I Refuse To Be Fate’s Puppet - Chapter 67

The students of Class 7 were stunned. They couldn’t believe that Teacher Takuma had been defeated. They were completely frozen as they stared at three people standing on stage. On the other side, the students from Class 1 were cheering rigorously. They were happily clapping and shouting loudly.

“Teacher Diya is the strongest!”

“Class 1 is the best!”

“Teacher Diya is unbeatable!”

Hearing these comments, the looks on the students of Class 7’s faces went dark. They were all students that were used to being on top. Now they had lost some face as their teacher had lost. Everyone seemed to have a grim look on their faces, except for Arata. His face was filled with curiosity. He stared at Vice Principal Zhang. As if he could sense his stare, Vice Principal Zhang turned to look at Arata. He grinned. Arata then felt a voice speak directly into his mind.

‘The feeling of a loss is sometimes necessary to grow.’

Arata was stunned. What he had seen wasn’t wrong. Through his Shadow Awareness, when Vice Principal Zhang had stopped the two attacks, the strength and power of the two attacks were practically equal. But he had announced that Teacher Diya had won. Teacher Takuma and Teacher Diya nodded at each other in agreement before walking off of the stage and joining their classes. Arata understood that he had said that Teacher Diya had won to invoke the feeling of loss in Class 7. They had been dominating the competition for the first years, that it was natural for them to build a sense of comfort in their victories.

But by seeing their teacher lose, it would be a harsh reminder that there are stronger opponents, that they weren’t guaranteed to win everything. Failure would either push them to grow, or stumble and die. It was also a boost of confidence for the students in Class 1. By seeing their teacher succeed, they would be motivated to take on the “unbeatable” Class 7. Arata was impressed by the Vice Principal’s decision and how it positively affected both classes. He was a truly great teacher.

Vice Principal Zhang grinned. It seemed that he had been seen through by Arata. He was truly a monster, just like his father. Arata nodded back at Vice Principal Zhang. When Teacher Takuma reached the students if Class 7, she saw the understanding in Arata’s eyes. She nodded before turning to the rest of Class 7 with a dejected look.

“This is Class 1. Although they may not seem like much now, they will be the ones to truly cause you all trouble in the future. Teacher Diya is a truly formidable opponent, and her teaching methods and strategies are equally as high. Be cautious in the upcoming battles.”

Teacher Takuma sat down and began meditating. The students of Class 7 could only use one word to describe the feeling that Teacher Takuma was giving off.

Defeated.

Although they didn’t realize it, they had subconsciously assumed that with their power, they would sweep through the other classes with ease. But seeing their teacher lose was a big hit to their self esteem. They realized that they weren’t the only ones with a powerful teacher and training methods. They looked over to the celebrating Class 1 students.

Arata stepped forward, he knew that it was time to stoke the flames that Teacher Takuma had created within everyone.

“Class 1 are clearly not ordinary to be trained by someone as powerful as Teacher Diya. But we can’t let this stop us from progressing. We must meet them head on. Giving our all. We will fight them as equals, fighting with no restraints. Understood?”

The students looked at each other. A light glowing in their eyes. There was a new passion burning within them. They saw that they were up against some powerful opponents, and they should fight with that in mind. This was a chance to truly test their strength. They all nodded firmly. Vice Principal Zhang, who was still standing on stage, began to speak.

“Now with the conclusion of the match, the tournament shall continue. Due to there only being classes 1 and 7 left, we will be proceeding differently. We will hold the 2v2, 3v3, 7v7, 10v10, Class vs Class and Capture the Flag. As there are only two classes, we will hold a 3 matches for the 2v2, 3v3 and 7v7, the winning class being the class that obviously wins the most out of the three matches. The 10v10 and the Class vs Class will be a single round battle. The Capture the Flag will take place at a separate time. We will give you some time to plan your strategies.”

Arata looked over to Tallis.

“In accordance to Teacher Diya’s request, Cephas, Ryouma and I will not participate. I will work out a plan of attack with you and observe from the outside. In the rounds leading up to the big Class vs Class round, I want you all to push your opponents to reveal as much of their true power as possible, so I can analyze and make a plan to counter.”

Tallis nodded. Akari came over and the three shared their opinions quickly. They nodded in agreement before announcing to the class the teams that were going to battle. They informed the three 2v2 teams on what their strategy was for the matches. A bell was rung as a teacher walked on stage.

“The first round of the 2v2 battles. Could those participating please come on stage.”

Two blonde students, one boy and one girl, walked on stage from Class 1’s side. The other Class 1 students were all cheering and shouting loudly in support of the students. Class 7 were completely different. Matoki and Caldre walked onto the stage from Class 7’s side. The Class 7 students didn’t make a sound as they watched on intensely, silently supporting their classmates. Even though they were quiet, they gave off a powerful and solid vibe that the other students could feel. Matoki and Caldre were on stage, yet the entire class felt like a single unit.

The four students bowed at the teacher and each other as they introduced themselves.

“Class 7’s Matoki and Caldre.”

“Class 1’s Horace and Horadio.”

Matoki and Caldre glanced at each other and nodded. The teacher in charge looked at the two sides before allowing the battle to commence. Matoki and Caldre both roared as they charged forward. Dragon scales began to cover their bodies. Wings burst out of their backs and spread out. Their powerful wings flapped hard and they flew into the air with a powerful speed. They had made leaps and bounds in their cultivation during the past two weeks of intense training.

Their wings began to glow as they were in the air, lightning gathering around Matoki’s wings, while ice gathered around Caldre’s. They both instantly disappeared. While everyone watched the two dragons in the air, Arata watched the two blonde students. They hadn’t moved yet and were just looking into the sky, patiently waiting. As Matoki and Caldre dashed around the sky, they began sending powerful waves of Energy as they flapped their wings, sending lightning and ice flying down from different angles, bearing down towards the two blonde students.

They finally moved as they began dancing around the stage, smoothly dodging the attacks. They were extremely graceful as they maneuvered their way around all the attacks. Arata frowned as he felt that something was off. They hadn’t channelled their Energy yet and were able to move in this graceful way using pure physical strength. Although their dodging ability was truly amazing, they wouldn’t defeat the two dragons using this method. They must have some ability to attack back somehow.

While Arata was thinking this, Matoki and Caldre realized that this wasn’t working on their opponents, so they locked eyes and reached an understanding. The two boys disappeared from the sky as they dived towards the stage at an extremely fast speed, charging towards the two students. Horace and Horadio smirked as they came together and held hands.

Arata’s eyes went wide as he saw them circulate their Energy, but their Energy was connected to each other, creating a large Elemental Reservoir between the two. Arata realized that Matoki and Caldre were rushing into a trap. The two dragons sent powerful slashes at the two blonde students who were just standing there, holding hands. Before the reached them, the two blonde students raised their hands and what looked like two black holes formed out of their palms. As Matoki and Caldre clashed with the black holes, they froze momentarily.

The black holes seemed to glow brightly, pulsing with Energy, before there was a loud bag and Matoki and Caldre were sent flying backwards. They were able to stop them selves in mid air, regaining their bearings in the air, but they were clearly hurt by the impact. Matoki in particular seemed to be more injured from the impact. The two boys looked at each other in shock.

They had clashed with each other numerous times and understood each others strength and feel of their Energies and power. And the impact that they had received was extremely familiar to them. Arata’s face went grim.

“These two are going to be a difficult pair to defeat.”

Tallis turned to Arata.

“What just happened? What was that strange black hole?”

Arata sighed.

“It is something I’m quite familiar with. My family has a similar technique that you all know of, but their technique is a lot more dangerous. Especially in a two vs two match.”

Arata paused for a second as he scanned over the two students once more.

“They seem to be able to create two portals that they use to transfer Energy. When Matoki and Caldre clashed with those portals, the Energy and force from their attacks went through the portal and came out on the other side. Matoki’s Energy redirected and attacking Caldre, Caldre’s Energy redirected and attacking Matoki. I don’t have enough information yet to figure out a way to deal with their abilities as I can’t see how it works, I only know the function. Until then, they are going to be a big threat in any battle they participate in.”

Back on the stage, the two blonde students stood looking at Matoki and Caldre, they were still holding hands and were both grinning at the injured dragons. The two boys knew that they had somehow redirected their attacks back at them, but they couldn’t think of a way to counter this. They fired ice and lightning at Horace and Horadio. The two students let go of each others hands and began dodging the attacks again, gracefully moving out of the way.

Arata frowned at this. Why didn’t they just use their portal to reflect the attacks? Why did they choose to dodge? Horace and Horadio rushed towards Matoki and Caldre. The two dragons charged the Energy in their claws as they saw them approaching. Seeing that they were going to attack again, the two students came together and held hands. Arata’s eyes went wide.

“No! Don’t attack them head on!”

But it was too late. The two dragons rushed forward and attacked the two blonde students. They responded, once again, with the black holes. Matoki and Caldre poured in all the Energy that they had in an attempt to overpower the portal. But they couldn’t, as they were reflected again, this time taking even more damage as they had attacked more viciously. And although they were prepared this time and had strengthened their scales to defend, they were still badly hurt.

Matoki landed on the ground with a loud thud. His wings could no longer keep him up. He was struggling to keep his dragon form activated. Caldre was doing better, but not much. He was at least standing, but even that was hard. They wanted to continue fighting, but a shout from behind them was suddenly heard.

“We forfeit this battle.”

Caldre turned to see Arata on the side of the stage. He felt angry at himself. He had lost. And he knew it. The teacher stepped in and announced that Class 1 had won the first round. The students from Class 1 cheered and celebrated. Caldre helped Matoki up and carried him off of the stage. As they reached Arata, their was a sad look in their eyes.

“Sorry, Arata. We failed.”

Arata shook his head.

“No, we underestimated them. I underestimated them. We won’t be able to overwhelm them with our strength like everyone else. We are going to need to defeat them using our heads.”

Although the rest of the class was feeling down they had lost, Arata had a joyful look in his eyes as he looked at Class 1. They were strong, and to become stronger, you needed to have opponents that could push and challenge you to become stronger. Arata recognized the opportunity for growth. He would use Class 1’s strength to sharpen his class’s strength. He grinned as he turned back to his students.

“OK. Next battle, we need a win. Jada and Jaden, here’s what I want from you two.”