"You...did what?..." Avures was getting changed and ready for class. Rael was on the opposite side of the room doing the same.
"Look, it's what I thought to do in the moment. Miss Grula likes gutsy things...so if you follow through on this, even if you lose...I'm sure you'll get to stay!" Rael finished suiting up in her training gear.
"There's two things wrong with this, though. One, she could kill me. There's no shortage of times where they've reminded us of how thin the line between life and death is." Avures finished equipping his training gear as well. "And two...you didn't consult me at all about it, and lied."
"Are you...mad?" Rael walked over to the door and waited for Avures.
"Yes. I'm mad." Avures stated calmly, contrary to his words. "No one said you had to go and do that. Do you not trust the progress I've made?"
"You even said it yourself, Avures! Fifty-fifty! I made it at least ninety-ten!" Rael shrugged as she frowned.
"Answer me. Do you not trust the progress I've made?" Avures walked up to her and sternly stared her in the eyes.
"I just want you to be able to stay alongside me..." Rael shied away from Avures's gaze.
"So...you thought of yourself when doing that?" Avures pinched his forehead with his fingers. "You didn't think of what I planned on doing...and you didn't trust me...whatever, let's go."
"I'm sorry..." Rael closed the door behind her as Avures walked out in front and she followed.
Avures had no clue what was ahead of him now. Mad didn't put to words the frustration Avures felt. Though he couldn't communicate it, Avures was seething. There was a part of him that thought Rael would trust him, and it had been utterly shattered. Even after everything, she clearly didn't trust him to make it on his own here. And she went behind his back and lied to their teacher, putting his life on the line all for her own reasons.
Rael knew that perhaps she shouldn't have done what she did, at least in hindsight. But, there was no lying about it...she didn't think Avures had what it took. At least, not in the ways that mattered. He was still her hero...but being a Lancer seemed out of reach for him in her eyes. But, she still wanted to hang around him. She liked him a lot. And if Avures wasn't going to be at the Academy anymore...how would she see him?
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"Alright...we're at the end stretch for this year! Congratulations to all of you for coming this far!" Zen clapped his hands and smiled for his six students. All of them were once again in the arena.
"Bif, you've fixed your grades...so you'll get to pass on to next year. A round of applause." Grula started to clap, and the five other students clapped as well.
"Stop the clapping. It's fucking annoying." Bif blushed a slight bit as he looked away.
"And that leaves you...Avures. According to what we've seen before, and what Zen himself acclaims...we haven't found your growth to be good enough. So-" Grula was suddenly stopped.
"Hold on! Bullshit!" Bif pointed at Grula and Zen. "Avures is a hundred times better than he was a month ago! He deserves to stay with us!"
"Now now, hot-head. I wasn't finished...Avures, in order to win over our approval, has officially challenged me to a duel." Grula extended her arms out and grinned wildly. The rest of the students looked at each other in awe except for Avures and Rael.
"Yes..." Avures sighed and drew his sword, holding it by his side. There was a sense of awkwardness among everyone. It was quite clear what was going on.
"Alright. Go on, get in the stands and watch. You're all in for something special." Grula watched the other five students meander to the wall. "Ah! Not you, Rael. You're going to referee, and watch me break all of his bones."
"Miss Grula!-" Rael started to protest but was stopped.
"Ah! Zip it." Grula walked to the center of the arena with Avures and Rael following in tail. Zen was up with the students in the stands. They all sat down together and looked fairly uneasy.
"Is this really right?" Ventrix sat down and looked uncomfortable. "I don't think Avures is any sort of match for Miss Grula."
"Is this a form of punishment? Did he do something wrong?" Olicia looked to Zen with a confused gaze.
"No-no. A duel was issued to Miss Grula." Zen crossed his arms and smiled. "However, it wasn't through Avures himself."
"Are ya saying that?...Rael did it?" Lylas rubbed his chin inquisitively.
"Mhm. However, and I can't believe I have to say this...You should not...ever...speak on behalf of somebody else unless they tell you to." Zen waved his finger at the students. "So, Rael is being punished appropriately."
"By having Avures get his ass kicked?" Bif raised an eyebrow and threw his hands up. "That seems pretty dickish..."
"How about you just watch?" Zen turned his attention back to the arena.
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"Alright! Are you ready, Avures?" Grula cracked her knuckles, the sound echoing throughout the arena.
"As ready as I can be..." Avures brought his sword up, readying himself.
"Good...but...it'd be a little unfair if I fought you. So, I'm going to use a stand-in. Rael!" Grula pointed over to the red-haired girl.
"Eh?!" Rael was completely caught off-guard.
"You'll fight in my place. In fact, actually, think of it as a duel between the two of you." Grula coughed a couple of times before speaking up. "The loser of this duel!...will be kicked out of the Academy!"
"W-what?" Avures lowered his sword.
"You two can start whenever. It's an all-out fight." Grula shrugged and waved them off as she walked over to the wall and hopped up into the stands.
"Miss Grula! That's...cruel...you can't ask them to do that." Bif protested as his teacher took a seat.
"Why can't I? Who says I can't?" Grula turned around to face Bif with the meanest expression she could muster. "Who are you?"
"Pf...stupid bitch..." Bif muttered under his breath as Grula turned back around.
"I have to agree with muscle-brain. Miss Grula, it's a lil mean..." Lylas sighed, putting his hand against his forehead.
"Maybe...but, it's how I want this to turn out. It'll be either Avures, or Rael who gets to stay..."
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"Avures..." Rael stared right into his eyes.
"Rael..." Avures stared straight back.
A long silence hung between the two of them. Neither moved, neither spoke, and neither blinked. Both of them had no clue how to approach this. They didn't want to fight. Reluctance was clearly seen between the two of them.
Rael didn't want to lose Avures. After all the growth he had went through...The things he did for her. After all the history they've had together. She couldn't picture her future without him. But, the Academy was the best thing to ever happen to her. The best opportunity she could ever have. And, she had even made new friends of her own who she didn't want to lose. It was her dream on the line.
Avures wanted Rael to still be around. As much as she annoyed and bothered him...Avures needed her. She had grown on him more over the past nine or so months than she ever had in the orphanage. Avures felt something anytime he looked at her. That tugging at the heart feeling. He didn't want to lose that. But, for once and outside of Rael, Avures found something he wanted to protect. He found a passion in doing the things he did here. Though he wasn't sure of his future as a Lancer, Avures's hopes and dreams lay within the Academy. And this was a passion that he wouldn't let Rael walk over.
"Ahem! If neither of you fight, you're both gone!" Grula cusped her hands around her mouth as she spoke, making the words echo throughout.
Another bout of silence held between the two of them. However, Rael drew her ax. Both of them anxiously wielded their weapons. Rael looked to the ground.
"Hey...Avures. I don't know how you feel about it...but I don't want to have to fight you to stay here. I know you weren't excited or anything to be brought here in the first place, but...this is my dream." Rael brought her gaze up once again to meet Avures's own. "Could you...forfeit?"
Avures was at a complete loss of words. Several different rebuttals and feelings crossed through his mind, but none of them came out. His chest felt tight. His head felt warm, and his mind was filed with rage. Rage being the easiest word to describe it.
"No." Avures didn't change his expression throughout his entire thought process. "Absolutely not."
"B-but...Avures! This is everything to me! You don't even-"
"How...fucking selfish can you be?!" Avures hadn't even realized he shouted.
"I brought you along by my choice! Because you didn't speak up! And you're calling me selfish?!" Rael raised her battleaxe in the air. "I did that for you!"
"And now you're trying to take back that choice because it suits you! You're selfish!" Avures readied his sword.
Rael had enough. She brought down her ax with a heavy-handed downward swing. Avures jumped back, waiting for her next move. This was really happening...but Avures wouldn't falter, and neither would Rael. Both wanted to preserve their dreams. And both wanted to keep each other in their future. But, one had to go, and one had to stay. And though they couldn't hear each other's thoughts, both had thought of the same thing.
"If I win, I won't leave you behind..."
With the distance between them, Rael brought her ax to her right side, and slashed left. A fiery crescent erupted forth from the blade of her ax straight at Avures. Without any movement, a dark sphere appeared around Avures. The flame smashed against the sphere, but quickly dissipated.
Fire erupted from the ground below Rael, she leapt forth from the ground, hitting a blinding speed as she swung her ax from her left side at Avures. Avures hardly had the time to react, catching a glancing blow as he moved to his left to evade. Still, the attack managed to slice through the gear, cutting his lower torso. A large gash formed with blood that quickly dribbled out. Avures grabbed at the wound as Rael recovered from her sudden haymaker of a swing ways behind him.
Avures's investment into Protection was already going to pay off. With a combination into Protection and Manipulation, he was able to keep the wound from bleeding as badly as it was. Using a small, but still useful amount of the result of the combination, Healing magic. Of course, the usage of it was stunted by the small amount of potential he put into Protection, with his other two types claiming most of it. Still, it served the purpose it needed to.
And in the swing of trying new things...Avures had something up his sleeve. Something that he hadn't even tried with Bif. Avures focused in on his right arm...but as he did so, he noticed something with Rael.
Rael had her own tricks too. Things that she didn't show other people.
"...I just have to not use Flow, right?"
"If you don't let a large amount into your soul...from what I understand...that receptacle won't activate."
Ever since that day, those moments where she, Avures, and George were in those ruins repeated themselves over and over. As frightened and unsure as she was at the time, Rael knew that it couldn't impede her forever. If it was a bridge she had to come to, then she'd greet it with weapons in hand.
Those moments lived freely in her head. Both bringing fear and uncertainty. And, in an attempt to stop it, Rael came up with her own solution. Although the thought and idea were indirectly stolen from Avures, he could never do anything without her knowing in some way. And this was the simplest of ways, as she needed to only look at the books on his desk.
Rael crafted her own Shade. And, in order to keep that receptacle from activating, made it extremely unique. Rather than pulling Flow into herself to reshape it...her soul could force it's "casting mold" upon the Flow within the ethereal. The Shade of her Soul allowed her to burn away and/or explode portions of Flow within the air, and even within her soul should it be there.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Flow is not finite, but can be used up. It will eventually return to any area it's used up in, but it can still be depleted. Rael's Shade was made with this thought in mind. Allowing her to utilize all of it herself, and allowing her to deny others the chance to use it. In her own ironic, yet self-fulfilling way, a completely selfish tool of destruction she made.
The air around Avures grew hot...real hot. Avures could feel the sweat start to drip down his face. His body started sweating too. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. Rael simply stood some ways away, yet she was definitely the source of this heat. But, she wasn't moving at all. Was this some sort of Fire Technique he didn't know about? Everything started to turn to an orange-red color. Flames appeared all around them. Avures raised his sword. He needed to do something, and quickly.
"Perfect Da-" Avures felt a force launch him back. Extreme heat encompassed his whole body as his sight was overcome in front of him. An explosion had shot him several feet back into the wall of the arena. "Gah!"
Avures slid off the wall and onto his hands and knees. He panted, trying to recover whatever strength he could. Somehow through it all, he still held onto his sword. He was about to stand up...but he suddenly coughed violently. A liquid filled his entire throat, and forced him to vomit. A mixture of spit and blood spilled forth. Avures grasped at his chest with his free hand, and brought his sword hand up to his mouth. He coughed up more blood again, spilling it all over his hand and handle of his sword.
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"Huh?...I thought you two said he improved?" Grula leaned back against another set of seats as she watched. "This is pretty one-sided."
"Be patient, Miss Grula." Zen pointed down at Avures. "We know that Avures can't take initiative, but he isn't going to be pushed around anymore."
"We'll see. At this rate, he's going to be packing up for sure." Grula chuckled as she continued to watch. Bif scoffed and shook his head. He knew what Avures could do if he applied himself...
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"Perfect Dark." Avures sat on his knees and looked up at Rael. She was stone cold, staring at him. That shadowy darkness erupted from Avures, and expanded outward. Though, it didn't reach any farther than twenty feet out from Avures, stopping way short of Rael. Avures stood himself to his feet, but was immediately assaulted by smaller, more compact explosions in his face. From his conjuration, Avures was shielded by a multitude of black spheres and walls that aimed to stop the explosions from hitting him. It was a little inefficient compared to what he could do for now. But, the advantage of using Perfect Dark was in it's main use case...an instant way to manifest every single other Dark Magic Technique.
In order to maximize his mana usage, and give himself an advantage, Avures focused in on his right arm once more. That ability to see the future...he was finally going to make use of it in combat. By using a tiny amount of combined Flow and Mana, which could instantly be used using his Shade's ability to gather Flow anywhere in his body and convert it into Mana...Avures could make near instant use of his inherit ability to see the future, even controlling how far into the future he could look. It was the culmination of study, trial and error, and even help from Avura.
All the shields and walls dropped from the area of Perfect Dark. Rael watched on as Avures slowly approached, his Perfect Dark's area on the ground also encroaching as he moved. His face looked serious...completely different somehow, yet the same as always to Rael. But that was when she noticed it...that pitch blackness, like the starry night's sky had reached from his arm, and made it's way to his right eye. But not fully, rather, like a few darting streaks that had climbed up his shoulders, onto his neck, and then connected to his right eye.
She didn't know what he was doing, or what he had planned, but she was going to end this here. How dare he call her selfish...after everything...it filled her with nothing but hatred and rage. Her soul...an explosion, centered right on Avures. The sound rang out, and smoke surrounded where he stood. But, with a quick slash of his sword, the smoke cleared away from Avures. He was practically unscathed from the attack. She was ready to do it again, but found that her feet were now standing overtop of the shadows of Avures's Perfect Dark.
Two tendrils sprouted forth from the shadow, one on each side, and reaching around ten feet in length. The one on her right slammed down towards her, but she heaved her ax, clashing with the tendril and smacking it away. The left one came with a side swipe closer to the ground, aiming straight for her ankles. Rael hopped over the tendril, but it quickly re-coursed and aimed straight for her in the air. With a quick thought, an explosion occurred right at the tendril, blasting it away. As Rael landed, she hardly had any time to gather herself as she realized she took her eyes off of Avures.
He was a mere three feet away now, coming in with a thrust from his sword. Rael focused an explosion in close, centered on Avures's torso. But something peculiar happened, Rael spotted Avures's right eye. That eye that had that blackness attached to it. For a slight moment, it glowed lightly, as if something as soft as the moon's light had touched it. The explosion happened, but it was completely contained. A small black sphere had encompassed the entire area Rael had detonated it in. Rael focused in on her legs, and used her magic to give herself a great leap backwards, managing to get herself out of the shadows of Avures's technique.
Rael could tell there was something wrong. Perhaps it was fueled by her own ego and selfishness, or she didn't know him as well as she thought...but Avures's Perfect Dark seemed to keep going on. Not to mention, he launched an attack of his own. She had never seen him display something like this. The only example she could think of was when they were chased by the Witch Beast. And even then, it was just a fog and shield he put up.
Avures, on the other hand, felt in control. But, he knew that his offensive capabilities with his magic were limited. He needed to get in close. Or rather, he needed to make Rael get in close. Avures willed his Perfect Dark to move on. The shadows left him behind as they uncovered the ground below him, and encroached upon Rael. The tendrils moved with it as well, even sprouting more of them. The circle of darkness crawled along the floor. Rael focused in again. There was one thing she was sure of, Avures couldn't handle a supremely fast attack. She'd do another haymaker, and put this fight away.
As Rael winded up, the flames gathering beneath her feet, Avures's eye glowed once again. The future...that is, a few seconds ahead was revealed to him. In an instant, he could see, feel, and hear the near-future. Rael's attack would slice across his chest, nearly killing him if he didn't avoid it. A great pain surged through his body, but he knew it was artificial.
This was but one of the truths of using this power that would be revealed to Avures. Anytime he would use this ability, he'd have to experience whatever future lay ahead of him first before changing it. The searing and roaring pain that came with that attack hitting him...and every other sensation. The experience would be inflicted upon his psyche, and etched into his soul. A very, very painful experience. Avures figured this was due to the way his power granted him to see the future, binding his senses to himself, or whoever else applicable.
The second truth...would be that even if he could see the future...he'd still need to be able to change it on his own terms. As Rael shot forward with tremendous, blinding speed, Avures braced himself and swung in an attempt to counter the attack. The clashing of metal reverberated throughout the arena. Rael was now several feet behind Avures. Both of them faced the other direction. Avures fell to a knee and grasped at his chest with his free hand, focusing in that same Healing magic he used before. Rael had successfully hit him, though, not anywhere near the same degree he had foreseen. Rael also winced in pain as she felt a wound open up on her lower torso. Avures's counter had also managed to land on her. A straight horizontal strike.
The third truth...if he changed anything about the future, anything he saw past that would be null and void. Avures had saw Rael recover herself after the attack, so he breathed a sigh of relief, but he heard swift footsteps approach him from behind. Rael shouted as she brought down her ax in a downward swing towards Avures. Her swing was blocked by a dark barrier that appeared around Avures. As she kept trying to force it downwards, sparks of darkness and light danced around the clashing point. Rael wouldn't give, and kept forcing it. Avures saw an opportunity. He quickly came back onto both feet, and turned himself to his right. He then faced Rael, his left hand clenched into a fist. He punched her straight in her lower sternum, his arm exiting the barrier below her swing.
"Gah!" Rael became winded, dropping her ax and falling to her hands and knees as she gasped for air.
Avures dropped his barrier. He could feel the strain on his body. The combination of the injuries, Flow usage, and lack of mana-...lack of mana?...Avures could feel it. The Flow in the air was...thin. Avures quickly dispelled his Perfect Dark, realizing that if he kept it going, he would collapse. The Flow in the arena seemed to be extremely faded...but he couldn't ascertain why. Avures braced himself again as Rael slowly stood herself up. Using her ax as a crutch, Rael red eyes burned with a fury that Avures had never once seen in her before.
"You...piece of shit..." Rael panted as she stabilized herself. Grabbing her battleaxe and wielding it once again, she spit on the ground. "You want to kill my dreams...I hate you so much..."
"You're still only thinking about yourself..." Avures got into a stance, ready to fight as hard as he could.
"Who are you to say that to me?!" Rael swung from her right side, heaving the ax at Avures, intending on cutting him in half. Avures blocked the swing, holding the sword with hands and the handle up and blade facing to the ground. He leveraged the blade and his strength within the curve of Rael's ax right below the head. The blade of her ax was almost touching his torso. As they both struggled, fire erupted from under Rael's feet, and climbed up her body, then climbing onto the blade of the ax. The fire started to burn brighter and brighter. Avures's block was quickly being overcome.
Avures gritted his teeth, and did the only thing he could think to do. With his blade in the curve below the head, Avures was in a prime position to disarm her. But, he wasn't much of an expert, and the only thing he could think of was risky. However, it was do or die...Avures brought his right leg up, and squarely kicked Rael in the ribs. At the same time, he adjusted where his force was, adjusting his block to instead be a movement readying himself for an overhead swing. He yanked the handle of Rael's ax out of her hands, using the kick he did as a way to force the separation. With his block now carrying the ax, he kept moving his sword behind him as much as his shoulders and arms would allow. This effectively threw Rael's ax way behind him. Avures then brought his sword over his head, in prime position to swing down on Rael.
But, he hadn't accounted for Rael past this point. Not willing to let this be the end, Rael had quickly recovered from the kick, and lunged forward. She tackled him at the waist and brought Avures to the ground. Avures's sword flew out of his hands and way back. Rael was now overtop of him, and she relentlessly started punching him in the head. There was almost no rhyme or reason to it as she used both arms to pummel his face in.
After a few seconds of this going on, Avures had enough. He focused in again, and foresaw the next hits. Avures shot his arms up and grabbed Rael's wrists. As Rael violently tried to grab Avures's wrists back and shake her arms free, Avures used the control of her wrists to throw her off of him. He twisted her arms, and moved them to the right of him, where he then turned himself to face her again.
The two of them continued to struggle as they both climbed to their feet. Avures gripped down harder and harder, his magic increasing his strength bit by bit. Rael winced, but didn't falter as she brought her left leg up and kicked Avures in his side. Avures let go of her wrists, the force of Rael's kick hurting too badly. But, she wasn't done. She ran towards him, a haymaker from her right...at least, that's what he saw in his future. Bearing the pain of the future, Avures ducked and shifted to his left, avoiding the hit. He then followed up with a right hook of his own. The punch made a sickly impact noise as Rael stumbled backwards.
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"Hey...don't ya think this has gone on long enough?" Lylas tapped on Miss Grula's shoulder.
They all continued to watch on as Avures and Rael kept wildly swinging their fists at each other. Each hit echoed throughout the arena, and a splattering of blood and spit accompanied these sounds.
"Nope. I'm still not satisfied. Keep asking and I'll wait until one of them falls down and doesn't get back up." Grula didn't move, she didn't blink either as the two kids kept at it.
"What's the point of keeping this going then?" Ventrix had a hard time watching the ordeal and was getting sick of it.
"Although I may not like it either, in defense of Miss Grula..." Zen looked towards all of his students in the stands. "Those two down there...have never been in a proper fight. One with stakes outside of temporary failure."
"What would you call us going out on that contract then? Failure could have meant death for us." Olicia slammed her fist against the seat.
"Against overgrown insects? Please..." Grula shook her head and sighed. "Maybe if you were children with toy swords..."
"And...asides from needing to put them in a fight with stakes..." Zen turned his attention back to the fight. "It's really more than a punishment for just Rael...hopefully a wake-up call for Avures too..."
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Punch after punch...swing after swing...Rael and Avures were mercilessly beating the tar out of each other. Though, with each hit, with each swing...they started to tire out. Avures and Rael both couldn't muster up any more tricks, any more magic. The fight they were locked in was a pure brawl...nothing more.
"Why can't you...just let me have this?" Rael threw another right hook. Avures ducked under the swing.
"Why do you still...only think about yourself?" Avures retaliated with a left punch of his own. Rael threw her arms up and blocked it.
"You're...one to talk...Avures!" Rael threw a left kick, but Avures caught it against his torso using his right arm. "Always keeping to yourself...never letting anyone you know...know what you think!...but expecting them to understand you..."
"What are you talking about?!" Avures clenched his arm against his torso, locking Rael's leg in there as she struggled to free it.
"You call me selfish!...for what reason?...for what reason?!...do you have a reason?!...do you hate me?!..." Rael continued to struggle, but to no avail. "Cause I hate you!..."
"Shut-up!" Avures used his weight and leverage to throw Rael to the ground using her captured leg. But in the process, he lost his own balance, falling to the ground as well.
"I'm right...aren't I?..." Rael lunged towards Avures, but met he met her challenge. On their knees, they locked hands and got into a pure struggle.
"I shouldn't have to tell you why!"
"But how am I supposed to know if you don't say why?!"
"Then tell me why you hate me!"
"Because you're trying to kill my dream!"
"And you aren't trying to kill mine?!" Avures's arms pulled back as his hands were still locked with Rael's. He suddenly thrust his head forward, and headbutted Rael straight in the face. Rael's nose became bloodied as she reeled back from the pain.
"You...hate this!" Rael repeated what Avures did, this time headbutting him back. Avures's nose bent out of shape as blood trickled down. "This isn't your dream!"
"Then what is huh?! Tell me! I "never tell anyone anything", but you seem to know? Shut the fuck up!" Avures forced everything he could into bending Rael's wrists backwards from their grip. She practically yelped in pain as her wrists bent in a way it never should have.
"Then!...Then!...Tell me!...What dream of yours am I killing? What dream have I killed?...you're nothing!..." Rael regained control, and bent Avures's wrists backwards like he did to her. Avures shouted out in pain as his bones cracked.
"You...You!...self-centered...bitch!" Avures yanked his hands out of the lock. Rael sat there, and didn't do anything. Avures regained his strength, and didn't move either. "I-I!-..."
"That's enough...I've seen what I've wanted to see." Grula suddenly stood in-between them.
A silence filled the air as everyone else crowded around the two of them. Both Avures and Rael struggled and stood themselves to their feet. Even with Grula in between them, they still locked eyes. Both of them held an anger that the other hadn't ever seen from each other. But, now came the matter of what this was all about.
"You two can continue your argument wherever else for all I care. But..." Grula looked between the two of them. "I'm impressed with both of your showings. Avures...you're allowed to stay. Rael...you'll be staying as well."
"So...this was all for nothing?..." Bif's face was frozen with a disgusted look.
"Not quite..." Zen chimed in. "Miss Grula and I were prepared to kick out Avures if his showing wasn't good. But...it seems that wasn't necessary."
"That wraps this up...I trust you all to train, so come back tomorrow around the same time. We'll discuss an event coming up in a couple of days, and then you're free to do your usual routines. Class dismissed..." Grula clapped her hands together once.
Avures and Rael were still interlocked in a staring match. Neither one wanted to be the first to give out. But it was very clear between them...neither one knew the other as well as they thought they did...