Around 2 pm the next day…
The small restaurant buzzed with the clatter of dishes and the aroma of freshly prepared stew. Dom carried a tray of dirty plates, balancing them carefully as the hum of conversation filled the room.
As he reached for an empty mug, he froze as he caught snippets of a nearby conversation.
"Seriously?" The first customer asked.
The second leaned closer, voice low. "Their wives waited all night… but they never showed. My police friend investigated before dawn, but he couldn't find them."
"What happened?"
"No clue… but all he found was their prey, equipment…" The second customer glanced around to whisper his next words, but the alcohol already coursing through his system made his voice even louder. "…and bloodstains."
Dom gulped, trying to quench the sudden dryness in his throat.
"A wild animal?" The first customer asked.
The second shrugged. "That's the going theory. But those two were the best hunters in town." He frowned. "Only a monster would be able to take them down like that."
Dom stiffened.
Hunters…Blood… Monsters…
The words tugged at the edges of his mind. His heart hammered in his chest, and his stomach twisted.
"Dom!"
The familiar voice suddenly broke his thoughts.
As he turned, the fear evaporated instantly when he saw Devon, his chubby, cheerful friend, grinning from the front entrance.
"We're going to play Mana Ball! Wanna come?" Devon asked.
Dom hurriedly carried the dishes into the kitchen, dumping them in the sink. "Can I go play with my friends?" He asked Pops, who was plating food with precise movements.
Pops glanced at the clock, then responded. "Fine, but be back by three. Phil's leaving early for a school project."
Dom nodded, tugging off his apron, just as Pops held up the plated meal. "Table 3," he said.
Sighing, Dom took the meal and walked away.
"And stay away from the woods!" Pops shouted after him. "There are rumors of a wild animal, and I'm not in the mood to save your dumb ass today!"
"Okay, later!" Dom called back as he quickly delivered the meal and ran to meet Devon.
Meanwhile, Pops closed the steaming pot and returned to his newspaper. He focused on finishing the surprisingly tricky crossword puzzle, completely unconcerned by the missing criminal picture on the next page.
Minutes later…
The town playground was alive with energy. Children screamed from swings and slides, the air thick with the scent of barbecue and dust.
Brightly painted structures dotted the sand, and faint wisps of mana shimmered like morning mist, barely noticeable unless you focused.
Dom followed Devon, weaving past kids and their colorful magic sparks. He then stopped, his grin instantly faded as he spotted a cocky, blonde boy, surrounded by a group of kids.
"Not this guy again," Dom groaned with exasperation.
Devon sighed. "I know. We all hate him, but Matt's the Chief's son, so play nice." He commented.
"No promises." Dom scoffed as they approached the ground.
Matt lifted the brown fenestrated ball as he spoke to the others, their expressions clearly uncomfortable from his words.
"You're really awesome, Matt." A small boy said, his excited eyes and shallow grin being the textbook definition of a lackey.
"Yeah." A second lackey added. "You got everyone with one throw."
"They're all just too weak. It's almost sad." Matt scoffed, ignoring the frustrated glares from the other kids, before finally noticing the two boys approaching.
"Well, if it isn't Snow White." He mocked, a sneer fixed directly on Dom.
Dom rolled his eyes. "Real mature," He said.
"Don't tell me you're here to play," Matt scoffed as he tossed the ball upwards, then applied his wind magic, causing the ball to hover and spin rapidly over his palm. "You don't even have an affinity, yet. So what can you do?"
Dom folded his arms. "You don't need magic to play Mana Ball, dumb-ass," He responded, chin held high.
Some kids snickered at the comment.
"How dare you?" Matt's second lackey said, glaring at Dom. "Don't you know who his dad is?"
The first lackey nodded while Matt swelled with pride.
"Sorry, Thing 1 and 2… but I don't care," Dom replied coldly.
The other kids laughed while the lackeys' faces reddened.
Matt stepped closer to Dom, his larger frame towering over Dom's. "I really hate you, Dominic," He said, his voice dangerously low.
Dom smirked, unmoved by Matt's glare. "The feeling's mutual. Are we playing or not?" He said.
Matt fumed at Dom just before an idea brought a sudden smile to his face. "Fine. Then how about a bet?"
Dom raised a brow, curious.
Matt stopped the ball's spin and held it up to Dom. "One game. You and me." He said, playfully tossing the ball up and catching it. "We'll play for 3 minutes, and I'll be the hunter. If I hit you once, I win. And if time runs out before then, you win."
Murmurs spread among the kids.
"That's not fair." A girl whispered. "His magic can hit from any direction."
"Yeah, but Dom's the best target," A teen responded.
Dom smirked, amused by the challenge. "Fine. If I win, you give me 100 credits. Should be easy for a daddy's boy, right?"
Some kids laughed, making Matt scowl.
"Okay. But if I win…" A sly smile crept onto Matt's face. "…you never play with us again, and you have to…" He trailed off, his eyes searching for a means to humiliate Dom, before finally landing on the woods behind the playground's wall. "… fetch apples from the woods for everyone."
Dom silently counted heads—seventeen, excluding himself.
Devon frowned at the unfair deal, but Dom smirked, eager to wipe the floor with this pompous child.
"It's a bet." He said, and the kids cheered.
Disclaimer: In Mana Ball, a Hunter chases the Target using a ball specially designed to absorb and interpret a mage's intention, allowing it to track and follow the Hunter's intended mark like a heat-seeking missile.
The Target can dodge or block with magic. But lose once the ball touches any part of their body. The hunter can also enhance the ball with their affinity, but the ball is specifically designed to prevent serious harm to the Target.
Minutes later…
A space was created for the tw,o with the eager children watching from one side.
A tall boy in front of the spectators held up an old pocket watch. "Three minutes." He announced.
Matt wound his arm, a cocky smirk on his face as he watched Dom stretch.
I don't have a magic affinity, so blocking is out of the question. Dom thought, exhaling slowly as his body calmly released a navy-blue mana, surrounding his body like a translucent mist. So I'll just boost my body and dodge like usual.
He smirked, a confident expression that made Matt glare as he released his yellow aura, focusing it down his arm and into the ball.
The ball buzzed as Matt's yellow mana glowed through its numerous holes.
"Get set…" The umpire announced, his arm raised momentarily before suddenly swinging it down. "GO!"
Matt hurled the ball, using his mana as fuel and his magic as a boost, the ball whistled as it rocketed toward Dom.
Dom suddenly ducked, the ball brushing his white hair as it flew past him and headed straight for the spectators. But with a twist of his wrist, the ball stopped, just inches away from a startled girl, then spun as it flew back towards Dom.
Dom quickly dove to the side, nearly evading the ball as it flew back into Matt's hand. The light faded as it exhausted the last of Matt's incorporated mana.
Dom sprang to his feet, grinning widely. "Easy peasy," He muttered, despite his pulse racing.
Matt gritted his teeth, imbuing mana into the ball again before hurling it. This time, the ball stopped halfway, then spun rapidly as it began to haphazardly move around, then surged at Dom from an unnatural angle.
But Dom leapt backwards, evading the ball once again.
As time passed, Matt threw the ball with all that he had, but Dom ducked, weaved, and leapt, every sense alive—he could hear the wind shift and smell the dust as he felt the ball slicing past him.
"Thirty seconds left!" The umpire shouted.
Matt glanced at him, shocked by how little time he had left.
Dom suddenly dashed towards the startled Matt, dodging the ball as it returned once it expended its mana fuel.
"Time's almost up, daddy's boy!" Dom shouted, playfully slapping Matt's shoulder as he ran past him.
"Shut up." Matt snarled, throwing the ball again, but Dom cartwheeled out of the way.
His surprising agility and theatrics drew amused cheers from the spectators.
Matt's blood boiled.
As he caught the ball and prepared another throw, his eyes drifted to his second lackey.
The lackey offered a subtle nod and raised a finger, which rippled with magic.
As Dom landed another flip, the sandy ground beneath him suddenly shifted, forming a shallow pothole as if the earth had betrayed him.
Dom's foot gets caught, and he stumbled under the uneven terrain.
His eyes widened instantly, his senses firing as his gaze shifted to the lackey among the children, the faint glow of mana visible on the boy's finger.
"You litt—" Dom started.
Before he could speak, the ball smacked him squarely on the cheek.
The loud smack instantly silenced the crowd.
A few seconds later, the umpire's watch chimed, marking the end of the match. But the damage was already done.
Matt raised both arms, grinning. "Yes! I win!" He declared happily.
Only his lackeys cheered in response.
The rest stared in awkward silence as Dom quietly rubbed his cheek, his emotions simmering but silent.
"What's wrong, Dom? No more jokes?" Matt mocked, stepping closer.
To his surprise, Dom didn't answer.
He silently picked the ball up, walked deliberately toward the crowd, and stopped in front of the second lackey.
"You cheated," He said, low and calm. The chilling glow in his eyes made the others flinch.
The first lackey blinked, confused, while the second hid behind. "I… I… I didn't! You're lying!" He stammered.
Matt quickly stepped between them. "No need to be a sore loser, Dominic." He said, smirking. "I won fair and square. Or did anyone see anything different?"
Dom looked around.
Complete Silence.
Not a single kid saw what happened. To them, he just tripped and fell. They didn't want to say it, but Dom understood it anyway.
Matt's grin widened. "See?" He shrugged and turned his gaze back to Dom. "Now, be a good boy and pay up. Or were you lying about that, too, huh, Future Monarch?"
Devon stepped forward, his glare sharp. "Hey! That's going too f—"
"Fine," Dom interrupted, his eyes still fixed on the second lackey cowering behind cover. He exhaled quietly, acknowledging the loss, his anger buried but intact.
"Good boy. Now, my ball?" Matt asked, stretching his hand out.
Dom instead shoved the ball into his gut without a word, then turned and silently walked toward the forest.
Devon moved to follow,w but Dom held up a hand, stopping him.
"What a sore loser," Matt grumbled, then turned to the others. "So who wants to pay next while the loser brings our snacks?"
"I'm good." Devon scoffed, throwing Matt a glare before walking away.
The others, still unsettled, finally lost interest. They didn't notice the cheat but still felt that the outcome was unfair.
One by one, they wandered off, leaving Matt with only his faithful lackeys.
"Don't worry about them, Matt," the first lackey said.
"Yeah. We'll play with you," the second added.
Matt's gaze, however, lingered on Dom, who jumped over the fence and disappeared into the woods. Anger simmered beneath his skin, hinting that their rivalry was far from over.