Every eye in the place turned to me as I strode toward my opponent. An excited cheer crashed through the student body on either side of me, spreading around the courtyard in a rippling ring. The thunderous applause was peppered with boos from the Disciples in the crowd. That was good, too. I’d learned to feed on the haters while fighting in the Five Dragons Challenge. Whether the crowd was for or against me didn’t really matter. It was their passion that fueled me.
Professor Song raised his hands and waited for the gathered crowd to settle down. It took longer than I expected, and I used the time to psych Rafael out. Where he was angry, I was calm. I’d nothing to prove in this fight. I’d beaten so many challengers in the past few months, one loss wouldn’t do much to tarnish my reputation. I held the Disciple’s gaze, showing him I was ready and more than willing this time.
Rafael’s rage boiled around him. His aura was a confused cloak of anger and shame, the aspects churning around one another like sizzling oil and cold water. He wanted to defeat me not just because he thought I’d dishonored his sister, but because he hated my guts.
“All right, gentlemen,” Professor Song said, his voice boosted by jinsei so everyone watching could hear, “this is a formal duel. The winner will be decided by three touches anywhere on the torso or head. I have inscribed a circle, and there will be no doubt about when a touch is legal and confirmed. I expect no injuries from this duel. Am I clear?”
“Yes, honored Professor,” I said and bowed toward Song.
“Of course,” Rafael said through gritted teeth. He bowed to the professor, too, then we faced one another and bowed again.
“Very well.” Professor Song positioned himself between us and waited for Rafael and me to fall into our combat stances. “Fight!”
The professor dropped his hand in a vertical chopping motion, then leaped back out of the ring.
Rafael surged across the ring toward me, hands raised to guard his head and ready to strike. His steps were smooth and even, his feet scarcely touching the ground as he charged. He unleashed a jinsei-boosted bellow designed to rattled me when he came within striking range and frowned when I didn’t so much as flinch.
I held my ground and my cross guard defensive position. My eyes remained focused on the center of Rafael’s chest, which I’d learned was the first part of an opponent’s body to move when it came time for an attack. My breath cycled smoothly and evenly through me, my core filled with jinsei. I was as ready as I’d ever be and had decided to let Rafael make the first move.
He didn’t disappoint me.
The Disciple unloaded a flurry of punches that I deflected with my forearms. He transitioned smoothly into a spinning kick accelerated by a burst of jinsei. The air crackled around his heel as it sped toward my left side, so fast it was little more than a sparkling blur.
As fast as the attack was, my defense was faster. My left arm swept down and out in a powerful circle, catching Rafael by surprise. I pushed the jinsei from my core into my arm at the exact moment of impact, and the burst of sacred energy flung my opponent’s leg away from me.
Rafael shouted in surprise as his body twisted out of his control. His foot slipped off the ground, and for a moment he was airborne. His shoulder slammed onto the grass, and he curled into a ball to protect himself from the follow-up attack he knew was coming.
I took a single step and rapped his forehead with my knuckles.
The ring around us flashed a brilliant blue, and a wall of sparks shot into the air.
“Point, Jace,” Professor Song shouted.
Rafael sneered at my offered hand and kicked back up to his feet without my assistance. His aura was clotted with far more anger than shame now, and the dark aspects seemed to fuel him much as the crowd energized me. The Disciple turned his back on me and walked away.
Professor Song reentered the circle, glanced at each of us, then raised his hand again.
I didn’t like the look in Rafael’s eyes. Given the chance, he might just try to kill me again in front of everyone.
That wasn’t going to happen.
“Ready,” Professor Song said. “Fight!”
Rafael took a different approach this time. He walked toward me, hands loose at his sides, bobbing his head left and right like an undisciplined street fighter. He thrust his chin forward as if begging me to knock him out. He was on the warpath, and he wanted blood.
I needed to end this, quickly.
Without hesitation, I triggered the Borrowed Core technique and connected myself to the maximum number of rats I could control. A single breath filled my aura with beast aspects, and I held them at the ready.
“Come on, coward,” Rafael snarled. “You think you can take me. Make a move and prove it.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” I told the Disciple. “Whatever you think happened with your sister, you’re wrong.”
At the mention of his sibling, Rafael’s eyes narrowed to hateful slits. His rage blossomed from his core, clouding his aura with pure hate.
I chose that moment to make my attack. I stepped up to Rafael and drove a punch straight at the middle of his chest. I boosted it with little jinsei to give it more speed, though I didn’t put anywhere near my full strength into the attack. My goal was to score another point, not hurt Rafael.
My opponent deflected the blow with his forearm and snapped a kick toward my midsection in return.
The strike was too fast to block, forcing me to pivot to the side so it could slide past me without scoring a point. Rafael’s extended leg right in front of me was far too tempting a target to pass up. I grabbed his ankle with
