Academy Competition (Pt. 6)

I just pushed it to the back of my mind, ' It is time for Emmy to fight!' I was excited

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"The third match will now commence Eric from Ring 8 and Emmavailya from Ring 1 You have one minute to reach the arena or you will be automatically eliminated." The Announcer spoke.

Emmy had walked to the center as there was no time between the fights this time around, and faced her opponent.

Her opponent, Eric, used a short sword and massive shield.the shield was about as tall as me and was in the of a stereotypical shield the looks a bit like a flat acorn made of steel.

Eric and Emmy had reached the center of the ring and approached each other shaking hands and wishing each other for a good match. They both seemed to be the kind, just, and morally upstanding type, and they gave off this whole holy squire vibe.

" Match start"

Eric positioned himself behind his shield and drew his weapon close steadily making his way towards Emmy reminiscent of a walking fortress. Emmy started with a frontal assault drawing her sword and running in to Attack directly. Emmy attempted to weave her sword past Eric's large shield but he blocked then countered, pushing Emmy back. This happened a few more times before Emmy realized she couldn't get past his defence on sword skill alone. Emmy jumped back shaking some of the chains in her dress lose and held her hand open a blue light was emitted from her palm and she creating a spear.

She charged at Eric and when she got within striking distance she stabbed ur his head, forcing HBU to lift nice shield, and threw blue chains that now we're now noticable extensions from their metallic bases. The chains wrapped around his legs and after getting close enough, Emmy jumped up off the shield breaking his guard and attempted to bind arms too. With a tug on the chains she brought herself to Eric. Eric crouched and resisted the chains attempts at disorienting him and controlled his sword so that Emmy would eventually fall directly onto it. When she noticed Emmy pulled on the chains again and twisted to avoid the blade landing roughly on the ground, and jumping back just nearly getting hit by Eric's sword. Pulling on the chains to bring Emmy to him, Emmy was forced to dispel the chains to ensure he didn't force her into a worse position.

Emmy created a large hammer above Eric forcing him to raise his shield. Taking the force he tries to redirect it but Emmy was already at his side with her sword Aiming at his chest. Eric shifted himself barely able to dodge Emmy's swing and slipped from under the hammer swapping places with Emmy who, with a touch, dispels it.

Emmy pulls one of the chains from her dress completely out and it is coated in blue light with the end extended to a length of just over a meter. A spiked ball could be seen on the end of the chain and was carried by Emmy.

" I apologise in advanced if this hurts you" Emmy called out to Eric, who upon seeing the massive spike ball, no doubt is feeling scared, she even warned him. I'm a little nervous so there's no way he isn't.

Emmy is at a range of around a meter away from Eric and that's when she drops it and swings the chain in a big arc to the side aiming straight for the side of Eric. Eric prepares to block the massive incoming ball and grounds himself bracing for impact. Emmy who swung the ball is now smiling at Eric, who had positioned himself so that he could take the most force at the cost of his sight. As the ball almost hits Eric the chain elongated causing Eric's shield to bend the chain instead of blocking the ball. The Chain bent around the edge of the shield and the ball slammed into Eric's back taking him down. Luckily a spike didn't hit him straight on the spine, or at least he wasn't dead I closed my eyes on impact so I didn't see what happened exactly.

" Winner Emmavailya" I heard the announcer call out so I waited a little longer before opening my eyes.

Emmy was fine and Eric was getting his torso bandaged so I'm assuming Emmy did a number on him with the last attack.

After getting everything from the last match squared away the finial match of this section began.

"The Fourth match will now commence Caroline from Ring 3 and Julien from Ring 5 You have one minute to reach the arena or you will be automatically eliminated." The Announcer spoke.

Caroline and Julien walked into the arena and nodded to each other in mutual understanding before standing apart from each other. Julien was in black and had a bow something I had seen very few people from the first year group use, not that I was paying much attention.

Looking between the competitors the Announcer called " Match start"

Caroline backed up and started to chant a spell and red circles were created above her hands. As Caroline started chanting Julien pulled out his bow and backed off slightly started to fire arrows at Caroline from around thirty meters away. The arrows we're not the most accurate and Caroline dodged them with minimal difficult, but I saw something interesting about them, they were different colors and reacted to the ground differently when they missed, the red ones caught fire when they missed the white ones did nothing the green one melted into a puddle of green on the floor and the black ones made a small explosion. Their were a variety of arrows being shot on different places the white ones and black one were launched to her sides and the green and red ones were more accurately shot the free fire had ended after a minute of spell construction from Caroline the red Circles which had now increases to five now turned blue and were positioned on top of one another over one of her hands. Swiping one hand across the front of her positioning the circles in an X shaped stay in front of her she called out " Devourers from hell come forth and help me incapacitate my foe, feed yourselves from the bodies of thine Target. "

I cringed a little at her actions as she had a hand over her eye and one hand out in front of her, I didn't notice this from afar when I was watching her before. ' maybe it is something you need to do for powerful spells?' I shudder at the thought, I could never do that, I look back at her with slight admiration at her ability to do something so ridiculous with such confidence.

Back to the fight the Blue circles shoot out blue orbs in unusual paths and though he dodged a few, two hit Julien head on. He was hit and fell to the ground screaming bloody murder, the a sceech was loud and for a moment I though the commentary was not far from reality, it sounded like he was being eaten alive. Caroline fired a fireball shortly after at the poor man on the ground and once the match was called off she picked the boy who is probably now traumatized up and put him on her back and brought him to seek medical attention.

" That concludes the first set of matches in this set on matches. You have ten minutes to prepaid for your next fight, you will be called when you are required to enter the ring, be prepared." The Announcer said and wandered off.

I walk over the my next opponent who was Tanya. " Are you ok? Can you still fight?" I ask with concern. Her fight was one of the most evenly matched battles I had seen today and it seemed to have take a lot out of her.

She looked at me and after realizing I wasn't there to convince her to surrender but to see if she was actually ok, she replied " I'm fine just a little tired and sore, but don't expect me to go easy on you. Think of this as a handicap to make things more fair, I'll beat you regardless." She said with confidence placing one of her hands on her bicep and flexing.

I just giggle a bit and she started to laugh with me as we patiently waited for out turn to arrive. I had a little chat with her and she seemed really nice. She had a brother, a mother and father who all were farmers in the city. Her brother was also apart of the city guard, on occasion when the monsters outside the city become more active, like a form of reserves, it was interesting to hear. She asked me about my family and I could only sadly smile as I told her I didn't remember much about them I told her about how I never really had parents, which was partly true. My mother died at birth and I never considered my birth father my dad. I started to tell Tanya about my sister when we were called up to the arena to fight.

"The First match of the semi-finals of the First years Ranking competition will now begin. Alice and Tanya, you have one minute to reach the arena or you will be automatically eliminated."

" Good luck." I called out to Tanya

" Not that I'll need it but good luck to you too" She replied

" Not to worry, I was born lucky" I say with a smile, hoping it was true.

We make it to the center and prepare for a fight.

" Match start"

Tanya runs at me and I stick to my previous actions of preparing and reacting. I gather some sunfire into my hand and draw my sword to prepare for contact. Tanya reached me and started a flurry of slashes that I had a hard time just dodging, I had to block with my sword pretty often and I was also hit occasionally. I sidestepped her slash and circled around back and fired the Sunfire blasts at the backs of her legs.

" Ouch that kinda stings" Tanya flinched from the heat momentarily and I laughed a little

" You're the first one to think so." I reply only to be met with a sword coming at my face

dodging a few more strikes slower than before I block one and notice Tanya had started to slow down a good bit so I take a chance and strike at Tanya from above. She used both blades to stop the slash and pushed me back. I jumped back sheathing my sword and land on one foot bending it, wanting to be like the badasses in old movies I grab the hilt and launch myself forward slashing horizontally.

I look up finally only to be met with a heavy liquid in my eyes making me stumble back. as a strong metallic smell assaulted my nose. Rubbing my eyes I look at Tanya who has an Massive slash along her stomach and is bleeding profusely, as her body crumples to the ground, laying unmoving on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, my eyes still blurry and red from the blood that got in them I close them and rub them again, when I open I can see clearly. I'm in a white room with a bunch of empty black metal chairs, Floors made of hardwood, a the smell of cider and cleaning solution permeated throughout the room and a shiny wooden box, a casket, at one end. I don't seem to recognize the place but a haunting feeling of remembrance lingers. I don't will myself to move but I notice my body approaching the box and as I am reading the gold lable on the side I opened the box, and looked inside to see something that I never would have though I would've forgotten.

The golden tag read ' Alice Lin'

I see my sister's dead mangled body in the casket and even through all the piecing back together it still looked horrendous. Her torn open skin and mangled limbs, I stepped back with a gasp. The part of the story I never told Tanya, the reason for my subconscious fear of blood, I was shaking, My previous fight flash in front of my eyes, All the damage I caused, all the ' fun' I had, my vision refocused and I'm met with the sight of tanya's body I turn to vomit as my vision fades between a lifeless, grayed out color and black. I fall to my knees and through the acid still in my throat, start muttering apologies to ... Tanya? My sister? perhaps both? I can't tell which. I don't hear when they call the match I can't tell what was happening at all. I think I saw Caroline and Emmy come to me and try to console me. 'Why would they do that? I'm the one who killed her! Why are they worried over me when I just killed another human being!' I couldn't comprehend it.

I was back over with the others Oreo in my arms, I was curled up into an ball, and In the utmost of dispare, I killed someone, I just did the thing I had detested the most. I am now a murderer, a person who has taken the life of another, and they were a friend. Those bastard killers took my happiness away in my last life, and now I have become one of them. I stripped that same feeling of love from a family of four, now three. A mother, father, and son now will feel the grief and pain that made me want to end myself for years because of me. I should just die. I deserve it right.

' No one blames you you know.' I heard something echo in my mind

' You don't know anything, why would you say that?' I almost scream

' I understand you feel responsible, but the girl isn't dead, that power you used for harming can be used other ways as well.' The voice reassured me

' You cannot kill those how have done no wrong this proves that, but you have always been a defender of the innocent just like me, you saved me remember?'

I open my eyes time seemed to still as, through blurry eyes tinted from blood and tears, I look at Oreo.