Overboard

Sebastian gasped for breath. They weren't focusing on his face but rather, his stomach. He couldn't breathe properly as all of the air in his lungs are expelled with each hit.

Amy was trembling in despair while his other three friends were racked with helplessness, they wanted to help but couldn't. Although treatment like this would irk displeasure among the instructors, none of those present looked as if they had noticed.

It's plain to see that they had been bribed beforehand by Gilbert. There weren't many instructors present, and Lyons wasn't part of those here today. Sebastian had no ally among the instructors and Amy couldn't change their mind with her current state of madness.

Freddie clenched his teeth and took out small metal rods from small cylindrical containers on the side of his pants. He didn't want to use them if it was possible but the wooden blocks were destroyed and the pebbles couldn't do much damage even if they were going at high speed.

He inserted the metal rods between the gaps of his fingers and threw them out. The pebbles that were flying around fell to the floor and the metal rods arrived. He targeted the one who could use wind, Finn from Gilbert's group.

Finn saw the rods on his way and created a gust of wind but the rods were too heavy. His eyes widened as the rods hit him in the shoulders and then the abdomen.

James had been freed of one enemy. His body once more started emitting mist and he slipped through the two opponents he was left with.

"Where is he?!" one of them shouted. "Finn, vision!"

"Finn is down!" the other one responded.

James couldn't keep the mist on while his body was out of it. And so, once he left the mist, it quickly began dispersing and the two caught sight of him again. Fortunately, their innate abilities couldn't help them catch James.

"Sebastian!" James shouted and he was once again covered in mist. He wasn't that far from Sebastian's position and soon, he was only ten or so meters away. He planned to use the mist to take Sebastian away.

But before James could implement his plan, the ground suddenly began to break apart forcing James to stop. Roots slipped out of the cracks and then grew into plants which then tied down James.

"Agh!" no matter how much James tried to move, the plants and vines stuck to him tightly. Emitting more mist wouldn't do anything as he was already trapped. If he stood still, then the mist would've spread around the area but because he was running, only a few square meters of the area around him was covered at a time.

His mist wasn't as thick as fog, they just had mystical properties to obstruct sight. In the end, it wasn't him that turned to mist.

Once James' opponents were free, the pressure on the three left increased even more. Willow was sweating and his vision was swaying. His blue flames weren't meant to be used for a long period of time.

He waved his hand and a sphere of blue flame surrounded him. He dropped down to the floor on both knees and tried to catch his breath. Freddie was already suppressed with his stomach laid down on the floor. He wasn't a close-range fighter nor could he use his ability without his hands.

Willow would soon be suppressed, Amy is the only one left who could fight. Unlike the others, she was far more desperate and she used more and more power by the second.

"Sebastian!" tears were forming in the corners of her eyes as she shouted. Gilbert was having trouble keeping her at bay and was slowly being pushed back. The House of Luna's ability was versatile, the wielder could use their mind and imagination to form what they want with light.

Amy used more energy and stomped her feet. A ring of light floated around her and then expanded to push Gilbert and the rest of the ones assaulting her away. She then created boots of light and broke the floor as she leaped to Sebastian's side.

"Stop her!" Gilbert shouted. The groups who were suppressing Freddie and Willow split up and shot attacks into the air. Fireballs, spikes of earth, pellets of wind, droplets of water, a variety of attacks stopped Amy in the air and she was forced to cover herself in a barrier of light.

She descended to the floor where she began fighting once again. With each second that passed, Sebastian's body became more tattered and his mind had gone hazy due to the pain. But, he understood that his decision to part with his group wasn't taken well.

"They should've just left me..." Sebastian thought to himself. He was losing consciousness and only held on to see his comrades safe but after seeing them suppressed, he had no more willpower left. His eyelids slowly closed and his vision faded into darkness.

"Sebastian!" this time, it wasn't a desperate cry or a voice filled with anger, it was grief-stricken. Amy was crying as she tried everything she could to get closer to Sebastian but that only prompted his assaulters to attack faster.

Sebastian's eyes abruptly opened and he saw Amy approaching him. His senses became numb to the pain and his vision turned monochrome. The only exception was Amy. In his eyes she was the only one in color. Her beautiful face had tears streaming down and he felt pangs of pain in his heart.

Everything besides Amy was a blur, he could only see her. And, seeing her like this wasn't something he wanted.

"I... want power." the final hesitation in his heart was erased. Although he said that he would use the stigma in words, his heart still had doubts about the stigma and what using it entailed.

"Then, I shall grant it to you," an ancient voice responded. Back in Sebastian's dorm room, the old book trembled and shot out into the sky in a beam of light. Nobody noticed it as it flew towards the court and to Sebastian.

BOOM

The ones assaulting Sebastian were blown away and Sebastian himself was knocked back. His body skipped on the floor several times and he crashed into the wall.

"AGHHH!" Sebastian cried out in pain as he crouched down.

Everybody assumed that the pain came from the attack but only he knew that the pain he felt was the stigma searing into his skin. His left hand was burning that he felt as if branding iron were being pressed down on it.

The pain was many times more than what he had experienced before, words couldn't even begin to describe it. It only lasted for about half a minute but Sebastian felt as if it lasted for hours.

Right after the pain subsided, his body was drenched in sweat and he plopped down onto the floor. The instructors that turned a blind eye to his beating couldn't afford to do so anymore and moved to help him. They turned his body over and began checking for injuries.

The ones who assaulted him looked at one another and began to accuse each other nervously, "w-who did that?! We agreed that we weren't allowed to use abilities!"

"Whoever did it, get out here!"

"Yeah, show yourself!"

They began quarreling. The amount of power contained in the attack that hit Sebastian was evidently something that couldn't be done in the short-term, it had long since been prepared.

Gilbert was speechless and he felt as if the ones under him were fools. He was just about to berate them but his words were stuck in his throat as he felt an unbelievable chill. His entire body trembled as he looked at the source. There, Amy was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, the amount of energy she was emitting was leagues ahead of what she had used before.

"You...! You...!" she was trembling in anger as her energy kept on soaring. "YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR!" Amy shouted and her black hair turned to a mix of white and silver with her eyes matching the same color.

Her shadow rose up and formed black wings on her back as she shot out towards Gilbert.

"Stop!" the instructors shouted and immediately moved to interfere. They could feel the bloodthirst that Amy was emitting, if they don't stop her then she might even move to kill.

One of the instructors, a man from the Walt House stepped forward and his stature grew. He blocked Amy's path and a shockwave was the result of their clash.

"Stand down! Do you intend to murder another student?!" the man from the Walt House shouted.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Amy didn't care about her position nor did she care about the teacher in front of her, right now, all she wants is to tear Gilbert apart.

"Amy..." a weak voice suddenly jolted Amy's senses. Her silver eyes and hair returned to black and she quickly headed over to Sebastian. The instructor she had faced off against didn't do anything to her as she walked away but he had an unsightly expression on his face.

"Sebastian! Sebastian!" she called out repeatedly while crying. "You were hurt because I couldn't protect you... waaa!" she leaned down on Sebastian and began sobbing on his chest.

Sebastian placed his hand on top of Amy's head though he struggled to do so, "I'm fine..." he told her as he began stroking her head.

With that, his body couldn't take it anymore and his consciousness faded.

...

Sebastian didn't know how long he had closed his eyes for but when he finally opened them, what he saw was the ceiling of his bedroom at his mother's home.

He raised his left hand because he felt that he couldn't move the other and there he saw the stigma branded into his hand. His eyes widened abruptly and he tried to stand up.

However, before he could even try to sit up, he heard a moan right beside him and he couldn't help but turn his eyes towards the unexpected noise.

Sure enough, there was a person hugging him. Sebastian's arm was buried in Amy's bosom. It wasn't too large but neither was it too small, Sebastian judged it to be just right. He quickly shook his head to clear out his thoughts and began waking up Amy.

Just as he stretched his left hand towards her, he saw the stigma again and froze. Could it be that everyone had seen it? He didn't have time to check because of the pain but he knew he had his gloves on to the end.

He tried slipping out of Amy's grasp but she held on tightly and even furrowed her brows in her sleep all the while muttering, "Sebastian, please don't leave me..."

"Is she having a nightmare?" Sebastian speculated while looking at her pale face. He had already known before but now that he looked at her this close, Amy really is attractive. Her face had a charm to it that you wouldn't find on someone overly beautiful but it was more than enough to distinguish her from the masses.

He hesitated. He didn't want Amy to find out about the stigma but if his gloves had really been removed at the school, then it was too late. Although nobody might know what the mark was, one day, it would be revealed and on that day, he'd have the entire world as his enemy.

He reached out to her face and began stroking her. Her nightmares had obviously calmed down as her face and grip were starting to loosen. Sebastian pried his arm out and quickly took out a glove from a drawer. He didn't cover the hand on the right, just the left.

He didn't wake her. Instead, he set her on the bed properly and sat down on a chair next to the bed. His right hand held Amy's hands while his left held a small pocket book he had taken from the desk on the bedside.

"If only... days could pass like this forever..." Sebastian muttered to himself. It wasn't until noon passed did Amy awoken.

"Sebastian...?" Amy looked at Sebastian's face from the bed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."