Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Cassandra woke up to the sound of her alarm. She glanced at the window and sighed. "Another day to waste," she softly said. She began preparing the things that she needed and fix herself. She ate her breakfast with Abegail and Lisanna then they all went together to Academia.

Storm greeted them when they entered the school. Cassandra's eyes grew more prominent when she realized that she forgot about Storm yesterday. She blamed Sebastian because of it.

"Damn!" Cassandra whispered. They all look at her. "What happened, Cassy?" Abegail wondered.

"I'm so sorry, Storm! I forgot about you yesterday," Cassandra apologized and sheepishly smiled. Storm just laughed at her and patted her head.

"It's fine. Let's go to our room," Storm said, and they all went together. While their professor was teaching, someone spoke from the speaker of Academia.

"This is an urgent announcement. Battle of the Strongest Neophyte Champion: Cassandra Louise Reese and rank 12, Jessa Silvernia, please proceed to field 3. The match will begin today. Thank you."

Cassandra muttered a string of curses. She groaned because she wasn't prepared. Storm looked at her and mouthed, 'You can do it,' and she just smiled at him. She stood up, but before she was about to go out of the room, she looked at Sebastian. Cassandra caught him looking at her too. He was intently looking at her, so she looked away. She took a deep breath and went to field 3.

When she entered field 3, the first person she saw was her enemy, Jessa Silvernia, a witch. Lisanna said to her that Jessa was a strong witch; she uses magic that creates fire as her weapon. She was also good with swords and spells. Cassandra looked around and was surprised to see many students inside field 3 to watch them. Jessa and she both went to the center of the area.

"This field is covered of the special barriers. Any magic, incantation, or transformation is not allowed. If one will defy the rules you will be automatically out of the match. The match of strength will begin today. Submit or Fight. Good luck, fighters," the announcer said.

Cassandra looked at Jessa and prepared herself. She felt the rules were on her side today because she can fully utilize what she had learned with her friends' countless training.

Cassandra remembered what Oliver said during their training. He said to wait for the opponent to attack. Minutes had passed, but no one was moving from their spot. The crowd started booing and shouting, telling them to start fighting.

Jessa glared at the crowd, then looked at Cassandra and charge with haste. Cassandra immediately dodged Jessa's attack and jumped to the side. She rushed to her and threw a punch, but just like her, Jessa managed to avoid it too. Jessa kicked Cassandra, which she fell to the floor, but she immediately grabbed Jessa's feet, and she fell with her. Cassandra punches Jessa's face, and it was a successful attempt. Jessa grabbed both of her hands and hit her on the stomach. They were both exchanging solid punches with each other. Cassandra pulled away and took a deep breath.

The crowd cheered. Cassandra could see Sebastian from the public, watching her, but he's with Joana. She could see Joanna smiling widely while hugging her mate. Her forehead creased and momentarily lost focus on the fight. Jessa hit Cassandra, which made her snapped out of thoughts and stepped back.

"You're not paying attention," Jessa said while shrugging her shoulders. That made Cassandra smiled.

"Sorry, a bitch distracted me," Cassandra answered. She then attacks Jessa, but Jessa twisted her body and kicked her on the back. Cassandra, while smiling, avoided the kick.

"Oh. You mean, Joanna?" Jessa asked.

"Yeah. That bitch," Cassandra replied. Jessa just nodded and continued to attack her. Cassandra was about to hit Jessa, but she grabbed Cassandra's hand, and she hit Cassandra instead. Cassandra raised her feet and kicked Jessa on her abdomen, which caused her to move slightly away. Cassandra didn't stop punching Jessa until she was lying on the floor. She then moves on top of Jessa, sits on her, and repeatedly hits her with a powerful punch. They're both soaking in blood while they fought intensely.

"I never expected you to be this strong even without the transformation. You amazed me, Queen," Jessa said and smiled at her.

"Queen?" Cassandra confusingly asked, but instead of answering, Jessa just gave her a meaningful smile.

"I submit!" Jessa shouted loudly. Cassandra was shocked by what she did. The crowd cheered, but Cassandra was standing there with a confused expression while still wondering why Jessa did what she did.

"Why did you do that?!" Cassandra asked but, seeing Jessa's bloodied face, Cassandra heaved a sigh. Jessa stepped out of the field.

"The winner of this match: Cassandra Louise Reese!" the announcer shouted. Cassandra just gave a little smile and raised her hand.

"Cassandra, do you want to stay in rank 12 or do you wish to fight the current 11th ranker?" the announcer asked her.

"I'll fight," Cassandra bravely replied.

"Very well! The winner has decided. She wants to continue the battle!" the announcer shouted, and the crowd cheered. Cassandra excuse herself and went out of the field, leaving the announcer while still talking to the group. Abegail and Lisanna welcomed her with a big hug a soon as they saw her.

"Cassy! You're so amazing! We are so proud of you!" Lisanna said and smiled at her. The storm was also there and hugged her too. Cassandra thanked them all for what they did.

"So? Let's go?" Abegail said. Cassandra smiled and nodded, but then she immediately frowns. "I forgot my bag, you go ahead. I'm gonna go get it first," Cassandra said.

"Are you sure? We're just going to wait here if you want," Storm insisted, but Cassandra just shook her head and declined politely.

"No. You go ahead first. I'm just gonna get it real quick and follow you guys," Cassandra said. They all nodded and left. Before she arrived in the classroom, she saw Sebastian with their mutual friends. Oliver, Liam, and Jet congratulated Cassandra while the girls clinging around them ignored her. When she was about to enter the room, someone pulled her and hugged her from behind.

"You did great. I'm so proud of you," Sebastian whispered to her. She felt her heart beating so fast, and the butterflies from her stomach went wild.

"Blood," she slowly said. Sebastian sighed and let her go. She turned her back and was about to look at him but then he disappeared. Cassandra just smiled bitterly.

"Damn you, Blood," she sadly said.