Chapter 37: Wings of Deceit

Kaede's POV

Raven looked over in our direction. “It wouldn’t be wise of me to engage in a one versus five right now.”

Since teams could consist of four to five members, I perceived that teams of four might be at a disadvantage. Naturally so, which was why most people aimed to form teams of five. Unfortunately, Kazen’s team made up the leftovers from the class, so they had no choice but to stick with four members.

Smaller teams did have some advantages though. For one, they would be able to coordinate attacks more easily with fewer members. Another advantage was that other teams would stand less to gain from attacking them, since they would only win a maximum of four sashes.

I waited for either Scarlette or Cadel to make the next command, since they were the ones who usually took the lead.

“In that case, you have to surrender to us,” declared Scarlette. “The rules said you have to either accept or decline the challenge. Since you’re declining, your team—or you at the very least, should hand over your sash.” She started walking slowly in Raven’s direction.

Raven’s expression didn’t waver. “Who said I was declining? Follow me.” She turned to the side and started casually strolling into the forest.

I glanced at Cadel. “Er, should we? This is obviously a trap, right?” To be honest, even if it was, I was sure Scarlette and Cadel would be able to handle it. I instinctively tightened my sash around my wrist. They’d be in the thick of the action, but I wanted to back them up—just in case.

Scarlette seemed raring to go, but Cadel seemed unusually hesitant.

“Kazen and Daxston know the true extent of my Ability. If this is their plan, it means they must have planned around it,” he said.

“Still, I doubt that they would be able to beat you. Screw it, I’ll go in first, then you guys back me up. If anything happens to me, at least you can bail me out,” Scarlette reasoned, pointing at Cadel.

He shrugged, consenting to her plan. Raven had just entered the forest, so Scarlette rushed to tail her. The rest of us followed closely behind.

“Be on the lookout for the rest of them!” Scarlette called to us as we ventured deeper into the forest. I kept my eyes peeled, constantly checking our rear and our flanks. So far, there had been no movement.

Suddenly, a flicker caught the corner of my eye. I peered through the foliage, but it was just another group heading off in a similar direction. They didn’t seem to have noticed us.

As we headed deeper into the forest, Scarlette seemed to have grown impatient. That, or perhaps she was worried about how far Raven was leading us. Whatever the case, she yelled out to us. “Guys, I think we’ve followed for long enough, so I’m going in! Cover my back!”

A second later, she blasted into the air in a trail of fire, and arced towards Raven, who twisted around. Right before Scarlette connected, a black portal opened in front of her, and she zoomed straight into it. Immediately after, three boys stepped out of the portal, which promptly closed right after.

“Scarlette!” I yelled. I sprung into action, but Cadel was faster. In a flash, he had all four of their members immobilised, leaving only their heads free.

“Where did you send her?” he demanded.

“Right here.” A portal opened up horizontally in the air in front of Raven, dumping Scarlette out. As Cadel moved to catch her, Raven’s lips curled in satisfaction.

I realised what was happening. “Wait! Cad—” It was too late. Cadel disappeared into another portal, which had just opened in front of him. Scarlette landed on her butt. “Ow…” she winced, rubbing her posterior.

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It was now a four-on-four, with Cadel missing. The odds were not looking good. Scarlette would have her hands full with Kazen, which meant Mira, Jonah and I would be up against Daxston, Raven and… Spencer—who, admittedly, was the least of our concerns.

I was still unable to pinpoint the extent of Raven’s Ability other than the fact that she could do something with portals. If I remembered correctly, she had claimed to be a 2-Star back during self-introductions, but now that was obviously a ruse—just like Cadel’s. She had been concealing her powers for some reason as well.

However, I would have to save that thought till later, for their team left us no time to regroup. Kazen immediately sought after his target. They clashed midair, in a shower of fire and plasma.

With Scarlette occupied and Cadel seemingly out of commission, things did not look good. Out of the remaining three of us, I was the one who packed the most firepower.

But we weren’t unprepared. We had trained specifically for situations like this back in the gym in the Colosso Dome. As Daxston barreled towards us, Jonah stepped in front of us.

In a move reminiscent of Cadel’s Ability, he manipulated the light rays from the sun, directing them straight at Daxston. Daxston snarled and winced, momentarily flicking his head away from us. That was my cue.

I clasped my right wrist with my left hand and squeezed, while pointing all five fingers on my right hand at him. Concentrating all my energy on my right hand, I released a solid beam of plasma right at Daxston.

The beam hit him square in the chest and he flew backwards, landing heavily. I rushed forward, intending to overwhelm them with our current momentum. Suddenly, I remembered what Raven did to Cadel. I dug my heels into the ground just as another portal opened inches in front of me. I managed to stop in the nick of time.

An explosion off to the side shook the forest. I couldn’t see what was happening through the dust and dirt kicked up into the air, but I could tell Scarlette and Kazen were really going at it. Much as I wanted to watch the fight, I had to focus on the opponents in front of me.

I turned my attention back just in time to see Spencer’s arm reach through the portal in front of me.

“Nothing personal, Kaede,” he said, his countenance uncharacteristically devoid of emotion—right as his hand grabbed my face. Suddenly, my vision went black.

It wasn’t because of his hand—I was already wheeling backwards to escape his reach. What was happening? Spencer should only be able to change the colours of objects… right? Panic welled inside me. It wasn’t just because I was unable to see anything, but because I felt that we were being outplayed. Cadel, where are you? We need you here!

“Stop!” I heard Jonah yell. Still unable to see, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps… which suddenly stopped. I realised he must have stepped into a portal as well.

“—Ugh!” I reeled as I felt someone’s foot smash into my abdomen. I crumpled to the floor, hand on my stomach.

“Kazen has Scarlette completely distracted. It’s just you two left. Your healer won’t be much use here, so just give us your sashes,” Raven demanded.

“No… way,” I managed to grunt.

“Give it up, girl.” I recognized the distinct gruffness of Daxston’s voice. Had he already recovered? How much had his Abizium suit absorbed from my attack? At the same time, I realised that the suit didn’t fare too well with physical attacks, like the kick I’d just taken—it had softened the blow, but I still felt it—hard.

At least my vision was starting to clear. Whatever Spencer did, it was fading. But even if it did, what could I possibly do? I gritted my teeth. There had to be a way out! We couldn’t lose our sashes on the first fight—not to Kazen’s team!

“Daxston, you take care of the girls. I’ll go help Kazen,” Raven instructed.

“Whatever,” he growled.

I could hope and plead all I wanted, but reality was cruel. I didn’t want Scarlette to get ganged up on, so I took a deep breath and stood up.

“Wait! Here.” I unwrapped my sash and held it out in my hand, a defiant look on my face. Mira, who had been cowering behind me the whole time, did the same.

Raven collected our sashes almost lazily. She conjured up a tiny portal and tossed them in.

A gasp of pain followed by a loud thud made both of us look to the side. I blinked my eyes, trying to clear my vision. Scarlette was on all fours, trying to get up, her suit steaming. I was aware Scarlette could prevent her flames from burning her clothes, so that damage had to be caused by Kazen.

She stole a quick glance at us, even in her predicament. As she grasped the situation, she began to speak but was cut off when Kazen hurled a massive plasma ball at her. She quickly scrambled to dodge it, using her flames to propel herself out of the way.

Unfortunately, she landed right where Daxston was. I quickly realised that Kazen had intentionally missed her, forcing her to deflect in Daxston’s direction.

With a grunt, Daxston aimed his hands at her and released a massive gust of hot air at near point-blank range. Scarlette let out a yell of pain as the force sent her hurtling through the air.

“Quick, he’ll be here soon,” ordered Raven.

“Shut it, you’re not the leader.” Kazen blasted through the air and landed by Scarlette’s side. He ripped off her sash before she could react. Just as he did so, everything—and everyone—around me froze.

It was a familiar sensation, one that I had experienced back when we were facing off against Ignar. None of us were able to move a muscle. Just like that night, the forest seemed to be locked in time.

A wave of relief crashed over me. What took him so long? Never had I felt so relieved to have my movement stripped off me.

“Your sashes,” he commanded, pointing at Kazen. “I want all of them.”