Luxor Academy: Flames of Chaos

Chapter 4 - Hajimari Tournament Part 2

Ryo was locked in an intense battle with the microphone.

The damn thing refused to turn off, and Ryo's throat was starting to get congested with the whoops of excitement that he couldn't let out at risk of it getting into the microphone and blowing everyone's ears off.

Being too proud to ask someone for help, Ryo silently struggled alone with the microphone. The chaos of the free-for-all fight in front of him continued to rage: sword and umbrella, blade and frost, hand and fire, dancing in the heat of martial power.

Finally, Ryo couldn't take it. With all his might, he hurled the microphone across the lawn, towards the dorms. He had no doubt that the microphone probably hit some poor bystander, but the built-up excitement was too much to bear to leave room to worry about idiots who couldn't duck.

Freed from the burden of the microphone, Ryo let out a whoop of joy. Nobody heard him though, none of the fighters took a moment to observe Ryo's behavior.

A sudden explosion drew Ryo's attention to two people, dueling it out with an umbrella and sword. Ryo recognized one of them, the one with the umbrella was Anabelle, who had forsaken him and the occupants of the school bus, leaving him and the others for dead.

As he watched, the boy holding the wickedly curved sword carved a mighty blow and shattered the umbrella in half. Anabelle stood there for a moment, shocked, then when that shock had run off, she walked off the arena, not even bothering to fight with her high heeled shoes of glory.

Ryo would have been fine with the outcome, but the teachers, seeing Anabelle walking off the arena without anyone objecting, followed suit. In less than five seconds, all but one of the teachers were off the fight.

The remaining teacher was dark-haired, with slanted Asian eyes and what looked to be a rapier in hand. Ryo immediately respected him. The others he didn't, so Ryo stood up at his desk, waving his hands around in ineffective anger and shouting obscenely. Of course, nobody heard him.

"Give me a fucking megaphone," Ryo yelled to one of the hitmen on hand, "Please and thank you."

As the hitman left to retrieve a megaphone, Ryo felt eyes on his back. But when Ryo turned around, he saw nobody looking at him. Thinking it was his imagination, Ryo turned back to focus on the fight in front of him.

But his instincts were correct. Indeed, someone was watching him, their mouth twisted into a malicious smile.

Back down on the battlefield, things were going very amiss for Blaise.

Kazuki watched in horror as Crow ducked out of the path of his arrow, the projectile instead burying into Blaise's shoulder, cutting past the windbreaker like it was butter.

A moment after the arrow sank in, Blaise emitted a blood-curdling roar of agony before he collapsed onto his knees.

"Oh Jesus Christ!" Kazuki cried, a tiny flaming spear of horror piercing his chest, "Blaise! I'm sorry!"

Blaise didn't respond, his handsome face lined with pain. With the same forced effort that Skyler might use, Blaise twisted his mouth in a reassuring grin before collapsing.

With renewed fury from his mistake, Kazuki shot another arrow. Crow moved out of the way, but this time, the arrow wasn't aimed at him.

With uncanny accuracy, Kazuki had shot the arrow at the swordsman that Skyler was fighting. He followed the flight of the deadly projectile, watching as the arrow knocked the scimitar out of the bald-headed fighter's hand.

This gave Skyler just the opportunity to dry-freeze the boy into an unmoving statue. With Skyler no longer occupied, Kazuki turned his gaze back to Crow. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Skyler looking between Blaise, an arrow in his shoulder, unconscious, and with blood pooling around him to Kazuki, who did his best to push down the guilt he was feeling and focus on Crow, then back.