“MIRROR BEAM!” Mr Lainhart closed his hand into a fist.
Beams of light illuminated the interior of the spell where the Principal was being held.
“FLUX BOLT!”
A sable and scarlet bolt escaped from inside, shattering the highest mirror.
The Principal jumped out of the enclosure and landed in front of me.
“Why are you doing this, Edgar?” The Principal was facing him.
Not as an opponent but as a man, as a dear friend.
“I can’t let those kids go through what I did,” He adjusted himself into a fighting stance.
“The Magic Defense Force is more capable now than when that happened. I can assure you that Dominick Blackburn and Aura Hunt will be found promptly. Now, can you please convince the students to return-”
“I can’t do that, sir. Those two are the only friends that girl has. I can’t stand to see her lose her closest companions like I did. Like I lost her,” Tears dribbled down Mr Lainhart’s cheeks.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your wife, Edgar, I truly am.” The Principal sighed and put his hand on his shoulder, “but they are in grave danger. You do not comprehend the dangers of that terrorist organization.”
“So are Dominick Blackburn and Aura Hunt,” Mr Lainhart grabbed his hand and flipped him over his back.
The Principal simply stood up.
He reached in his pocket and grabbed his walkie talkie.
“Go after them,” he spoke into it before stashing it away again.
“Who was that?” Mr Lainhart asked.
“None of your concern,” he spread his arms wide and lowered his gaze onto Mr Lainhart.
“Do you still plan on standing in my way?”
Mr. Lainhart simply nodded.
The Principal grabbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head solemnly.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, dear friend.”
He strolled down the beaten down pathway in an instant; his demeanor different from the usually serious man who strolls down the hall waving to every student who passes by.
“I SEE YOU NEVER CHANGE!” Mr Lainhart yelled across, usually quiet but this battle has lit a fire underneath both of them.
“CHAOS MAGIC: TEMPORAL ZONE!” The Principal quickly chanted, catching Mr. Lainhart off-guard.
His body slowed down as a bubble surrounded him, the space was nearly invisible besides the rainbow hues glinting off from certain angles; giving off an iridescent silver color.
The Principal walked up to him. He swung his fist straight into his jaw, a deafening echo filled the area as Mr. Lainhart’s body slowly reacted; his head slowly gliding backwards. He landed more blows as Mr Lainhart tried his best to react but the spell wasn’t doing him any favors.
“What can I do? How can I get out of this?” Mr Lainhart scrambled his brain to find a solution for the problem he’s faced with.
But alas, he found none.
Suddenly, the barrier turned to ash and floated into the sky.
The Principal backed away and sighed.
“That’s the problem with my magic. It’s too unpredictable. Chaotic, if you will,” he tapped his foot on the ground.
“MAGIC MIRROR!”
A mirror suddenly appeared underneath the Principal’s feet.
The Principal began sinking into the face of it. He sighed before lifting his foot up out of it. He jumped out of the quicksand-like spell and darted to Mr Lainhart.
His icy cold gaze sent shivers down Mr Lainhart’s spine as he grew ever closer. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.
“CHAOTIC MAGIC: FRACTURE!” The Principal roared, bearing down on his opponent.
Suddenly, he fell onto the ground.
“Gah,” he landed with a heavy thud.
“MIRROR CLONE!” Mr Lainhart took advantage of the sudden turning of the tables to summon a clone of himself.
2 against 1 is better than facing that monster alone.
The Principal dusted himself off and locked eyes with Mr. Lainhart.
“See? Too unpredictable.” He swiped the dust off of his shoulders.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The Principal stormed forward toward his prey, each stomp reverberating through the ground. His intense stare locked onto his target, portraying his anger as he barreled closer. The air thrummed with intensity and latent energy as his mana began to distort the air, sparking. He clenched his fists by his sides as his muscles were coiled, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. He wasn’t going to hesitate. Each move, each flinch, each twitch, a calculation in his mind. A promise to destroy his opponent that stands in front of him.
“MIRROR BLAST!”
A mirror appeared once more in between Mr Lainhart and the path of The Principal. The mirror began to glow a pearly white before blasting an opalescent beam toward the person he thought he once knew in front of him.
As the beam made contact, a thunderous explosion erupted. The gates shook violently behind The Principal as he was shrouded by the smoke. Stone and debris shot outward, fragments shattering like shrapnel. The once-solid stone walkway was destroyed, leaving a smoking crater in its wake, cracks spider-webbing throughout the nearby stone as the rubble and smoke cleared slowly; leaving an uneasy anxiety in the air.
The Principal was nowhere to be found. Not a single shred of clothing. Nothing.
“I loved you like a brother,” a whisper ominously spoke behind Mr Lainhart.
As the smoke began to dissipate, Mr Lainhart scanned the empty space where the Principal had stood, every nerve on edge. His heart pounded throughout his body. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. Mr Lainhart was nervous, a primal sense tingling in the back of his mind.
Determined that he was defeated, he turned around in the direction of where Rose and Kasen had run off to.
A faint blur suddenly went and vanished as fast as it had appeared in his peripheral vision.
The sinister shade of ebony and sanguine danced on the Principal's fingertips as he emerged from the smoke as if stepping through a veil, his eyes gleaming in a cold fury.
“When it’s not a pain in the ass, Chaos Magic has its perks. You’ll need more than that to defeat me, Edgar,” He cracked his knuckles before returning to the war path he was on.
He bolted to Mr Lainhart, his eyes still burning with the fury of a volcano on the verge of eruption.
He swung his right hand in an overhead punch. Mr Lainhart deflected it with his palm then countered with his own strike to his abdomen. The Principal pushed his hand down and dropped to the ground with a leg sweep. Mr Lainhart stomped down onto his foot causing the Principal to wince with pain but ultimately push it back down deep inside. The air was filled with silence and thick with tension as the two continued to exchange blows in a heated battle.
It’s truly a miracle that nobody has heard them fighting.
The Principal managed to land a devastating blow to his jaw as his fist found a way to connect. Mr Lainhart staggered back for a moment, leaving himself open. The Principal darted forward once more, his fists and kicks crashing against Mr Lainhart’s body, like a punching bag. Mr Lainhart put his arms in a defensive stance to no avail. His arms slowly fell back down as the pure power of The Principal powered through.
Mr Lainhart abandoned his respect and morals. He jumped backwards and spread his hands wide.
“MIRROR CLONE TIMES TEN!”
Figures walked out of mirrors that had spawned around the two of them. The clones were perfect replicas of Mr Lainhart. They walked and stopped next to him, awaiting orders.
“I will not let these students lose a friend the same way I lost my best friend, my one and only love…my beautiful wife,” a single tear ran down his cheek.
“I send my condolences, Edgar,” despite saying this, The Principal pointed a finger toward him.
“TWIST OF FATE!”
The clones suddenly doubled over and started vomiting blood. They kept losing blood at an incredible rate as they couldn’t stop spewing all over the ground. Eventually, they faded away into nothingness.
“What did you do?!” Mr Lainhart shouted.
“Twist of Fate is a spell that allows me to specify a specific area, when I pointed at you, to twist reality in that small space. Granted it could’ve made more clones or something similar but I’m glad it worked out this time,” He explained.
“Fine. No magic.” Mr Lainhart ripped off his blazer.
“No magic, old friend.” The Principal cracked his knuckles once more.
Mr. Lainhart may be older but he’s an expert in hand to hand.
So is the Principal.
Mr. Lainhart kicked at the Principal who easily weaved around the strike and grabbed his leg. He lifted Mr Lainhart and threw him onto the ground. His legs twitched with preparation and power as he jumped to the space where Mr Lainhart was laying. Mr Lainhart’s otherworldly instincts caused him to stand up promptly and spring backwards.
The two began to exchange blows once more. Sending them back to a time when they were kids playing in the backyard, fighting.
The two would always fight over Mr Lainhart’s late wife until she revealed who she had feelings for.
The Principal was a good man, still is, but his heart’s in a different place right now, his heart is determined to take down the obstacle in front of him to save the kids from killing themselves or from causing anymore death.
Mr Lainhart was a good man too. Stubborn as all hell but he could fight with the best of them. He was in the running for becoming a Pillar too but that was too much responsibility for him.
It was between him and the Principal to decide who would get the job of the Principal for Lixarts Academy but Mr Lainhart valued his friendship with him over a few extra omeras. Nothing was more valuable to Mr Lainhart than his wife and his dear friend. However, he lost his wife. He became a shell of his former self until he became a teacher here; helping these kids shape themselves into better beings, teaching them skills he never could’ve learned himself when he was younger. He felt like he had a purpose. He felt like he could live without her again, albeit it hurt like hell.
Mr Lainhart wrapped his arms around the Principal’s stomach from behind and twisted his back backwards. The Principal's head slammed into the ground with a gnarly grind.
Mr Lainhart grabbed him and flung him into the wall. The wall shattered into pieces, stone and debris zipping across the school yard, the wall was cracked like a spiderweb just like the stone walkway.
The Principal pushed Mr Lainhart back a few feet before jumping at him once more. He grabbed him by his jaw and propelled forward, sending him and himself through the front gate. The gate twisted and burst open as shrapnel flew everywhere around them. Mr Lainhart grabbed and clawed at his hand but it was no use, his hand wouldn’t budge.
The Principal clenched his right fist until his knuckles were white and pummeled away at Mr Lainhart. Mr Lainhart put his arms up in a defiant resistance but it was all in vain. His arms slowly lowered back down and his eyes fluttered shut.
The Principal grabbed his cold, senseless body and threw him over his shoulder and walked him to the infirmary.
“Nurse, I need you to watch Mr Lainhart. He was seriously injured in pursuit of an intruder on school grounds,” he calmly lied through his teeth.
“Oh my god!” She was shocked to see his unconscious body, battered and bruised.
“Set him right there, I’ll have a look when I’m done with this student,” she pointed at a shy looking boy who didn’t look a day over 13.
He waved awkwardly.
The Principal delivered a smile and wave before thanking the nurse and walking out.
He reached in his pocket and pulled out his walkie talkie.
“Have you apprehended them yet?”
The walkie talkie echoed from behind him. The Vice Principal stood there, her face wounded and bloody to all hell.
“What happened?” The Principal asked her.
“The boy,” she grabbed a tissue and wiped the blood off of her mouth.
“Rose Parsons also contributed to this,” she pointed to her face, “but it was mostly the boy.”
“Then we need to expedite the Magic Defense Force or the students’ lives will be in more danger than they already are.”
“Yes, sir.”
They strutted out of the infirmary and headed to his office.