Incline 50: Student Vadei

"NIN!" I cry once more as I rush on over to him. Not paying even the slightest bit of attention to all the blood around me. The smoke in my nose or the soreness in my throat. None of it mattered right now.

And, no matter how many times I pressed it, nothing was happening. Why wasn't his thing working!? I saw it take a girl away who had a grenade under her! I've heard how it has saved people from being vaporised!

So why wasn't it doing its job!? Why was Nin still here!? Yet, I suppose it did not matter. If his one was broken, my one should still.

"COME OFF YOU STUPID THING! COME OFF!" I screamed desperately as I tried to claw my own device off my wrist. Yet, despite all the magic I tried to focus on it. It would not budge. It was impervious to anything I could do right now...

"Don't." Vapooliar tells me after she stops me from reaching for the staff.

"GET OFF! GET OFF!" I screamed as I tried to reach for the staff before I went quiet when she broke it. And, I did not know how to react to that... A chance to save my friend was just taken away by her.

"Leave it."

"I WILL NOT ABANDON MY FRIEND!" I scream at her before I shatter my magic-filled claws on her face. Yet, that did not stop me from using the other hand either. And even when all my claws became stubby, bleeding messes, I still kept hitting her.

"Stop it." she says as she stops me from throwing any more attacks at her.

"GET OFF ME!" I scream as I use her strength to position several kicks to her chest. Only to suddenly drop with a resounding thud.

"Leave it." she says.

"I JUST TOLD YOU, YOU STUPID, VALKINVAR! OH, WAIT! I FORGOT! YOU DON'T HAVE ONE IT TAKES TO BE ONE ANYMORE, DO YOU!?" I scream at her before I slam her chest. And even as I watched her features contort with anger. I still let mine show. Fear would not overtake me now, not now...

"Why do you defend this thing..."

"WHAT THING!? THE ONLY ONE HERE IS NIN! MY FRIEND!" I point out before I run down to his side so I could at least pass on some of my magic. Yet, even I knew in this state that my magic was not strong enough to even heal a cut on his body... I was too weak in comparison...

"Nin..." someone said as they desperately hopped over to us before they fell down. A fall that made them scream with such ferocity as to unnerve me where Vapooliar's anger had not.

"Larishazza?" I said before I helped her off of her broken arm.

"It might... Hurt, but..." she began to say as she started to soak my wrist.

"No!" Vapooliar said as she forced my arm away.

"STOP INTERFERING AND GO AWAY! IF YOU WANTED HIM TO DIE SO MUCH, WHY DON'T YOU JUST DO IT NOW!? GO ON! MURDER HIM!"

"I can't... My chance has passed..." she spits out down to me.

"THEN GO AWAY! YOUR MOMENT IS GONE!" I scream at her before she finally leaves, albeit slowly.

"Ready?" Larishazza asks me with uncertainty as her eyes stay glued to Nin's bloodied body.

"Yeah... Just pull..." I tell her with a tearful gulp before I grit my teeth as I feel my skin tear. A light huff and stutter then left me as it slipped off along with a few drops of blood.

"Uh..." Larishazza let out as she tried to figure out how to get it around Nin's wrist or even a finger.

"It's too small..." I whisper in despair as my crying becomes more intense. We just went through all of that to get the stupid thing off and we could not even adjust it.

"H-Hold on to the other side!" Larishazza tells me as her trembling arm shoots up before me.

"I can't!" I tell her as even her dwindled strength was enough to pull me about with ease.

"JUST STAY STILL!" she yells at me. Her tears even seemed to take on a magical aspect.

"YOU KNOW I CAN'T!" I tell her before I start to viciously smash the device against a piece of hot rock. Even that, though, did not do anything...

"Grr... GIVE IT!" Vapooliar then roars before she snatches it out of my grip. With such force as well that she nearly broke my fingers. Yet, once it was in her grip, she started to pull at it. All kinds of warnings and alerts then blared as it began to show the strain.

But, she got it wide enough and I thanklessly snatched it from her before I shoved it onto Nin. Pushing the button over and over until he finally disappeared to the safety of the hospital... And, I just fell to the ground after that. Crying and shaking until a boom in the air made me flinch.

"Can all remaining students of the victorious Traditional House and the failure Houses please make their way to the original objective." someone then clearly and loudly said as the battlefield began to simply wash away. And soon, we were left with a peculiar sight as everything was just vanishing.

"Tiya..." Larishazza let out in worry after I helped her to her feet. No one else was here... Liadanann, Nin, that guy from moments ago. Even her sister.

They were all gone.

"Einervaene!" I said all of a sudden as the loss of the smoke made her scent stick out all the more. Yet, when we got to her, I started to panic. She had several serious serrations that had gone deep into her... An odd pattern was there as well...

"H-Help..." she weakly cried before me and Larishazza helped her up. Yet, that only made her cry and whimper more.

"I know, I know..." I said to her, trying to soothe her with words Mom might've used if I hurt myself. Yet, nothing came of it and Einervaene kept on howling in pain as we agitated her wounds.

"Where is he...?" someone I had not expected to see asked as she stopped before us.

"Out of our way..." I spat out to the aelenvari before I tried to get my friend somewhere safe.

"You need to calm down." the aelenvari then said as she weaved around us and made Einervaene disappear.

"CALM DOWN!?" I shouted at her before she threatened me with magic.

"Yes." she utters as I back away from her magic. Despite how much I had grown, even she was still my superior... That useless, pampered creature...

"Can we just go?" Larishazza asks as she steps between us. And, as I stared at her broken, dislocated arm. I nodded and just kept ongoing. There was no need for any more fighting...

It was all over now...

And soon, we came upon many more students who were also on their way there. Some were as injured as Larishazza or even worse. Others were trying to ignore the sights of the wounded while some were even bullying the others... But, we had no interest in solving any issue we saw.

"OH, I'M SORRY!? EXCEPTIONAL HOUSE WAS IT!?" someone cackled from high above as we finally reached the goal we should've headed towards. Whatever it was, it was glowing and shining brightly and anyone from that House seemed to instantly heal...

"Ignore it." Larishazza whispers to me before she guides me down the final pathway out of this place. Then, with a flash of light, our surroundings changed and we were surrounded by uniformed people.

"If you have no major injuries, go this way!" a man dressed in clear white spoke through an amplifier. And, as I was mostly fine, I just gave Larishazza a reassuring brush of my tail before I was then stopped by someone.

"Name, please." a woman dressed in similar white clothes asked me as she began to unpack a bag filled with bottles...?

"Vadei..." I say before I am suddenly handed one of these bottles and gently guided onwards. She then did the same with another student before I then found myself outside in the daylight. And, after taking a brief look around at all the gagging people around me. I unscrewed my own bottle and drank from it.

Nearly spitting it out when I felt how much magic was in the water inside it. It was almost alcohol it was that bad... Yet, I managed to drink it all eventually and I just dropped the bottle. My pain might've been rapidly going away, but I needed some time on my own.

Besides, it wasn't like I could go and make sure Nin was okay... The main hospital building was surrounded by guards and it was clearly packed to the brim with emergency staff. So, after spending a few moments looking at a random window in that building. I hobbled back to our dorm.

I was on my own for the moment it would seem...

"Will he be alright?" the aelenvari then asks me as she uncovers her eyes for some reason.

"I... I don't know..." I say with a whimper as I could so clearly remember what he looked like before he disappeared. I was even still stained with his blood and the thick stench of it...