"I have no intention of fighting either of you. But, I do wish to have a talk with our sleeping friend. He attacked me and I was forced to defend myself"
It was long standoff. To the normal eye, their stances look still, but a martial artist above an apprentice level would know. She had masterfully blocked all advancements to retrieve me. Every effort would either end up in her escaping, or, worse.
This would've worked if I was truly defenseless, of course. Then I saw markings on the ground. It was Jaden's magic.
"Well, I will take my leave now."
"You wont be going nowhere. Look beneath where you stand"
It was a magical circle, a restraint. Where did he get the time to do that? Doesn't matter. When the benevolent gods put sugar in your mouth, you dont ask questions, much less spit it out.
Above our heads, was a floating Jaden. He had always loved attention, but this was pushing it.
"I've analyzed your technique already. You use corruption, you witch" He said as he slowly descended to the ground, hands behind his back.
She struggled to move, as the restraint put on her was powerful. It was Jaden's specialty. Through all his shenanigans, he was quite skilled when it came to magical circles.
"And he's not the only one you should worry about" Jade said as he got closer.
"It seems like the big guy not happy about your appearance as well" Kainan scoffed.
Such a wonderful time to be lazy. It was like a play, their theatrics unmatched. Feeling guilty, I decided that It was finally time for me to pop out. They had done so much for me, and the worst thing I could do in return was betray their efforts. Things had been rough between us these days, but I prefer the outside world to a cave. If not for them, who knows what would've become of me.
"Good try boys, but I'm in control. Your friend here is under my control. If you wish to see him remain in one piece, you better back up. I may be surrounded, but running with my tail between my legs is something that I wont do." She said, desperately.
You could tell she was not ready for this situation, if she was a professional, she would've found a way around getting surrounded. From attacking me in the presence of my allies, from miscalculating the amount of corruption needed to take me down, to completely ignoring my mental state. Everything screamed 'rookie'.
I've read many battles and maneuvers of the Godhand, Xilan. Many escapades and countless war texts, manuals and strategies of the 'Great mind' Mikal.
I may not look like much, but when anything in the realm of strategies and war plans are concerned, you could say I was a seasoned expert, having great knowledge and deep understanding in those matters.
In that deep, dark cave, where no light infiltrated, where rotting flesh became a part of life, reading anything I could get my hands gave me a feeling of life. It was the only thing that set me apart from the corroded spirits and bones around. But the smell of death was not the problem.
Whenever I get caught stealing books, or let out once a month for inspection by the Furcifer clan, they made me feel less of human being. The constant beating was not the problem then. By the time I was twelve, I had already felt every form of physical punishment, my body weak from bruises and my back decorated with scars. At that time, I couldn't even cry. The tears poured out of my eyes, my dry throat refusing to scream. At that time, all the pain was beaten out of me.
The real issue lay in the little things—those insidious details that gnawed at my soul, far worse than any physical thrashing. It was the isolation, the chilling indifference of the very people who passed me by with vacant eyes. I was naive, foolishly believing that children were born innocent, untouched by the darkness of hate and revulsion. How tragically wrong I was.
On countless occasions, I found myself at the mercy of closed doors, my frail hands knocking against the wood, pleading for scraps of kindness. But behind those doors, mothers recoiled in horror, their faces twisted in disgust as if I were garbage. Children, once bright and full of laughter, hurled whatever they could find at me—stones, rotten fruits, words laced with venom. Their laughter echoed in my ears like the cruelest of taunts.
And when the guards finally came, their cold, authoritative presence enveloped me like a heavy shroud. They seized me with rough hands, dragging me away from the fleeting hope of compassion—a hope that had shattered like glass. The beating that followed felt like a dark symphony, each strike a cruel note in a song of despair. Those who dared to offer me a crumb of bread were punished severely, their kindness met with brutality. Even the briefest glance in my direction could lead to a warning, a threat that hung over us. In this world, kindness was a fleeting shadow, and love had been replaced by a suffocating silence. I learned that even the smallest gestures of humanity could draw the wrath of a merciless crowd, leaving only echoes of sorrow in their wake.
In those times, when death was a happier end, those stories gave me hope. It made me feel more than a lump of skin and bone. It was my support, my will to push on.
I recollected my thoughts, wiped the tears forming in my eyes, and stood up.
"Anyway, it looks like I'll play with you all another day. I've had my fill" she snickered.
"You should've prepared more. Your power. Doesn't work on me quite as good." I scoffed.
We all closed in on her. In a flash, we all closed in on her. After the smoke cleared, we had caught her. I had her arms, Vin had her legs, while Kainan and Kyle had her still, sword at her throat.
"We'll ask you nicely one last time. We appreciate your earlier shown kindness, but this is the end of the line for you. You will talk, All you decide is to save yourself some bruises." Kyle stated, strongly.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice rough and desperate.
"That's our line. You witch." Kainan said, slightly pushing his blade on her neck.
She looked down in defeat.
"I guess I have no choice. Something tells me we'll meet again, young ones" she gasped. Then she began chanting spells, in a language hard to perceive.
At the second, Jaden quickly ran toward us.
"Brace for impact."
Without a word, we understood the situation. We all got down, completely trusting Jaden's warning. In a split second, he set up the barrier, and in no time, the beautiful, but mysterious woman turned firecracker, exploded, lighting up the training ground.
When smoke settled, we were all on the stone, cold, hard ground. Thanks to Jaden, no one was hurt.
The best thing to do now, was check our internals, report the situation to the authorities, possibly look into who had the audacity to break into Academy grounds and harm students under tutelage of the Eze clan. Anything could be more responsible. Anything but make fun of the situation. Anything, but laugh
So what did we do? What we always did.
Laugh.