18 The Price of Failure

"How do you know?"

Words were spoken and the trap was closed. Midgard's face lit up with a broad smile. While the young boy was trembling with anguish, she opened her arms wide.

"After so long…"

"W-who are you? How do you know?!"

Ignoring his words, she moved closer to him.

"You have no idea, how long I've been looking for you…"

"Stay away!... Stay away from me!... You...You...ARGH!"

Suddenly, he fell to his knees holding his head, a red glint in his eyes.

"Wait wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry-AAaarght!!

The young man's body was enveloped in a vibrant red and orange aura, which gracefully danced around him. Midgard paused, her expression filled with tenderness as she observed the mesmerizing sight before her.

Gradually, the swirling aura began to diminish, and the young man once again fell into silence, kneeling on the ground. In front of him, the young woman knelt down and gently cupped his cheeks with her hands.

"Are you okay? Can you st-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Dora grabbed her arms with a red glint in his eyes.

"Stupid! Stupid! You're really stupid!!! That's why we never call you out, you idiot! This is the last time I'll let you out!"

He shoved the woman in front of him aside and marched furiously towards the wall, coming to a halt before turning to glance at her once more. She simply grinned, almost seeming to taunt him, fully aware that she had the upper hand.

"Ah, I feel a sudden increase in your energy, compared to earlier."

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Hm, how ironic, shouldn't I be the one asking that? How interesting, I have seen endless things but you are the most unusual case I have ever met. So there's a lot of people in you, isn't it?"

The next second, Dora had her pinned against the wall, his hand on her throat.

"This is your final warning, WHO ARE YOU?"

She gently grabbed his arm, with the wickest smile ever seen.

"Calm down, we can't have a real conversation with such a small window of time... But don't worry, we'll have all the time in the world once the ceremony is over... After so long..."

She stroked his cheek again and whispered.

"I was looking for a diamond but I found platinum. I will never let you go, my little toy."

Before he could respond, the locker room door opened. Hope came running and accidentally bumped into him, causing them to fall.

"Ouch… Sorry miss… Oh! There you are!"

The red glint disappeared from Dora's eyes, replaced by an orange spark.

"Who is Miss? You piece of shit."

"No, YOU are a piece of shit! What was that?! How did you lose like that??

"Oh! I don't have time for this right now, Move!"

Dora looked at Midgard but only found a void where she should be, the woman was gone.

"Damn it…"

He got up, Hope was still barking and soon Thomas and Barron came out too. The first looked at him with distinct disdain.

"You… Why did you join the Academy? There's no way someone like Lady Elizabeth would recommend you for no reason. Why are you so weak?"

He tried to forget about the damn woman and play the last part of his little game.

"I… I don't know… Maybe she just recommended me because I'm Hope's best friend…"

"What the fuck man!? Why are you lying? You are stronger than that, Thomas, could he pass the test again?? Something weird must have happened."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Barron walked past them and bumped into Dora. "That's why I can't accept that they've accepted peasants… This is not your playground, the weak have no rights and no complaints here, do you hear? Do you think we will give you our precious time? Know your place, idiots!"

He headed towards the battlefield again but stopped abruptly.

"Don't ever come near me again, If I have to fight against you again, I will crush you. I can't believe they made me travel for a fool."

Dora looked at him with a small smile and blood boiling in his veins.

"Don't worry, mark my words: after today, you will never see my weakness again."

Thomas trailed behind them and motioned for them to come along. They proceeded through the tunnel and returned to the battlefield, where the students welcomed them with cheers before switching back to jeers upon Dora's arrival. It was a pitiful scene, as the Avatar title shield was dropped, the true nature of the bourgeoisie was exposed.

"Get out of here, beggar!"

"Avatars are really overrated."

"Why is he allowed to join our classes? I'm going to complain to the direction!"

Praise for Hope and Barron's performance had been replaced by a hunger to destroy the only vulnerable target, a wonderful world. The examiner waved his hand for silence and raised his crystal ball.

"I received the deliberations of the bar of the academy. After evaluating your abilities, your future assignment has been designated as follows: Hope Balder, rank rating, E-rank, potential rating, D-rank, affiliation: class D. You will be under the supervision of the Vice President of the Student Council, Thomas Villeneuve."

 Thomas placed his hand on his face in frustration while Hope emitted a soft sigh of disappointment.

"Next Candidate: Cid Barron, Rank Rating, D, Potential Rating… B-rank."

Numerous individuals in the audience began speaking loudly. As soon as he stepped into the arena, it became evident to all that a major situation was about to unfold, surpassing all expectations.

"Affiliation, Class C, this is an exceptional situation, You were originally supposed to be directly under the supervision of a teacher, but we received a surprising request, from someone who volunteered to be your guardian, so from now on, you will be supervised by the student council president, Iris Avalon."

Several exclamations rang out in the stands, the announcement of the choice of the most beautiful and strongest girl in the academy, the very one who came closest to the legendary heroine, as tutor of the exam prodigy entry. This was simply the most perfect combo imaginable.

"Damn... Iris? Why??"

"She...She volunteered? She asked that herself?!"

"I'm so jealous…"

"Hey guys, Maybe we've been too nice with this guy..."

The reactions were mixed, some were euphoric about the formation of this duo, others were sulky, disgusted to know that Iris would spend time with Barron.

The boy readjusted his hairstyle, completely disinterested in the situation, while Iris left her seat, a phone in her hand.

"I can't believe you did that... This Cid looks very problematic..."

"It's normal, he's in a league above everyone, you can't expect him to be all sugar and kisses. I can't wait to train with him!"

"Shouldn't we wait? The ceremony is still ongoing..."

"Why? The rest is not important, let's go."

They left just like that, not even noticing the return of the insults and booing from the public as soon as the examiner reintroduced the last candidate.

"Candidate Anesidora Carper, rank rating, E-rank, potential rating... E-rank, affiliation: class E."

A thunder of insults rained down on Dora, he raised his head, smile on my lips, to admire these people whose hearts were united in a single emotion.

Hope was shaking as he stared at the ground and Barron was tapping his foot.

"This is also a special case, we weren't expecting one of you to... Show this kind of performance, so after deliberation, you must be assigned to a student from one of the E classes. We will do some interviews to find someone to monitor you, within this week."

The insults mixed with bursts of laughter, the show had surely exceeded the expectations of the best circus in the world.

After the results, the examiner announced the end of the exam and little by little, the students left the arena.

Dora, Hope, and Barron remained the only ones in front of the building. Since the results were revealed, Hope had not uttered a single word. Dora looked at him briefly before tossing a bottle into the ocean.

"Ho~pipi? What's going on? Is your voice playing hide and seek?"

He didn't answer, usually, this kind of thing would tickle him but maybe this time the damage was too big.

"Come on, it's not even night and I haven't heard your voice, I'm worried... Hello? Is there someone in this body?"

"Idiot."

"Hm? So there's a life!"

He just turned towards Barron and pointed his fist at him.

"I recognize your victory today, I recognize that I've terribly underestimated you, but write this somewhere: I'm going to surpass you. From now on, you are my rival, so watch your back!"

"You? My rival? Do I look like a babysitter?"

"Don't say that, Cid, that's actually pretty interesting."

They turned towards the arena, where the voice came from. Iris stood there, smiling as usual. She was accompanied by Thomas and the girl with pink hair.

"Having a rival is actually a very good way of becoming stronger, This is not only a challenge for you but also for us, as mentors, isn't it, Thomas? Let's see who's the best."

"You can't be serious, with all due respect, Miss, I'm at a disadvantage."

"Eh? Why disadvantage? I am the strongest Hero, and soon to be D-rank!"

"You sure know how to run your mouth."

"... When you think about it, I'm the one at a disadvantage, Miss Iris seems like a better teacher!"

"You little…"

Iris and the girl laughed as Hope and Thomas were arguing. Barron adjusted his hair and turned to Dora.

"Hmph, at least you have guts, and you're not just a big talker."

They turned silent after that, Dora could see the face of Iris, who stopped smiling, and the girl next to her who often glanced at him. It was a good situation at first but now it was becoming the best day of his life.

"Anyway, what about a dinner to celebrate your success? As your tutor, Cid, the first lesson that I want to teach you is to eat a lot. A lot of healthy food."

"I have my diet, so no thanks."

"Are you sure? If you refuse then we'll have to start training now."

"She's serious you know? Let's call it a day and go to eat, my treat."

"Thank you, my glorious Master Thomas! Can I wash your shoes?"

They laughed again and started walking away, It could have been a perfect ending but Dora needed to achieve the last step of his masterplan.

"Can I come too?"

Once more, they fell into silence, exchanging glances before resuming their walk. The boy's grin grew wider, impossible to contain.

"Okay, maybe later then? Hope? Hey, wait, we're friends, Let's meet later to explore the..."

"SHUT UP!!!!"

The wind picked up this afternoon. Hope turned around, his face angrier than ever. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes.

"I have nothing to do with you anymore, If you want to play then go ahead, play! I'm very disappointed."

Dora's eyes narrowed but my smile widened.

"So? Does that mean that you're not my friend anymore? Just because I'm now weaker than you?"

This time, Thomas intervened.

"From what I see, you're the one betraying your friend. I don't know him yet but what I saw today was a guy fighting at your own place. Learn from him."

He put a hand on Hope's shoulder and they started walking again. Dora turned his back at in turn and then remembered one last detail to settle.

"Iris, does that mean that your proposal to join the council is out of the question too?"

"... Please, stop this, we're not getting anything by quarreling."

"Maybe you not, but we... Remember this, Hope, YOU made the final decision."

Dora walked away and they did the same. Force prevails, if you have no power you have no opinion and you lose value.

This is not a general rule to live, this is a rule to know who is around you. Dora had a world at his feet until he chose to show weakness.

But he was far from being weak, he just needed to be a twig at that moment to complete his freedom.