Dio was often preoccupied with how he felt and looked. He was attentive and cautious, which allowed him to notice something. It was John's face, his eyes in particular, that opened up like a flower blooming, albeit there was no warmth behind them. There was fear.
John's fingers began to tremble as his lips quivered. He had been played, and the elite and royals viewed him as nothing more than a sandbag that could be disposed of. Fear slowly replaced by despair, and the blood that circulated through his body no longer seemed warm. His throat felt closed as if he had choked on himself. Every ounce of courage and energy mustered to fend off the nauseating feeling that permeated his gut.
'Everywhere I go, everyone I meet….it is all the same. I'm treated the same lifeless way, ridiculed and mocked for being….' John gripped his fists to stop whatever was coming up his throat.
"...It was on purpose…" Dio's lifeless scarlet eyes stared at Blue's face; at that moment, nobody but the two of them existed. "You lied on pu-"
"I never lied," Blue cut Dio off and shooed him off with his hand.
"Dio…" John turned around while biting his lip, a drop of blood squeezed out and fell to the ground, his cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were wet. "I'm ready," he forced a smile.
John wasn't going to die. That couldn't happen; the instructor would make sure of that. However, his opponent would make sure he reached that point. After all, healing magic can almost always guarantee a recovery as long as they are alive.
What made Dio sure that the instructor wouldn't intervene was the fact that this entire exercise was meant to simulate a war-like experience. While there were boundaries and lines that couldn't be crossed, everything else was considered valid.
"Have a clean match. Keep in mind that I'm going against that fucker next," he pointed towards Jin without breaking any eye contact with Blue. "So watch yourself," he turned around and walked to a rock to sit on. In all honesty, he could see how this would play out, but what could he do? The world was harsh, and while he knew that what was happening was wrong, in the larger picture, it was better for John to experience such things. It simulated the atrocious nature of reality.
With a single snap of the instructor's fingers, the two of them were no longer visible to anyone, almost at the same time, what seemed like a large screen manifested, projecting the spar live to everyone watching. It was impressive magic, perhaps this was what the instructor meant by him being able to control this dimension to a certain extent.
"Nervous?" Blue smiled while cocking his head, there was something about his eyes that seemed cold and lifeless. Even though the question was asked to John, it seemed as if it was directed towards Dio.
"I…I'm ready…" John spoke in a low tone, "I wi-"
As a magic swordsman, Blue's physical abilities were on par with his magical skills, this was kind of the requirement to be considered a magic swordsman. The one disadvantage most mages have is that it takes time to chant spells, albeit a second at times, but that was enough for a swordsman to close the distance.
Before John could even finish his sentence, a hand grabbed his face and smashed it into the ground. A shockwave of dust and smoke scattered as John's body now dug into the ground. Blue gripped his face harder and picked up John's body to fling him across into a nearby boulder.
The viewers in the other dimension seemed distracted, they weren't sure where to look. At the screen where an atrocity was being committed or next to them where heavy suffocating killing intent seemed to be choking everyone.
Dio sat there on the rock, leaning forward and his hands clasping each other. People near him slowly began to back away, creating a circle with him at the center. For some reason, it seemed like the air molecules were vibrating and howling in pain.
Blue's barrage didn't stop there. He noticed John's weak presence and decided to toy with him further, the latter now barely conscious, with blood flowing from all over his face and an arm supporting his cracked ribs. John stood up.
"Fall, you weakling," Blue appeared beside John and kicked him behind his kneecap, causing John to falter. A dark blue sphere formed out of Blue's hands and burst into John's back. He was ruthless, that water sphere was imbued with a large amount of mana, so much so that it shred through John's clothing, leaving behind a large hole at the area of impact.
The dust clouds settled, some of the students now had their hands covering their mouth as their eyes grew wide in horror. A nerve popped out on Blue's forehead as he noticed that John still stood up.
'Etched into your existence…..' Words from a familiar voice echoed through John's head. He turned around and looked for the owner of these words, "Dio..?" he was confused, it sounded awfully similar to his roommate and savior.
"Eyes open!" Blue rushed forward, his hand raised up as he gathered more energy into a punch. John turned in an instant and stood face to face with the charging Godfrey, his eyes closed and a smile appeared on his face. John stood still.
The second his punch was about to connect, Blue was sent flying in another direction, The instructor stood in front of John who now remained unconscious while standing up. He had to intervene, while it didn't look like it, John had passed out, rendering Blue the winner of this spar.
"Winner, Blue Godfrey," he announced in an indifferent voice, bringing both of them back from that dimension. "You," he pointed to a random student, "take him to the infirmary," he commanded after casting a basic healing spell over John.