What Might Have Been
Hey there, readers, hope your lives have all been going well and that the TOFL hiatus hasn't made you suffer. Here's another one-shot that I just thought of while on my way to school last week, so I hope you enjoy it. And in case this may be my last post of the year, I want to wish you all a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year. Cya.
"It's a bit early, but I best be moving, I have a lot to prepare for today,"
Those were the words that left Kenos Rossiu's mouth as he awoke from his bed excitedly. The young mage peeked outside his window, not fazed in the slightest that the sky was still dark, dawn a good few hours from arriving, but regardless, still decided to get up.
"Dante and Oxanna won't be awake for a few hours, not to mention everyone else on the estate, but that's better for me, I can finally work in peace," he mused with a short smirk as he walked to his closet and pulled out a set of worn-out gray clothes before leaving his room.
"I have to be ready, because today is a special day for all three of us, so I won't waste this opportunity given to us!" Kenos thought as he silently strode through the hallway.
Hours passed as the sun finally rose over the Clover Kingdom, its warm light bathing everything as the sounds of the birds and rustling leaves accompanied it. The day was here and it was an exciting one for many people, especially the residents of House Rossiu.
"It's the day! It's finally the day!" Oxanna screamed joyfully as she burst out of her room, wearing a pair of purple two-piece pajamas, her long brown hair a mess, as if she just jumped out of bed.
"Dante, the day's finally here, wake the hell up!" she continued, running over to her brother's door and knocking on it multiple times.
It didn't last for long though as the door quickly opened to reveal Dante, wearing a pair of blue two-piece pajamas, with his hair combed neatly, in contrast to the phantom mage's hair.
The steeled scratched the back of his head in mock annoyance. "Oxanna, why are you being so loud this early in the morning? And what's wrong with your hair? You look like you just got out of bed,"
"That's because I did, have you forgotten what today is? It's the day of the second Magic Knights Entrance Exam, our chance to join the kingdom's elite order," she said. "You should be excited too,"
"I am excited, I'm just not expressing the way you do," Dante told her. "If you must know, I woke up about thirty minutes ago, perfectly able to contain my joy. I even had some time to fix up my hair,"
Oxanna crossed her arms. "So, you woke up half an hour ago, but didn't get ready?" her lips contorted into a smirk. "Let me guess, were you busy reading that book series of yours? 'Worlds of the Damned', was it?"
The steel mage's cheeks turned a light red as he looked away from her. "Maybe,"
The phantom broke into a short giggle. "Dante, there's no need to be embarrassed, it's good to have a hobby. Say, when you join a squad, are you going to consider starting some kind of book club or something?" she asked curiously.
Her older brother shook his head. "No way, you know I'm terrible at talking to people, I could never bring people closer to me the way you and Kenos can, I'm just not that interesting,"
"Nonsense," Oxanna protested as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You're plenty interesting, if you try, I know you'll make a ton of friends at your squad, and who knows, you might even find yourself a girlfriend,"
A small smile came to Dante's face. "If you say so, but I wouldn't be too focused on finding a girlfriend, it's you I'm worried about, because if I spot any guys checking you out the wrong way, they're going to die,"
Those words earned him a playful punch from his sister. "Don't joke about that, what did I do to get such an overprotective brother. Oh, and speaking of brother, we had better go wake up Kenos too, I hope he didn't sleep in," she stated before rushing off.
Dante wasn't too far behind. "Sleep in? Oxanna, this is Kenos we're talking about, it'd be a miracle if he was even in his room while by the time the sun was up,"
"Perhaps, but who knows, he could've been so excited for today, he didn't sleep much overnight and is therefore still in his room," she predicted.
"And what are the odds of that happening?" Dante asked.
"Pretty low to be honest, but I'll take my chances," his sister replied before letting herself in, just to see the room was empty. "And he's not here,"
"Oh no, whoever could've seen that coming," the steel mage chuckled.
"Whatever, now we just have to find out where he is-," Oxanna was saying before a single sound was heard.
The sound of metal banging on metal.
"Never mind, I know exactly where he is," the two siblings thought in unison as they made their way outside, more specifically to the courtyard, and lo and behold, there Kenos was, dressed in a worn-out set consisting of a gray shirt and pants. He waved a hand up and down, telepathically commanding a steel mallet to strike something.
"And there we go, it looks better than I expected," they heard him say aloud.
"Of course he'd be here, doing his thing," Dante said.
Oxanna, however, began to silently walk over to the youngest Rossiu, before leaping onto him. "Hey there, Kenos!"
"Holy shit!" Kenos yelled, completely startled by the action, but calmed down once he saw who it was. "What the hell, sis, you scared me,"
"My bad, I just wanted to say good morning to my favorite little brother," the phantom mage said, softly poking his cheek before coming off him.
Kenos rubbed his eyes. "Oxanna, I'm your only little brother," he politely retorted before Dante walked up to them, the two brothers sharing a wordless fist bump as their only greeting.
"What are you making?" he asked.
His younger brother's face grinned. "I'm so glad you asked, check it out," he said before revealing what the said thing was, which was a beautiful luster silver staff, with a three-leaf clover at its head.
"Woah, awesome, it looks amazing," Oxanna praised in awe.
Dante nodded. "I agree, we may share the steel attribute, but I'm a bit jealous I can't use something like that, although weapons are more in your department," he added.
"What did I hear about weapons?" a voice asked as a figure descended from the sky, earning a smile from the Rossiu trio.
"Sylvester!"
"How's it going?" the lunar mage greeted.
"It's going great, Ves, look at what I crafted, it took me a good amount of hours to get it done," Kenos replied as he ran to his cousin and presented his staff.
Sylvester's expression upon seeing the weapon matched Dante and Oxanna's, he nodded approvingly. "It looks incredible, Kens, you're getting really good at crafting weapons,"
"I have you to thank for it," Kenos stated. "I'll never forget when I first saw you use your Moonlight Armaments, it was then and there I knew I wanted my magic fighting style to revolve around weapons too,"
"It's good to know I inspired you, but I've seen you fight, you've put a great deal of effort into doing things your way too," Sylvester responded. "So, you three ready for the exam?"
Oxanna jubilantly pumped a fist into the air. "You bet we are. Are you going to be there to watch us?"
"That's the plan, I got my stuff done for Leila and the other merchants a bit earlier than usual, and I even gave my students the day off," he replied. "As for my mom along with Aunt Ellen and Uncle Richard, I don't think they'll be as lucky,"
"Sadly, what Sylvester says is true," the four Rossius turned behind them to see Richard, Ellen, Reyna, and Eleanor, the older phantom mage being the one to make the statement. "With my brother out at the time working with some associates, Ellen, Reyna, and I won't be able to attend the exam, but know we'll be there in spirit,"
"As will I," Eleanor added. "I've had the pleasure of watching each of you be born, as well as having the privilege to raise you and help you become the people you are now. Seeing you now, like this, makes me so proud,"
"I'm proud too," Ellen said as she walked to her three children, embracing them tightly. "Not a day goes by where I regret giving birth to you all,"
"Even me, mother?" Kenos asked. "I remember you and father told me my birth was an accident,"
The blonde woman's expression became one of surprise, but she quickly smiled at her youngest child. "Of course, I don't know why you'd think otherwise. You may have not been planned like your siblings were, but your father and I love you and are proud of you just as much," she then released them.
Richard joined his wife as he walked to his children, standing in front of Dante before extending a hand. "Dante, as my eldest child, I expect you to protect Oxanna and Kenos, to perform at your very best with your usual efficiency, and to not bring dishonor to our family,"
The steel mage nodded as he shook his father's hand. "Of course,"
Richard then moved to his daughter, making the same motion. "Oxanna, as my second child, I expect to protect Kenos and to advise Dante when you see it fit, to make me proud as the sole inheritor of my phantom attribute, and to not bring dishonor to our family,"
Unlike Dante, however, Oxanna didn't meet her father's outstretched hand, rather, she tightly hugged him. "Dad, you know I don't do handshake unless it's formal,"
Richard chuckled. "Yes, I suppose so," he then moved to the younger steel mage, stretching his hand out once more. "Kenos, as my youngest child, I expect you to advise Dante and Oxanna when you see it fit, to live in your youth, but not let it bring you to brash decisions, and to not bring dishonor to our family,"
Kenos smiled as he shook his hand. "Yes father, I won't let you down,"
The head Rossiu nodded. "I know you won't,"
"Oh, I hope I'm not intruding on anything,"
Everyone looked to their left to see a man walking down the hallway and stepping foot on the grass.
"Julius,"
The wizard king smiled. "Richard, Ellen, Reyna, it's great to see you, and you as well, Eleanor,"
The head maid curtsied respectfully. "Your majesty,"
"Hey there, Julius, what brings you here?" Sylvester asked.
"I'm here to see your cousins are ready for the exam, mentally that is," he replied, noticing that the two older Rossius were still in pajamas and the youngest was in his crafting clothes.
"We're ready," the siblings replied in unison.
"That's good, you should go and dress yourselves then, the exam starts in an hour," the time mage informed them.
"Then we had better get moving," Kenos said as the three sprinted back into the house, coming back out forty minutes later, properly dressed, each with their satchel and grimoire.
"Now you guys look ready to pass an exam," Sylvester noted.
Julius nodded. "I agree, the right clothes do make you feel more prepared, after all, look at me," he joked as they all laughed. "Alright, let's go, I can get us to the colosseum quickly,"
The four Rossius went over to the wizard king and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Bye!" the four adults waved.
Their children waved back as they disappeared, quickly reappearing in the capital, immediate shock overtaking them at how crowded the place was.
"I've never seen so many people here, even for the yearly exam," Kenos pointed out.
"That's true, but the second exam is the most likely culprit," Julius answered. "It's giving mages who failed the first time to try again as well as providing extra time to mages who were unable to make it for the first one,"
"Sounds like the most logical answer," Dante agreed. "Let's not waste any time then and head in there,"
"Great, but unfortunately, this is as far as I go, I have a lot of work to do today, and while I'd love nothing more than to see what our next generation has to offer, Marx might get so annoyed, he'll have to come here and drag me out personally, and we can't have that. Good luck," Julius said before disappearing.
"I wonder who we'll meet, or what squad we'll end up joining," Oxanna mused.
"Whatever squad it is, I just hope we get into different ones," Kenos replied. "That way, we can go stronger separately to show each other later on, that and father advised that doing so will be the fastest method to increasing our family reputation,"
"Dad does have a point, but then who's going to look after Dante. He'll have to actually start making conversation with people," Oxanna joked.
"Shut up," her brother told her.
Sylvester crossed his arms over his head. "Well, I just hope that whatever squad you choose to join isn't full of pompous jerks, if there are any, make sure to knock them down a peg or two,"
"You got it,"
But unbeknownst to the four as they spoke to each other, everyone was watching them, gasps escaping their mouths.
"Aren't those the Rossiu children of the generation?" a bystander asked his friend.
"That's right, I hear they're the whole reason we're having a second exam," his friend whispered in response. "Apparently, the Wizard King had an important job for their whole family recently regarding kingdom security, which made their kids miss the exam three days ago, so they're giving a chance to everyone else as well,"
"I see,"
Upon entering the colosseum, the four saw all the participants, either wandering around, or waiting in line to be assigned a number.
"This is where I have to take the sidelines, good luck you three," Sylvester told them as he walked away and the trio got into line.
It didn't take long for their turn to arrive, but when it did, something obviously different happened compared to the other participants.
"Wow, the Rossius, it's an honor, Sir Kenos, Sir Dante, Lady Oxanna," the capital mage in charge of assigning numbers greeted, bowing his upper half respectfully.
The three bowed back, with Dante speaking up. "Thank you, but the titles aren't necessary, we're the same as everyone else participating today,"
"Very well, you three are actually the last ones, so you'll be assigned numbers 208, 209, and 210," the mage explained, giving Dante the first number, and Kenos the last.
The three were then allowed to wander around with the other participants. "So many people, I'm going to go take a look around, maybe engage in a little small talk," the younger steel mage told his siblings.
"Ok, but don't get into trouble," Oxanna told him to which she was met with a wordless thumbs up.
"I wonder if I'll run into anyone I recognize?" Kenos said aloud to himself, but then he felt something fall on his left shoulder, he looked to see it was an anti-bird, pecking at his shirt. "Hello there, little guy, are you coming to me because my magic power is low? Or, are you just attracted to my bright clothing?"
While the steel mage was speaking to the sparrow-like bird, some participants were stealing glances at him, whispering words to one another.
The bird then left Kenos' shoulder and flew away. "Yup, was just after my shirt, better get back to what I was doing,"
"Please, have mercy!" a voice suddenly screamed.
"After I see what's going on first, of course," Kenos told himself, quickly following the sound of torment, but it didn't take him long to find the source: a tall, burly man was holding a teen up by his head, with the teen continually begging for his life.
"That man holding the teen…he has a Magic Knights robe on, and it's of the Black Bulls, so if memory serves me correctly, that must be their captain, Yami Sukehiro. I've heard a bit about him from Julius, but I've never spoken to him, or any other member of his squad for that matter, regardless, I should try to diffuse this situation before it gets hectic," he thought as he walked up to the plate.
"Please, I'll do anything, I'll give you money, just release me!" the teen continued to beg.
"So, not acting all tough now, are you?" Yami said menacingly.
"Um, excuse me?"
Both males turned to see Kenos looking at them, the teen slightly gasping. "What exactly is going on here?"
"This punk over here thinks that being a noble is enough to act all high and mighty around me, as you can see, he's singing a much more different tune, the little shit even tried bribing me," Yami had no problem replying. "That's why he's going to die,"
"I see, look Mr. Sukehiro, do you mind if I call you that?" Kenos began, not waiting for Yami's approval for the chosen honorific. "I understand that what he said and done may have been dumb, but I'm not sure assaulting or trying to kill an applicant is a wise choice, just imagine how much trouble you'd be in with Julius and the other captains, not to mention the paperwork,"
Yami thought a bit about what Kenos said, eventually nodding. "Yeah, I guess you got a point there, junior, there's no way in hell I'm filling out paperwork,"
Kenos then turned to the noble in the captain's grasp. "And you, as a noble myself, I don't condone your actions, this man is both a magic knight and a captain, provoking him is not wise, neither is trying to flaunt your status. So please, don't let that happen again,"
Yami dropped the noble. "You should consider yourself lucky, you little shit, had this kid not come, you'd be dead,"
The noble quickly stood up, turning to Kenos and bowing profusely. "Thank you so much, I'm in your debt, Sir Kenos Rossiu,"
"Um, thanks, but Kenos is fine, the extra stuff isn't needed," the Rossiu told him as they walked away.
"So, you're a Rossiu?" Yami asked.
"Um, yeah, and?" Kenos replied before asking back.
"Nothing, it's just that that's the family Julius mentioned being the reason we're doing a second exam in the first place,"
"Yup, that's the reason,"
"You decided on what squad you want to join?" Yami asked again.
"No, not really, although I've heard a lot of things about your squad though, with none of it being very good. Apparently, you're a group of nutjobs, but I beg to differ, you seem decent enough, it certainly didn't take long for you to listen to reason, I bet your squad isn't that bad either," Kenos answered honestly.
"Wow, haven't had a noble say anything good about my squad since Julius," the captain said with a small smile.
An idea then came to Kenos' head. "Say, regardless of what squad I choose to join, would it be okay if I paid a visit to your base and met your crew?"
"Sure, we haven't had a voluntary visitor before, it'd be a nice experience for them, to know not every big shot in this kingdom looks down on them," Yami agreed.
"Hey, Captain Yami! The exam's about to begin, we had better get moving!" a man yelled.
"Alright!" Yami called back before turning to Kenos. "That was just Finral, our squad's spatial mage, and my personal wheels. Seems I gotta go, later,"
"Ok, nice talking to you," Kenos said as the older man walked away from him.
"The captains have arrived!"
"What, that was fast," the Rossiu commented, turning around to see the group of captains walking in a single file, cheered on by the numerous participants and spectators as they took their seats at the top of the colosseum.
William stood back up to address the crowd. "Good morning to you, youth of the Clover Kingdom, I hope you've all been well. Thank you for coming here again for this once-in-a-lifetime event, a second Magic Knights Entrance Exam. As many of you know, our official annual exam was three days ago, but the Wizard King has allowed us to do it one more time. Don't be confused though, this is a one-time exception, after this, our exams will go back to being once a year, but right now, you can be grateful to have another chance to join our ranks this year, and that chance wouldn't exist without the esteemed Rossiu House,"
Cheers erupted as multiple eyes located Kenos, Dante, and Oxanna among the crowd and clapped for them, with the three responding with a respectful nod.
William wasted no time in continuing. "And now we have that part done, let's get this exam underway!"
The multiple test portions of the exam came and went, with the Rossius performing greatly in each one, but now came the last, and most exciting part of the exam: the battles.
Many battles had started and finished, and now, it was just left to the last three fights of the afternoon. "Will numbers 16 and 208 please step forward!" the capital mage proctoring the battle portion called.
Dante and his opponent moved to the center. "C'mon Dante, you got this!" Sylvester cheered.
"Grimoires ready, and, begin!"
The blonde quickly took out his grimoire. "Steel Creation Magic: Thousand Knives!" he exclaimed, sending the barrage of knives at his opponent, quickly taking them out before they had a chance to respond.
"Number 208 is the winner!"
"Holy shit, that was the fastest fight I've ever seen," a spectator said.
"I know, the Rossiu's opponent must've been some weakass,"
"He certainly is a fast one," Nozel commented from above.
The proctor spoke up again. "Next up are numbers 163 and 209!"
Oxanna and her opponent made their way up. "Ok Oxanna, make our victory a two for two!" the lunar mage cheered again.
"You bet I will," she responded.
"Grimoires ready, and, begin!"
Unlike the last time, it was the opponent who managed to cast the first spell. "Wind Magic: Gale Bullets!"
"Ooh, impressive, but not enough," Oxanna stated, flipping through pages in her grimoire. "Phantom Creation Magic: Supernatural Protection of Wight!" she declared, the circling specter protecting her.
"Now it's my turn to get on the offensive, Phantom Magic: Ghoul Chaser!" she launched the headless ghost, but it didn't stop there as she began running behind her spell.
"Wind Magic: Gale Thrust!" her opponent declared as she launched herself yards into the air to evade the Ghoul Chaser. "Nice, can't get me now!"
But Oxanna only grinned, her opponent was right where she wanted her. "I wouldn't speak too soon, Phantom Magic: Specter's Whip!" she exclaimed.
Upon declaring her spell, a rope of ghastly smog shot out from her grimoire, grabbing onto her opponent's leg.
"Huh?" was all they said before being violently thrown into a nearby pillar.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," the spectators thought in unison as they winced.
"Not done yet, Phantom Binding Magic: Apparition's Clutches!" she continued, summoning her large four-armed servant to hold the fallen applicant, successfully immobilizing her.
"Number 209 is the winner!"
"Alright, I won!" Oxanna cheered for herself before turning to her opponent. "I hope that spell didn't hurt you too badly, give me a thumbs up if you're good!" she was quickly met with the sign from her opponent, relieving her as she walked back to her spot. "Great,"
"Impressive, that strategy of hers was nearly foolproof, there was only one way her opponent could have reacted to evade her whip, and that was to charge right at Ghoul Chaser and dodge it from below. And then there's her compassion about the opponent's wellbeing and her jubilant spirit, you've changed so much Oxanna, and at the same time, not at all," Fuegoleon commented.
"The hell, that was quite a mouthful," Yami commented as well to his fellow captain.
"And now the final fight of the exam, between numbers 99 and 210!" the proctor exclaimed.
Kenos took a deep breath as he stood up, turning behind him to see Sylvester merely give him a thumbs up rather than cheer for him, he turned again to see Dante and Oxanna, giving him nods of encouragement. A smile graced his features as he made his way to the center.
But as his opponent did the same, he gasped a bit, before him was the same teen he had saved from Yami some hours prior. "It's you,"
"Yup, hey there, Kenos, the name's Mikael. I know I said I was in your debt, but I can't lose here,"
Kenos nodded understandingly. "That's fine, I wouldn't want you to do me any favors, give it all you got,"
Atop the colosseum, Yami looked at the steel mage intently. "Okay kid, let's see what you're made of,"
"Grimoires ready, and, begin!"
The Rossiu took out his grimoire, it was a blue grimoire, with simple orange lining going through it, closely resembling a trail of molten steel in a smithy.
And at the center of the tome, was three orange leaves.
Kenos flipped to the page of his main spell. "Steel Creation Magic: Hephaestus Forge!"
At his call, silver weapons began appearing before him, in every direction, slightly floating in the air.
"What the hell?!" Mikael exclaimed. "What kind of spell is that, I'm counting over fifty items?!"
"It's a very basic spell actually!" Oxanna exclaimed in response. "My brother is a craftsmage, he uses his steel magic to create weapons and store them into his grimoire, which he can then summon and select at will with the use of his Hephaestus Forge spell!"
"Thanks for the explanation, sis," Kenos said as he grabbed a bow along with a bundle of arrows, he also placed a hand on a pair of steel boots as they were equipped to his feet before clenching his fist, causing the remaining weapons to disappear.
"I'll admit it, that's an impressive spell, but Rossiu or not, I won't let you win this, so I'll finish it quickly, Ice Binding Magic: Glacial Prison!" Mikael declared, sending a rush of ice at his opponent, ready to immobilize him once contact was made.
But Kenos wasn't going to lose that easily, his grimoire flipped to a different page. "Steel Reinforcement Magic: Hephaestus Boots - Nimble Messenger!" his boots glowed a light orange as he sped away from danger, and then quickly made his way to the ice mage, jumping into the air before launching a devastating kick.
Mikael managed to cross his arms, protecting himself from taking full damage, but Kenos wasn't through yet as he had already placed an arrow into his bow and shot it.
"Ice Magic: Subzero Fortitude!" Mikael exclaimed, forming a tall mass of ice in which the arrow became lodged in, unable to hurt the mage. "Nice, I'm holding my own,"
"Don't speak too soon," Kenos advised, already pulling back another arrow.
"What will that accomplish? Your last arrow didn't get through my spell,"
The noble's grimoire flipped to a new page. "I think things might be different this time around, observe, Steel Magic: Hephaestus Bow - Flash Arrow Impact!" he declared, magic coating his arrow as it whistled through the air, exploding once it touched the ice, pushing Mikael back.
"My assault isn't over, Steel Binding Magic: Hephaestus Bow - Coiling Arrow!" Kenos continued as he shot another arrow, but as it made its way towards the ice mage, a steel cord formed behind the fletching of the arrow, and once the arrow got close enough, the cord wrapped around him.
The Rossiu's opponent sucked his teeth. "Damn it,"
Kenos clenched his fists, the various weapons of his forge appearing. "I have to act fast,"
"You do, but I won't allow you to beat me so easily, Ice Magic: Pillar Upheaval!" Mikael declared, a pillar of ice coming up from under him and shooting him into the air, the sudden change in speed loosening his restraints. "Ice Magic: Chilblania's Wrath!" he then launched mass waves of ice at the steel mage.
But he was undeterred as he grabbed a new weapon and wasted no time using it. "Steel Magic: Hephaestus Shield - Absolute Guard!" Kenos exclaimed as the shield grew in size, blocking the waves before it shrank to normal.
"Take this!" Mikael screamed as he descended, his body in a dropkick motion. The ice mage landed straight on the shield, the force pushing Kenos back, but unable to overpower him as he dropped back to the ground.
The steel mage then grabbed hold of his staff. "Time to see what the newest addition to my collection can do," he mused as he twirled it through his fingers, launching a strike that was initially evaded. "Okay, not too good with it right now, but all I need is practice,"
Mikael fired a quick punch, but Kenos was able to dodge it as well, but the latter wasn't done as he made some distance and twirled his staff again, preparing to make another strike, however, that plan was interrupted as his grimoire flipped to a blank page, text becoming inscribed on it.
"A new spell, and it looks like one made for my staff, awesome,"
Kenos then came up with a new plan as he used his boots to thrust himself a considerable number of feet in the air.
"Taking the high ground, bad idea, now you've left yourself vulnerable, so face the wrath of my best spell, Ice Creation Magic: Subzero Ice Punch!" he exclaimed as ice gathered around him, forming a ginormous fist.
"Holy shit, that thing's huge, you think Kenos will be alright?" the phantom mage asked her brother.
"Don't worry, he'll be alright, he's a Rossiu, he knows he can't fail, besides, our little brother is no pushover, you'll see," Dante reassured her.
And to the blonde's words, Kenos did have this under control as his grimoire was already on its newest page. "We'll see who's the vulnerable, Steel Magic: Hephaestus Staff - Railgun!" he exclaimed as he threw his staff up, then used his boots to boost himself even further up, before rapidly twisting his body in a layout fashion and kicking the staff with the top of one foot, shooting it right at the monumental spell, forming a cloud of dust.
And as the dust faded, Mikael was seen unconscious, with Kenos on the ground, standing triumphantly with his staff in hand. The audience was stunned in shock and awe, what they saw was by far the most eventful fight of the exam.
"And the winner is number 210!"
"No hands,"
The fights were over and the exam had gone to its final stage: the acceptance portion, whether a captain would want an applicant or not. The most recent applicant, number 207, had unfortunately not been chosen.
"May number 208 advance," the proctor instructed as Dante walked up, to which 2 captains raised their hands: Nozel and Dorothy.
Dante knew who he wanted to join. "It'd be an honor to join the Silver Eagles," he selected, with Nozel only responding with a small smile.
"May number 209 advance," it was now Oxanna's turn, like her brother, 2 captains raised their hands: Fuegoleon and Charlotte.
Oxanna wasted no time pointing to the captain she wanted to work under. "It'd be an honor to join the Crimson Lion Kings," she picked, Fuegoleon only chuckling at his new member.
"Now for the last one, number 210, please advance," the proctor said as Kenos did so, whispers erupting from his fight with Mikael. Sylvester watched his cousin. "You did really good, Kens, I know you'll get into a good squad,"
Three hands raised for the younger steel mage: Nozel, Fuegoleon, and Yami.
"What, why is the captain of the Black Bulls even raising his hand, no Rossiu would even join their dump of a squad," a spectator audibly voiced, to which Kenos merely turned his head and that direction and glared at the spectator, silencing her.
He then looked back to the captains. "I can't join those other 2 squads, Dante and Oxanna already joined them, father said not to, and father's words take precedence, I guess I'll join the Black Bulls, their captain isn't that bad anyway," he thought. "It'd be an honor to join-,"
Kenos stopped himself as he noticed another captain suddenly raise their hand. "Oh, a new option has appeared, well, I'll join them then, after all, I can visit the Black Bulls regardless of my squad affiliation," he thought before opening his mouth again. "It'd be my honor to join-," he said, uttering the name of the squad that he would soon call his second home, one where he'd meet new people and face new experiences, one where he'd live up to his family name.
"..The Aqua Deer,"