*Ulissis*

I collapsed near the entrance of the nearest hospital. 

"Oww," Arima said, rubbing her head. "I told you that you didn't have to carry me all the way here."

I looked up but quickly looked back down, realizing Ari had slipped forward. "Can you get off of me."

Arima got up and jumped away. "You didn't see anything did you?"

I shook my head. "Your leggings cover you well."

She sighed as she pressed her skirt down. "Knew I should've worn shorts instead. At least it was you and not someone else."

What difference did it make if it was someone else? Or did she just mean to say that it was a good thing that it was someone she trusted?

Arima grabbed my arm and put it around her neck. "You're staggering... so let me repay the ride this time. We also need to get you checked. We aren't sure if that ointment that the president gave you has had its effect or not."

I smiled. "Thanks."

As soon as we entered the hospital, we came across Alban. "Come, follow me," he said. He had a stoic look in his face.

"Is something the matter?" I asked as a pit formed in my stomach.

"Alto, he hasn't woken up. He seems to be suffering from a high fever."

"Alto..." I said.

Alban escorted us to the check in desk and went let out a sigh. "Let me know how he's doing. I'll be taking your place in the next event, Arima." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You deserve the rest."

"Thanks, Alban," Arima said, trying to smile. Alban was right. Arima looked as drained as she would if she missed multiple days of sleep.

"The room is on the second floor, it's 201. You shouldn't miss it if you take the elevator there, it's the one to the right on the way out."

"Hey, Ulissis!" a familiar voice called out. I turned around and saw Lei, Adela, Nyima, Iah, and Yen.

Alban chuckled. "Are you here to visit Alto even though he's your rival?"

Iah scoffed. "He might be our rival for these games, but he's ultimately our friend."

"Yeah," Lei said, grinning.

"I'm assuming that you're off to the next event?" Nyima asked. "The others wanted to come too, but they needed to handle that."

"Yeah," Alban said, sigh. "Take care of Alto in my place, okay?"

"You got it!" Lei said as he ran for the elevator.

***

The seven of us followed Alban's directions and quickly found Alto's room. When we arrived a tall, muscular, blue haired man in his early to mid twenties stepped out of the room. It was Zydeco

"Papa, will uncle be fine?" the little girl holding the man's hand said. She stared down at her white dress.

"I'm sure he will be. Your uncle is strong. Plus, your-" He turned to look at us. "Oh, it's you guys. Here to see my brother?" Zydeco had a sad look was in the room.

"Yeah," Lei said. He tilted his head. "Is something the matter?"

"Alto," Arima said before rushing over to the door. She opened it and found Sonata inside. She was putting a wet towel over Alto.

"Arima," Sonata said, turning her attention over to her. She eyed the rest of us. There was barely enough room to fit all of us so Nyima decided to stand by the door with Zydeco and Melody.

"Is Alto fine?" Arima asked.

Sonata shifted her gaze back to Alto. "He's been unconscious ever since they brought him here. His wounds have been healed but he seems to have a fever. The doctors said that it was caused by being hit by a strong electrical charge. His body is trying to absorb the electricity which is causing his body to burn up."

"He was hit by his own spell," I said. "Shouldn't he be able to absorb that?"

"Just how powerful were the spells he used?" Sonata asked.

"The power of the magic that hit Alto is that intended to put someone in a near the brink of death," Zydeco said, sighing. "I doubt that my brother would use that amount of strength on someone. Not to mention, even if he did... the person he tried his spells on would be a monster."

"He was," I said, clenching my fists together. "He was the one who hurt Alto by pushing him out of the race."

"The mage was a male from H.E.H.," Lei said, taking out a notebook.

"What's that?" Zydeco asked, eyeing the notebook.

Lei smiled. "I took notes of everyone I could in case we come across them again in these games," Lei said. "The boy who hurt Alto is called Hew. He is around sixteen years old. He is sound mage but is also capable of casting powerful barriers.

"As you said, I doubt that Alto was merely hit by his own spell. To me it looked like the barrier took on the whole attack and tripled its power before shooting it out back at Alto. As a fellow lightning mage, I can tell you that there is a limit to how much of electricity we can absorb into our bodies. Those attacks, they should've killed Alto."

"He was probably saved thanks to the extra strength he gained from cultivating," Arima said.

"It was a good thing he did then," Adela said.

"H.E.H... they're filled with monsters," I said, my hands shaking.

Arima sat down on one of the two seats in the room. "I hope we don't encounter them in the next event."

"Yeah, I rather not."

"They are monsters a voice called out."

Standing behind Zydeco, Melody, and Nyima was Sarah.

"What brings you here?" I asked. "Uh, no offense, but I barely recall you interacting with Alto."

Sarah nodded. "Indeed. Still, he is a peer. I actually came to see Lei. Kun told me I could find him here."

"Me? Why?" Lei asked.

"You were attacked by a group of hard to detect mercenaries on the way here, weren't you?"

"What?" Iah, Adela, and we Sefans said in unison.

Lei, Nyima, and Yen nodded.

"Who were they?" Adela asked. She turned toward Sarah. "Do you know?"

"Yeah," Sarah said, raising her head. "I believe that they were it was the Higher Evolutionary Hierarchy who were behind it. The mercenaries attacked me too, when my brother and I figured that they would likely attack you. We survived in part thanks to the arrival of Koukyuu and her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Since when did Koukyuu have one?" Zydeco asked.

"Hideo," Sarah said. "Anyway, they have likely not given up. It was a good call not to have participated in the race."

Lei clenched his hands together. "So, it was them who sent them. Well, I'm not afraid," he said with a defiant look in his eyes.

"You should be. Look at what they did to Alto. The only reason he is probably alive is because it's against the rules to outright kill other participants."

"I'll protect him," Yen, Nyima, and Adela said in unison.

Lei sighed.

Yen ruffled her little brother's hair. "Come on, you're my little bro. I have to protect you."

Lei grumbled.

"How about we talk about this elsewhere? Sarah asked. "We should give Alto some rest."

"We'll watch over him," Arima said. "My dream is become a doctor anyway. Though perhaps not completely the same, nursing is similar to it. This will be good experience. Plus, the doctors and nurses are around."

Zydeco lowered his head as he stared at Alto. "Please get well soon, little brother."

All of them left, leaving Arima and I alone with Alto. Arima fixed the towel Sonata had put on Alto's head.

"How long do you think he'll remain asleep?" I asked. 

"Not sure. Hopefully not too long. I hate seeing him like this."

"Do you think... it was a good idea to join these games?" I asked as I took a seat to the left of Alto's bed.

Arima sighed. "I am not sure. But if you think about it, Alto probably would've joined even if we had said no. It's just the kind of guy he is. I've never known him as one to back away from a challenge."

I chuckled. "Yeah. Kinda hard to believe that we're friends. He and I, were't like total opposite."

"Come to think about it, how did the four of us become friends?"

I leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes. "You know, I don't recall. We've been friends from before I could remember. I know that your mom brought you over to play at my place. Even though your dad never seemed fond of the idea. Say, why does he seem to hate mages?"

I bit my lip. "I... I'm not sure. I've thought of asking, but never dared to. I barely know about his past. Most of them being things I heard from mom. However, the way he acts, it's possible that he experienced something life altering much like Zydeco and Alto's dad did."

"He wasn't part of a war like Mr. Opus, was he?"

"Not sure. Mom told us that Dad's coldness told us was likely due to not having been raised with a dad. So he didn't know how to act as one. Grandmother had to take care of him and my aunt Akari all by herself."

"I see... I had no idea."

"I did hear that my grandfather reappeared. Though I've yet to meet him. Dad doesn't wish to see him. Though his issues with his dad don't explain his hatred for mages... Though maybe it's jealousy. Dad had chosen to live in this realm to learn magic, only to discover that he couldn't use it. He was born with a defective Magicum Organum."

"That had to have been hard on him."

I nodded. "Yeah, especially as he had the same dream Lei now has, to become the next Magus Maximus. My inability to use magic has made me be able to relate to him some more. One time, I even felt jealous of Alto."

"You mean when you yelled at him because he was pressuring you to take the entrance exam?"

I nodded. "Yeah... I was angry at him too. For not seeming to understand my situation. To be born without magic, yet inhabit a world of magic... It's like a fish with defective gills. One feels suffocated to death. I bet that Lei feels that way too about his own situation, perhaps in a more literal sense."

I closed my eyes and recalled Lei's response to Sarah's warning about H.E.H.. Lei, he wasn't afraid. I could only wish that I was that brave...

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter :). Thoughts on Ulissis and co.?**