Descendants of Gibbous-Chapter 71: Friendly match

"Welcome to this year’s first adversary match. Unlike the usual banter settling ones, however, this one is a friendly match between a student and our beloved caretaker. Give it up for a fifth-year student from Fangpeak’s Cardinal house and registered hero, Alicia Dice!"

Roars, cheers, screams, and applause could be heard from students in red under the Phoenix statue. Damien and Eden were among those making the noise, yelling Alicia’s name as she walked into the stadium. She was wearing a black body glove Damien had seen in Ahara’s wardrobe once—a mark to show that she was now an approved licensed hero who could go on missions in the human world.

They’d learned about it in their history and diplomacy classes—how students who managed to impress the city overseeing guilds during their internships with their skills were recruited for missions before they even finished school. It was a shortcut to getting a license better than finishing school, and only ten students so far had accomplished the feat, Alicia included.

Damien watched as she waved at her housemates and walked into the stadium until she was standing inside a small white circle before them.

The commentator immediately cleared his throat, silencing the crowd before his next announcement.

"Next, please give it up for our caretaker, Rohan Dragonblade!"

An echo of boos came from Fangpeak’s house, paired with a few from Clawthorn as the tattooed man walked in; but the cheers from the students in yellow and green took the spotlight. Damien clicked his tongue, wishing he had the bug thing Principal Twiller had used to make his voice louder.

Once Rohan was standing in his white circle, dressed in the same gear as Alicia and grinning, the commentator cut the crowd again.

"Well, since this is a friendly match, I don’t have any rules for you. Battle to your heart’s content, or at least until one of you surrenders. Now fight!"

"Just like that?!" Eden mumbled beside Damien to no one whatsoever.

A deadly silence masked the stadium as the two contenders below stood rooted to the spot, facing each other. Damien watched in silence too, his heart thudding at the suspense the two of them were creating. They were clearly waiting for something. An opening? A weak spot? An attack?

Damien wasn’t sure, but he knew this wasn’t going to be like the joint class live battle simulation he and the other first years had last Wednesday. This was a real battle where the opponents didn’t need to go easy on the weaker one, it was kill or be killed, well, almost.

"Overdrive state already?!" Eden asked loudly this time, grabbing Damien and Ambrose who were sitting on each side of her before pulling them.

"No, that’s the trance state. They’re preparing to use Primal Ascension," Ambrose corrected her.

Damien and Eden both snapped their heads in her direction. They’d learned about the risks of using primal ascension in their first lesson about Aura and its uses. One wrong move and a person using it could leave the battle arena with permanent scars or better yet, they could die.

"Isn’t that risky?" Damien found himself asking just when a massive wave of suppressive aura hit the stadium and all the students groaned in protest.

To Damien’s surprise, even though his colleagues were cringing beside him, repulsed by the massive energy waves oozing from the fighters below, he didn’t even flinch.

"This is a hero school, loser. Risks are supposed to be your middle name because out there in the real world where real battles that could kill you are fought, only those who’re able take monstrous risks win," Ambrose explained, her eyes set on Alicia with a twinkle Damien had seen far too many times in Ahara’s eyes whenever she met the Queen.

Admiration.

Just like him, she too wasn’t wincing from Alicia’s immense aura, but Damien soon noticed the tears soaking her eyes and the veins in her neck as she kept her head held up high.

’She’s forcing herself to handle the aura,’ he noted, turning back to the battle before them.

It didn’t take a few seconds of him staring before the massive aura disturbing the students vanished from their presence as if caught in a wind before Alicia yelled the famous two-word phrase:

"Primal Ascension!"

She hadn’t even finished saying her phrase before Rohan did the same, his voice somehow louder than the girl’s. Damien watched as the two of them turned into blood-curdling "beasts" so to speak.

Alicia’s hair grew all the way to her feet, her hands changing into large wolf paws with claws that looked as though they’d snap a human head off with one slice or flick. As for Rohan, he remained the same except, he now had cuts here and there all over his body that were oozing blood.

Damien had heard this trick in their pain regression and blood manipulation classes.

It’s the reason why those classes existed in the first place—because vampires could use blood magic to the maximum during primal ascension. Also, their blood would be poisonous to anyone it cut during battle, meaning Alicia had to look out for both the blood attacks and Rohan unless she wanted to die that is.

’This is turning dangerous.’

But that was only a thought he had by himself. The fighters in the battle arena couldn’t care less what he thought because the next moment after their momentary morphing which took less than thirty seconds, they vanished from their white spot.

"And it begins!" The commentator roared into their microphone just when a loud howl came from where Alicia and Rohan had clashed.

"He cut her!" Eden screamed, grabbing her face.

"Yes, but she did so too," Ambrose yelled after the princess.

Damien noticed it too. Alicia had a dagger in her hand that she’d used to slash Rohan’s hand off and he had repaid her action with a cut by her bicep, although his wasn’t as deadly as her cut.

"That was too careless of her. Now he has more blood to use on her," Yong mumbled next to Damien, and he was right.

Alicia dashed away from the make-do pointed blood arm Rohan had made by solidifying the blood oozing from his hand. And that wasn’t the only threat for Alicia now. The blood from the vampire that had fallen to the ground was now levitating behind the man as small needles, ready to pierce into his opponent’s body and paralyze her.

He didn’t waste any time.

With a sharp dive, he charged at her, his blood needles immediately moving after he swung his hand. They charged at Alicia, who evaded each attack with precision, landing a few meters away from where they blasted into the ground.

"Behind you!" Ambrose cried at her.

SLAM!

Alicia didn’t even get the time to flinch before a brisk kick sliced into her neck and sent her flying across the stadium. Before she could land ungracefully on the ground though, Rohan sent a blood sickle charging at her belly, making the students watching wince and close their eyes.

And that wasn’t all. The needles that had slammed into the ground not too long ago plunged out from it and charged at the girl with calculated precision.

"Ha! You’re going all in huh, old man," Alicia laughed mockingly. "Well, it’s a battle after all, get ready to have a taste of your own medicine—Domain Loops!"

Damien watched in awe as small circles just like Kingston had withdrawn his weapons from popped all around the werewolf, drawing in the bloody attacks in their numbers. Then in the most shocking plot twist yet, a large portal opened behind Rohan, revealing all his blood attacks charging at his back.