"Now, tell me, who are you?"
"You should introduce yourself first before-"
"Lucien Forst, otherwise known as the Ice Maniac," Lucien interrupted. "Though I dislike the nickname."
"I-I see." Odeus nodded. 'Definitely a Maniac with how quickly he attacked me.'
"So, who are you?"
"I'm…" Odeus raised a hand to his chest. "The guy dating your sister. Well, the guy who's trying to date your sister. It's going pretty well so far, so I can confidently say that-"
"I could never let a demon like you close to my sister."
'...?!' Saphyra raised an eyebrow.
'Yes!' Jack clenched his bound fists. 'He noticed!'
The malicious intent that Odeus had picked up on, even back at the Academy, was gone.
It had fully transformed into killing intent.
"Explain." Odeus said, crossing his arms.
"Only a demon would try to get close to an angel like Jeanne. Only a demon would try to take her innocence, to stain and dirty her."
"You're saying that I should settle for looking and admiring her from afar?"
"That would be the noble thing to do." Lucien pointed behind him with a thumb. "Just like this classmate learned to do."
'Did he not notice that Jack is gone?' Odeus asked himself. He shook his head. "So a knightly kind of love, huh? What was it called… Courtly love?"
"That's exactly right. It is the only right way to love." Lucien explained.
For a moment, even the killing intent seemed to dim down. The Ice Maniac was rather passionate about the topic.
"So what you're saying is that I should love her… The way you love her."
"Precisely." Lucien nodded. "It is the only proper way."
"Then, tell me, Ice Maniac-"
"Lucien." He corrected.
"Tell me, Lucien." Odeus tilted his head, an amused smile on his face. "Are you in love with your sister?"
"I love my sister, of course. No brother wouldn't love his sister."
"That's not what I'm saying. I'm asking if you're in love with her. In love with Jeanne."
"Like I said, I love Jeanne, like any brother loves his sister." Lucien almost seemed confused. "What are you getting at?"
"..." Odeus scratched his head. "Nevermind."
In the stands,
'Phew, I guess he didn't notice after all.' Saphyra sighed.
'...' Jack was dejected, and slightly disgusted. "Definitely in love with Jeanne." He muttered.
"I know, right? It's like the distinction, the question wasn't even registering in his mind." Saphyra commented.
"Yeah. I've heard of Siscons, but this is…" Jack frowned. 'Wait, why the hell am I talking to her? No, if they're truly Demons, then why am I talking to it?!'
"Sister complexes, huh?" Saphyra smiled, eyes glittering. "I guess he would understand then, huh?"
'Understand what?' Jack wanted to ask the question, but managed to keep it in. 'No,' He shook his head. 'I need to find a way. Some way to alert people. If Demons infiltrated the Academy, if they're truly Demons, then I would need to get to the Chairman. But how?' Jack's eyes narrowed, and his gaze went back towards the two at the center of the coliseum. 'Lucien is going to get serious now. He isn't just worried about his sister dating someone now. He's worried about her safety, about the fact that someone truly dangerous is around her!' Jack nodded to his own thoughts. 'Once the fighting gets serious, Lucien will get an advantage. At that moment, she will have no choice but to go fight by the peasant's side! When that happens, I'll run and call for help!'
Odeus shook his head.
"If you want her so badly, you should ask her for a date." He nodded. "Like I did."
"I'm going to kill you." The Ice Maniac declared in a low voice, and the Ether around his arms expanded to cover the entirety of his body.
"I really don't get what you're so mad at."
Lucien raised a hand, and three spheres of Ether were formed in the air.
The spheres of Ether rotated in the air and quickly turned into spinning arrows made of ice.
The Maniac snapped his fingers, and the arrows were shot with deafening speed.
Odeus managed to dodge the attack in time, but it had only been meant to buy time.
The moment bought had allowed Lucien to gather the necessary Ether.
Two pillars of ice appeared on each side of him and, the next second, the pillars bowed down, aimed at Odeus.
'Gulp…' Despite being in the stands, Jack could feel the air burning his throat and lungs. 'So much Ether… The weight of it is cracking the ground all around him!'
"Phew," Saphyra whistled as the pillars lengthened and moved before smashing into Odeus from both sides.
Jack couldn't help but close his eyes the moment that the attack landed.
CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!
For now, the Demon talk was still nothing but talk, but this… Was murder.
He slowly opened his eyes, only to find the area where Odeus had been standing covered by dust and rubble.
"He… Is he even alive-"
Before Jack could finish the sentence, an additional four pillars smashed into that very same spot.
"He's seriously…"
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
"He's seriously going to kill him!"
The trembling Jack turned towards Saphyra and,
'She's…'
Gulp-
'She's… Smiling?'