Ch. 9- Flood But Karma

Shaking furiously, Kane stood up and shouted, “What? You want me to fight that bitch?”

“You heard that right, boy. Now how about you get to the field already,” said Mr. Lee casually, looking up the rankings again.

“But I don’t understand. Is it because I’m in the lower ranks that I can’t win against her?” asked John calmly, leaning back and folding his arms.

“No. I’m confident you’ve improved much since last year, John. But I’m afraid your aura signals seem to be alarming. I get the feeling you’ll crush her to death,”

Everyone looked suspiciously at John, and some of them inhaled in disbelief.

“Are you for real!?” stomped the ground Elosva, rising up with clasped hands and screeching teeth. “No damn way that weakling could surpass me. Not even an inch,”

That asshole. What’s he planning? thought Alex with an angry expression and narrowed eyes while staring along at his brother.

“What? Are they high or something?” asked John, looking at everyone with surprise.

“It’s just that you have abnormal strength now. You must’ve trained real hard.” said Mr. Lee.

“Sure I did, hmph.” He said wholeheartedly with a satisfied smirk.

Alex’s temper was dangerously escalating. He locked his teeth again in fury.

Those three—Kane, Alex and Elosva—had eyes on him, with complete suspicion, while he sat with his oblivious smile, unaware that he was more of a target now for the delinquents—not because he’s stronger, but for letting the secret nearly slip away.

The more he became happy about it, the more it got suspicious. He was better off feeling weirded like the rest than being arrogant. That’s because everyone knew how lazy he was, and how he hated training.

So Mr. Lee was about to find out. Shit. We should definitely let that geek own up for what he shows, otherwise, we get exposed. thought Kane with his bare teeth, sprinkling calcium.

Kane and Elosva were declared the next two opponents instead, with both being at 19th and 21st places respectively. Only the one who won would have the privilege to fight John, who was ten ranks lower than them.

Facing off at the field with a mile apart in between them, the two got ready.

In order for his long and messy dark-blue hair to not distract him during the fight or obscure his vision, Kane gathered the thin and curly strands up behind his head and tied it up with a white ribbon he had hidden in his pocket. He usually doesn’t like doing it because he thinks it makes him more handsome and edgy.

Elosva on the other hand liked her hair covering half of her face.

As some strands of hair flailed on his forehead, Kane widened his legs and focused his aura in his hands. He stretched his arms wide and summoned, “Kronix weapon form, Dark Stalker!”

The embodiment of shadows. A silver bladed katana with a black handle that has fangs stuck around its bottom and a thick dark line painted on the steel surface, spiraling to the tip.

It materialized in blue light, and he grabbed the hilt, giving it a couple test swings.

Meanwhile, Elosva formed a torrent that was running around her, raising her hands to the air and swishing it down for the tides to form.

The moment Mr. Lee ended the signal, Kane thrust his blade into the ground. A cluster of slithering shadowy figures collected around him and his sword, as if a giant ball of snakes was above them, except there wasn’t.

A circle of darkness formed before splitting into many small lines of shadow, running through the ground at a staggering speed until it reached Elosva.

Gaping at it with a horrified face, Elosva immediately blinked and shouted, “Water mouth, activate!”

Her enormous wave came before the snake shadows and swallowed them in its rushing water.

That was obviously useless, considering shadows flow just as easy with or without water.

They gathered behind her back while she focused on her magic, and swiftly spiraled around her legs, pulling them back and dropping her on her face with a thud that vibrated and jumped her skull up and down.

She plucked out her face from the dirt, all bruised and with a bleeding nose. Coughing dust, she narrowed her sandy eyes at what seemed like her tides flooding back to her fast, showering her for a good ten to twenty seconds.

Before she could take another breath, Kane turned to lightning and reappeared in front of her wet face, pulling back his leg and kicking her jaw to oblivion.

Her shocked look didn’t ease his temper, and he gave her back a merciless and apathetic face to make her heart thump in terror.

As blood flew off her mouth and nose, and eyes froze open, she realized that karma was and always will be a bitch.

She fell to the ground, quaking upon impact while he advanced slowly. The shadow lines wrapped around her body like black bandages almost mummifying her. As it reached and strangled her neck, she resisted but to no avail.

Finally, she admitted defeat out loud the moment they touched her cheeks, “I-I give up! Please!”

“Pfft. What a coward.” chuckled Kane with a smirk, “How the hell did Larry lose to you?”

“Mmmhmmm!” she screamed in a muffled voice through the shadows wrapping her mouth shut, her eyes wide open.

“That’s enough, Kane.” said Mr. Lee through the megaphone.

“Tsk. Would’ve enjoyed turning you to a mummy, arrogant bitch,” he said, snapping his fingers for the shadows to halt and retreat to the sword pierced to the ground a mile away.

Right after that, the Dark Stalker shone and dissipated into the air.

Elosva sat up, wiping the blood off her mouth and glaring at Kane with detestation.

He spun around with a cold expression, before forming into sparks and materializing by the stadium stand.

She rose up and staggered a bit, while two of her friends came rushing in lightning bolts.

“Hey. You alright?” said one of them carrying her by the shoulder, while the other went to the opposite side.

Elosva coughed, “Y-Yes. I am,”

They walked her to the infirmary as Mr. Lee turned around and faced the students again. He changed the rankings, putting Kane at 15th and Elosva down to 25th.

Kane ascended the stairs, looking at John before taking a seat behind him, “Yo. Get ready, because I’ll crush you,”

John gave him a narrow glare, “So! You want to prove it to them, huh?”

Kane paused, “Yes. That you’re still a weakling,”

“I know what you’re scheming. Just to let him think that my strength hasn’t improved. Basically, to save your asses,”

Kane’s eyes widened in fury. He came closer to John and muttered to his ear, “Shut the hell up, you prick. Better not expose us,”

John gave him a confused look the moment he leaned back. “Laceen. You gotta chill bro. Nothing’s gonna happen,”

“Yeah, to you. Heh,” he grinned, before glowering again, “But not to us,” he resumed to the back and sat in his seat.

“Hey, Kane!” called Larry quietly two seats away.

Kane turned his complacent face to him, “Yeah. What do you want?” he said in boredom.

“Thanks for avenging me. You’re really awesome, and looked so handsome with your hair tied up,” Larry giggled and blushed.

He facepalmed in embarrassment. “Ugh. Spare me the fucking gay flattery, Larry, can you? Please?” he said with an irritated expression.

The delinquents in between them were laughing quietly, until he revealed his deadly glare to them, and they stopped almost immediately, fearing for their lives.

Larry lowered his sad face, then looked at him with a humble smile, “Heh. I’m sorry. I-I guess I went too far, huh?”

“Yeah. Whatever,” Kane twirled his head away in disinterest.

“Kane and John...You boys are next,” announced Mr. Lee.

The two stood up and went down the stairs. They headed to the field in lightning sparks, each to their positions.

“So...Ready? Set...Go!” said Mr. Lee through the megaphone.

Both of them summoned their katanas at the same time, then ran straight against each other.

When they reached, their blades collided. They repelled and attacked again, until they halted and gasped in weariness.

John was still slower than Kane, but he had scanned multiple weapons before, including a legendary weapon, which could give him an advantage over Kane’s DarkStalker—an epic ranked weapon.

However, he refused to summon it as it would only serve to drain a lot of his energy.

And besides, he didn’t want to reveal that he had lots of energy due to the threat he received from Kane. He wasn’t exactly intimidated by him—or so he would claim.