Chapter 63: House of Cards

  (Scarlette’s POV)

  I was munching on chips and scrolling through social media when my phone rang. Cadel? What did he want at this hour?

  I curiously answered it. “Yo Cadel, what’s up?”

  “Hey. Are you in your room now?”

  “Yeah, is something wrong?”

  “Kazen just called me.”

  I gasped. “Kazen? What did he have to say?”

  Cadel quickly summarised the topic of their conversation for me.

  Ah, so he was concerned about my safety? A small part of me also noted that Kazen seemed concerned as well, but I deliberately chose to ignore it.

  Instead, I thought of a suitable reply. “I see… I guess he has a point. I mean, the privacy thing isn’t really an issue. Like, I trust you enough to let you know my room. It’s Room 405, on the fourth floor. And if I go anywhere risky—which I won’t by the way—then I’ll let you know. How’s that sound?”

  “Okay, sounds good. Just thought I’d bring it up with you.”

  I chuckled. “No worries, thanks for checking in.”

  My phone vibrated immediately again after I hung up. Did Cadel forget to tell me something? Nope, it was an email from the school. It seemed like our matchups for the Round of 16 had been announced.

  Let’s see who we got for tomorrow.

  --

  Welcome to the Round of 16

  Your opponent is: Elara Grace

  School: Horizon High

  Venue: Block A, Grand Arena

  Time: 2.00 PM

  --

  A wave of cautious excitement washed over me as I registered the name. Elara? Wasn’t that the ice girl? My mind briefly flashed to the previous battles, trying to recall her matches. Elara had been potent in her games, but it would still be a match of ice against fire. Of course, there were special exceptions to that like Soren, but compared to him, Elara seemed pretty ordinary.

  My fingers couldn’t move fast enough as I let Cadel know of the news.

  “Good luck,” came the reply.

  Was that it?! And he was so concerned about me just a minute ago! Well, it wasn’t like I was interested in who his opponent was either anyway! I grumbled as I closed his chat, popping another cookie into my mouth.

  Today marked Day 8 of the Intra-District Games. It was finally time for the top 16 to duke it out, and our combat venue had changed to the main stage—the Grand Arena.

  True to its name, it was a massive stadium with a single raised concrete platform at its centre, surrounded by an oval-shaped seating arrangement. Lush greenery adorned the rooftop and parts of the arena, keeping with the Garden theme.

  “Look at all these people!” Jonah whistled. “Imagine fighting in front of this many pairs of eyes!”

  “You’re not helping her nerves,” Kaede tutted. She placed her hands on my shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You’re the 5-Star, Scarlette Falcon. You’re not gonna let some random ice girl show you up, right?”

  I rubbed my hands together in an attempt to ease those nerves. “Yeah. But it isn’t time yet. Cadel has the privilege to kick things off.”

  Cadel’s match was the first of 8 that was going to happen today, against someone from Horizon High named Daryl Kore. We had seen Daryl in action before—his Ability manipulated soundwaves, and he had been the one to knock out Kerri in an earlier round.

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  Well, sorry Zara, but you won’t be able to avenge her. Cadel’s gonna do it for you.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Round of 16!” the announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium. “Today, we’ll be having 8 back-to-back battles to determine our final 8 contestants. Our first match will begin very shortly. May our first participant please step forward… give it up for Cadel Ren!”

  About half the stadium erupted in cheers, while the other half jeered in return.

  “Damn Horizon. Show them who’s boss, Cadel!” Kaede seethed.

  Cadel strolled onto the platform as if he were on his way to buy groceries on a peaceful Sunday morning.

  “How’s he so relaxed?” I muttered. “It’s not even fair at this point.”

  “Give it up for Daryl Kore!” the announcer shouted again, drawing a similar response as Cadel’s.

  A similar mixed reaction followed, though Jonah took it upon himself to add to the jeers. “BOO! LAME!”

  Mira yanked his arm down. “Stop embarrassing us!”

  “For real. I mean honestly, I already feel bad for Daryl,” Kaede added.

  “Okay but, let’s place our bets on how long the match will last,” Jonah wheezed. “Thirty seconds? Forty?”

  “I’d say twenty,” I mused. “Cadel did say he didn’t want to waste time.”

  The announcer began reiterating the rules, and then—

  Ding!

  The air shimmered as Daryl unleashed a seismic wave, rippling the air towards Cadel. However, the waves seem to hit an unseen barrier midway through. A second later, the soundwaves reversed, heading straight for their maker.

  With a leap that shook the arena, Daryl dodged his own attack and retaliated midair. Even from here, I could see the sheer intensity of his attacks. The ground beneath him trembled as the very air seemed to rip apart. If not for the protective forcefield, the noise would’ve been deafening.

  To an average esper, that sound would have been enough to knock them unconscious. But sound was something Cadel could control with ease. He probably wasn’t even hearing it.

  All of a sudden, Daryl plummeted from the sky, crashing into the concrete right in front of Cadel. It was like watching a fly get swatted.

  Cadel knelt down and flicked his forehead.

  Daryl blasted backwards, slamming into the forcefield at the far end. He didn’t get back up.

  The crowd fell silent. Were they really expecting anything else to happen?

  “…And the winner is, Cadel Ren!”

  Slowly, applause spread through the stadium. Cadel gave a casual bow to the crowd and promptly exited backstage.

  A chill ran down my spine. “I’m so glad I’m not from Horizon High,” I muttered.

  “I’d love to see you and Cadel in the finals,” Jonah said. I could tell he wasn’t being sarcastic.

  “I’ll do my best,” I reaffirmed.

  Cadel rejoined us just as the next match between Zara and another girl representing our rivals was about to start. The arena had also just finished repairing itself, which was a feature which I had always found fascinating. As the battle began, flashes of my own duel against Zara surfaced in my mind, where I had almost suffocated. Unless her opponent could manipulate air like she could or inflict a faster debuff, they had a minute or two before passing out from asphyxiation.

  It looked like this time was no different. Zara’s opponent dashed around the arena in an effort to land a hit, but Zara just casually dodged all her attacks. About a minute later, her opponent slumped to the ground.

  “The winner is Zara Artemis! Two quick matches back-to-back!” the announcer roared.

  The third match kicked off after a brief interval. It quickly seemed to be a fan favourite, at least for the Horizon High students. Ignar was clearly popular, as the crowd thundered in applause when his lava attacks overwhelmed the representative from our school. The fight lasted a little longer than average, but the latter’s Abizium suit was in such bad shape that the referee had to step in, declaring a technical knockout for Ignar in the name of safety. Naturally, this sparked an outcry from our side of the arena, but there was no arguing with the decision.

  The fourth match featured Felix— the boy with the playing card ability and the one who had possibly tried to hit on me after my last match. I had turned him away at that time because I wasn’t in the mood to entertain him, especially since I was exhausted after my match with Bob. Not that I would have accepted his request otherwise. Still, it left me overthinking in my room later that night, so I was grateful when Cadel called to check on me. He had briefly forwarded his conversation with Kazen to me, and knowing that was his way of showing concern for me warmed my heart.

  But right now, his opponent, a girl named Starrie Minne, didn’t seem like a pushover either. She wielded a laser-missile-like Ability, firing countless tiny homing projectiles from her fingers. A barrage of glowing missiles discharged, all locking onto Felix.

  A giant card slammed into the ground between them, blocking the first wave. Some missiles detonated against it, while the rest curved around the obstruction, only to be intercepted by two more hovering cards flanking Felix. Without missing a beat, he sprinted toward Starrie, using the momentary cover.

  As the smoke cleared, Felix was perched on the top of his first giant card, laughing manically. He pointed down, and a dozen razor-sharp cards spun through the air like shurikens, headed straight for Starrie.

  Starrie tried her best to dodge them, but a few seemed to find its mark. Her face contorted in pain, yet Felix showed no mercy. Another barrage followed immediately.

  “Come on Starrie…!” I found myself whispering.

  Starrie targeted the ground in front of her, creating a temporary smoke screen. But Felix summoned another oversized card, spinning it like a propeller to disperse the cloud in seconds.

  But a few seconds was all Starrie needed. A flashbang momentarily blinded Felix while her lasers converged into one singular beam.

  In the nick of time, Felix spawned a third card from under his feet, raising him just above the giant laser as it burnt a hole through it.

  The battle continued in a few more minutes of attrition before Starrie started to falter. Four giant playing cards closed in around her, boxing her in as a flurry of smaller cards slipped through the gaps. As Felix dismissed the walls, they vanished to reveal Starrie, folded over like a stack of cards. The crowd went off again as my fellow schoolmates around me groaned in disappointment.

  “Hate to admit it, but it was a good match,” Jonah said, clapped slowly.

  “Yeah, she made him work for it,” I acknowledged. As I stretched and got to my feet, I added, “Anyway, it’s the half-time break. I gotta head down now.”

  Kaede gave me one final hug, squeezing me tightly. “All the best,” she whispered before letting go.

  “Better see you in the quarter finals,” Cadel called.

  “For sure. See you in a bit.”