She couldn't explain it, but she felt the overbearing sensation of doom looming over her. The angry protests of the elements in the crowd wasn't helping matters at all.
The boy who was supposed to be fighting her, was sitting on the ground with his head bowed, almost as though he didn't give a damn. She herself, had her left hand to her temple, and her eyes a bit hazy, feeling like she was in a simulation of some kind. What exactly was going on? She didn't like it one bit, but she felt like she had dozed off and woken up in the middle of a stadium filled with angry people. Only, she knew she hadn't dozed off. So what exactly was happening here?! That was the million-dollar question.
Still confounded, Sabrina turned to the referee, hoping to get some answers.
"I beg your pardon mister referee, but what's going on? Why's everyone annoyed and shouting?"
The referee looked at her with a pitiful look in his eyes. Now he knew for sure that the poor girl had been under an illusion. And now, he was burdened with the unenviable task of filling her in. The referee braced himself, shook his head and told her sadly;
"The match is over Miss Sabrina. It's all over now."
He reiterated it a second time, because he didn't want her to be confused as to what he was actively saying.
But Sabrina was even more confused, and the look on her face said it all.
"I'm sorry what? What does that mean? What are you trying to say?" Sabrina hoped that this was all one huge joke, but the sinking feeling in her gut, plus the animosity in the air (as well as the stoic expression on the referee's face) told her the worst.
The referee didn't wish Sabrina's fate on anyone at all. It was indeed a terrible and cruel way to discover one had been defeated. But there was no other way to tell her but to rip the bad aid off completely. He told her in a somber tone;
"Miss Sabrina, you conceded the match. It's over."
Sabrina was flabbergasted. As expected, she contested the referee's claim vehemently.
"What?! when? I assure you, I have not conceded!!"
The poor girl was still speaking in the present tense. To show just how in the dark she was about her situation, she used the clause 'I have not' instead of 'I did not.' It was a sorry sight. Illusion was extremely rare amongst freshmen, and consequently, most candidates neither prepared against nor encountered it, at least not until much later in their careers.
To the referee and the judges, like a snake, Zavier had waited until the very last moment to strike. Presumably, to keep his opponents on the ignorant side. It appeared to be a tactical move executed by Merion High School. Had Zavier been someone else entirely, he would have been celebrated at this hour. But unfortunately, nothing could reverse his bad reputation. Not even a stunning victory of this proportion.
It wasn't the referee's job to explain, but Sabrina was in a pitiful state. She still believed that there had been a mistake somewhere. She still believed that the fight was still on, and she stubbornly clung to the assertion that she hadn't conceded. So, the referee had to explain it all to her.
"You were subjected to a very powerful illusion, and therefore your will was manipulated into conceding. You didn't know what you were doing, but unfortunately, you did it anyway. The whole crowd heard you concede, including the judges. Hence your loss…"
It sounded a little bit like a fairy tale to Sabrina. A very sad, cold fairytale. Very slowly, her focus shifted from self-pity to acknowledgement. What was done was done already, there was simply no circumventing that. As she pivoted away from the feeling of defeat, her line of thought led her towards acknowledging the opponent who had so deftly defeated her.
She looked at the seemingly normal boy seated in the dust across from her, she looked at him well. She couldn't believe just how powerful Zavier was! Sabrina herself was a once in a blue moon prodigy. As an anomaly herself, she knew just how improbable it was that a freshman could be able to use illusion! At this stage, it was very impressive and extremely rare. It took a whole lot of determination, skill and talent. Zavier had somehow mastered this illusion and yet remained unknown.
That was a feat that was almost as commendable as having the ability in the first place.
But one small detail stood out of line, and didn't align with Zavier's profile at all; why had he deliberately declared what was going to happen even before he did what he did? That little stunt he pulled wasn't consistent with the image of one trying to be lowkey and humble about his abilities. Had he simply done that to throw her and everybody else of course? Was that suppose to be a distraction? But he had been so brazen, and unapologetically bold about it! Therein lied the source of Sabrina's concern.
The more she squinted her eyes to look at Zavier, the more questions she had. As someone who was also a lowkey person of mystery herself, she had so many questions. Her curiosity got the better of her, and her legs pretty much moved of their own accord. She took a few steps forward and marched towards Zavier's direction. The referee was apprehensive at first, and eyed her carefully thinking that she was one of those vengeful, disdainful, sore losers.
But that simply wasn't the case.
In a very diplomatic tone, Sabrina addressed him politely; "Congratulations on your victory mister Zavier. That was very well played. Well played indeed…"
The referee's sigh of relief was so loud that it was heard clearly by both parties. He sure as hell was glad that Sabrina wasn't about to go batshit crazy on Zavier. He knew that she was supposedly strong. So, if she decided to take things to heart, things might get a little ugly.
But of course Sabrina's politeness was just to throw Zavier off guard. She didn't even wait for him to reply before she ambushed him with the real question which had been burning a hole through her mind;
"But why did you do that? Why did you tell me that I was going to concede?" She fought the urge to keep it civil by not adding 'Were you just trying to be a douche?'
Sabrina hoped Zavier would honour her by answering her truthfully. That was the least he could do given the situation.
As one who could scarcely be caught unawares, Zavier rose to the occasion, and replied her;
"Well, first off, let me just say that I appreciate your politeness despite- you know, everything…" Sabrina didn't even as much as blink. Zavier continued;
"But the truth is, I did it for me."
Her eyes widened in confusion. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Zavier explained;
"I guess you can probably tell that I am extremely unpopular around here. This puts me in a very peculiar position where everything I do is extremely scrutinised. There is a very strong possibility that the audience would have been inclined to believe that I had cheated if I had simply gone ahead to beat you with an illusion. That is a very difficult stereotype to escape. So, I had to be creative and find a way to walk around it."
Zavier looked at her through his serious set of eyes.
"Do you follow?"
Sabrina's mind was working real fast now.
"I do. But you could have tried to beat me in a traditional head-to-head combat. At least that way, the audience wouldn't have any reason to doubt your strength."
Sabrina was being civil, but she was very much bitter about the whole thing, and her reply was subtly laced with that bitterness. Zavier understood. He really did. But her reply didn't hold water at all. The only way he would have been defeat someone of her pedigree in traditional combat, was if he deployed the bone chilling Blood Blade.
But that was a technique that couldn't be used in public, especially not in front of this crowd. He had been left with no other choice, and he wasn't going to feel sorry for doing that. So, he answered her bluntly;
"Honestly, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I've done what I needed to do to win, and have absolutely no regrets about it…"
Sabrina wanted to counter his claim by telling him that if that was indeed true that he didn't care, he would have simply gone straight ahead to win without all the theatrics. It would have been a good come back really, but she didn't get the chance to do a follow up. Zavier's speech about not caring what other's thought had echoed loudly, such that everyone in the audience had heard that arrogant declaration.
They weren't too happy about it all at all. So, like fuel to a fire, Zavier managed to aggravate and already escalated situation. Just as he expected, the crowd exploded at his point.
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