Both of them practically disappeared from their places, swinging their weapons at each other at a fast speed.

"SO FAST!"

"Is that Gray really a first-year?!"

Damien's grin stretched ear to ear as sparks surrounded his spear. Lightning danced across his arms, crackling wildly, and his speed suddenly jumped.

"Let's end this fast!" he roared.

He lunged, spear thrusting like lightning itself, but right as the attack should've pierced Gray...

Swish!

Gray's body twisted to the side, his foot sliding smoothly across the arena floor. His speed matched Damien's, not a single beat behind.

He spun once, coat fluttering, and ended up with his back facing Damien for a split second.

To any normal fighter, turning their back was suicide.

'An opportunity!'

Damien thought fiercely, his pupils shrank with excitement as he prepared to attack Gray, but just at that moment...

Fwip!

"What the fu—?!"

Splat!

Gray shifted his grip to a reverse hold, thrusting his rapier backward, causing Damien to move his face in an attempt to dodge, but the blade still grazed his cheek, leaving a red streak.

"He got him!"

"That could've pierced his skull if it went deeper!"

"No way… is the first year actually winning?!"

Lyra's hands trembled where she stood near the gate, her eyes wide with shock and relief mixed together.

Drip...

Damien touched his cheek, seeing the blood on his fingertips. His jaw locked, and his nostrils flared with anger.

He wiped the blood away with the back of his arm, clicking his tongue.

"You're quite the lucky one, huh?" Gray, unexpectedly spoke, hitting directly Damien's soft spot.

Damien's eyebrows twitched.

"Shut up! If it wasn't for your lousy tricks, you wouldn't even be able to touch me!" he retorted madly, before spinning his spear once.

Crackle!

Electric sparks crawled around his spear, growing brighter and thicker. His aura suddenly burst upwards like a wave.

"Flood Dragon Rising!"

He dashed forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet as his body turned into a roaring phantom dragon made of lightning.

His spear thrust forward in a lethal straight line, aiming to pierce Gray through the heart.

"[✧Swap✧]"

Gray's figure vanished, and a stone near the wall took his place. Damien stabbed straight through it, causing stone fragments to explode everywhere.

But Damien didn't stop as he twisted his heel and shot forward again, his spear ripping through the air like a mad beast.

This time, since Gray's unique ability was on cooldown, he needed to meet the blow.

In the crowd, Lyra's heart jumped as she could feel the ferocity of that attack from where she was!

"GRAY, MOVE!"

She tried to shout, but Gray wasn't able to hear her.

Swip...

In response to Damien's attack, Gray slid one foot back slowly, lowering his stance.

"...Shadowless Sword Art."

The words escaped his lips like a cold breath.

"Phantom Sword."

Gray's figure vanished like smoke.

The audience blinked once, and suddenly Gray appeared directly in front of the spear, his rapier slashing straight toward Damien's weapon.

CLAAAAANG!!!

The impact rang like a giant bell.

A shockwave burst outward, shaking dust off the walls and forcing nearby students to shield their faces.

Gray's rapier and Damien's spear met head-on.

Both fighters slid backward across the floor, sparks flying beneath their feet.

The crowd instantly went wild!

"This is insane!"

"They're equals?!"

"How is a first-year matching that attack?!"

Both Gray and Damien stood still, staring at each other as if expecting something to happen. And just then...

Splurt!

A thin line of red flashed across Damien's uniform. His eyes widened as his spear dropped a few inches, and his legs shook.

He fell on one knee, one hand slamming on the ground, his whole body trembling.

"Cough... kaghf!"

With a rough gag, he coughed a heavy mouthful of blood that splashed onto the stone floor.

A clean crescent-shaped cut showed on his clothes, right over his ribs, and blood poured slowly from it.

"S-shit…" he whispered, breath shaking, voice filled with disbelief and pain.

At this, the crowd was even more chattering than before!

"The first year actually won the exchange?!"

"...Isn't Damien the fifteen strongest student of our grade? Does that mean that this first-year student is stronger than most second years?!"

"Fuck! He's too damn awesome!"

"...And also pretty handsome."

Some students backed away from the fence in shock, while others leaned forward like hungry beasts wanting more blood.

"Ugh..."

Damien lifted his head slowly, sweat rolling down his temple. He stared straight at Gray, eyes wide, confused, desperate, but also burning with wounded pride.

Gray stood there without a single scratch, and just that fact made Damien's mindset drop.

"This is bad…" Damien muttered through his teeth as he wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand.

He cracked his neck, then his fingers, then rolled his shoulders to relax his tense muscles.

"I… did not expect a first-year to… be this strong…"

He started taking a few deep breaths, and thankfully, Gray didn't move during that time.

"Pftt! Let's do this...!"

Damien took a deep breath and then spat blood on the floor and forced himself to stand. He slid one foot back, lowering his stance, tightening his grip on his spear.

"AGAIN!!" he roared.

A violent flash burst from his body.

White and blue lightning cracked around his arms, legs, shoulders, and weapon like an angry storm. His hair rose slightly from the energy, and sparks danced around his skin.

The smell of burnt air filled the arena.

"YES! FIGHT AGAIN!"

"SHOW HIM HOW BIG THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN A FIRST-YEAR AND A SECOND-YEAR STUDENT, DAMIEN!"

"DON'T LOSE TO A FIRST-YEAR!"

BOOOM!

Damien launched forward.

His boots scraped the ground, lightning shooting behind him like small explosions.

He thrust his silver spear straight at Gray's throat, then twisted his wrist to change direction and stab at his stomach.

Gray moved one step backward and tracked Damien's spear with his eyes calmly.

With this, he knew how to dodge and made the minimal movements to parry Damien's spear and evade his attacks without spending a lot of mana.

Fwip!

Damien swung again, this time from the left, his movement sharp and fast, aiming to slice through Gray's ribs with the spear's blade.

His arm twisted with full force, muscles shaking, sparks of lightning trailing behind the silver weapon.

To this, Gray lifted his rapier only a few centimeters, timing it with perfect accuracy, and hit the exact point of Damien's spear tip.

CLINK!

The force redirected immediately, and Damien's entire body turned sideways, his balance breaking for a short moment, leaving his chest and face completely open.

The crowd gasped loudly, seeing the danger.

"That's it! He got him!"

"No way Damien can block that!"

"The first year is actually going to win!"

Even Lyra's breathing turned more frantic; her fingers dug into the arena fence, eyes wide, unable to even blink.

Gray shifted his weight slightly forward, preparing to end the match, and everyone could see it.

His cold eyes narrowed, his sword arm moved slowly like it was sliding across water.

An opportunity…

But at that moment's Damien's lips curled up into a full-fledged grin.

He growled from deep inside his throat, tightened his grip, twisted his wrist in a wild motion, and used his turning momentum to spin his spear in a full circle.

He had practically stolen Gray's technique!

Then he struck upward with reckless speed, aiming at Gray's jaw, trying to pierce it and kill him in one single brutal attack.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lyra's scream ripped out so loudly that it echoed across the entire arena. Everyone heard it, even Gray and Damien, but the attack was already in motion.

Damien's eyes widened with excitement as he didn't expect that copying Gray's move from before would actually make him win the match!

At least... in Damien's mind… the match was already decided.

Grip...

"...H-huh...?"

Confusion froze his face.

The spear stopped moving… not because it missed, but because someone had grabbed it. But what was grabbed wasn't the handle or shaft of the spear....

It was the tip of the spear, the most deadly and sharp part of it.

And Gray had caught the spear tip with his bare left hand.

"..................."

The entire arena became silent for one full breath, like the world fell asleep.

Gray stood there, perfectly calm, holding the lethal, sharp metal point between his fingers as if it were nothing more than a wooden stick.

Blood didn't even fall from his hand.

"Y-you..." Damien exclaimed, his voice cracking as his heartbeat erupted!

He jumped backward with pure instinct, ripping the spear free from Gray's relaxed grip. Gray let it go easily, watching him stumble back three steps.

"H-how are you… so strong?!" Damien finally shouted, his voice shaking with fear, disbelief, and complete humiliation.

".........."

Gray did not answer immediately.

Instead, he walked forward slowly, one step at a time, his rapier gently touching the ground as he moved.

Each step echoed like heavy boots on a hollow floor, even though his steps were quiet.

Step…

Step…

Step…

Damien stepped back without thinking, his breath shaking. He felt like an animal forced into a corner.

"Didn't I tell you?"

Gray finally spoke, his lips curling up into a chilling smile.

"You picked the wrong opponent."

Damien gritted his teeth so hard that blood leaked from his gums.

BOOOOM!

"IMPOSSIBLE! THERE'S NO WAY A FIRST-YEAR STUDENT IS THAT STRONG!" he screamed, voice exploding like thunder, aura bursting out in a violent shockwave that made nearby students fall backward.

Those shockwaves didn't affect Gray whatsoever.

Damien then lowered his stance, eyes glowing with cold blue light, and placed both hands on the spear handle.

His whole body became tense like a bowstring ready to snap.

"Fine… If normal skills don't work… I'll show you something only strong warriors can use!"

His voice turned deep, like something ancient was speaking through him.

"Flood Dragon's RAGE!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

A huge burst of violent blue energy exploded from his body, shaking the ground and forming strong wind pressure that forced several students to shield their faces.

Even the referees took a few steps back.

Two shining ethereal blue horns grew from Damien's head.

His skin slowly grew blue dragon scales across his neck, arms, and cheekbones. His pupils stretched into vertical reptile slits, filled with fury and madness.

The arena roared in complete shock at the transformation!

"A-A transformation?!"

"But he hasn't reached the King Realm yet!"

"How is this possible?!"

CRACKLEEE!

Damien raised his spear with both hands, lightning and water vapor swirling around it.

"THIS IS MY ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE!!! THERE'S NO WAY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT ME NOW!"

He spun the spear, forming a full spinning circle of blue water energy around himself, wind howling like storms.

"THE FLOOD DRAGON SWIMS THROUGH THE SKY!!!"

He declared madly, launching himself upward, levitating, surrounded by blue spectral dragon energy.

He was actually flying, something only King-level masters could actually do!

BAAAM!

The silhouette of a massive water dragon coiled behind him, rising, and his rank spiked instantly, going from the peak of the Master realm to the late-stage of the Grandmaster Realm!

Everyone was left speechless, not to mention Lyra, who originally had a face full of relief, but now she was practically panicking.

She truly didn't want Gray to lose this match!

No... she didn't even want Gray to get hurt!

"Gray... please..."

She begged even though he couldn't hear her whispers.

"Please survive...!"

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