In the silence of the school courtyard, near the water fountains, the water stirred inside the pipes. The pressure was high and cracks began to appear, until the pipe burst. In sequence, pipes in several parts of the school began to rupture, causing drips and leaks.
On the first floor, a small pool, still barely noticeable, was forming at the feet of the third-year students who were focused on their exams. A few thin drops fell from the ceiling, but not in any significant amount, so almost no one had noticed.
Being the first to finish, Haru stood up to hand in her test to the teacher. But before she could move forward, she was startled by what she saw.
"WHAT THE HELL, THE FLOOR'S ALL WET!" she shouted, breaking everyone's focus and making them look down.
"WHAT?" Naoko reacted, startled.
"Naoko, this must be…" Seki said, deliberately cutting himself off.
Naoko looked at him, her pupils dilated, showing that she had understood what he meant and that she was already worried about the situation.
Without delay, the two hurried toward the courtyard, trying to find the source of all that water, which was now rising quickly.
When they arrived, the pool that had formed was no longer what worried Naoko the most, because now she was facing something even more concerning.
"That fire…" she said, her body freezing as fear took hold of her. Her stunned expression showed that she recognized the danger they were about to face.
The second and third floors were being taken over by curtains of green fire. It was not a natural color, and she had already faced the Potentia capable of producing it.
Needing to use the bathroom, Blake, one of the students in the second-floor lab, opened the door and came across a strange scene.
"Guys… look at this. It looks like green fire."
Every opening in the corridor seemed to be filled with that strange phenomenon.
Green fire? Adonis thought, a cold sweat forming as he heard the comment.
Back in the courtyard, the first- and second-year students were already agitated, the water reaching halfway up their calves.
"There's so much water!" Akiko said, running and splashing everywhere, startled.
"What is this?" Aino asked, wary.
"Girls… is this Potentia again?" Minami said, voicing what they were all thinking.
Yukino only murmured, watching the situation uneasily, already searching for a solution.
"What is that?" Miyu exclaimed, her eyes not on the water, but on the flames above.
Everyone's gaze shifted toward the fire.
"Oh no… that fire…" Akiko recognized it immediately, her eyes filling with tears as she understood how difficult it would be to get out of that situation. "Naoko, those are that woman's flames. What are we going to do?"
"I see it. Listen to me," Naoko said, taking control of the situation. "Akiko, Aino and Minami, help the students evacuate. Yukino and Miyu, the water must be Potentia too, you'll be more useful here."
They immediately organized themselves. The first group guided everyone out of the school, pointing the way, while Naoko, Miyu, Yukino and Seki remained on alert, waiting for the users of those powers to appear.
Back in the lab, Hikaru and Adonis worked together and managed to guide everyone to escape through the emergency stairs near the lab, so no one had to risk going through the corridors.
"Thanks, Adonis, I think everyone already got out through the stairs," Hikaru said.
"Hikaru, you should go too. There's too much smoke…" Adonis suggested.
Sweat ran down their faces, and the air felt heavy, making it hard to breathe.
"I'll check if anyone needs help in the corridors," Hikaru said, heading back inside.
"HIKARU, DON'T BE STUPID!" Adonis called out, his concern unusually strong.
It didn't help. He quickly lost sight of him. Something felt off about those flames, which stayed only along the openings of the floors.
"The fire isn't spreading… Yesenia must still be far…" Adonis muttered, showing he knew his companion's abilities.
On the other side of the corridor, Hikaru was even more out of breath. All the rooms had already been checked.
"The corridors… empty… I'll handle this."
Watching the green flames move, he raised his right hand and began to gather energy.
Ice crystals formed, and with a quick movement of his arms, he launched them toward the fire. Everything that was hit froze instantly, but just as quickly, the ice melted.
…Melted too fast… but there are gaps… Hikaru realized, noticing small breaks in the curtains of fire.
He understood it was possible to contain the threat, but it would cost a lot of his physical condition.
Near the lab exit, Adonis, now alone, looked seriously at the flames.
Why this attack? Itzel and Koa didn't say anything about Yesenia. The situation didn't make sense to him.
He raised his hands toward the fire, which began to be absorbed into his body. Trying not to draw unnecessary attention, he took in small amounts at a time.
When a gap formed, he was finally able to see toward the back gate of the school, which faced the open court. He was shocked to realize that it wasn't just one person approaching.
Getting closer and looking through the gate, he saw Yesenia and Heidi. The first stared ahead seriously, her fixed eyes seeming to demand revenge. The second looked satisfied, ready to settle things and having found a way to do it.
"Looks like we got the right place," Yesenia said.
"Yeah. I already found the ice Potentia," Heidi replied.
"And I found the water one… Why didn't we come here sooner?" Yesenia said through clenched teeth.
"That's why you leave things to people who actually get things done," Heidi added.
On the first-floor corridors, Akiko and Minami successfully led the last group of students toward the main gate, where they could leave safely.
Students and staff had evacuated the school, leaving only those with Potentia inside. Now everyone could focus on the imminent danger.
On the second floor, Hikaru was exhausted. The effort was draining him completely. Even so, he kept freezing the flames, creating larger gaps with each attack.
I managed to slow the flames down a lot. But they come back… I'm exhausted… he thought, wiping sweat from his face. He rested his hands on his knees and took deep breaths, trying to recover.
Hikaru… has Potentia? Adonis thought, stunned, watching from a distance without revealing himself.
In the courtyard, the tension increased. The ones responsible for the attack still hadn't appeared. They wondered where they would come from, their eyes scanning the area.
The school's cafeteria area was at a slightly lower level than the sports area. Because of that, the architecture included a drainage system, with grates spread across several points. Noticing that the water wasn't draining, Yukino went to check.
"The drains are sealed," she said.
All of them had been blocked with tape, revealing that the attack had been prepared in advance.
"So they planned this beforehand…" Naoko concluded. "Yukino, the fire one—"
She was cut off by the bubbling water near Yukino's feet. The water quickly rose, wrapping around her.
Seeing that, Naoko panicked and rushed toward her, raising her hand, ready to use her water Potentia. But her movement was stopped by a wave of green fire launched in her direction. She stepped back just in time, but the path was blocked.
"YOU'RE MINE!" Yesenia appeared, taking advantage of the distraction.
Naoko turned toward her, her gaze filled with the anger she had carried since their last encounter.
"THIS WON'T BE LIKE BEFORE!" she shouted, immediately launching her water Potentia to put out the flames.
This time, despite the difficulty, it was possible to see the fire slowly vaporizing. Unlike before, when her power had been completely useless. Even so, it was still far from enough.
The fight had begun. Fire and water clashed fiercely, colliding and creating thick steam.
"Na… Naoko…" Seki said, seeing his friend in action for the first time, unaware of her abilities.
Yukino was being drowned by the mass of water, and the others stood frozen, unsure how to help. Her hand trembled as she gathered what remained of her strength.
Part of the water froze.
Afraid of having its entire body turned into ice, the liquid mass released her, revealing a human woman.
Taking distance, the figure revealed to be Heidi looked irritated that her plan had been interrupted.
Damn… she was about to pass out… she thought, gritting her teeth.
She's… a person? A Potentia… I thought it was just remote water manipulation… Yukino, still out of breath, tried to understand the different ways those powers could be used.
The fight between Naoko and Yesenia became frantic. Both were highly skilled and showed clear knowledge of combat techniques. It was obvious that any mistake could be fatal.
Then Yesenia, using her strategy, misled Naoko with a weak attack, gained speed and launched another, this time fast and fully charged.
There was no way out. The distance between Naoko and the flames was minimal, and it would be impossible for her to dodge.