This was indeed the stuff of poets, like a scene right out of the verses of a Ballard.
Unfortunately, Rebecca was one of the only few ones who were in the know. Because of how small minded, and ignorant the rest of the crowd was (especially those of the younger demographic), cries of unfairness began to ring out in sporadic waves. Like the steady build up of a storm, the drums of protests began beat gradually in the background.
The freshmen were the faction in the crowd who had the most energy, and the most hatred for Zavier. They harnessed that energy and channeled it into rebellion. There was no questioning their opinion, they were of the firm belief that Zavier had cheated openly. And they were not having it. They weren't having it at all. So, with the whole of their beings, they cried out at the top of their voices.
Cries of foul play rang through out the stadium. The energy of the freshmen was infectious, such that it even caught up with the others who were still sitting on the fence about the whole thing.
"CHEAT!! HE IS A CHEATER!!"
"HE CHEATED!!"
"NOT FAIR!!"
"SOMEBODY GET HIM!!!"
"GET THAT PUNK!!"
The entire stadium was basically in flames now. There were several narrations, but one theme was common with them all, and it was the word "CHEAT."
An objectively astute observer wouldn't find it difficult to see that it wasn't just the fact that Zavier had cheated that had them riled up like this, it was nothing other than the fact that he had been so brazen about the whole thing. It was that particular smugness, that damn confidence he had about him, like he could do whatever he wanted and still get away with it. This only served as fuel on the raging flames of their deep seated anger.
It was already rumoured that the Zavier boy had gotten in solely by the influence of his family's privilege. While this had pained a good number of them who had worked extremely hard to be there, they had been momentarily distracted by the Shiranui/Sabrina showdown that was supposed to go down. But alas, instead of the brilliant battle, they had been presented with a substitute for Shiranui who was basically a pampered egg.
For a moment there, they had all taken solace in the fact that Sabrina would utterly decimate Zavier, but much to their horror, what was supposed to be an entertaining bloodbath had turned into the very thing they hated most about Zavier- a blatant display of the Adam family influence. No one was even mad at Sabrina, they were all busy fine-tuning their hatred for Zavier. This was the perfect outlet for them to vent all their suppressed spite.
As was common with human nature, they hid their true emotions behind a wall of political grievances. Caesar University was a renowned institution that had built and established a reputation for being a merit based institution. The past administrations had all worked hard to appear more progressive, and kill off the tradition established by the close-minded, nepotistic founding fathers. So, they very well couldn't be seen to be playing favourites.
The optics wasn't good at all, so this put the present administration in a tight spot. Unofficially, the votes were spilt. Some of the senior mages obviously thought that it had been a very brilliant illusion show, (especially those senior professors who majored in illusion) and thought Zavier was an unparalleled talent in the aspect of illusion. But the ensuing wave of passionate protests all around them was hard to ignore.
But it was still very much a match, and as was the original design, referees had the ultimate power. They had the final say, and nobody, not even a top official could step in until the referee had given his final verdict.
This particular referee was in a fix. No one envied his position at all. Even though Sabrina had clearly said the magic words, he simply couldn't ignore the pressure from the masses. He didn't admit it, but somehow, he knew that if he didn't consider his next course of action, he might actually end up not getting home safe that night.
The referee looked around him, and what met his gaze was what seemed like a million angry pairs of burning black eyes. All focused on him. All pressuring him into caving in to their demands. He glanced over to the highest podium which housed the dignitaries, and furtively searched for any kind of reprieve. The poor man was met with the cold, hard, steely gazes of the officials. Of course they couldn't do anything, they couldn't be seen to be trying to influence his decision.
Alienated, and feeling extremely pressurised by the second, the referee turned to Sabrina, and asked her again in a loud voice;
"Miss Sabrina, do you really wish to concede? Bear in mind that this match will be forfeited, and by default, the victory would go to your opponent!"
The referee was not stupid. Being so close to the action, he could clearly see that the girl was under some kind of illusion. She was obviously hypnotised. But he had to be seen doing this. He had to make sure, and everyone present had to witness Sabrina giving her full consent.
Zavier still had his claws deep in Sabrina's mind. She was still very much under his control. So, at Zavier's command, with a dazed-faraway look in her eyes, Sabrina nodded her head like an automaton, and stated in a clear voice;
"Yes, I concede to Zavier Adam. I forfeit this match."
The referee sighed, and turned towards the judges. The judges, having heard Sabrina's declaration for the second time, had no other option but to proceed according to the rules. Much to the dismay of the audience, the final decision was made;
"Zavier Adam is hereby declared the winner of this match!!! Merion High School is the victor!!"
The whole crowd wailed burst into a fresh bout of angry protests! Vile words, and curses flew out of the mouths of the uncouth freshmen. But it didn't matter anymore, the decision had been made, Zavier was king!
While the stadium basically erupted in a volcanic frenzy of emotions, Zavier himself was on another level. Had won now, and he had done so without having to use or display his demon-level abilities. That was all that mattered to him- that he remained incognito. Oh he was pretty much famous alright, but at least, not for being some weird freshman with questionable powers. The less they knew about him, the better. That was how he had always wanted it, and how he still wanted it.
While the entire crowd had been focusing on venting their anger, and making known their dissatisfaction, Zavier eased up on his hypnosis. No one knew it (because of the pandemonium), but as soon as Zavier heard the official irreversible announcement of his victory, he immediately put an end to his illusion. Due to the mental toll it had taken on his mind, Zavier suddenly found out that the exhaustion had also found its way into his physical body.
His knees buckling unsteadily like a new born calf, Zavier sat down in the dust- untenably exhausted. Great beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, as his whole body regressed into a state of fatigue. He badly needed to recuperate. This was a bit obscene seeing that he had been pretty fresh only a few minutes ago. And now, with the way he was feeling, Zavier's whole body ached as though he had just wrestled a bull. That was just how mentally, and physically drained he was after just a few moments of hypnotising someone else.
Zavier couldn't help but be amused. It was no small wonder that illusionists were celebrated mages. Here he was, quivering after just a few minutes. And yet, he remembered how Harry had so deftly cast, and effortlessly sustained an illusion in Zavier's mind. Harry had been so comfortable such that he had even sustained a telepathic rapport between him and Zavier, keeping the window open for Zavier's will to be intact, while invading his mind.
Only with this little exercise, his respect for the middle-aged, suit-loving illusionist increased. Zavier remembered how he had felt the moment Harry had released him from his hypnosis, and wondered just how Sabrina was going to take all this.
She wasn't taking it well, not at all.
Sabrina was in a terrible state of confusion. She was so disoriented that for a moment, she lost her stamina, and almost swayed. But who could blame her? Here she was, only a second ago she had been listening to the seemingly senseless ramblings of the boy who was supposed to be her opponent. Sabrina wasn't one to look down on anyone, so she had been genuinely listening, hoping to make sense of what the boy was saying.
At the time, it sounded like he was telling her how she was going to surrender to him. But before she could fully make out what Zavier was saying, it was too late. To Sabrina, from her own perspective, she felt like she blinked her eyes, and suddenly, the whole atmosphere around her had changed drastically.
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