Who Is Bella Dolor?

The word 'big' is not enough to describe how big The Royal Academy of Eonia is. Even the word 'grand' may not be enough. The academy was twice the size of the palace where the current ruler lived. You can now imagine the sheer size of it!

When you stand outside the massive metal gate of the academy and look at the towering buildings above, you will feel exactly how ants feel looking at us humans.

This was the academy where young magicians aiming to enlist in the military studied and trained.

The academy was encircled by a fortress-like wall with layers upon layers of the highest possible level of barrier magic protecting it.

A boulevard with flowers and trees one has never seen before leads the way towards a large building that will make your mouth ajar in disbelief. There were many such buildings scattered around the academy which had their own uses. There was each a building for conducting theory classes, magical experiments, and so on. On the north of the academy was a large dining area and directly up east were the dorms. Students, for the period of their stay, had to live in the dorms mandatorily. And of course, the dorm was separated by gender.

Each one of the structures owned by the academy was massive but even among them, the training arena was an entirely different beast.

As the name implies, the training arena is used for practical combat lessons and also for mock battles. There was a large circular area at the center that was big enough to accommodate all fifteen hundred students at once with more than enough space to move their arms and legs. Same as the barrier used for protecting the school, there was a barrier circling the combat area so no magic spell or attack that went out of control could pose any threat to the audience. And talking about the audience, the arena had an upward spiraling circular stadium that could hold around ten thousand audiences at once.

And in that very training arena of the Royal Academy of Eonia, two figures were standing ten meters apart.

One was a girl, with long blue hair flowing elegantly down to her waist with a pair of red eyes. Another was a boy, of similar age. He had blonde hair with eyes the color of amber.

The two faced each other, sword raised and at the ready. Countless students had gathered to see the two of them square off in the circular stadium.

"Seems like it is going to be a spectacle again." The blonde-haired boy spoke throwing a glance back at the mass of people in the arena.

"It sure does. So make sure you keep up with me and don't disappoint the crowd, Walter." With a smirk, the girl replied.

"You sure are confident, eh, Celia," Walter replied with a smirk of his own.

"Quite your ramblings." The voice of the match overseer put a halt to their brief exchange. The two of them reverted back to their serious expression.

The match referee raised his hands above and then in one, fluid motion brought his hand down signaling the start of the match.

Immediately afterward, what the spectators saw was dust flying up, covering the entire arena. They couldn't see what was happening. They couldn't believe their eyes. There were very few among the spectators who were able to follow their movements. As for most of them, it was a feat they could never hope to achieve.

What could be seen when the dust settled down was Walter and Celia crossing their blades and putting as much effort as they can to push their opponent backward.

Walter, being a man, and also because of his rigorous physical training, outmatched Celia in terms of physical prowess. Soon, Celia was pushed back.

Realizing this, she quickly withdrew her sword, and applying wind magic to her feet she tried to get away from him. Walter knew what she was trying to do and pursued her immediately.

With his head leaning forward, he held his sword horizontally aiming at her flank. Just as he was about to get within hitting range, Celia thrust her index finger in front of him. A ball of fire materialized immediately and shot at a tremendous speed directly aiming at his face.

After the ball of fire was released, a small shock traveled around the arena. Such was the force behind Celia's attack. Anyone hit with that will surely suffer fatal injuries. But, Walter, at whom the fire was aimed, had come out unscathed.

He had ducked instantaneously and managed to avoid it by a hair's breadth. He didn't let that shock and stop him. If the opponent was someone like Celia, it was all expected.

Channeling magic in his sword, he swung his sword horizontally towards Celia. A yellow torrent of lightning coursed through the sword. With the boost obtained from using lightning magic, the speed of his sword increased. At this range, and at this point, there was no escaping this. She couldn't dodge it. The only choice left for Celia was to block his attack with her own sword and that was what Walter was aiming for. Whether she decides to block or parry his blow, her sword will have to come in contact with his. And no matter how short the contact was, the sword is made of metal, it was enough to course the lightning to her sword and that shock will make its way to her body. This will render her immobile and the match would be his.

As he had wished his sword made contact with hers and he channeled more magic through the sword.

But to his surprise, nothing happened.

"Huh?" He muttered.

The sword had definitely made contact with her sword. That meant the lightning bolt should have coursed through her body and knocked her out. But there she was. Walter couldn't believe it. A question mark was hovering in his mind and in front of him, Celia was still hovering in midair, with a daunting smile on her face as if she knew what he was thinking.

A moment after that wind was knocked out of his sails in the most literal sense.

While he was busy contemplating the reason why his idea hadn't worked, a torrent of wind was forming under his feet. As if thrown up into the sky by a spring, his body levitated in the air and he touched the ground spectacularly.

"That's it!" Announced the match referee who had been watching from the sidelines.

The audience erupted all at once. They started clapping and some were shouting at the top of their lungs. The match had been a spectacular show of what the two of them were capable of and the audience had enjoyed every moment of it. Many in the audience felt like they had learned a lot from the battle. And they actually had.

Drowning in their cheers, Celia sheathed her sword and approached the now fallen boy. She extended her hand towards him.

With a smile that seemed he had accepted his defeat, he reached his hand towards her and made contact with her hand but he wasn't able to hold on to it.

"Hmm?" He tried to grip it again but to no avail. He then looked closely at her hand. He could see that there was a layer of wind magic covering her hands.

"Do you get it now?" Celia asked.

That's when it all clicked to him. "I see." He slapped her hands away and got up.

"So you had your swords wrapped with wind magic."

"Excellent! Ten out of ten!" Celia spoke like a teacher complimenting her student.

When Walter felt like his sword had made contact with Celia's sword, it actually hadn't. Celia had wrapped her sword in a thin but condensed and strong film of wind, enough to resist the lightning that he was trying to course through her sword. Since the film was very thin, Walter, in the midst of battle failed to notice it. The feeling of his sword making contact with her sword was probably the resistance offered by the film of wind.

"Damn, that's another loss." He said as he returned his sword to the sheath.

"Better luck next time." Teased Celia, with a beaming smile on her face. Seeing that smile drained all the tension of battle from his body. He felt refreshed.

"How can you be so sharp in the midst of a battle?" He asked as they were walking towards their classroom.

Looking towards the distant mountain from the passageway, Celia spoke, "As a girl, you might feel like you are at a disadvantage against male opponents but it doesn't mean you can't win. Use your wits. This thing up here is the greatest asset in a fight. Combine your physical prowess with your brain and you can win in any situation." Celia said, pointing her finger at her brain.

"That's true," Walter said. Then pausing to look at Celia, he continued. "Though I can't believe that someone as daft as a brush like you can come up with that."

"Hey!" She immediately retorted and jabbed at his flank. "Although it's true that I didn't come up with that, it still is harsh don't you think?"

"Yes. I know. Sorry." He controlled his laughter and they resumed walking.

"So." While walking side by side, Walter turned to her. "Who taught you that anyway?" He asked as he was curious. It was nothing more but a question to have a simple conversation with her. But, he didn't know that he had made a blunder.

In an unexpectedly hoarse and sad voice, Celia answered, "Bella."

As if someone had frozen time, Walter stopped dead in his tracks.

He looked at her face. The girl who had been smiling moments ago looked like she could cry any moment. He internally cursed his self from a mere moments ago to have asked such a cruel question.

He slowly pulled her closer and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry." He said.

"No, it's not your fault. I am okay." Her voice was meek. She was trying to break free from his clutches but Walter increased the force behind his hold. "No, you are not." And Walter knew that she was actually not okay. She was just trying to act strong.

Celia, then hugged him back, her face buried in his chest. A warm liquid was staining his uniform but Walter didn't care about that. He didn't move an inch nor did she move.

Celia was crying. Walter could do nothing but hold her tight. He couldn't even imagine the pain she was going through right now. All sorts of conflicted emotions were swirling in Celias' heart.

While looking at the setting sun in the far distance, he gently patted her head.

The two of them stayed that way for a long, long time.

During that long time, Walters' thoughts wandered to the name Bella.

Bella Dolor.

There was not a single person who didn't know that name, whether they may be a child or an old man on the verge of dying. There was not a single person who hadn't heard how beautiful she was. There was not a single person who hadn't heard tales of her brilliance. She was a prodigy.

And there was also not a single soul who hadn't heard how horribly and brutally she was killed by the one she loved and cherished the most.