CHAPTER 65: OPEN CHALLENGE

The silence after Lucian’s words wasn’t peaceful.

It was thick.

Like the entire stadium had just been punched in the gut and didn’t know how to breathe anymore.

Athena stood on the upper platform, arms crossed, jaw tight. Her eyes never left him—Lucian, standing dead center in the combat field, hands still in his pockets, like he didn’t just level the entire arena with that fight.

Like Ash wasn’t still being carried off the stone by medics.

Like his words didn’t just turn the whole week upside down.

"...He’s staying," Garos muttered beside her.

Athena didn’t respond.

Because he was right.

Lucian hadn’t left. He hadn’t even taken a step toward the gates. He stood there, still. Quiet. Waiting. The breeze pulled gently at his uniform jacket, the hem flapping at his sides like a banner. A storm in human skin.

Then—

"I’m still here," he said, voice cutting clean through the air. "Come if you want."

It wasn’t loud. He didn’t need it to be.

His voice carried. Too sharp to ignore.

The challenge was clear.

Reia stood near the outer ring with Evelyn, arms folded. She didn’t blink.

Evelyn exhaled lightly. "He’s really doing it."

"He said he would."

"No, I mean... all of it. The challenge. The eyes. The pressure. He’s not even trying to act humble."

Reia didn’t answer.

She just watched him.

Across the field, instructors from other academies were huddled near their elite students, whispering, trying to make sense of what they’d just seen. Some students looked toward Lucian with curiosity. Others with something close to fear.

One guy raised his hand, but his teacher yanked it down before he could speak.

No one moved.

Lucian tilted his head.

"...No one?" he asked, almost disappointed. "Didn’t expect that."

He rolled his neck slowly, eyes half-lidded. Calm. Unbothered. The kind of stare that wasn’t born in a classroom or simulation chamber.

That was the gaze of someone who’d bled for real.

A regressed veteran—one who’d fought and died in a world far worse than this.

The audience didn’t know that.

But the energy?

It told the story.

And they felt it.

Athena stepped forward, slow and deliberate, heels echoing as she approached the edge of the platform. Her voice came cool and sharp.

"You’re staying on the field?"

Lucian didn’t look up. "Why would I leave?"

Athena narrowed her eyes. "That invitation you dropped... you understand what it means, right?"

"I’m counting on it."

"Even if they come one after the other?"

He gave a slight nod. "Let them."

Athena stared at him for a moment longer.

Then looked away.

Garos muttered something under his breath, shaking his head. "He’s not just challenging them. He’s cornering them."

Athena glanced at him. "They cornered themselves."

Down in the crowd, the energy had shifted again.

Some students stood, stepping toward the edge of their zones.

A boy in dark armor—eyes like twin daggers—took one step forward.

"Sit," his instructor barked.

He froze.

Lucian turned slowly, scanning the rows of contenders. His voice cut the silence again, low and steady.

"Class Zero already proved themselves. You saw it. You watched them walk through everyone you thought would win."

His gaze locked on the crowd.

"You doubted us. Laughed at us. Ignored us."

No one answered.

"And now I’m here."

He took one step forward, hands still deep in his pockets.

"This is your chance to prove something. To yourselves. To your sponsors. To the instructors who handpicked you. I won’t chase you."

His next words came ice-cold.

"But I’ll wait."

The crowd murmured again. But no one moved.

Athena folded her arms. "They won’t come."

"Not today," Lucian said. "But some will. Eventually."

Reia’s eyes sharpened.

He was planting a flag.

Not just for himself—for Class Zero. For the ones they mocked. The ones they ignored.

This wasn’t just domination. It was declaration.

Lucian turned back to the center of the field and sat down cross-legged, right on the cracked stone.

Not meditating.

Not resting.

Waiting.

Athena turned away from the railing, her voice tight. "Send a message to all divisions. No one approaches him without clearance. If anyone tries to ambush him or send students off-record, they’ll answer to the administration."

Garos looked over. "You’re protecting him now?"

"No," Athena said. "I’m protecting the rest of them."

Lucian closed his eyes.

He could hear the murmurs. The doubts. The fear.

He could feel the stares—some sharp, some bitter, a few burning with rage. Rival factions stewing in their own silence, trying to figure out how to answer this slap to the face.

He didn’t care.

He wasn’t trying to provoke them for ego.

He was just tired.

Ash had been fast. Trained. Unorthodox. A prodigy among their generation.

But to Lucian... it was like facing a kid with a sharpened stick.

He didn’t use full strength.

Didn’t even use his system perks.

No Blink. No Riftstep. No Spatial Anchor. No Chrono Rewind.

Just fists. Technique. Muscle memory sharpened over two lifetimes.

He dismantled Ash like folding a sheet of paper.

Now he waited for the real ones.

The ones hiding behind status. Bloodlines. Logos and sponsorships.

He wasn’t scared of them.

Because he’d already buried better.

The stadium slowly began to shift again. Division leads started pulling their teams back. The crowd began filtering out in waves. But no one took their eyes off the boy sitting at the center.

Not for a second.

Because deep down, they knew.

He wasn’t just some overhyped first-year.

He wasn’t a student anymore.

He was the warning.

Evelyn and Reia stood at the edge of the field, watching silently.

Reia turned slightly. "He’s not moving until someone steps up."

Evelyn nodded once. "It’s a call. Not for a fight. For a shift."

"You think they’ll come?"

"Eventually."

"Then what?"

Evelyn watched him for a moment.

"...Then they lose."

Silas was already bragging at the Class Zero tent, whispering to Vyn that their names were going to be stamped into every damn combat board after this. Vyn didn’t say anything, but he cracked a rare smirk.

Lucian didn’t notice.

He was still sitting there.

Eyes closed.

The sun dipped slightly through the glass canopy of the stadium, hitting his face like a spotlight.

And for a moment—

He looked like a god of war resting between battles.

Not a student.

Not a prodigy.

Something older.

Something that had survived worse, and come back just to watch the next wave try.

Then the system blinked in his eye.

[Passive Detected: Sovereign Trigger]

[You are now recognized as "Dominant Threat"]

[Hunter-grade observers will take notice...]

Lucian didn’t even react.

He just waited.

And somewhere far off—

From the uppermost level of the stadium—

A pair of eyes opened.

A figure with a black coat and burn-scarred hands leaned against the far wall, watching him with a low grin.

"...Found you," the stranger whispered.

Lucian’s eyes opened at that moment, sharp as a blade.

He didn’t turn.

But he knew someone real had just arrived.

Good.

He was getting bored.

Let the next one come.