The long, drawn-out sound of the Nautilus bell was soon accompanied by Melody’s enthusiastic call.
“Ladies and gentlemen! What a riveting conclusion to the Clash of Dawn! Outnumbered once again, Emil fends off Liesel’s onslaught with a devious tactic! But before he can capitalize, Anna suddenly rushed back into the fray! Her unexpected and explosive return caught our protagonist off guard! And just as he was about to suffer a devastating punch, the Clash of Dawn comes to an abrupt end!”
The frenzied cheers of the crowd filled the Nautilus—their frenetic excitement seemed to shake the very foundations of the colosseum.
Kai listened to their cries as he loomed over his unconscious opponent. A ring of water surrounded his torso while his hands held a pair of liquid shivs. The water construct glinted with an ominous red tint.
Blood. From the male student that he had just eliminated. Nasty cuts and lacerations decorated the body of his felled opponent.
He let out a heavy sigh. His shoulders dropped. The Azurite on his earrings no longer glowed as the shiv and ring of water lost their form, promptly collapsing into a puddle on the arid sand.
He was normally not this brutal and vicious with his attacks. The shame of being saved from elimination by Emil, however, left him enraged.
“Kai Kiyeng takes the last elimination! By his actions, only eight contestants now remain standing in the Nautilus. As per the rules, the Clash of Dawn preliminary stage comes to an end!”
With Melody’s announcement, Academy staff members on standby began streaming out of their hiding spots. They ran towards the unconscious participants still lying on the field, administered first aid, and promptly carried them off the stage.
A firm hand suddenly grabbed Kai by the chin. He was about to protest until he met the stern gaze of a professor. They gave him a quick assessment—squeezing, tilting, and stretching his cheeks like a doll while scrutinizing every inch of his face.
“…No signs of concussion or brain damage,” the professor muttered with a satisfied nod, “Come to the medic bay after you’ve calmed down. We need to get you ready for tomorrow’s knockout rounds immediately.”
“Right,” Kai responded languidly. Fatigue ate into his limbs and bones. The side of his jaw suddenly throbbed. He grimaced as the pain was accompanied by bitter memories of a humiliating defeat.
Damn you, Emil.
Somehow, the delinquent had managed to hold onto the spotlight until the very end—even surviving the combined assault of Liesel and Anna. Kai was sick of hearing his name ring across the Nautilus. Eyeing the rocky outcrops where the two of fought, he sneered as he limped his way off the battlefield.
Aren’t you glad that I eliminated the last person just in time, Emil? You can thank me later. In exchange, you better not lose before we meet in the knockout rounds.
“Take a seat.”
The familiar, astringent scent of antiseptics filled the air. Emil did as he told, sitting down on the sole bed available in the spacious room. He was in a private area within the medical bay of the Nautilus. The person attending to him was a woman in her early 30s. Professor Raine—one of the chief medical staff overseeing this facility. Her demeanor was calm and gentle. She carried herself with a maternal air, reminiscent of a mature woman who was competent in all facets of life.
“Take off your top,” she said, walking over with salve and cloth. Emil reluctantly obliged. As he stripped off his ragged uniform, he caught the faintest of surprise flash across Raine’s face. His mouth curved into a self-deprecating smirk.
Sorry that you have to see this hideous body.
His limbs and torso were mauled by burns and injuries accumulated during his time with Steiger. The skin on his body was like patchwork, a grotesque pattern of scarred tissue from different missions. Emil was no stranger to the disturbing state of his body. Yet, surprisingly, Professor Raine didn’t ask him any questions. Not a single comment. Nor did she let out a single utterance of shock or disgust.
As if this was just another day of work, she gently pressed her hand against his back.
“Mend,” she chanted.
Her voice seemed to resonate in the enclosed space. Emil felt a soothing sensation wash over his shoulders that slowly cascaded down the length of his body. It was a relieving chill that assuage his inflamed muscles and throbbing wounds. Just cold enough to not make him wince with discomfort.
He closed his eyes, letting himself indulge in this rare moment of tranquility.
“Thank you,” he mumbled as the soothing sensation faded.
“Just doing my job,” Professor Raine replied with a smile as she worked to uncork the bottle of ointment, “I halted the inflammatory response of your damaged tissues and accelerated your healing factors with my Gift. You should feel better in a bit. This ointment I have here will further promote healing. You might feel your wounds get itchy overnight. Try not to scratch. Instead, soothe the affected areas with ice.”
“Got it.”
Emil sat still as Professor Raine began applying the ointment. As he waited in silence, he could hear the shrieks of a student crying in pain outside in the corridor. Concerned, he turned to Raine. The professor continued her work nonchalantly—completely unfazed by the disturbing noises.
“…Should you really be working on me?”
“They have plenty of time to heal. You, on the other hand, have to be ready to fight again tomorrow.”
Emil grimaced at the thought. The Clash of Dawn schedule really is brutal. He didn’t think much of it at first, but after narrowly surviving the insanity of the preliminaries, he was starting to have doubts about his performance.
I really underestimated the students here.
“And if I may add,” Professor Raine continued, “Frankly speaking, you’re actually the one who has the worst injuries. Cuts, lacerations, bruises, acid burns, shocks, and then there’s even the gruesome slash that the Ice Maiden landed on you.” She shook her head, a mixture of disbelief and confoundment. “If I may be honest, I’m a bit in awe of your tenacity. I think most students would have collapsed from these injuries long before the conclusion of the preliminaries.”
Emil shrugged. They can do it too if they train under Steiger for two years.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Professor Raine? It’s me.”
The muffled voice outside the room sounded vaguely familiar.
Raine let out a sigh before rising to get the door. “Sorry about this,” she said, visibly displeased as if she was expecting the guest. The door opened to a young lady in Academy uniform. Emil narrowed his eyes. He was sure he had memorized all of the freshmen student’s faces, but this young lady eluded him.
Her eyes were large, widened with a curious glint. A bundle of gray hair was trimmed messily to her shoulders. The girl strolled into the medical room with a childlike energy. In the meantime, Professor Raine discreetly exited the room without any explanation.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
What’s going on?
The female student pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down with an energetic plop! Not saying a single word, she simply stared at him in silence—her face locked with a bright smile like a doll. Needless to say, it quickly got uncomfortable.
“…Um? Hi?”
“Hmmm, I think I can make this work…” she muttered something incomprehensible, presumably to herself.
Emil raised an eye. For some reason that prompted a reaction as the young lady suddenly sat up straight with a loud clap.
“Emil Milligan! Do you know who I am?”
Um, no? Actually, wait. The timbre of her voice suddenly jogged the gears in his head. The cadence and tone were unmistakable. He had been hearing her voice over and over in the past hour. So much so that it became nauseatingly familiar.
“You’re—”
“Melody Lain! A second-year at Exalted Academy. Champion of the previous Clash of Dawn,” she said, suddenly leaning in, eyes shining with reverence, “And now, your biggest fan!”
Emil leaned his head back to keep his distance, slightly off-put by the bizarre introduction. Without warning, Melody’s hands shot out, latching onto his chin with a solid gasp. Stunned by the sudden move, Emil was speechless as Melody pulled him closer.
“Mm! Your face has potential. It’s still a bit boyish, but given a year or two, I bet you’ll blossom into quite the looker. What a shame that the timing didn’t perfectly match,” Melody sighed before breaking out into a smile filled with desire, “It’s not surprising why the preliminaries ended up revolving around you as the protagonist—oh?!”
She gasped as Emil pried her hands off his chin. The shock of Melody’s complete lack of respect for personal space finally wore off.
I swear everyone in this Academy must be clinically insane.
“First of all, don’t just touch me,” Emil hissed, tossing her hand away as he shot her an accusatory glance, “Second of all, the reason why I became the focus of the preliminaries was because of you!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Melody said, sticking out her tongue cheekily.
“Don’t pretend to be ignorant. You know damn well that the commentator has a significant impact on how the preliminary unfolds. While the audience can see the entire stadium, the contestants only have their eyes and your ramblings to discern the state of the field,” Emil snapped. His eyes flashed with fury. “You deliberately painted a target on my back. It’s almost as if you were trying to get me eliminated.”
Melody quickly acquiesced, “Okay, okay, fine. I might have fanned the flames a little bit.” Her eyes suddenly gleamed like a snake’s. “But honestly, what did you expect? The Clash of Dawn is a spectacle. It’s entertainment. It’s drama. What’s a drama without a hero to play the main character?”
“But why me?” Emil growled.
“It didn’t have to be you. Before the preliminaries started, the person that everyone wanted to see the most was the Ice Maiden. My original plan was to observe her warpath to take the number one spot. But then you appeared,” Melody exclaimed, dangling a finger towards his face, “You immediately overcame a three-on-one disadvantage with Louis von Langford on the helm. He was predicted to be a top eight contender, you know? You, a nobody, suddenly took out a promising dark horse while outnumbered. And then continued to do so. Again. And again. And again.”
Melody giggled.
“Am I supposed to just ignore your fascinating performance? That would be a dereliction of my duties as the official Clash of Dawn commentator! If there’s anything to blame, it’s your own competence.”
Emil clenched his teeth in frustration. He wanted to protest, but there was nothing with what Melody said that he could refute. When viewed from her perspective, it was a no-brainer—he was an unknown commodity who suddenly seized the event by a storm. At the end of the day, the Clash of Dawn was entertainment for the elites, intent to draw eyes and build excitement towards the new talents of Exalted Academy.
The battle royale format of the preliminaries also enabled this. There were no rules against teaming up against one contestant. Now that he thought about it, the rules had been built for a single person to seize the spotlight.
Melody smirked. “But really, you should be thanking me. You now have the attention of Ardair’s elites. Scoring above Ice Maiden was impressive enough, but managing subdue her in combat while outnumbered? Now that’s something worthy of discussion. Think about it. You, who was a nobody, suddenly possess real value. If you play your cards correctly, the opportunities you have after graduating are endless.”
I would be thrilled if I wasn’t already shackled to Steiger.
“Now then! The demand for Emil Milligan is currently at an all-time high. To ride this momentum, I like to ask you a few personal questions,” Melody exclaimed as she suddenly produced a parchment of paper and ink, “First, what’s your favorite pastime?”
Emil blinked, frozen with disbelief by the whiplash of Melody’s fervor pace. This bizarre conversation had suddenly devolved into an interview.
***
Good grief.
Emil sighed as he limped out of the medical room. His mind had melted into mush after putting up with Melody’s incessant questions. Somehow, he felt more exhausted here than during the preliminaries.
I should get some rest.
Professor Raine’s treatment had worked wonders to soothe his pains, but it was now up to his body’s natural healing to make sure that he could move properly the next day.
The quarter-final matches were tomorrow. For the remaining top eight contenders, the frenetic schedule of the Clash of Dawn gave them little time for respite.
Before he retreated for the day, Emil decided to check up on the standings and the matchups of the knockout rounds. He found the information he was looking for posted on a bulletin board within the medical bay corridors.
Standings:
- Emil Milligan
- Liesel von Belle
- Niall von Ulster
- Rory von Astrea
- Lira von Castille
- Anna Seibert
- Kai Kiyeng
- Gaius von Ragnar
His first matchup was against a male student named Gaius. Emil frowned, trying to recall any details about his opponent. Yeah, I got nothing. In fact, most of the contenders on his side of brackets were all unfamiliar to him. Liesel, Anna, and Kai were all on the other side. He wouldn’t have a chance to face them until the finals.
Avoiding Liesel and Anna until the finals is good, but I need information on the rest of my opponents.
Not knowing what his opponents were capable of placed him at a severe disadvantage. Meanwhile, thanks to Melody’s focus on him during the preliminaries, the details of his fighting style and Gift were probably well-known to the remaining participants.
As he debated where to get intel, someone’s footsteps echoed from behind the bend of the corridor. Emil raised his head. His mouth curved into an uneasy smile as his eyes fell upon a familiar face.
“Hello, Anna.”
Anna grimaced as their eyes met. A section of her cheeks was covered in a gauze affixed by plaster. Otherwise, she looked relatively unscathed aside from the traces of sand and dirt stuck in her hair.
Emil waited for her reply, but it never came. Anna remained still with a tense expression on her face as if she was battling some inner turmoil. The final three-way confrontation between the two of them and Liesel replayed in his head. Anna was within seconds of landing of devastating punch on him. He was only saved thanks to Kai’s timely elimination.
I guess she’s feeling guilty about that.
“…Please don’t hit me,” he joked to break the silence while raising his hands to feign a surrender, “I already have enough injuries to deal with.”
“A-As if I was going to! What the hell do you think I am? A barbarian?!” she immediately retorted.
Emil scratched his neck. As much as he wanted to continue teasing her, he suddenly recalled the demonic expression on her face while she was desperately hunting him down during the preliminaries. The mere memory sent shivers down his spine.
Yeah, I rather not see that again.
“You’re thinking about something rude again, aren’t you?” Anna frowned as she strolled up to the bulletin board beside him. As she scanned the results and the tournament bracket, a whisper escaped her mouth, “We’re on opposite side of the bracket…”
“Isn’t that great? We won’t have to see each other until the finals.”
She was silent, unresponsive—her eyes still glaring at the bulletin board as if in deep thought. He was reminded of her desperate pleads for him to fight her seriously.
“Anna,” he gave her a small tap on the shoulder. She flinched, spinning towards him confused, seemingly knocked out of her daze.
“…What?”
Suddenly feeling awkward, Emil hesitated. Whatever, I’ll just say it. “About what you said during the preliminaries. About calling you a burden before.” The pained expression on her face during that moment flashed in his head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It was the heat of the moment and—”
“Stop.” Anna clicked her tongue, visibly frustrated. She glanced to the side sheepishly, the edge of her eyes shaking with discomfort, “Dammit, why do you always speak your mind so quickly?” she muttered to herself, irritated, before lowering her head with a sigh.
“I should be the one apologizing. There was no need for me to go after you in the preliminaries. I already secured enough points. It was entirely selfish and egoistical on my part. I…” she groaned, “I dragged you into that mess and then made you suffer most of the consequences. I was angry and ashamed with myself when I couldn’t help you. And then I unfairly took that out on you.”
Anna raised her head. “I’m sorry, Emil. I didn’t even thank you for going through that with me, and yet I—”
Her eyes grew wide as Emil gently patted the top of her head.
“It’s alright. I don’t hold it against you,” he said happily with a light smile.
The tender atmosphere of their reconciliation, however, had already vanished.
“…What are you doing?”
Anna’s apologetic tone suddenly disappeared. Emil glanced down. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were narrowed with a dangerous glint.
“…I don’t know. This seemed fitting given the mood.”
“What mood, you idiot?! Who said you can touch me so casually!” Anna slapped his hand away, “And don’t just brush off my apology that easily! I struggled so hard coming up with the right words to say! You don’t get to just say everything is fine!”
Emil smirked. “Then I’ll consider it water under the bridge if you let me tease you without consequence.”
“Y-You…” Anna stomped the floor in frustration, her face glowing a brilliant red. “Damn you, Emil. You better make it to the final round like you promised! I won’t forgive you otherwise!”
rating or a review!