Chapter 16: The Spark of Conflict.
The old man in the sleek black attire vanished into the shadow of one of the students, blending seamlessly into the darkness. This was the signal—the game had begun. Yet, most students remained oblivious, continuing their march toward the center of the arena, unaware that the battle had already started.
Those who had seen the signal wasted no time. They seized the opportunity to strike at their unsuspecting peers, aiming to claim their points. But just as they moved to attack, Fayrouz, who had also witnessed the signal, placed her hands firmly on the ground. The earth beneath her trembled violently, as if responding to her command.
[Atomic Manipulation ~ Mountain Tremor!!]
The ground erupted in chaos. Some sections of the earth shot upward, others cracked and remained suspended, while others crumbled and sank. The students, far from being mere amateurs, quickly identified the source of this powerful attack. Their eyes turned to Fayrouz, who stood at the epicenter of the tremor, her hair swaying from the aftershocks and her eyes glowing with the energy of Menma.
"Justice is the foundation of society," she declared, her voice steady and commanding. "Without justice, there can be no bright future!"
Some of the students, those with a striking presence and an air of authority, recognized Fayrouz immediately. Their first impressions of her were formed as they were thrown into the air by the tremor:
"A strong sense of justice and overwhelming power. It seems the Ragandarok Academy isn't called the capital of talent for nothing," remarked a small boy with golden hair and eyes, holding a bow and a quiver of arrows. He wore a stylish yellow hat and matching attire.
"A single touch to cause an earthquake? Who would've thought the justice fanatic would be this strong?" muttered a girl with long blonde hair and green eyes, who was also sent flying by the tremor. She was unarmed and happened to be Fayrouz's roommate, the one who shared coffee with her.
"Perfect face, crystalline eyes, long black hair. I think I've finally found her—the girl of my dreams!" exclaimed a muscular, bare-skinned man, the only one naked in the arena.
These were the most notable descriptions of Fayrouz. The rest of the students either kept their thoughts to themselves or were too preoccupied with the chaos to speak.
But where there were admirers, there were also those who harbored resentment. These fell into two categories: those who had planned to ambush their peers for points after seeing the signal, and those who felt threatened by Fayrouz's overwhelming power.
Akira, Fulan's roommate, was among those who felt uneasy about her strength. His eyes began to glow a faint blue, and his hair swayed as if caressed by an invisible wind. He stared at Fayrouz, who stood seventy meters away, analyzing her abilities.
"That girl... her power isn't ordinary. I can think of only three possibilities. First, she can create sonic vibrations on anything she touches, which would explain the earthquake-like effect. Second, she can alter or move the earth's surface within a specific radius. Third, she can manipulate the molecules that make up any material. If that's the case, she could shatter a tree or even a human body with a single touch. She's dangerous... she shouldn't be allowed to live!"
*ZAP!!*
Akira shot toward Fayrouz like a bolt of blue lightning. Those who saw him pass felt a chill, even though he was gone in an instant.
Fayrouz's eyes widened as she saw him coming. She placed her hands on the ground once more, shouting:
**[Atomic Manipulation ~ Nine Stone Walls!!]**
Nine stone walls erupted from the ground, forming a protective barrier around her. But to her shock, Akira's lightning strike pierced through all nine walls effortlessly. His thoughts raced as he closed in:
"I won't be punished by the kingdom's court if I kill her now. This is an exam recognized by the king, after all. A death or two is expected. At this speed, my punch will shatter her skull!"
Akira wore black, reinforced gloves for this very reason. At full speed, his punches were lethal, and without the gloves, his own hand would shatter upon impact.
To the distant students, it seemed as though a bolt of lightning had struck the center of the arena, shattering some stone walls that had appeared out of nowhere. But for Fayrouz, death was approaching fast. As the ninth wall crumbled, she realized her chances of survival were zero.
But then...
*ZAP!!*
Fulan appeared in a flash of blue lightning, intercepting Akira's punch just before it could crush Fayrouz's skull. If Akira had come from the north, Fulan had come from the west.
To stop a lightning strike, Fulan used a lightning strike of his own. The collision created an electromagnetic shockwave that sent all three of them flying in different directions.
Akira lay on his back, staring at the sky, his hand throbbing with pain. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"Lightning? I come from a rare lineage, the only one capable of using blue lightning Menma. So how... how can that bastard use it too?"
It was a valid question. What Fulan had done defied the laws of nature. He hadn't moved at the speed of sound—that would've been too slow to save Fayrouz. So how had he managed to use lightning Menma when he wasn't from Akira's clan?
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Akira Denki, a boy who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, had light blue hair and eyes. He hailed from a clan known for their mastery of blue lightning Menma, making him a natural prodigy. But Akira wasn't just arrogant about his power. He had quickly analyzed Fayrouz's abilities after seeing her use them just once.
The previous collision created an electromagnetic shockwave that sent all three of them flying.
The biggest casualty in that moment was Fayrouz, who couldn't withstand the clash of lightning Menma so close to her body.
All of this happened in mere seconds. To the other students, it looked like two bolts of lightning had collided in the center of the arena. After the impact, small blue sparks lingered in the air, falling slowly like blue fireworks.
Fayrouz, Fulan, and Akira lay on their backs, watching the sparks fall. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts.
"Moving at the speed of lightning is completely different from moving at the speed of sound. I'm used to using sound Menma. Switching to lightning Menma so suddenly is putting a strain on my lungs. I think I can only move at lightning speed two more times at most," Fulan mused.
Akira and Fulan, both were thinking about the same thing, but Fayrouz was the one suffering the most—both physically and mentally. She remembered the words she had said to Fulan the day before, when they were in the capital:
"So I'm telling you now, don't worry about helping me. During the exam, I'll be a different person. If they make us enemies, it's best for you to avoid facing me."
Those words echoed in her mind as she lay there, her thoughts swirling with regret.
"Was I boasting about not needing Fulan's help? How could you save someone like me, who's been nothing but rude to you? Fulan, you... you're making me feel like the worst person alive."
The glow in Fayrouz's eyes faded, not because she was losing consciousness, but because she had lost her will to fight. Fulan's actions had humbled her, forcing her to confront her own arrogance.
But Fayrouz failed to realize one important thing: her actions at the start of the game had inspired some of the students. Just as Fulan had influenced her, she had influenced others.
The first to rise from the trio was Akira. Veins bulged on his forehead as he glared at Fulan, who was also trying to stand.
"Fulan... what exactly was that?!" Akira demanded. "Why can you use my ability?!"
Fulan exhaled a stream of air from his mouth as he struggled to stand. At that moment, the blue eyes of Fayrouz, who was sitting on the ground observing, widened as she watched Fulan take a deep breath, renewing the air in his lungs—or rather, renewing the Menma within him. Almost immediately, the Menma particles in his body, particularly in his lungs, took on a faint, glowing blue hue. To an ordinary person, The Menma particles in the air will be colorless, but Fayrouz was one of those really rare individuals capable of perceiving the subtle colors of The Menma particles. That's why she knew something unusual was happening. As she quietly stared at Fulan, who stood five meters away, her thoughts began to race:
"Again, it's happening again... just like during his fight against the bandits. The Menma within Fulan's body is usually colorless, but whenever he holds his breath, the particles take on a distinct hue. At first, his Menma turned white, but this is the first time I've seen it shift to blue. I don't fully understand what's going on, but one thing is certain: Fulan only fights when he's holding his breath?!"
Fulan rose to his feet, poised to deliver another response, but suddenly, Akira's hair began to float backward, followed by his white clothes. "Huh?" At first, he thought it was just the wind, but a second later, his entire body began to drift involuntarily backward. Directly toward the muscular, bald man with tanned skin—one of the individuals who had been captivated by Fayrouz's movements at the start of the game. The man smiled as he raised his right hand and said:
"Sorry, but I plan to confess to that girl. Kids lile you will have another chance to join the academy in the coming years. Don't get arrogant just because you're talented!"
As Akira's body reached the man, his right hand was enveloped in a nearly colorless, faint white aura. Just before striking Akira with full force, the man growled:
"Fly away, little bird!"
[ Ultimate Push!! ]
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