Kaelen returned to the grandstands, his face flushed with victory, and was immediately swarmed by his cheering classmates. He made his way over to Henry, a wide, proud grin on his face.
"That was amazing, Kaelen," Henry said, a genuine smile touching his lips. "Trapping him like that was smart. I don't think I could have thought that fast."
"Thanks!" Kaelen beamed. "It's all about using what you've got, right?"
Their conversation was cut short as Master Vorn's voice boomed through the arena again. "The next match will be Cinder of Class 2-B versus Petra of Class 2-C!"
Henry's eyes flicked over to Lyra. Her usual bored arrogance was gone, replaced by a sharp, predatory excitement. She leaned forward in her seat.
"Crush her, Cinder. Crush her," she muttered, before turning her smirk on Henry. "Look closely. Cinder will crush her opponent easily. Just like I did with you."
Henry didn't rise to the bait. He just offered a small, tired smile in her direction, which seemed to annoy her more than any retort would have.
Down in the arena, the fight began. Petra, a sturdy girl with an affinity for earth magic, immediately raised a wall of rock for defense. Cinder, however, was pure aggression. She didn't throw fireballs; she moved like a dancer, weaving patterns of flame in the air that coalesced into fiery lances, hammering against Petra's shield. The rock wall cracked, crumbled, and with a final, explosive blast of heat, shattered completely. Petra was thrown back, her uniform singed, and she raised a hand in surrender. The fight was over in less than a minute.
Cinder had won, decisively and brutally. A wave of anger rippled through the section where Class 2-C was seated. They had now lost two matches in a row to Henry's class. Ganriki, the muscular boy from before, stood up. He pointed a thick finger directly at Henry across the arena, then drew it across his own throat in a clear, threatening gesture before smirking.
Henry just sighed, the weight of the unwanted rivalry settling on him again.
But then, something unexpected happened.
"Shut up, rock boy!"
Lyra was on her feet, shouting across the grandstand at Ganriki. Her voice was filled with pure, undiluted scorn. "You'll get annihilated by him! Don't act tough when all you can do is make a pebble tremble!"
Ganriki roared back, "He's a weakling hiding behind a goddess! I'll snap him in two!"
"You couldn't snap a twig!" Lyra shot back.
Henry sat frozen between them, the subject of a shouting match he had no part in. Lyra, his self-proclaimed rival, was... defending him? In the most insulting way possible, but still. He didn't know what to respond, or if he was even supposed to.
Kaelen leaned over, his eyes wide. "Okay," he whispered. "This is getting weird. I think she might actually hate everyone else more than she hates you."
Henry could only nod, watching as Lyra and Ganriki continued to trade insults, their animosity a bizarre shield protecting him from a fight he hadn't asked for.