CHAPTER 47: BATTLE ROYALE [2]

The chaos in the battle royale was beyond anything the Academy had prepared them for. Flames danced. Lightning cracked. The earth trembled.

And in the middle of it all, three boys laughed like maniacs.

Kaelen, Jered, and Neal were locked in a whirling triangle of destruction.

They were fighting each other seriously, joyfully, without restraint.

Kaelen blinked across the field, dodging a piercing solar spear fired from Neal’s outstretched hand. The light-trail split the stone behind him in half.

Before he could land, a vortex of green-gold flame spiraled upward from the floor, forcing him to twist mid-air.

He landed with a slide, the soles of his boots grinding sparks against the ground.

"Stop running, you little rat!" Jered called out, already leaping from above, his Dauntless flame coiled around his arm like a divine whip.

Kaelen grinned and activated Blink again.

"Catch me then, slowpoke."

They weren’t trying to kill each other, not really. They were too bonded for that.

But here, in this arena where the Dean had ensured no permanent harm could occur, they could finally settle old grudges and long-standing rivalries with their full power unleashed.

It was chaos. Beautiful, violent chaos.

Every student who tried to interrupt was ganged up on and eliminated by the trio without mercy.

But the honeymoon didn’t last.

From across the battlefield, two figures approached with lethal intent.

One was massive. A thunderstorm of a man, veins crackling with lightning, fists wrapped in storm-forged gauntlets.

Leon Kuver, a level 30 warrior with an Epic-class Thunderfist Champion.

He had once been the pride of the combat division until Kaelen had "accidentally" swapped his weapon with a cursed training stick.

The other, lithe and pale. Feldon Gree was a caster at the same level. His class, Reave Sovereign, was a terrifying hybrid of part summoner and part druid.

He could not only summon beasts, but become them. A rare shapeshifter class that borrowed powers directly from the monsters he controlled.

They have wiped the remaining participants and they were on their way towards the trio

Both of them had suffered humiliation because of Kaelen.

And both were here now, to return the favor.

"You see him?" Feldon asked, eyes burning. "That smug little rat."

Leon’s fists sparked with thunder. "Let’s bury him."

Their eyes locked on Kaelen.

Jered and Neal noticed the approaching pressure of two level 30s charging like titans across the cracked field. But instead of backing their friend up...

They stepped aside.

Jered chuckled. "This is what happens when you scam half the Academy."

Neal crossed his arms. "I’ve been waiting for this."

Kaelen’s face twitched.

"...You bastards."

The two epic-class enemies slammed into Kaelen like a warhammer.

He blinked away just in time to avoid a thunder-clad uppercut, but a shadow claw from Feldon clipped his shoulder, slicing clean through his mana cloak.

He crashed into a pillar of shattered stone.

Before he could recover, a lightning pulse struck the ground, sending tremors through his spine. Leon followed up with a leaping hook, a charged thunderfist aimed at his ribs. Kaelen blocked it barely with his arms and it trembled under the impact.

He was fast.

But they were faster. Stronger. Fully leveled.

And they weren’t holding back.

"Still playing the clever brat, huh?" Leon snarled.

Kaelen ducked a second blow and responded with a flurry of mana threads, slicing in thin arcs at his enemies.

Feldon melted into smoke, a beastly wolf form emerging, leaping at Kaelen with speed only a hybrid could muster.

Claws ripped through Kaelen’s robes, blood trailing behind.

"Enjoying this?" Kaelen gasped, dodging, staggering.

From the sidelines, Jered shouted, "You’re fine! You said you didn’t need us!"

Neal laughed, and shot a beam at Kaelen blocking his paths.

Kaelen grit his teeth.

He was burning mana too fast.

Third Eye helped him by constantly feeding him patterns, predictions, weaknesses but it wasn’t enough.

The two attackers were coordinated. Leon brought the pressure, while Feldon struck from the shadows.

He weaved and blinked, redirecting attacks, sliding between arcs of claws and bolts of thunder.

He shot a pulse of healing mana into his chest to stop the bleeding. Every movement was calculated. Every dodge, every breath.

He was surviving.

But only just.

Kaelen knelt, panting, blood dripping from his temple. He felt their steps before he saw them.

Feldon circled. "You know, we were just going to scare you. But now..."

Leon loomed behind him. "Now we’ll break you."

Kaelen stood.

His robes were torn. Mana clung to him in faint strands. His body screamed. His hands trembled.

Leon taunted him "What was your nickname again? Unholy Immortal?"

Feldon completed the sentence "More like the trash mortal"

But his eyes.

His eyes were calm.

Kaelen took a step forward.

" If I were given a second chance I’d do it all over again."

Feldon snarled. "What?"

Kaelen lifted his hands. Mana whirled around his fingers. Threads no, veins of light danced like fireflies.

"I scammed you for fun. And I enjoyed it"

Leon moved.

Kaelen’s hands blurred.

"Too late."

Mana threads lashed out. It was not wide, but narrow. Controlled. Hyper-compressed.

They wrapped around Leon’s arm and cut through the gauntlet, shocking him mid-swing.

Feldon lunged again, shifting forms but Kaelen blinked, reappearing directly behind him.

His hand pressed to Feldon’s back. He injected a violent dose of corrupted mana not lethal, but enough to paralyze momentarily.

Feldon froze mid-shift, his limbs jerking.

And as he was about to follow up with a kick.

Swish.

Neal kicked him hard to his ribs.

The kick threw Kaelen like a rag doll across the battlefield, finally coming to a stop after hitting a tree trunk, shattering it.

"And that’s for scamming me."

Jered could not stop his laughter. Of course they were buddies but for some reason it was oddly satisfying bullying Kaelen.

Kaelen panted lying on the ground. He was exhausted. Bruised. Bloodied.

But alive.

"Don’t worry I’ll handle both of them for you" Neal added very confident of his own strength.

"Are you forgetting me?" Jered glared at Neal.

"You guys..."

Kaelen’s eyes gleamed and with a maniacal laugh.

"...forced my hands."