"Ivan Abramov and Charlotte Beecher," cried Master Wood.
Master Garcia followed: "Finius Jones and Tobias Walker."
If one were to make an assumption on the outcome of the fight based on physical appearance alone, it would look like there were clear winners. Ivan had the body of an Olympic wrestler, and looked older than his years. Charlotte, though fearsome looking, was an unknown and so was not expected to do well. However, perhaps the more interesting of the two fights was Finius versus Tobias.
Although Tobias looked like a thirteen-year-old child, he had casually demonstrated a fearsome gravitational control ability that had been literally crushing a blue sash right in front of their eyes. Besides, his affiliation to the Western Alliance and indigo sash was sufficient proof of his strength.
Finius, on the other hand, was from les Chevaliers, and was known to be a speed user. Speed users could be a tough day for anyone, but the question was, would he be able to get a strike in before being significantly affected by Tobias's gravitational ability? The area being split into larger sections would make this more challenging for him, giving Tobias a greater distance in which to utilise his ability.
"Fight!" shouted Master Wood.
"And so it begins," said Edmond.
Already, Finius had moved forward in a kind of blur that the others were surprised by. However, he had seemed to slow down into what was still quite a fast sprint, but more able to be followed by the others. He'd covered about a third of the distance, and it was clear the gravitational ability was having a serious effect on him, as the struggle and sweat could be seen on his face, while the parquet floors that sat beneath the tatami mats were cracking with each stride.
"It's a quick start from Finius, as was to be expected, but he seems to have slowed down. The question is, will he still be fast enough to take him out?"
Meanwhile, Ivan stabbed his sword into the ground and gestured for Charlotte to come closer. Instead, she began to circle around him with spear in hand.
Edmond's commentary continued: "A bold move from Ivan the Terrible, who seems to want to beat his opponent with his bare fists. Back to the main event though, as the battle of Pillar versus Pillar continues…"
As Finius approached, Tobias raised his other hand, now using both to control his ability and Finius slowed down to a stop before crumbling to his knees. His choice of a dagger had been sensible, being low weight and therefore less effected by the gravitational force being applied to it, but still, he was struggling to even stay on his hands and knees as his body was being forced into the ground. He screamed, trying to stand, but like a drunkard, it felt impossible for him to do so, the forces at play completely overwhelming him.
"Things are looking bad for Finius," continued Edmond. "The question is, will Tobias run out of essence before he can finish off the fight? How long can he really keep him down for?"
As if attempting to answer the boy's provocation, suddenly, Finius was smashed into the ground, screaming, while the floor beneath cracked in several places.
Finius started to walk over, still controlling him, and momentarily taking a small coin out of his pocket.
Charlotte had, meanwhile, been gradually circling closer to Ivan. Although he was aware of what she was trying to do, this had gone on for so long, he had started to pay close attention to the other fight, curious about the strength of his peers.
"I would've walked through that," he said, looking at Finius.
Just then, a spear was driven towards his neck, but without turning, he grabbed the tip and yanked the weapon from Charlotte's hand. He turned to look at her, and threw a heavy punch into her guts. She was lifted off the ground several feet and when she landed, Master Wood stepped in: "Winner, Ivan."
Tobias had now reached Finius. And everyone was wondering what he was doing. Even the verbose Edmond was paying close attention. Suddenly, the coin Tobias was holding was thrown in the air above his opponent. He quickly shifted his gravitational control, using one arm to control Finius and the other to control the coin, which was coming down at a high speed.
However, in dividing his power, his grip over Finius had weakened, and feeling this change, he used the opportunity to push forward and slash at Tobias's neck. But his blade was stopped at the last moment as it chinked against that of Master Garcia's, who had crossed the room in an instant.
Was it his ability? Or was his spirit armour just that powerful that he could match up with an unenhanced high-level speed user.
Behind Finius, on the floor, there was a hole, roughly the width of a coin.
"Winner, Finius," cried Master Garcia.
Edmond cheered, and there were others who joined him. The result had seemed to have more of an effect on the crowd than the other fight, but it was clear that the other faction members from the Western Alliance were not pleased with the result. Clearly, there were existing tensions between those gathered today. Long standing rivalries that simmered below the surface.
It made sense that the Four Pillars especially would vie for top spot, even if the Western Alliance were a special party within that group, ultimately supporting the others and the general public, no one wanted to be the weakest of the group. After all, that was how four pillars became three.
Lenny was curious about something though, which he couldn't get off his mind. There was gravitational control, super speed, super strength… What was Charlotte's ability? And why hadn't she used it? Surely it must have been quite powerful, for her to grade so highly? It might have been a bad match up for her, but still, he was sure there was something strange about it. There was one thing for sure though. These indigo sashes were monsters.
*
Had Lenny been in the Transformation Arts class at that moment, he would have understood what a real monster was. While the other classes were quite mixed, nearly half of those in the Transformation Arts class were from one faction: The Fiends. While they were technically a mixed ability faction, being one of the largest outside of the Four Pillars, they specialised in transforming into monstrous beasts, and were usually considered to be one of the few who had the potential to compete on the same level as them, having a decent number of national-level hunters.
For this reason, they were all quite surprised when their strongest, Ben—an indigo sash from Section 6—was defeated so easily by a boy known as Roman. True, he was a violet sash, one of only two in the year, so perhaps it was to be expected that he should win, but they couldn't imagine someone they had the utmost respect and deference for losing so quickly.
Even the instructor, Master Reed, had been surprised by the power of his transformation and had shown a little hesitation in stepping in to save the boy.
It was clear based on size alone that the spirit essence of the young man was truly monstrous. His form took that of a giant leviathan, sixty feet long with giant scales and a mouth that could eat a small child in one bite.
For his first attack, he had gone to snatch Ben, who was in his scorpion beast form, in between his wide jaws. However, being prepared, Master Reed had transformed into the shape of a giant chimera. He quickly pounced, snatching the scorpion away in his lion's maw, like a mother protecting its cub, then brought him off to one side before transforming back into his human state.
For a moment, Master Reed didn't say anything and everyone waited expectantly. Remembering himself, he said: "Winner, Roman."
After class, Master Reed had studied the boy's file. He was a violet sash, he had known that in advance, and it had made him quite pleased, being the first time for many years he would have such a student. But the surprise was in seeing his faction affiliation. It said one word: 'Legion'. He had heard of them, they were a relatively new faction who had been making waves, but whatever the file said about them, he could not seem to reconcile it with what he had just seen. He had observed and trained many other strong transformation abilities in the past, but this was something else. This was beyond a violet sash. This was a prodigy.
A wide smile cracked his lips. "This year," he thought. "Finally, Transformation Arts will get its dues."