Ascension Of The Failed Mage

>BZZZZZZZZZZZZ<

The sound of the disturbed flies suddenly grew louder, as though they were responding to the man\'s voice.

His eyes darted toward the insects, and his crimson pupils shone. Instantly, the buzzing ceased, and the flies all dispersed, intimidated by the pressure he exuded.

"Ahh, I better clean up soon..." The dreary figure stood from where he sat, holding the orb on one hand, while placing the other on his chin as he glanced at the corpse that the flies had surrounded.

Somehow, it had become rotten, decaying, and terribly putrid. The silhouette recognized whoever the dead body belonged to, and seemed happy while watching the disgusting state the flesh was In.

"... After all, it wouldn\'t do well for a teacher\'s room to have such a mess."

As soon he made this whisper, his eyes shone even brighter, and a red magic circle appeared beneath him, covering the whole area. The sudden illumination of the bright light gave visibility to his face, and for the first time, the man\'s facial features could be seen in the darkness.

It was Richard Lawcroft... or rather, he appeared to be.

Since it wasn\'t just him that was exposed due to the illumination brought forth as a result of whatever spell he wanted to cast, the dead body\'s identity was revealed as well.

With the flashes of crimson flashing within the room, the rotting corpse still had a measure of its former identity engraved on it. The dead man... was also Richard Lawcroft.

How could such a thing be possible? It was simple really...

"Ahh, this should be fun... now then, it won\'t be long now... before I get to have a taste of you too..." His malevolent and depraved snicker filled the room as his magic began to take effect.

"... Ciara... you\'re mine!"

****************

The next day went exactly as Ciara had hoped. Less of the rumors and suspicious glares, and more of the normal life she had built over the few months she had been in the Magic Institute.

Things were looking good.

Even though Richard Lawcroft, their homeroom teacher, didn\'t show up since he was still on his break, classes were still fun for her.

Other than the side glances she would give Mia once in a while, and the feeling of being watched by the very same devil incarnate, she entirely enjoyed herself. After all, lectures were always fun for her.

And so, the day continued.

"We\'re going to be starting our training today, right Ciara?" Sam and Serah asked excitedly.

It was break time, and while everyone formed their cliques and conversed, Ciara was in a conversation with her inner circle.

"Yeah. You\'ll have to wait behind for a bit though, I have some things to sort out with our Basic Enhancement instructor." Ciara answered.

"Wahh, for real? How long will that take?" Serah groaned, always despising the fact that Ciara\'s Class Rep duties sometimes interfered with their plans.

"Don\'t be such a baby, Serah. Besides, you\'re the assistant, aren\'t you? You should also be concerned about it." Ciara nagged.

Sam laughed as he watched both girls go back and forth in their arguments. Since he was always the neutral party, he decided to sit this one out as well. While they were conversing, his eyes accidentally went in a direction he always made sure to avoid.

However, at the moment, his guard was down and he did the abominable. While drifting his eyes from both girls, they met with the eyes of another girl.

The cause of his greatest fear in school and worst trauma, even till date... Mia!

"E-eeek!" His body froze instantly as he felt like an eternity passed when their eyes connected.

However, before he could make any panicky thoughts, she looked away and continued with a book she placed in front of her.

"A-ah... Whew... That was close..." He whispered underneath his breath.

However, he couldn\'t shake off the feeling he got when he stared at the former bully. The sensation within her eyes... they didn\'t hold any animosity at all. In fact, they were dead and downright lonely.

​ \'Just what am I thinking? Mia? Lonely? Impossible...\' He sighed and decided to distract himself by indulging in Ciara\'s argument with Serah.

Of course, he regretted it afterward. Of all the lectures and classes they had throughout the day, he learned no greater lesson than this:

\'Never try joining an argument between two girls!\'

*

*

*

"Are you guys ready?" Ciara said, staring seriously at the two students in front of her.

Both Serah and Samuel had long steeled themselves for the beating to come, so they weren\'t going to back down.

"Yeah! Let\'s do this!" They roared.

And so, charging at Ciara, the match began.

How did this all start? Well, after break classes were over for the day, Ciara and Serah concluded their Class Rep business, and finally had free time.

"It\'s still evening. We can train for two hours every day, then finally rest in our dorms. What do you think?" Ciara suggested.

Of course, the two had no reason to refuse. It was for their growth, after all.

Upon agreeing with Ciara\'s offer, they proceeded to the training halls available to students within the Institute.

"Now, let me explain how this will go..." Ciara began.

Since she wasn\'t exactly apt at teaching others, and basically got all she knew from Noir, it was only natural that she would use his methods in their training regimen.

"First of all, in order to motivate you, as well as kickstart our training, we\'ll be having a duel."

Sam and Serah looked at Ciara with a little bit of surprise. Surely, they weren\'t against fighting, but the two couldn\'t understand how that was very relevant in their current state.

It was already well established who would win.

"You\'ll both be fighting me, so give it your best shot!"

"I don\'t get it. We\'ll lose anyway, so wouldn\'t it be a better idea to just start training?" Sam quickly blurted out.

He wasn\'t keen on unnecessarily hurting himself. What they wanted was strength. They didn\'t want a reminder of how strong Ciara was!

"I understand what you\'re saying. However, watching me fight is one thing, and actually fighting me is another. So far, you\'ve never really fought me so you don\'t have a deep understanding of the gap in our strength." Ciara said.

The two friends, now students of Ciara, looked at her with a disbelieving look. According to them, they knew quite well just how powerful she was.

"You\'ll understand when you fight me, so let\'s not waste any more time and just do it. Once the match is over, we can begin training in earnest."