The second day passed, and with it came a shift in the atmosphere of the academy. Rumors spread like wildfire whispers of betrayal, of crew leaders turning on their own, of entire organizations collapsing overnight. What had once been structured power blocs were now nothing more than scattered remnants.
By the morning of the third day, those rumors had solidified into reality.
Screams echoed across the academy grounds.
A group of students writhed on the floor, their bodies engulfed in an unnatural green flame. The fire didn't simply burn it consumed, warped, and reduced. Flesh blackened, then collapsed. Beneath it, bone began to soften, edges losing form as if melting under impossible heat.
Standing before them was Oliver.
His hands rested casually in his pockets as he watched the process with quiet curiosity, his green eyes reflecting the flames. "I haven't seen melted bones before," he muttered, narrowing his gaze slightly as he observed the transformation.
The screams didn't last long. One by one, they died out not because the flames stopped, but because the victims no longer had the capacity to make sound. Their mouths remained open, frozen in silent agony as their bodies diminished, shrinking into unrecognizable remains.
Beside him, Pure watched without reaction.
"You would require temperatures exceeding one thousand five hundred degrees Celsius for bone to melt," Pure said in a flat, mechanical tone. "Your flames appear to exceed that threshold. How hot can they burn?"
Oliver smirked faintly, glancing sideways. "No idea. Never bothered to check."
A few feet away, Polaris hovered silently, his attention drifting elsewhere.
"You seem tense," he said, his gaze settling on Mary. "Does Oliver make you nervous?"
Mary flinched barely noticeable, but enough.
Her eyes snapped from the aftermath of the flames to Polaris. She held his gaze for a moment before looking away, her voice dropping to a quiet murmur. "I think all of us make each other nervous."
Polaris let out a faint, almost amused exhale. "That's disappointing. For someone who led one of the largest crews in the academy and was considered his rival, I expected more."
His tone sharpened slightly. "I suppose it was just talk."
Mary didn't respond. Her attention returned to the scorched ground, to the warped residue left behind by Oliver's flames.
Oliver turned on his heel, already losing interest. "Alright, let's—"
"HEY!"
The shout cut through the air high-pitched, but grounded with enough weight to carry authority.
All of them turned.
Jiwon stood alone a short distance away, arm extended, finger pointed directly at them. "Leave them alone!"
For a brief moment, the crew leaders simply stared.
Then, almost in unison, they blinked.
Jiwon's eyes flickered downward for a split second, catching sight of the liquefied remains on the ground. His finger lowered slightly.
"…Oh. They're dead."
A pause.
"…Damn. I came late."
He cleared his throat, straightening up as a grin slowly spread across his face, tone shifting effortlessly. "Anyway—we came for your heads."
"We?" Polaris echoed, his expression dull, gaze scanning Jiwon from head to toe before settling back on his eyes.
Leonardo, who had been seated quietly, tilted his head before his jaw opened. "I'll deal with this one."
"P'loa—"
The word never finished.
A hand clamped down onto Leonardo's skull from above, fingers digging in with a crushing grip. The pressure intensified instantly, the air around them growing heavier as the voice followed.
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence… Reaper."
Renji.
He stood behind Leonardo, snow-white eyes glowing faintly, his expression calm but edged with something far more dangerous.
The rest of the crew heads shifted their attention.
"We apologize for the interruption," came a smooth, velvet rasp.
Soren stepped forward, his movements measured, deliberate. His hands remained tucked into his coat pockets as he approached, the air around him subtly distorting, rippling as if reacting to his presence.
"But we have some business that couldn't wait."
A faint smile touched his lips.
Oliver's eyes narrowed slightly. "Mary. Handle him."
Mary glanced at him, then forward again, composing herself as she began walking toward Soren, each step controlled.
"I'm sorry, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY."
The voice came from above loud, sharp, cutting through everything.
Before anyone could react
Damien dropped.
His leg descended in a clean arc, aimed directly for Oliver's head. His crimson eyes burned intensely, narrowed into sharp slits as the strike came down.
Oliver's arm snapped upward just in time to block.
The impact landed.
The ground beneath him fractured instantly, cracking outward as a shallow crater formed under the force. The shockwave rippled through the area, dust lifting into the air.
Oliver's eyes widened just slightly as he braced against the pressure.
"What's wrong?" Damien asked, his voice low, edged with amusement. "Struggling already?"
A grin spread across his face, sharp and deliberate.
Polaris blinked once, unimpressed. "So who am I fighting—"
"Me."
The response came immediately.
Jiwon was already in front of him.
His fist was drawn back, the air around it warping, bending under the pressure of condensed force. The space itself seemed to ripple as he moved, his expression no longer playful but focused.
The clash had begun.
"Remove your insolent hand from my head," Leonardo muttered, his tone low and vibrating with restrained irritation.
"With pleasure."
Renji didn't bother adjusting his stance. His grip tightened, and with effortless control he lifted Leonardo as if he weighed nothing. In the same fluid motion, he pivoted on his heel and hurled him toward the nearest wall, the force behind the throw sharp and deliberate, the kind that didn't rely on wasted movement and only precision.
Mid-flight, Leonardo's jaw opened unnaturally wide as a silent incantation formed.
Before his body could collide with the wall, a dark purple skeletal construct manifested directly in his path. It caught him cleanly, absorbing the impact without resistance, and lowered him to the ground with an eerie, unnatural steadiness.
Leonardo rose slowly.
The hollow glow of his eye sockets burned faintly as they locked onto Renji.
"Your soul is… fresh," he said, voice dragging through the air like something heavy. "Newly powerful. Untainted by overuse. You will make an excellent addition to my army."
Renji stretched his arms out lazily, as if warming up rather than facing an opponent. "A necromancer?" he said flatly. "That's predictable."
Leonardo tilted his skull, almost contemplative. "Should I feel insulted?"
"Not really," Renji replied, his tone unchanged. "That wasn't meant to hurt."
A brief pause settled between them.
"My grip was."
A faint, audible crack spread across Leonardo's skull, thin but unmistakable.
Silence followed.
Leonardo raised a hand, skeletal fingers pressing lightly against the fracture. Then a low, rumbling laugh escaped him which was distorted and hollow, reverberating through the air like something echoing from a grave.
"Alright… alright…" he repeated, the tone shifting, deepening. "I'll entertain your insolent presence for a while."
His jaw opened further as a guttural chant poured out, harsh and uneven.
The ground around him responded.
Dark purple skeletal figures began to rise, first a few, then dozens, then more pulling themselves into existence from nothing. Each one took on a different stance, different posture, some armed with blades, others with blunt weapons, all radiating that same unnatural energy.
The battlefield filled.
Renji stepped forward.
The ground beneath his foot cracked as he burst forward, his body cutting through the space between them in an instant.
One of the skeletal warriors intercepted him immediately, blade thrusting forward in a precise, practiced motion.
Renji pivoted, his movement tight and controlled. He slipped past the strike with minimal distance, his hand snapping upward to grab the skeleton by the front of its skull. Without slowing, he drove it downward into the ground.
It dissolved on impact, collapsing into a cloud of violet mist that scattered and vanished.
Renji straightened, rolling his shoulders once.
"Fine," he muttered. "I'll play with your toys."
Leonardo extended a finger.
The entire horde surged forward at once.
Renji moved.
A skeleton's fist came first, fast and direct. Renji dipped under it, stepping into its range before driving a sharp uppercut into its jaw. The moment his knuckles connected, the figure dispersed into mist.
Another followed from the side, a scythe slicing through the air in a wide arc. Renji ducked beneath it again, his movements smooth, economical, his body reacting before thought.
He didn't stop moving.
Nearby, Soren moved with a completely different rhythm, more controlled, measured and almost elegant.
Mary's fist shot forward with force.
He caught it mid-strike.
Without hesitation, he shifted his weight, lifting himself slightly as he released her hand. His leg snapped upward, his heel colliding cleanly with her jaw and sending her skidding backward across the ground.
He landed lightly, rolling his neck as if loosening tension.
"Come on," he said, voice calm, almost amused. "The longer this goes on, the more I enjoy it."
Mary's eyes narrowed sharply.
She vanished.
In the same instant, she reappeared beside him, her fist already extended toward his side.
Soren's gaze flicked downward, precise and immediate.
He drove his own fist forward.
The impact detonated with a sharp boom, the force of the collision rippling outward.
Mary stumbled.
Soren didn't hesitate.
He pivoted on his heel, his leg sweeping low and smashing into her calf. Before she could recover, he rotated again, his shin crashing into her side. A third spin followed seamlessly as he leapt slightly and brought his leg down across her head with controlled force.
She dropped.
Soren turned away before she even hit the ground, already anticipating her response. His arm shot backward, catching her wrist mid-fall. He stepped forward, pulling her up, over his shoulder, and redirecting her momentum downward in front of him.
Her back neared the ground—
Then stopped.
Her legs braced violently, core tightening as her body trembled under the strain, halting the impact just before contact.
In the next moment, she dissolved into dark mist, slipping free of his control.
Soren's gaze lowered briefly, tracking the shift
Then he spun sharply, fist already extended.
It connected.
Polaris.
The ghost staggered from the strike, his form distorting slightly from the impact.
Jiwon was already on him.
His fists connected again and again, each blow warping the air around it. The intangible nature of Polaris's body no longer mattered as each strike landed with increasing consistency, as if reality itself was adjusting to allow it.
Adaptation.
Jiwon's ability was evolving mid-fight.
His fist drove into Polaris's midsection, forcing the ghost to fold inward. Without pause, Jiwon grabbed the back of his head and slammed him into the ground.
The impact rippled outward.
He yanked him back up and kicked him away, sending Polaris drifting backward, visibly shaken.
"How…" Polaris muttered, his form flickering.
Then louder and sharper—
"HOW ARE YOU HITTING ME?!"
Jiwon rolled his wrist casually, his expression almost bored. "No idea."
Polaris's features twisted, irritation bleeding through.
His hands moved rapidly, forming signs as he muttered a chant.
From the ground below, ghostly dragons surged upward, their translucent forms phasing into existence as they lunged toward Jiwon.
Jiwon watched them for half a second.
Then he jumped.
His body arced upward cleanly, cutting above their trajectory. As he descended, his fist was already drawn back, aimed directly at Polaris.
Elsewhere, the clash between Damien and Oliver intensified.
A fist struck—
And met resistance.
Oliver deflected Damien's attack, redirecting the force just enough to avoid direct damage. Another strike followed immediately, and he deflected that one as well.
But the pressure was building.
Damien kept advancing, each movement tighter, faster, forcing Oliver to give ground step by step. Then, abruptly, Damien shifted his leg snapping upward and driving into Oliver, sending him skidding backward and breaking the exchange.
Oliver steadied himself.
Damien stopped.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then a grin spread slowly across his face, something clicking into place.
"I get it…" he muttered.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes locked onto Oliver.
"You've never really fought hand-to-hand before, have you?"
A sharp laugh escaped him, unrestrained.
Oliver's expression hardened, irritation flashing across his face as he clicked his tongue. "You talk too much."
He stepped forward—
Then vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared directly in front of Damien, fist already extended.
Damien met him without hesitation.
Both fists collided at the same time, smashing into each other's jaws with equal force.
The impact echoed across the battlefield.
The Fight Has Begun,
It's time for the fighters to overcome their opponents and rise above them with their own strength
Let who will lose,
Lose.
Let who will win,
Win.
The Victory Of The Winners Will Be Made Known In The Next Chapters,
So Find Out In The Next Chapter....