'This'll be interesting,' Catherine said, standing alongside a crowd of younger students that cheered and applauded. 'Watching the supposedly amazing Ashen Demon in action.'
'Hardly,' Shamir said. 'Caspar's going to get his ass handed to him.'
Catherine laughed. 'True, but it'll be interesting to see Jeralt's kid in action nonetheless.'
Byleth entered the ring. He was still stiff and sore, but enough of the magic had kicked in. Felix handed him his training sword.
'You probably won't even need it,' he muttered.
Byleth nodded his thanks and then faced Caspar, who stood, holding his axe on the other side of the ring.
'Are we both ready?' Hilda asked, resuming her announcer duties. Both participants nodded.
'Prepare for the most one-sided match of the day,' Claude said.
'Go, Professor!' Dorothea said.
'Good luck!' Mercedes said.
Caspar pointed his axe at Byleth.
'If you're worthy of being my professor you'll be able to prove it to me right now.'
'Let's begin!' Hilda said. ''Three, two, one… go!'
Caspar gripped his two-handed axe and charged, screaming at the top of his lungs. He lunged, swinging his axe. Byleth sidestepped and stuck his leg out. The boy connected with it and crashed to the cobbled ground, the momentum rolling him close to the edge of the ring.
There was a split-second of silence and then laughter erupted throughout the training ground.
'Magnificent,' Linhardt said.
'Fool,' Felix muttered.
'Idiot,' Hubert breathed.
'Humiliating,' Lorenz said. His words were drowned out by Lysithea and Hilda who giggled manically.
'That's Caspar's chances with the girls gone,' Sylvain said, laughing.
'The Professor hardly moved an inch yet sent him flying!' Annette said, her eyes wide.
'He made it look so easy,' Lysithea said.
'I am thinking Caspar needs to work on his patience,' Petra said.
'There's a lot of things he needs to work on it seems,' Edelgard said, shaking her head.
And then she paused.
She looked at Byleth.
Hitting the cobbled ground had knocked the air from Caspar and he gasped in air into his burning stomach. Laughter rung in his ears, making his cheeks flush.
He's trying to humiliate me in front of everyone.
His jaw clenched.
But I'm not out the ring, he thought, looking down at the black line. I'll show them.
He spat and rose to his feet and charged at Byleth again.
Everyone in the training ground could see Caspar sprawled out on the cobbled ground-
-except Byleth.
The dizziness started when Caspar crashed into his leg. Hot searing pain had suddenly shot up his leg and up his torso. His head had started to pulse and his vision became blurred.
'No,' he breathed.
The tingling sensations rippled through his body, piercing and stinging every muscle. He tensed.
'Wait'-
Caspar jumped to his feet and charged; his weapon raised.
Byleth jerked his blade up and Caspar's axe smashed into it. A loud cracking sound vibrated across the ground.
His entire body shook and he gasped. It felt like someone was slashing the insides of arms and shoulders with a knife. Tingling sensations prickled up and down his body. His head rang and bright sparks panged in his vision. He stumbled backward. Caspar closed in again. He brought up his blade to parry and the student's axe smashed into it. There was another loud crack and his muscles seized. He dropped his sword and tried to lift his arm, but Caspar kneed him in the stomach.
He crashed to the ground, smacking his head off the stone-tiled floor.
'My…,' Hanneman breathed.
'And Byleth has just lost his role as professor,' Maneula said, her fingers pressed against her forehead.
'Wow,' Catherine said. 'I can't believe what I'm seeing.'
'No kidding,' Shamir said.
Everyone who'd still been laughing in the training ground stopped. They watched with their eyes wide and mouths gaping. Some even looked away.
Byleth crashed to the ground outside the ring. Claude, Dimitri, Dedue and Edelgard rose to their feet.
'Let's hear you all laugh now!' Caspar said, jabbing his axe in different directions. He turned and looked at Byleth and his face reddened.
You're actually kidding me, he thought, clenching his jaw. That was easy. You've got to be-
'Seriously,' he shouted, looking around the training ground. 'This is supposed to be our professor? The man who's supposed to teach us how to fight, to lead us into battle? (He turned to Hanneman and Manuela) This is the man we're supposed to trust our lives with?! Jeritiza should be our professor, not him.'
'Enough,' Dimitri said, crouching down beside Byleth. Edelgard, Claude and Dedue joined him. Hanneman and Manuela stared, wide-eyed.
'Are you guys serious?' Caspar asked, his head pulsing, a red haze entering his head. 'You laughed when I fell but when our "professor" gets his butt kicked by his own student this is your response? I'm saving your lives by showing all of you why this man can't be our teacher.'
'Caspar,' Claude said. 'Relax.'
'The professor is unconscious,' Edelgard said. 'We need'-
Caspar charged. Dedue was the quickest to realise what he was going to do. He lunged but Caspar was too quick. Claude did the same but was too slow to stop the boy from sinking his foot into Byleth's stomach. People screamed. Students rose to their feet and the spectating knights charged in.
'Pathetic!' he shouted. Claude and Dedue tackled him to the ground.
In all the chaos, Byleth lay on the ground, unconscious.