May 18th, year 024 Angels Descent

It had been three weeks since their multiple choice lesson with Alex, where they had learnt about the side effects of the training Alex had them doing. For the past three weeks, they had been doing what, by their standards, were rather mundane lessons.

Alex had taken to heart Daisy’s words and wasn’t pushing them down risky ventures. So they had been practising the basics, and Gunter was now the only one yet to master the light circle method. However, he was getting closer and closer with each attempt.

Some of the more playful (read: troublemaking) members of the class were itching to try some more crazy stuff, and even Daisy was starting to feel that need for the weird. In their private chats, they all realised Alex had successfully corrupted them with fun.

Normal lessons, even for the most studious of them, had started to become more and more of a slog. Maxwell and Daisy, in particular, had gained a newfound understanding of their free-spirited classmates' opinions now they could see it from their perspective.

Collectively they had come to the conclusion they were going to ask for some kind of crazy lesson from Alex, even just for this week, so they could get their fix of fun. Only when they arrived at the newly repaired classroom, they found Professor Michael waiting outside.

“You there? Why won’t the door open for me?” Professor Michael demanded, pointing to Daisy. Daisy herself hesitated as she had previously been one of Professor Michael’s ‘Excellents’ before he kicked her out for, as he put it, ‘Joining the Enemy’.

“There is a defensive array, sir,” Daisy answered.

“I know that, you stupid girl! I want to know why it is here in this classroom?”

“Well, Chief, we learn things under imperial seal. It is to prevent punishment befalling anyone,” Gunter replied.

“Imp… My gods, he truly has ruined you—especially you two,” he said, looking pitifully at Daisy and Maxwell. “You had such promise now you… you are like them,” gesturing to Tasha and Bea.

“I take that as a compliment, sir,” Maxwell replied, not breaking under the professor's glare.

“Tasha is strong and the most adaptable person I know, and Bea is, if anything, too clever for her own good,” Maxwell replied, not letting the insult to his friends go unchallenged.

“Such insolence,” professor Michael muttered, looking aghast at Maxwell talking back to him.

“May we get by, sir?” Bea asked, gesturing to the door behind him.

“As if you can bypass an array like this,” he scoffed.

“Well, we shall see,” Bea replied with what her classmates recognised as her malicious grin. Walking up to the door, she put her hand on the handle and, with relative ease, opened the door.

“Would you look at that?” Bea muttered with mock surprise as she looked at her hand on the now open door. “I bypassed it.”

“Very well, I shall acknowledge a success when there is one. Even for a kneecapper,” Professor Michael grumbled as he took the edge of the door into his hand.

“Is something going on out here?” Alex asked, having seen something going on at the door. “Oh hey guys, come on in,” Alex said, pushing the door open and letting the class walk in.

“We are keeping to the same practicals we’ve been practising today and will go over the soul exercise for Gunter and Bea as they are progressing beautifully.”

“Ahem!”

“Oh, also, your prank on Sloth with the spring-loaded pie was masterfully done. But I can’t let it have a pass.”

“What, why?!!” Tasha asked.

“Tasha… you wrote your name on the pie tin… the challenge was to prank him and not get caught…”

“AHEM!!!”

“Oh, and Daisy, about you deciding to reject the bite eternal in the end, please don’t submit the documents till you are older. You never know if you might change your mind, and your brother looks up to you and will want to follow suit.”

“I SAID AHEM!!!”

“Oh, Professor Michael, I did not see you there,” Alex replied, oozing so much sarcasm that it could’ve originated from the Chasm of Sar.

“I am here as we still need to decide which of my… perfect… students will be in the greeting party for Cardinal Pleidies,” he said, shooting a disapproving glare at the class when he said perfect.

“Well, I have looked it over and chosen this class here,” Alex replied.

“They want to see the best our school has to offer. Not a gaggle of failures and those fallen from grace.”

“I am aware of that. That is why I didn’t choose any of your students.”

“Buh-Gah-Wha…” Professor Michael began to sputter, clearly overcome with fury at the insult Alex had thrown right back in his face.

“Rescind your words…” he muttered, his clenched fists shaking.

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“But then it would be a lie,” Alex replied, unaffected by how angry Michael was becoming. Professor Michael lowered his head and took a few deep breaths before looking up and glaring at Alex with unrestrained disgust. Before returning his gaze down to his hand, where he began taking off his glove.

“If you want to join us, we will be using alchemical reagents, so you might want to keep your glo-” Alex stopped mid-sentence as the glove was slapped across his cheek.

“I will not have you impune upon my honour any further. I stomached a human attending… I stomached you gaining influence… I even stomached your attitude… BUT NO MORE!!!! I, Professor Michael Hringo, challenge you to a duel!!”

The class all froze at witnessing a challenge to a duel being thrown Alex’s way. They had seen how lethal he could be, and this seemed more like an attempt to have Alex kill him. Alex himself appeared more confused than they were.

“You are challenging me? To a duel? Me?” Alex asked to which Michael nodded.

“Yes, but I am not foolish enough to eliminate a co-regent, let alone the one the Theocracy is expecting to meet. So this will be a duel between our students.” Alex glanced at his class before sighing.

“You guys up for a duel?” Alex asked.

“You are asking your students their opinions?!!!”

“Yeah, I kinda learnt to respect their opinions rather than unilaterally make the decision for them.”

“No wonder why your class is in shambles.”

The class all shared a look and gave a collective nod consenting to the duel. They had been insulted by Professor Michael many times since the multiple-choice lesson, and he had even had his students try to pick fights with them.

When they had asked Alex for assistance, he had told them not to retaliate as they were now at a level of a Military Captain and could potentially injure them if they weren’t careful. It was an eye-opening experience in of itself as they had heard Alex had been under similar restrictions during his school time, and the desire to show up the mouthy students picking fights was all too tempting.

“Ok, looks like they consent. Why don’t we make this official? Let’s use the New Arena and have it a big ole display match. You can show the whole school how incompetent a teacher the loser is.”

“Very well, I shan’t pass up a chance to dirty your name more… If anything, this shall be nice to put an uppity human in their place,” Professor Michael said with a grin that oozed how much he disliked Alex.

“Why don’t you inform Lord Sloth now, and we can get the paperwork rolling. While you do that, I will teach one of my substandard lessons,” Alex suggested, to which Professor Michael gave a huff and stormed off.

“Ok, guys… looks like you have a duel in your future.”

“Will we be ok? I heard his best students are military grade in their own right?” Kline asked.

“Please, you kids have sparred with Elissa, Yuu, Gorm and Me. You also know combat skills that are not in the book, so they won’t know how to respond.”

It didn’t take long for the entire class to be called to Sloth’s office. Sitting in the waiting area outside, a few of the class began to fidget.

“Is he angry, sir?” Maxwell asked.

“Probably more curious as to why I accepted,” Alex replied.

“Why did you accept?” Daisy asked. She had seen her teacher completely ignore insults and weird looks. She had half expected him to brush off the duel with a laugh. But for the first time, he seemed to be actually annoyed.

“He insulted you, kids,” Alex replied.

“Sir?” Maxwell asked.

“It all stems from my philosophy on life, I suppose.”

“Philosophy chief?”

“Yeah, I follow a great one… Though you kids might not be up for it,” Alex replied.

“What is it, sir?” Kline asked.

“All life is a big joke,” Alex replied, to which the class looked perplexed.

“And what ruins a good joke?” the class just shook their heads, unable to follow where he was going.

“Taking it seriously,” he finally answered for them.

“I don’t take life seriously, as that would spoil the joke. The only things in life that I take seriously are the things that should. Everything else treat like the biggest cosmic joke the gods have ever played.”

The class could only nod, recalling the times Alex had gone above and beyond the call of duty to defend and avenge them. While at other times seemingly playing the fool for no other reason than his own amusement.

“Lord Sloth will see you now,” a receptionist said, opening the door to a cluttered office where behind a desk with a mountain of paperwork sat Sloth.

“So foolish boy… you’ve accepted a duel?”

“Yes, master,” Alex replied.

“And it is your students who will be fighting?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Do they know they are fighting?”

“Yes, Master, they consented prior to me accepting.”

“Very odd you gave them the option… very well, so long as no one dies, I shall allow this. It might be interesting to see whether your more unorthodox methods bare sweeter fruit than Professor Michael’s by the book teachings.”

“My Lord, pardon me… but why even allow the duel? Surely you should intervene?” Maxwell asked.

“A gauntlet, once thrown down, cannot be picked back up,” Tasha replied for Sloth.

“She is right; a duel that has been accepted cannot be overruled. Even If I did not accept it, both parties have accepted and would be honour bound to carry it out regardless. So it is the path of least resistance… besides.”

“Besides?” Bea parroted.

“Michael has been getting on my nerves for decades. My biggest regret is allowing him tenure. Boy…” Sloth said, turning to Alex. “How confident in the combat skills of these children are you?”

“I would say reasonably,” Alex replied.

“High praise by a normal person's standards. Very well, we shall add an additional clause to the duel.”

“Add a clause? My Lord, would Professor Michael accept a change?”

“Accept? My boy, he will jump for joy. The teacher whose class fails to secure victory will relinquish their post as professor at this academy.”

“Wait, so if we fail…” Daisy began before trailing off.

“Yes, my troublesome apprentice will no longer be your teacher… he will still teach the kindergartener class, though… no one is mad enough to try to replace him now, especially as Crozonias kid adores him.”

“So it’s all set; these kids here will beat Mikey's kids black and blue in front of the whole school. He will get fired and milkshakes all around!” Alex said, resting his hands on Daisy and Bea’s heads.

“Yes, now go away. I have ‘research’ materials to go through and analyse. A lot of interesting research out of the theocracy I want to look over before the Cardinal arrives.”