Until finally, the barrage of attacks ceased—Wayne himself charged at him.
"Come on, kid! Give me a good fight! You'll never kill me if you keep hesitating!"
"Tsk. I don't need you to lecture me!"
Wayne's smile widened with delight. "So you can talk."
Their attacks clashed once again. Each slash of Raphael's blade was blocked, while Wayne's fists struck back—only for Raphael to parry them as well.
Raphael shifted behind Wayne to try and catch him off guard, but he received a kick to the stomach instead. Before he could be thrown back, Wayne managed to grab Raphael by the hair, leaving him with no escape.
"Got you!"
He slammed the boy's face into the ground, creating a crater with the impact.
Wayne burst out laughing. "What's wrong?! I thought you were strong!" He lifted Raphael's head, preparing to smash it into the ground again—
But a shadow flashed in front of him, and in the next heartbeat, his arm—the one gripping Raphael's hair—was severed.
Not far away stood Leander, holding the unconscious Raphael in his arms. His expression darkened as he stared at Wayne.
Despite losing his arm, the old man calmly straightened his posture and smirked at Leander, head held high.
"Well now… that doesn't seem fair. Planning to gang up on me?"
A sound—like a blade slicing through air—rang out before Paul appeared, hands in his pockets, staring straight into Wayne's eyes.
Paul watched him with a calm, unblinking gaze. Wayne, on the other hand, froze—his eyes trembling as he stared at the young man before him.
"If you think this fight is unfair, then you should've thought twice before preying on innocent civilians." Paul's voice was cold.
And in that instant, Wayne's head separated cleanly from his body, both falling to the ground at the same time.
---
Inside the Institution.
Past noon, Emrys and his classmates were inside their gymnasium.
"Good afternoon. Before we begin your combat training, I'd like to inform everyone about the upcoming Guilds Event." their teacher announced. "Last week, I already mentioned this event to you, but back then there was no exact date because of some adjustments needed by the Council. So I'm here to tell you that as of yesterday, the final date has been decided. The event will be held one week from today."
The entire class gasped in surprise.
The room filled with whispers and mixed reactions—except for the few who remained calm and unaffected.
"Whoa… that's too sudden."
"Yeah. I wonder which Guild will win this year."
"Who else? Obviously the Black Dragon Guild. They've never lost."
"True."
"But that doesn't mean they can't be beaten this time."
The students continued chatting.
Their teacher cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention.
"The Guilds Event usually lasts one to two weeks, depending on the games. Only the four Guilds of the institution participate."
His eyes briefly shifted toward Emrys, who stood alone in one corner.
"I know this might not seem important, but I'll say it anyway. Students without a Guild are automatically unable to join the event. However… sometimes, their lives can also be put at risk in the middle of the competition."
Emrys's bandaged face tensed at the words.
A bad feeling washed over him about the upcoming Guilds Event. No matter how hard he tried to imagine what might happen… he couldn't think of anything.
"That's all. Let's begin today's class!"