The air in the arena shifted, thick with anticipation as the dust of Ysoria and Isolde's brutal draw still lingered. The ground bore scars of vines and phantom traces of frost-like light, but now all eyes turned toward the next stage.
Kaizer swaggered forward with his usual grin, his voice booming across the chamber.
"Well, well, well! After an elemental clash of the forest and the afterlife, we now have something darker creeping in… Shadows versus dread. Sounds like the name of an underground band, doesn't it?"
A ripple of laughter broke out among the students, though most leaned in, eager for blood rather than jokes.
But before the battle could begin, Klyden suddenly shot up from his seat, throwing both arms in the air.
"Tch! Why can't I fight them already?!" he bellowed, his voice carrying over the murmurs. "Every time someone finishes their flashy little duel, I'm ready to jump in! They're wasting my time!"
Wads didn't even glance at him, lazily resting his chin on one hand. His cold voice cut through Klyden's tantrum like a blade.
"You say that to everyone. If Kaizer let you fight half the academy, you'd still be whining for more."
A few nearby students chuckled at Wads's remark. Klyden frowned, pouting like a child denied sweets, while Wads returned to his aloof silence, eyes half-lidded but sharp.
Kaizer seized the moment, throwing his arm dramatically at the stage.
"Alright, alright—save your tantrums, Golden Boy! Now it's time for a match of fear and shadow! Thaddeus Wynthrope—our silent reaper—versus Edric Blackmoore, the sophomore whose aura alone might make you cry for your mommies!"
The crowd roared.
Thaddeus stepped into the arena like a phantom—his black hair blending with the shadows that seemed to curl toward him. His green eyes glowed faintly beneath his fringe, calculating, watchful. He gripped the twin blades that breathed with liquid darkness, their edges whispering in an unseen tongue.
Edric entered with a swagger of his own, coal-black hair catching the dim light, his steel-grey eyes sharp as spears. A confident smirk curved his lips, as though the fight was already won. The moment he stepped onto the field, the air grew heavier—his dread aura pressing down on every spectator, gnawing at their chests with an almost tangible weight.
Kaizer clasped his hands together with fake dramatics.
"The tension! The gloom! The absolute lack of sunlight! Somebody better bring a lantern!"
The first strike came sudden.
Edric lunged, his sword glowing faintly with the oppressive weight of his aura, each swing reverberating through the ground like a hammer. Thaddeus evaded, melting into the shadows with liquid grace. For a moment, his silhouette disappeared into the arena's cracks of dimness, only to reappear with a deadly slash aimed at Edric's ribs.
The sophomore blocked, sparks flying, his grin widening.
"That's all you got, freshman? Shadows are nice and all, but my aura doesn't care where you hide."
His words rang true. With every clash, Thaddeus's movements grew slightly heavier, as though the shadows themselves were being chained. Edric's presence weighed on him, draining will and strength alike.
But Thaddeus pressed on, summoning the unnatural stretch of his shadows—inky tendrils whipping outward, coiling around Edric's limbs. The arena gasped as the sophomore staggered, bound for a brief heartbeat.
Thaddeus appeared behind him like a phantom, blade raised for the kill.
And then—
He froze.
Edric's profile, sharp under the arena light, twisted in his vision. For just a moment, it wasn't Edric standing before him—it was him. That face. The one carved into the deepest scars of Thaddeus's past. Someone he had sworn never to see again.
The blade trembled. His strike faltered.
Edric ripped free from the shadows with brute force, his aura shattering the binds like brittle glass. With a snarl, he drove his knee into Thaddeus's gut, followed by a crushing elbow across the jaw. The assassin staggered, shadows sputtering around him, his blades wavering.
Kaizer's voice rang, half-excited, half-mocking.
"Ooooh! That hesitation costs lives, folks! Or in this case… the match!"
Edric didn't let up. He hammered Thaddeus down with ruthless strikes, his dread aura suffocating every ounce of resistance. Finally, with a powerful swing, he sent the freshman crashing to the ground. Thaddeus's blades clattered uselessly against the floor.
The sophomore planted his foot near Thaddeus's chest, towering with a cruel smirk.
"Pathetic. So this is one of the 'Top Ten' freshmen everyone keeps whispering about? I expected a challenge."
Gasps rippled through the crowd at the open insult.
Edric turned, sweeping his steel-grey eyes toward the freshman section.
"If this is your best, then you're all overrated. Weaklings hiding behind titles."
The Top Ten reacted each in their own way.
Liora's lip curled, disgust etched plain across her face.
Klyden erupted into laughter, clutching his stomach. "BAHAHA! What a clown!"
Wads raised a single eyebrow, expression unreadable but gaze sharp as ice.
Keiya merely leaned back, her crimson eyes dull with boredom, while Reiyell lifted her teacup for a quiet sip, utterly unbothered.
But others—Ysoria, Ashborne, Jerken, and Vexana—were not so composed. Their stares burned with restrained fury, not at Edric's words, but at the humiliating picture of Thaddeus defeated, mocked so openly.
Kaizer, sensing the tension, spread his arms wide with a grin.
"Ohhh, spicy words from the sophomore! Looks like he wants to fight the entire freshman roster himself! Somebody get this guy a hobby!"
Some students laughed at the quip, but the atmosphere had undeniably shifted.
Thaddeus lay on the ground, shadows flickering weakly around him, green eyes clouded not with anger—but with a ghost that no one else could see.
The duel was decided.