"How are you feeling? You nervous?" asked Bella, once the sports part of the day finally ended. Even though he had personally experienced more grueling days, today seemed to be going at snail’s pace.
Nero only smiled amusedly.
"Nervous? For a spar? One that won’t end in death? Against a normal human? No, I’m not nervous," Nero answered with a chuckle. "Althuogh, I do anticipate a tough fight ahead. While I have my own advantages, I doubt simple strength would be enough to overwhelm him."
The rest of the cadets looked at Nero hopefully, feeling somewhat reassured by his calm confidence. So far, Nero had not let them down at all. Whether it was drills, courses or classes, he’d proved himself to be the best.
But going up against the best of the semester before them, especially since Vilhelm had so much more time to hone and challenge himself, still brought them a hint of nervousness.
For them, it was a matter of pride. This was no longer just a matter of Nero versus Vilhelm, or a junior versus a senior. No, this had now become a matter of Enlil versus Astarties. This single fight had attracted far more attention and hype than any first year match in recent history, to the point that the number of Crucible challenges issued for today had dropped, since everyone wanted to watch the fight.
For the rest of Kolar, Vilhelm was someone who had been making waves for months already. Now, whether the new kid could actually put up a decent fight, or even take him down, were topics worthy of their attention.
In fact, at the risk of angering their professors, the cadets hadn’t even played the previous game of volleyball too seriously so as to not exhaust Nero.
"Here, take a drink and get refreshed before the fight begins," said Luna who walked up to Nero with a bottle of water. "You need to be in top form for your match. It would be quite embarrassing for us if you lose after all that build up."
Nero took the water without complaint, though he didn’t actually drink it. He had no reason to be suspicious of Luna but habits were hard to break, especially when he didn’t want to break them. Nero was always very wary of food given to him by others. He should find an opportunity to get a poison detection card.
Seeing that more and more people were beginning to gather, Nero decided it was best to head to the Battle arena before it became a whole crowd. Truth be told, Nero himself was feeling a little excited rather than nervous.
When they arrived at the arena, Nero entered followed by a large number of cadets, all of whom had arrived to watch the fight. Nero could understand why the senior Enlil cadets had come, but he was somewhat confused about the others. Nero began to suspect that they were all people Vilhelm had already fought before.
A single glance was enough to tell that Vilhelm hadn’t arrived yet, but that was fine. The evening had just begun. Most of the cadets made their way up to the mezzanine floor, while the rest dispersed.
"Do you think he’s nervous?" Bella asked, trying to make conversation. "That could explain why he’s late."
Nero only shook his head as he observed the arena. He found it somewhat amusing that he had, inadvertently, become the source of entertainment for so many people. He felt like he was a performer, fighting an Aetherkin - just like the Green Hurricane, whose fight he was supposed to have watched back before he synchronised.
Only a few minutes later, Vilhelm finally entered, followed by a large crowd. Surprisingly, Nero saw a lot of familiar faces in the group following Vilhelm, including Gabriel who had been avoiding Nero so far.
A single glance was all it took. From his body language to the way he purposefully avoided eye contact, Nero could tell something had happened. Gabriel would not have stayed away like this otherwise. Yet this was neither the time, nor the place to have a conversation.
From Gabriel, Nero’s gaze shifted to Arter, who merely nodded towards Nero. Finally, he looked towards Vilhelm, who appeared entirely relaxed and at ease, as if he wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about the fight. Yet the look in his eyes told another story altogether.
Just like Nero, there was a hint of excitement that filled Vilhelm.
Nero walked to the nearest empty arena, and waited for Vilhelm to arrive. A referee, as well as a nurse, and a few other attendants were already standing by, as they did for each arena.
Without any words exchanged, Vilhelm stepped onto the arena and stood opposite to Nero.
Behind him, many people were staring at the both of them. They were trying to assess Nero, or maybe they were trying to intimidate him, but Nero ignored them all.
"Are you both participating in this challenge willingly?" the referee asked, making sure neither of them had been coerced into the fight, as was the normal procedure.
"Yes," answered Nero as he began to shift his weight between his left and right leg. There was no need for a warm up, no need to assume a proper stance. He could see it in the way that Vilhelm stood - he left no openings, and even in a relaxed state, he was ready for a fight.
"Of course," said Vilhelm with a soft smile.
"I assume you both know the rules, but I’ll repeat them again," continued the referee.
While listening, Nero began to shift his weight between his feet even faster. Then, he lifted his left leg and began to hop between his left and right leg, appearing as if he was warming up.
"Do you both understand?" the referee asked, after explaining the same old, generic rules.
"Yes," answered Nero once more, and Vilhelm nodded as well.
Nero could not help but think of the guidance Axel had given him, about how his emotions affected his aether, and that affected others. So, he calmed down. He felt at complete peace, as if he meant no harm whatsoever, and all the aether around him also reacted to his emotions, bringing a calming feeling to all those around him.
The referee looked at both of them, took a step back and dropped his hand.
"Begin," he said, yet his voice was drowned out by the sound of a loud bang. The moment the referee started the match, Nero dashed forward at full speed. The air around him still felt calm, but his actions were anything but.
He held nothing back, as there was no need for a probe. Their match had begun long before the referee dropped his hand.
Most of those watching couldn’t even follow Nero as he moved, yet Vilhelm only leaned slightly to the right, avoiding Nero’s punch with a comfortable ease.
Gabriel, who happened to be standing right behind Vilhelm when the match started, felt his heart drop as he felt the gust from Nero’s fist hit him. Then he shook his head. Nero was always like that.
Vilhelm did not only passively dodge, and retaliated with a punch, aiming for Nero’s side, Yet all Nero had to do was retract his arm, using the side of his arm to block.
Nero had no intention of being led by the nose, and kept attacking, not giving Vilhelm even a second to rest, but always Vilhelm reacted with a practiced ease, as if he were not pressured at all.
While the two of them fought, the arena filled with the sounds of fists ripping through the air, and their clothes rippling through the wind caused by their quick movements, the observers were shocked. Was this a fight between two cadets?
"You’re quite a bit faster than me," Nero suddenly said, taking a single step back.
"And there’s a whole lot of fury packed into your fists. I can’t even imagine what would happen if I took a single one of those hits," responded Vilhelm, not letting Nero’s praise get to his head.
Nero smiled a little.
"Let’s find out what would happen," he responded, and the fight resumed.
Vilhelm kept dodging, not daring to even block Nero for the explosive strength packed in each one of Nero’s fists threatened to break bones with a single clash. Yet a fight could not be won by dodging alone, so when he saw an opening he attacked as well.
Barely twenty seconds had gone by, and the match was filled with an intensity that caused everyone watching to hold their breaths. It felt like the tempo would not change any time soon, yet all of a sudden it changed.
When Vilhelm attacked Nero did not block. Instead, he allowed the hit to land in exchange for grabbing onto Vilhelm’s hand. The moment Nero caught onto him, the fight changed.
Vilhelm could no longer dodge, and he knew it, so instead he closed in, intending on locking Nero in a grapple. Yet that was easier said than done, for Nero was skilled in grapples too.
Just as Vilhelm tried to lock Nero’s arm, he felt his body lift in the air and his pupils constricted for he knew what was coming. With a loud bang, Nero slammed his body into the ground. Yet in the last moments, right before he was slammed into the ground, Vilhelm took advantage of the fact that Nero had lifted him to raise his legs and lock them around Nero’s neck. Though he suffered a serious blow to his back, he had Nero’s head in a chokehold.
Forty seconds had gone by since the match started.