Unexpected turn

— You are an anomaly, Sakaki-san...

— Is that a good or bad thing?

— Both. But don't worry, I will try to fix the damage.

— You will repair two mountains?

— I will try...

— I'm sorry, teacher. I didn't think it would be this disastrous. It was my fault.

— No, it's okay. You did your best to contain your power. You're just that strong. You can go home now, it's getting late.

— Are you sure? I can maybe repair everything with my power.

— No, it's better this way. Keep training your magic, but in a controlled space, like virtual reality. And don't forget to come to the tournament tomorrow.

— Ah, right... Thank you, teacher. And I'm sorry.

Komoe left the former shooting range. Before turning a corner, she heard two people talking. She hid behind the wall.

— You're so cute, and you even have my magic type! What about we go somewhere more private?

— E-Eh? But I have to go home, I'm sorry!

— What a shame. You know what they say, this town is too small for both of us. Is that it? I don't like western movies, but you got it.

Wait, those voices!

Komoe stopped hiding to see what they were doing. She didn't forget that purple twintail and those evil black eyes. The Void Master was pushing the short and quiet boy towards a wall in the corridor. With her thighs intertwined with his, she towered over him with a malicious smile.

— Hey! What are you doing with him? This isn't the place!

— Ara...

The Void Master turned her head slowly to see Komoe with a serious face. Her utter disgust was visible in those empty eyes.

— Ah, it's you. I didn't know you two were friends. That makes things simple.

Karaage, the boy, quickly pushed her body after seeing she was mildly distracted by the unwanted presence.

— T-Thank you, Sakaki-san! I'll get going!

He disappeared after running for some seconds. The Void Master was surprised by his courage and wanted to go after him, but stopped mid-chase with an expression of who seeked revenge.

— Then? What did you want with him, Void Master?

— You shut the fuck up. It's none of your business. I'll make you two pay, remember that. And don't even think about not coming tomorrow.

After giving a final deadly glare, the Void Master walked away.

It was tomorrow. Komoe woke up as usual, punched her father for not giving her uniform and went straight to the academy. The teacher was waiting in the frontal and main yard.

— Sakaki-san, I'm glad you came!

— Ah, hello, teacher. Are you okay? You didn't overwork yourself because of yesterday, right?

— I'm okay, thanks for asking! I asked for a special parchment to the main director, and it will arrive in a few days. It's used for repairing large-scale damage.

— That's good to hear. It's not expensive, right?

— Not in currency, but in mana and magic residue. Some specialized sorcerers make powerful parchments for academies, but it takes quite some time.

— Oh, right.

— Ah, the tournament will be at the back of the academy. It's a huge colliseum. I would guide you, but I must welcome all the students when they arrive.

— That's good enough, teacher. Thank you!

— Good luck, Sakaki-san. And remember, try to hold back when you fight Void Master. The arena has magic walls that nullify attacks, but it may not handle your level of destruction.

— Sure, teacher. Wait, I'm going to fight her?!

— Not only you. All the clubs will fight her in this tournament. The announcer will say the rules there.

— I see, thank you!

This is bad, really bad. She's still more experienced than me. What if I lose the patience and destroy everything? I would love turn that smile into despair, but I don't know if she'll let me.

Komoe went to the colliseum. Stella and Tanaka were already there. After some minutes, Tomoe arrived. Stella suggested.

— Alright, now that everyone's here, should we do a strategic meeting?

Suddenly, the announcer started speaking.

— Welcome to our introdutory tournament, everyone! Since the first club is already here, let's start!

Really? We're the first club? That bitch wants to humilliate us, huh. Not even time for a preparation?

— The rules are simple: firstly, a magic orb will fall at the center of the arena after one minute. Whoever catches it, gets a win for the club!

That sounds simple... Too simple to be true.

— Secondly, if someone injures another participant, opponent or not, to the point where immediate healing is necessary, they will be disqualified if they do so. If they refuse to heal, they will be permanently banned from the academy.

That probably means that scumbag wants to toy with us, not kill us.

— And that's it! Have fun!

— Alright, let's go, guys.

— We have: Sakaki Komoe, Kihara Tomoe, Stella Elizabeth and Tanaka Hajime against the Void Master!

As the club entered the arena, they were staring intensely at their opponent. She could try anything to surprise them at anytime. She smiled smugly.

— Hm, what's this? Did I annoy you or something?

— Is this even a question? Let's go, you start it.

— Hey, did you forget your place? Are you giving orders to me?

Suddenly, Tanaka started the fight. He raised both hands as if to clap, summoning concrete walls around the opponent from the ground. After, a fresh cement block from above started falling. When the cement fell within the walls, he clapped his hands, closing them.

 — I've been training this at home, bastard. The fresh cement will harden in a few seconds and trap you! Don't understimate me, bitch!

A black hole emerged from the rubble, erasing it. The Void Master wasn't smiling as before.

— Did you just interrupt me while I was talking? Come, I'll wait.

— Tch, I'll shut your mouth again!

Tanaka ran towards her and made a cement spike on his hand. On the other, he summoned a bow. He shot the spike with it and simultaneously more came from the ground.

— You couldn't dodge this even if you wanted!

— From below again? Seriously?

The Void Master raised her hand as if to grab him. A small black hole appeared in front of his head, pulling her hand and her body towards it. The spiked phased through her. She held his head with pure hatred and punched his stomach.

— You can't hurt me. Don't you understand that? I won't behead you because I would lose.

After, she made a void sword and cut his both legs. Tomoe immediately used her book to summon vines from it and catch the opponent, while healing him from distance.

The Void Master raised her hand and shot a black sphere, erasing everything in the path. It phased through the book and desintegrated her heart.

What the fuck?! Isn't this fatal injury?

— No, bitch. She won't die for at least a minute from now.

— So you can really read my mind, huh.

Stella raised her magic staff it started to shine brightly.

— Sakaki-san, you go to the center. The orb is almost on the ground. You're tall, so you can jump and grab it.

— Understood.

A powerful and huge solar zenith fell to where the opponent was. Tanaka made a wall push him out of range. Since it was Stella, he wasn't mad. The Void Master was surprised and couldn't move properly.

— The Sun comes together in one place, now shall it return!

After reciting the spell, two portals appeared: one on top of the sorcerer and another above Stella. The zenith redirected towards the second, burning her and destroying the staff.

Komoe looked back at all that, but she was too close to the orb to fumble everything. As she jumped, the Void Master teleported in front of her and punched her hard enough to make her spit blood and fly to the other side.

Shit... I was so close.

Tanaka, annoyed, shouted.

— Really? You had one simple task! What a stupid ogre.

You're one to talk, idiot! You started the fight without saying anything! Wait, he may be right... This is my fault. Everyone is hurt now because of me. I was the most useless one...

— Is that all, bitch? I thought you would fight me or something.

The Void Master started laughing at her after feeling the taste of victory. The audience was shouting. Some cheering for Komoe, other for her opponent. But mostly the second. Time stopped for her. She was the only one who could fight, even though she was injured.

Her laugh is annoying me. But she deserves it, right? She won, after all.

— You know that cute boy of your class? He didn't want to come today. So I had to get matters on my own hands!

Komoe widened her eyes, surprised.

— Yeah, I killed him. Outside of the academy, so I won't be punished!

I would ask him out today...

— Yes, that's what I wanted to see! You're about to cry, right? He was so precious to you!

This is your fault, stupid ogre. Komoe-chan, why didn't you heal me? Sakaki-san, we'll lose because of you... This is all your fault. It always has been.

— What is that I see? You can't even say you're sorry? This is all your fault, after all.

...

Somehow, the Void Master was punched. She didn't see or feel anything, but her nose was bleeding.

Wha-

Komoe was punching her face before she could realize. 

Did she teleport?! I just have to teleport out of her rang-

Komoe joined her hands together and hit the opponent's head down. She sat on top of her body and punched harder and harder. Her eyes showed not only hatred, but utter disgust. 

The Void Master stopped thinking after some seconds. Finally, Komoe created a black hole on her hand and hit her enemy's head, erasing it completely.

— Do you regret it, sister?

— Being banned? Yes. Killing someone? Yes. Killing that asshole? Absolutely not.

— Interesting. I may give that awakening a chance.