Like a sick joke, she started to feel her body shut down. Her mind, as well as her body intertwined together, as if in collusion with the external force lulling her into a state of slumber. Sabrina began to lose control, and what made it even worse for her was the fact that she wasn't able to muster the will nor strength to resist this subtle wave of sleep that had managed to gainsay her. This was the state of anyone unfortunate enough to fall into an illusion.
The architect of this whole thing smiled inwardly. At that moment, Zavier knew that the illusion was complete. He had successfully charmed the girl who had single handedly taken down a whole zombie-dragon like it was nothing. She had looked so unbeatable in that moment. And yet, here she was before him- as harmless as a dove.
This technique was diabolical. Zavier knew that back on earth, there were many a psychologist who would have gladly given up an arm and a leg just to learn this technique and pass it off as hypnosis.
Zavier didn't allow himself to dwell so much on his victory. After all, it was not over yet. The next stage was simple, he had already decalred that this was what was going to happen. So, Zavier stuck to the script and issued a paralysing injunction;
"ADMIT DEFEAT TO ZAVIER ADAM!!!"
To the rest of the members of the audience, Zavier was simply being stupid. It simply didn't make sense that someone as powerful as Sabrina would just concede because he asked her to. What was he thinking? they thought Sabrina was just playing along to toy with him. They expected that any moment now, she would unleash that terrifying power of hers, and swallow Zavier before he even got a chance to finish his sentence.
So, one could almost imagine their shock when they heard the bone chilling words that escaped from Sabrina's mouth;
"I concede to Zavier Adam."
The looks of amusements turned to jaw-dropping stares. The oppressive silence that followed after those words was palpable. For a while, no one said anything, the whole stadium was dead quiet as if they were yet to come to terms with the severity of the present situation. Did that really just happen?
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the other shoe finally dropped.
Because a lot of mouths had been hung open in disbelief, a fresh wave of gasps emerged from the mouths of damn near all the spectators present. The words; 'I concede' bore great meaning. It was a statement that couldn't be retracted. It was really an unexpected defeat. The whole stadium plunged into side commentaries. The discussions varied, but were all centred on one point- had the Adam family somehow influenced this match so brazenly?
This was highly unusual. The finals were always the high point of every year's freshmen tryout. This particular one had been a very highly anticipated match due to the candidates that were supposed to have been involved. Sabrina was supposed to go up against Shiranui. That was supposed to be the deal. And yet, not only had the game changed completely, a new character had emerged that had altered the results with a stunning display.
The audience was completely stunned. If a lot of people hadn't witnessed what had happened, they themselves would have contested the story of what had happened here. Right before their very eyes, in a brazen manner, the unknown entity called Zavier had gotten the powerful Sabrina to concede defeat, without even as much as a single strike! This was unbelievable.
At once, several theories began to spring up. At a speed that could only be compared to the speed of light, all the Zavier-haters in the crowd began to spread their malicious gossip. Their theories were centred on the fact that Zavier was a privileged upper-class boy who had managed to use his family's status to manipulate the finals. No wonder he hadn't fought since until this very last moment. Had this been planned all along?
Also, the fact that Zavier had boldly declared that she was going to concede didn't help his case at all. All around him, tongues wagged shamelessly- asking if the Adam family had really gotten Sabrina concede defeat in a match as important as this. There was a cacophony of protests, and a general atmosphere of doubt and unrest. But, not everyone was susceptible to this contagious pandemic floating about in the air.
Gabby was one of the few exceptions. While everyone else drowned in a sea of uncertainties, the astute Gabby who had been heavily invested in every aspect of the match (including the illusion), had been able to detect the disruption in Sabrina's mana. But Gabby wasn't completely sure. He couldn't make a well informed decision based on what he was seeing alone. On one hand, he couldn't tell if Zavier was really the cause of it, or if Sabrina was in fact faking it.
This was infuriating for the young mage because he wasn't so used to being unsure. The whole situation was very dicey, so he knew he couldn't afford to be wrong. But he was at a cross-roads, and he needed answers. So, he turned to his knowledgeable teacher Wallice for counsel;
"Miss Wallice, do you really think he won fair and square? Is it possible the Adam boy manipulated the girl by suppressing her with some kind of technique?"
Even after all this this time, Gabby still couldn't bring himself to address Sabrina by her name, he simply referred to her as 'the girl.' Normally, Wallice would have picked up on that. But as of that moment, she was much too deep in thought to even consider anything outside what was happening before her.
The lead teacher wished she had a direct answer for Gabby's question. But she also seemed to be at a loss. She shook her head with a grave expression on her face;
"Sorry Gabby, but as of this moment, I can't really say anything for sure. We can only hope to find out by waiting it to play out. Eventually, the truth will come out."
"Damn!" Ibneiah was the one speaking now, "If it turns out that this Zavier guy had somehow gotten Sabrina to do this with magic, we might have to revisit his portfolio completely."
The third member of the team wasn't having it; "Are you being serious right now? The boy's family obviously had a hand in this! I hear they're well connected. His only flop was that he had foolish enough to brazenly declare how it would end before it even began! If you ask me, that was where he gave it up."
Wallice intervened this time in their debate;
"Don't be absurd. Things aren't always what they appear to be at first glance…"
The others were surprised. Wallice was among the very few mages in the crowd who could read mana levels. The one thing that was clear to her was the fact that Zavier's aura was extremely powerful. She could see it now, clear as day. And she began to wonder how she had managed to miss such a brilliant student while she had been researching her enemies.
Wallice's obsession with the three mysterious high school students was ever present. Even before now, she had been tirelessly searching for any clues whatsoever that could link any of her suspects to the mysterious trio. As she looked at Zavier's incredibly powerful aura, Wallice's brain began to connect the dots with a quickness. Yes, Zavier was definitely one of the three students who had terrorised the first round. She was sure of it. The more she thought of it, the more it made sense.
So, the intuitive lead teacher presented her idea before her star student. Her voice, barely above a whisper, and with the subtlety of a conspirator, Wallice asked Gabby in a direct, but not so direct manner;
"So Gabby, what do you think about this Adam boy? Could he be one of them? Or…?"
Gabby squinted his eyes till they formed small slits. That was how most people around him knew that he was seriously in deep thought. This was a first. He had never genuinely considered Zavier as a potential member of the elite trio. But the urgency in Wallice's tone forced him to consider it. The theory itself was a beautiful and catchy one. But the main problem with it was that it was full of colossal holes.
"I'm sorry miss. While it does appear like Zavier fits the profile, there's just one major problem that refutes that claim; he was actually there."
Wallice widened her eyes.
"Huh? What do you mean he was there?"
Gabby quickly realised that what he had said aloud sounded nothing like what it had sounded in his head while he had been thinking of it. So, he quickly reiterated. This time, with more clarity;
"I mean, he his alibi is solid. I recall him being physically present at the same time those three appeared…"
Wallice frowned. She was about to say something when Gabby stirred the pot with another damning piece of evidence…
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