Chapter 43. A Rematch?
Erza, Gavin, and Jackson walked down the pathway between buildings. "Oh, that's right, I was told to give you this." Jackson turned to Gavin. He pulled out a spare key from his pocket and handed it to Gavin. "My bad man."
"All good, thanks. I was wondering where I'd get my key from." Gavin pocketed his key and then reached down to take Erza's hand.
She smiled as she squeezed his fingers. "This place is beautiful, isn't it?"
Gavin nodded as he relaxed. The pathway was the definition of congested with all the students, but the amount of nature around them was so peaceful and relaxing that Gavin couldn't resist grinning. "Yeah, I never imagined this place would so incredible."
The three of them made their way through the crowd of students. They walked across the massive campus towards the southern section. There was a stone fenceline that lined sections of the path. On the top of the stone was a singular bronze eye that rested atop of the stone pillars. Each eye was open and observed the students as they showed off magic to their friends.
"Seven hells man." Gavin whistled in appreciation as they approached the giant arena. It was built using the same white stone that the dorms were made from. Giant pillars lined the outside edges every few feet. Statues stood in heroic or divine poses on each pillar. They appeared to depict the gods and goddesses of old mythologies. Gold trim lined the statues and pillars, making the deities seem to pop on the statue pillars. The front main entrance had two giant doors that stood side by side and were propped open to allow for the throng of students that filled in.
"Out of the way, you trash." A now familiar voice called out from behind as someone shouldered past Gavin, making him stumble in response. Gavin's anger flared as he glanced up after catching his footing and saw Bradley and his three cronies behind him.
"Really man, again?" Gavin's voice was filled with annoyance as he glared at Bradley.
9o
"Yeah again. Scummy first-year students like you need to learn to bow and respect their elders. You have a look in your eyes that I don't frankly like. So, I decided that you need to be taught your place," Bradley said as he grinned and cracked his knuckles. His cohorts were chuckling and encouraged him on from behind.
Erza stepped up beside Gavin and narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you go find someone else to bother?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes glowed faintly amber with a ring of red around the iris.
Bradley scoffed as he let his eyes roam over her body. Her eyes…why are they like that? He hesitated before he grinned at her. "Why don't you come sit by us during the speech?"
Gavin's eyes glowed red as he felt his temper rise. His blood burned with the familiar power. Is he… really trying to hit on Erza? With that thought in mind his anger vanished. Instead, laughter bubbled up in his chest.
Jackson raised an eyebrow as he looked between Gavin and the bullies. "Hey man, what's so funny? In case you didn't notice, they have us outnumbered here."
Gavin laughed as he shrugged. "That don't matter. If they were smart, they'd keep walking."
Jackson frowned as he stood by his roommate. "Well, can't let it be said I let my roomy get jumped the first day." He braced himself for the coming fight.
Bradley scoffed at Gavin's words. He stepped forward, head tilted as he took in Gavin's posture. "Why in the seven hells would we keep walking freshman?"
"Boy, if you don't get out of our way, I will not stop him from beating you down this time." Erza warned as she tried to walk forward and one of Bradley's cronies cut her off with a malicious chuckle.
"Where do you think you are going sweetness?" The overweight cronie asked while he leaned in a little too close for Erza's liking.
Gavin turned from Jackson and glared at the one in front of Erza. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Gavin felt the need to give the fools one warning.
Jackson turned stunned to Gavin. "You realize that would be four against one, right?" There was no way he wanted to fight four different people at once. Gavin had to have more sense than that, right? He investigated Gavin's face and saw something flicker in his eyes that sent a shiver running down Jackson's spine. He wanted this fight, Jackson realized. For some reason, Gavin was looking forward to this confrontation.
Several of the students passing by noticed the confrontation and started gossiping amongst themselves. Slowly, a wide circle began to form around them. Several of the bronze eye sensors opened up to watch the events unfold.
"I am a second-year student kid. You really don't want this. So just admit your wrong, bow and ask for forgiveness and I might let you off with a warning this time." Bradley offered as a way for them to walk away without a fight.
He really hoped, though, that Gavin wouldn't take his offer. Something about this punk really set off his inner dog. Plus, there was something about that redhead that bothered him. Bradley shifted his feet from side to side.
Gavin turned to Jackson, completely ignoring Bradley altogether. "Go wait over there, man. No matter what happens, don't interfere. I don't want any trouble to fall on you," Gavin suggested as he pointed to a nearby group of students that were watching the confrontation.
Erza laughed as she heard Gavin's words. "Finally thinking with your head for once?" She teased him and turned her back to the fat crony in front of her. She didn't notice that he reached out with his hand to grab her arm.
Erza felt the grip against her arm and turned with a raised eyebrow. "Now, that was very stupid." She shrugged off the man's grip and quicker than he could react threw out a right jab. She connected with his solar plexus. The bully dropped to the ground coughing and trying to catch his breath.
Jackson let out a sigh. He gave up trying to talk some sense into his new friends. "Fine. If you start getting your butt kicked, I'm jumping in, man," Jackson said as he moved to stand with the random onlookers. Gavin grinned and laughed softly as he cracked his knuckles and shook his arms to loosen up. He began to bounce from foot to foot as he looked back at Bradley, shooting him a cocky wide-eyed grin.
One of the idiots was already on the ground as Gavin kept his gaze on Bradley. "You ready to dance man?"
Bradley bit his lip in a nervous response. This kid knows how to fight. Shit. I can't back down now. His reputation would be ruined if he did so. "Last chance to back away kid," Bradley offered as he bent his knees and started focusing on his inner mana flow.
He didn't enjoy seeing one of his companions on the ground so easily by the punch from the redhead, but the kid in front of him was the real problem.
Bradley had a few tricks in mind for dealing with this kid. He might know how to fight, but Bradley was gifted with magic and knew how to do some real damage.
Gavin stopped bouncing for a moment and his gaze narrowed and focused on Bradley, his head tilted forward. "After what you said to my mate earlier, you will be lucky to walk away in one piece." Gavin's voice dropped several octaves and came out almost guttural and feral.
Those words froze Bradley's heart for a moment. His mate? He's a shifter… So, what… he's not the only one! Bradley growled low in his throat as he threw out his hands, his mana flow ignited as he pictured a massive fireball forming. Quickly as he could, a giant ball of flame and heat formed in his palm and grew with intensity. The vibrant colors cast shadows against the students. He focused on Gavin and threw the orb as hard as he could.
Gavin laughed as he focused on his own mana flow. He partially shifted his legs into that of his were-wolf form. I don't need to go all out against this idiot. This isn't even a warm up compared to what Astrid put me through. He used the increased agility and speed to easily dodge out of the way from the fireball.
Nearby students gasped as the fireball was heading straight for them. They tried to scramble out of the way as it approached. Gavin threw out his hand and a torrent of water engulfed the fireball. The result was a steam explosion as Gavin countered Bradley's magic.
Gavin ran forward; his increased speed made it easy to reach Bradley. As he reached out a hand to grab his shirt, Bradley swatted his hand away. "You aren't the only one that's fast punk." He spat out at Gavin as Bradley fully shifted into that of a were-dog. He was tall with golden fur, ears, and a long tail.
He was twice as fast and strong as a were-dog. His sense of smell told him that Gavin was hiding something dangerous. His animal instincts screamed at him to either put Gavin down now or run like the wind and not look back. He struck out with a right fist and connected to Gavin's jaw.
Gavin grunted from the force of the blow and jumped back. He rubbed his cheek as he looked at Bradley. "So, you're a mutt too, huh?" He asked with a grin. Bradley might have a bit of a dog in him. But Gavin had some wolf. Gavin focused his mana flow, and a giant boulder came from behind Bradley and smashed into his back.
Be careful so you don't kill him by accident. Veronica's cool soothing voice softly called out in her head. She was monitoring his vitals anytime he accessed his mana. It became routine for them while they were training over the summer. She kept track of his mana and HP stats while he was shifting and fighting with magic, so he never ran the risk of overusing it and getting hurt by magic depletion. Gavin admitted having Veronica was a total cheat skill.
Bradley stumbled forward as the earth boulder smashed into his back. He growled softly as his eyes glowed yellow. He would not let this punk get the better of him. He raised his arm and, focusing his mana, sent out a stream of intense fire barreling towards Gavin. He would wear him down and then make him submit.
Gavin jumped out of the way as the fire soared past him. He could feel the intense heat from the flames a few feet away. The crowd of students moved even farther back to avoid getting hit by stray magic. Gavin stomped his foot, and several large spikes came jutting up from the ground towards Bradley, who moved back just in the nick of time.
Bradley grinned at his weak attempt at earth magic. "Is that all you can do?" He started running forward and dodged the spikes from the ground as he threw out a series of jabs and kicks aiming to push Gavin back. Gavin blocked or dodged most of the strikes, he was holding his own fairly well. Even when the cronies stepped in and fire, air, and earth, offensive spells came flying at Gavin from them.
At that point Erza shifted and used her magic to conjure a wall of flame that blocked their spells from getting through. She stood there, hand on one hip as she grinned at the students. "Come now, do we have to get violent?" Her mocking words rang out as the overweight one recovered first and charged forward.
"Alert. Unauthorized magic detected. Violent spells have been witnessed. Proctors have been notified. Cease all hostilities at once!" The bronze eye balls cried out in warning as they recorded the fight.
Erza ignored the warnings as she kept her eyes on the other three in front of her. The heavy one's fist was engulfed with blades of air as he swung forward. Erza stepped to the side and threw a series of hits that were designed to hit the mana circuts in the body and block the internal flow of mana. The man cried out in pain as he felt the connection to his mana disappear. Erza stalked towards him, a grin on her face as he trembled. "We never should have messed with them." His words were a whisper of fear as his other two companions stepped up.
Gavin laughed as he dodged another fireblast from Bradley. This idiot has no idea how to actually fight. Compared to the dungeon or even just the valkyries this is a cake walk. He was about to shift into his full were-wolf form and take them to town when a deep thunderous voice rang out cross the courtyard.
"Enough!"
A flash of light seemed to absorb all the active spells that were just launched as a short man with long white hair tied back in a braid and a long white goatee stood between Gavin and Bradley. Silence fell across the courtyard as the newcomer somehow canceled or stopped all the spells. Even Brad's fully shifted form gave way back to his human body as he was huffing from the exertion.
"There will be no unsanctioned fighting on school grounds. Now, Bradley, you know this as a second-year student. I expected better from you this year." The old man's voice was grave and full of disappointment as he turned his gaze to meet Bradley's. Bradley had the sense of self-preservation to bow his head low.
"Yes, Principal Shepard," he said as he bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Please forgive me, sir. I don't know what got into me."
"I don't want to hear of this happening again, do you understand young man?" Principal Shepard's beady eyes stared at Bradley. He was a gifted student, but he had a disappointing temper and was quick to bully those he thought were below him. Principal Shepard had hoped being a second-year student would mature him a little bit. But it seemed there was a lot of work still needing to be done in that regard.
"You have a good amount of strength and power Bradley. You should be using that to help people, not attack and bully them," Principal Shepard admonished. "I think a weeks detention will be punishment enough. See Professor Okeeba after the ceremony. Now run along and find your seat." He ordered the four of them as they quickly turned and made their exit inside the auditorium building. The whispers of the students nearby grew loud as they watched the principal turn his attention towards Gavin.
Principal Shepard paused when he looked at the young man in front of him. It… It can't be. Memories of a life long forgotten, of loved ones long dead and buried surged to the surface.
Erza frowned as she walked over to stand beside Gavin. She wasn't sure what this old man's problem was, but she didn't care for the way that he stared at her mate.
Principal Shepard moved his gaze between them and noticed the matching glowing eyes, amber with red mixed in. Well, I'll be damned. He recognized that sign all too well.
"Now for you, young man. I do not know what started the fight. But know that I expect better from you and everyone else. Should there be a repeat of this event, there will be consequences you won't enjoy. Now go find your seat." Principal Shepard said to Gavin.
Gavin stood there quietly. He didn't know how, but whatever Principal Shepard did to the magic that was being cast, he also canceled out his were-wolf legs. Granted, he had jeans, so no one should have known he had shifted partially. But the fact was that now he was fully in a human body. He gave the principal a frown but nodded. It doesn't matter right now.
There will be time to approach the principal in the future to ask questions. Before he nodded though, Gavin could have sworn that he saw a flicker of relief flash across the principal's face. As if he feared Gavin insisting on continuing the fight then and there. If Gavin didn't know better, he would swear he saw a flash of red in Principal Shepard's eyes as the old man turned around and strode leisurely inside the auditorium.
Jackson walked over and let out an impressive whistle. "You weren't kidding. You really do know how to fight man," he said as he patted Gavin on the back. The students nearby were all gossiping among themselves as they walked around Gavin and Jackson as they made their way inside the auditorium.
"Yeah, when he's not too busy being cocky. What was that back there? You could have easily knocked him down. But I suppose I should be proud that you held back as well as you did." Erza simultaneously chided Gavin and praised him, which made him laugh and give her a smile.
"Yeah, I know a trick or two," Gavin said dismissively. He hadn't even begun to fight in earnest before they were interrupted. Perhaps though, that was a good thing. He still had struggles at times to control his fully wolfed-out self. Gavin let out a deep breath and shook his head. He ran his fingers through his curls a few times and seemed to relax his body. "I don't know what that guy's problem is, but someone is going to rock his world if he keeps acting like that," Gavin said softly as he turned and led the way inside.
Jackson nodded behind Gavin. "I'm not sure. I wasn't expecting him to be a shifter and to appear to go all out over a school yard scuffle, so to speak," Jackson said. No matter how he looked at it, Brad went too far over nothing serious to cause it. Jackson knew this wouldn't be the last fight between Brad and Gavin. He had a feeling the next one was going to be a lot sooner than anyone expected.
Once they entered the auditorium, there were a few senior students that helped to guide everyone to the proper sections. It seemed that they wanted each grade of student to be together while they listened to the speeches. Gavin recognized one such bubbly face as he called out. "Hey Steph." He called out to the blonde-haired girl with an infectious laugh and brilliant smile as she turned to face them.
"Hey, Gavin, right?" she asked with a soft wave and a friendly smile. She turned to see Erza next to him. "Erza wasn't it? Man you guys sure made a lot of commotion outside. Impressive fighting."
Gavin nodded as he approached her. "Yeah, that's right. This is my friend and roommate, Jackson," Gavin said as he introduced the two of them. Jackson smiled and offered a wave as she grinned at him. Somehow, she always kept up that insane amount of energy and good vibes. It helped to relax Gavin both times he saw her now.
Erza waved her hand dismissively. "Just some school drama, no big deal. No one got seriously hurt."
"I'd love to stay and chat with you guys. But you need to go find your seats, alright? Go down the hall, take a right and you will find the first-year student section," Stephanie said with a smile as she pointed down the hallway where a line of students were walking.
"Sure. See you later. Don't have too much fun," Gavin called out with a wave as he pulled Jackson, who was damn near drooling over Stephanie, behind him. "Man, you got to snap out of it." Gavin said under his breath as he finally got Jackson's attention. "Didn't you already get one girls number today?"
Jackson laughed good-naturedly as he followed Gavin. "Man, I can't help it. Did you see the body on that chic?" Jackson asked Gavin. "She was smoking hot man," Jackson said in a whisper as they followed the students down the well-lit hallway and to the right.
Gavin didn't reply as they walked with the others and eventually entered through a doorway into an opulent auditorium. Gavin felt the auditorium he looked at could have fit all the students from his high school several times over. They walked through the doorway and appeared to be maybe forty feet up in the air. Rows upon rows of seats lined the edges of the auditorium. More continued even higher above Gavin. Now he understood just why this building was so massive by itself. It could house potentially thousands of students in one single location.
The walls had all kinds of decorations and designs along them. Symbols of each element were displayed along with giant canvas flags for each of the grades above each section of students. A beautiful red wood covered the floor of the auditorium beneath them. The seats themselves appeared to be normal metal chairs, but on closer examination they had a soft cushion to make them more comfortable. Lights were stationed along stone columns placed along the walls and hung from the ceiling above. There was a single podium down on the floor with a microphone. Gavin and Jackson took their seats and waited for the event to start.
After about fifteen or twenty minutes of waiting, the lights went out, covering the auditorium in sudden darkness. There were a few gasps and cries of shock from students before they were quickly silenced. A giant hologram image of an older man appeared in the air in front of the students for all to see easily. The man was familiar as he walked over to the podium with a pleasant smile on his face. A single spotlight lit up his position on the ground as he walked, his actions matching the hologram in the air.
He reached the podium, his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke softly into the microphone. "Greetings and salutations everyone. Welcome to the prestigious Magic Academy of Allario. My name is Principal John Shepard," Principal Shepard said as he introduced himself to all the students, new and old. His smile widened as he continued. "For the next nine months, all of your lives belong to me." As he said this, there was an uproar of confusion and protest from the first-year students.