The Mage of Primordial Chaos

The battle between Claire and I began with a flash.

And it ended just as fast.

Claire rushed towards me, beginning with a kick, but that was a mistake and a half right from the start. She probably underestimated my speed, which was understandable given how she's never fought against me in the past before or seen me in action. I caught her by the ankle with ease, expressionless, before throwing her onto the ground and pinning her down.

"Wha-?!"

It all happened so quickly, but the fight was already over. My hand was on her throat, and if this were a real battle, she'd already be dead. Just like that.

"…" Claire was left in an utter state of shock as her eyes stared widely back at me, still trying to figure out what just happened. My strength surprised her too much, it seemed.

Slowly, I rose back up to my feet, and turned to Sigil, who had his eye on me the entire time. I smirked, and made a beckoning gesture, as if taunting him.

"… Heh."

Sigil gave a soft laugh and walked over to me, folding his arms. "Congratulations on being the first to beat your partner. But… are you certain you want to challenge me? I am not an easy opponent, and I don't tend to hold back my skills in fights."

"Regardless of whether or not you hold back your skills, the outcome will be the same," I replied confidently, cracking my knuckles. "Let's see what our instructor is made out of."

At this, Sigil smiled, and suddenly vanished. I sensed a presence behind me and immediately turned around to counter the punch aimed for my head, narrowing my gaze.

"A sneak attack. Not very honorable, eh?"

"Honor is a fool's path," Sigil replied, before disappearing once more and reappearing—this time, from above me. "Honor means little if you die, am I right?"

"Heh, I can agree with that."

As he slammed down from the air, I caught his wrist and spun him around before throwing him towards the gym wall, causing the students in the way to quickly back off. Sigil, however, suddenly activated his wings for a brief moment, causing their invisibility to wear off for a slight duration with a gentle flash, as he restabilized himself in the air right before he slammed into the wall.

"Not bad, not bad," he commented, scratching his chin. "I can see why you bested your partner so easily. However…"

Sigil dived towards me once more, left arm reared back in preparation for a punch. I braced myself and prepared to catch it, but he suddenly threw his right hook out instead, catching me by surprise.

"—?!"

My eyes widened as I felt a sickening impact in my abdomen, where he'd punched me. I flew backwards across the entire gym from the impact, but managed to stabilize myself right before crashing into the wall, just like Sigil had done moments before.

"… You're lacking in experience."

"Hand-to-hand combat? Yeah," I replied. "Imagine if I had a real weapon, heh."

"We'll be getting to weapon training soon enough," Sigil replied. "But first, these basics need to be mastered!"

Almost as if enjoying this, Sigil dove towards me with a smile on his face, wings carrying him across. He no longer bothered to hide the fact that he was a Celesticus, and his six beautiful white wings branched out from his back, glorious and angelic. To match him, I activated my own wings as well—two large and demonic black ones, radiating with Chaotic red energy.

The sight caused everyone else in the gym to stop their fighting and spectate ours instead—demon and angel, clashing in full force, barehanded.

Our fists met one another's with a powerful, resounding shockwave, but Sigil couldn't outpower me when it came to raw strength. Smirking, my Chaos energy began devouring his wings' power, draining them and in turn fueling my own. Sigil, realizing this, frowned and backed away, flying up into the air.

"Trying to run? Too bad."

Immediately, I gave chase, but unfortunately, six wings were greater than two. He moved faster than I did, and had time to reach the ceiling first before attempting to kick me down. I dodged, however, and pulled his leg down to reach in for a punch. He parried it, but this gave me the time I needed to reach the same altitude as him, and we stared each other down just below the ceiling of the gymnasium.

Then, both steeling our resolves, we dashed towards each other to exchange another set of close combat.

"Up here, we can talk privately," Sigil whispered amidst fake punches, and I frowned, realizing what this was about.

"… What is it?"

"Sylvoir has told you some… things, correct?"

I gave a nod, giving out return attacks and parries that looked real to the audience below. "You know about it too?"

"Yes. The true reason Tian Lin had us Founders join the school as instructors and staff was to have about half the authority figures of the academy on the IMF's side. That way, those who want to rebel and get rid of you students will have more difficulty doing so. Still, given how we are technically outsiders, we do not hold as much influence as them in the school, so you will still have hardships and challenges. I just thought you should know that."

"Got it. And the first test is coming…"

"Next week," he replied firmly. "The rules of it are simple, and there's no such thing as 'preparing' for it. So, I'll follow the school's rules and not tell you anything—even if I did, it wouldn't help much. When the time comes, just go with your gut and stay close to your allies. Is that clear?"

I nodded again, locking fists with him. "… Yeah."

"Great. Now, it's time to put an end to this show… you wouldn't mind letting me win, would you? I need to save my face here, and you also don't want to appear too powerful, isn't that right?"

I gave a chuckle. "Sure, do whatever you want."

"Alright, then… I won't be polite."

With a gentle smile, he punched downwards into my stomach. I made a show of getting my defense broken, before pretending to get hit by a powerful attack, and falling back to the gym floor.