Exhibition

The air was filled a sweet after taste that was urging Cassius out of his seat. His excitement blended in with the rest of the crowd, but the scent was taunting him, beckoning him to find the owner. Cassius couldn't pinpoint exactly who it was yet, all he could be sure of was it came from the right side of the field - first years. He waited patiently for their turn in the event to find his prey.

Estefan's voice replayed in Cassius' mind; one of the many other topics among his lectures was feeding. Seeing as it was taking longer than expected to find a live aide for Cassius, Estefan had briefed him the procedure if he were to find his own. Times had changed and with the treaty in place, a vampire could only take blood from a human if it was consensual, without the use of charm. At first Cassius found it amusing, would you ask a cow to take its milk? However, his encounter with Esme reminded him how a different kind of hunt could be thrilling now that he was experiencing all kinds of humans.

Plus, despite Cassius living by his own laws he wasn't irresponsible to damage an entire race for his own selfish needs; he wasn't Zeleti. This was the major reason why Cassius didn't step down there himself to find the source of the tantalising scent.

Lucky for him he didn't have to wait long as the first years were scheduled to open the event. The students retreated behind the field gates while the host introduced the first-year teams.

'Introducing the blue team duo showcasing a rear and front offence tactic, dominating the attack, the crowd favourite, the twins Jake and Jess!'

The crowd applauded eager to start the show. While Cassius' focus was elsewhere, he closed his eyes to focus. 'Not them.' He spoke out loud and amidst all the noise, Ashin took notice.

'The red team duo showcasing a balanced approach of attack and support, the underdogs, childhood sweethearts Kai and Camilla!' The host continued to rile up the audience.

Cassius' grin was uncontrollable as he edged forward barely holding onto his seat, literally. 'That one!' He exclaimed with his eyes wide full of adrenaline. Over Cassius' lifetimes there were multiple instances of humans that tasted better than most, however none that gave off such an enticing smell. He could only imagine how delicious the blood would taste if it gave off such a strong scent, and in his starved state his desperation was difficult to hide.

Again, Ashin heard his comment. 'So you're putting your bets on the balanced team?' He wondered if he knew something he didn't as the twins were the fan favourite.

The host exited the field, while the big screens counted the participants down, as the timer reached zero, they began emitting the same energy Cassius saw from Ashin earlier. Cassius finally recognised this; humans have mastered the release of mana he thought to himself. Mana was something that only a select humans could control, history ostracised them as witches and wizards, hunting them to near extinction.

Jess had runes envelop her gloves and jaw, whereas Jake's entire arms were covered in runes and a thick layer of mana encompassed them as though he was wearing two large gauntlets.

'Those gloves that Jess is wearing are programmed to another level, you could pay your entire tuition with those!' Ashin admired from above.

In contrast Kai's entire body was wrapped in coding as he took a fighting stance to ready himself, while Camilla's eyes glowed gold with her fingertips, and stood as though she was about to type on an imaginary keyboard.

'Dammnnn! Not seen that before.' Ashin Commented.

'There it is ladies and gentlemen! The underdog of the first years, have you ever seen a coder set their programme without any visible runes!' The host highlighted her talent.

The buzzer rang throughout the stadium signalling the start of the match, Jake and Kai both ran out to meet each other in the centre. They clashed punches but just before Kai's punch collided, a layer of golden runes appeared on his arm increasing the ferociousness of the attack.

'Kai's all round balanced body enhancement combined with Cami's support proves to be strong, but will it be enough to win against the all-star siblings?!' The commentator powered the crowd.

The pair were pushed back showing them to be an even match, they charged again.

Jake threw another punch, Kai feinted and dipped below to counter with a roundhouse kick powered with Camilla's support.

'Fireball!' Jess commanded from the rear.

Before Kai could make impact, he was pushed back with an explosion targeted at his leg.

'Tch! Looks like she's charged up.' Kai was frustrated but was expecting the challenge. The coding on his body began to move and focused on his legs. He began to move around the field at an increased speed that was just subpar of quick step, hurling kicks left and right on Jake while dodging Jess' fireballs.

Each were being blocked easily by Jake, waiting for the right opportunity.

'Cami!' Kai called to her while continuing the assault.

In the back, Camilla focused her eyes while her fingers were typing furiously.

'Infiltration success!' Cami confirmed.

Kai charged in once more this time confident. He dodged multiple fireballs before delivering a spinning back kick, to which Jake was about to block but noticed his gauntlets disappearing.

Noticing this Jess quickly protected him with a fire wall, throwing Kai back. Thankfully he too was protected with a layer of Camilla's golden mana.

'This bitch hacked my code!' Jake roared at Camilla's direction.

'Get over it! I'll take point until you reboot!' Jess ran in front gathering her mana. Kai sensed the danger retreated to Camilla's side.

'They'll target you now, take cover till I charge.' Kai instructed.

Jess's runes moved from her jaw to her tongue as she prepared to unleash a powerful attack.

'Incinerate.' She spoke the words softly as two brigades of flames fired at the other pair from across the field. The spectators at the front of the audience were protected by a high level barrier but the heat from her attack could still be felt.

Camilla was ready and created a small defence ball to protect themselves while Kai's runes started vibrating all over his body charging waiting to release.

'I can't hold on forever Kai!' Camilla was losing strength.

'Almost there, she can't unleash that attack for long.' Kai continued to charge, waiting for his turn to pounce.

Just as Kai had said, Jess' attack began to slow down and her flames slowly diminishing. Taking hold of the opportunity, Kai dashed forward releasing the energy that was stored in his body.

'It is over.' Cassius spoke from the crowd

'Got you.' Jess smiled as Kai charged at her.

Midair, he halted and was smashed from the side to the ground by Jake's gauntlets but this time they were denser. Camilla with no more mana couldn't protect him from the attack and was declared out of commission. The pair looked to Camilla; she raised her hands in surrender as she knew she couldn't take them on solo.

The audience stood roaring in excitement as they declared the winners of the match, the twin siblings Jake and Jess.

'I can see why you would've thought the hacker had the edge, when she strengthens her skills that Camilla is gonna be tough.' Ashin commented.

Despite Cassius' mind being distracted with hunger, he was indeed impressed with the first year's potential. He wondered how strong the human seasoned fighters were if the students showed such strength. Again, the thought of competition excited Cassius but for now, something else took precedence.

'I have seen enough for today.' Cassius announced his exit, but Ashin laughed sensing his ulterior motive.

'Ha ha, I see why you focused so much on the hacker now.' Ashin giggled to himself; he was slightly relieved to see that Cassis wasn't as cold as some of the rumours suggested.

Cassius smiled at Ashin as he wasn't quite far off, his hairs tingled at the thought of sinking his teeth in her blood as he walked following the scent.