Revenge pact

***

"G-give it up first-year!" Fabianus yelled, his voice breaking under the pain and fatigue.

"I've decided..." Adonis dislodged himself from the large indent in the wall and glared at his opponent.

"Decided? On what?"

"I'm going to completely incinerate you!" Adonis clenched his fist and raised it above his head, his mana seeping out gradually.

Suddenly he summoned a pale magic circle in front of him and channelled the mana in his violent mana core, the burning sensation intensifying as he prepared his spell.

"Hm? He's preparing a spell?"

'Incinerate? So it's either Blaze or Flame Magic? I'm assuming my magic output is greater than his, so I should be able to counter it.' Assessing the situation, Fabianus held his hands out and summoned a large magic circle.

"Inferno Magic: Hell Cannon."

'He's already done?' Panicked by Adonis's spellcasting speed, Fabianus channeled his mana into the magic circle.

Adonis's hands set ablaze with a pure ivory-flame.

BWSHHH

Unlike last time, with each dance of the fire encompassing his hand, the mana, air, aura, and even the matter in the air disappeared, reduced to mere nothingness.

Satisfied with the size of the ball of flame, Adonis hurled the pale flame forward.

FWHOOSH

Upon contact with the magic circle, the flame surged forward, expanding in both size and speed. It transformed into a dazzling stream of fire too fast for Fabianus to detect.

When the flame was a few feet away from Fabianus, a red blur whizzed through the air to intercept the spell.

SWOOO

"You learn magic and this is the first thing you do? You really are something Adonis Vindicta." Elder Mars stood infront of Fabianus and used his arm it deflect Adonis's spell away, sending the ball of ivory flame flying toward a large water fountain.

CRASH

Seeing his spell being swatted away so easily, Adonis frowned and dashed toward the Elder.

"Don't get in my way!" He screamed, his Earhtly Aura disrupting the atmosphere once more.

"You okay kid?" Ignoring the first year who approached, Elder Mars turned to smile at Fabianus.

"Y-yes sir."

'What just happened? He's so fast.' Fabianus marveled, the battle's injuries finally catching up with him.

"You need to be more careful, you almost got yourself killed." Elder Mars chuckled, his crimson eyes studying the second-year.

'Killed? I would've lost?' Fabianus frowned.

"Mars... Mo-" With no care for Elder Mars's superiority, Adonis confronted the vice commander, throwing a cross at his elegant visage.

WHOOSH

"Speech Magic: Absolute Command, Sleep." Speaking in a clear and commanding voice Elder Mars shook his head and watched as Adonis abruptly lost consciousness.

***

"That dumb commoner, he's lucky he didn't lose his life!"

"All Elder Mars did was save him."

"What was he thinking, fighting a seco-"

"Shut up." John van Ani said sternly, his voice cutting through the groupies' invalid opinions.

"Why?"

"What's wrong?"

"You know nothing. That commoner... No, Vindicta was going to win that fight." John said before storming out the classroom.

***

"Donny... Thank you." Tears cascaded down Maxwell's cheeks while he looked out the gaping hole in the Class 2C classroom.

"Well, he's in deep shit." A second-year chuckled.

"Yeah, fighting on school grounds and doing so much damge to academy property... He's fucked!"

"Fabianus is lucky the 'Queen' is backing him."

"Haha, even if the first-year manages to escape explusion, the 'Queen' will kill him."

***

"Get yourself to the infirmary, I'll deal with Adonis." Elder Mars picked up Adonis and hoisted him over his left shoulder.

"Yes sir." Fabianus nodded and staggered toward academy's medical district.

'Elder Mars knows his name?'

"Now... What am I to do with you?" Elder Mars chuckled and looked at the bleeding boy on his shoulder.

'It seems you've managed to silence the voices... atleast to the extent where you can use magic.'

"But this magic affinity of yours..." Elder Mars gazed at his open right hand, the one he used to deflect Adonis's spell.

DIMMMM

Elder Mars encompassed his right hand in Holy Aura, healing the spiritual damage done by Adonis's spell. While he did so, he turned his head to the deleted fountain.

The structure that Adonis's spell had collided with was no where to be found, no soot, no ash, no broken ceramic, no nothing...

It was gone, as if it was deleted from reality.

"It's terrifying." He grinned.

***

"Where's he taking him? " Vera frowned.

"He's probably going to have a disciplinary hearing... He's atleast going to get expelled." Veda replied.

"What?! Why?"

"Because fighting on school grounds is prohibited."

"Van Alexia and van Ani fought on the first day though?" Vera frowned.

"Yeah, but that was the first day. Plus, it'd be a bad look for the academy to expel two Dukedom heirs on the first day."

"That's unfair. What about all the good he's done?" Vera suppressed her tears as she stared at the teenager in Elder Mar's clutches.

***

DUNG

"Get back to class all of you... The show's over!" Elder Mars infused his voice with Earthly Aura, allowing his voice to reverberate throughout the entire academic building.

Following the Elder's commands, everysingle student either went back into their classes, or shut their classroom's curtains.

"Speech Magic: Absolute Command, Repair."

Elder Mars put his hand to the ground and commanded the stone path to mend itself, and it did exactly that.

All of the displaced or shattered stone tiles conjoined once more and placed themselves back into their rightful places, as if nothing had ever happened.

"That should be enough." Satisfied with the path's state, Elder Mars smiled merrily.

***

8 hours later.

Adonis's dormitory.

Free from any pain and his wounds all healed, Adonis rose from the comfort of his blankets, breaking away from its warmth.

"My head feels empty..." Adonis rubbed his eye gently as he scanned his dorm.

'Scipio Mars!'

"Maybe that's why you make such dumb decisions." Seated comfortably on a large leather couch, Elder Mars turned his head to face the teenage boy and took another sip of tea.

SLURP

"Why're you in my room?" Adonis sighed.

"What happened to thank you?"

"What is there to be thankful for?" Adonis scowled.

SLURP

"I don't know? Maybe healing your wounds!"

"And you're drinking my tea... We're even." Adonis shrugged.

SLURP

"You have a point." Elder Mars chuckled.

"You're slurping is irritat-"

SLURP

"I see you're finally able to use magic." Elder Mars smiled.

"Yeah..." His eye twitching out of irritation, Adonis replied nonchalantly.

"Good for you! But was it really necessary to go attacking a second-year?" Elder Mars sighed.

SLURP

"It was necessary... For justice."

"Justice? What'd he do?" His interest piqued, Elder Mars focused his full attention on the boy, pulling it away from the exotic tea.

"Do you know about the 'Weakness Tax'?" Just saying the words made Adonis's stomach burn with rage once more.

"Well obviously." Elder Mars replied.

SLURP

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, it was introduced last year by one of the first-years."

"And you just let that happen?" Adonis frowned.

'A first-year with enough influence to control the academy?'

"The academy has strict rules, staff are to not interfere with student affairs. Unless it is a direct breach of our rules." Elder Mars shrugged.

SLURP

"But Maxwell was beaten up by a second-year, is that not a breach of rules." Adonis scowled.

DUMMM

"Well... It certainly is."

"Then what's the probl-" Adonis shouted.

"If a staff member didn't witness it, it practically didn't happen. And even so, the 'queen' of the second-years has most staff members on her pay roll." The Elder explained.

SLURP

"Most of them? Including you?" The walls in Adonis's dormitory vibrated as he waited for the vice commander's response.

"Hm? Of course not! Why would a prince need a teenager's money." Elder Mars chuckled.

"Ex-prince." Adonis corrected.

"Hahaha, ouch!"

SLURP

"But the same could be said for the professors and elders, they get paid pretty well."

"People aren't only paid with gold, Vindicta."

"True."

"But it seems you've gotten yourself in quite the sticky situation, tomorrow you'll likely be facing expulsion." Elder Mars chuckled.

"I'm glad my problems amuse you." Adonis rolled his eyes.

"It's not your problems that amuse me, it's you." Elder Mars clarified.

SLURP

"Wha-"

"The tea's already finished?" Elder Mars frowned.

"Take that as your sign to leave."

"You're always so hospital." Elder Mars smiled, walking toward the dormitory's exit.

"And you're always a pleasant guest to have." The student replied sarcastically.

"Then I'll be back!"

'That's not what I meant.' Adonis sighed.

"As your favorite Elder, I think it would be appropriate for me to leave you with some words of wisdom."

'Who said you're my favorite elder?'

"If it mean's you'll leave, go ahead. Let's hear it."

"I want you to think about this... Did you really act out of a desire for justice today? Or was that revenge?" Straightening his face, Elder Mars exited the boy's dormroom.

SLAM

"...Revenge?" Adonis frowned.

'Ha, revenge? He's starting to sound like Lord Eos...'

'Lord Eos? Yes, that's why my head feels empty.'

'Lord Eos.'

'Lord Eos!'

No matter how much he tried to telepathically call out to the Devil God, Adonis was met with no response.

'Is he ignoring me? No, it's unlike him to not speak to me for this long. Now that I think about it, he's been silent ever since the magic exam.'

"Wait..." Adonis's thought process was disrupted by a sudden realization.

"He took my cup again!"