CHPT 183: Stop playing around!

Running.

Team-A ran intensely, urgent to reach the Archer who loped from path to path towards the flag, moving at incredible speeds with his new mysterious spectral power.

Claude was closer to him, running madly while he traversed the uneven and unsteady outer paths of the Course with Frosty at his side— showing impressive agility despite his obvious bulk.

"Your Knight friend is actually pretty fast….that's a problem." Chase said in his usually energetic tone to Claude over the deafening sound of wind in his ears— hinting at how fast they were moving.

Claude looked to his right in response to Chase's words and saw Isaac only a bit behind him which was quite remarkable since Claude and Chase were two of the fastest students. The only problem was, he lacked stamina.

As his bulky frame stomped down the center path behind Chase to keep up with them, his large silver and red armor clanked and jangled while his face became increasingly more covered in shining beads of sweat.

Claude's ears twitched in response to the sound of a string being pulled tightly, causing him to look away from Isaac and find Chase once again leaving him utterly confused.

He was running backwards at the exact same speed and unnatural gait, while he held his bow with an arrow loaded and aimed at Isaac who ran a couple dozen feet behind him.

"[This boy is just full of surprises.]" Arne remarked as Claude watched at Chase.

"Damn right. Isaac heads up!" Claude replied to Arne, and yelled a warning to Isaac.

"Got it!" Isaac responded before his eyes took on a ruby red glow.

TWIP!

Chase shot an arrow at Isaac, causing a blast of wind to sweep across the Course as the projectile rocketed towards the exhausted Knight.

Isaac continued running, confusing Claude and Maris who assumed he would dodge.

Time seemed to slow as Claude panicked, thinking Isaac was out when suddenly, his Aura burst to life like a spontaneous explosion of bright red flames and his speed increased upon activation of the Skill, (Shoulder Charge).

Fwoo!

Cck!

The arrow exploded into crushed wooden splinters once it came into contact with the Knights incredibly dense Aura and high speed movement.

"[That was rather barbaric. But it got the job done.]"

"Yea, but he won't be able to do that too many more times." Claude replied to Arne before speeding up and bounding over path after path until he landed in front of Isaac and behind Chase.

"Aren't you supposed to be focused on me?" Claude yelled up to Chase who still ran ahead of them, backwards.

Chase stayed silent and smiled while aiming his glowing eyes at him, "Remember what I said." He mumbled before leaping into the air and aiming his glowing yellow hand at Claude.

FWOO!

A gust of wind flew towards Claude, distorting the air and loudly making itself visible, allowing him to leap to the next closest path and dodge.

"It's not over, Wolfboy!" Chase yelled before firing off a small barrage of powerful focused gusts.

Claude used his stamina and agility to continue leaping and bounding out of the way of the shots.

The assault continued as they inched closer to the center where the flag stood with Claude fighting not to absorb the Wild Magic hovering over the area or use his Lupine power to reach him.

Despite his fight, some things couldn't be helped. By the time they all reached the center, Claude's eyes took on a wild glow and his muscles pumped with the growing power of his true form.

Chase had stopped running and stood on the platform with his back to the flag, causing the students below to chatter between each other in confusion. If he would've kept his pace, his win would've been guaranteed.

Claude, Frosty, Isaac and Maris stood across from him, breathing loudly and watching him with bewilderment.

"What's wrong with you? Why did you stop?" Maris asked with her sword raised.

Chase ignored her, continuing to stare at Claude angrily.

"Why won't you use it?" He asked.

Claude stared at him for a moment. "Use what?"

Chase stomped the ground with his spectrally cloven cloaked foot, causing the entire platform to shudder and wild winds to hit— properly expressing his anger, "Stop messing around! I told you they'd be watching! I told you to give it ONE THOUSAND PERCENT!" He raged.

Claude and Frosty snarled in response to the students' outburst. "The fuck is your problem, Chase?"

Chase took in a deep breath before speaking, "After I grab thi—"

Before he could answer, Maris decided she was done talking and lunged at him with the precise speed of a natural Swordsman.

Swip!

Maris's downward strike missed its mark due to Chase sidestepping out of the way.

Before he could attack her, a flash of red passed Claude and flew straight for the final member of Team-B.

FWOO!

To Claude's surprise, Chase moved in towards Isaac mid charge, and leapt so his hooved feet came in contact with Isaac's bulky shoulders.

For a fraction of a moment, Chase stood on Isaac's shoulders, tensing the powerful legs that cloaked his own, before jumping off of the Knight with an explosive burst of wind that sent them both in opposite directions.

PWOOOSH!

"Ugh!" Isaac flew backwards, sliding down the path on his back painfully, while Chase flipped through the air, grabbing ahold of the flag mid flip.

The second Claude and Frosty noticed Chase bounding off with the flag, they were moving.

The high speed battle continued with Chase firing off arrows and blasts of wind where Claude previously ran.

Sometime along the way, Claude dropped to all fours, moving like the PitWolf at his side and zig zagging to make himself harder to hit. Luckily the students were far behind them, too far to question how he could move so fast while running in such a way.

Slowly, the hazy Wild Magic hovering over the field, began to seep into his muscles— propelling him forward and closer to Chase who watched with excitement.

"YES! Catch me!" He yelled while continuing to fire off arrows.

Twip!

Another arrow whistled through the air in his direction. Claude leapt out of the way and found himself on the outermost path once again— the worst path to be on. That was what he thought at first.

But, as he ran, he gained an idea after seeing a dip in the path up ahead.

"Frosty, go right." He ordered through their link.

The PitWolf quickly hopped over to the opposite side of Claude and Chase. The Archer didn't care.

"What are you planning?!" Chase yelled while he soared through the air in between powerful jumps.

"You'll see." Claude replied while studying the Archer's pattern.

His idea was sparked after noticing Chase's unnatural way of movement. He started off running— albeit very oddly. But now, he was leaping and bounding much like Prof. Raizen was. Just slower. Slow enough for Claude to time properly and predict.

"One…two…Two steps before each jump. Got it." Claude thought confidently before his hands took on a green glow and the grass beneath the Course hummed to life.

"Come on, Wolfboy! What are you going to do? I jump too high and shoot too well for you to attack like this. You only have one option!" Chase yelled after a few seconds passed and they edged closer to Team-B's base.

Claude stayed silent and sped up to approach the dip in the path before dropping to slide down the Stoney downhill surface.

As he looked up at Chase— in the air with the setting sun glowing over him, he thought to himself, "Sure, the air is your area of expertise for now. But anything connected to natural ground is mine. You're connected to natural ground."

FWSH!

While he slid down the hill of the Course, he raised his green glowing hands to the path where Chase landed to prepare for another jump— only he was stopped.

Dozens of vines and roots had been following their trail. Growing and combining to climb the Course and reach Chase to hold him with their unwavering grip. The plan worked.

Chase was rooted in place and all too unhappy about it based on the way he cussed repeatedly as Claude and Frosty closed in on him.

"Dammit!….Dammit!….Dammit!" He continued once they entered attacking distance.

Claude ignored his odd behavior and lacking attempts to escape, deciding instead to lunge at the restrained student— hearing him speak one more time.

"You're disappointing me…"

PWOOOSH!!!

"UWAGH!"

"AARP!"

Before Claude could reach the flag, Chase caused a small explosion with his powerful winds, breaking the natural binds surrounding him and sending his attackers flying backward.

Claude hit the ground on his back, rolling and tumbling painfully afterward from the continued blasts of wind while Chase bounded off into the distance like a deer escaping then clutches of a snarling predator.

He laid silent with his eyes closed for a moment, before opening them in response to Prof. Brennan's voice.

"Team-B has won this class's first game of Capture the Flag with a spectacular showing of agility and accuracy!"

"God dammit!" Claude growled before getting up and trying his best to ignore the stinging pain in his ribs.

Once on his feet, he could hear footsteps behind him, causing him to turn around and come face to face with Isaac, Frosty and Maris.

"What the hell was that?" Was all Isaac could say while he rolled his stiff shoulders painfully.

Claude shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, finding himself too aggravated to speak at the moment.

"We win next time." Maris said— sounding full of emotion for the first time, while she pulled a dagger from her leg as if it were a minor inconvenience. The small fact reminded Claude of the time he rescued her from the Village and learned that she didn't feel pain. Still odd to see in person.

"Yea, we do." Claude agreed before they all headed off the Course.

***

Once on the ground, Claude found that all the students who were left unconscious were already gone. Most likely being healed in the Infirmary. Leaving Claude and the remaining members of Team- A to sit in their own loss with the whispers of other students reaching their ears.

Claude and the rest of the group found their usual spots at the end of the line of students where they waited silently, cursing themselves for losing to one person.

"[I think you did well when you take Chase's new power into account….I wonder what exactly that was. It wasn't an Archer's ability was it?]" Arne asked.

"It doesn't matter what it was. We shouldn't be getting swept by ONE person. Dammit." Claude replied angrily.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted in response to Prof. Raizen's approaching footsteps.

"You look like this every time you lose in something, don't you?" He asked with the beginnings of a smile on his face.

"Like what?" Claude replied.

"Sour.." Isaac cut in with Prof. Raizen nodding in agreement.

Claude was silent for a moment before shrugging it off.

"You did fine. Quick thinking, good team work and I caught you timing his jumps at the end there. In that fight, you and your team had the greatest planning. Chase just had a trump card. One that you can attain as well if i remember correctly…" Prof. Raizen explained ominously.

"Ye—" Claude was cut off as someone's yelling became easier for him to hear.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU USE IT?! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D GO ALL OUT! WHY!WHY!WHY!" Chase screamed angrily as he stomped down from the side of the field closest to Predator's Forest.

"Why didn't I use what, you psycho?" Claude questioned angrily before standing up to meet Chase.

Chase pointed at him angrily, "You know what I'm talking about! The only thing me and you can do in this class that no one else can! This was supposed to be our amazing bloody battle as rivals! Why didn't you use your God Form!?"

Claude froze for a moment while Frosty tilted his head in confusion followed by him, Isaac and Maris all saying the same thing.

"What the hell are you talking about?"