VELTHRA
Chapter 6 – The Repercussions

“My Lady Velmira, why are you backing them?”

Professor Halvors whined from the side of the arena, his voice grating.

“I support whoever I want,”

Velmira snapped, stepping past Squad C-7 without even glancing at them.

“What is the basis of their disqualification? I want to hear it.”

“They cheated, My Lady,”

the professor said, swallowing.

“How did you reach that conclusion, you idiot?”

Her words hit like thunder, eyes blazing as she squared up to him.

The crowd stirred again, murmurs growing louder—some doubting, some supporting. The air was electric with tension.

Trollin stepped in, desperate to regain control.

“You don’t have to interfere. It’s my problem!”

Velmira turned, calm but lethal.

“Say one more word and I’m calling Dad.”

Trollin froze like a glitching training sim.

That’s when the Dean arrived, his long coat trailing like storm clouds, voice calm but heavy with authority.

“What’s going on here?”

he asked.

Velmira pointed directly at Trollin.

“He’s sabotaging the results. Accusing Squad C-7 of cheating with no proof.”

The Dean’s eyes shifted to Kael, Calvin, and Rio—standing there like they’d just wandered into someone else’s family drama.

“You three,”

the Dean said,

“Why are you accused of cheating?”

Trollin cut in, waving his arms.

“They had extra tools! No way Kael had camouflage. And Calvin? Sniping? They must’ve rigged it!”

The Dean turned to the professors.

“Were their weapons scanned pre-match?”

The professors went pale. One coughed nervously.

“Well… we didn’t expect them to…”

“Run the scans,”

the Dean said coldly.

Minutes passed. A tech officer returned.

“Everything checks out, sir. No foreign equipment. Just legal gear.”

The Dean raised a brow.

“Trollin, it seems you were right. They shouldn’t have won. Kael—come forward. Explain how you did it.”

Velmira moved to protest, but the Dean lifted a hand.

“Let him speak.”

Kael stepped forward and took a breath.

“The night before the fight,”

he said,

“we were hurt. Our formation was broken. We couldn’t fight like ourselves. So we swapped roles.”

“Swapped?”

the professor blinked.

“I borrowed Rio’s camo unit. He gave up stealth to maintain distance with a sniper rig. Calvin…”

he glanced back at his friend,

“…was the distraction.”

“He ran through the forest drawing fire,”

Kael continued.

“Rio provided cover. That’s how we took them down.”

Trollin snarled.

“That still doesn’t explain how you shot from the trees! You’d need sniper power!”

Rio smiled and stepped forward. He pulled out Calvin’s dual pistols.

“Let me show you something cool.”

He aimed both guns—one forward, one backward—and fired. The front blast propelled the second like a railshot, hitting the dummy target with sniper-level force.

Rio holstered smoothly.

“It’s easy to align when you control both guns. Physics just needs a little help.”

The professor blinked, stunned.

“But you said they were about to lose…”

The Dean’s face darkened.

“Professor, you tell me—why didn’t you notice their equipment had been tampered with before the test?”

Gasps again.

The pressure in the arena dropped like a hammer. One professor tried to speak but the words died in his throat.

Another professor stepped quietly beside the Dean, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Sir,”

he said softly.

The Dean nodded, composed again.

“Since the truth has come to light,”

the Dean declared,

“I hereby certify Squad C-7 as passing—with full score.”

He glanced at Kael and winked.

“Nice work.”

The arena exploded in cheers. Even those who had doubted before now screamed C-7’s name.

Kael turned to Rio and Calvin.

Calvin leaned in, grinning wide.

“Told you I was good at running.”