Chapter 5 - The Monster Festival Part II

" PURPLE JAVELIN!"

Rafaela catapulted a very long purple spear from her hand.

" CAMOUFLAGE!" , her opponent shouted and disappeared into thin air as the javelin missed it's mark.

" Invisibility, huh?", Rafaela clicked the side of her helmet. " Too bad that I have a heat vision visor."

She saw the heat signature of her opponent and prepared to charge.

" Found you."

Rafaela dashed towards the enemy with full speed.

" SILVER RAIN!"

Her enemy let out a barrage of silver arrows.

" Ugh, RAVENSHIELD!!"

The javelin that she threw, came back flying and turned into a massive shield, blocking the array of arrows.

But some of the arrows that missed turned around and was coming at Rafaela's blind spot.

: PURPLE STAFF!:

Her shield turned into a long purple staff and she spun the staff around her to deflect all incoming arrows.

" She's strong." , Rafaela stood still as the staff turned back into an orb.

" Camouflage and homing arrows, huh."

Her enemy was standing at the other side of the arena with a shining white aura armor and a short white cape. The primary weapon of her opponent was a large silver bow and a short sword.

" SILVER MISSILE"

Her enemy flung a shining bow towards her direction.

" GREATSWORD"

Rafaela turned her orb into a big dual wielding sword and deflected the arrow. But as soon as the arrow touched her sword, it exploded.

" Ugh,", Rafaela grunted. " That's how you want to play, huh."

" RAVEN JET"

Rafaela turned her greatsword into a jetpack attached to her back and propeller her with a great speed.

" SILVER RAIN!"

Her enemy let out a barrage of arrows. She dodged every last one of them, but they would still follow her.

Rafaela continued going forward until she was close enough to her opponent.

Her opponent had no choice but to disperse the barrage of arrows to avoid getting hit.

" RAVEN'S KATANA."

She turned her jetpack into a japanese sword and cleaved it towards her enemy.

Her enemy blocked her katana with her own short sword and rotated 180° towards Rafaela with her blade aiming for Rafaela's neck.

Rafaela blocked it with her sword and kicked her away.

The two of them charged towards each other and exchanged blows with their weapons. Rafaela used her sword, to nunchucks, to sai, to saber, etc.

Rafaela showed her expertise on different kinds of weapons by changing her weapon every time the exchange blows.

" GREATSWORD!"

Rafaela took out her double handed greatsword and smashed the ground.

Her opponent had to step back but the ground beneath them had shattered and the shockwave of the smash flung her opponent into the air.

Rafaela leapt above her unbalanced opponent and grabbed her by the neck and slammed her down with one hand.

" Gahh!" , her opponent was pinned on the ground a she point her katana at her enemy's helmet.

" I give up.", her opponent raised her hand.

Rafaela stepped back and released her aura armor.

" You're strong. I can tell you that. But you need more experience if you want to beat me."

She held out her hand and pulled her opponent to help her stand.

" Yeah, it's kinda frustrating.", she replied as she took off her armor. It was Melissa.

As promised, Wade convinced or rather, forced Rafaela to have practice sessions with Melissa every Friday afternoon.

" That bastard! Why did he include me in his bet!? One of these days, I'll get him back for all the troubles he caused me.",

Rafaela thought to herself.

-----

" Your skin is very pretty.", Melissa said as she stared at Rafaela's body while changing clothes together in the locker room.

" Really? Thanks. " she replied. " Your skin pretty, too and you have a very nice figure."

" Thanks, I work out everyday to maintain my shape." , Melissa said as she wore her black stockings rising it up to her thighs.

" I'll go ahead." , Rafaela said as she finished getting dressed. " I have to take care of something." " Or  someone is a more suitable word" , she annoyingly thought.

" Okay. See you around!" , Melissa waved at her as she waved back and walked away.

" I can't believe I'm training with Raven herself!"

Melissa said happily while hugging her bag.

" I should thank Wade. Maybe I'll treat him something later."

----

" You're late!" , Wade exclaimed as Rafaela entered his room through the window.

" And who's fault do you think that is?", she replied as she pulled his ear.

" Ow, ow, ow, Sorry."

Rafaela placed her bag and went directly to the kitchen.

" Oh, Raf's here." , Alex said as she came out of the kitchen wearing a orange apron and holding a pot of newly cooked beef stew.

" Alex? What are you doing here?", Rafaela asked.

" I thought you'd already be here. But when I arrived, Wade was alone watching tv and was already starving so I decided to cook dinner for the three of us." , she replied as she placed the pot in the center of the table.

" By the way. Why don't you use the front door? Isn't it inconvenient entering through the window all the time?"

" I just don't want anyone seeing me enter a boy's room alone.", she replied.

" Alex?? Is the food ready??", Wade shouted from his bedroom.

" Yes, come and eat! Dinner's ready!", Alex replied.

" That spoiled moron!" , Rafaela exclaimed.

" It's okay." , Alex said while taking off her apron. " You've been taking care of him all this time, you can take it easy today." " I'll show him that I'm capable, too. I won't lose to Rafaela!" 

Wade sat down the table holding his spoon and fork like a hungry kid waiting for his mom.

Alex opened the pot and everyone smelled the appetizing odor of the food.

" Alright. Dig in!"

Wade happily stuffed himself with stew and the two also started to eat.

.

.

.

" Hey Wade, you haven't joined any clubs yet, right?", Alex asked.

" Yewp." , he replied with his mouth full.

" Why don't you visit my club tomorrow?"

" Tomowwow?"

" Swallow your food before you talk.", Rafaela glared at him.

" Yes, tomorrow is the last day for clubs to practice since the Monster Festival will start on Monday." , Alex continued.

" Hmm. Maybe I will. I'm free tomorrow anyway." , he replied. " What club kind of club do you have anyway?"

" My club is called the Boxing Club.", Alex proudly replied.

" Really? You're the president of a boxing club? I expected your club to be more of a feminine type like cheerleading or gymnastics."

" Alex may not look like it, but she's the sixth rank of the twelve royals and the third strongest female next to me and the  swimming club's president." , Rafaela said.

" Wow, does that mean you're a king class, too?" , he asked.

" Yes, hehe", Alex replied with a peace sign.

" Gahh, I'm so jealous." , "Okay, I'll drop by tomorrow and take a peek."

" Alright, maybe I could convince you to join."

" Maybe I'll take a look at Rafaela's club, too." , he smirked. " What club are you in anyway?"

Rafaela's face turned red. She turned her blushing face away.  " Why would I tell-"

" Rafaela's club is called The Weapon Arts club.", Alex interrupted.

" Hey!-"

" Rafaela personally made that club on our second semester last year. " Alex continued.

" It's a club made for students who have unique weapons that has a hard time finding a club that they could really fit in to. She even studies the weapons of her club members secretly so that she can teach them later o-"

" That's enough from you." ,Rafaela stuffed Alex's mouth with a spoon full of rice.

* Burp* " You must be very well-versed in many kinds of weapons to be able to teach other people." Wade said holding his full stomach.

" I research some of it, but most of my knowledge came from my father."

" Seb? If I recall, he's a High Mage. So, he doesn't use weapons when fighting. How would he know these stuff?"

" Of course. My father told me that he asks a friend for advice. He said that his friend is a very skilled assassin and that his advices are very spot on. I think he said that his name was, Stan."

" Really? Well that's surprising.", Wade stood up, walked towards his bed and laid down.

" If he's the one giving you tips, then I won't be surprised if your club members are strong."

" Wait, do you know father's friend?"

Rafaela curiously asked.

" Yeah.", Wade answered and closed his eyes.

Rafaela was quiet for a while. Then she took a deep breath and asked Wade,

" I've been pondering about this for a while, Wade. Are you really from the Underworld, too?"

She didn't hear a reply from Wade.

" Hey."

She stood up and saw Wade peacefully sleeping.

" Geez, sleeping directly after eating is not good."

She stared a his sleeping face and smiled a little, " I'll scold you later."

" Let's clean up, Raf." , Alex said while collecting the used plates.

" I'm feeling sleepy, too. Maybe I'll sleep with Wade."

" Let's finish cleaning up and go home before you do anything weird." , Rafaela took the plates from Alex and washed them.

" Fine, then I'll just take pictures, hehe."

Alex smirked.

------

It was Saturday and all students are busy training for the upcoming Festival. Wade looked around and watched the different clubs showing off their talents in the use of aura armors.

" They sure are having fun." , he said while walking towards the Boxing club's room.

: BOXING CLUB :

: UNWAVERING SPIRIT :

- was written on the sign board above the door of the club room.

Wade opened the door and walked inside.

" Hello , is Alex around-"

Just as he entered the room, a punching bag flew from across the room and smashed the wall near him.

" President! " , said one club member.

" That's the third bag you've destroyed this week! We haven't bought new ones yet so please take it easy!"

" Sorry, hehe." , Alex apologized without a hint of remorse. She saw Wade standing across the room just looking around and she waved at him.

" Hey Wade! Come here!"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing.

" That's the first year who fought Raven, right?"

" What is he doing here?"

" Is he going to join our club?"

The whole club mumbled as Wade walked towards her.

" How do you like my club?" , Alex proudly asked while placing a new punching bag.

The club room was filled with different types of equipments that are found in all kinds of gyms. From weights to advance machines dedicated to improve one's physical strength. Everyone was buffed as hell and weren't even using their aura armors when training.

" Out of all the buffed guys in here, It's unbelievable that the club president would be a scrawny girl like you." ,

Wade held Alex's hands and noticed her toughened knuckles with scratches and scars from all the training that she's been doing.

" Don't insult our president!" , one of the club members obviously didn't like Wade's comment.

" She has the strongest raw power in the entire academy! She could easily put a hole through you if she wanted to."

" I didn't mean to insult anybody, I just remembered someone who is in the same position as her." , he replied.

" It's okay. So? Do you want to join our club?" , Alex excitedly asked. " You wont have to fill any forms or undergo screenings."

" Members have to take screening before joining clubs, too?", Wade asked while touching the punching bag with his palm.

" Yep. Candidates has to exhibit their talents first and the club president will have to decide if they are recruited or not.", she replied.

" That's such a pain." , Wade flicked the punching bag with his finger and made a hole through the bag making the sand gush out from it.

Everyone who saw it was astonished, even Alex.

" Thank Alex, but I don't plan on joining any clubs. Good luck to you and your club in the festival. See you later!" , Wade said as he walked calmly towards the door.

" Okay....thanks..." , Alex replied still astounded.

-----

Wade took a long look at the map in his handbook and looked up at the name board of a big Dojo house.

: WEAPON ARTS CLUB :

: DIVERSITY AND UNITY :

" Man, I can't believe it took me 30 minutes just to find this building. Just how big is this island anyway." , Wade said while wiping his sweat.

He opened the door and saw the students sitting at both ends of the room carefully observing two fighters with different weapons fight with one another. At the front, sitting japanese style, was Rafaela acting as judge.

" Yo! Rafaela!" , Wade shouted at her and walked towards her.

Everyone in the room stopped and stared at him.

He was only a few meters away from Rafaela when he suddenly stopped moving.

In an instant, his limbs were tied with a transparent string, there was a katana pointed at his heart, a female student was behind him with a sharp knife an inch close to his neck and everyone took out their weapon and stood up.

" You have some nerve barging in here, first year."

" How dare you call the president's name so casually."

" Leave or we'll kill you."

There was a great tension in the room.

" My oh my, why does everyone hate me?", Wade said without even breaking a sweat.

" After the stunt you pulled on the first day against the president, you expect us to like you?" , the girl behind him with the knife replied.

" Everyone stand down." , Rafaela stood up and ordered everyone.

" He is not a threat to me."

" But, president-"

" Or did you guys actually think that I lost to him?" , she glared at them.

" Of course not, president!"

Everyone backed away from Wade and dematerialized their weapons.

" Everyone back to training!

Vice- presient Viena, act as judge in my place. I'll speak to him alone.", she commanded.

" Yes, mam!" , her Vice- president snappily replied.

Rafaela took Wade to her office.

" I told you not to come here." , she said as she prepared a hot tea for him.

" Want some tea?"

" Yes, please.", he held the cup of tea with both hands. " How hospitable of you."

" S-shut up-", she shyly looked away.

" This is a standard formality for club guests."

" So?" , Rafaela sat in her desk elegantly. "What can you say about my club?"

Wade took a long sip and talked. " Hmm. Everyone is very sharp, I can tell you that. You've clearly trained them well."

" Really? That's nice to hear.", Rafaela said with a soft voice.

" What was that?" , Wade asked.

" Nothing!" , she immediately replied.

" Why are you here anyway? Are you planning to j-j-join my c-club?"

Rafaela stuttered.

" Nah. I don't really plan to join the festival." , he placed the cup beside the teapot. " I'll just cheer you guys on."

" Is that so?", she disappointedly said and turned around.

Wade then suddenly felt a feint leak of aura in the air. He immediately realised what type of aura it was and was disturbed by it.

" We'll, I better be leaving. I don't want to disturb you while you're training."

Wade opened the door and silently walked towards the exit of the dojo.

" First year!"

Wade heard someone shouting in his direction. He turned around and saw the vice- president calling him. She was a short haired girl with glasses.

" I challenge you to a practice match!"

" What are you talking about, Viena?",

Rafaela asked as she went outside the office.

" I'm sorry president, I know that this wimp can't beat you. But someone has to teach him a lesson." , she replied holding her knives between her fingers.

" Yeah, I'm sorry. I have something to do." , he turned around and continued walking.

Viena was outraged.

" Don't turn your back at me!" , she shouted and angrily threw her knife at Wade.

" Wait-!", Rafaela tried to stop her but it was too late.

But before the knife had reached Wade's back, he suddenly disappeared along with the knife.

Then he appeared in front of Viena in a blink of an eye holding her knife preparing to strike.

Everyone couldn't react as they saw Wade inches close to Viena.

" What happened?", Viena thought.

Wade touched Viena's chest near her heart with the handle end of the knife.

" This is not a toy. And taking one's life is not a game.",

He whispered to her and returned the knife to her.

" Now, if you'll excuse me."

He continued walking and everyone was dumbfounded.

---

Wade followed the trace of the faint dark aura.

" There's no doubt. It's faint but I'm sure this aura belongs to a DEMON."

The trail of dark aura ended near the river bank. Wade looked around, but didn't saw anyone suspicious. The only people around were the Gymnastics club members.

" I'll get you next time.", Wade exhaled. He decided to lay down in the grass and take a nap with the cool breeze of the river bank.

" I thought I recognized you", Soru cheerfully said.

" Huh? Oh, it's you bandana boy.", Wade drowsily replied. " Done with your training?"

" Yep. My club is ready for the festival."

" You sounded very strict, unlike Alex and Rafaela."

" Yes of course! My training is made only for the strong. Those who can't cope are considered weak and are kicked out. This way, the strong will grow stronger and the weak that pulls us down are removed.", he proudly declared.

" That kind of thinking is dangerous.", Wade stood up and stretched his back.

" You should learn from those two."

" Learn what?", Soru's mood quickly changed and glared at Wade.

" The weak have their own way of fighting. It doesn't mean that if you're weak, you're bound to be useless. And it doesn't mean that if you're strong, you're bound to win. If you ask me; The strong are made to help the weak and the weak are made to support the strong."

Soru was annoyed at Wade's remark.

" You can say all you want, but no one would take your words seriously. Who would believe a soldier class reject like you?"

" I don't really expect you to believe me. After all, you've never felt how the strong felt."

Wade suddenly disappeared and instantly appeared at Soru's back.

" Because you are weak.", Wade whispered.

Soru was startled and tried to wave his staff at Wade, but he was gone as he turned around.

" Just who is that guy? I've never experienced someone crept behind me without me noticing."

Soru clenched his hand and slowly walked back to school.

---

Monday came and every student in the Academy, except Wade, stood in the assembly hall with their Aura Armors on and grouped with their clubs.

The principal walked to the center of the stage and stood at the podium.

" Good day my beloved students! Today is the first event of the semester. The MONSTER FESTIVAL!!"

Everyone cheered and raised their weapon with excitement.

" Every club has to fight a random type of beast and the fastest club that could beat their corresponding beast will receive a Golden trophy and will have the biggest club allowance this semester as a price for their efforts."

Wade was sitting at the back of the stage listening to the principal's speech.

" Medics and teachers are on standby if anything bad happens. So fight to your hearts content and may the best club win."

The principal raised  his right hand, "I now declare that the 11th Monster Festival has begun!!"

--- End of Chapter 5---