After silently deciding how each of them would "deal" with the female professor later, Jane finally rose from her seat. The moment the Vice President of Kizen Academy stood up, the noisy arena gradually quieted down as countless pairs of eyes instinctively turned toward her.
"Alright, everyone." Jane's composed voice echoed throughout the arena without needing to be raised. "This duel was approved by the Student Council President himself and supervised by the faculty, including me as Kizen's Vice President. Any further objections are meaningless. If anything, they will only bring more embarrassment upon yourselves."
Her sharp gaze slowly swept across the audience before she calmly added, "So... does anyone else have something to say?"
No one answered.
Satisfied, Jane shifted her attention toward the arena floor, where Knox was still standing beside the unconscious Andre.
"How about you, Student Knox?" she asked. "I believe you still have something you wish to say."
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's attention naturally returned to Knox once again. Many eyes quietly followed his every movement, waiting to hear what the first-year student would say next.
Knox gave Jane a respectful bow before speaking. "Thank you, Vice President Jane."
Straightening himself once more, Knox slowly surveyed the spectator seats. His gaze lingered only briefly before moving toward the section occupied by the professors responsible for overseeing the second-year students.
"To the professors overseeing the second-year students," Knox began calmly, "I believe the opinions voiced just now came from only a very small minority."
Several professors exchanged brief glances before quietly nodding.
They immediately understood what Knox was trying to do. The actions of a few individuals did not represent the faculty as a whole, yet allowing today's incident to end without clarification would inevitably tarnish the reputation of every professor responsible for the second years.
By drawing that line himself, Knox had quietly separated the majority from the foolish minority. It was a simple gesture, but one that earned him silent gratitude from more than a few members of the faculty.
Only after that did Knox slowly shift his gaze toward the section occupied by the second-year students.
"Of course," he continued, "I'm sure many respected seniors here also have their own opinions regarding today's duel."
The sudden mention of them caused subtle reactions throughout the second-year seats. Some students nodded without saying a word, some let out dismissive scoffs, while many simply watched Knox in silence, waiting to hear what would come next.
"I'm sure those opinions vary." Knox's voice remained as calm as ever. "Some of you probably couldn't care less about today's outcome. Some may believe Andre simply brought this upon himself. Others may think his defeat has disgraced the reputation of the second years."
He paused for only a brief moment before continuing.
"And perhaps..."
"...some of you believe that just because you can't touch me..."
"...doesn't mean you can't take your frustration out on someone else."
His eyes quietly swept across the rows of second-year students.
"For example..."
"...the other first-years."
The atmosphere immediately became noticeably heavier.
Many second-year students narrowed their eyes, while others unconsciously frowned.
Several first-years exchanged nervous glances, only now realizing that such a possibility had never even crossed their minds. Of course, there were also plenty who remained completely indifferent, showing little interest in whatever conflict might follow after today's duel.
Knox paid little attention to their reactions.
"To be honest," he said, "I don't particularly care about anyone's opinions."
His expression remained perfectly calm.
"But..."
"...if any senior truly dares to do something so petty..."
Knox stopped speaking.
His eyes slowly swept across the rows of second-year students.
The faint smile that had lingered on his face disappeared without anyone noticing.
An instant later, an overwhelming pressure erupted from Knox.
It spread across the arena like an invisible tidal wave.
The air suddenly became unbearably heavy. A bone-chilling cold crawled up countless spines as breathing became strangely difficult. Hearts pounded violently inside their chests, while every instinct they possessed screamed the same warning.
DANGER!
For one fleeting moment, it felt as though death itself had quietly brushed past everyone in the arena.
"!!!!!"
"This pressure...?!" Hong Feng's expression immediately changed as she instinctively rose from her seat, disbelief clearly visible on her face.
"Hoo..."
Jean rested her chin on one hand, a faint smile slowly appearing across her lips.
"Interesting."
Unlike everyone else, she showed no sign of resisting the pressure at all. Instead, she simply continued watching Knox with growing interest, as though she had just discovered something unexpectedly entertaining.
The overwhelming pressure continued to blanket the entire arena for another brief moment before it suddenly changed.
Instead of disappearing, it moved.
Like a raging tide finding its target, the invisible pressure that had filled the entire arena rapidly converged toward a single direction. Within moments, it gathered over the seats occupied by the second-year students before crashing down upon them all at once.
"Urgh!"
"Ghh...!"
"W... What?!"
The second-year students immediately bore the full force of Knox's pressure.
The seats groaned beneath them as countless students instinctively braced themselves, struggling to remain upright under the crushing pressure.
Some struggled desperately to breathe, while others found themselves unable to remain seated, collapsing onto the floor one after another. Faces turned pale, muscles stiffened, and beads of cold sweat poured down their foreheads.
All of it was caused by the pressure released by a single first-year student.
Of course, not everyone collapsed.
A handful of students still managed to remain conscious, although "standing their ground" would have been far too generous a description. They were enduring.
Barely.
Among them was the strongest student of Batch 328, Azel Bringer. Beside him, Balak, the second strongest student of the batch, grit his teeth as every muscle in his body trembled violently under the crushing pressure.
Several other well-known second-years also continued resisting, refusing to lower their heads despite their obvious struggle.
Strangely enough, two students had already lost consciousness entirely.
Their names were Sota Psyche of the Department of Spiritology and Will Douglas. Neither of them managed to endure Knox's pressure for more than a few seconds before collapsing limply onto the stone floor.
Naturally, that wasn't a coincidence.
Knox had deliberately adjusted the pressure he released. Although every second-year student was being suppressed, certain individuals were receiving considerably more attention than the others. Balak and his 'associate', Grimoire, were among them. The pair would eventually reveal themselves as 'moles' lurking within Kizen, so Knox saw no reason to go easy on them.
As for Sota Psyche and Will Douglas, Knox had even less reason to hold back. In the future, the two would become some of the most notorious seniors of their generation, abusing their status and authority to oppress countless juniors after Simon's class advanced into their second year.
Knowing exactly what kind of people they would become, Knox quietly increased the pressure directed at both of them. Even so, he hadn't expected either of them to lose consciousness so quickly. For the briefest moment, even Knox found himself slightly surprised by the outcome
Even after Sota Psyche and Will Douglas lost consciousness, Knox made no attempt to withdraw the pressure. His gaze remained fixed on the second-year seats for several more moments, allowing the invisible warning to sink deep into everyone's mind.
After a few moments, Knox's expression suddenly changed. The cold look on his face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a bright, easygoing smile. The abrupt change was so dramatic that it felt like watching the seasons change in the blink of an eye.
"Of course," Knox said cheerfully, his voice carrying a playful tone once again. "I don't believe the respected second-year students of Kizen would ever do something so foolish, unpleasant, and lowly... right~?"
The instant those words left his mouth, the overwhelming pressure vanished completely.
Only then did the second-year students finally manage to breathe properly again. Many bent forward as they drew in deep breaths, while others remained frozen in place, their uniforms soaked with cold sweat. Several stared at Knox with unconcealed fear, some wore complicated expressions, and a few glared at him with wounded pride.
Those last few desperately wanted to spit out words of defiance.
Yet the memory of the terrifying pressure they had just experienced resurfaced almost immediately.
In the end, every insult and every complaint died in their throats before they could utter a single word.
In the ears of those perceptive enough to read between the lines, however, Knox's words carried far more weight than they appeared to.
Jane understood immediately. So did Jean and Tenerife.
Even the professors who had remained silent throughout the confrontation quickly grasped what Knox was truly offering.
Of course, with the suffocating pressure now gone, several sharp-minded second-year students also reached the same conclusion.
Knox wasn't simply issuing a warning. He was giving them an opportunity. An opportunity to preserve the dignity and reputation of the entire second-year class.
If they accepted Knox's words here and now, then before everyone present, the second years would effectively be declaring that none of them intended to resort to retaliation or any other petty act against the first years.
Today's humiliation would remain exactly that 'today's humiliation'. The matter would end inside this arena, allowing the reputation of the second years to recover, at least to some extent.
Naturally, those who understood Knox's true intention also understood the unspoken condition attached to that offer.
If even a single second-year student crossed the line in the future, the consequences would no longer belong to that individual alone.
The entire 328th batch would bear the responsibility.
More importantly, it would also hand Knox the perfect justification to turn today's warning into tomorrow's reality.
That realization made more than a few expressions turn grim. The timing couldn't have been worse for the second years.
Ever since entering Kizen, the 328th batch had lived beneath the enormous shadow cast by the generation before them.
The 327th batch had produced Phantasus Hugh Ickel, the current Student Council President and widely acknowledged as the greatest president in Kizen's history. Simply being compared to that legendary generation was already enough to place immense pressure upon every member of the 328th batch.
And now, the generation below them had begun attracting attention as well.
The 329th batch.
The so-called Golden Generation.
With monsters such as Knox, Lorain, Serene, and Simon gathered within the same batch, few believed that title to be an exaggeration.
In fact, the greatest proof was standing right before them.
Only moments ago, Knox Aznable had single-handedly blanketed the entire arena with a terrifying pressure powerful enough to force several second-year students into unconsciousness.
Faced with all of that, the second years couldn't even refuse Knox's "offer."
A heavy silence settled over the arena.
Fortunately, someone finally broke it.
"Hahahaha!" A loud, hearty laugh echoed across the stadium.
"This is interesting!" Phantasus Hugh Ickel declared with his trademark booming laughter. "As expected of Junior Knox Aznable! Your presence alone is worth a thousand necromancers!"
Only a thousand...?
Lorain couldn't help complaining inwardly.
That's far too low!
"Of course," Phantasus continued, still laughing. "I also believe Junior Knox. There is no way the current second-year students of Kizen would do something so foolish... or cross a line that should never be crossed. Isn't that right, everyone?"
The second-year students immediately understood what their Student Council President was doing.
He was also extending them a lifeline. All they had to do was accept it.
Since this concerned the honor of the entire 328th batch, however, an ordinary student wasn't qualified to answer on everyone's behalf.
Almost unconsciously, countless pairs of eyes turned toward the same person.
Azel Bringer. The strongest student of the 328th batch.
A young man with neatly styled ash-gray hair and a pair of thin-rimmed glasses slowly rose from his seat. His face remained calm and unreadable, carrying the same cold composure that had become his trademark throughout Kizen.
Seeing the young man rise to his feet, Knox immediately recognized who he was.
Of course, Knox also knew that the cold and composed young man standing before everyone was merely a carefully maintained façade.
Beneath that flawless image was someone entirely different, someone far more timid than anyone could possibly imagine. To Knox, Azel was less like the intimidating top student everyone admired and more like a cautious little hamster trying desperately to protect its dignity.
Naturally, Knox had no intention of exposing that secret unless there was a compelling reason to do so. At least, for now.
Azel calmly adjusted his glasses before speaking.
"Greetings, everyone. My name is Azel Bringer." His voice remained steady and composed, betraying not the slightest hint of emotion. "On behalf of the second-year students of Batch 328, I fully agree with what Junior Knox Aznable and President Phantasus have just said."
That was all. There were no lengthy speeches or unnecessary explanations. After delivering his brief statement, Azel simply returned to his seat.
To everyone watching, he remained the same calm and collected top student they had always known.
Only Knox knew the truth.
Please let this end already...
I'm going to die from nervousness...!
Behind that perfectly expressionless face, Azel's inner thoughts had already descended into complete panic.
"Well said, Junior Azel!" Phantasus laughed heartily. "Alright! With that, I'd say the misunderstanding has been completely resolved, and the result of this duel is now beyond dispute."
He looked around the arena before spreading his arms wide. "I hereby declare this duel officially concluded!"
Jane rose from her seat shortly afterward, her gaze sweeping across the arena one final time.
"With this," she announced, "the duel between Student Knox Aznable and Student Andre Dresden has officially concluded. Everyone, please leave the arena in an orderly manner."
As Jane's announcement echoed throughout the stadium, the unexpected duel between Knox Aznable and Andre Dresden finally came to an end.