievement.

"Very funny. Where's mom and dad?" Emma asked.

"Don't know. You know how they are, there's no stall they won't visit."

Emma laughed and said, "As if you're any different." 

"It's a celebration after all, you're meant to enjoy it."

I shrugged my shoulders while buying something from the nearby stall.

"Anyway, where are your friends? Thought you'd be hanging out with them by now." 

"Marcus had to take care of some business and Clair and Grant went to meet their families. I was looki-"

At this point Emma finally noticed Ajax who was standing a small distance away.

She was initially surprised but probably realized that it made sense for him to be with me.

"It's nice of you to bring him here. A small repayment for all the trouble you caused him."

She said before exchanging greetings with Ajax. 

I laughed awkwardly but I was saved by the ringing of my cell phone. 

'It's dad.' 

I picked up the phone call with haste, as I distanced myself from the crowd. 

"Hello?"

"Come to the private meeting hall, with Emma guild executives will be there. I need to discuss something with all of you."

'Straight to the point huh?'

"Alright I'll be there."

He cut the call as I called Emma and explained the situation.

'It's probably about Lucian.'

I turned to Ajax and said.

"Sorry to leave you like this."

"It's fine."

After apologizing to him, I began to leave with Emma.

I thought about the consequences of so many young talents appearing as I looked at a screen with the top scorers.

'Things are going to change around here.'