No More Pain For This Villain.

Hmm, so... is this all because I did something different?

Is this the butterfly effect? Because if so, then this is a mind-blowing effect.

"You see that?" I pointed as I asked Erik, who was now awake.

"Y-yeah. Anyways! Why'd you do that?" He asked immediately. I'm more impressed that he didn't shift away from me.

"You wanted to fight me?" I asked.

"...No," he took a moment before answering.

"Then leave it as it is," I shrugged.

"But still..." He let out a defeated sigh before turning his face forward.

"Just be happy that you are going to Mage's Gambit with me," I patted his back, trying to inject some reassurance into my voice.

Now, back to the stage. What we were witnessing was—

"Aghhhhhh!" screamed the guy as Aron plunged the spearhead out of his thigh.

Aron wasn't in great shape himself; his arm was broken, blood ran down his back, and his torn top revealed the extent of his injuries.

This match was long, not gonna lie, and I'm not even complaining.

"Just say you're happy that you're not the only one who'll be hated on the team," Blaze quickly caught on, his tone teasing.

Which is true. Aron doesn't have a good reputation in the academy, so him being on the team would actually neutralize the effect quite a bit.

"Aron Velcrow! Won!" The announcer's voice echoed across the arena.

I'll make sure to find out what's going on with him behind the scenes because his strength is quite unsettling.

Tap*

"Hm?" I saw Erik tap on my shoulder and then point backwards, his tone a mix of surprise and curiosity.

I turned to see—

"Oh, shit," I cursed a bit, my voice betraying a hint of worry.

Raven was calling for me, almost shouting. She left her seat to get to a corner, calling my name.

Everyone's attention was on her as she leaned against the arena wall, looking down at me with a mix of concern and frustration.

"She's calling," he said.

"I can see it," I sighed.

I don't want to talk right now because it's going to get messy—I don't even blame her for her reaction, to be honest. It's natural to get scared after seeing such a thing and wanting to avoid me.

I stood up and began walking towards her; it's going to be the same as always. I'll just let her say her piece because explaining won't do any good; it's better to let it go without any friction.

Still, it was good being her friend. All those dates, the places we went, and the talks we had made me feel like a normal high school student. I'm grateful for that too.

I approached the wall, seeing Raven shaking—she was shaking.

"Hey," I waved up at her.

The students weren't allowed in the arena at this moment, so it's not like she can come down too.

She let out a deep breath.

Here comes the—

"Where are you hurt?" she asked softly.

"Huh?" What did she say?

"Are you hurt? Should I get something for you? Water? Why didn't you go to a professor and ask them to treat that wrist wound? It's bleeding! And how stupid are you to not take the weapon into the Arena and what kind of—" She began leaning forward more and more with each rant, her words cascading as she leaned forward, her voice escalating with each passing moment. I could see her concern turning into frustration, her body trembling with emotions, and her eyes displaying a mix of worry and exasperation.

"..." I felt like I was just slapped right across my face.

"You—" she stopped in the middle of her sentence as her eyes followed me.

It took a single jump to get enough leverage to be able to grab the ridge of the wall and pull myself near her.

"Here," I showed her the wound; it was on my wrist. The whole sword had passed through it. The bone hurt quite a bit, but I thought it'd be fine for some reason. The wall surrounding us was made of rough stone with slight moss clinging to the edges. The seats in the arena were arranged in orderly rows, made of polished wood, with a few cushions scattered on them. The subdued lighting from overhead lamps cast gentle shadows across the area.

"That's too deep!!!" She panicked as she looked around but then immediately ran back.

I saw her running through the seats towards the one she was already sitting on. She picked up a bag that was placed on her seat. Huffing while her robes fluttered here and there, she brought back the heavy-looking bag and placed it in front of me. "Get down from the wall!" she scolded.

I said nothing as I immediately crossed, and now I was standing straight in front of her. The bag she brought was a large, well-worn leather satchel with multiple compartments, containing various vials, bandages, and pouches of herbs.

She looked around. "Hey, can you please give us a seat? It'll just be a second!" She said to the student sitting nearby to us.

Both girls scrambled out of their seats as they saw me. She grabbed my arm as she pulled me down on the seat, making me sit. The seats were cushioned, providing some comfort amidst the tension.

Her eyes wandered around the wound. Pulling the cotton out of the bag, she began cleaning the wound and then immediately poured about three to four bottles of healing potions as if it was nothing. The healing potions had labels written in intricate calligraphy, each containing different colored liquids.

"It doesn't sting, right? It's fine, right?" She asked.

"Nah, it's fine." There was a small burning sensation, but I didn't think it was much of an issue.

"You brought all this for me?" I asked.

"Who else?" She wasn't looking at me. "I knew it, something bad was about to happen, so I brought it just in case. I made these potions last night—here, take this, it's for internal bleeding." She passed a small tube to me.

The whole bag was filled with bandages, herbs, and different types of things—anything that could be used to heal or disinfect was there.

"You aren't angry?" I asked.

"For what?" She asked back.

"You ain't sad?" I questioned again.

"What are you saying?" She finally looked me in the eyes, it was direct eye contact.

"Pfff," I just chuckled. I never thought I'd be this wrong in judging someone's character to this degree.

"Why are you laughing!?" She pinched me on the leg.

"Hahahaha," I don't think I'll answer her on this.

Never thought, I'd be this happy because someone cared....for real.