"And who might this handsome man be?" The last remaining student asked with a sly grin, her tone flirtatious.
Her name was Lucy, she was a friendly and outgoing student from the second year, known for her amiable personality. She had long curly hair that cascaded down her back and was a little shorter than Sophia.
Nyla's eyes narrowed as she heard Lucy's flirty tone directed toward Rio.
With a positive stride, she stepped forward to show her sovereignty over her man. She reached out and took off the boy's masquerade with intimate action, revealing his handsome face.
Seeing it was their own classmate, their astonished face became dazed. The group of students stared at the boy in disbelief, eyes widening with astonishment. They couldn't believe that the boy who had joined their class was capable of fighting so many black-stage beasts with such ease as if it was just a normal animal from their earth.
Rio had always been a bit of a mystery to them. He was quiet and kept to himself most of the time, but now seeing his true power, they couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for him. They had never expected him to become so strong and reach the level of the black stage.
"Wow, Havenglow's family really lives up to their reputation. To already be a black-stage warrior in just their first year is truly impressive," James commented with a hint of admiration in his voice.
"I'm really intrigued. How on earth did you guys manage to get a whole pack of shadow cats riled up like that?" Nyla asked, looking at Sophia and Lucas curiously. She was puzzled about what they could have possibly done to provoke so many Shadow Cats at once.
"Brother, Don't give me that look. I am not the culprit. Even if I'm unlucky, I have never attracted so many beasts at the same time." Lucas spoke in his defense, feeling a bit embarrassed as Rio was looking in his direction thinking how bad was his luck to pull numerous shadow cats to chase their group.
Sophia took a deep breath before explaining the situation to the duo, "It wasn't Lucas who attracted all those shadow cats. We were attacked by an enemy team and our seniors are still fighting with them. From what I saw, it seemed they were after first-year students and were able to control the shadow cats and the special beast."
Talia's eyes locked onto Nyla's face, "How did you manage to reach the black stage?"
She directed the question to her stepsister, a hint of annoyance in her voice, she continued, "Last time we spoke, you were only at the purple stage."
Nyla smiled, unfazed by her sister's tone. "I had a little help, And a lot of hard work and training," she replied in an enigmatic manner, her eyes twinkling with pleasure.
Talia raised an eyebrow, still suspicious, "I find that hard to believe,"
Nyla shrugged with a smile, not wanting to answer her and clear her doubt.
"Can you two help us save our teammates? They're still out there fighting against the enemy team. We need all the help we can get or they will end up withdrawing from the tournament," Lucy's eyes moved from Nyla to Rio as she desperately pleaded, her voice was laced with urgency and a glimmer of hope.
The boy's eyes gleamed with a mysterious glint as he listened to Lucy's plea for help.
The magenta-haired girl turned towards Rio, to know his decision. She asked in his thoughts, "What do you say?"
He responded back using telepathy, "We could've gained some battle points for helping them. But Talia is here so we should help them for free to raise your reputation in the school against her. She will surely get irritated to hear praise of her step-sister for the next seventeen days she will spend with her teammates."
Nyla giggled inwardly at Rio's mischievous plan. "Alright, let's go help them out. But we're doing this because it's the right thing to do, not just to annoy Talia," she said with a smile.
He thought about the benefits of assisting them, not for the battle points they could gain, but for the opportunity to showcase Nyla's skills to Talia's team. He envisioned the awe on their faces witnessing the Magenta-haired beauty's power, and the satisfaction his girl would feel as Talia would be annoyed by her teammates constantly commending her step-sister.
Sophia and company watched how the Magenta-haired beauty was looking in Rio's direction for his affirmation before deciding if she was going to help or not. This showed that Nyla wasn't planning to step in to aid if he didn't agree.
After a moment, Nyla turned around and said, "Show us the way."
Lucas murmured, "Such a good couple, they can understand each other just by looking into one another's eyes."
Talia's eyes widened at his statement and she stumbled a bit, nearly tripping on a rock. She was confused as the girl realized what Lucas was insinuating. Her step-sister Nyla, being linked romantically to Rio, was just a rumor she heard previously. She didn't think the boy would've reciprocated her feeling.
She shot a quick glance towards the two and noticed how they seemed to be in perfect harmony with each other. It made her stomach churn with jealousy and frustration.
Sophia and company led the way, and moved swiftly, weaving through the dense forest. The thick foliage barely slowed them down as they dashed toward their teammates who were fighting the enemy group.
The sun had already set, causing darkness to take over the island. The only light was the glimmer of stars twinkling and the glowing moon high above them. The air was thick with worry, the sound of whispering leaves and the snap of twigs underfoot accompanied their journey.
After some time, Rio could hear the faint sound of blades clashing in the distance, followed by a howling of a beast. He wondered what kind of battle they were about to face.
As they continued to sprint through the trees, Rio's [Heaven's Eyes] caught sight of two figures battling a massive, hulking creature. Its fur was matted and blood-stained, and its eyes glinted with a fierce, predatory gleam.
The two students were desperately trying to fend off the beast's relentless attacks, but they were clearly outmatched. Rio could see the fear in their eyes, and he knew that they needed help.
But his attention was quickly drawn away as he saw the other three students being surrounded by five shadowy figures.
Rio could notice the desperation in their eyes as they fought, their movements becoming more and more frantic as they tried to hold their ground. Although they could withdraw from the tournament but they didn't want to give up on it until they were fully crushed.
"Nyla, I'll deal with those five students. You focus on taking down that special beast," Rio said via telepathy, his tone assertive and calm.
As Sophia's team went closer to the site where the fighting was happening, they saw two silhouettes moving quickly ahead of them. The figures were charging forward with such speed that they left them far behind.
The magenta-haired beauty approached the giant beast, her body began to emit a bright yellow aura. The glow intensified and swirled around her, forming a fiery vortex.
The two students around her, who she was saving, gasped in awe and amazement as they were surprised by their savior's elegant move and strength.
With a fierce glint in her eyes, Nyla charged toward the special beast, her movements sleek with accuracy. As she engaged in battle, the yellow fire around her seemed to intensify, empowering her black spear's strikes and allowing her to evade the beast's attacks.
Her movements were like a dance, graceful yet deadly. The sight of her fighting the beast left Sophia and company speechless, they halted their steps as they watched in amazement from the distance.
On the other hand, Rio went straight for the sinister students who were attacking his schoolmates.
He analyzed the situation and assessed that it was better to hide his full strength now as there was more to it than what the eyes see.
He decided to take a more strategic approach and engaged with only two of the attackers. The two evil students were surprised by his sudden appearance and were caught off guard, allowing Rio to land the first few blows. However, they quickly regained their composure and counter-attacked with a fierce combination of sword strikes.
Rio was able to dodge and deflect most of their attacks, while also landing some counterstrikes of his own. He focused on taking down his opponents one by one, using their own momentum against them while thinking of ways to understand their hidden motives.
"Everyone, focus on Rio Havenglow! Take him down!", Byran's voice boomed over the sound of the battle, he was the leader who was leading this sinister team to execute his target on the order of Madame.
As soon as the words left Byran's mouth, the Two other students abandoned their current fights and turned towards Rio.
Their eyes glinted with malice as they charged toward him with their weapons at the ready. Rio stood his ground and waited for them to approach.
The crimson-haired boy kept his calm and didn't hurry to finish them as many burning questions popped up into his mind.
Who could possibly want him dead? Was it someone from his past, or a new enemy altogether? The answer seemed just out of his reach, and he knew he had to keep his guard up.
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Edited By: TheWhiteSnow
