Chapter 87: A Demon

"Tch, dammit, I was hoping he'd at least have a few broken bones, but all he got were a few bruises." Magnus glanced to his side and saw the hate-filled remark had come from Syrna. She had returned from visiting her brother just moments after the match ended, and she wore an annoyed expression as she stared down at Blair, who had just been teleported out of the Alternate Space alongside Jalud.

She was right; compared to many other matches, especially within their faction, Blair was in the best shape, with Syrna in second. Sylas had been injured so badly he couldn't even stand or remain conscious, while Seraline had pushed her body and will to their absolute limits using Weapon Unity against Velis.

After what they went through, they might not recover to a hundred percent even by the time the Live Examination ends, despite the academy's care for their injuries. This led Magnus to a single conclusion.

No matter how you look at it, there's no way those two will be able to fight in any more matches.

On the other hand, although Blair had exhausted his mana reserves and been roughed up by Jalud's assaults, he hadn't taken any direct hits.

"Well, whatever, I guess that means it's time for the last one," Syrna stated as she sat down next to Magnus. Indeed, with Magnus and Reimun's match being one of the first to end and Blair and Jalud's being one of the last, only eight minutes were left in this round of the Live Examination, and only one match remained.

Alright, Luden, I've waited this long, so show me what I've been waiting for.

If there was one thing Magnus had always wanted to see, it was Luden's capabilities. He knew Luden was close to the Adept-level, or perhaps he had already reached it, but that said nothing about his actual abilities. Just what kind of strength did a person like Luden rely on? He would finally get the answer.

Within the final occupied environment in the Alternate Space, Luden, who had been sitting silently on a pile of rubble, slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the roof of the dark cavern he was in. There, he saw the projection and the various grayed-out names under his and Resir's, signifying all the other matches that had ended.

"It looks like it's finally time," Luden muttered to himself.

Seeing Luden finally move, Resir, who had been waiting patiently, reached out and grabbed the shaft of his axe, buried in the ground next to him. Although they had been sitting in utter silence, the tension that had built up during that period was palpable. The intent of battle, the sheer desire to engage in combat, practically oozed from Resir.

Every move he made and every shift in his body revealed his eagerness. Yet for perhaps the first time, as Magnus and many others familiar with Luden saw his gaze land upon Resir, there was unbridled emotion present. It was as if a veil had been lowered, revealing an emotion that was most certainly depraved yet unidentifiable.

The only person in the crowd of students who seemed unaffected was Zilen, who simply shook his head with a pitying expression.

"It looks like Resir really kicked the hornet's nest this time; I tried to warn him. Oh well, I suppose that means there will be one less faction in our academy," Zilen murmured to himself. Out of everyone there, he probably knew Luden the longest, having met when they were younger since their families did business together.

And if there was one thing imprinted into his mind, it was this: Luden was a master of masks. He wore one of calm and composure, a facade so perfect that it was easy to forget what lay beneath. But Zilen knew. When they were young, he had seen the mask slip just once, and what lay beneath was a demon. There was no other way to describe it. A being devoid of empathy, driven by a cold, calculated cruelty.

As the seconds ticked down, Resir, whose eagerness had only been mounting, suddenly found himself frozen in place when he saw Luden looking at him. It was as if he were something meant to be devoured, and that sent a chill up his spine.

"Resir, tell me. Do you know why I waited until now to finally fight you?" Luden's question seemed to snap Resir out of the mental shock that was keeping him in place. He stood up, pulling his axe from the ground. At some point, he had started sweating, yet he let out a laugh all the same as he answered.

"Haha, who cares! I don't give a shit about your plans or your reasons! The only thing I care about is using the next eight minutes to utterly-" The attack was so swift that no one, not Resir nor the academy staff observing through sensory spells, could register it. Its aftermath, however, was undeniable. In an instant, Luden stood where Resir had been, but Resir was gone. His axe remained standing where it was, a silent testament to his sudden disappearance.

The noise followed a deafening roar that reverberated through the cavern walls—a sound all too familiar to any living creature capable of hearing. Thunder, so powerful it seemed to shake the very chamber, ignited every inch of bioluminescent algae coating its surfaces, casting an eerie, pulsating light onto Luden's face.

"The answer is simple, really," Luden said, his voice icy and devoid of emotion.

"It's because I want everyone to see you as an example of what happens to those who break their agreements with me." Luden's gaze seemed to trail off into the distance as he spoke. Following that trail to the cavern's wall, one would see that a part of it had collapsed in on itself, leaving behind a pile of rubble. It had collapsed while the sound of thunder was still echoing, making it go unnoticed.

After a moment passed, the rocks shook as a hand broke free, and a moment later, like an explosion, all the rubble was blasted away, revealing Resir's figure underneath it all. His face was a mask of disbelief, and a large amount of blood flowed from his nose, dripping onto the dark stone at his feet.

What- what was that? What did I just get hit by? Was it Luden?

Questions swirled in his mind as he wiped the blood from his face and used his aura to forcefully stop the bleeding. The attack had to have been magical in nature; he was sure of it. Magic was one of the only things that could completely ignore the damage nullification effect of a knight's aura. But what kind of magic was it, and how powerful did it need to be that he hadn't been able to offer even the slightest resistance?

Teleportation? No... even if he teleported and then launched an attack, I should've been able to see it coming.

Resir's mind flashed back to what Luden had said while he was chasing him down. Luden claimed he wasn't using a teleportation spell; in fact, he said he wasn't using any spells whatsoever. Resir had written it off as just another one of Luden's annoying mind games, a way to get into his head.

But if he was telling the truth and he really isn't using a spell... then all of this is the result of some form of raw magic. But what kind? The Rilhawk Family's lineage magic doesn't work like this, but I've never heard of anything like this before.

Answerless questions filled Resir's mind as he suddenly heard Luden's voice. With his aura enhancing his physical capabilities and senses, his hearing had reached the point where he could hear even a feather land on the ground from hundreds of meters away, let alone Luden's from a distance.

"Are you done racking your brains yet?" But something was off; it didn't sound like Luden's voice was coming from a distance. His words were accompanied by a flash of light so brief it was hardly noticeable, and as Resir's eyes shifted to his right, he saw Luden's figure standing directly next to him. It was just like before; the place Luden had been standing was now empty, and the only thing there was Resir's axe.

Had he really been unable to track his movements again? As the thought flashed through Resir's mind, he gritted his teeth, the confusion on his face giving way to a focus directed on one thing and one thing alone.

Without hesitation, Resir turned his body, raised his arm, and swung at Luden with enough force and speed that his fist broke the sound barrier. Enveloped in pressure waves, his fist struck, and the resulting impact rippled through the ground, tearing it apart and cracking the surrounding rock like glass. But in the very next moment, Resir's eyes went wide as he saw Luden still standing in front of him.

His position had shifted mere inches, just barely avoiding the path of Resir's strike, yet he stood unperturbed. And once again, an attack was launched in a way that seemed imperceptible. Before he even realized it, Resir found himself in the air, feeling the aura protecting his chest had given way as if something was trying to burrow into his body. At the same time, down on the ground, Luden could be seen lowering his leg.

Watching from the sidelines, the scene was even more perplexing. Syrna exclaimed, "What in the world? I don't get it; how is he attacking so quickly? His body barely seems to move, yet suddenly he's in a completely different place."

Her confusion mirrored the expressions of many other students. It truly appeared as though Luden's attacks were instantaneous as if he had somehow turned a teleportation spell into a physical assault. But they knew such a thing was impossible. Teleportation was a process that occurred in zero time, making it impossible for anyone to act during the actual teleportation.

The only opportunity to use teleportation for an attack would be either before or after the teleportation itself. But if that were the case, it was puzzling why no one could decipher exactly how Luden was launching his attacks.

Hmmm...

Magnus was deep in thought as well. No matter how he reviewed his knowledge, he couldn't recall any spell that would explain what Luden was doing, at least not without expending an enormous amount of mana—something only a Master-level mage, or perhaps even an Archmage, could manage. But as Magnus had that thought, his eyes widened slightly, and he glanced over to where the academy staff were seated.

All of them were watching the match, much like the students. Although nearly all of them were talking amongst one another with a look of intrigue on their faces, there wasn't a hint of shock. This meant they understood what Luden was doing; it was something they could perceive and comprehend.

It's not any form of spell or category of magic, I know... But it's clearly some kind of magic that can be seen through. In that case, maybe...

As a possibility sprang to Magnus's mind, Resir, who had been knocked into the air, let out a gasp, as if all the air had been forced out of his lungs. His vision spun, and his sense of direction became disoriented. He saw the familiar flash of light again, followed by the blurred image of a figure. He didn't need a clear mind to understand who it was, and just as he raised his arms instinctively to protect himself, he was struck again.

"Gah!" Resir screamed in pain as he felt the same spot being hit as before. The already pulsating pain in his body grew more intense as he was sent flying through the air, crashing into the ground like a falling meteor. His body carved a path in the rocky ground of the cavern, and before the dust had a chance to settle, Luden, who had been in the air moments ago, disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared a few meters away from where Resir had crashed.

Coincidentally, or perhaps deliberately, Luden's attacks had knocked Resir back to their original sitting spot. Climbing out of the rocky impact trench with a glaring expression, Resir was breathing heavily. Although there was no visible blood, it was clear he had been injured internally.

"Dammit... Dammit... Dammit!" Resir screamed in rage, blowing away the dust around him. He walked forward, gripping the shaft of his axe and yanking it out of the ground. Anger and confusion were a dangerous combination in a fight, yet at this moment, they were the only emotions Resir could feel. He had been confident he could beat Luden; he had studied his family's lineage magic and was sure he could counter it.

Yet everything that had happened up to this point had completely flipped any plan he had on its head.

"Resir, have you ever heard of an Arcane Awakening?" Luden's question cut through the chaos, and the moment he said it, Magnus, who had been paying close attention, clenched his fist.

I knew it; I was right!

"What?" Resir replied, as much as he wanted to rush Luden. It had already been proven that it wouldn't work, so he decided to humor him instead.

"I'm not surprised you're not aware of the concept. It's not something that's really brought up much, especially if you're a knight and not a mage," Luden remarked before explaining.

"When it comes to being discovered, knights and mages are quite similar. Often, a person unaware of their potential as a knight is discovered by another knight. Other times, they accidentally use their abilities in a moment of intense stress. As a knight, I'm sure you've heard stories of people suddenly gaining a burst of strength when they think they're about to die—a jolt that causes their aura to awaken for the first time." Luden held out his hand as he spoke, something flashing in his eyes.

"Knights don't really have a name for this occurrence, but we mages do. We call those moments when we first use magic by sheer accident Arcane Awakenings." Typically, it is nearly impossible to use magic by accident. To use magic, one needs to form a mana formation, which requires extreme precision and detail, or it could backfire. However, every once in a while, an Arcane Awakening would occur.

A moment when, seemingly by instinct, a mage who isn't even aware of their abilities successfully uses some form of magic in a moment of crisis. Such an event is rare due to the sheer complexity of forming a mana formation. Normally, the magic used in these moments has already been discovered. But there is another case—a situation where a mage not only uses magic accidentally but uses a form of magic yet to be discovered or properly classified.

"I never came up with a name for the magic I discovered. At first, I thought it was simply lightning elementrix." Luden slowed down the entire process, making it visible to everyone watching. Mana flowed from his core and condensed in his eyes, causing a crackling noise to reverberate through the air as bolts of electricity reflected in his irises.

Within seconds, it was as if a storm was contained in his gaze alone and quickly extended outward to the rest of his body. Every hair on Luden's body, including the hair on his head, stood on end as electric currents began arcing through the air and across the wet ground he was standing on.

"But then, I realized it went beyond that," Luden continued as the electric arcs around his body began to concentrate around the arm he held out in front of him. The electric discharge grew more powerful until Luden's arm seemed to disappear amidst the flashes of light and countless arcs.

"Wait a second," Resir muttered to himself, an expression of fear creeping onto his face.

"It was only later that I realized exactly what my ability was," Luden explained. The noise coming from his arm, which was coated in electricity, suddenly ceased, as if it had dispersed into nothingness. But as he raised his arm, it quickly became clear that wasn't the case. The electricity hadn't vanished; it had merged with Luden's arm entirely—the two had become one. His arm had become a living conduit of energy born from the transition of flesh to electricity.

And so, all the questions on everyone's mind were suddenly answered.

Why couldn't they see his attacks? Why did it seem like he was teleporting? It was because Luden had been transforming his body into something akin to lightning. Lightning moved over a thousand times faster than the speed of sound and could circle Magnus's home planet, Earth, in a matter of seconds. Even if the people of this world didn't understand exactly how fast lightning was, they knew the facts.

No living creature could possibly react to it, let alone counter the attacks of a human being made from it. The expression on Resir's face made it clear he had come to this realization as well.

"Now, then. Since there are only four more minutes left in our match, I suppose that's enough talking," Luden stated. His words immediately put Resir on the defensive. He had no clue how to respond to this situation, and in the end, all he could do was focus sheerly on protecting himself with his aura while raising his axe to defend against whatever was coming. But, before his aura even had a chance to fully mobilize itself in defense, he heard a crackling noise as a hand landed on the back of his head.

He didn't even have a chance to resist. Before he realized it, his face was slammed into the ground with enough force to bury itself in it. In reaction, Resir pushed himself to his feet with his free hand while swinging his axe toward the person holding his head down. But his axe struck nothing, cutting through the air. In the next second, a flash of light revealed Luden directly in front of him, his arm already reeled back.

At that moment, half of Luden's body seemed to transform into bright light, and the punch that followed made a radiating noise akin to thunder. For only a brief moment, Resir felt it—his face collapsing in on itself from the sheer speed of the strike. He skidded across the ground like a stone across water, and as he was mid-skip, Luden moved once again, appearing right above Resir, standing on his chest as he hurtled through the air.

One of Luden's legs raised up and transformed into lightning as he slammed it down on Resir's body. The kick caused a shockwave of electricity to arc into the air on impact. Speed beyond comprehension was translated into sheer force, and the earth beneath them seemed to ripple like water before shattering, causing the entire cavern to vibrate violently as if an earthquake had struck.

"Agh!" Resir let out a cry as he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his vision blurring. The world around him faded away, leaving only Luden behind, his expression chilling even now as he stood over his fallen opponent. Resir felt as if he were losing consciousness, but the next moment, a violent stream of electricity coursed through his body, jolting him back awake.

Resir's entire body contracted as his aura did its best to protect him from the electricity that threatened to cook his body alive and stop every organ from functioning. The only thing Resir could do was scream—a scream so harrowing and filled with pain that it felt as if it pierced the soul. When the stream of electricity finally stopped, he was left gasping for breath, his eyes wide as he saw Luden looking down at him.

"No, not yet; you can't slip away just yet. After all, isn't this what you wanted? A fight without anything holding us back," Luden asked, pointing at the projection on the roof of the cavern.

"So only when the last seconds on that timer tick down will you be allowed to leave."