Kaito didn't really know how everything happened so fast. The class, the duel, meeting Amara, and now he was in the room in the first basement with two girls and a barbarian who hated him.
"What the fuck is going on in this academy?" said Hakon sitting on his bed holding his head with both hands.
"This has to be a mistake! It's absurd!" said Saphyra on the bed on the other side covering herself completely with her blanket.
Teodora, on the other hand, was in a bed next to Sahpyra's reading a book without caring about anything else that was around her. It was as if she was alone in that room.
"Guys, I know that usually they separated the rooms by ranks and sex and that it's all kind of messed up now-" Kaito tried to improve the situation a little
"Messed up? This is not a mess! It's a catastrophe! Everyone is outraged by this situation and yet they ignored us and shooed us to our rooms!" said Saphyra uncovering herself.
"I know, Saphy-"
"Don't call me that!"
"But I think it's late, so they just sent us to bed. We'll see about that tomorrow.”
"There might not be a tomorrow for a lot of people this way," said Hakon staring at Kaito.
"They put Theo in the same room as Gael! You know Gael who was in The Five Phoenixes?! What can those high ranks do to us?!" exclaimed Saphyra.
Kaito looked at the mage, raised his eyebrows and directed her gaze to Teodora. Saphyra followed his look and jumped briefly. Teodora was one of The Five Phoenixes.
"I don't mind having people of different sexes together."
Teodora's voice sounded crystal clear. The necromancer closed the book in her hands and looked at each one, ending at Kaito, who received a cold wave coming from the quartanist.
"The separation by gender or ranks is something that only bothers those who are still on this plane. I have overcome all these artificialities coming from the flesh. What I cannot tolerate is sharing a room with you, rank F."
Everyone's gaze fell on Kaito, who couldn't quite understand what that meant.
"You mean you believe the rumor that I steal powers and all that?"
"I'm not a fool to think you steal powers and little could bother me your rank. But the truth is that you being here stole the opportunity from someone better. Someone who deserved it and tried harder."
"So you're telling me that I can't be here because I'm weak? Because if that's so, just know that I passed the exam honestly.”
"I didn't say that you are weak. I know you have some strength and from the duel and test results you are not just anyone. Still..." Theodora wanted to speak more, but she took a deep breath and leaned back against the headboard of her bed, reopening the book next "Forgive my words. Even though I am the spokeswoman for the souls, I still catch myself with these feelings of the living. Just don't talk to me and everything will be fine."
Kaito tried to understand the girl and felt like going deeper, but he didn't like to be invasive. He would find the right moment to understand Teodora.
Saphyra stood up and grabbed her clothes and towel from inside her bag, already turning to Kaito and Hakon.
"I'm going to take a shower and I don't want to see you two near the bathroom!"
"Are you crazy, girl?! There are two bathrooms! Why the hell would I want to see you showering?" as he finished speaking Hakon received an intense look from Teodora, who just stared at him for a brief moment "I mean... I don't want to see either of you!"
"I don’t care! No peeking!"
"You can take your bath quietly, Saphy. No one here would do that. It's too low." Kaito looked at the barbarian and quickly amended "at least I don't think most would."
"Do you want to die right now, Bloodless?!"
Despite all the strangeness of that situation, Kaito was relieved. It was strangely interesting the way all the rooms were arranged and he wondered why Selize had done that. That night would be hectic and he was sure that the trouble would be bigger in the morning.
* * *
It was still early when all the students and several parents were gathered in the gymnasium of the academy. The problems in the rooms seemed to have reached the parents and the council very quickly, creating an emergency meeting first thing in the morning
Kaito knew things were going to be hectic, but he didn't expect it to be this much. There were some lower rank students injured from sleeping in the same room as higher ranks. What impressed him most was that no one complained about the mixed rooms, but rather that they were of different ranks.
"That's quite a problem, isn't it Kaito?" said Bairon next to him.
"That's a lot of trouble. I stayed in the same room as Elynor. There was me, him and three other low ranks. By the way, Kaito, your brother is very nice!" said Opame who was on the other side of Kaito.
"First, yes, Ely is great. Second, shouldn't you two be together with your class?"
"Oh, I should, right? But they are soooo annoying... look at them over there.... Annoying B ranks! I'd rather stay close to you two." Opame replied.
"My class hates me. They think I'm some kind of bank with infinite money." said Bairon after a sigh.
All the students were facing the stage that had guild council members, academy council members, parent representatives and last in the corner, sipping a bottle of wine sitting totally quiet was Principal Selize, who didn't seem to care about anything that was going on there.
When everything seemed ready, a blue-haired woman stands up, goes to the microphone and huffs before starting to speak in her thin voice.
"I am Gisele Aninbar and I come here to represent the complaints of parents about the abuses that Principal Selize Salibar has been doing using her power inside the Phoenix Academy! After principal Selize took over this position of such responsibility we have seen all kinds of abuses! First the academy opened up classes for C ranks, and now we even have an D rank class! High ranks have to live with lower ranks because of this woman's tyranny!"
A chorus of students and adults began to applaud and support her speech. Kaito looked around and realized that only the low ranks kept quiet. Since the academy had many more high ranks than low ranks, they were at a huge disadvantage.
"And more than that! Principal Selize has set up a system where high rank students share rooms with lower rank students! Can you imagine having to share a space with low rank? An S rank is in the same room as a D rank! That is an abuse! It's unparalleled absurdity!"
"She must be talking about Elynor, right?" asked Bairon.
"No. Elynor couldn't care less about this rank stuff. If there's someone she's talking about..." Kaito directed his gaze to Azhur, who was further ahead with a hard, confident expression "it must be some brainless S rank out there."
The higher ranks continued to support the woman's speech even more and at that moment that Kaito noticed something. At the back of the gym was a group of adults who were quiet and with their heads down. He understood who they were in the same instant. Those were the parents of the low ranks. Sharpening his gaze even more he could see his parents and his sister there, but unlike the others, they stared at what was said with hatred in their gaze.
"And there’s more! The worst has happened! There's a F rank in that academy! A Bloodless! A being that should not be seen by the eyes of any other rank! A kind of being that should die already in the act of class revelati-"
Before she could finish her speech, four powerful energies made the place shake. Kaito knew them well. He had trained with them. One was his mother, who exuded her power through her skin along with Eleanora, who put her hand on the hilt of her sword controlling herself not to kill that woman. His father seemed calmer, but around him there was lightning, fire and a strong wind forming, driving everyone who was there away from the three.
But the worst and most angry seemed to be Elynor, who had a powerful purple energy around him overtaken by lightning that was spreading like a storm cloud about to fall on everyone.
"Calm your tempers, my darlings. I know this lady says many... unwanted things, but she's not worth anyone's time." said Principal Selize already in front of the microphone and taking the right to speak.
"I didn't... I'm not finished talking!" the woman protested.
"Do you really want to finish? Because I can't guarantee that I or the guild leaders can save you from their wrath." Selize replied.
The woman looked at the four and then turned to the guild leaders, who were sitting there without much bother. Realizing that she would not be protected, the woman put her head down and walked away from the microphone, leaving it to Selize.
The principal placed the bottle of drink on top of the lectern, stared at all those people for a while, gave a tired sigh, and began to speak.
"How about make things right? Fist of all, I think our representative was so angry that she forgot the formalities." she turned to the three guild leaders present and gave a tired smile "I want to thank the guild leaders, Ramom Novarres of Blood Roar, Nianly Celenar of Superior Knowledge and Jannet Ether of Vorpal Blade. Despite the absence of the other two remaining leaders I am immensely grateful for your presence."
Kaito looked at the leaders closely and with just a glance he realized that they were very powerful beings. Everything about them exuded more than just power, they exuded a certain authority. He knew that two were S ranks and one was an A rank, but they must have been matured and had a lot of combat experience in all kinds of situations, which only made them even more powerful.
Ramom Novarres had red, long, messy hair, like a mane. He had a rather thin beard and dressed like a mighty warrior. Nianly Celenar was certainly a cleric and perhaps the only one who had ever been a guild leader. Her skin was like silk, and her huge braided hair and eyes were light yellow. Jannet Ether was the only A rank rare class, being a dark green haired and green eyed Assassin with several vine rings on her fingers.
Selize turned to the huge audience that was against her and faced them head on.
"I know many don't like my direction. Many people were shaken when I beat the former director and re-invited his position. If you are so angry with the way I run the academy, then I invite all of you into the arena to take my position!"
The principal's provocation came with a confident smile, and soon the entire gymnasium was overrun with criticism from angry parents and students.
"You can't do that!"
"It's absurd! An abuse!"
"You took that position by force!"
Kaito felt the pressure in that place rising more and more each moment, but something surprised him. Opame was looking at the director with great admiration in her eyes. That was more than just a liking, her friend was defining her path right there.
"The principal is pretty amazing, isn't she...?"
That made Kaito smile. To him Selize Salibar was indeed someone to be admired. A woman above ranks and more powerful than any kind of blood force.
"Yeah... she's amazing."
Selize waited for the audience's anger to subside as she calmly sipped her wine, and then continued.
"It's absurd for me to say such things, isn't it? I took direction by force and I am daring anyone to do the same. But I ask you all, did I create these rules or did the world have them?" the principal's question made the whole place silent at once "I only used what our world created. What bothers you? Me taking direction or an A rank beating a S rank? Is that really what should bother you?"
"Stop playing dumb! You know very well that this meeting is for the things you have allowed! C and D ranks at the Phoenix Academy! An F rank here! Mixed dorms! One catastrophe after another!" replied the leader of the parent association next door in shouts.
"Ah, so it's a mistake for me to call lower ranks to the academy? That's wrong, isn't it?" teased Selize.
"It's absurd! A tragedy!" replied the leader.
"Then why are you, a C rank, here speaking to a bunch of people more powerful than you?"
The audience stared at the association leader with heavy stares as she stepped back.
"That... that has nothing to do with it! What we're talking about is the reputation of the academy."
"But your son joined the academy five years ago. He was also rank C and graduated here. I just thought that since we accept the lower ranks by taking money from them, how about just creating a class right away?"
The audience began to judge further the woman who had a terrified expression on her face cringing in her chair.
"But this is... this is different..."
"Then let's do it this way..." Selize addressed everyone in the auditorium and pointed to Kaito, who had been taken aback "I was going to announce this later, but I'll do it now. Every month there will be a battle between the classes! The ranks will face each other! If the lower ranks win, they will move up in the academy, with better rooms and equipment. Let's do it as we do the tradition for the fifth-years, but this time it will be a competition independent of the year."
Everyone began to protest, until a father asked aloud.
"What if the low ranks lose?"
Selize showed a clever smile, as if he had expected that question.
"If C, D or E ranks lose, they will be relegated. Those who are relegated below class D will have their class closed. If all three classes cease to exist by these rules, I will remove myself from the board of directors of the Phoenix Academy!" she bends over the palanquin, as if staring everyone down with her overwhelming presence "How about it? Isn't that an interesting game?!".
