𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒅 ;; 𝗛𝗬𝗨𝗡𝗚𝗪𝗢𝗡𝗛𝗢

𝚇𝙸𝚅

j a n u a r y 5 t h

♰ WONHO ♰

It was finally time.

Day 1 of the Duel Festives.

The names of all the contestants have been released. Out of the 1,900 students at SA, only 500 had applied, and it had been narrowed down to just 32. Two brackets would end up with one winner each (16 people in both), and those two would fight it out. The winner will receive 20 million kins [equivalent to $60 million], and a roundtrip experience of the other schools on Earth.

The first match was today, and excitement was in the air.

They had spread out the schedule so that Round 1 matches would happen over eight days - two matches a day.

The first match was between Seok Matthew, a storm elf, and Jeon Danhyuk, a water elf. And the second would be Hyungwon against Wooyoung.

The tension in the dorm this morning was valid. Neither wanted to fight the other, but they were forced to. However, Wooyoung had smiled and fluffed Hyungwon's hair, saying "Good luck to both of us. Excited to face you!"

That relaxed Hyungwon up, making his shoulders drop and his brows unfurrow.

That boy stresses too much.

"It's just, everything I try, it doesn't seem to work..." Felix was saying. The two of them were sitting by Lake Kraken, where the merpeople stayed.

"Did you ask Changbin? Isn't he close with Hyunjin as well?"

"I tried. But Changbin doesn't know either."

"All who bought tickets for the Duel Festives, please make your way to the Main Arena on Hiraeth." Headmistress Taeyeon's voice booms through the school's loudspeakers. Hiraeth was one of the two floating islands above the castle.

Mermaids and mermen started popping up from under the water, so to avoid getting splashed on, the two vampires headed to the nearest portal.

"To Hiraeth," Felix tells it. The portal turns a dark purple and they step through it.

Hundreds of students were pouring into the large Colosseum-looking arena. School guards were ushering people one by one inside. They quickly got in line, and within five minutes, entered the arena. Taking the nearest elevator, they found the seats they reserved, surrounded by their friends.

"I'm so nervous, and I'm not even fighting," Beomgyu says from Wonho's right, shaking his head.

"There are safety measures in place if that's what you're worried about," Taehyun says. "They'll make sure nobody gets badly injured or worse."

Beomgyu meets Taehyun's eyes, who's looking at him, awaiting a reply. Instead, Beomgyu's face turns a deep red and he mutters out, "O-oh yeah... l-like HM Taeyeon me-mentioned..."

"Yeah," Taehyun says, blush coating his cheeks. He turns his head away from Beomgyu and clenches his jaw, hard.

The group of friends goes very silent.

"Anyways!" Lisa says. Beomgyu looks positively relieved. "Who do y'all think is going to win?"

"Matthew, obviously," Jungkook snorts. "Danhyuk only got in because he bribed the teachers."

"LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND EVERYONE ELSE, WELCOME TO THE DUEL FESTIVES!" Yechan says from the podium in the middle of the arena. He amplified his voice with his Sound Elf abilities.

The talking and chattering stops.

"Our first match today will be between -"

"A blue butterfly!" A blonde-haired boy walks onto the stage, which is decorated to look like a forest, with trees, vines, and bushes. He stumbles forward. "Ready at your command, Mister Yechan! Oooh, what a pretty bush!"

A doctor comes running behind him. "Mister Yechan, I don't think he can compete. He has 15% alcohol in his blood."

"So whaaaaaaat? Not gonna kill me."

"Let him fight," Danhyuk says, entering the stage.

Yechan lets out a breath. "If both competitors agree, I guess we'll allow it. Okay, take your positions."

Danhyuk walks to where Yechan is. The doctor pushes Matthew forward and then leaves.

Matthew manages a shaky bow to Danhyuk.

"3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"

Yunjin teleports out, and the fight starts. Large screens appear around the arena, zooming into the competitors.

The goal was to simply knock your opponent out, trap them, or kick them out of the ring. Abilities and weapons were allowed.

Danhyuk lifts his hands, and the air around him shimmers with energy. Suddenly, droplets of water begin to condense out of thin air, swirling around him in a vortex. Then he pounces.

Matthew simply slides to the side. Before Danhyuk can recover, Matthew sticks his hands in the wave and shoots electricity through it.

Danhyuk shrieks as the current travels up his body, and Matthew sends a strong gust of wind his way, throwing him off the arena floor.

A chorus of boos go through the crowd as the winning buzzer sound plays.

"Who let him compete?" Ten whines. "That was absolutely pathetic."

"For real," Jungkook agrees, rolling his eyes.

Matthew raises his hands up to the sky. "I win, motherf -"

"OUR NEXT MATCH," Yechan quickly interrupts, teleporting back, "WILL BE BETWEEN CHAE HYUNGWON AND JUNG WOOYOUNG."

To his credit, Matthew realizes he has to leave, and (still tripping over his feet) walks off.

"That's your boyfriend," Felix whispers to him. He had been teasing Wonho nonstop, because everywhere Hyungwon seemed to go, Wonho was not far behind.

"He's not my boyfriend," Wonho hisses, turning his head to the arena floor so Felix doesn't see the slight blush starting to coat his cheeks. "Now kindly shut up."

Hyungwon and Wooyoung walk onto the stage, both looking determined.

Relief washed over Wonho, seeing the witch not being nervous.

"3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"

In an instant, the arena goes dark. Even the sky above, shielded by a force field, blacks over.

And that's when Wonho hears someone scream.

♰