It happened, eventually. After a few tense minutes, Rekhard's power failed.
Regus drove his fist down with one final, vicious force, barely stopping it before it hit the man.
Regus looked down at him, past the fist, to Rekhard's face. Shock, surprise, and horror filled his eyes. As they should. The likes of him had no chance against Regus, the king.
But he was still bound. Regus stepped back, spinning, and raised the fist.
It was still steaming, though more faintly now. Regus had already deactivated the ability.
Strangely, Gensa had felt something in their system. Loss of blood. He hadn't been pierced. He hadn't even been hit, until this last moment. It must be the ability, then.
Gensa looked down at their hand, flexed it once, then twice.
"Practically useless," he noted aloud. Rekhard's ability had a hidden downside. This must be why he was so eager to prove himself. Like Regus had been wanting, he could intimidate everyone else into not attacking him if he appeared undefeatable.
The extra heat, though much of it was released into the air, was too much for that to be the only outlet. So water inside the user's body, mostly in the blood, began to boil, and then was released through pores specially opened by the ability. That was where the steam came from, not just condensation.
While he was able to flex his fingers, his wrist refused to move. The nerves worked, but it would take a minute or so before the concentrated blood could begin to flow properly again, and he would regain full range of motion.
If one's body didn't have experience with the ability, and therefore couldn't open the pores quickly enough, using too much power too quickly would cause their body to explode with pent-up gas. It was a good thing Regus had sought the advantageous position and didn't keep it fully active, despite his absolute confidence in winning.
It was a dangerous ability for a young kid to have. When you grew, and your body had been altered significantly by the power flowing through it, you would easily be able to expel the gas, but if you hadn't developed those pathways already, it would be much easier to overstress and have something blow up in your face, literally.
Gensa advised Regus not to use it in a high-level fight, especially with no alternative, because if he did, they likely wouldn't survive. Then he looked up at the other students.
Most of them were weak. The first years barely had any signature, and even the higher level ones weren't a problem for Regus. But if they were someone else... Jake was basically useless in a fight, aside from maybe dodging for a while. Xavier could work, but not very well against many enemies, which was Regus's forte, and exactly what they were going to be facing. His ability required too much concentration for him to be properly mobile while using it, which was practically necessary in a high-level battle, and pushing other people was difficult for him. It was a bad combination all around. Corpse probably fought well. Gensa had felt a large pressure from him, which could've been either killing intent or suspicion. It was hard to tell with that one.
Toon... Was probably better off staying away from battle. For now.
And what about Hashim? The fearless leader? He might do well. Gensa hadn't been able to clock him at all. Not his combat power, not his speaking prowess, not his intelligence. It was too... random, for lack of a better descriptor. If he was attacked, they just had to hope he had someone else on standby, someone that Gensa could advise, or at the least that he was able to get a read on Hashim quickly during the fight.
As for Anguis? He would do well, well enough, at least. He could hit hard and move fast through clever use of released power. And that was all that really mattered.
Regus might even want to use him in the future. After all, the image that they had just displayed worked well with that. No visible ability, just distortion around their speed and power. That could be a good angle.
Gensa filed it away, then presented it to Regus.
Regus's approval hit Gensa.
He cocked his head, looking over the students one more time.
There wasn't a single one of them who was-
Wait.
There.
What was that girl's name? She had a combative aura that was nearly tangible to the students around her. Her small posse, grouped around her, were all uneasy. There was even one in the back, who had to grit her teeth so as not to allow them to chatter. Gensa could tell from the rigid set of her jaw and her clenched fists. That, along with her lack of combative aura and her confidence, clearly marked her as an ability sensor.
Well then, let her sense his ability.
Gensa activated it.
Perhaps it was a spurious choice. In fact, it more than likely was. It was probably motivated by Regus's grandeur.
Shadows crept out from Gensa's feet, slowly claiming the grass and turning it a shade darker. He turned to look back at General Rekhard. The man's aura had been impressive, but Regus had revealed how much of that was a lie, and now it was weak, flickering with barely-present determination. He was barely awake.
Time to follow Regus's lead.
Gensa raised a foot and brought it down deliberately next to Rekhard's head. Rekhard flinched slightly. Gensa's shadows reached out and darkened Rekhard's complexion, stealing the light and making him first pale, and then fade to a deep grey.
"What a disappointment," Gensa drawled in an approximate of Regus's imperious thoughts as he followed his instructions. "And here I thought this would be interesting. I can only hope you're not the strongest one here."
He lifted his foot and walked back to the line.
They needed a salute. Something for their subordinates to give, and for them to signal that their part was finished.
Gensa settled for obeying Regus and raising his left hand in a fist to thump over his heart.
The girl, Samantha, immediately followed suit, and John did as well, though slightly later. Peter hastily repeated it once he saw John do it, and Rowan hesitantly did the same once the other three had.
Gensa ceded control back to Regus, and then Regus turned to look at the others.
First years and older students alike, he would conquer them all eventually.
But for now...
He smiled slowly as the first years all began to copy the salute.
It wasn't much, not really. But it was the makings of an army, if he could instill the fanatical devotion he intended to.
Rekhard got to his feet behind Regus, his face practically glowing red. But it wasn't embarrassment, as Anguis informed him. It was fury.
"So, you enjoy that little stunt, punk?" Rekhard snarled. "Because we both know you can't face me in a straight fight."
"I just did," Regus said calmly, turning around. "You even had your choice of position beforehand. So stand down before you make a fool of yourself."
"You are going to pay for this insult," Rekhard promised, vainly attempting to regain his image. It was too late, though. Regus had destroyed it.
"I suppose any amount of warning does no good to a man who ignores his ears," Regus said mockingly, adding a sigh for extra effect. "Do you wish to face me again? Or are you going to do your job? I have no mercy for those who observe my power and do not respect me."
"You'll pay for this," Rekhard growled again, lower this time. His voice was insistent and his eyes glowed with malice, but Regus still didn't take him seriously. Despite Regus's own accusations about the man's lack of honor, as they had previously noted, Rekhard was nowhere near the thug everyone assumed he was. So yes, Regus may face some backlash in terms of harsher judgement and harder challenges during battles in Rekhard's field session. But he didn't think that Rekhard would actually stoop to assassination or anything equally underhanded.
He may weild his power to crush Regus aboveboard, but he didn't seem the sort to use smokescreens and trickery.
Unlike the leaders of the student groups. They absolutely would, and had, use devious techniques to remove him. If they got a chance to do so without observation.
They had all seen his strength when he had detected the individualinvisible assailant after the first test. He could only assume that the power senser that had approached him offering to be on his team had, in fact, been an arrogant noble, and had pulled a few strings. That would also explain why there had been two attempts, if the second one, that had been stopped by the clever spider monster, had come from the bigwigs of the Academy's upper echelon of students.
Regus hadn't really confronted too much of their power yet, so he couldn't be sure, but he assumed that there would be consequences in terms of the system once he got deeper than the first week into school here. It depended on if they operated under the jurisdiction of, separate from, or supported by the teachers.
But they were afraid to touch him again, in case they got burned. That was the uneasy peace he had noted before.
So far, he was untouchable. And in the future...
He would he hunted. But they would see that it remained true.