Abel was no longer part of the sub-Royal committee. After his defeat on the roof he was promptly kicked out and would now be replaced. Before he got to talk to some of the Royals every now and then. That might not seem like a lot to most people, but it was a guaranteed connection in the future. Connection to powerful people. Networking.
It was all his fault. Azazel Wodime, the disgusting rat that snuck attacked him, and then cheated his way into a victory, using weapons and nerve-clusters or whatever to beat him up. He walked the hall of school and felt the eyes close in, gazes of others looking at him. They saw, they knew, they remembered. He would turn around and no one would be there, but he knew they were staring.
Disapproving looks, looks of dismissal, looks of pity. That was his reality after his fight.
They all knew that Azazel had beat him, but they didn't know he cheated! He used a sneak attack and a weapon! They didn't understand!
The halls felt smaller, thinner, but longer, ever-going. It was like a never-ending underwater tunnel. He walked and walked through the waves crashing on him. This smoldering feeling pressing down on his whole body made him walk with his head down.
He'd been days like that, unable to look other Elite tiers in the eye after his defeat. They would talk to him and all he would see were their feet. His confidence reached a rock bottom. Why did it happen to him?
He stopped in the middle of the hall. He turned his head to the left and saw the stairs leading to the roof. The memory of that day surfaced, and his skin crawled. Not in fear, but in anger. His blood boiled, and his stomach churned at the memory. It had happened recently, but it felt like a decades old grudge.
His smug peacefulness when sleeping on that roof, turned into a maniacal smile that knew nothing but evil, nothing but mischief. His blood rushed through his body, his heart pounded in his chest. The warm blood in his body seemed to flare into raging flames when he thought of him. The person he hated the most in this entire school had been etched into his very being. The person he couldn't help but want to explode into little bits.
His red eyes drew Abel in like a bull, and his smug expression felt like a large cape obscuring his sanity. If he peered into it one more time, he might just not stop. His newfound seething hatred dug its roots so deep, the mere thought of Azazel Wodime's name had him breathing through clenched teeth. He wanted to let out a visceral war-cry and rush out to beat him senseless, take him by surprise so he understood what it felt like, then break his legs, and arms.
He stopped staring at the staircase and went on with his day, looking at it only reminded him of that day.
"Abel." A deep voice laced with smugness, but also haughty, noble and regal. Abel recognized that voice. He turned around and saw blond hair and blue eyes. Immediately, his gaze lowered. Almost like instinct. Like a commoner lowering their head in the presence of the king, because that is who he was looking at, Arlo, the King of Wellston. "I hear you have a grudge against Azazel."
That name again. He could feel his eyebrow twitch, and his heart palpitate. He begged Arlo not to ask him to forget his grudge, that is why he was there right? He begged with everything he had, in his mind, with his inner voice. He closed his eyes and nodded, waiting for the king's verdict.
"I'd like you to kick him down a few pegs. Get your revenge, no one will stop or punish you, I'll make sure of it." His voice became as smooth as bells, heavenly music to Abel's ears as he rose his head. A divine light embraced his divine figure. A king amongst kings. The fairest king of all.
"Yes, I'll make sure it gets done!"
**10**
Abel stood on the roof, this dreaded location that had brought him so much suffering for the past few days.
"I see, so they couldn't find anyone else for the job, so they got you huh?" Azazel's sharp words cut, but they were nothing but skin-deep. Superficial and unimportant, much like him. A fool who believed himself to be the King. Abel's grin was present, he hadn't felt this euphoric in his life. A fight that he could begin and not stop, he didn't need to warn him, because he'd been warned. "You seem a little too happy to see me. It's only been five days you know?" Azazel's pointed jabs did nothing but motivate Abel. "Just so you know, your reputation was saved by your queen's downfall. If you get beaten here, you're the one who will plummet, Icarus."
Without warning he brought his hand forward and activated his ability, he didn't want to give him any time to react. He didn't aim at the ground either. He aimed the explosion straight at Azazel's head. Like a cockroach living in a castle, hidden behind the large tables, and eating off the scraps of kings, Azazel managed to survive, because that is what cockroaches do.
He raised his arms and was blown backward to the fence of the roof, bending it. Abel didn't want to stop there, he continued exploding Azazel, sending him backward further, and further. The bent railing began to thin and crack, and break. He would fall through and drop to the ground floor. Azazel's bloodied arms were raised, what did he expect to do?
Darkness cornered Abel's vision. Light thinned, and images blurred. His vision became a dot on the sky that closed in on itself. The sunny sky turned into mere rays of light, which turned into nothing. The day was eclipsed in starless night.
Abel couldn't feel his feet, he turned his head. It felt like he was under water. Despite his lack of feeling his toes had been numbed, it felt like his whole body went to sleep. His senses dulled. Most would have panicked in this situation, Abel was sure… but all he could think about was that rooftop fight. He hadn't seen anything like this back then, which meant Azazel didn't think he was worthy of using his ability on.
"YOU BASTARD!" Abel swelled his aura on his chest and let it erupt, the darkness distilled, letting rays of light pierce through the darkness, and bringing back the day. Azazel was a bloody mess, his arms had burns, and his uniform was mostly ripped to shreds from the shockwave. There were many scars on his body. Most prominent was a scar that looked like lightning had latched to his body.
"I see, that's why Arlo chose someone like you." Azazel's smug tone was the same as always. Abel raised his hand, and Azazel dodged. He was faster than before? How? Why? Had he gotten stronger? He covered his fist in dark mist that swirled around it like a glove. He closed in, but before he could do anything, he was blown backward by Abel's ability.
A relentless storm of explosions followed through. Abel's attacks were concentrated on Azazel's arms; he wanted them to break. The rage he felt from that day all converged, he felt himself get stronger from it, be fueled by it.
He stopped to look at Azazel, he was a part of the fence now. Above the ground, he was kept in place by it. The green fence twirled and twisted around his arms. Azazel was unconscious, that was it. Abel closed in, he wanted to see the face of the boy he hated. He got close enough to look at him.
"Gotcha," Azazel lunged from his position, letting the sharp edges of the fence keeping him afloat cut through his arms and legs. Abel raised his arm, but Azazel grabbed his wrist, his grasp was strong, this wasn't the grip of a low-tier.
"FUCKING DIE!" Point-blank, he made an explosion hit his face. Yet, Azazel's grip on his wrist didn't relent. Like a demon, he pulled in closer, through the explosion, without caring for his own health. Abel saw his face through the smoke, maliciously grinning at him as he got closer. His evil crimson eyes glowed and etched themselves in his mind. His other arm had blocked the hit at the last second and now had a crater on it that splattered blood about like a fountain.
Abel heard a sickening crunch, and felt as though a truck had struck him on the shoulder. The impact sent him flying and tumbling through the rooftop. His arm was in too much pain to move, and he couldn't rotate his shoulder. It felt as though burning knives had been dug into his flesh and were now moving inside as they pleased. He shrieked from pain. From that wound alone, he knew – it was over. He was done.
"YOU LOST! YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS! WHY DID YOU GET BACK UP!" Abel pushed himself from the ground. "I REFUSE TO LOSE TO Y-YOU! A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT, LOW-TIER!" Abel made Azazel explode again, sending him back through the hole in the railing. Instead of falling to his doom, Azazel grabbed onto the green railing and swung his body to get back on top of the roof. Abel kept activating his ability, sending him back.
Abel was sure Azazel was more injured than he was. The blood coming from his arms pooled on the ground, it was enough to knock out any normal human being, but not him. He kept walking forward.
"Lose?" There was a madness in his eye, he wasn't quite there… but he was conscious, and moving his way. Abel wasn't sure this monster could be stopped, not unless he was killed. "I don't lose." Azazel was blown up one more time, and he got back up again. His left arm's bone poked through his skin, fully broken… and yet he was the one standing up.
He got closer to Abel, and all of the rooftop monitor's instincts told him to run away. This wasn't a fight he could win. He could either lose or go down with him, because Azazel was most definitely not going to lose. In that instant of hesitation, Azazel had gotten close enough to reach Abel.
"I DON'T LOSE! I AM ABSOLUTE! I ALWAYS WIN! I AM ALWAYS RIGHT! LOWER YOUR HEAD, FOR YOU ARE BELOW ME, MONGREL!" He punched Abel on the chest. Another sickening crunch followed by all of the air in Abel's chest leaving him. He was sent through the ceiling and into a classroom.
Abel took a deep breath, he felt a sharp pain inside his body. Breathing hurt, but if he didn't he would die, if he stayed where he was, he would die. The shadow of Azazel's figure obscured the light from above, as his eyes met his. Crimson orbs of madness, with no compromise.
"I-I lost, please…" Abel crawled backward, unable to stand up by himself. He blinked, and Azazel was no longer there. Like a nightmare, he'd disappeared. Abel let his back hit the ground, the gaze of everyone in the room sank into him. Hatred, amusement, satisfaction, a mixture of emotions pierced him, and that's when he understood. The gazes he'd felt before were all in his head.
He'd reached out to the sun and found out why heaven has gates. His bloodied wings could only melt in the rays of sunlight through the roof as he closed his eyes, hoping it would not be the last time.