Saga of Atlantis

"Hey, both of you fuckers, how long are you going to delay your match?" Eden's voice cut through the tension, causing all the students to look at him in astonishment, including the instructor, Mane.

"This is not—."

"Are you saying you don't want to?" Eden quickly interjected before Aron could complete his words.

"Cardin, you scared or what?" Eden then provoked Cardin, who was standing at the side.

"What are you trying to pull, Eden?" As silence hung in the air, Angilina asked as she moved closer to him.

"None of your business, princess," he replied, his gaze remaining on Aron.

"Mast—Instructor, can we have a match right now?" Aron asked, looking at Mane, who had stopped glaring at Eden after hearing his words.

"You want to do it now?" Mane asked, looking at him.

"Yes," Aron nodded before he walked back from Nora, who was his training partner.

"Do you want to have a match right now as well?" Mane asked, looking at Cardin.

"Yes," he replied as he walked and stood in front of Aron.

With a satisfied nod, Eden also walked back, leaving an open space for them to fight.

"What are you thinking?" As Eden arrived beside Emily, Fatima asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing, just wanted to see how strong your fiancé is," Eden replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Or you just wanted to see how strong Aron is," a voice interjected sharply, making Eden look back.

"Isn't that right?" Aeloria, arriving beside him, asked, looking at him with Angilina standing beside her.

"Think what you want," Eden replied, noticing two more people arriving beside them.

"That wasn't very nice, Eden," Cassia, arriving beside them, commented, glaring at him.

"You shouldn't have done that," Nora also added, her voice grumbling.

"Oh my," Fatima placed her hand on her mouth, replying, "why are you so upset?"

"Why can't I?" Nora asked, looking at her.

"Don't you already have a boyfriend?" Fatima smiled as she asked. "Don't you think it's not nice to be so close with another boy?"

"He is my friend!" Nora raised her voice as she glared at her.

"So is Eden to me," Aeloria chimed in, looking at the girl. "I wouldn't be concerned about him even if thousands of monsters tried to kill him."

"Because you know he is strong?" Emily also chimed in, asking.

"No, because I want it to happen," Aeloria replied, shaking her head. "He is full of himself."

"..... You know that I am standing right here," Eden mumbled as he looked at her.

"No, I don't," she replied before focusing back on the match.

"....Is it only me or are all the students glaring at us?" Emily asked, noticing all the students had their focus on them instead of the match.

"Well, they are glaring at Eden, after all he is standing with five beautiful ladies," Aeloria replied, shrugging. "I am just surprised they are not throwing stones at him."

"You counted wrong," Eden added, looking at her.

"It's four ladies and one hag—Aah, stop it," his words stopped as Aeloria stretched her leg and crushed his toe using all her strength.

"Alright," Mane's voice resonated, making all of them look at him. "It's a friendly match, so no need to go too far."

They both nodded in reply as they clenched their swords tightly.

"Then, START!"

Swish!

Cardin was the first to move as he dashed towards Aron, focusing his aura on his leg muscles.

Clang!

Aron parried his attack as he took a step back to regain his balance before swinging his sword in an arc, cutting through the wind.

Cardin parried his attack, swinging his sword downwards aiming at Aron's torso.

Clang!

With another solid sound resonating in the training ground, Aron blocked the strike while twisting his wrist and sword downwards.

"You are awfully weak for someone who has a lot of ego." As their swords clashed, Aron taunted with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Cardin shouted, anger blazing in his eyes as he took a step back, extending his hands toward Aron's face point blank. "Blast Ignition!"

"Aron!" Both Cassia and Nora screamed at the same time as they saw Aron's face buried in a blast of fire.

"Where are you going, lady?" Fatima grabbed Nora's hand with a smile as Nora tried to run towards Aron. "A match is going on, don't try to interfere."

"Let go of me!"

"Nora," Eden's voice resonated coldly, ready to interfere. "Don't."

She bit her lip, glaring at both of them, before Cassia placed her hand on her shoulder. "He will be fine."

True to Cassia's words, Aron jumped backward, waving his aura-infused hand over his face to stop the fire. A thin layer of golden light covered his face and upper body, keeping him safe.

Noticing the golden layer, Aeloria looked back towards Eden, who met her gaze.

"Bloodline ability," Aeloria mouthed without speaking, and Eden nodded, confirming her doubt.

"That was cheap," Aron said, glaring at Cardin. "Magic wasn't allowed."

"Nobody said that," Cardin retorted, dashing toward him with a wide arc of his sword.

Aron stepped back once again, narrowly avoiding Cardin's strike as he attempted to make a cut on his legs.

Covering his hands with Aura once again, Aron punched toward Cardin's face, which was close to his torso.

"Argh..." The punch connected, causing Cardin's vision to blur for a second, but he gritted his teeth and swung his sword upwards.

Aron jumped back to avoid the strike before making a wide arc aimed at Cardin's head.

Clank!!

In time, Cardin instinctively raised his sword upwards, blocking the strike before the sword could lodge into his skull.

"That was brutal," Fatima mumbled with a smile, noticing Cardin now drenched with sweat.

"Are you worried about your fiancé now?" Nora provoked, glaring at her.

"Why should I be? Unlike your boyfriend, he doesn't love me; he's just possessive of my body," Fatima replied with the same smile, looking at her.

"Stop talking about him!" Nora once again raised her voice at her.

"You know, I might as well switch to a new fiancé. If you have anyone in mind, do recommend me," Fatima continued, ignoring her words.

"Fatima," Eden interjected before Nora could reply, "stop teasing her too much."

"Tch," clicking her tongue, Fatima focused back on the match.

Aron, now having the upper hand after instilling fear in Cardin, continued to attack while Cardin tried his best to parry them.

As the match reached its final moments, all the students held their breath as the intense match continued.

Aeloria moved towards Eden without others noticing.

"He is growing—tch, bend down a little, will you?" Her words stopped in the middle as she had to tiptoe just so she could reach his ears.

"Sigh...Don't try to kiss me and make it look like an accident," Eden mumbled as he leaned towards her.

"He is growing faster. His bloodline should have awakened at midterms, but he is already awakened," she mumbled as she looked at Aron and then at Eden.

"Well, I might be the reason for that," Eden mumbled as he straightened his back.

"What do you mean?" Aeloria asked, squinting her eyes.

"Well, at least he can't use his lower sword," Eden mumbled, as if trying to clarify his words.

"Eden," Aeloria hissed at him, glaring, "what did you do?"

"His sword could never strike again," Eden replied, looking at her.

Aeloria tilted her head cutely, not understanding his words, before her mind clicked on his words, and her eyes widened, her mouth wide open.

"Why... ptff... did you do that?" Aeloria asked, placing her hand on her face, her entire body trembling as she tried her best to suppress her laughter.

"The match is about to end," Eden mumbled, as Aron punched Cardin's stomach, making him spit out a mouthful of saliva.

"Cough... cough..." his coughing immediately stopped as Aron placed the tip of his sword on his neck.

"You lose," he said, and Mane immediately clapped his hands.

"The match ends here," he shouted, but Aron interjected his words.

"Master, I want to challenge another person," Aron said, looking at him, while all the students tensed up, wondering what he was up to.

"Go on," Mane urged him, as Aron looked around before his eyes landed on... Eden.

"Eden Morton, I challenge you for a match!" he shouted, his words filled with bravery, but Eden's next words made all his bravado crumble.

"Fuck you."