Sora examined his B rank badge. His goal was one step closer with every promotion he got. The foes he will face will not be easy to handle. Life would be in danger more than ever, but he reminded himself that his life had been in jeopardy for almost eight years now. His answer was already on his lips.
“Hell yeah.”
The doors to the arena opened. There was some kind of commotion. Sora turned to see Sean, Jake, Zack and Katie walking into the arena. Jake and Sean were arguing as usual.
“Of course chocolate is the best. Everyone knows that!”
“Vanilla is the king of all flavours. There are more Vanilla lovers in the world than chocolate.”
“Proving that the world is made up of idiots. Chocolate overwhelms Vanilla in all aspects.”
“Vanilla can blend well with any other flavour. Its mild essence fuses perfectly with every other flavour and enhances them.”
“Yeah. But chocolate can establish its rich taste all by itself. You must be an idiot to say that vanilla is better. Maybe the smell of your own feet has messed up your sense of taste, Stinky Tyler.”
“Shut up, guys,” Zack said pointing at the people inside the arena.
Sam Lorenzo said, “Good, everyone’s here now.”
Katie said, “Why are all the S ranks here? And Sora is here as well? I thought only B ranks and better under the age of 18 had been called down here.”
“Well, as of twenty seconds ago, I’m included in that list,” Sora said as he flashed his new badge at them.
They were shocked. They turned to Steve, Sara, Sam and then Guild Master Lightshield, who all nodded.
“That was fast…” Jake said.
“But it wasn’t as if we didn’t expect it,” Sean remarked.
“How did you test him?”
Kai said, “With him.” Pointing at the guy behind him.
Zack asked uncertainly, “You tested him… with Kira? He just recently became a C rank contractor.”
Sam said with a smile, “No… that’s Alex.”
Zack stared, while Katie, Sean and Jake sniggered.
Sora looked queerly at them and then at the imposter. He then rubbed his eyes, not believing what was happening.
The imposter’s features started changing. His face started becoming bigger and paler. His body started shooting up and his iris changed to red. His limbs became longer and his hair seamlessly transcended to a white color.
But these changes were nothing compared to how his personality altered. His wide mouth gave a very big and creepy smile and he shouted in a shockingly high-pitched voice, “Zack, my darling!”
He took one long jump towards Zack, who suddenly started running away.
Sora looked helplessly at Kai. Kai said with a grin, “Look up Alex Prince in the guild database.”
Sora went to the guild member list on his G watch and found Alex Prince there. The profile picture looked like Alex’s current form. The information about him said,
Name: Alex Prince (A rank)
Age: 25
Gender: –
Sora stared at the screen. He turned to Kai and said, “Why is the gender column blank? Isn’t he a guy?”
“Nope,” Kai replied grinning.
Sora saw Alex chasing Zack around the arena shouting, “Zack, my darling! Come to me!”
“A woman?”
“No,” Kai said, unable to contain himself. He then said, “Read on.”
Sora looked at the screen again.
Contract: Doppelganger (Beast Class/ A- Grade)
His jaw dropped. He looked at Kai, who nodded and said, “I know.”
“Doppelganger! Unreal! But wait… I don’t think there’s ever been a successful contract with Doppelgangers. No one knows what it really looks like even. And isn’t Doppelganger supposed to be a beast class contract? But he was the one to transform into Kira, not a beast.”
Kai said, “That’s the catch. Seems like his dad fell in love with a Doppelganger in the form of a pretty lady.”
“Whoa! Seriously! Is that biologically possible?”
Sam said, “Afraid so. He’s living proof. His father contacted the guild when he was six. He knew that Alex had inherited the Doppelganger’s powers right after his birth. He was born a boy and was a girl after five minutes. He was trying to hide the fact that his child had the powers of a contract. But what he didn’t count on was the personality Alex is showing us now.” Zack had summoned the Phoenix Fire Sword but Alex was dodging them with almost sickening flexibility with a loving expression on his face.
“What did he do exactly?” Sora asked.
Kai and Sam looked at each other. Kai said, “This is what we heard, but we’re not sure if it’s true.”
Sam said, “Alex generally impersonated the same boy when he was sent to school by his father. But it was not easy to hide Alex’s powers. He was just a kid as well. His personality shift occurred and he…”
“He kissed another boy in his class,” Kai finished.
Sora felt sick. He felt his lunch coming up. Kai chuckled at his expression and said, “His father asked us to take him into the guild and help him control his powers. We were able to do that to a large extent, but his personality was not that easy.”
Sora kept staring at Alex and said, “So that’s how he looks?”
“Not exactly,” Kai said.
Zack was saved finally when Katie poison punched Alex because she was starting to get annoyed. But Alex didn’t falter. Instead, he turned to Katie, giving another wide grin, and shouted, “Katie, my darling!”
Now Katie was the one being chased. The poison didn’t seem to affect him at all.
Sora turned uncertainly to Kai and said, “He swings both ways?”
Sam said, “Well, he doesn’t have a specific gender. He can change into anyone he has seen or could imagine and has been doing so ever since he was born. Even the form he has now is not his real self but the most unique identity he could come up with. And we only call him a ‘he’ because this identity resembles a man more than woman.”
Zack had just recovered from the scare, but was too late to notice that Alex had already gained on Katie. He was about to catch her when a yellow beam just missed Alex’s face. Everyone whirled around to see where it had come from.
Guild Master Lightshield was pointing his finger. Sora felt cold sweat run down his back. The beam had been small, but the power behind it would’ve been lethal to anyone. It had only been for a fraction of a second, but Sora was trembling from the sheer power of the guild master’s mere index finger.
Guild Master Lightshield said, “Alex, behave yourself. We called them here for a reason. Quiet down.”
And amazingly, Alex saluted the guild master and said, “Right, boss!” He helped Katie to her feet and stood next to Sara, to whom he said, “Nice shoes.”
Steve said, “Line up here, you lot. We have something important to say to all of you.”
Sean, Katie, Zack, Jake and Sora stood in front of the guild’s elite. Master Lightshield gave a sweeping look at all of them before saying, “I’m sure you’re all wondering why you were called here. Zack and Katie may have guessed as to what it is about.”
The two looked at each other and nodded.
The guild master went on, “I have called the five of you here to inform you that we have chosen you to represent our guild in the Holy Dragon tournament.”
There was a silence. Sean, Jake and Sora looked startled. The guild master smiled and said, “I take it you three understand what I am talking about.”
They nodded. Sora was breathless. He had always wanted to participate at least once in the Holy Dragon tournament ever since he saw it on TV when he was still in Vento. The tournament brought together the strongest of guild contractors under the age of 18 to the capital city, Aboyr, in the central continent. Representatives from the guilds from all five continents would participate in a tournament in front of the princess of Gara.
Sora had seen the fights between
the young contractors in the past. His favorite by far had been the final battle between Kai and Sam nearly nine years ago. The fight ended up as the first draw in the history of the tournament.
Sam said, “The tournament will begin on the twenty-fifth of December and will go on for eight days. This early notice is to offer you a chance to be trained by us. We can guide you whenever you need guidance. But participation is totally optional. If any of you don’t wish to participate, we understand.”
None of them wanted to back out. This tournament would decide the next generation of the strongest contractors of the world. Sora could not let this chance slip by.
“We’re doing this. No way will we run away from this,” Sora blurted out what the others were thinking.
Sara said cautiously, “It will be dangerous. Are you sure?”
Steve grinned and said, “Sara, let them do it. Being a bit reckless is a part of youth.”
But Sara was not convinced. “I don’t want the same thing as last year to happen again.”
Kai became a bit grim. Sam shook his head and said, “That won’t happen. These five are stronger than the ones we sent last year. And we’ll be training them as well.”
Sora was puzzled by the sudden uneasiness in the air. He whispered to Jake, “Hey, what happened in last year’s tournament?”
Jake stared at Sora, but then said, “That’s right. You were in Blood Hill Forest at that time. Well, seven contractors under the age of 18 were sent by our guild last year. We had quite a history in the tournament, having at least one contractor reach the quarterfinals. But last year was a... disaster for us.”
Sora asked anxiously, “What happened?”
Jake appeared wary. Sora realized that everyone were quiet and listening to the conversation. Zack even had a disgusted look on his face.
Jake took a deep breath and said, “In last year’s tournament, six out of the seven contractors were knocked out in the preliminary rounds. And not just knocked out, they were annihilated. Completely destroyed. Didn’t last even one minute in the tournament. And the only one to go through, Zack, had to face the contractor, who went on to win the tournament, in the very first round after the preliminaries. It had been Lucifer’s Fall’s worst performance ever.”
Kai went on, “The guild faced one of its biggest humiliations since it was established. We were said to be one of the strongest guilds in the world, but that was just pathetic.”
“And the six contractors, who lost in the preliminaries, were so overwhelmed that they left the guild,” Sara added.
Sam also stated, “The response to it was so bad that job offers fell drastically. But somehow, we managed to hold on and regain most of our lost reputation and jobs started coming in again.”
Zack spat, “I was disgraced completely in front of the princess. My whole family was humiliated in front of all the nobles of Gara.”
“So what?”
The place went quiet again. Zack asked, “What?”
“So what? That isn’t a reason to be worried or anything,” Sora said casually. “That was a year ago. You’ve been training really hard and you are not the same person you were before. Neither are your teammates. This time, you will be supported by people you could call your equals in terms of strength and skill. Even your girlfriend is backing you now.”
“Sora!” squealed Katie.
“My point is,” Sora continued, “what the rest of the world thinks of us based on our earlier performance doesn’t matter. Heck, I hope they underestimate us. Because, I’d just love to be a dark horse and cause an upset. I am quite the sadist, you know.”
The room went silent again. Kai and Sam looked at each other and burst out laughing. Steve thumped Sora on his back saying, “Couldn’t have put it better myself, boy. Well said.”
Sara was deeply impressed. “You have a way with words, Sora.”
Zack gaped at Sora. Sora looked at Zack disapprovingly and said, “Now what kind of noble behaves like that?”
Zack grinned and clashed fists with Sora, saying, “Guess it’s payback time.”
Sora suddenly noticed a presence behind him. He jumped and whirled around to see Alex standing there with another weird grin on his face. Sora got ready to run for it, but was taken aback to see Alex bend close to him and say, “You are very strong, Sora.”
Sora didn’t know whether Alex was being serious, but he did notice that Alex was giving out a weird feel.
“Not strong enough,” Sora replied before he realized it. But Alex seemed happy and gave a salute; the same type he had given Master Lightshield, as he said, “Respect!”
As he said it, Sora noticed the serious expression on Alex’s face.
He suddenly transformed into Kira again and walked towards the elevator, leaving Sora more confused. Kai and Sam both excused themselves, saying that they had jobs to do, and chased after him.
They caught him just as the elevator door shut closed. Kai turned to Alex and said, “What was that about, Alex?”
Sam said, “The only person you’ve said, ‘respect’ to with a salute was to the Guild Master. You’ve met a number of other strong contractors in the world, but you’ve never said that to anyone else. Why Sora?”
Alex smiled and said in Kira’s voice, “It’s true. But the beast part in me told me that Sora has a power deep within him that will greatly affect the events that are to come. I had only one thought when I felt it, respect... out of fear.”
Sora and Jake visited Mrs. Titania and Mrs. Smith in the hospital a few days later with Zack and Katie. When Zack finally told them about his relationship, Mrs. Titania gave him a bone-crushing hug and whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”
Mrs. Smith was also happy. She said to Katie, “You are a lucky girl, you know that?”
She turned to Zack and said, “You should come to our home sometime. I believe you haven’t met Katie’s father yet. I’m sure he would be happy to see you.”
But the look on Katie’s face suggested otherwise.
Jake could see that Mrs. Smith was weaker than when they had met earlier. When he inquired about it, she said grimly. “Well, it’s time I told all of you and Katie as well.”
Mrs. Smith told them about her disease and how her organs would continue failing unless a very difficult surgery was performed on her.
Katie went completely white. “Mom! Why didn’t you tell me? How could you think of hiding this from me?”
“Your father and I didn’t want you to worry,” Mrs. Smith said in tears. “You were working so hard to pay for my hospital bills every day. I didn’t want you to bear more hardships than what you were already going through.”
Katie was choking up as well. “Mom, how could you ever think that it would be a burden for me? You have already done enough by getting me into contractor school and allowing me to become a guild contractor. I will never think of helping you and dad as a burden.”
Sora and Jake watched quietly, not knowing what to say to the two weeping women. But Zack stepped in. “Mrs. Smith, if you wish I could ask my family doctors to have a look at you and maybe even handle your surgery. We have the latest medical equipment and highly skilled surgeons as well.”
Mrs. Smith gasped. “I could never... ask for so much from you.”
Mrs. Titania snapped, “Oh be quiet, Jane. You should learn to accept help from others once in a while, especially if it is your daughter’s boyfriend trying to get into your good books.”
“Mother!”
Mrs. Smith did not know what to say. The boy and his mother were nobles of the highest class. But they were ready to do so much for an ordinary woman like her. She had always believed nobles to be stuck up and egoistic, but she was changing her mind about them.
The Titania medical team arrived in the hospital the next day and thoroughly examined Mrs. Smith. The head doctor, a middle aged woman, revealed that there was a much safer surgery that could be done and with higher chances of success, if performed properly. But it was a far toug
her process than usual.
Mrs. Smith was a bold lady. She agreed to the surgery without any hesitation. Katie’s father, Ryan Smith, a burly and tall man - not in the least like a person who sells flowers - was a bit sceptical about it.
But Zack, with Katie’s support, was able to persuade him. Mrs. Titania had never been so pleased about her son. They decided to perform the surgery in a week’s time.
The night before the operation, Mrs. Titania asked Sora to walk with her in the terrace.
Sora stood beneath the stars, wondering why he had been called there. The wind was a bit strong, yet strangely pleasant. Mrs. Titania arrived, draped in her pink hospital gown.
She beckoned Sora to sit next to her in one of the chairs there.
She took in the night’s breeze before she began speaking. “Such a wonderful night, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Sora said as the wind blew on his face.
Sora realized that there was a sense of security around him whenever he was with Mrs. Titania. The feeling had been hard to understand. He still could not figure out why he felt so warm and at peace whenever he was in her presence.
“Sora, I know I’ve already told you this many times, but thank you for everything you have done for my son.”
Sora replied, “And I have also told you many times, Mrs. Titania, that it was nothing.”
Mrs. Titania smiled. “I know. But I would have never expected Zack to do so much for the Smiths, despite them being commoners. He has truly become a noble.”
There were a few minutes of silence. Then, Mrs. Titania finally said earnestly, “Sora, whatever happens in the future, could you promise me this one thing? Could you promise me that you will always be Zack’s trusted friend? I know there are still a few rough edges and he may be a bit difficult at times. But please, don’t leave him alone. I want you to always be there for him and support him. Can you do that, please?”
Sora replied, “You don’t even need to ask, Mrs. Titania. He is a precious friend of mine. I will always be there for him.”
Sora thought he saw a few tears run down her cheek as she pulled him to her and gave another warm hug. A hug that was so warm that it could almost break all of Sora’s hate and anger inside his heart.
Contractor: The Legendary Contract of Vento Page 25