The whole crowd fell silent, their eyes wide as Rion threw Ruka out of the arena.
Five minutes ago...
Rion continued to read Ruka's movements and tried to understand them.
Unbeknownst to him, the mark of wings on his back had begun to glow with a faint golden light.
The light was so dim that no one at the arena was able to see it except the two men who were watching everything from the peak of Redwood Basin.
"His mark is being affected by his bloodline," Varok concluded, and no emotions appeared on his face.
Haden nodded and said in a slightly surprised tone, "He doesn't have the same bloodline as I or Lara instead... It's something above both of us."
"Did he awaken the god king factor of both bloodlines?" Varok questioned himself, and for the first time, his eyes gleamed in interest.
God king bloodlines were different from those of a Demigod because a Demigod could ascend to Godhood with enough merit in their field; however, a God King was the absolute best of that field.
He locked his eyes onto Rion and mumbled, "How interesting..."
Haden turned his head to him, narrowed his eyes and added in a threatening tone, "Stay away from my son."
He turned his head towards Haden and the corners of his lips curved into a smirk as he remarked, "I will, but... do you think he is going to stay away from me?"
Haden stared into his primal yellow eyes for a moment before clicking his tongue and turning his head towards Rion while muttering, "That's why I don't like this."
A grin appeared on Varok's face, and he turned his head towards Rion, and both of them returned to watching him.
***
"How long are you going to dodge?!" Ruka spat in anger and threw a kick to Rion's abdomen.
Rion easily dodged it by taking a step back. He looked into Ruka's furious eyes and said with a wide grin on his face, "You are good... but is that all you have?"
Ruka's lips dropped into a frown, and he mumbled, "What are you talking about—"
He threw a kick to Ruka's head, and Ruka ducked to dodge.
He twisted his leg, stomped at him, and Ruka rolled to his side.
But... He had already reached his place, and before Ruka could even stand up, a fist enlarged into his vision.
Bam!
"Agh?!" Ruka let out a groan, but a single punch wasn't enough to stop him, and that's why...
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He punched him a few more times. Ruka let out short screams and groans until he fell unconscious.
Drip! Drip!
Blood dripped down his fist. He cleaned it on Ruka's bald head and picked him up. He walked to the edge of the circle and threw him out.
"At least the last guy wasn't a loudmouth," he mumbled before walking to the centre of the arena with folded arms.
Marin blinked a few times and looked at the squad leaders to ask for their votes, but none of them said anything.
He frowned, turned his head towards Rion and thought, 'They still don't think he is good enough? Weird.'
However, that wasn't the reason behind them not saying anything; instead, it was:
"I want to see more of him," Balthar announced with a wide grin, and others nodded at him.
Haria wanted to stop them from acting like children, but she also wanted to see more of Rion.
'It's for his own good,' she reasoned and threw the logic back in the deepest part of her head.
The crowd grew silent with shock. Even Dora was shocked because Ruka was 12 years old, which means he had been a trainee for two whole years, yet he was defeated by someone who wasn't even a trainee yet.
Suddenly, someone from the crowd shouted in an excited tone, "Rion!"
As if fuel had caught fire, everyone began to chant his name.
"Rion! Rion! Rion!"
The air trembled under their shouts, and an involuntary smile appeared on his face as he shifted his eyes between the trainees who were chanting his name.
However, before he could bathe in the glory, a boy jumped over the fence and began to walk towards him.
Seeing that, a person within the crowd shouted, "Tarun!"
Tarun was 13 years old. He had short dark blue hair, sharp black eyes and his body was filled with scars from the ruthless training he had undergone.
He stopped before Rion and mumbled softly, "Why don't you just step out? I don't want to do this."
Rion blinked in confusion and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Hah... Don't take this personally," Tarune muttered and threw a punch to Rion's side.
Rion moved to dodge, but the punch reached him before he could.
Bam!
"Ugh?!" A groan escaped his lips, and he grabbed his side.
'He's fast,' he concluded and looked at Tarun, who was leisurely standing at his spot.
At the same time, the mark of wings on his back glowed brighter.
He leapt, and Tarun spun a kick at the same spot as before. However, this time, Rion dodged his attack.
Tarun raised an eyebrow and threw multiple kicks and punches at him before grabbing him by the hand and slamming him on the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Ugh!" A groan escaped Rion as he felt sharp pain course through his body, yet his eyes were sharp with determination.
Tarun looked into his eyes and mumbled, "It's getting annoying."
He walked over to Rion, who was trying to stand up, and punched him in the face.
Rion felt his vision blur before the pain reached him. His lips parted to groan, but Tarun punched him again.
Bam!
And again.
Bam!
He continued to punch him in the face without a stop.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Everyone went silent, and all they could do was stare at Tarun punching Rion's face over and over again.
Tarun stopped his punches and slapped Rion's blood-soaked face and mumbled darkly, "Give up."
"No! Don't give up!" Dora shouted at the top of her lungs and....
"AHHHHHHHH!" A loud scream tore through the silence.
Tarun looked at his palm and screamed, "MY FINGERRRRRR!"
Rion looked at Tarun with a wide grin and spat his torn finger on his face before muttering, "Nothing... personal... yeah?"