Chapter 12 Even Scores

As the two groups prepared for the spar, Sergeant Creed outlined the rules: no deadly attacks, and stop immediately when an opponent surrenders or is weakened.

The rules sounded encouraging to Sonic, but he just wished that Scarlett would obey them. The spar began with Gabriel Kael facing off against a boy from the other group named Henry Kason. 

Both students walked into the large open space for sparring. As soon as they stepped inside, a virtual ring popped up, surrounding them.

"Anyone who steps out of the virtual ring loses," Sergeant Creed announced, and the spar began.

Sonic already knew Gabriel's ability, but he couldn't say the same for his opponent, Henry.

Gabriel and Henry charged at each other for close combat before revealing their abilities. Henry threw the first attack, a swift punch towards Gabriel's stomach, but Gabriel was quick enough to block it. In return, Gabriel released a formidable kick at Henry's face.

Although Henry managed to block the attack, the force almost knocked him out of the virtual ring. He charged at Gabriel again, this time unleashing a series of strikes on his opponent. Some of the blows landed on Gabriel from different sides, causing his suit to start gleaming orange, indicating he was in pain.

"It seemed that Henry was more formidable in close combat than Gabriel. Just as Henry kept using the same tactic to attack Gabriel, the next thing everyone saw was an Earth spike coming out from Gabriel's arms. Before Henry could deflect the attack, Gabriel struck him on his stomach with the Earth spike, sending Henry flying into the air. The unexpected attack from Gabriel was too fast for Henry to use whatever ability he had. Just when everyone thought Henry was going to land outside the ring, he vanished from sight.

"Where is he?" 

"He was just in mid-air!" The students gasped in astonishment.

Soon, Gabriel felt a tap from behind, and when he swiftly turned around, he saw no one. At this point, Gabriel was standing at the edge of the virtual ring, and for no apparent reason, everyone saw Gabriel stumbling out from it. Just before the students could say anything, Henry appeared out of thin air. He was the one who had just pushed Gabriel out of the ring.

"Uh...!"

"Is he an invisibility user as well?"

"That's a nice ability to have." The students exclaimed, impressed by the fight between Henry and Gabriel.

Gabriel used Earth spikes to fight, which made the students believe that he was an Earth Manipulator and a level three student, judging from the number displayed on his watch. Well, probably, Henry was a higher level student considering how well he had fought.

At the end of the fight, Gabriel and Henry had something in common: both of their suits gleamed orange.

Next up for the spar was Finley Scott and a boy named Braxton Huxley, also an Earth Manipulator like Gabriel, but a level two student. 

They both entered the virtual ring, and Sergeant Creed called for the fight to begin immediately. Having already lost a fight, he hoped that Finley Scott and Sonic would win their rounds.

Little did he know that Sonic would be facing a more difficult opponent than Gabriel Kael.

Finley Scott, a Fire Manipulator with exceptional combat skills like Henry, was careful of falling prey to any surprise attacks from his opponent.

Without hesitation, both students revealed their abilities. Braxton quickly unleashed his power, causing Earth spikes to materialize out of thin air. These spikes were each the size of a fist, capable of knocking down an opponent if they struck vital spots.

Braxton launched more than five fist-sized Earth spikes at Finley Scott, who skillfully dodged every single one.

In response, Finley Scott conjured smoke from thin air. Despite being a Fire Manipulator, he preferred smoke instead of fire, keeping to the spar's rules not to use deadly attacks. But the truth was, everything about Fire Manipulation was deadly. However, in all the aspects of Fire Manipulation, smoke could be just as fatal.

The purpose of the smoke Finley scott was conjuring was to suffocate and distract his opponent, but the rest was up to him to knock him from the ring.

After generating the perfect amount of smoke, Finley Scott slammed it onto the floor. The smoke quickly overwhelm the entire ring, rendering Braxton unable to see his opponent or breathe properly.

As his vision blurred and he struggled for breath, Braxton blindly launched his fist-sized Earth spikes in all directions, hoping to hit Finley Scott. Yet, there was no sign of his opponent in any direction he aimed.

Even those outside the ring could no longer see what was going on inside due to the smoke, but that wasn't the case for Sonic. Luckily for him, Slayers were able to see in the dark, giving him a unique advantage.

Initially, all the students assumed the virtual ring was merely an illusion. However, they soon realized it was a boundary, containing the abilities of the students within it. The smoke conjured by Finley Scott remained confined, as did Braxton's fist-sized Earth spikes.

Sonic chuckled upon observing Finley Scott maneuvering behind Braxton, who continued to unleash Earth spikes in various directions. Confusion spread among the other students and sergeants, puzzled by Sonic's laughter despite being unable to witness the events within the ring. Moments later, Finley Scott successfully struck Braxton, knocking him out of the ring.

"Yes!!!!" cheered Sergeant Creed's team, celebrating their victory.

However, Sergeant Cressida didn't flinch a single second after her group lost a match.

Sergeant Cressida had a personality similar to Scarlett's. Both were beautiful and breathtaking, but their emotions were hard to read.

Once again, Finley Scott absorbed all the smoke back into his fist, just as he had conjured it. The atmosphere in the ring cleared, revealing Finley Scott standing there with his suit gleaming green. This confirmed that Braxton hadn't caused any damage to his opponent.

Since the scores were now even, it was up to Sonic and Scarlett to determine the final outcome of the challenge.