Noon. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, painting the forest floor in a mosaic of golden shafts and shifting shadows. Leaves crunched softly beneath Britney's boots as she stood watch, her eyes scanning for motion beyond the tangled underbrush. Massive tree roots veined the ground like petrified serpents, gnarled and ancient.
Roxanna sat slumped against one of the larger trees, sweat-drenched and pale. Though her fever had broken, her legs still trembled whenever she tried to stand.
"I'm dead weight," she muttered, not meeting Britney's eyes. She took a slow sip from Britney's flask—her own lost during the raid the night before. "You should go. Leave me. If even one of us survives, the class still gets a decent score. I'm just slowing you down."
Britney didn't answer right away. Her fingers wove threads of mana in the air, looping a stream of water into a shifting lemniscate—water becoming ice, then melting, then freezing again in an endless loop. A faint, almost imperceptible hum resonated from the delicate construct, a tiny defiance of the forest's stillness.
When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet. Flat.
"Class 1C attacked us, yeah. But I think Class 1B's behind it. They're using 1C as bait. Probably made some deal—temporary truce at best. If we're eliminated, that truce falls apart."
She glanced toward the sun-dappled forest. "They're not allies. They're using each other. Like we use tools."
Elsewhere in the Forest
In a battered clearing, three students from Class 1C stood—or rather, one stood, one knelt, and one leaned against a tree with a gaping wound in his side. They were bruised, burned, and bloodied. Exhausted.
"What the hell is going on?" the tallest of them growled. His fawn-brown hair was singed at the edges, his uniform torn. "Where's everyone else? Is this all that's left?"
"We were tricked," muttered the one slumped against the tree. Blood seeped through his fingers as he clutched his side. "Used."
The third, kneeling with trembling hands, let out a bitter chuckle that dissolved into a hacking cough. "Sacrifices. Lambs. We were eager little feet sent to test the water. To die first."
"I'd give anything to get revenge," he hissed, voice cracking.
Leaves rustled above.
They looked up—
Too late.
From the treetops, Ivy dropped like a shadow, landing with feline grace and a wicked, gleaming smile. Her blade was already drawn, glinting in the sun. Behind her, Lily emerged from the brush, a serene expression on her face as she cradled a small, mana-forged tree in her arms like a newborn. The tree pulsed with a soft, green light.
Lily's voice was calm, almost gentle.
"My enemy's enemy… is my friend," she said. Then, looking up, "So, friends… why don't we help each other?"
One of the boys lunged forward, fueled by panic and pain.
Bad move.
The ground beneath him split with a snap—a thick tree root shot upward, impaling him clean through the neck and hoisting his twitching body into the air. His blood sprayed like a broken fountain.
He didn't even scream.
Ivy didn't flinch. She turned to the others, still smiling, her knife now painted red.
"Get it?" she said sweetly, eyes wide and mocking. "Friends?"
The other two stared in mute horror. The wounded boy had managed to pull himself up—only to fall back again, eyes locked on the still-twitching corpse above. The taller one stepped back, fists clenched, teeth bared.
Ivy cocked her head in mock confusion, as if their fear surprised her. Her expression was all innocent amusement, but her eyes shone with predatory glee.
Lily placed the mana tree down at Ivy's feet like a gift.
And the forest watched in silence.
Elsewhere Still…
The sun had begun its slow descent, golden rays slashing through the trees like blades. Robert and Austin were moving cautiously, boots barely disturbing the leaves underfoot, when they heard the unmistakable crack of mana discharge.
Just ahead, Clare and Xenia stood back-to-back in a clearing. Two students lay at their feet, bodies already disintegrating into glowing dust—eliminated. Five others had encircled the girls, weapons drawn, expressions like jackals who thought they'd cornered injured prey.
Clare, her hands steady, held a gleaming spear of light. Xenia's arm was burned and smoking, but she kept her stance, eyes sharp and defiant.
Then—
ZAP. ZAP.
Two pinpoint beams of light struck two of the attackers clean through the skull. They dropped, weapons clattering.
Robert lowered his smoking weapon, his hands, stepping into the open with Austin at his side.
"Bit rude to gang up on girls, don't you think?" he said, voice smug, but his eyes flicked warily to the others.
That did it.
The remaining enemies—members of Class 1C and Class 1D, the last of them—snarled and surged forward. They split without words, a silent strategy passed between them: one group lunged toward Clare and Xenia, the other barreled toward Robert and Austin.
Then, suddenly—
FWOOOSH!
A column of flame erupted, reducing one charging student to charred bone before he could scream.
Everyone froze.
A new voice echoed through the clearing, cool and venomous:
"Sorry,y I'm late. I was taking out the trash."
The representative of Class 1B stepped into the clearing, flanked by the remaining students of her class. Her gaze landed mockingly on the startled survivors of Class 1C and 1D—the same ones Ivy and Lily had graciously spared.
"Well," she continued, brushing imaginary ash from her sleeve. "Looks like everyone's here."
As if on cue, Ivy and Lily emerged from the trees behind them, flanking the battlefield like wolves circling a kill. Ivy was smiling her usual blade-sharp grin, while Lily gently cradled a floating bonsai made of mana, her expression unreadable.
From the opposite side, Renn and Iris stepped forward, silent as ghosts.
And the forest—once teeming with wind and whisper—held its breath.