Chapter 45: Winter is Coming

(Mira's POV)

Cadel floated us deep into the forest, only using his Ability part of the way before deciding to continue on foot. He had drawn power from Scarlette’s flames to carry us, but keeping any light source active for too long was risky—it could reveal our position to both seekers and other hiders. Ideally, we wanted to stay hidden from everyone.

I stuck close to the centre of our group, as usual. Without any offensive skills to rely on, it made sense to keep the team’s healer in the safest spot. I had no real way of defending myself, so being surrounded by stronger teammates was the most practical option.

Deeper and deeper we went as the sky continued to darken. The buzz of insects and faint noises from the other groups permeated the darkness.

I kept my eyes peeled for any movement. Despite being part of the team, I hadn’t really contributed much, outside of some basic healing. Back when we were asked to form teams, Cadel had surprisingly requested that I join theirs.

“Healers are important in any team,” he had said. I appreciated the thought back then—and still do—but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I hadn’t really met those expectations.

Take the battles with Kazen and Zara’s groups, for example. I didn’t get a chance to do anything until the fighting was already over. Both times, Cadel carried us to victory. But what if he wasn’t as powerful as he was? Would we have lost because I was powerless to help?

“We’ll split up here,” Cadel stated, coming to a halt. So he decided that we should separate after all. I felt a little insecure without him around, but it was probably the right idea. Against the teachers, even Cadel himself wasn’t sure how he’d fare. The bonus of having a single group member survive was really appealing, so I understood why he made that choice. Without us, and with only Kaede with him – probably to watch his back—the two of them stood a high chance of lasting till the end.

Since we were sticking with the same sub-groups we had, it meant I would be with Scarlette and Jonah. My relationship with Scarlette had always been a little awkward. People like me, who usually preferred peace and quiet, tend to find people like her a little overwhelming. What happened during her battle with Kazen at the arena didn’t help.

Dark memories that I had kept tucked away came jumping back at me in the few days past that incident. It had also made me second-guess my decision to join the Combat Division. I had known that it would be the most contrasting course for my personality type. Combat was anything but peaceful. But if I backed out now, I wouldn’t forgive myself. The person I was doing it for wouldn’t forgive me either.

Beep! “So it’s started,” Scarlette remarked. The big holographic timer above the forest started counting down. “I guess we’ll see you in an hour, take care!”

As Cadel and Kaede headed off, the rest of us set off in the opposite direction.

“So, any ideas on where to hide?” Jonah asked.

“Cadel mentioned the general area near the coast, at the forest's edge,” Scarlette replied. “Let’s see if we can find anything there.”

We hastened our pace, knowing the seekers could be in our vicinity very soon. Suddenly, a swift movement to our right caught our attention.

“Get down!” Scarlette hissed. We ducked, concealing ourselves in the foliage. Whatever that was disappeared into the darkness.

Scarlette cautiously stood up, peering around us. She looked uncharacteristically nervous.

Just as I was about to stand as well, I heard something land on the ground directly behind me.

“You’re never hiding from anyone like this,” Zara chuckled.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Wugh~” An embarrassing yelp escaped me, and I quickly covered my mouth, my cheeks flushing. I absolutely hated jumpscares.

Fortunately, my teammates were equally startled.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Zara said with a grin as she glanced around. “Did you guys split up?”

“You’re such an ass.” Scarlette snarled before tilting her head. “Yeah. And it looks like you’re... alone?”

I scanned our surroundings. Sure enough, Zara was by herself.

“We have our own tactics.” The reply was short and swift.

I had a pretty good idea of what her plan entailed. We were rapidly approaching the coastline, and with a power ability like air manipulation, what was stopping her from creating an air bubble for herself underwater? We had learnt that the water here wasn’t deep from our swimming lessons, so she could easily conceal herself beneath the surface of the water and wait it out. She would likely need to resurface periodically to avoid the risk of carbon dioxide buildup in the bubble, but I was sure someone of her calibre had that issue covered.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

However, I didn’t want to sound like a know-it-all, so as usual, I didn’t voice out my thoughts. Besides, I could be way off the mark.

“Alright then. Anyway, we shouldn’t be standing here for too long. We’ll be searching for a place to hide now, so see you,” Scarlette said curtly.

With that, we moved off. It wasn’t long before we reached our destination. I could faintly see the sea through the foliage.

I then took a quick look at the scoreboard.

Role

Remaining

Students

161/198

Time

51:42

Barely 8 minutes had passed, and 37 students had already been captured.

“Should we hide in the trees?” Scarlette suggested, looking up.

“That’s better than staying on the ground, I guess,” Jonah replied.

A thought had been weighing on my mind. It was potentially important, so I decided to ask.

“Jonah, are you able to scatter the light rays around us so we appear invisible?”

Jonah paused. “I haven’t tried it, actually. But I don’t think I’m that capable yet.” He held out his hands, and the air in front of him shimmered. All it did was distort his appearance, but hey, even that might be useful.

Scarlette seemed to share the same sentiment. “Your Ability could help if we have to make a quick escape—”

“I don’t think you’ll be doing that anytime soon.”

Before I even looked for the source of the voice, I knew something was wrong. Very wrong. The tone was calm, like a teacher’s, but there was an ice-cold edge to it that sent chills down my spine.

A cloaked figure stepped out of the darkness. Though partially obscured by the hood, the moonlight exposed a sharp, visceral glint in their eyes.

“Who are you?!” Scarlette demanded, taking up a fighting stance.

“I believe my brother must have brought me up at some point.”

Brother?

I put the pieces together. Cadel had briefly touched on this topic with us. I felt my knees grow weak. Instinctively, I latched onto Jonah’s arm. What the heck was he of all people doing here?!

Scarlette went pale, all colour instantly draining from her face. With her legs visibly trembling, she took a shaky step back. “There’s… no way…” she stammered.

But there was no mistaking it. The resemblance was uncanny. The figure standing before us was Soren Rain—Kazen’s brother, and the only confirmed 6-Star we knew of. He looked very much like Kazen, except a little taller and much more intimidating.

“Surprised to see me? Looks like I did a good job then. Anyway, I heard you gave Kazen a hard time in your duel.” His voice remained soft, carrying an edge of indifference.

“Uh, well—that was, I didn’t mean—”

“Would you have killed him if they hadn’t stopped you?”

“No, definitely not!” Scarlette frantically waved her hands in protest.

“Kazen’s no pushover. I’m interested in the capabilities of the person who incapacitated him. Makes me want to test them. Or perhaps I should give them a taste of their own medicine?”

My blood froze. Despite her pride, surely Scarlette had to know better than to accept his challenge. He was a 6-Star for heaven’s sake! We would be lucky if we managed to escape this encounter unscathed!

Before Scarlette could reply, Jonah stepped forward, putting himself in front of her.

“Look man, we’re in the middle of a school activity here.” He was probably scared out of his mind, but he was putting on a brave front for us. “Besides, how did you even get here in the first place?”

“Do you really think sneaking into this place was a challenge? Especially for someone like me?”

Scarlette peeked out from behind Jonah. “I mean… I’m not against a match or anything, but I—maybe we could do it in an arena?” It wasn’t an outright refusal, but she was stalling, and we both knew it. I could tell it in her voice and body language—fighting Soren was the last thing on her mind. Which kind of relieved me in a way.

“Afraid not. You see, let’s just say I’m not exactly welcome here.”

“So you broke in and tracked us, just to take revenge on Scarlette for injuring your brother?” Jonah pressed.

“No one said anything about revenge. But if that’s how you see it, I guess you could take it that way.” A twisted smile appeared on his lips.

Scarlette’s desperation was starting to show. “Look, I really don’t want to fight you.”

None of us wanted her to. We needed Cadel—desperately. But how were we supposed to get his attention without making things worse?

Soren grinned. “I’ll make it so you don’t have a choice then.” A faint mist started appearing around him.

“Run!” As Scarlette shouted, she released a huge burst of fire in Soren’s direction. However, it was aimed diagonally into the sky, temporarily illuminating the forest below.

It was a smart move. Not only was it an attempt to get Cadel’s attention, but there was also no way any seekers nearby would miss that. Hopefully one of the teachers would come searching for us.

Immediately, we started sprinting away from Soren. Jonah threw his hands up, creating a mirage as a sort of smokescreen. But I knew it was to no avail.

Sure enough, the mist surged forward, enveloping us in no time. It was shockingly cold. Within seconds, we were nearly encased in a layer of ice.

Jonah and I were helpless, but Scarlette ignited herself. The ice melted off her and she turned to raise an arm in Soren’s direction, fire erupting towards him. However, her flames dissolved into smoke almost immediately after they left her hand.

Suddenly, the air around her flashed. The mist thickened, and the temperature plummeted with terrifying speed. I could feel the cold seeping into my bones, dulling my senses. My breath came out in jagged puffs, immediately crystallising in front of me.

Scarlette’s flames flickered wildly, fighting against the creeping cold. The forest around us groaned as branches cracked and shattered under the weight of the frost.

“Scarlette!” Jonah shouted, his voice muffled under layers of frost already forming on his skin. “We’ve gotta—” His words broke off into a shiver.

Scarlette’s expression shifted—panic flickering beneath her anger. She ignited again, but the heat seemed to wither under Soren’s relentless cold. Her breaths became laboured, and her flames stuttered, like a candle struggling against a fierce wind. She staggered as she fought to keep herself standing.

The cold. This was no ordinary cold. It was painful to even breathe. I felt my consciousness starting to fade. My vision was darkening, the colours around me going greyscale.

Soren was standing in front of us, his arms crossed. I couldn’t see his face from where I was frozen, but he was looking down at Scarlette, who was now down on all fours, facing the ground.

A gigantic icicle in the shape of a spear materialised before Soren. He gripped it effortlessly and silently, almost casually, thrust it downwards.

“Scarlette!!” I tried to scream, but the sound froze in my throat.