Shock was the order of the day. But in that moment, no one knew despair like Dahila. Bewildered, the young mage collapsed on her knees. As she sat helplessly on the ground, she took in the defeat slowly.
As a member of the one percent, Dahila had come up with the mindset that she was the best. This confidence mutated itself in every aspect of her life. She became fiercely competitive and high protective of her spot.
But for the first time in her life, despite having fully prepared, Dahila had suffered a serious blow.
It was a dent on her record and a blow to her ego. Dahila had always been the prodigy. Even though she was in class F, she had never for once been lumped in with those losers.
Dahila watched as the yellow skinned girl approached her. Dahila was in the middle of a personal crisis, so didn't have as much hate in her eyes as she used to.
She realized that she didn't even know the name of the mysterious yellow skinned girl who had defeated her. So, she bucked up and asked the other girl;
"New girl, what is your name?"
The other girl scoffed. Humility was clearly not one of her strong suits. Arrogantly, she replied Dahila;
"Weren't you the one who said it was rude to ask for someone's name without first introducing yourself?"
"Just tell me your…"
Dahila was cut off briskly by the other girl.
"You're the loser here. Tell me yours."
The ice queen stared at her for a moment before she decided to answer her in a weak tone;
"They call me Dahila…"
Dahila wasn't used to introducing herself. She was already popular. But even on the rarest occasions when she had to drop her name, there was always a stir.
So, she felt even smaller when the yellow skinned girl didn't seem to recognize her name. The new girl boldly declared her name to not just Dahila, but for all who were gathered to hear;
"I AM SHIRANUI!!!"
Zavier was the only one who had been pricked by that prime piece of information.
Zavier's mind turned itself inside out as he struggled to recall where he had heard that name from. The memory stood at the edge of his consciousness, like a wraith trapped between two worlds.
"SHIRANUI!!"
The name echoed and re-echoed through the vacuum in his heart, sending shockwaves of déjà vu all through his mind. It was frustrating, but as much as Zavier tried, he couldn't bring himself to remember why that name sounded so familiar.
A short distance away, Calista who had been watching the entire fight with catlike eyes rushed forward immediately to announce Shiranui as the winner. In her high pitched voice that made her sound like a little girl, she shrieked at the crowd;
"I hereby pronounce Shiranui as the sole victor of this round!"
The students of Class A cheered loudly behind her. The clapped and rejoiced wholeheartedly to the disgrace of the opposing class. Class F was already used to losing so it didn't bother them all that much. Calista savored the glory brought to her by Shiranui and allowed the celebration to go on for another minute.
She lifted her hand and bid the crowd to be silent. She continued her oration while trying to mask her happiness with a look of indifference.
"Well, as the rules suggest, someone else has to take up the mantle."
Calista paused for effect to let her message sink through. She then turned to look Valarie squarely in the eyes as she uttered her next sentence;
"Is there ANYONE from class F who will take up the challenge?"
Valarie knew that Calista was no doubt enjoying this. Calista knew that Dahila had been the only hope of the entire class.
And Shiranui, an unknown and unproven entity had managed to decimate that hope and all that it stood for. More than anyone, Calista knew that this competition was over. She smiled to herself as her eyes poured over all the jittery students from Class F.
The poor younglings were all scared shitless. Terror and disappointment hung over them like a dissident gas. Shiranui's display of strength had paralyzed them and put them in a state of perpetual helplessness.
None of them dared to speak. Like a set of dumb chickens, they all fell silent and prayed that this cup would pass over them.
As Zavier struggled with his failing memory, his eyes locked with his aunt's. Almost immediately, Zavier caught on to her thoughts. As Valerie's intense eyes bored into him, Zavier cursed inwardly;
"Hell no! I am not about to get in the middle of this!"
Zavier keen eyes had followed every step of the match between Shiranui and Dahila. He knew that there was no way he could take on the dangerous fire breathing girl.
He wondered if he could use his clones to flank her on all sides in a swift attack that was his one and only chance.
If he failed at that, Zavier knew he would be toast. But even at that, his primary concern was to keep his abilities hidden. Anyway he looked at it, if he decided to get involved, it was a lose-lose situation for him.
"I really need to get out of here!"
He averted his eyes from his aunt's, hung his head low, and started to make his way through the crowd in a bid to get away before the unavoidable happened. But it was already too late. The cold steely voice which he dreaded finally came with a paralyzing injunction;
"Zavier Adam! Prepare for battle right away!"
Where he was, Zavier closed his eyes in disappointment.
"Shit!"
Zavier's classmates took advantage of the new development and laughed heartily. Zavier's ill-luck was the catalyst that changed the gloomy atmosphere into a much lighter mood, all at the expense of Zavier.
As Zavier reluctantly made his way through the crowd to the middle of the playground, he heard the not so loud whispers all around him.
"I feel bad for him, but, better him than us!"
"At least, he'll put on a show for everyone. He is used to getting pushed around anyway so…"
"Poor guy!"
"Damn! I wouldn't want to be Zavier right now!"
More laughter. And then came the most annoying chatter;
"Why is his aunt so mean to him? I am glad she's not my aunt!"
Zavier didn't know it at the time, but even though they all laughed at him, their hearts were with him.
Even Calista was shocked by Valarie's seemingly continuous hatred for her nephew. She advised her accordingly;
"There's no need to do this Valarie. The boy doesn't deserve to pay for your bruised ego."
Valarie replied her coldly;
"The competition is not yet over."