Chapter 19 – The Red Legion
The battle continued…
Then Roy reappeared, revealing that he had remained hidden until now thanks to a powerful camouflage spell. He slowly raised his arms. The energy around him concentrated, dense and vibrating, forming a luminous whirlpool that defied the laws of gravity.
All the students were astonished: no one had sensed his presence.
"Such camouflage… it's impossible," Damian breathed, mouth agape and impressed.
"You really played me," Bastien growled, furious.
"It's not my fault you're incapable, Professor. You have no one to blame but yourself," Roy replied, his authoritative voice resonating in all directions.
"Now, it's my turn…"
He raised his hands and declared with icy calm:
"Let me show you what I can do… Legion Magic."
Suddenly, the sky exploded with red light. Figures appeared, first indistinct, then materializing soldier by soldier. An entire army formed in the air: warriors in black armor, faceless and identical, holding scarlet spears pulsating with destructive energy. Every movement of this army obeyed a single mind: Roy's.
"25,000 soldiers…" he murmured, floating above the chaos, completely in control.
"Do you realize what this means?" he continued, in a detached tone. "With this, I could crush an entire army… and I could summon even more."
The students were all stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"He's not human… is this a joke?" Seth muttered, swallowing hard.
Tara and Alma stood speechless, while Kael and Damian exchanged a look of awe and concern.
Bastien, panting and furious, tried to react. His lightning streaked around him, but in the face of this army's magnitude, every attack seemed futile. The Legion surged toward him with perfect coordination, throwing Bastien to the ground in a single orchestrated move and leaving him immobile.
The scarlet spears lit up, and beams of light rained down on the arena like an apocalypse. The ground shook, stone pillars shattered, and even the magical protections for the spectators could not withstand the shockwave.
Seth, mouth agape: "Th… th… what… is this power?!"
Alma: "Even Professor Bastien could never handle this…"
Tara, clenching her fists: "If this continues, the entire academy could be destroyed…"
Kael murmured: "And yet… Roy controls everything, every ray, every soldier…"
Each beam of light moved perfectly in sync with the Legion. The soldiers acted as a single organism, dodging, striking, and annihilating everything in their path. Arcs of light formed spirals and geometric patterns in the red sky, each attack deadly and precise. Explosions illuminated the arena and the surrounding land like an apocalyptic display of absolute power and control.
When the last explosion subsided, a supernatural silence fell. Dust slowly cleared, revealing Bastien on the ground, defeated but still conscious. Roy descended from the sky with majesty, floating above the arena, eyes fixed on his opponent.
"You've learned the lesson I intended to show," he said calmly. "Even the most powerful teacher cannot ignore total mastery and strategy."
Bastien, ashamed, had no words.
"I hope you won't forget our agreement. Tomorrow, at first light, you leave this academy. I refuse to let other students fall victim to your incompetence…"
With prestige and honor, Roy left the arena, leaving Bastien humiliated and outraged, a few tears of frustration rolling down his face.
"I… I lost… this is impossible… how could I…" he murmured.
The students remained frozen, breathless.
Kael murmured: "We've just witnessed… something beyond anything we could have imagined…"
Tara: "His magic… it's… art, strategy… perfection…"
Seth: "Incredible… absolutely incredible…"
Alma: "And he's been hiding this power from us all along…"
Teddy, jaw clenched: "I… I don't think I'll ever forget this…"
Even Luxurius, usually impassive, smiled faintly:
"Now this is a true prodigy…"
The wind calmed, the lightning faded, and the dust settled slowly. The arena, in ruins, stood as a silent witness to a battle that would be forever etched in the history of Etheria Academy.
To be continued…