ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm

Step. Step. Step.

A man with a black cloak emerged from the misty forest, followed by a young man with a dark sword. The youth limped slightly as if every step was difficult for him, but there was boundless confidence in his gaze.

Solomon's eyes went wide as well as all the teachers. The students were in real shock, none of them expected to see Klaus here, then they looked at the young man who followed him.

"Zayne!" Rea exclaimed joyfully as her eyes shone brightly. All this time she had been worried about him, so when she saw him alive she was relieved.

Klaus looked around and with a slight smile said, "Well, well, it looks like we came just in time. This monster is an uncomfortable opponent for you, isn't he, Solomon?"

Solomon smiled bitterly as he nodded, "Yeah... He's smart and knows my weak spot. I'd appreciate it if you'd help us out. It's been a long time since I've seen you fight, perhaps too long."

Klaus stepped forward confidently, still holding his cane, though it seemed he didn't need it, it was more of a decoration to him than a real help.

"Mr. Byron, I'm glad to see you, too." Klaus touched Byron's shoulder, heading straight for Shadow.

"Who are you..." Shadow muttered, wary. He glanced at where the flaming whip had fallen, there was a strip of lava that the ground had turned into because of the tremendous heat.

Klaus shook his head, "I'm one of the professors at the academy whose students you attacked. I'm sure Byron offered you a chance to escape, but, I want you to know that you don't have that opportunity anymore."

Shadow assumed a fighting stance, ready to lunge forward at any moment. He watched Klaus's every move carefully, not knowing what his opponent was capable of.

"Oh, afraid to attack? Wise decision, but considering you're fighting against a mage, you should be more aggressive." Klaus smirked as he raised his hand.

A moment later, a purple whip came out of nowhere, with flaming torrents hot enough to distort the air around it. 

Shadow's body was quickly covered in a thick mist as he disappeared, to the side.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The flaming whip caused a massive explosion, leaving a crater on the ground, and magma streams flowed into the center. A multitude of purple lights were left around, slowly extinguishing.

"Go ahead. If you beat me, you can probably handle the others using the students." Klaus smirked, as he spread his arms out, purposely provoking Shadow.

Shadow didn't know what to do. He understood that Klaus was up to something, as no mage would want to fight in close quarters without reason. However, he had to hurry, the energy he absorbed would not always be in his body.

'It's dangerous, but I think I can do it...' Shadow inwardly muttered while his eyes ran from side to side until he noticed Zayne. Shadow flinched, he stared straight into Zayne's eyes as he saw something.

"You...! You're not like the others..." Shadow muttered with a slight shiver, "Come with me!"

Zayne was puzzled. He wanted to answer something, but Klaus interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "Hey, no need to get distracted. I'm your opponent now. The rules are still the same, win first, then get what you want."

Shadow shook his head with a deep sigh, "Agh... You're weird... Well, I'll give you what you want..."

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The energy that Shadow absorbed spread throughout his body, as powerful electric shocks emanated from him that harmed himself, leaving scratches on his scales.

"I see... You decided to release energy to get maximum power for a short duration. That's pretty smart." Klaus nodded as if he was evaluating his student's actions rather than his opponent's.

"Shut up!!!" Shadow roared furiously as his silhouette was blurred. He turned into a lightning flash that moved from one point to another at tremendous speed, gradually surrounding Klaus.

'What's going on...? Zayne's eyes went wide, 'I can't see anything... Is this monster moving so fast that all I can see are lightning flashes...?

Klaus stayed where he was, he didn't even try to keep track of Shadow's movements and just waited for his opponent to decide to act.

The students worried, they looked hopefully at Klaus, who was the only one able to save them from this nightmare. However, Solomon's gaze was calm. He sighed and returned his staff to the ring as if the fight were already over.

Crackle.

Shadow stopped abruptly, shattering the ground beneath him as he instantly attacked, thrusting his claws into Klaus like deadly blades. His speed was so great that all they saw was a flash, then their mouths opened with shock on their faces.

"Not bad. If I hadn't been here, you would have really gotten us into a lot of trouble. I like strong opponents." Klaus said with a slight smile holding the cane whose end pierced Shadow's chest, "However, you're not one of them, though you definitely have potential, or rather had."

Whooooooooosh.

The cane erupted in purple flame, which quickly engulfed Shadow. The fog quickly thickened around him as he tried to escape, but for some reason, he couldn't, then he noticed that the whole time Klaus had been holding his hand tightly, the claws were just a millimeter from Klaus's throat.

"Goodbye, maybe we'll meet again." Klaus said quietly, watching Shadow turn into clots of ash, his scales melted and spread across the ground, disappearing forever into the cracks.

Klaus sighed, shook the dust off his hands, and stepped forward.

"That's enough watching. Problem solved, it's time to go back to the academy. Too much has happened today as it is." Klaus said calmly, walking past the split rock.

Suddenly one student appeared in front of him, which immediately fell down, pressing his forehead firmly to the ground.

"Mr. Klaus! Please take me as an apprentice!" The young man exclaimed.

Klaus glanced at him, then he moved on, "I appreciate your courage, but surely you know that I don't take any more apprentices... HE was my last..."