Southern Entrance of the Kendo Dungeon
A ripple of silence swept across the shattered trees as Edward Blooms stepped into the clearing. His mere presence pressed down like an invisible weight, the calm center of a battlefield gone mad.
His sword—still sheathed—glowed faintly at his hip, reacting to the spiritual pressure in the air.
Xvian's bone plates clattered as he turned, his distorted form twitching with unrestrained aggression. His SE fluctuated wildly—erratic, furious, almost feral.
Kutote lay half-kneeling a few meters away, clutching his stomach, breath sharp and quick. The coagulated bone spear had dissolved after Xvian redirected his focus, but the hit had been deep. His body trembled as he tried and failed to rise.
Edward didn't even look back at him.
His gaze stayed fixed on Xvian.
"So," Edward said quietly, "this is the level of the Marcellonia trainees these days."
Xvian roared, the sound shaking the stone beneath their feet.
Bone pillars exploded from the ground, lunging at Edward from every angle.
Edward didn't move.
At the last possible moment—
Shiiing—
His sword was suddenly unsheathed, gleaming with a soft silver radiance. He made a single, small movement—a horizontal cut so subtle a normal observer would've missed it.
The bone pillars froze mid-strike.
Then shattered into countless harmless fragments.
Kutote's eyes widened.
…He cut them without even seeming to swing…!
Xvian howled in frustration and slammed both hands into the ground. The earth erupted as a Bone Field expanded—massive skeletal protrusions spiraling upward, warping the terrain into a jagged maze under his full control.
Edward sighed.
"Third-year trainee or not, losing your composure like this is embarrassing."
He tapped one foot on the ground.
Bloom Knight Technique:
— Petal Step.
The air cracked.
Edward vanished.
Xvian jerked, spinning wildly as silver afterimages flickered around him. Bone plates shot outward in waves—shields, spikes, tendrils—but none struck anything. Edward's movements were too controlled, too clean.
Then—
Edward appeared behind him.
"Your style is too rigid."
Xvian whipped around, bone blades sprouting from his elbows.
Edward lifted his sword.
"Bloom Knight Sword Art — First Form."
The blade descended in one clean arc.
A resonant clang tore through the clearing as Xvian's bone armor cracked beneath the strike, Spiritual Energy rippling behind it like a shockwave.
Xvian staggered back, panting—rage deepening. His plates thickened again, multiplying. His arm sprouted new jagged protrusions.
He roared.
Berserk Bone Shell:
— Stage Two.
Kutote blinked in disbelief.
'He can still go higher?!'
Xvian's aura quadrupled. Bone forests erupted around him, reaching like claws.
The entire radius—thirty meters—was now under his control.
Kutote swallowed. "Edward… I don't think you can take this lightly anymore…"
Edward didn't respond. He simply raised his sword into a single-handed stance.
The ground buckled as Xvian charged, generating enough force to leave craters behind his steps. Bone lances shot forward like lightning.
Edward exhaled.
"Bloom Knight Sword Art — Second Form."
He swung.
A crescent of Spiritual Energy tore through the battlefield, slicing bone constructs apart before they even fully formed. Xvian blocked with both arms—
The shockwave still launched him backward through two bone pillars.
He stumbled, breath ragged.
Yet he didn't fall.
If anything, his rage amplified.
Bone armor sealed the cracks instantly, his silhouette now almost monstrous.
He slammed his fists into the ground—
Bone Execution Field.
Dozens of spikes burst upward from under Edward's position.
For the first time…
Edward's brows lifted a little.
"Oh?"
The spikes converged.
And the entire clearing—trees, rocks, even the skyward edge—was coated in bone.
Kutote yelled, "Shit!!"
The bone forest closed in—
—before exploding outward in a shower of splinters.
Edward stood in the center, completely untouched.
His sword pointed straight ahead, now glowing faintly pink.
"You forced me past the second form," he said. "Congratulations."
The wind shifted.
Xvian froze.
Edward's SE output soared—a blooming pressure expanding like unfolding petals.
Kutote shielded his eyes.
…This guy… he wasn't even serious until now…
Edward stepped forward.
One step.
Two.
The air trembled.
He raised his sword.
"Bloom Knight Sword Art — Third Form."
Xvian panicked—raising every bone shield he had, plating his whole body five layers deep, the ground rising to swallow him defensively.
Edward's sword fell.
A single clear note rang out—soft, elegant, almost gentle.
Then—
The entire Bone Field collapsed.
Every plate.
Every spike.
Every barrier.
Disintegrated into white dust.
Xvian fell to his knees, the berserk shell unraveling, his body reverting to its normal form as exhaustion washed over him. He barely managed to stay conscious.
Edward slid his sword back into its sheath with a calm click.
"Fight over."
Kutote let out a breath he'd been holding for too long.
***
Back in the stadium
A Keel Kun announced:
"KO!
Edward Blooms of the Blooms Knights Academy! Completely desimated him and he made it look so easy!"
The crowd in the stadium roared.
Up in the VIP section, Meris Veyna sighed in disappointment. She had not expected Xvian to lose his control that easily. He has truly disgraced the Hero Academy. It was better to lose with your head held high than to win with nothing to show for it.
Master Gendric got up then. He was no longer interested in this part of the competition.
Meanwhile Corinth, Sensei Pwain and Absolam stood facing each other. The air seemed to burn as Pwain slowly released his SE.
"Careful now, You don't want to create a scene do you. And besides I hope you don't actually believe you can take on both of us together."
Pwain seemed conflicted for a second, then he smiled.
"I may not be able you both off. But I sure as well can put an end to your evil plans and take out one of you" Pwain and staring at Absolam
"Ha! What an impudent brat!" Absolam said getting angry as well. His SE burst out unfiltered like Pwain's. The two energies collided causing those who weren't already watching to turn their way.
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Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)