One by one, the students glanced down at their watches. Numbers glowed faintly across the screens their assigned platforms. A ripple of movement spread through the crowd as they began to disperse, each heading toward their designated battleground.
Sophia glanced at her watch and sighed. "Looks like we're not together, Azriel."
Azriel gave her a faint nod. "Fight well."
Lily, ever silent, checked her watch and bowed lightly before moving toward her platform, shadow-like in her movements. She did not speak;she did not linger. She simply walked away with elegance
Azriel raised his wrist again. His watch displayed: Platform 001.
As he walked toward it, his crimson eyes swept across the arena. Candidates gathered in clusters, nerves and excitement tangling in the air. Some sharpened weapons, others whispered strategies, but Azriel's expression barely shifted.
Finally, he arrived at his destination.
A cluster of students already stood on Platform 001. Azriel's gaze flicked across their faces. There were nobles here, but none of note no scions of powerful houses, no names worth remembering. His lips curled into a faint, disappointed frown.
But disappointment soon gave way to something darker. Slowly, almost involuntarily, a devilish smile stretched across his face.
His watch beeped softly.
2:00 minutes remaining.
Snapping it shut, Azriel stepped onto the platform. The moment he did, every head turned.
Eyes widened. Whispers broke out.
Some girls said..
"How can someone look like that…?"
"Too beautiful. Too unreal."
"…Tch. I'll put him in his place," one boy muttered bitterly, gripping his sword perhaps he is angry because they did not paise him like Azriel.
And then
The tension broke when the buzzer rang.
The exam had begun.
Chaos erupted instantly. The clash of swords, spears, and daggers filled the air. Mana flared like wildfire, explosions of light and force shaking the platform. Students fought with desperation, as though survival itself depended on every strike.
Azriel, however, did not move. He simply watched.
And then
The arrogant boy from earlier stormed toward him, sword raised high. "You filth let me cut that smug look off your face!"
Azriel smirked. A sharp, mocking smirk.
He didn't bother drawing his sword. Instead, he summoned the Chaos. Darkness surged, wrapping his hand like a gauntlet, pulsing with crimson veins. The air shivered under its weight.
The boy never finished his swing.
Azriel's fist slammed into his abdomen.
Crack.
The noble flew back like a broken doll, blood spraying from his lips, crashing into the arena wall with enough force to rattle the platform.
Gasps erupted around him.
Then, silence.
And then screams.
The others hesitated only a second before rushing at him, but Azriel was already moving. Chaos coursed through his veins, flooding his fists and legs. His body moved like that of a predator among prey.
A spear jabbed toward him he twisted, shattering the wielder's wrist then kicked his knees a second later a dagger flashed in his sight as he sidestepped then Azriel driving his knee into his ribs with a sickening crunch.
Punch, kick, strike every movement was efficient, ruthless, final.
Within minutes, bodies littered the floor.
Groaning, unconscious, broken.
And at the center of the carnage stood Azriel Stark.
Blood streaked his face and hair, painting his sharp features in crimson. His eyes glowed like molten rubies, merciless and unyielding. He looked not like a student… but like a blood-soaked king.
From the stands, horrified whispers spread like wildfire:
"He's a monster…"
And on Platform 001, surrounded by silence and fear, Azriel stood tall bathed in red.
Exactly like the villain they had always feared.
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Meanwhile, on other platforms, the fighting continued at full intensity. Not every platform witnessed such a bloodbath. Most candidates were consumed by survival, barely aware of Azriel's display.
On one platform, Lily moved like a shadow, her sword tracing perfect arcs of her family's technique. She stopped once only ten remained, acknowledging silently that no further conflict was needed.
On another, Sophia danced across her platform, lightning trailing her movements. Opponents barely saw her strike before being sent flying.
The hero, meanwhile, walked through his platform with effortless precision, as though the battle were a simple warm up.
When the fights ended, medics flooded the arena to treat injuries and prevent fatalities. The process took hours 10,000 students had competed, and only 2,000 were expected to pass.
Yet Azriel's presence had altered everything. His dominance left seven additional candidates permanently unconscious, reducing the final tally. 1,991 students were expected to pass Phase One.
A minor incident occurred on another platform one boy foolishly tried to flirt with Irina Emberheart. Her response was swift and merciless she burned him enough to traumatize him without killing, leaving an example for others.
The final count of those who officially passed Phase One stood at 1,990.
Azriel's influence was undeniable. His actions had shifted the balance, not just on his platform but across the entire exam. Hierarchies, expectations, and perceptions of power were already beginning to change.