Chapter 41

"I surrender."

"What?" The referee sputtered.

"I said that I surrender."

"A-are you sure?" Confusion was written all over his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure. She's too strong."

"Okay…then. Well, in that case, the winner is Zoe!" He lifted ‌her hand.

As Zoe walked back to the bleachers, she moved next to Ivy. "Thanks," she said.

"Yeah," Ivy said, looking up at the bleachers. She stared directly at Reiza, whose face tried to look uninterested.

A wave of displeasure and annoyed murmurs rippled through the crowd. Some accusations of cheating were also heard.

"What just happened?" Colson asked Zoe once she sat next to him. "Why did she do that?"

"You really don't know?"

Colson's eyes flicked to Reiza, who was getting up from her seat. "Yeah…Yeah, I get it." He watched as she hopped from the suspended bleachers, landing hard on the ground ten feet below. 'Okay, that was actually kinda smart. If I was in that situation, and I thought of that; I'd do the same thing.'

Stepping onto the starting area, Reiza stretched her arms back, never taking her eyes off Ivy.

Ivy stood in the same area, her fists balled, one clasped around her remaining brass knuckle.

"Who do you think has it?" Colson whispered.

"I'd think that Reiza would have more fighting experience; I'm not sure if that's the case or not," Zoe whispered back.

"Yeah, I'd say they're about similar in strength. Ivy definitely has her beat in endurance, though. She got winded pretty quickly when we did the training course on Monday."

Again, the referee put his hand in the air, "Are you ready?" He looked at Ivy.

She said nothing; she only nodded.

"Ready?" He asked Reiza.

"Of course," she grinned.

"Fight!" he yelled as his hand fell. He quickly hopped backward, giving them space to attack.

Colson leaned forward, biting one of his fingernails, 'Why am I so nervous?' He looked to Zoe. She was watching even more intently than he was, a bead of sweat coming off her forehead, her hand nervously fidgeting with her necklace. 'Yeah, honestly, if I were to bet on this, I'd say Reiza definitely has an advantage; not impossible for Ivy to win, though.'

Ivy walked forward until she was only a few feet away. As she moved, she studied her. Reiza was taller—about three or four inches. She didn't look as strong; the muscles on her arms and legs weren't as toned or large as Ivy's. From what Ivy gathered, Reiza had a slight reach advantage as well.

Reiza didn't move an inch as Ivy walked towards her. Her expression never changing from the slight smile on her lips.

In a flash, Ivy jumped to her side, throwing an overhead right at the side of her face. Reiza quickly ducked under the strike, planting her elbow directly into Ivy's ribs. Using her other hand, she pushed against her chest, launching Ivy across the room.

She hit the ground several yards away, landing in a crouched position. "Dammit!" she said through gritted teeth, holding her side.

Reiza put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing, "Is that it?" she snickered.

She slowly got to her feet, a look of dark determination on her face.

Reiza started to walk forward, ready for Ivy to sprint at her again, but what happened threw her off-guard.

Ivy slowly closed her eyes, her face scrunched with concentration. She took several deep breaths.

"Wait," Colson said, "Is she about to—" He was cut off by the quiet hum emanating throughout the building.

"What the-" Reiza's smile inverted, 'Is she really about to do this? In front of all these people!'

When Ivy opened her eyes, she was completely covered in an angry white veil. Confused murmurs spread throughout the crowd watching. The referee looked absolutely flabbergasted; his mouth hung open as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Zoe looked at Colson, a look of total dread on her face, "Should we…do something?"

"I-I'm not sure. They aren't gonna like this." He looked to see the referee's reaction.

Reiza shook her head, composing herself, 'I'd better use mine as well. No one can blame me, either. It would just be self-defense, right? I'm totally in the clear here.' Her smile returned to her face. She put her hands down by her side, taking a deep breath, and puffed her chest out, flexing. A second later, the hum in the room multiplied; a jagged blue aura surrounded Reiza.

The two stood in that same position for what felt like an eternity for everyone watching. Simultaneously, they took one step forward. Then another, and another. With every step, Ivy's energy bubbled more intensely.

"Hey!" the referee snapped out of his stooper. "Stop this now! This match is over!" He stepped into their path, holding his hands up.

"Shut up!" They both said in unison, continuing marching forward.

"I—" he was at a complete loss for words. 'What do I do? Should I call someone? Neph or Amelia? How the hell do these kids have mastery of energy? I still haven't gotten close to that point!'

When they got within a substantial range of each other, Reiza and Ivy launched themselves forward.

The referee flung himself to the ground, at the same time looking up, seeing both their fists connecting into the other's face. "If I didn't move, they would've decapitated me."

Brushing off the hit, Ivy spun around Reiza's kick, sending a flurry of punches toward her face with only a few connecting.

Lurching backward, Reiza held her hand to her nose, pulling it away, seeing a dark red liquid drip on her palm.

Ivy ran towards her, her brass knuckle ready to dig itself into the front of her skull.

Reiza barely had enough time to react; all she could do was cover her face with her arms. When Ivy's weapon connected, she heard a snap internally in her right forearm. The lightning-blue aura around her flickered slightly, pain shooting through her whole body, almost causing her to cry out. 'If my energy wasn't activated, that bone would've turned to dust.'

Ducking another punch, she spun, sweeping Ivy's legs from beneath her. She gritted her teeth. Holding her hand out, a bright light appeared, and when it dissipated, she was gripping a crude combat knife—jagged, warped, and cold. She was panting heavily, 'I gotta finish this now!'

Ivy quickly rolled to her feet, unphased by the knife being held just a few feet away. Reiza moved quickly, stabbing forward, aiming for one of her eyes.

Ivy tilted her head to the side, the knife cutting her cheek; leaving an odd sensation as a line of blood dripped from just under her eye.

She grabbed on to Reiza's extended arm, kicking upward into her forearm, the heel of her boot digging into the bone.

The action caused Reiza to screech out in pain, forcing her to drop the knife. She kicked out, kneeing Ivy in the stomach; causing her to slide several feet away.

'Incredible,' Zoe thought, 'They're moving so fast it's hard to keep up.'

Ivy lunged forward; Reiza had once again moved out of the way of the attack. Ivy had swung so hard that she knocked herself off balance, giving Reiza the upper hand. With a slight push, Ivy was on the ground. Zoe looked away just in time. All she heard was Ivy's screams as she felt Reiza's thumb being shoved into her left eye.

She struggled to get free, wrapping her leg around Reiza's arm. She yanked her hand from her eye socket and rolled and twisted, wrestling her until she ended up with Reiza on her back, with Ivy having a tight arm-lock on her.

Colson knew instantly what Ivy was going to do. "A 'Kimura,'" he said.

Ivy cranked Reiza's arm back, grabbing onto her own wrist for support. Without hesitation, she pulled, feeling Reiza's shoulder pop as she did so.

Reiza contorted her body; the leverage Ivy had on her loosened as she did so. When she saw the opening, she took it. Using her legs, she rolled out from under Ivy, getting to her feet with one swift move.

"Dang, Reiza's flexible. She woulda broken her arm instantly if she wasn't."

Ivy looked up and noticed Reiza's eyes flicking to her knife; it had slid a few yards away, landing at the feet of the referee, who was still in shock, fumbling through his pockets for his phone. He took several steps back, seeing both Ivy and Reiza were staring at it.

Reiza sprinted for it; at the same time, Ivy jumped high into the air, plummeting down right as Reiza reached the knife. She landed right over the blade, the stone tile cracking beneath her feet. Her white aura ferociously bloomed outward.

Under her, Reiza's fingertips were less than an inch from the knife. She stopped, looking up at Ivy, who stared down at her, her fists balled. She tried evading, but it was too late.

A wet thump echoed throughout the building as Ivy drove her fist into Reiza with all her strength.

"Damn," Colson winced, watching what was unfolding.

Reiza collapsed to the ground, her blue aura fading.

Ivy stood over her, looking on with stoic ennui. She hauled back, the heel of her boot snapping Reiza's jaw. A river of blood poured from her mouth, permanently staining the stone floor.

"Is she dead?" One girl in the bleachers said.

"I'm leaving!"

Almost everyone in the crowd got up, running to the door, screaming; running past Ivy, Reiza, and the referee; stampeding towards the door.

Ivy crouched down, looking at Reiza's broken head.

Aye unbuttoned his undershirt, revealing the shredded muscles below. He ran a hand through his spikey orange hair. He turned, walking out of the dressing room, and into his own personalized gym.

The dark red glow from the lights above, the broken air conditioning, and the music that played just a bit too loud — "Perfection," he grinned.

Several of his unit had already started working out, training, and sparring. Most of his crew comprised men who were not citizens of Crater, but could legally stay under his order.

After dawning a weighted vest and heavy iron chains, he walked to the back of the gym. He walked around the boxing ring set in the middle of the room. He moved toward the weight lifting area of the gym. He put as much weight as possible on the hexagonal deadlift trap bar.

Because of the music and his heavy focus, he couldn't hear his phone going off in his pocket.

Several minutes later, a nervous and panting woman sprinted through the front door of the gym. Clamping her nose shut from the smell, she quickly strutted in, wandering until she found who she was looking for. She walked over to Aye; he was in the middle of doing weighted pullups. She nervously tapped her foot, waiting for him to finish. He noticed her waiting for him. An annoyed expression crossed his face.

"Your daughter, Reiza, something happened to her. I think you'd want to go see her!" She screamed over the music.

"Reiza?" he gritted his teeth, "If you come at me with some erroneous accusation…"

"No," she shook her head. "Can we talk outside?"

"What's happening?" Aye said once they were both on the gym floor balcony.

"Well, I don't know everything that transpired, but your daughter is in critical condition," she said cautiously.

"What!"

"Well, normally, this is to be expected since the death week, especially today's event, can be a little…well, anyway, I digress."

"Get to the point!"

"That one girl, I'm positive her name is Ivy. I think she's new. Well, they were set to spar today, and things went awry quickly..."

After learning what happened, Aye slammed his fist down on the steel railing, bending it as if it were a pipe cleaner.

"Where is she?" His voice was calm, but an uncontrollable energy sparked and cracked around his muscled frame. His fists shaking.

"Reiza is—"

"Not her!"

"I…I'm not sure," she lied. "They didn't tell me."

He took out his phone, holding it to his ear. "Neph, I'm calling a meeting. I want everyone back here by tomorrow."

Zoe poked at her food. Her appetite was wholly erased by that day's earlier events. She'd much rather prefer going back to her dorm room, but knowing that there was another event happening tomorrow, she'd need the fuel.

The cafeteria was alive with the usual laughing and talking that filled up the room.

Putting her mind on a fresh track, she took her cards out of her pocket. As she slowly removed one card, she looked up, noticing someone sitting down across the table from her.

"Hey, Col—oh."

"Uh, hey," Herald said. "I've been hearing some crazy shit that went down."

"Okay."

"Do you know what happened?"

Zoe stared at him.

Herald instinctively leaned back slightly. 'What the? Why is she looking at me like that?'

"There's a lot that happened. I'm not so sure myself. It all culminates into a bit of a blur."

"Ah. Where is she? Also, where's Colson?"

"He's always late getting here, but I'm not sure where Ivy went. She just…disappeared."

She thought back to a few hours earlier. Walking into her dorm room, she instantly knew something was off. She had a method, inconspicuous to anyone but herself.

Since she had a carpet covering the floor, she would always take her hand, brushing it in a particular direction so it was a darker shade. The door would scrape along the rug, removing the shade when opening inward.

Aye swung open the door to the meeting room of the chairmen. He looked uncomfortable in his tight blue suit. Walking across the mirror-like marble floor to his seat. His footsteps echoed off the quiet walls. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it read six o'clock.

"Keigh still hasn't shown his face?"

"Nope," Amelia said, spinning circles in her chair.

Neph and Lubbock sat quietly; one read through a document, while the other stared blankly ahead.

"We all know he ain't comin'. Let's hurry this up," Amelia said, stopping her chair from spinning; the room swimming around her as she did so.

"We all have a good idea of what happened?" Lubbock asked.

Neph spoke up, "In front of you all is a document. It details everything that transpired. Including quotes from witnesses and the like."

"Where is the girl now?" Aye asked, leafing through the pages.

"A holding cell," Amelia said. "She's been there since yesterday. She was acting kinda erratic, so I had them put the 'green smock' on her." The green smock referring to a tear-resistant garment put on at-risk prisoners to prevent them from committing suicide. 

Neph had everyone read through the document. As they did so, they occasionally called in the people who gave statements, having them elaborate on what they saw. Every story told matched with no competing claims.

Aye stood from his chair. "We know what Ivy did. We know she's guilty. I say we end her."

"I won't stand for that," Lubbock said, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Amelia said, "that seems kinda…extreme?"

"Listen," Aye growled, "We've all heard the fortune. We all know who that's about. I told you a year ago, letting that thing in would only bring trouble; and here we are!"

"That is true…." Amelia mused.

"Hell, Reiza told me when she first arrived, one of her friends saw Ivy walking into the forest with the other two. Then, all of a sudden, there's a monster that appears and attacks us."

"That's not good," Lubbock muttered, "Have we found out any more about what that was."

"Nope," Amelia sighed.

"You seem to be forgetting the first part of the fortune," Neph said, walking to the bookshelf on the far side of the room, taking out the binder for that month. "In an oval room, you must decide. She shall return to raise the colony with a woman from an eastern pantheon by her side." He read aloud.

"My point exactly! We kill her now, so we don't have to worry about this and we can move on!"

"That would be easier," Amelia said, "But I'm with Lubbock on this one."

"She broke several of the taboos of Crater," Aye retorted.

"I get that, but I don't think capital punishment, especially for a child who probably didn't even know, is fair."

Aye tightened his fist, "So that's your excuse? Ignorance. Of course you'd be protecting her. Why am I not surprised?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're not made for this type of work, Amelia."

"I gotta ask, how did Reiza, your daughter, know energy? From what I understand, breaking the secret bylaw of teaching someone who isn't at least a three-star energy is very," she put emphasis on the word, "Illegal."

Amelia raised herself from her chair, a dark smirk on her face. Her two dogs, which moments ago were slumbering at her feet, stood up in unison. "How is your daughter doing? It's gotta be depressing seeing her all mangled up like a—"

In a flash, Aye towered over her. Both her dogs barked and growled, ready to attack at her command. His suit looked as if it were about to be torn off his back. "One. More. Word!" He held his right hand out, his left hand grabbing onto his wrist. The hum of energy activation echoed through the room. "One more word, and you will cease to exist as a human!" As he said that, something large started shimmering into existence behind him. The checkered floor and the bland walls warped; the paint on the walls bubbled.

"Enough! Both of you!" Neph commanded. "If we're to make any progress, we'll need to keep calm."

"Absolute children," Lubbock muttered.

Amelia sat back down in her chair with a huff, crossing her arms. Her dogs relaxed, but still their eyes watched Aye as he walked back to his seat. The thing behind him disappeared, the hum going silent.

"Now," Neph sighed, "I say we put this to a vote. All for capital punishment for Ivy?"

Aye was the only one to raise his hand.

"One vote for, three votes against, and one not applicable," Neph wrote ‌on a document page. Passing it to everyone and having them sign.

Aye threw his hands up in indignation, "Great! So I guess the kid who almost murders my daughter gets to walk free. Oh boy!"

"We never said she wouldn't receive punishment," Neph corrected, "She just wouldn't be killed."

"There is one thing. We could exile her," Lubbock hypothesized. There was a long silence that hung over the room. 'Plus, if we keep her indefinitely, I fear that Aye may be rash enough to stage her death. Wouldn't be the first time someone 'accidentally' killed themselves.'

"I mean, I guess that's not a bad idea," Amelia said carefully.

"What would be the alternative?" Neph asked. "I doubt any of us would want to imprison her permanently."

Lubbock looked at Aye, "What do you think?"

He took a deep breath. "Sure, whatever. I just want her far away from here."

"Alright," Neph flipped the page in front of him, "All for the expulsion of Ivy."

Everyone had their hand up.

"Four voting for, zero against, and one not applicable," Neph wrote. "Well, that settles that," he hollowed, getting up from his chair. "I'll inform her of our decision. She will have till midnight to leave. Does that sound reasonable?"

No one objected.