Chapter 47: Battle Of The Fittest: Cry Of A Bird

Jack stood at the northern edge of the platform, facing Mia across the way at the southern side. Her expression remained flat and unreadable as she studied her subordinate, who couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting under the weight of her attention.

He already knew exactly what this tension stemmed from, the conflict he’d stirred up not once but twice through his own careless deference toward an outsider like Hermione back in the classroom.

He didn’t even want to imagine what was currently running through Mia’s mind. As the subordinate closest to her, he understood her well enough to know that her silence often carried more genuine threat than any outburst of anger ever could.

Still, this particular match mattered for reasons beyond their personal history. It represented real points, real recognition, within the larger scope of the school’s rankings.

It stood as one of the clearer paths toward improving his own class standing, maybe even leaving a mark on the road toward valedictorian someday.

Jack carried his own ambitions here, even while technically serving as Mia’s subordinate, and he’d genuinely hoped his efforts might help elevate her standing as much as his own.

Still, some part of him felt the pull to make things right between them by deliberately losing this round, hoping that small sacrifice might help win back her favor and something closer to genuine friendship.

Assuming, of course, he could even hold his own against her in a real fight to begin with.

Yet the thought of his own goals and personal achievement nagged persistently at the back of his mind, a quiet reminder pulling him back from the temptation of letting someone else dictate his choices entirely.

He refused to become some obedient drone under another person’s control. No, he alone decided his own fate and future potential, whatever that decision cost him socially.

So he forced himself to settle on whatever choice felt most rational and clear headed in the moment.

Mia’s expression never shifted as a violet portal flared open beside her, swirling like a compact, miniature black hole.

Her Phantom Fighter Mantis stepped through it a moment later, compound eyes already calculating every visible detail of its opponent, bladed arms folding neatly into a ready stance, waiting only for the command to strike.

Jack shrugged lightly as a gleaming portal opened beside him in turn. A slime formed creature emerged, its vague, humanoid shape shifting subtly with every small movement.

Its thick, green, gel like body flowed continuously, tiny bubbles drifting lazily beneath its translucent surface.

The stands buzzed with fresh interest and anticipation. Plenty of students already knew the two combatants stood on the same side outside the arena, one technically serving the other, and that detail alone gave the whole exchange an extra, curious edge.

Several students leaned forward, genuinely curious whether Jack would actually put up a real fight against his own superior.

Others murmured quietly, wondering whether Mia would extend him any mercy at all.

The referee raised one hand.

The instant the whistle sounded, Mia’s summon surged forward. The sharpened blades of its arms caught the light as it moved with the eerie, weightless grace of something closer to a ghost than a living creature.

Its body seemed to blur and phase directly through the surrounding air, flickering between one point and the next as it closed the gap toward its target.

With a sudden, blurring rush, the mantis summon shot straight through the slime creature like an actual specter passing through solid matter.

Except it hadn’t truly passed through anything solid at all.

The strange, gel like structure of Jack’s summon had simply parted around the attack, offering no meaningful resistance whatsoever.

The slime summon immediately collapsed downward in a wet, splattering heap, spreading messily across the platform as though it had just been thoroughly defeated.

Jack looked away with a long, exaggerated sigh.

"Ah man, guess that’s the match. Guess I really need to actually test my summon’s combat range sometime soon," he said, retrieving his summon without further comment.

The reaction from the stands landed somewhere between confused and openly skeptical.

Several students stared at the platform in outright disbelief, while others traded knowing, sidelong glances. It wasn’t exactly hard to tell the outcome hadn’t been particularly genuine.

Over in the freshman section, one girl leaned toward her friend, brow furrowed. "Wait, was that even a real fight? It barely lasted three seconds."

"Something about it feels off," her friend murmured back, arms crossed.

A junior seated a row behind them snorted quietly. "Jack didn’t even try. Anyone with eyes could see that."

"Probably knew he couldn’t win anyway, so why bother," an upperclassman added dryly, not even looking up from his phone.

Mia clocked the murmurs rippling through the crowd but only allowed herself a small, satisfied smirk in response.

Jack had deliberately set aside his own hunger for advancement, choosing instead to hand Mia the win outright. Maybe, he told himself, that gesture would finally earn back a measure of her acceptance, especially given she remained his clearest path toward real recognition within the school, and, quietly, the object of a crush he’d nursed since freshman year.

"Well, that wrapped up fast. Clean, efficient work, and full points awarded to Mia as the deserving winner of this round!" the referee announced before blowing his whistle sharply.

Mia rested one hand against her hip, shooting Jack a knowing smirk.

"I call that one the Phantom Flash. Pretty slick, right?"

The two of them made their way down from the platform as the next pair of competitors began climbing up to take their place.

***

Several rounds later, it was finally Hermione’s turn.

She took her place at the northern side of the platform, while her opponent, a tall, broad shouldered guy who looked built for basketball, purple hair cropped short, stood waiting on the opposite end. He cracked his neck slowly, disdain plain across his features.

"I’d love to go easy on a girl, especially one carrying a title like princess, but I need these points too badly to hold back. And honestly, part of my decision here comes down to the fact that you keep hanging around someone you’d probably drop in a heartbeat if you actually knew the real him, instead of sticking with people who actually carry some real status," he said, tone level and deliberate.

There was clear, calculated weight behind the remark.

Several students in the stands caught the jab immediately.

"Did he seriously bring that up right before the match even started?"

"Sounds like he’s trying to rattle her before it even begins."

Hermione’s expression didn’t so much as flicker.

"Yeah, I do keep that company, and honestly, I’d rather stick with him than waste my time around jerks who only know how to flaunt empty status," she replied evenly.

A golden portal opened above her.

A radiant phoenix emerged gracefully from within it, feathers catching the light in brilliant, shifting waves as it descended toward the platform. It carried an aura of quiet serenity, though something unmistakably powerful stirred just beneath that composed, majestic surface.

The tall boy shrugged carelessly. "Sure, that’s cute."

A portal opened beside him in turn.

A massive rhinoceros summon stepped through, standing a full eight feet tall at the shoulder. Four horns rose from its skull in ascending order, its wild, aggressive eyes locking immediately onto Hermione’s summon.

The match kicked off in an instant burst of motion.

Plenty of students, sophomores especially, leaned forward with genuine curiosity. Hermione was widely known as a member of one of the region’s great clans, and this offered a rare chance to actually watch her perform under real competitive pressure.

"Alright, let’s actually see what she can do without her family name doing the heavy lifting," one sophomore boy muttered, elbows braced against his knees.

Beside him, a girl shushed him without looking away from the platform. "Just watch. I heard her Phoenix cleared an entire round in one hit during her last public match."

"No way that’s real," someone else in their row scoffed.

"Just watch," she repeated flatly.

The rhinoceros charged forward with heavy, ground shaking steps, each stride rattling the platform hard enough to be felt through the stands. The arena floor had been specifically reinforced to withstand exactly this kind of punishment, yet faint tremors still rippled up through the spectators’ seats regardless.

A concentrated energy beam blasted from its foremost horn like a cannon shot, streaking straight toward the hovering phoenix.

The phoenix reacted instantly.

A shimmering field of flame formed around its body, disrupting and scattering the incoming beam before it could land any meaningful damage.

Then the phoenix opened its beak wide.

A deafening cry tore outward from its throat.

The sound detonated across the platform with such raw force that the surrounding air itself seemed to physically shudder and crack. The sonic wave slammed into the rhinoceros before it had any chance to brace, launching the massive creature clean off the platform entirely, one of its four horns visibly splintering at the base from the sheer force of the impact, a thin spray of blood misting from its nostrils as it tumbled through the air.

The arena’s safety mechanism yanked the summon back into its soul space before it could suffer any further, lasting damage.

For a moment, the entire arena fell into stunned silence.

Then the sophomore section erupted into excited, overlapping chatter.

"That was one single cry! Just one!"

"She didn’t even need to get close to him!"

"That’s the Phoenix family bloodline for you, right there."

"Wait, seriously, that’s genuinely all it took?"

Someone near the back of the sophomore rows let out a low whistle. "Remind me never to actually make her mad."

"Wasn’t planning on it," his friend replied immediately, still staring at the scorched, cracked section of platform where the rhinoceros had been standing only seconds earlier.

The referee, already wearing his protective earbuds, let out a resigned sigh at yet another blisteringly fast finish.

"Another instant knockout," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly as he raised his whistle.

Meanwhile, from one of the taller buildings overlooking the school compound, a young man with brown hair watched the entire exchange unfold through a wide glass wall, his expression unreadable, eyes narrowed in quiet focus.

After a moment, he turned away from the glass, glancing toward the school king, Arnold, seated across from him with a half finished chessboard resting between them.

Arnold leaned back comfortably in his armchair, one arm draped loosely over its side.

"Harry, what’s taking you so long to make your move here? Getting cold feet, or what? Come on, spit it out already, bro."

Harry shook his head slowly.

"No, it’s not the game. That’s not what’s got my attention right now. I think you’re going to want to see this for yourself."

Arnold raised a curious eyebrow. Harry’s gaze drifted back toward the arena stretched out below them.

"It’s got something to do with your target." He paused briefly, letting the words settle. "The Phoenix summoner."