CHAPTER 63: TRUE DEFEAT

Chapter 63: True Defeat

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How does he do it? That was the only thought in Elisa Ravenscroft’s mind. She was utterly stunned by Arios’s mastery of the Flash Step. The way he blinked across the stage, a silent, azure flicker of motion, and attacked Nathan was a display of skill she had never witnessed before. It was flawless, a perfect execution of an almost impossible technique. A sharp pang of envy shot through her. She was the one who was supposed to humble Nathan. After his arrogant speech, she wanted nothing more than to be the one to put him in his place. Now, Arios was doing it, and she could only watch.

"You filthy noble!" Nathan screamed, his voice filled with fury as he lay on the polished stone floor, his body shaking with a rage that seemed to consume him. "You... you cheated! There’s no way a pampered boy like you could ever defeat me!" He scrambled to his feet, his eyes wild as he clenched his fists. The cheers and applause for Arios’s victory were like a physical assault on his pride. "I’ll show you what a commoner’s will can do!"

He let out another guttural cry, a sound of pure hatred. "You’ll regret this! You’ll regret ever being born into that life of ease!"

In a flash of motion that was too fast for the eye to follow, a real blade quickly materialized in his hand. It was not a wooden blade, but a lethal weapon, a dagger he had been hiding all this time. The students gasped, their cheers quickly dying in their throats, replaced by a suffocating silence. Nathan’s face was a mask of pure madness, his eyes fixed on Arios, his body coiled like a snake ready to strike.

"You filthy noble!" he screamed again, and he lunged. He moved with a speed that was shocking, his feet a blur as he closed the distance between them. The dagger was aimed at Arios’s heart, a single, decisive blow meant to end it all.

Professor Vaelian on stage seemed unwilling to act. Instructor Bale’s eyes widened in horror and he also looked unwilling to act, and Mage Ronin von Furstenberg’s hands flew up, already preparing a healing chant on his lips.

But someone did move. Eldrich Lionsheart, the Hell’s Knight, his eyes now filled with the cold fury of a warrior, took a single, purposeful step forward. He held up his hands, his fingers moving in a complex, rapid series of hand signs, the air around him beginning to shimmer with the familiar, terrifying red glow of his mana. He was preparing to place Nathan in a fire cage, a humane way to stop him without causing any serious damage.

But Eldrich didn’t react in time, as he was still contemplating what went wrong with Nathan’s mentality.

Before his hand signs could even be completed, Arios, who had been watching the scene unfold with a calm, almost detached expression, disappeared. One moment, he was standing in the center of the stage, the next, he was gone, a faint shimmer of azure the only sign he was ever there.

Nathan’s lunge ended in empty air. He looked around in confusion, his eyes darting frantically, searching for his target.

Just as the confusion turned to panic, Arios reappeared. He was behind Nathan, his movements so fast and so fluid that he looked like a ghost. He didn’t use a magical spell and he didn’t use a powerful strike. He simply reached, and with a precision that was both stunning and terrifying, he tapped Nathan at the back of his neck.

The tap was soft, almost gentle, but the effect was immediate. Nathan’s body went limp, his eyes rolled back in his head, and the dagger clattered to the floor with a metallic clang. He fell forward, his body slumping to the ground in an unconscious heap.

The hall was silent, a complete and almost suffocating one. The students, the professors, and even Eldrich Lionsheart simply stared. They had just witnessed another show of the technique. A student had blinked with speed equal to that of a Grandmaster.

The silence was broken by two figures who rushed forward from the crowd. It was Lucy and Liza, their faces a mix of awe and relief. They reached Arios and immediately began to talk over each other.

"Arios! That was... that was incredible!" Lucy stammered, her cheeks a bright pink. "The way you just... blinked! I didn’t even see you move! It was like you were a ghost!"

"A ghost?" Liza scoffed playfully, nudging Lucy with her elbow. "More like a ninja! Seriously, that was so cool! You didn’t even break a sweat." She gestured to the stage with a sweep of her arm. "My fight with Javier wasn’t as cool. I was barely out of breath by the end! But you? You just waltzed in, did a little flash-step thingy, and it was over! You looked amazing!"

Lucy nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah! When you did that flash thing and just... appeared behind him? Liza and I both gasped. It was like something out of a book. So, so cool."

Liza giggled. "We totally saw it coming, though! He was so mad about Elisa, and then you just had to be so cool and flash-step him. Of course, he lost his mind!" She then leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Did you see his face when you disappeared? Priceless! I can’t believe how calm you were. My heart was pounding the whole time."

Arios, slightly embarrassed by their intense praise, gave a small smile. "It was nothing, really. Just a technique I’ve been practicing." He tried to downplay his feat, but his words only seemed to make them even more excited.

"Nothing?" Liza exclaimed. "Arios, no one else in this academy can do that! You were so fast and so in control. I mean, my fight was good, but yours was... on another level." She fanned herself playfully. "I’m not even going to lie, the way you moved was so cool, I think I blushed a little."

Lucy, her face already a deep shade of crimson, mumbled, "Me too." She then looked at Arios with an expression of pure admiration. "You really saved the day. I was so scared for a second when he pulled out that real blade. Thank you."