Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Opening Ceremony [5]

Chapter 298 – Opening Ceremony [5]

DING! DING! DING!

"Second Team Battle is over! Winner: Team Atomic!"

At those words, the second-year emotion user finally deactivated his Skill, allowing Sky and his teammates to regain their minds and get their emotions back under control.

They lifted their heads, sweat coating their faces, minds struggling to process what had just happened. But the sight of Tiger on the ground, buried beneath the shattered remains of their crystal, made the situation impossible to misread.

They’d lost.

Sky’s blue eyes were completely blank. Theophane, for the first time since the Entrance Test — since Cassius had taken the key — felt something deep in her chest twist and recoil, an unreasonable wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm her.

She was afraid, and angry. Afraid of her own failure and what it meant for her. Angry at her inability to control the battlefield, and the consequences of that failure.

’I...what just happened?’ She tried to make sense of it, all while keeping a tight grip on her own feelings.

Theophane had never realized how susceptible her mind was to emotional manipulation.

But how could she have known? A guard doesn’t watch over an empty prison cell.

In the same way, someone who believed they felt nothing would never think or even know how to protect themselves once those very emotions were turned against them.

But Theophane wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

Tiger struggled to stand, stammering, trying to defend himself. Jonathan simply stood there, still as a statue, watching the scene unfold like a spectator at a movie, entirely detached.

Nafissatou stifled a sigh under her breath. Inwardly, she couldn’t have cared less about the loss. She’d done her part, contributed more than anyone. No one could blame her.

That was all that mattered to her.

"Well, well, well."

The woman who’d rescued Atomic earlier, small green eyes gleaming, stowed away her enormous shield and wiped blood from the corner of her mouth.

She wasn’t alone anymore. The Emotion User, still crying, stood beside her. So did the Bird Summoner, his body scorched from Sky’s lightning, and finally the Shadow User, a tired-looking woman with dark hair and dark eyes.

And peeking out from the shadow was their crystal, deliberately displayed for the first years to see, entirely unharmed.

Atomic’s whole team appeared, standing behind their captain.

"Right in your goddamn faces, little fuckers! Hahahah!" The small green-eyed woman mocked, cackling furiously at them.

Her companions joined in, laughing along. Even the Emotion Controller, still crying, laughed too.

Before the first years could react to the combined provocation, the world shifted around them, and they were back on the rocky field.

The rest of the second years erupted into applause and congratulations, chanting Atomic’s name and those of his teammates.

"Hunter, you weak bastard! Look at us!" The small green-eyed woman barked another laugh.

Atomic shook his head, "ChinChin, that’s enough. You’re going to get us ganged up on again."

Of course, ChinChin didn’t stop, "You weak bastard!!!"

The first-year students, meanwhile, only stared at Team Sky with dry, unimpressed looks.

"Incredible power you have, Sky." Atomic turned toward him, smirking, already walking away, "Next time, don’t be arrogant enough to hold back against your opponent. Hit hard from the start."

His teammates followed, ChinChin sticking her tongue out at them as she went.

Silence quickly filled the space where words had been. Sky stared at his hands, clenching and unclenching them repeatedly, still unable to accept that he’d lost.

How was that even possible?

The answer became obvious the moment he noticed Tiger quietly distancing himself.

Sky’s eyes went dead cold. Lightning flickered around him as he moved, appearing directly in front of Tiger.

"Huh!" Tiger exclaimed, eyes widening, "You—!"

Sky drove a hard punch straight into Tiger’s jaw, shattering it under the sheer force of the strike.

Tiger crumpled to the ground, face bloodied, mind pierced with numbing pain.

"You damned beast." Sky growled, gripping Tiger’s collar with one hand, eyes blazing with fury, "All you had to do was protect the crystal! Just protect it, and you couldn’t even manage that?!"

"I tried—!"

BAAMM!

Another punch, straight to his nose this time, silencing him completely, choking on his own breath, blood gushing out.

"Shut up with your excuses!" Emrys shouted, consumed by nothing but his own loss.

Theophane finally snapped back to her senses. She looked around and saw everyone watching Emrys lose all composure over the loss.

’Damnation! This isn’t part of the plan!’ She screamed inwardly, panicking, rushing toward him, "Emrys, stop!"

He didn’t stop.

He kept pummeling Tiger mercilessly, giving the poor man no chance to answer or defend himself.

In truth, Emrys didn’t care. All he wanted was to release his anger. And the only outlet he could find was beating down the one he’d decided was responsible.

In the end, Theophane had no choice but to physically shove him away from Tiger, who was bloodied and barely breathing.

Sky fell onto his back, and Theophane straddled him, trying to keep him pinned down.

"Emrys, for God’s sake, get a grip!" She hissed, her white eyes hardening with cold fury at this loss of control, "You’re going to cost us everything with this attitude!"

"You told me I have the right to kill anyone who stands in my way." Sky had the presence of mind to whisper this, "That beast was in my god-cursed way. I’ll kill him."

Theophane exerted every ounce of self-control she had to keep from slapping some sense into him for spouting such nonsense.

Even in defeat, this could have been the perfect moment for Emrys to solidify his image as a benevolent, gracious man who didn’t care solely about winning, someone who respected his teammates even in loss.

But all of that had just gone up in smoke. People watched in silence as Sky beat his own teammate, and the teachers’ patience was clearly wearing thin.

It took Theophane a full 4 minutes to calm Emrys down.

During that time, Nafissatou went to Tiger, giving him a health potion and helping him limp toward the Health Center.

Jonathan watched the whole spectacle from the side and simply walked away, resolving never to be on the same team as Sky again.

Not only was the man arrogant, refusing to fight as part of a team, but he’d blamed everyone else the moment they lost?

’Damn brat. I wasted my time and energy on this.’

Copycat snickered at Emrys, noting his immaturity, then nodded respectfully at Atomic when he returned, giving him the recognition he deserved.

Aaron and Nicole cackled, never expecting to be this entertained. They were now fully invested in the Opening Ceremony.

Cassandra didn’t react much outwardly, but found herself growing more disdainful of Emrys and everything he represented.

On the first-year side, Love watched the scene with such glee she thought she might climax. Watching the team that had rejected her lose was so satisfying she was ready to kiss the first man who asked.

Then she turned her head and saw Klaus watching the same scene with his characteristic condescending smirk. Love stared at his lips, briefly tempted to kiss them, then bite them until they bled.

She did neither. She turned back to watch Theophane leading Emrys off the field and suppressed a laugh.

’Good for you, my love, Emrys. Fuck yourself and your witch of an aunt.’

Cassius, seated in a chair made of blood, only chuckled, ’This man’s so used to everything going his way, he completely falls apart the moment something doesn’t.’ He stifled another laugh, ’Emrys...even your aunt can’t change your nature that easily, can she?’

The Last Born didn’t quite know what to think.

Emrys was stronger than the second year, a fact everyone already knew. But not only had he arrogantly held back rather than go all out, he’d also declared he’d handle everything alone...without his teammates.

Theophane’s first mistake had been allowing that. Cassius had assumed she was smart enough to know that the better play would have been to have Emrys fight alongside his teammates, building familiarity and cohesion.

’What were you even planning, Theophane?’

Cassius genuinely couldn’t guess.

It took several more minutes before the situation was fully resolved and the Opening Ceremony ready to continue.

Now both classes stood at equal footing. The next battle would matter greatly, since it would push one class closer to overall victory.

So everyone watched the screen with rapt anticipation, hoping for a favorable matchup.

Then the screen flickered on again, revealing the next battle in bold letters:

"Third Team Battle: Team Angel vs. Team Twins’ Winter!"

Cassius’s face split into a wide smile instantly. He looked toward the second-year side and found the Faye Twins, silver skin gleaming, staring right back at him.

They smiled competitively, and it was clear they had no intention of going easy on him.

"Careful." Meadow said, "They’ve got the third ranker with them. And they’re six strong."

"Yeah, I can see that." Cassius said, also spotting Natasha among them, slowly rising from his chair before dismissing it with a lazy wave of his hand, "Shall we, then?"

He looked at his four companions, and they nodded, determined.

Minutes later, the two teams stood facing each other on the rocky field, waiting.

"I don’t mean to be rude or anything," Cassius said suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention, "but let’s make a bet. If we win in three strikes or fewer, you’ll owe us a deep favor. If we fail to do that, we forfeit the match, and owe you a favor on top of it."

His words made both the opposing players and the watching crowd raise their eyebrows.

Most assumed Cassius was making the same mistake Emrys had, shaking their heads in disappointment.

But Copycat and Cassandra weren’t so sure. Cassius wasn’t the arrogant type.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that winning in three strikes or fewer was... highly unlikely. Emrys had already proven that.

Despite his overwhelming power, he’d failed spectacularly.

With that in mind, Team Twins’ Winter didn’t hesitate long, though the Faye Twins remained visibly skeptical.

"We accept."

The teachers didn’t drag out the suspense any further.

DING! DING! DING!

"Third Team Battle starts!"

Just like the previous two, the rocky field dissolved, replaced by an entirely new environment.

They found themselves high in the air, surrounded by dense, fluffy clouds drifting around them.

Cassius and his companions stood on a floating island, their opponents on a separate one. No connection existed between the two.

Other floating islands scattered around them too, each varying in size and shape.

"How are we supposed to do this?" Meadow asked, shooting him a sharp look, "How do we win in three strikes or fewer, huh?"

Diaila looked deeply nervous, wondering why she was even here, missing Julaibib already. William clearly didn’t care much either way, while Laya watched Cassius with curiosity.

The Last Born wasn’t clueless. He could sense their apprehension, their lack of faith in his bet.

"Relax, sweetheart. If we work together, it’s possible." He smiled, cracking his neck, mind already working, "Listen closely, alright? Here’s the plan."

—End of Chapter 298—