"Ah…thank you." Shun Yin felt a little embarra.s.sed. Especially when he didn't watch Angelica's match. Actually, he tried to search for her match, but was unable to find it at all. Glen had scoffed at him, reminding him that Angelica was the heiress to the Porter clan…and therefore she had automatic entry into the finals.

Seeing how Charles utterly dominated the other girl, Shun Yin could understand why. It wouldn't do to break the other students' confidence by allowing her to crush them in the opening, preliminary rounds of the tournament.

"But I lost to Glen…to his Soul Beast. That White Tiger is ridiculously strong. I don't know how I can fight against it without a spirit…a Soul Beast of my own."

Angelica closed her eyes for a second, and then smiled mysteriously. "You don't have to worry about that. Starting tomorrow, everything will change."

The ominous tone of her words caused Shun Yin to look at her sharply. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." for a moment, that familiar mischievous smile of Angelica's was back on her beautiful face, and then it was gone. Shun Yin was reminded of why he had fallen for her back when they were both kids. That forgotten innocence…the nostalgia for a time when everything was so much simpler…pure and untainted.

Until the adults came.

Angelica would say no more, and she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Shun Yin to continue brooding by himself, uncomfortable over her words.

*

The next day, the tournament resumed. To the side, Shun Yin stood and watched as two guys battled to the death. They were using swords, which were the favored weapon for mages for some reason. Bladed and melee weapons were more effective against monsters than ranged weapons such as guns and missiles, particularly powerful monsters…but of course there were exceptions. Besides, swords and melee weapons could still be utilized to cast long-ranged spells, and doubled as protection when the monsters came up close, which explained their popularity among most mages.

"Argh!"

"UWOOOH!"

The two guys continued to clash, but one of them finally got the upper hand and forced his opponent's sword away before slas.h.i.+ng him across the chest. The victim gave a cry before falling over and lying motionlessly on the ground.

"Ha ha ha! I did it! I won!" the guy who slashed his opponent crowed triumphantly, waving his sword in celebration.

"Match over!" the teacher quickly ended the match, and several of the medics rushed over to check on the fallen guy.

"d.a.m.n it!" one of the medics cursed when he saw the extent of the wound. "I was hoping that n.o.body would die this year."

"He's not dead yet. We can save him." his partner glared at him, annoyed. "Stop being so dramatic. Do you think this is Owari no Seraph: Ichinose Guren 16-sai no Catastrophe or something?"

"…never mind." The other medic sighed and relented. The two of them bundled the wounded guy onto a stretcher and carried him off. His worried girlfriend accompanied them, holding the guy's hand and praying desperately for him to survive.

Shun Yin shook his head and glanced upward at the clear skies. Despite such good weather and such a beautiful blue, there were death-matches taking place under the bright, sunny heavens. It was almost incongruous.

But he didn't care. Taking a deep breath, he prepared for his own match.

"Seems like I might finally get matched against Charles Porter," he muttered to himself as he clenched his fists. After witnessing how the b.a.s.t.a.r.d toyed around and bullied the girl yesterday, he was determined to smack Charles around for a bit. Not very heroic, but someone had to defeat the villain. And Charles, to him, was a villain.

If I kill him, will I be able to save more victims in future? He wondered. He would definitely get in trouble with the Porter clan, of course. But perhaps it was worth it if he got rid of a threat now to save many in the future.

…however, what right did he have to dictate who lived and who died? Who was he to decide whether Charles was a villain or not? Right now, his only crime was arrogant bullying of people he deemed inferior to himself.

Perhaps, if he got destroyed by someone he thought was weaker and inferior, it might deal a huge blow to his pride and lead him to walk the right path.

Either way, I have to win this match.

Having steeled his resolve, Shun Yin began approaching the arena.

"Hey, will you be all right?"

Turning around, Shun Yin caught sight of Glen approaching him with a wave of his hand. He nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, I will be."

"Even though your opponent is Charles?"

"I should be able to handle him," Shun Yin replied calmly as he glanced in the direction of the arena. Charles had yet to make an appearance, but that didn't surprise him. The guy was the type to believe that others should wait upon him.

"Hah! I like your confidence!" Glen laughed as he slapped Shun Yin's shoulder in delight. "This is exactly why I planned to make you my comrade."

Shun Yin frowned at that, but didn't refute that. Their relations.h.i.+p had always been give and take, and he had no reason to break it.

"Still, I can give you several pointers regarding Charles's weaknesses if you want."

"No need. I want this to be a fair fight. Besides…" Shun Yin grinned darkly. "Even without knowing his weaknesses, I'll still crush him."

"Ha ha…you really are br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence, aren't you?" Glen shook his head, amused. "Then I won't waste your time then. But I'll wish you good luck."

"I'll indulge you on that."

They exchanged a fist b.u.mp before Shun Yin climbed up the stage. There was still no sign of Charles, and the teacher was looking uncomfortable. On one hand, the rules stated clearly that if one of the duelists didn't show up after the first few minutes, so as to minimize time-wasting. On the other hand, the person in question was a member of the Porter clan, adopted by the current head, and thus not someone he could just disqualify so simply.

Fortunately, he was saved from making the decision when Charles strolled arrogantly toward the stage. With a sneer, he pulled himself up and glared at Shun Yin.

"I'll praise you for not forfeiting immediately, at least," he said.

For his part, Shun Yin didn't rise to the provocation and instead glanced at the teacher, as if waiting for him. The teacher gaped, and then nodded when he suddenly realized what Shun Yin was looking at him for.

"Match, start!"

"Hah!" Charles was crowing. "I'll end this in thirty seconds…eh?!"

The tip of Shun Yin's sword was already pressing against his throat, cutting the skin and causing a slight trickle of blood. Shun Yin carefully slid it toward his jugular vein without breaking the skin while his eyes were still focused on Charles's wide ones.

"Do you surrender, or should I cut your throat here and now?"

Charles realized he couldn't even swallow or he would risk having his jugular vein ruptured. He slowly raised both hands in surrender and nodded, while gazing fearfully at the teacher. The teacher, stunned at the sudden movement, broke out of his stupor and blinked.

Then he cleared his throat.

"Match over! Winner: Huang Shun Yin!"

Shun Yin immediately withdrew his sword. Charles crashed to his knees the moment the tension fled his rigid body, his palms pressed against the ground in disbelief and bewilderment. It was clear that he still didn't fully comprehend what had just happened.

"Ending this in thirty seconds, huh?" Glen's mocking voice rose over the silent and disbelieving crowd. "You didn't even last three seconds!"

"f.u.c.k!" Charles cursed as he struck the ground. "d.a.m.n it!"

Ignoring him, Shun Yin turned away to walk off the stage, but then he suddenly noticed something.

The skies were…suddenly dark. Dense fogs were curling over the school for some reason, blanketing them in semi-darkness. Feeling a chill, he raised his head to study them.

"!!!"

He suddenly kicked off the ground and shoved the surprised Charles to the side.

"What the f.u.c.k are you doing?!" Charles roared, but his question was cut off when he saw a crimson beam of light lanced through the ground where he was kneeling on a millisecond earlier. "…eh?"

All around them, students screamed and shrieked as countless beams of light streaked down upon the ma.s.s of spectators.