Inverse System

With his mood dampened, he dragged his feet to the arena and went into the west waiting room, while Sho stayed in the eastern one. Since this was an official match, they had to wait for the principal to announce the beginning, and conversely wait for the stadium to fill up.

Rein tightened the laces around his shoes and stood up, facing the door to the arena. Suddenly, he heard a footstep enter the room behind him. He turned around, seeing a frowning Clyde standing at the threshold of the door.

"H-hey! Clyde, shouldn't we leave him alone before the fight?" Xenia's voice could be heard from the outside, her hand on Clyde's shoulder trying to drag him away.

"Give me one second," he moved her hand away and approached Rein.

"I'm not going to ask you what happened. I'm not going to ask you why your angry, or sad, or in turmoil. Why? Because none of it matters. Nothing gives you the right to treat someone like a homunculus without feelings," Clyde scolded Rein, who was looking away with a dead look in his eyes.

"Hey sis, what are you doing outside the waiting room?" Quint approached, to which Xenia shushed and pointed inside the room, both of them peeking their heads in.

"I know. I fucked up, and now, I'm going to atone for it. Don't worry, you'll be satisfied by the outcome of the match," Rein reassured as Clyde looked at him, a shell of a man about to enter battle.

"Hold on…" His eyes widening, he grabbed Rein by the wrist and lifted it up. "Where… You were about to go in without weapon rings?!" He tightened his grip in anger, Rein softly laughing.

"This is for the better. I'm gonna stop being selfish for once and do what's best for the continent. You're in the same class as him, you should know who he is by now," he finally looked Clyde in the eyes, who then let go of his wrist, digesting what Rein just told him.

"For the best? Don't mess with me… Anyone with half a brain can see what you're really doing. You're wallowing in the lowest point of self-pity, giving yourself an easy way out," Clyde clenched his fists.

"You're wrong, Clyde. What I'm doing is for the greater good of the continent. I'm swallowing my pride and—" he was interrupted as Clyde held him by the collar, pinning him against the metal cage door that led to the arena.

"And what about your goals?! Your ambitions? Was the reason you came to this academy… To throw all your hard work away into a battle like this?!" Clyde yelled, this being the first time Rein had seen him get this angry.

"You don't get it… This is for Chloe too… I'm just giving her what she wants…"

Clyde's expression widened, then retracted into a cold, calm one. He let go of his collar and turned around.

"You're not the Rein I know. Right now, you're nothing more than scum with no resolve. If you lose this battle, I've lost all respect for you," he walked away in a cold march, promptly followed by Xenia.

Quint stayed standing at the threshold, looking at Rein, who was sitting, back faced to the metal cage door.

"For Chloe's sake, huh? Just know, I'm not accepting any outcome but a win from you, you hear?!" Quint tried one last time to pump him up, then followed Clyde and Xenia up into the stands.

Rein sighed to himself then stood up, looking up and putting his ringless hand on his face.

"You think I want to do this?" He thought to himself, Versys hearing the cries coming from his heart.

"Welcome back to the Hasbin Gulf arena! It feels like just yesterday that we ended the entrance tournament for Ranger Academy! How've you Gulf Academy students adjusted to their addition to the school?

Anyways, you're in for a surprise today! The number 1 seated student from the class of Rangers will be facing the 30th seat! The weakest one! Today, we have Sho Anagi vs Rein Xilris! Wait, wasn't Rein the winner of the entrance tournament? Who cares! He's at the bottom of the barrel now! Anyways, each person in the arena can now place a bet on the screen that pops up in front of you, and I'll keep track of each person!

The odds are +500/-500 in favor of Sho! Once the match begins, betting will close, so you'd better start now! Now, let's welcome the competitors!"

The gates on each side of the arena opened, the competitors walking out of their respective doors. They marched to the center of the arena and stared each other in the eyes, still standing about 5 meters apart.

"Good afternoon students. I'm your acting principal, Julianne Starsage, and this will be the first exhibition match of the year. The rules are simple. Incapacitate your opponent without killing them. That's all. If any of you two want to make an extra wager, nows the time," Julianne asked as Sho raised his hand.

"I would like to propose something to my opponent. As you may know, I actually own a house in the town, and quite a big one at that. I'd like to put that on the line, and in return, I want Rein to wager his residency in the luxury dorm," Sho proposed.

"Is this so you can live with Chloe? Why don't you just ask her to live with you after you win?" Rein asked.

"She…" Sho stopped talking and shook his head lightly. "That doesn't matter right now. Do you accept the offer, Rein?"

Rein stood there, thinking long and hard. Eventually, he came to a decision.

"Sure, why not," he said, which made the crowd erupt.

"That idiot!" Clyde punched the metal railings along with the audience seats in rage.

"Calm down. Rein's not going to lose," said a brown-haired man sitting under him.

"Lance Bowman? And Reggie too…" Clyde calmed down slightly and looked at the two sitting in the seats under him.

"Yeah Clyde, you should know better than anybody that Rein's not losing," Reggie remarked.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Quint intervened, pointing down at Rein's hands.

"No way… He's not wearing any rings?" Lance noticed, standing up in surprise.

Chloe sat in the luxury seats near the top corner of the stands, along with Emria and Saphrilla. It was a reserved seat for luxury room residents.

Saphrilla's elf ears twitched as she heard that Rein accepted the deal, and what Clyde said. She was the only one out of the three that heard about Rein's lack of weapons. She kept it to herself, not wanting to worry Chloe and Emria, but doing so made her worry grow exponentially.

"Rein's gonna win no problem! Right guys?" Emria asked the other two for encouragement but was met with faces of worry instead.

"I…" Chloe stopped talking as she saw Rein glance at her with eyes of contempt, making her heart grow fearful.

She gripped the railing harder as she heard the principal begin to countdown the beginning of the match.

"Alright, now that the wagers have been finalized, it's time to begin the match. 5… 4… 3… 2…" the crowd joined into the countdown as Sho summoned his weapon.

"1… Fight!"