Canaan Club - 21. Chapter 21

Zoel snickered as he stared the blond superhuman down. “Go ahead. Use those dumb eye beams of yours again. I’ll make sure to deflect them into one of your buddies’ hearts this time.”

“I don’t need them to put you down!” Rafe scoffed, watching the gamma wolf closely.

His surroundings disappeared, looking for the subtlest signature of when his opponent will come after him. Eventually, there was a brief gleam in Zoel’s dark eyes, and this time, Rafe was ready when the older male finally charged. His lackeys, Kodan and Radulf de Boule, did as well, but he didn’t pay them any mind. Joe could take care of himself, but he made sure to keep a close eye on Andre.

Zoel was fast on his feet, but the blond was able to move his head back away from the punch aimed at his nose. The gamma kept up with his attacks, throwing fists and legs at him every which way. Rafe did the same, skillfully switching between offense and defense each second.

Meanwhile, Joe was duking it out with Kodan. Being the leaner of the twins, his movements were quick, and that speed packed a lot of pain. However, the Ares superhuman’s height and thin, muscular build were able to aid in countering those near-instant jabs with well-placed blocks.

“You know, for someone so ugly, you’re pretty good at tossing those bigass paws at me,” Joe taunted as he traded blows with the auburn-haired de Boule twin, going a distance away from the others. “Why don’t you put more effort into your looks?”

“I’m gonna rip out at filthy tongue of yours for that, you little shit!” the wolf spat, and the younger boy had to tilt his head a bit to dodge spittle.

“You’re gonna have to catch me first!”

Back near outside the gift shop, Andre slowly inched away from the towering beast, who snarled down at the omé, the couple of scars across his mouth becoming more pronounced.

“No choice left but to fight, whelp. Either bare tooth and claw or your neck!”

Andre couldn't help it. A spike of annoyance welled up in his stomach as he rolled his eyes, huffing out, “You’re gonna wanna fight regardless. I don’t get it. Why do you guys need to prove you’re all big and tough to a bunch of teenagers? We already got that before lunch.”

It was just one of those lines he’s heard before growing up with a bunch of higher-ups who thought they were entitled to unconditional respect and worship just because they sat at a more important status.

“I don’t think you understand, whelp,” Radulf spat pompously. “We are going to prove our point to you creatins, but we’ll also be eliminating a potential threat to our club. Cain wouldn’t let us do shit about it, but we’re not gonna let any loose ends be left untied once we get what we want.”

“Cain? What loose ends? What are you even talking about?”

Sounds like there was turbulence where Cain was concerned. Those kinds of complaints harked back to the grievances he’d catch several tribesmen murmur about Alpha Renkin during a bender.

“Enough talk!” the enormous gamma clenched his meaty fists and crouched. “Either put ‘em up or shut up!”

Up ahead, Rafe evaded a punch targeted at his neck, stepping back behind Zoel before delivering one of his own. The wolf, without even looking, sidestepped the attack, having it glide under his elbow before clasping onto Rafe’s arm like a baseball bat. With that, he raised the superhuman and pitched over his shoulder. Rafe grunted as he quickly regained control over his body, flipping over to land right-side up.

However, as he straightened himself, Zoel was already in front of him, swinging a leg at his head. Rafe’s body moved on instinct, ducking the attack and shifting behind the gamma once more, leaping forward in hopes of shoving a knee into his enemy’s back. Zoel was too fast on his face, unfortunately, spinning around and crashing his knee against the superhuman’s own.

He snickered as he watched Rafe grit his teeth in pain and fury.

“Expected to get a fast one on me, eh?” the wolf jeered. “I didn’t expect you to do so well on your own, but it’s not gonna last for long!”

And once again, Rafe was on the defensive, his arms in an “X” as his opponent’s limbs became a whirlwind of punches and kicks, pushing the blond back further and further down the floor corridor. Several bystanders watched on as Zoel tried to break through the first-year’s defenses.

“Not so tough now, are ya, monkey!? My battle experience is leagues above anything you’ve ever been through! What’d you do back at your gazillion-dollar mega-mansion!? Drink wine and get expensive manicures!? Wouldn’t want to break a nail!”

The gamma wolf rambled on as he continued his assault. And even as Rafe’s arms throbbed, alarm bells went off in his head. How did this guy know he was from the Coat?

A sudden bout of power stemming from his growing anger and confusion exploded in the form of a shout, and Zoel was promptly blown back by the wind pressure. The lingering people watching on were not only driven back but were forced to clasp their hands against their ears as if there was a blaring noise.

“Ooh!” Zoel grinned mockingly even as he winced and stumbled back. “I see you’ve taken inspiration. Is that how loud you’ll scream when I’m done swatting your ass like a naughty child?”

“Fuck off!” the blond growled. “Who’s your source!?”

The gamma answered by lunging for the underclassman with a ready punch. As he approached, though, something in his mind just… shifted. Like the pieces of a puzzle rearranging to fit in another part. The quality of his vision brightened, and for a moment, he cursed, believing his body was using its optic lasers on its own and making him go blind in the process.

But then everything became much clearer.

Unexpectedly, Zoel’s fist was a lot simpler to avoid, effortlessly adjusting his head only a couple of degrees. Despite how big the wolf’s knuckles were, he didn’t touch Rafe at all. The latter slapped his hand away and swung a left uppercut at his opponent’s chin. Of course, it missed, but when the older male hammered down at him again, it was as if Rafe knew the wolf would make that move. By speedily lowering himself, he was able to curl over to the left side of Zoel’s right arm and try again for another strike at his face.

It sailed past but not without some connection. A droplet of blood spilled out onto the knuckle of Rafe’s right middle finger, having sliced a sizable cut into the upperclassman’s cheek. Both were so surprised that they backed away from one another to survey the damage.

A smirk twitched to life on Rafe’s lips as he watched Zoel dumbfoundedly swipe at the leaking wound. Where the abrupt clairvoyance came from, he didn’t know, but he was glad to wipe that smug look off the asshole’s ugly mug.

Zoel glared at the crimson staining the tip of his index finger before turning it to the smiling superhuman. “What’s with that look? You think a cut on the cheek’s gonna be enough to put me down!?”

“Nah. I was hoping the meltdown over a lowly first-year spilling the blood of an ‘astute’ werewolf such as yourself would do all that for me.”

In his heart, Rafe knew he couldn’t possibly beat the ninth-year wolf on his own, but he wanted to take the guy down a few pegs before he went down. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several bystanders holding out cellphones in front of their faces, recording every second of their battle and the words exchanged.

“Fucking brat! If you wanted blood, all you had to do was beg!” the gamma sneered.

As Rafe prepared himself, “it” happened again.

This time, rather than Zoel charging, the blond was the first to dart forward with a ferocious flurry of fists at a faster pace. His adversary was clearly getting frustrated, but he was still able to shirk most of the barrage. Rafe found himself thrown again, the older male repeating a maneuver used earlier in their fight, but this time, the blond bounced back a lot quicker.

“Is that all!?” Rafe scoffed as he launched a left cross midair, which Zoel bowed to evade, but an unexpected sneaker to the nose had his head snapping back, spit flying upward with a pained groan.

The blond flipped backward, landing on one foot to propel himself toward the gamma, slamming a solid punch into his midsection. The force sent him spiraling backward, and he almost barreled straight into an onlooker if he hadn’t skidded to a stop on all fours. A small trail of blood dribbled out the corner of the gamma’s mouth, much to the blond superhuman’s delight.

“Is this the part where I get on my knees?”

Predictably, his face twisted up into a livid snarl, roaring, “Motherfucking fuck!”

Unpredictably, when he sprung forth in rage, it felt like Rafe was struck by a large, speeding bullet. And he’s been shot many times in his life. However, none knocked the breath out of him as this did. When he refocused, a chop to the back of the head made him lurch forward. The wolf, suddenly faster now, zipped around the boy, bombarding the first-year with swift jabs.

“Try getting in any more lucky shots now!” Zoel spat, concentrating on beating Rafe’s face to a pulp.

Joe was having a bit more luck. And a little more fun.

At some point, Kodan started shooting fireballs out of his mouth like some kind of dragon. Joe was startled until he recalled Andre mentioning that werewolves had an affinity to fire. So, logically, to put out that fire, one would need a fire extinguisher, right?

Currently, he was riding atop a hefty fire extinguisher he had found near the end of the hall, its discharge powerful enough to act as a hoverboard. Combined with Joe’s flight, he was able to surf and weave through the oncoming spheres of flames while snuffing them out at the same time.

“I hope you don’t mind me by asking this, dude,” Joe yelled to Kodan as he soared throughout the corner of the corridor they were in, “but, have you burnt down a house or two as a kid? I mean, have you seen that picture of that little girl standing in front of a burning house and looking at the camera with a smile on her-”

Kodan wasn’t listening, breathing in and shooting a blast of fiery energy when first-year got close. Joe quickly spun around, hopped off the cylinder’s surface, and reached over to give the trigger a particular, hard squeeze. It was strange how these things worked. It figured that they weren’t regular extinguishers since nothing in Ironward was the norm, but it was like using an actual flamethrower but for smoke. When the contents came into contact with the fireball, the latter was dowsed almost instantly in an eruption of fumes.

Kodan cackled, brushing back his reddish-brown hair. “How was that, motor-mouth?”

“You know, I never thought fire could actually smell bad, man,” Joe walked out of the smoke with his nose pinched between his fingers, the fire extinguisher in the other hand. “But you do spew a lot of bullshit, so…”

“You-”

“Hold that thought. Let me use my handy, magic air freshener.”

Before the wolf could blink, Joe sped forward and fired off several shots at his chest. The air bubbles, more pressurized the harder the noirette squeezed the trigger, were able to shove Kodan back until he was against the wall, and even then, Joe kept blasting him.

His twin only had slightly better luck, being on the attack instead. However, Andre proved to be adept at dodging, using his senses to weave around Radulf’s slashing of his black claws.

“Pretty sprightly for an omé! I can’t tell if that's more irritating or fitting!” Radulf let out a breathy chuckle as he tried to lacerate the omé.

“I prefer nimble. Or spry,” Andre suggested as if he wasn’t in the middle of dancing away from his opponent’s lethal-looking talons. “I’ve definitely been called that before.”

“How about pussy-footed?”

“Fitting you’d say that.”

Andre would have rolled his eyes if the bigger wolf hadn’t then come at him with his teeth, razors that would tear his throat out with a single bite. The omega reached for the closest object, which happened to be an empty plastic trashcan, and used it as a shield. The material was putty in the mouth of the beastly werebeing, ripping half of it out and spitting the chunk out as if it had bad taste.

“At least, it’s good to see you acknowledged who your superiors are,” Radulf wiped at his mouth. “Yet, you’re still fighting us instead of baring your neck.”

“I would, but your leader said he’d beat up my friends anyway. I don’t want to fight you. I never want to fight because I hate hurting people, but you guys never seem to get that message.”

But it always crossed his mind. Rafe didn’t know it, but Andre was just as protective as the superhuman was of him. Or, at least he liked to think so. If he had to bring pain to save his acerbic best friend…

“That…” Radulf let his head fall and shake as a dark snicker seeped out, “is a kindness nobody should deserve. I’ve heard Graybite was a dangerous and demanding place to live. I’m almost jealous. But how a pup like you survived for so long is beyond me. That attitude will get you and your buddies killed if you’re not willing to spill a little blood for them.”

The large wolf raced forward, and Andre flinched back before he was cleaved in half. A sharp pain resonated in his front thigh, a clean cut in his jeans. The omé briefly cried out, but hurriedly slammed a hand to his mouth, hoping it wouldn’t distract Rafe.

“You might have a death wish, but can the same be said for your friends?” Radulf grinned, yellowing teeth glinting menacingly.

Against Andre’s wishes, Rafe had been close enough to hear his friend’s distress. He and Zoel had eventually made their way back around close to the gift shop. The gamma leader’s healing had kicked in, and Rafe was back to square one.

“Andre! Hold up!” the blond made to dive over to him, but was cut short when a ball of fire blew up in his path.

“Not so fast!” Zoel pointed, whisps of smoke streaming out his mouth. “I’m not done beating your face in, ape!”

Radulf snorted. “That’s right. Nobody to help you while I’m whipping you into shape.”

He lunged for the omé, his arms over his head in a double ax. “Let’s start with-”

But before he could make it midway, a large cube of metal conjured out of nowhere collided with the gamma’s back, crushing him to the ground and indenting the hard floor. It didn’t totally flatten the wolf, but it was mostly unmoving on top of him.

“Holy…” Andre suddenly felt a presence beside him and looked right to find Daeran with his finger pointed in Radulf’s direction. “Daeran? Did you do that?”

“Y-Yeah. I use a little magic. I don’t exactly have a good handle over it, but I hope it’s enough to keep him down for a bit,” he said, but then he blanched as he took a second look at Radulf’s seemingly lifeless form under the metal weight. “Oh, god. I killed him, didn’t I? Please tell me I didn’t kill him.”

At that moment, the cube shifted the tiniest centimeter when Radulf promptly awoke from his comatose and grounded out, “W-What the… fuck!?”

The two first-years sighed in relief.

“No, he’s good,” Andre said. “Are the others okay?”

“Safe and sound in their rooms. I tried getting a teacher to come with me, but they ignored me or asked me where the fight was happening. You know, I think they actually want us to die in this school. I bet they’ll find that real entertaining.”

An explosion from down the wide corridor rocked the area, and in the next moment, Joe came flying out, skidding backward on his feet and grasping tightly onto a charred fire extinguisher.

“Damn,” he shook the cylinder, wafts of smoke billowing around it. His attention then flitted between his friends and the metal cube pressing down on Radulf. “Oh, hey! Roomie’s back. And that wasn’t there before.”

Daeran scratched the back of his neck. “Guilty as charged.”

“You can turn invisible, and you can summon blocks. Plus, you bought all those potions. You’ve gotta be a wizard, bro.”

“Not even close, man.”

“Hey! Get that off my brother or else!”

Their sights went back to the situation at hand. Kodan stood before them, his eyes glowing in anger as he gestured to his brother, still cursing and trying to shirk the weight on him.

“A hundred bucks in guessing what the ‘or else’ might entail,” Joe joked, but Andre’s awareness was on the flaming background behind the twins.

“Isn’t this place gonna burn down?”

Nobody seemed to be concerned that a literal fire was brewing in the middle of the second-floor corridor. And the culprit was too busy attempting to ram the cube off.

“Hold on, Rad!”

That was when the last duo came into view. The three first-years watched on as Rafe and Zoel went at each other, fighting tooth and nail for the upper hand. Rafe might have been lesser in size than his adversary, but that remained irrelevant as he picked up a rhythm of deflecting an attack and returning one twice as hard. He was scratched up, and his flannel shirt was beginning to fall apart at the arms, but his focus was unwavering from the battle he was in.

“That’s amazing!” Joe gawked. “Rafe’s really keeping up this time. The last time, the both of us couldn’t even make him bend. Now, Raf’s just barely keeping him on his toes.”

Andre was astounded as well. Despite having seen his friend in action many a time, this was way different. “It’s like… he’s getting used to the way Zoel fights.”

Like he was reading the gamma’s movements with each passing moment.

“Adapting to it?”

Andre nodded in confirmation.

Unfortunately, the superhuman wouldn’t reach the higher ground.

“Enough of this!”

Several veins pulsating on Zoel’s neck and face became more prominent in his irritation. His movements picked up speed, and soon he was slinging the blond away with a nasty haymaker. It sent Rafe spiraling into the metal cube, his impact with it giving just force to help Kodan shove the thing off his twin brother.

Andre and the others were instantly by his side.

“Raf! Your arms.”

The cloth around them had ripped away to reveal purpling bruises and abrasions from hits he blocked. Even so, the blond shrugged it off and rolled his neck. “It’s not as bad as it looks. I still got a lot of fight left in me.”

“That was awesome, bro! How the hell were you keeping up with him for a minute there?” Joe asked.

“I… I don’t know. It just… clicked for me.”

He wondered if that “snapshot” thing from Magic Manipulation class had anything to do with it.

“Then, it’s a shame you won’t ever find out.”

Before them, Zoel, Kodan, and Radulf stood, a pillar of fire casting a shadow over the lupine trio, sinister and foreboding beings ready to smite the cluster of lesser creatures.

“It’s about time we dealt with all of you in one fell swoop. Boys!” Zoel declared.

“Yes, sir!”

“Let’s finish this!”

Kodan and Radulf responded respectively prior to raising their hands alongside their leader. The already sizzling atmosphere increased to sweltering levels as boiling energy gathered into a large, scorching sphere of fire. Its appearance was akin to a mini-sun.

“That’s going to blow up the whole place,” Andre stated matter-of-factly even though he was totally freaking out on the inside.

Remembering he had a fire extinguisher, Joe aimed the hose at the blazing orb and pulled the trigger, but only a short cloud fanned out. “Shit! Outta juice.”

Zoel guffawed, looking like a supreme overlord enjoying the desolation and despair of his victims. “Say goodbye, squirts!”

Their lives were going to end in a violent, seething death of pure heat.

But then in a flash, the temperature returned to normal. And the giant, fatal fireball was gone, along with the background flames, black smoke included. It left behind the blackened surface of the floor, side walls, and ceiling. Even a few windows in the vicinity were melted off.

“What the-” Zoel and his lackeys glanced around in utter bewilderment. The first-years were just as puzzled, too. “How the fuck!? Which one of you-”

“Looking for this?”

All eyes went behind the trio to spot Bones, who leaned against an unscathed part of the wall with the worn-out stuffed bunny Joe noticed in one hand, and a miniature globe of fire hovering over the other.

Zoell blinked, not quite believing what he was witnessing. “Who the hell are you!? You with them, too!?”

Instead of answering the gamma, Bones moved back and settled his stuffed animal on a nearby, practically liquified window stool. “Stay here and fix all this up for me, Weeny. I’ll be right back.”

“Weeny?” Joe muttered.

Rafe wanted to laugh, but he was curious as to what the mysterious first-year was about to do. Could he fight?

“Goddamnit!” Zoel stomped his booted foot like a child in the midst of a tantrum. “I’m so sick and fucking tired of you little brats thinking you can get a one up on us! None of you are getting out of this alive!”

Bones paid no mind to the raging werewolf, his attention on the orb levitating above his palm.

“I think he’s ignoring you, man,” Kodan realized while Radulf snarled animalistically.

That made the livid ninth-year start marching toward the younger boy, drawing back the sleeves of his leather jacket. “Hey! I’m speaking to you, bitch-”

“Talk to the hand,” Bones stated nonchalantly before turning his palm to point at the three louts…

…and unleashed the full force of the absorbed energy onto them in a torrent of red-orange flames. The sudden inferno had everyone diving back as it carried the screaming trio and rocketed towards the other end of the corridor. And even when it reached the wall, the force of it instantly smashed through the surface, drilling a sizable opening to the outside of the main building.

There were screams, most likely from the spectators on the outside being surprised by the abrupt firestorm, but they were faint, overshadowed by the sizzling and crackling of the flames. And just as fast as the fiery stream came to be, it dissipated until nothing but embers and black smoke were left in its wake.

“What the hell!?” a grating voice rang out. “Those cursed dogs again and their ludicrous tricks!”

The four ambled up to the hole in the wall and peeked down to find the three stunned gammas in a tangled mess, the broken remains of a table around them. A horde of some goblins, green-skinned and big-eared humanoids, surrounded them, cross and glaring.

“That… was cool, bro,” Joe gawked.

Andre spun around and waved at their rescuer. “Thanks for the save, Bones.”

As expected, the boy dismissed the gratitude with a click of his tongue. “Don’t thank me. Just take your little squabble somewhere else. I’m trying to study and those damn explosions are not helping.”

“Sure that’s not just a coverup for playing with your dollies?” Rafe had to retort.

The guy really couldn’t accept a simple “thanks,” could he?

Bones shook his head. “Eat shit.”

Joe inspected the trio closely and noted that they only seemed dazed more than injured. Their wounds sustained in the fight have mostly healed up due to their natural lupine abilities.

“They don’t look that hurt, though. Must be that fire affinity thing?” he turned to Andre for validation.

“If there aren’t any magical properties to change that, then yeah.”

“Then, we better get outta here while we still can. I don’t wanna deal with them and a bunch of angry goblins.”

“But what about-” Daeran cut himself short when he spun around.

What was once a corridor that was singed to the brink of collapse was now an unblemished, sparkling area, as if a battle had never taken place there to begin with. Back at Dalhia Diner, it had taken thirty minutes to return the place to normal, but this was instantaneous.

“It’s fixed? But we just looked away for a few seconds,” Joe looked around in awe before settling on their retreating classmate. “Bones?”

The four gobsmacked first-years could only stare as Bones grabbed Weeny from the repaired window stool and nodded before giving his peers a flippant glance.

“You lot really need to stop getting into battles you can’t win.”