After a year
Xavier and Aethra spar.
Aethra suddenly put fire on his hand and feet to gain movement.
Xavier, at an old age, moved swiftly by the use of wind.
Aethra fired small explosions (by concentrating intense heat, introducing ignition, triggering rapid combustion, building pressure, and releasing energy in a powerful blast wave, showcasing precise fire manipulation for controlled or destructive results) to the ground for a smoke screen.
Xavier clears the smoke with wind and predicts his attack. Puts an air on his leg to kick him. Aethra blocks it by putting Mana on his hands.
They continue sparring with swords.
"Your swordsmanship is impressive, lad. Now let's end it."
Aethra puts explosions on his feet and hands, causing him to fly.
The continuous spamming of explosions creates smoke, and then he goes high enough to fall straight to the ground. He bursts towards Xavier's left, ready to swing.
"So that's your plan." (As he prepares to block)
And in a small time before he hits Xavier, he folds his leg and bursts on the other side of Xavier and tries to hit him with a sword,
but… he can't move.
Xavier looks at him; it turns out he's trapped in an air ball or something.
"Cyclone's Trap," the wind user harnesses the power of a swirling cyclone to ensnare and confine enemies within a turbulent and imprisoning vortex.
"Haha, you're strong. You lived up to your gift."
"Tsk, I almost had him."
"If it's not me, someone will die, hahaha (the kid really got so much potential and he's in for the kill). Anyway, you can rest now. Come here, Jack."
"Yes, teacher!"
Jack running towards Xavier.
"Now, show me your special move."
"Yes, sir!"
Jack concentrates and creates a fireball from his wand (basic magic can be created with hands and no casting, but complex skills must be spelled out and should use artifacts because the body might not handle it.
(Remember the saying about the wings of Icarus?)
The ball starts to grow big and more destructive, it's so big, big, and big. And it suddenly becomes small.
Using his wand, Jack throws the small ball at the designated target and says, "Release." And there's a big explosion that can destroy a palace.
"Very good, Jack! You can be one of the main damage dealers for your unit."
Jack blushes.
"Haldrin, fix the ground, and after that, we will train for your earth barrier."
Haldrin: "Yes, sir!"
Xavier: "Ah, my back hurts. (Damn these kids. The kingdom is paying me well. I wonder where they get all this budget even with the war)."
"Tomorrow I'll train the water and air users. Thank goodness.
Those two dark users are not my problem anymore."
Last week
Rethrus: "Sir, I'm planning to teach myself from now on. And I'll teach Lumine too."
Xavier: "You're becoming too cocky, brat. Do you really think you can handle yourselves?"
"Yes, sir. And it's for your own good too. Less stressed, more—"
"Okay, good luck!"
Eliza: "Sir, why did you let Rethrus and Lumine do what they want?"
Everyone: "Yeah!"
Xavier: "Because he's smart enough. And I don't really like teaching that kid (it's a joke). He's so gloomy sometimes and thinks so deeply. Sometimes I always feel that kid is a wind user than a dark one."
Rina: "How about Leo and Aethra? They're so good in their field. Would you let them go too if they want to?"
Leo smirks while Aethra doesn't, since he doesn't want to be on the same level with some non-magic combatants.
Xavier: "No, these two will someday lead an army. Now, let's call it a day. You should be ready because the king will be visiting us next week. And I hope to see you guys. So you should be ready if the King wants to see your ability."
Everyone: "Yes, sir!"
While eating, you can really see how the non-combatant orphans are silent. They already understand and accept the situation, but you can really see it on their faces.
Rethrus thought, "The world is unfair," and continued to eat.
Hans: "Damn, Leo, you're so fast. I bet you're as fast as Aethra."
Aethra's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure in their depths as he continued to eat.
Leo: "Huh, you never saw Finn's strength too."
Jestus: "So, what artifacts are you going to use?"
That night they all bond together and think about their future weapons.
Leo: "I'm going to use a gauntlet."
Finn: "Mine's an axe." (Finn's big for his age. In fact, he's the biggest among the orphans.)
Aiko: "Chain,"
Eliza: "Maybe claws," Owen: "Dual swords,"
Geoffrey: "I'll wear some Mana enhancement and I'll use daggers."
Theo and Silas just continue eating.
Jack: "Are you all going to be assassins or something? I mean, I'm going to buy the best wand in this kingdom, hahaha."
Terra: "As if you can afford one."
Jack: "Hey, don't underestimate me. I'll buy the best wand after I win a big battle!"
Suryu: "Yeah², anyway, how about you, Lumine and Rethrus? We've heard that the Silentvisk Family supports this orphanage right now too."
Geoffrey: "Yeah, that's why we're trying to be assassins to show off with them. But we all know that you two are their priority."
Lumine: "Oh, me? No, maybe Rethrus here."
Everyone looks at him while he's eating.
Rethrus: "Hmm…" (while his mouth is full)
Elizabeth secretly smiles, seeing him like that.
"What?" he asks.
Leo: "You know, we never see you fight. You never join our duels."
Celeste: "Right!"
"Are you scared, Rethrus?" And they were surprised. It's Aethra.
Normally they just talk for convenience… they never really talked since both of them don't really like talking. Both of them act not aligned with their elements.
Rethrus: "No, it's just a waste of time, and Master Xavier already gave me the pass to do what I want."
Everyone didn't answer, and both Lumine and Rethrus went outside after eating.
Jack: "Ha, how arrogant. I'm pretty sure he's all talk and afraid of us. I mean, what can his darkness do with my fire? Eat it?"
And they all laugh except Elizabeth, who was concerned about both Lumine and Rethrus.
Lumine: "Thank you for training me,
Rethrus: " You've been a good help.
Don't worry about it. So, feeling stronger?"
"Yes, in fact… someone always whispers to me."
Rethrus stopped meditating.
"What? Since when?"
"Since we started meditating," she said.
"It was a devil," he thought.
"What does it say?" He asked
"It always says, 'Sign the contract.'"
He feels shivers in his spine after hearing that.
"Okay, let's stop meditating and let's go to sleep," he said. "And don't agree with it, okay?"
"Okay," Lumine answered.
After a week
The king himself arrived, and they went to the open area farther from the orphanage to celebrate. With the use of magic, Xavier created a barrier for the safety of the king and his royalty. Also, there's another person who accompanies the king. He has a raven logo on his chest.
"It's one of the council of Silentvisk!"
Xavier said surprisingly. "Now you should do your best in your performance because these people funded our orphanage."
Everyone: "Yes, sir!"
The tension in the air was palpable. The King, Prince Ezra, Jeshur, and a member of the Silentvisk Family, Alaric, stood amidst a crowd of townspeople gathered for a special event.
Xavier, the mage instructor, had created a powerful barrier to ensure the King's safety. The air crackled with anticipation as the orphans prepared to showcase their talents.
The non-magic combatants demonstrated their physical prowess, wielding their chosen artifacts with skill.
The earth mages created awe-inspiring rock formations, while the air mages soared through the air, effortlessly manipulating the wind.
The water mages, particularly Elizabeth, captivated the audience with their graceful movements and mesmerizing water displays.
Prince Ezra, mesmerized by Elizabeth's beauty, couldn't help but admire her.
Rethrus, watching Elizabeth, lost in his own thoughts, momentarily forgot about the performance.
"Rethrus, it's our turn," Lumine whispered, snapping him out of his reverie.
They performed a basic shadow manipulation routine, which impressed the audience but failed to impress Alaric.
"Tsk, we support this stupid orphanage just to have a product like this? What a disappointment," he muttered under his breath.
The King, aware of Alaric's disdain, smiled subtly. He couldn't risk offending the Silentvisk Family, whose loyalty to the throne was invaluable.
The grand finale was reserved for Aethra and Jack, the fire mages. They unleashed a dazzling display of fire magic, showcasing his immense power.
After the show, the audience eats, and some are still in the barrier congratulating the kids.
Prince Ezra also enters the barrier with Xavier's help.
"You are so Beautiful,miss." he said, looking at Elizabeth.
"Thank you, Your Highness," she replied.
"Say, do you really want to fight for the country? A beauty like you should be living in the palace with me."
Instinctively, she can't answer, still secretly looking for Rethrus.
Jack heard it and went straight there.
Jack: "Hey, Prince, that's my girlfriend, you know?"
Ezra: "Girlfriend? Really?"
Jack: "Yes, and be a man. Don't use the fact that you're the prince of this kingdom on me."
Elizabeth was worried and still looking for Rethrus.
Ezra: "I saw you earlier, and we are the same element. How about we make a contest for her heart?"
Elizabeth still isn't talking and is still looking for him but can't move due to the fact that he's in the presence of the Prince.
"Now let's show off," Everyone in the barrier watches and cheers for both contestants.
Jack concentrates and uses his special technique like before. He was proud of his performance, and the king also watched; he was amazed, but…
"Ezra's fire power is stronger," the king said.
And Ezra fired a similar spell with a more special wand. And the fire is bigger than Jack's.
"As expected from the King's son," they all murmured.
Hearing this just makes the king more proud.
"See, it turns out, I won Ms. Elizabeth's heart,"
As he walks towards Elizabeth, who's still looking for Rethrus, the Prince utters these words,
"I, the strongest fire user in this country, will claim your heart."
And before he holds her hands…
Aethra hears this and makes a fire half bigger than the Prince's. Everyone was amazed and shocked, even the king.
The king knew that Aethra was the genius one, yet he didn't know his fire power was this strong.
"Such a strong fire power," Jeshur said. Even the member of the Silentvisk was amazed.
"Maybe we hire this kid instead," he said.
All were amazed until they all realize they're inside the barrier, and the fire is starting to spread.
It turns out even Aethra can't absorb that much. Even the other two fire users. It's too big.
"Xavier, do something! My son is in there!" the king shouted.
"I can't, sire!" Xavier replied. "My wind would make the fire bigger."
Everyone is panicking, and Rina and Elizabeth try to stop it, but their water only makes the fire grow bigger.
Especially for the three fire users.
Hans, Terra, and Haldrin create a wall to cover the fire, but it's only a minute before Aethra's fire will eat it.
Aethra was really pissed off; he uncontrollably unleashed those hellish fireballs.
Elizabeth runs around to find Rethrus, but still, she can't find him. She finds Lumine panicking and goes to her.
"Where's Rethrus?"
"I don't know, but he said he's going to take a nap," she replied.
The king is panicking, Xavier is scared too.
The fire burned the wall they made, so they start making it again while
Elizabeth makes a small barrier to protect her. So as others to protect the civilians (the twelve of them know how to make a basic barrier for defense).
She's still looking for him. And she saw a kid that doesn't have any protection crying because of the fire.
She ran to him, and the fire suddenly grew bigger. She looks at it while grabbing the child. She closed her eyes while hugging the kid.
In a split second, it went dark, so dark. The king was shocked, everyone was shocked.
Elizabeth looks behind her; there's a scarred-faced guy who's familiar to her.
She smiles because she knows she's safe already.
The flame was covered with darkness coming from one area.
"DEVOUR!"
And the darkness totally eats the fire, shrinking it into nothingness.
And Jack remembers what he said ("What, you're going to eat it? Hahaha")
He was upset but he smiles.
Aethra froze and smiled fiercely.
(He ate my fire as if it was nothing. He's really worthy as my rival) he thought.
Elizabeth suddenly hugged him and cried.
"Where were you?" she asked.
"Sorry, I took a nap under the table," Rethrus replied.
"Thank you for saving us," she said.
There were accidents, but no one died due to the barrier.
The king and the Silentvisk Family shoulder the damage. Especially the member of the Silentvisk Family still can't believe how strong Rethrus was.
"Those kids should really be part of our army for the damage they cost," the king murmured.
After the incident, Alaric asked Rethrus to come with him to meet the family. He never used the money part; it might ruin their image in the mind of the kid.
"I can't, I still have more years here in the orphanage," Rethrus replied. "And I will cherish it," he added.
"Hayst, I can't force you (but my master can)," Alaric said. "You're a good kid. Don't waste your talent on this useless war."
And he left.
The kids were still amazed and scared of how powerful these two had become.
The news reached the kingdom.
"Papa!!! Are you fokay???!!!" Princess Elaina asked (Older sister of Prince Ezra, she's 15 years old).
"I'm fine, dear," the king replied. "It's your brother's fault," he added.
Elaina: "Is it about a girl again?"
Ezra didn't answer, and Elaina punched him in the head. "You brat!"
"Ouch, it's not entirely my fault," He explains to her what really happened.
"Really?"
A flame user and a dark one… she murmured.
It's on the newspaper, and also the Silentvisk Family heard it.
In the dark room, Alaric reported.
The room was so dark and cold.
"Tell me, is the kid really that talented?" the master asked.
"Yes, master, in a split second he ate the fire with ease. He's had a large Mana pool at a young age too."
"Did you see any mark?" the master asked.
"That's the mysterious part, I didn't see any marks on his body, master. Nor sensing a demon in him," Alaric added.
"Interesting…" (the light from the moon that came through the window showing his face slowly)
"A strong dark magic user without a contract involved. We will get him," (as the light from the moon completely shows his face)
It's a man with a demon as his right face.