The Youngest Sin

Concentration embodiment

[The next day]

Charles and Verette is walking to the room where Kael and the others would always meet.

"Last night was amazing don't you think Verette?" Charles said in a cheerful tone.

Verette remembered what happened yesterday and smiled.

"Yes, yesterday was amazing indeed." she agreed.

Charles saw Verette smiled so he figured something good happened.

"We'll, I think we should just start practicing that move"

They reach their meeting place where Kael and the others should be waiting, the moment they opened the door they feel something seems off. Kael was giving off an ominous vibe, Charles sensed it that raised his awareness.

"Yo, whats with the gloomy face, Kael?" he checked.

"Gloomy?"Kael asked.

He was sitting on a chair while looking down. Charlotte is beside him with a sad look on her face. Gian, Clint and Irene has still not arrived yet, so only four of them are present.

"Tell me honestly Charles, are you betraying me?" he engaged.

Kael's remarks caught Charles off guard. He tilted his head indicating that he didn't know what Kael was coming from.

"What are you talking about?" Charles puzzled look made Kael even more furious.

"I saw both of you talking to Rai last night"

Kael was bursting with anger as he sat there trying to catch Charles and Verette off guard. Charlotte was patting his back. Verette and Charles had the same look in their faces, Charlotte knew that both of them are innocent but siding with them at the moment will only make the situation worse, so she just went with the flow of Kael’s decision.

[I’ll just stop him before he become out of hand] "Calm down Kael, I’m sure they have their reasons" She thought as she suggested.

"What were you both doing there at that time of the night?"Charlotte asked calmly.

"We were there doing business" Verette answered.

"What kind of business?!" Kael burst once again as he tried to hold unto his seat.

"Calm down Kael, it a business that we have to keep a secret even from y-"

Charles tried to explain calmly but Kael interrupted him before he could even explain the details clearly.

"So you were scheming behind my back! Maybe you even knew about his return beforehand!" Kael accused them blindly.

Charles kept a cool head before but accusing him of something he did not do.

"You schemed against me because you knew you can never be stronger than me is that it?!" Kael added.

Charles was about to approach Kael but Verette was holding his shoulder. Charles can easily be pissed off but he really did a good job at keeping his head cool up to this point.

"Let go Verette, I can't take more of this bastard's insult" Charles started to lose it as well.

"Its not good to fight among ourselves. Charlotte calm Kael down" Verette said to avoid the dispute.

"Kael calm down, I’m telling you to stop this" Charlotte ordered.

"You're strong? So what?! I'll take you on anytime!" he declared.

Charles said it, he may be inferior to Kael but he will never back down to anyone who looks down on people. Belittling them because of their battle prowess.

"What can you do you lowly magic-swordsman huh?!" Kael insulted Charles more.

"I'm really gonna destroy that f*****g mouth" Charles asserted.

Charles and Kael stood in front and glared in front of each other. Verette and Charlotte did their best to stop the two but it was futile,anger consumed their rational thinking.

"Where is Gian when you need her the most." Charlotte murmur.

They decided to take the fight in the arena. The rumors quickly spread and it reached Rai's ears. He then immediately look for Charles. He found him in their classroom sitting in his chair, it looks like his anger subsided.

"I heard the rumors, what happened?" he asked.

"That bastard ran his mouth pretty loud and annoyed me, so I challenged him." Charles answered without a hint of fear in his voice.

Rai had a troubled look in his face, he looked at Verette who was sad.

"You sure are short-tempered" Rai said.

"Says the one who one-sidedly decimated a group just to satisfy his anger" Charles said with a poker face.

Rai felt ashamed, he can't deny the fact that he did that shameful thing as well.

"If only you knew what happened before that, knowing you got pissed by something like this. Makes me think that your had it better than me." he confessed in a disappointed tone.

Rai sat on the chair beside Charles and Verette.

"So how are you gonna deal with this?" he asked.

"I'm going to do my best" Charles answer straightforwardly.

"But you know your best might not be enough, I’m not going to stop you. Sometime we need to take a stand for ourselves." Rai reminded.

"Thanks, I know and that doesn't matter anymore. I'm more afraid of those monster we encountered in the forest than him. If those things are really out there, we must get stronger immediately, staying weak will not guarantee the kingdom’s safety."

Verette nodded in agreement to Charles.

"Well I'll stop the you both if it gets out of hand" Rai promised.

"Please do it in a not so painful way." Charles beg.

The corners of Charles lips twitch as he do not know what to expect what Rai would do to stop them before something bad happens.

That moment Kael came into their room and saw them talking to each other.

"I'm gonna teach your minion a lesson Rai Raze" Kael declared while glaring at both of them.

"Minion you say?"Charles said as he glared back at him.

"Was I wrong? " Kael ask as he tried to annoy both of them.

"You damn bet you are" Charles answered back.

"Why don't we go at it right now, huh? You weak s**t?"

Kael continued to talk in a degrading manner at Charles.

"Yeah! Why not go ri-" Charles stood up but Rai stopped him.

The hair on Charles’ body stood up immediately, the atmosphere around him instantly turn cold, everyone around Rai is affected as well, Charles’ shaking body turned around and saw Rai’s annoyed face. The thing that he felt earlier is the ominous aura Rai emitted whenever he is annoyed. Rai stood up as Charles is forced to sit after he felt the cold atmosphere.

"Why don't I beat the s**t out of this bastard instead?" Rai said as he turned to face Charles while smiling, his lips twitch as his negative emotion, anger, gets amplified.

"Rai get a hold of yourself"Verette held Rai's arms trying to shake him off of his state.

"Whats the matter? Getting cold feet already?" Kael taunted.

"Cocky guys like him really gets on my happy nerves" Rai continued.

"Let's go to the arena now, Rai it's my fight, let me teach this bastard not to mess with anyone" Charles asked Rai to let him take care of his mess.

Rai calmed down upon hearing Charles.

"Give him a good beating for me, I'll ask Rica to standby and treat your wounds later." Rai requested.

"Thanks"

Kael and Charles headed to the arena when Amber came rushing to the room. Rai is getting ready to follow them when Amber called Rai.

"Rai, the headmaster has something important to tell you" she said as she pant.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll come to his office later Amber" he answered in an uninterested tone.

"But, but-" she spoke in confusion.

Rai went and followed the others, Amber who didn't know what to do went back to the headmaster's office.

"What?!" The headmaster exclaimed as he stood on his chair after hearing Amber's report.

"I'm going to have a headache, well whatever. I’m going to sleep. Wake me up when before they start to destroy the academy" he requested.

"That's it? You’re giving up already?" she said downheartedly.

"Oh come on, they're old enough to deal with it themselves" the headmaster said unwilling to get his hands on something annoying in the early of the morning.

"Oh yeah those adults are in the arena dealing with it themselves as the adults they are." she answered.

Even with Amber's sarcastic words didn't affect the headmaster's will to sleep.

"That’s it, I'm telling Mom!" she said the magic words.

The headmaster immediately got up after hearing the instant calamity.

"Now, now. Can we be calm and don't rush with our decisions? The headmaster said with a shaky voice.

Amber just gave him the poker face as he tries to change her mind. She just stared at him.

"Okay fine,I'm going. Are you happy now?!"

The headmaster walked out of his office while mumbling.

"Phew, kids these days"

[At the arena.]

"You better give me your all Charles, cause I'm not going easy on you" Kael requested.

"Wheres the fun in not going all out" Charles said as he activated his magic swordsman spell.

He held his sword and pointed it at Kael.

"You better don't under estimate me" he warned.

"No. You better don't think ahead of yourself" Kael replied as he activated his own spell.

The crowd got larger and larger as time goes on.

Kael charged at Charles with his inhumane speed. He swung his sword downward as Charles parry it. Charles knew that Kael is a lot stronger so he tried to use the strength behind Kael's attack to parry it.

"Tks!"

"Ting"

"Ting!"

The clash of their swords reach the ears of the spectators.

Charles released a fire spell that was aimed at Kael, but he summoned a wall of earth in front of him.

"You need to do better than that" Kael taunted.

Charles didn't mind what Kael said and kept attacking, but Kael was surprised that as the time pas by, Charles’ fire spell becomes faster and faster.

"I'm still not used to this technique yet, but I'll make do." Charles whispered to himself.

Charles used the burst technique that Rai demonstrated.

Charles successfully enveloped his sword with flames. Kael was surprised when he did. But what shocked him more was that whenever Charles swing his sword, a wave of flame would come out of it. Rai saw that Charles was able to pull off that feat and was proud.

"When did you learn that trick?" Kael asked.

Charles did not answer back.

"So that’s it huh?! You looking down on me?!"

Kael lunged at Charles removing his limiter. He became even more fast and agile with the limiter taken off. Charles' swings match his pace, though he didn't remove his limiter, his reaction were as fast.

Kael blocked Charles' flame sword with the wind he produced with his swings. Kael is approaching Charles fast.

"I'll be borrowing this technique for a moment"

Charles surrounded himself with flames. In his hands was a flame orb as large as a plate, he compressed it far slower than Rai did until it is as small as a pearl. The smaller the orb the stronger you get. But you'll experience a much greater toll on your body after the effect fades.

"Don't tell me he-”Rai realized what Charles' intention was.

Charles swallowed the flame orb and instantly fell on his knees.

"Khuk! So this is what it feels like? It hurts like hell. Rai can handle this pain?" he groan in intense pain.

Kael swing his blade even with the flames surrounding Charles.

The flames disappeared around Charles, Kael smiled as he thought he already won.

It shocked him seeing that Charles is unharmed. As the flames around Charles vanished, the eyes of the spectators widened, the person named Charles was gone, only a humanoid creature covered in flames remain, the avatar of the dark flames, Ifrit.

[Every element has an avatar representing each element, Ifrit of the dark flames, Nymph of the hollowed waters, Ronan of the eternal earth, Sylph of the roaring winds, Senjo of the mystic thunder, Aoros of the night shade, Katara of the holy light, and so on. Thought they represent the avatars of each elements, there are far more frightening figures that leads each and every avatars of them.]

He grew wings of flame, his hair turned like flames dancing into the rhythm of the blowing wind. His flaming sword burned the ground, and the flames scattered all over his body. His eyes are replaced by flames that kept dancing with the wind.

"It hurts like hell!!" Charles shouted when he got back on his feet.

This shocked the crowd but it shocked Kael on a whole new level. Never in his wildest dreams that he would encounter a human bearing the grace of one of the avatar from the legends.

"So you've been hiding your power?!" Kael shouted.

Charles looked at him and swung his sword at him.

"Shut up" he said with a painful voice.

Kael sensed death on Charles' swing, so he evaded it than try blocking it. His decision was a right one, the flames that came out of Charles' flaming sword was a little different than the one before. It was a lot darker in color and the effect range of it is a hundred times wider.Kael's sweat started dripping from his chin.

"What a monstrous power, how can you produce such magnitude of power?" he tried to extract information from Charles.

"This is not easy as it looks like you bastard, I'm aching all over" Charles said as he struggle to keep his stand.

[Concentration Embodiment sips the user's strength and immobilizing them for a while after the effect fades.]

Charles took a deep breathe and swing his sword for the last time, he predicted Kael's reaction.Kael summons a tall wall around the arena to keep the flames contained. Kael tried to block Charles’ sword.

Their swords clashed, Kael was being pushed back. Regretting his decision to block it, he accepted his fate. He summon earthen walls to support his back but a sword made in flames appeared in Charles' other hand. Charles swung it while activating the new spell he acquired.

[Ifrit's dominance]

The sword of flames grew a thousand times its original size and is swinging towards Kael.

"Kael!!"Shouted Charlotte as she watched outside the arena.

Everything is getting out of hand, so Rai decided to make his move and stop everything, suddenly he sensed an enormous aura approaching the arena and fast. He moved towards the arena immediately.

"It can't be"He thought as he moved around the crowd.

"This is the en-" Charles mumbled.

Before Charles' attack could manage to hit Kael, a giant arrow of ice was approaching him at a fast rate, engulfed in the moment he failed to see the incoming attack. A piercing sound made by the arrow as it pass through the air forced the crowd cover their ears.

"Tugsh!"

A loud explosion shocked the arena and the other structures around it. A young ladyl with the same uniform as them landed at the center of the impact. Her white hair slowly landed on her back. The crowd around the arena started to worried about the huge explosion. Rica went running towards the arena the next moment.

"What is a fire concentration embodiment user doing here?" the young lady asked.

The dust surrounding the arena started to lift off her silver color eyes scanned the surroundings.

"I should say the same to you, Roxanne of the White Pearl" Rai replied.

"That voice!" She muttered as the image of the man in front of her became clear.

"Smoke" Were the words that manage to come out of her mouth.

Rai was standing in front of her carrying Charles on his back who fainted in exhaustion. Kael fainted on the ground behind Roxanne’s back Charlotte and the others are following behind Rica as she rush towards the injured ones.