So, in a cloud of newly found grace, Zavier happily skedaddled towards the field where today's variant of the second competition was being held. As he went along, and even when he arrived at the venue, Zavier refused to cave in this time by trying to appear defeated or gloomy. No, he kept his head high, though not in a condescending way, but in way that declared that he didn't give a damn about anyone's opinion. As he made his way towards his own selected seat, he moved with great grace and confidence.
Without a worry in the world, Zavier sat down in his seat, and ignored the hell out of any and all displeasing looks.
The tournament began and the officiator called out the first contenders who were to launch the day's events. As if fate itself was itching for Zavier's team to be on the fore front of things again, it turned out that Zavier's team and some other obscure high school team were the first to break the ice and get the competition going. The crowd erupted as the first batch of contenders came forth. It was none other than Zavier's Nadia who had been chosen to represent the team this time. She was to handle the four players from the other team.
Her first opponent also emerged from the other end with a smirk on his face. As he bounced towards Nadia, he couldn't help but smile a very contemptuous and condescending smile when he saw that Nadia was just a girl. Zavier sighed aloud in exasperation. Although he had no correct statistical data to back his claim, but it truly seemed like about eighty percent of all the guys in this competition were douchebags. It was a pandemic of douche-ry.
Honestly, it was like it was sleaze ball season, it was raining assholes out here! But then again, it made sense if one considered the fact that these were the very best of the best. They were all among the top hierarchy in their various schools. So, it honestly made sense that a good number of them would be dicks.
Zavier quickly dispatched the side monologue in his head, and directed all his attention to the match at hand. Zavier glanced at both their forms, and he knew that Nadia would definitely take this one home. The match began.
Nadia's magical attribute was lighting, and she was practically a god at it. But the boy didn't know that, instead of him to begin with a long range attack to gauge and ascertain the true level of Nadia's skills, he blindly charged in with a wall of water he had conjured from the atmosphere. It was actually pretty humid, and the carpet grass was still shimmering with the droplets of early morning dew. The boy was on very friendly ground and he knew it.
So, he went all in, looking to decimate the enemy before she could make any move.
But Nadia stood still like a statue. Zavier had never seen her so calm before. She had the soulless, lost gaze of a ghost. The crowd gasped, if Nadia didn't make any move at all, she would definitely be swept away by the tidal wave coming her way. The boy was so close now that it would be impossible for Nadia to dodge any direct attack from him.
Nobody knew it, but that was exactly what Nadia had been counting on. From the stands, Zavier smiled to himself, he knew what was coming. He could see it now. He clenched his fists excitedly as he waited for the storm to come. And come it did.
Close enough for neither of them to dodge any of the other's attack, Nadia finally made her move. In those very brief moment before she launched her attack, he lifted up her gaze and looked the boy squarely in the eye. That was when he knew he was a goner. It wasn't the expression on her face, neither was it the mean look in her eyes, but it was the lightning itself that cackled in both her eye sockets at the same time. They flashed like twinkling stars millions of miles away in the sky. That wasn't necessary, but Nadia wanted him to know that he was dead meat.
The reason for the boy's dread was simple; lighting was every water based mage's nightmare. Each magical attribute had one that it was weak against. For fire, it was water, for water it was lighting, and for lighting, it was earth. So, with nowhere else to run, and with it being too late to devise a counter strategy, the boy had no other option but to surrender to his fate. A fate he had brought upon himself.
It was Nadia's turn to show out. Multiple streaks of lightning shot out from both her arms, flashing dangerously. She didn't target it at the lad, her hands had been by her side all this while to present the illusion that she wasn't going to attack. Like a rocket taking off, the surge of lighting to the ground caused Nadia to shoot up from the ground into the air. She looked like an angel in that moment. The white hot lighting still emanating from her hand, and her eyes flashing made he look somewhat divine.
The crowd lifted up their eyes in awe. Never had they seen such a creative lighting user on the high school level. She seemed to have perfected the art of using the burst of lighting from her fingers as fuel for levitation. The boost to mass ratio was on par with that of rocket fuel, quite possibly even more so. It was a glorious sight.
The crowd had been so fixated on the theatrics that they didn't realize that the battle was literally over the moment she rose up in the air. As Nadia took off from the ground, the shot enough electricity into the earth. And because the fool had charged in barefooted with a wall of water, he had been fried till he was crisp black. But of course, nobody knew until much later when Nadia had safely landed on dry ground a few meters away. It was a stunning victory that she had won without even breaking a sweat.
Nadia won the next two battles well. Her lighting skills were superb. But after her third victory, it became evident that she was worn out. She was skilled, but her stamina was a serious problem. Fortunately, Calista had been prudent enough to anticipate this. So, she had put Kacie on standby. As soon as Nadia defeated her third opponent, Kacie stepped up to represent the team. It was actually the right cal to make, because the last opponent has sworn vengeance for his fallen comrades.
Much like Nadia, Kacie was very much a prodigy. It kind of ran in their bloodline considering how reputable their aunt Valarie was. As opposed to Nadia's flamboyant lightning skills, Kacie was more of a down to earth person. She loved daggers, and (just as she always claimed) daggers loved her. Kacie's dexterity with the blade was undeniable.
So when the fight started, her opponent eyed her blades carefully, as if she knew before hand that Kacie was practically a demon with the knife. But it quickly dawned on the boy that daggers were for short range attacks. He deceived that if he stayed away, and customize his tactics to center on long range attacks, then he might just stand a chance against his blade wielding fiend. It was a very logical plan. And given his own perspective, it was the right call to make.
But he didn't know Kacie. And because he didn't know what exactly she was capable of, he failed to account for the fact that maybe, just maybe, her dexterity with the dagger surpassed Both long and mid range attacks. But it didn't matter, he was going to pay for this oversight sooner or late. Just when the boy was about to plant his feet firmly to the ground, confident that he was in control, Kacie took him unawares.
There was at least a good twenty to twenty five meters between them. So, he was confident that he would be able to see any attack coming. So, when Kacie's two daggers came flying at him, the fool panicked and lost his balance. It turned out that his stance wasn't as stoic as he had thought. He ended up tripping on his own clumsy feet and caught two of Kacie's daggers right in the chest.
The blunt force of the daggers, plus his own stumble sent him tumbling down in the dust. Kacie's aim was always on target. She was considerate enough not to hit any vital points. But at the end of the day, it was a battle after all. So, the boy was sure to be hurt. But at least, he was going to live. Only with a couple of souvenirs from this battle. And so, in a very dramatic manner, and within a very short period, Kacie emerged victorious.
Much like the sea of spectators all around, Zavier had watched the battles closely. Both Nadia and Kacie had performed outstandingly. None of their enemies had stood a chance of emerging victorious. They had won fair and square. This was a cause for celebration, but somehow, the jealous bums all around managed to make it seem like a defeat. Some of the players on the ground glared at Zavier.
There was a whole bunch of them, but the looks on their faces all said the same thing- Zavier was hiding behind his strong teammates.
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