It all starts now!

"Where is Isaac?!"

The announcer repeated, his tone increasing in volume as he fell into a slight panic.

Murmurs that slowly increased into chatter filled the Coliseum as not long after, a few members of the audience started to feel restless.

"What's going on?!"

"Give us the fight we came for!"

"This is a scam! I want my money back!"

The announcer rapidly darted his head toward the rest of the staff, hoping for an answer.

"Master Jett, you're in the same class as this boy, aren't you? Where is he?" The announcer whispered to Jett as the boy shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since yesterday." Jett replied.

Meanwhile, in the VIP section…

"What's the meaning of this, Harrison? Where's your fighter?" Chamberlain snapped his head toward Harrison as he spoke in a heavy tone.

Although Harrison seemed unthreatened, he, too, tried his best to make sense of the situation.

"I have no idea. Last I heard, the boy was in his locker room." Harrison pressed a few buttons on his Swatch, trying his best to find out what was going on.

"First, you have my Grandson face an F-rank, and now you pull something like this?" Chamberlain grew more irritated by the second.

"What benefit do I have in pulling a stunt like this?" Harrison retorted, meeting Chamberlain's eyes as they glared at each other for a second.

However, as this all happened, the audience became visibly more impatient as the whispers grew louder.

"I heard he's an F-Rank."

A soft and almost seductive voice behind a group of viewers spoke, but when they looked back, they were met with others minding their own business.

"Who said that?"

"But more importantly, is that true? He's an F-rank?"

"Who's an F-rank?"

"Wanderer Isaac."

"What?! That can't be true?"

"What can't be true?"

In a matter of seconds, that small information started to spread like wildfire as gasps of shock could be heard in the stands.

Meanwhile, a black cat could be seen leisurely hopping into the hallway entrance to the seating area, its lips curled upwards.

[It's done.]

"Where do you think he's gone?" Cain asked as most of the others shrugged their shoulders.

"Wait, don't tell me he's run away." Amara snorted as she placed her hand on her mouth in an attempt to hold her laughter but to no avail.

"It seems highly unlikely. Why would he cower at the last second? Even after he's explained to us that he has nothing to lose in this battle." Lucy added, speaking as the logical individual in all this.

"Well, it's to be expected. He was going up against a member of the Golden Six. Right, Ava…Ava?"

Heather fell into her usual rant as she turned her head to hear the opinion of her best friend, but was surprised to find Ava daydreaming with a straight face as she stared at the stage.

"Ava!" Heather raised her voice once more as she nudged Ava.

Ava blinked, turning her head as her typical innocent expression returned to her face.

"Huh, what?" Ava blurted out, seeing Heather's concerned look.

"Are you okay?"

"Ava, is something wrong?" Amara chimed in, showing a rare compassionate side to her.

Ava nodded with a smile.

"I'm fine. What were you guys talking about?"

Heather paused.

"Um, the F-Ranker who bailed on the Final Battle…Oh, someone is walking on the stage." Heather, seeming as though she was allergic to saying Isaac's name, pointed as she raised her voice.

The group and the rest of the audience looked toward the stage, seeing a figure walk onto it.

"Wait a minute…isn't that…" Ava squinted her eyes as the others seemed to notice this too.

"Eli?"

On the stage, Jett noticed the figure walking toward him, recognising him immediately.

"What's going on?" Jett asked, to which Eli halted in his position, his hair falling to his shoulders and his chiselled face seeming determined.

"I will be fighting you."

Upon Eli saying this, the announcer and Jett paused, unsure of what to make of the situation.

The nearby audience that was able to pick up his words also seemed bewildered.

"What did he say?"

"He's going to be fighting Jett?"

"Has there been a change of plans?"

Once again, the news spread as the crowd grew more restless.

"That's not happening, kid. Who let you on here?" The announcer asked, shutting down Eli's proposal instantly.

However, Eli remained unmoving. Instead, he thought back to a few minutes prior.

"When Isaac doesn't show, you will take his place. You won't have a lot of time, so go all out from the start. Show everyone what you've got."

These were the words the figure had whispered to Eli in the dark hallway.

At the time, he didn't know what it meant, but it seemed as though everything was falling into place.

He didn't know who, why or how, nor did he care.

His mind was a mess and he was trying his best to control his overwhelming emotions.

But he did know one thing.

This was his only chance. His last chance.

"Kid, get off the stage…"

Before the announcer could finish, he was cut off by an unknown figure in the crowd.

"Let him fight!"

Silence enveloped the coliseum as the audience turned and searched for who the voice belonged to, but found no one.

The announcer put on a forced smile as he brought the microphone to his lips.

"Well you see, we can't just…"

"Yeah, let him fight!"

Another voice rang out; however, this time, the owner of the voice could be seen standing from his seat and waving his fist in the air.

"He's right. We don't want to see a lousy F-rank. Give us a battle worth our money!"

"Let him fight"

Slowly, the crowd started to become riled up as not long after, chants could be heard.

"Let him fight!"

The audience yelled.

The announcer sweated profusely, turning his head back and forth to look for any support.

It wasn't until he looked up to the VIP section, his eyes meeting with Grandmaster Hale that he was answered.

"Give the people what they want, Chamberlain. You can't afford to lose any more face than you already have."

Harrison spoke as if he were a devil on Chamberlain's shoulder. The ginger bald man found a way out, nudging the old man to save them both.

Reluctantly, Grandmaster Hale raised his hand. As he did, the ruckus in the Coliseum suddenly came to a halt, the chants dying down and the area soon coming to a still silence.

Breathing out, Chamberlain moved his lips.

"Let him fight."

A pause enveloped the coliseum.

"Yeah!"

The audience roared as their previous enthusiasm seemingly returned and a small smirk could be seen on Eli's face.

The announcer paused for a second, soon nodding.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Eli Hawk Vs Jett Hale!" The announcer seemed as though his confidence returned as he once again filled the audience with excitement.

The announcer soon walked off the stage, passing a man in a black and white striped shirt and cap.

The two fighters took their positions, getting into their stances as the man who seemed to be the referee stood between them.

His mediocre features were nothing notable, befitting a side character who wasn't very important, the only thing seeming interesting being the scar traced upon his left cheek.

'My lord, he's not here.' The referee thought in his mind, though he seemed as though he was talking to someone rather than himself.

"You did the right thing, Chamberlain…"

During all this, before Harrison could finish consoling Grandmaster Hale, the old man hissed at him.

"You be quiet. This is all your fault for making a mockery of this competition. An F-ranker." Chamberlain scoffed.

"As for the boy…he will compensate me for this embarrassment."

The air suddenly turned thick as a dark Aura oozed out from Harrison.

"You're angry, Chamberlain. You don't know what you're saying. Where do you get off on threatening one of my students before me?"

Chamberlain clicked his teeth.

"I'm the least of that boy's worries. For pulling such a stunt, he will be known by everyone in Spawn. Including those who aren't too pleased with being misled."

The aura seemed to lessen as Harrison appeared more relaxed.

"That is none of your concern."

Harrison replied as the two went on to sit in a deafening silence.

Meanwhile…

"Alright, I've had enough of this. Lucy." Cain turned to Lucy as she nodded, already one step ahead.

Ava and Amara also listened in as Heather seemed to be concentrating on the handsome boy who was now fighting Jett.

Lucy closed her eyes, concentrating as she went silent for a few seconds.

"It seems everyone in our class, all the first years and even the teachers but Daniel are inside the Coliseum…wait."

Lucy seemed as though she noticed something as her eyebrow twitched.

"What? What is it?" Cain asked, the others wondering the same.

"It's nothing. It's just…what's he doing all the way out there?"

***

In the deep forest, where even the animals and bugs didn't seem to reach, a single figure could be seen standing in the middle of countless trees.

His bald head, floral shirt and shorts paired well with his sandals, befitting a man setting out on a cruise or holiday.

"What do you mean he's not there? Then find him. He's an F-ranker, it shouldn't be hard!"

Xavier yelled with no regard for his surroundings, seeing as though he was nowhere near the city.

Despite this, Xavier paused, his face that had been contorted in anger relaxing as he slowly raised his head.

Turning around, a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face as he stared in a specific direction.

"Hello." He spoke in a calm and unnerving tone.

-RUSTLE

-RUSTLE

"Congratulations. You're the first person to notice me while I was a Ghost."

Stepping out from the thick vegetation, one hand placed on a nearby tree for balance while the other holding onto a small device, a boy with long, black and unkempt hair, dancing on his foreheads, the darkness of his hair bringing out the allure and brightness in his amber eyes, a boy could be seen stepping out of the forest and into the light.

Xavier's lips twitched a little as he stared silently.

"I gotta say, Hall. For a blind man, you sure are hard to track down."

Isaac grinned widely as he stepped out of the bushes, coming to a halt as the item he was holding became more apparent.

It was…a compass.

A compass pointing straight toward Xavier.

"So are you, Isaac. Tell me, are you here to reconsider my offer?" Xavier's facade never seemed to falter as he continued to speak.

"Yeah. I don't think I expressed myself well enough. I didn't say what I truly felt." Isaac tucked away the compass under his school uniform as his face slightly darkened.

"Oh?" Xavier's interest was piqued for a second as he was intrigued by what was to come.

"Have you decided to…"

"What I really wanted to say…"

Isaac raised his head, a grin that went from ear to ear painted across his face as his sharp teeth made his demeanour all the more devious.

Raising his hand, his middle finger stretched out.

"...Was go fuck yourself, asshole!"

A vein bulged on Xavier's forehead.

For once, Isaac had caught a glimpse of the mask flattering, crumbling before him.

"Then so be it."

Xavier removed his hands from his pockets.

Isaac bent his legs, prepared while the grin never left his face.

In truth, he was terrified…no, he was excited.

His heart pounded as his legs and hands shook uncontrollably.

This feeling.

It was not new to him.

The urge to…fight.

Where his logical mind would have rejected this… the rest of him did the opposite.

He liked it.

He embraced it.

It was a chance…

'To be better.'

Isaac breathed out.

One month ago, he was a different person. Unprepared and weak.

But now…well, it didn't matter what he was now.

Because whether he liked it or not…

'It all starts now!'

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Next chapter title: He's a Monster!

NNext chapter title: Kitsune's Pall [1]

I'm not really at 100 chapters yet, since I've done a few extra chapters offers, but I'm pretty sure there's 2 or 3 left.

When that time comes, I won't forget to celebrate it (Fancy talk for hella extra chapters)

But if you can't wait, check out the patreon where we are well over the 100 chap mark.

patreon.com/JustMYSTERY

And as usual...

POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

madk.aaml