Destined for greatness

After waiting for some minutes, the smoke finally dispersed. The podium of the battle arena had been turned to debris and pieces of rock lying around and at the center of a carter, two charred bodies were found.

~ "Are they okay?" The students murmured amongst themselves.

"If the academy is to lose the both of them, things will get troublesome since Saniel is the king's son and also one of the potential heir to the throne while the other one is a dark horse with incredible potential," another student commented.

"That idiot just had to go kill himself," Sophie murmured angrily, "if he had just surrendered then none of this would have happened besides, he can just take part in the tournament next year."

"Instructor Leo, if the school doesn't mind, I would like to take Kai back to my house as quickly as possible," Sophie said, "although I may not come from a family with a strong background, he would still be able to recover faster there than in other places."

"I can't answer you right now besides, you shouldn't be asking us this question," instructor Leo said before continuing, "you'll have to ask his family first and if they give you the go ahead then we naturally won't mind."

"I don't need to worry about that, I have very close ties with his family so I don't think they would mind," Sophie replied.

"Alright then, since that's the case, I don't think anyone should have an objection," instructor Leo replied.

~ "I'll also like to assist you as well," someone from the crowd added, "but, that's only if you do not mind."

"Yo- you," Sophie stammered as she looked at the girl who had decide to support her, "senior Elara, I really appreciate your kind gesture but, I don't think it's necessary."

"Well, I'm insisting this time," Elara didn't back down.

"Seems like I do not really have a choice here," Sophie said with a sigh, "but I'm only accepting because you insisted and I have a lot of respect for you as my senior."

"Alright then, leave the arrangements to me," Elara said, "he should be back to normal in a couple of months."

~ "What is happening right now? Our academy goddess and potential future goddess fighting to take care of the same man, I would gladly give up anything to take his spot," a boy amongst the audience told his friend.

"Tsk, as if they would pay any attention to you, his friend replied, "at least you saw what he's capable of doing. I kind of feel bad for Prince Saniel but, he's in a much better position than Kai so he's probably fine on his own."

"*Sigh*, who cares about Prince Saniel or Kai, I'm only sad our goddesses are going to be snatched from us in front of our very own eyes and we won't be able to do anything about it," his friend said with a sigh.

"Just give up already, people like Kai were destined for greatness so it's natural for girls to like him," is friend replied, "and I advice you to forget about those girls cause the sooner you do, the lesser the heartbreak." 

~ "Students, the tournament will be temporarily suspended until the battle arena is fully repaired," instructor Leo announced, "also since both competitors were knocked out at the same time, they will currently be placed on the 20th and 21st spot until the judges can provide a final verdict."

"No way, are the academy official trying to disqualify Kai for Prince Saniel's sake?" A student shouted, "although I don't know much about him, I'll still pick Kai over Prince Saniel anytime."

"Yeah, we want Kai," another student shouted.

"Seems like he won't be making it after all," Elara said as she glanced at Sophie.

Although it might seem like Elara was not supporting Kai, she had already become one of his fans due to the outcome of the battle. Despite being ranked as the second best student in the whole academy, she knew the difference between Prince Saniel's strength and her's and after training and cultivating for so many years, the most she could do was only pressure him temporarily before she got defeated.

"Seems like Kai must have a strong backer else, I don't know how he managed to get all these crazy abilities," Elara said, "Sophie, do you know which family Kai is from?"

"Of course I do but, Kai is just a regular commoner and not from a noble home like most of the students here," Sophie replied, "besides, shouldn't we be thinking of a way to console him when he finally recover, you know he's not going to make it into the main academy this year."

"Attention all students, after considering some things and factors, the academy officials have decided to place Prince Saniel in the 19th place and Kai in the 20th spot since they probably won't be able to make it to the rest of the tournament," instructor Leo announced.

"But, doesn't that mean there's only 18 spots left," one of the competitors said, "besides I think it would be unfair to the other competitors if two spots were given to unconscious participants."

"If you think the officials are wrong, why don't you wait till the both of them are fully recovered then send a challenge to either of them and if you perhaps manage to win which I know is impossible for someone like you then, you'll be called first in the whole academy," instructor Leo replied casually.

"Youuu," the boy said with his face twitching as everyone else started laughing.

"Alright then since no one has anything else to say, the annual royal academy will be temporarily dismissed so you all can leave," he said.

...

"It's been two months already and he still hasn't shown any sign of regaining consciousness," Sophie mumbled as she glanced at Elara.

"Prince Saniel has also been unconscious as well," Elara said hoping to cheer Sophie up a bit, "it seems like their injuries was more than what we initially thought it was.

~ "Lady Elara, Kai," a servant shouted as she ran towards Elara.

"Calm down, what happened to him?" Elara asked.

"He's awake, he finally woke up," she said excitedly.

"He's finally awake after two long months, huh," Elara muttered with a smile, " how about Saniel, is there any news about him?"

"No. However, there's a rumor going around that he's stil unconscious while some believes he's awake but seriously injured," the maid replied.

"Senior Elara, if you don't mind, I would like to go see Kai," Sophie said as she ran towards the room Kai was in.

"You idiot, I thought you were going to die," Sophie said amidst tears as she hugged me tightly.

"Hey careful," I muttered, "else, you're going to squash me to death besides how can I die now, I still have to get married to you."

"You," she muttered angrily as her face turned red, "just because you recovered doesn't mean you should start teasing me, try that again and you'll end up unconscious for another two months," she fumed.

~ "Sophie, so you were planning to get married and you didn't even invite me," Elara said as she walked into the room.

"No, it's not like that," Sophie said as her face turned so red that I thought it was going to start steaming, "he's just saying nonsense."

"Am I really saying nonsense?" I asked.

"Yes you are and stop talking," Sophie replied.

"Then I guess I've becoming more charming since the nonsense I said made you blush this hard," I teased her again.

"You, I'm never going to talk to you again," she said angrily before running out.

"Seems like the both of you are really close," Elara said before continuing, "I've never seen her blush like that at least not until today."

"Yes, we're indeed close but, the part about the marriage was just to tease her," I said, "anyway, what brings you here senior Elara? I'm sure you didn't come here to just talk about Sophie right?"

"You got me there anyway, I'll go straight to the point," she said, "I'm here to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?" I asked with my guard up.

Although based on her interaction with Sophie, I could see they had a good relationship and were probably friends however, I didn't know her well enough so I had to be cautious around her.

"There's no need to be so tense," she said with a slight chuckle, "besides, we're going to be talking to each other for a long time."