CONFLICT

"After so much trouble, I finally got to meet this guy." Stare muttered with a tired sigh.

"He almost makes it seem like I'm chasing some sort of celebrity," Stare thought in annoyance as he approached the corner where Y-204 stood. The corner he occupied had oddly no other students around. He stood there in a reminiscent pose, evidently unfazed by the fact that the area appeared neglected by others.

Y-204 had his face turned to the side, so he couldn't notice Stare. To get his attention, Stare lightly gripped him on the shoulder.

For a moment, it seemed as if time stood still, accompanied by sudden silence. Everyone's gaze was now fixed on Raziel, who was looking back at Stare, while Stare himself wore an oblivious expression.

"Sad... only the first day, and he might not even make it to the end," Riley whispered to his fellow Elites nearby, shaking his head in apparent disappointment.

"Such a shame. I found him quite interesting, don't you think so too, Ava?" he added, prompting Ava to briefly glare at him. Without saying a word, she looked back at Stare and Raziel with a scoff.

Riley gazed at her for a moment with a knowing smile. He was about to look away when his attention was diverted to Ares, who had also spoken up, his tone sounding displeased.

"He had it coming eventually... for someone who is most likely a nobody, he's quite loud," Ares remarked.

Just as Ares said that, their attention was captured by a loud bang. Stare was now lying on the floor, with blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

Stare could feel pain all over his body. Just moments ago, he had been trying to get Y-204's attention, and now suddenly he found himself on the ground with a bloody nose, likely having lost a couple of teeth as well.

"These fucker," Stare muttered, slowly pulling himself back to his feet, gritting his now bloodied teeth.

Managing to regain his footing, he locked eyes with Raziel, who returned his gaze with a condescending look that instantly irritated him.

Spitting out blood, Stare angrily wiped the blood dripping from his nose before clenching both fists.

"You want to play rough? Fine by me," he shouted, launching himself toward Raziel, attempting to throw punches. However, as he drew closer, Raziel simply stretched out his right hand, causing Stare, now confused, to suddenly hover a few feet off the ground.

Stare quickly looked down and noticed his body was now being levitated by some sort of dark fog gathering underneath him.

'How?' was the only question currently swirling in his mind. Glancing back at Raziel, who seemed the most likely to be responsible for this, Stare noticed a slight change from the usual gloomy expression.

It was a sadistic look.

Instantly, Stare sensed an oppressive aura emanating from Raziel's body as he slowly began squeezing his fingers on his stretched hand. This action caused some of the dark fog hovering underneath Stare to enter his slightly open mouth and nostrils.

Stare immediately began feeling dizzy, his body tensing and growing heavier with each passing second. At some point, he could tell he was barely holding onto consciousness.

'How?' His previous question resurfaced in his mind.

How was this guy already able to accomplish so much this early on?

Was there some interference somewhere?

Last Stare could remember, they weren't even supposed to be able to use their powers yet. They were probably going to discover that here at the Academy with time. Yet, on the first day at the Academy, the guy meant to be his opponent isn't just able to use his powers, but is also using them quite too well.

"Stop, Stare... this isn't the time to blabber on. You've got to think," Stare muttered inwardly to himself.

Glancing back at Raziel, who appeared to derive some sort of pleasure from putting him in his current condition, Stare forced the muscles in his mouth to form a smile.

"You're really going to fight like a coward? Why don't you abandon your fancy abilities and face me hand-to-hand, unless you're actually a coward."

At that moment, the hall, already quiet from Stare and Raziel's confrontation, seemed to grow even quieter.

There were expressions of shock on most of the students' faces, alongside looks of disgust, mainly emanating from some of the Elites and their supporters, with a few expressions of pity mixed in.

Bobby and Joel appeared to be the most affected by the entire scene.

The immense worry on both of their faces was evident. Bobby nervously muttered every possible insult and slang term for stupidity, while also pacing around and silently praying for Stare to at least make it out alive.

Joel appeared to be sharing the same prayer for Stare.

There was silence from Raziel for about a minute before he withdrew his hand, causing the dark fog underneath Stare to immediately disperse and naturally bringing him down to the floor once more.

Coughing out more blood and gritting his teeth from the intensified pain all over his body upon contact with the ground again, Stare pushed himself a few steps closer, squeezing his fists tightly.

With the fucker's powers now out of the way, he planned on repaying him for all the pain, and perhaps even adding some interest as well.

Calmly flashing a small smile, exposing a couple of his bloodied teeth, his eyes locked on Raziel, who remained stationary, not assuming a battle stance or moving closer. He simply held eye contact with Stare.