CHAPTER 35: CHAPTER 35 - DYLAN VS ZION

After getting everything he needed, Zion arrived in the courtyard where everyone else was already finished and waiting.

"Took you long enough! Thought you got scared and bailed on us." The blonde-haired boy mocked, looking straight into Zion’s eyes.

"Somebody’s cranky. Forget to drink mommy’s milk this morning?" Zion asked, sitting down next to Crystal.

A few snickers and giggles went around from his comment. Some didn’t laugh but smiled instead as they didn’t want to be rude but still needed to express themselves.

"Oi, kid! Do you know who I am? I’m Dylan the goblin slayer, bitch! I’ve taken on more Fractures than you can count."

"Yet you were named after the weakest monsters. Yeah, I’m so scared." Zion didn’t even look Dylan in the eyes which only pissed him off even more.

The representatives who were speaking with one another asked if they should stop the commotion, but Raven allowed them to continue.

"It will be a good bonding session." She smiled

"I hope Dylan doesn’t kill the boy." The Knight order representative spoke with concern

Raven busted out laughing. "Pfffft, as if."

"What’s so funny?" The KOR asked

"Just watch." She spoke with confidence, looking at her nephew with a wide smile.

"Raise your sword!" Dylan shouted with anger, his pride on the line.

Zion smirked. "Make me."

"That guy is done for." The knight-order girl spoke

The Magic Tower mages agreed while the Church paladin and priestess clasped their hands in a praying motion, hoping this wouldn’t lead to a death.

"That’s it!" Dylan lunged at Zion with full force, his feet planting into the ground with strength as he swung his greatsword with great power.

The blade slammed into the ground, cracking the stone underneath them, but Zion easily dodged the attack, side stepping out of the way and delivered a devastating punch to his face.

Dylan flew backward, bouncing on the ground until he collided with a tree, snapping it in half. and landing into the garden area. He pulled himself up, his face popping out of the dirt and looked confused.

’What just hit me?’ Dylan thought. ’I attacked that academy loser and then suddenly got knocked away.’

The knight order girl jolted in shock. "Woah. Wasn’t expecting that."

"Oh my, and here I thought the Academy didn’t have any promising individuals." The mages spoke, their arrogance rubbing off each other.

The Church members said a silent prayer once more. "Thank Lord Arion no one was killed."

"Impossible! No way I would lose to an academy loser like you!" Dylan shouted, his aura flaring with an incredible amount of power.

"This is why I hate working with you all. You magic tower bastards think you’re better than everyone. The knight order has a bunch of prideful idiots who don’t know when to back down. And fuck the church." The Paladin and Priestess didn’t take kindly to Zion’s words but ignored it since he was one in many that didn’t care for religion.

"Shut up! I’m Dylan the Goblin Slayer! I slay fucking goblins!"

"That’s crazy, still a bitch."

"You stupid bastard!" Once more, Dylan charged at Zion only to be put in his place.

Dylan’s great sword cleaved through the air with brutal force, each swing bolstered by mana coursing through his veins, yet Zion danced just beyond reach, feet light as whispers.

With a smirk, Zion sidestepped once more, delivering a stinging slap that echoed louder than steel, eyes glinting with disdainful amusement.

Frustration flared in Dylan’s as his mana waned, strength vanquished not by wounds but by the relentless mockery of a blade yet to be drawn.

In a final, desperate gambit, his sword blazed with a radiant yellow light, a rune igniting like a newborn sun as arcs of energy roared to life along the blade, swirling with the fury of a tempest.

’A runic blade?!’ Zion’s eyes widened with shock.

"Oh, he’s dead." Everyone agreed.

’Come on Zion, you can’t die!’ Crystal was the only one worried about Zion’s safety. Not only did she care for him as a friend, she also might need his help in the future, so he couldn’t die.

If there was one thing that separated the Magic Tower and Knight’s Order from the Academy, it was their resources.

Since the academy is mainly focused on nurturing people in many aspects, such as math, history, club activities, teaching, and so on, it’s basically a stepping stone for people to have a standing in society once they reach adulthood.

The magic tower and knights’ order, however, focus on nurturing the best of the best in their single aspect, magic or martial arts. Because of this, their resources are only used for those things. This is why Dylan having a runic weapon is normal, but still shocking because it’s rare to see one.

"You’re fucking dead now!" Without even hiding his killing intent, Dylan swung his greatsword, the massive blade striking Zion with a ferocious explosion of yellow light.

The ground shifted, debris scattered in the air and a dust cloud formed. Dylan stood there, a smile across his face. He drew back his blade to sheath it, but something stopped him. It was as if his blade was stuck on something.

Once the dust settled, Zion stood there, his expression blank but obviously annoyed. He gripped the greatsword, his fingers digging into the blade, and shattered it with a clenched fist.

"Clench your face." He said

"W-What?" A punch so heavy that it tore Dylan’s jaw off sent him flying into the school, breaking every wall he collided with, shattering glass left and right.

Everyone stood still, shocked at what they witnessed. They couldn’t believe someone from the Academy was able to be a Knight Order martial artist so easily.

"Hahahahaha! That’s what I like to see! Good job." Raven broke the silence, patting Zion on the back as she laughed loudly.

"Everyone, I want to introduce you to someone. This is Zion Zagan, son of Zaleena Zagan, my nephew." She smirked

At that realization, everyone turned to them and froze. They knew of Zaleena and her prodigy son. However, they had never seen him before, so learning about this now was a slap to the face.

---

"Our lab has been found." A man with long blonde hair in a ponytail wearing glasses said as he held a clipboard in his hand.

"Was it the church?" A petite woman with short black hair asked

"No, it was all four factions. They however didn’t enter the dungeon, only scouting it. The observer demons said that they were talking about sending young up-and-coming talents there to bolster the relationship between them."

"Ha! You should have let me know! I would have crushed all of them with my mighty fists!" A muscular bald man roared.

"Shut up Carl! Not everything involves punching something." A woman with long brown hair and big tits chimed in.

"And what measures have you taken to ensure our lab will remain operational Chuck?" A young boy asked. While he may look young, he was far older than what one would assume and more powerful.

"I have already alerted a branch and they sent two individuals to infiltrate the group who will be exploring the dungeon. There is also Linflax who is there. He’s in charge of the demon seed operations and we’ve been sending the kidnapped individuals to him." Chuck, the blonde-haired man revealed.

"Ugh, Linflax, I hate that demon. He never listens to anything and does his own thing. Do you know how many times I had to adjust or change our plans because of that bastard?!" Kristy, the petite woman shouted in anger

Adam, the young boy, shot Kristy a fierce glance. "Us being demonic humans means he’s our superior, so watch the way you speak of him."

Kristy simply rolled her eyes.

"Blair, how are the demonic seed experiments going?" Adam asked.

The busty woman spoke, "Not well. Everyone under 59% compatibility has failed the energy absorption stage, not being able to handle the immense power of demonic energy, so we turned them into chimeras. Those around 60 to 89% passed the absorption stage but failed the transitioning stage. Lastly. those from 90 to 99% passed both stages completely and are currently undergoing the final stage which they have yet to obtain. We haven’t been able to test someone with 100% compatibility."

"Hmmm." Adam put a hand on his chin, thinking about their next move. "Proceed with everything as planned. We’ll assess the situation and if things don’t go our way, we’ll meet up once more to discuss what needs to be done."

"Understood." They all answered before vanishing into a pool of darkness.