At the academy itself, things weren't easy for Dame and the rest of them. They felt like they had no choice but to run away.
At least Dame did; he had given the option to the others to not follow him. The academy had no idea about the planned uprising, and they wouldn't, but if they found out what clan he was from and the fact that he was from the Demonic Faction, they would very well pin all of the blame on him. In the end, everyone had come to escape with him, and they had been able to get some help from Gunther. A middle-stage warrior who worked for the academy and was a part of the five major clans, the Flowing Force Clan.
However, their luck was against them. Just as they had entered the large open cliff-top area that would lead them down to the valley of fog, none other than the principal himself, Murkel Dockthron.
The strongest man currently in the Dark Faction, the head of the Pagna Academy, and the one known to be closest to moving on to the Divine Realm.
"It's a shame; I told you all that you were our treasured students, the next stars of the Dark Faction, and yet here you are all trying to escape?" Murkel commented.
"What was it, tell me, was it that last assessment? Did we push you too far? You see, we had no choice; our faction's position is important, you all need to look at the bigger picture.
"In two months' time, the Martial Arts Tournament will begin, and we need to show that we have growing strength, or our faction will become nothing. People already think of us as the weakest faction, so we had to resort to measures like these."
The students didn't know what to say. They understood the principal's words, but they had already made up their minds.
Many of them felt like they would have already been dead if it wasn't for Raze. They were realizing that the Clans treated them as expendable, and it was the same as the academy.
Although the principal's words might be true, he was essentially also saying if they didn't perform, they would get rid of them.
"Just… let us go," Simyon eventually said. "I joined the academy so I could become a stronger warrior, so I could protect the people in the villages and towns from getting hurt."
"From creating another me. I just wanted to make sure fewer people suffered. I don't want to take part in these political games. I… I… I quit the academy!"
Hearing the words from Simyon, Dame couldn't help but smile in that situation. It reminded everyone of their resolve.
"That was well said; we all quit the academy, so get out of our way unless you want a fight!" Dame stated.
"I thought there was something different about you; I can tell which student you are. Do you think I couldn't see you were using demonic energy as well?" Murkel stated. "It appears that someone from the Demonic Faction had corrupted the students.
"I also need the students for the Martial Arts Tournament, so I have been put in quite a predicament. I shall beat some sense into all of you, and as for you from the Demonic Faction, I will eliminate you."
Right after Murkel had finished talking, Dame threw a fist in the air. It was a short burst of impact. The air currents rippled where his fist landed.
They were still a few meters away from the principal, but he knew his attack would hit due to the effects of the gauntlet.
A Qi blast went through the air, and right at the principal, just before it hit him, he swung his arm quickly, hitting the attack away.
"Projectile Qi? No, that's impossible; that attack was far too weak to be projectile Qi; it seems you are quite interesting but not enough for me to keep you alive!" Murkel stated.
"Come on, we have to help him; if we all go in, it's only one person, we can do something!" Tinson claimed.
Charging in, his two friends helped him from behind. Joe and Violet followed.
"They're going to get themselves killed; we have to support them!" Simyon stated.
After he ran out, so did Safa and Liam.
'With my system, I can use Royo's strike, or I can use one of the Lethal Bite Clan's skills that I observed as well. I should be able to do something and catch the principal by surprise.
'These are skills from the top warriors in Pagna; they should be able to do something, right?'
At the same time, Ricktor and Mada had felt the same way. With all the distractions, the others could get in; if they could get one good hit, then maybe Gunther or Dame could finish the person off.
However, for Liam, something happened as they were approaching. [Warning, the target is too powerful; suggestion retreat, retreat now!]
'What, even with all my skills!' Liam thought.
"You idiots!" Gunther called out, but he knew it was too late to do anything. Ideally, rather than creating a distraction for the two of them to get a hit, it should have been the other way round. While Dame and Gunther were fighting, it would have been best for them to just escape, and they would try to find a way out of here.
Gunther knew, winning against the principal was impossible.
Murkel looked at all of the students in front of him, with their Qi sharpened and bursting, like wild fangs coming at him.
Not moving from his spot, his pure Dark Qi started to linger out from his back. It went from his feet and continued to grow.
It looked like visual Qi, and it appeared to be consuming the entire area of all light and color. It expanded out in a large size, covering the entirety of the students.
They were moving too forward to even avoid it, and it was just Qi, so what could it do? The moment the dark Qi touched their bodies, though, there was an instant reaction in all of them.
They felt incredibly weak, a large feeling in their stomach was churning, and all of their bodies started to sweat.
Their energy felt like it was being zapped from their bodies, and before they knew it, they had fallen to the floor.
Murkel started to walk forward past the students that were on the ground. He walked past Ricktor, who was gritting his teeth as he looked at his father.
'Damn it, now that I'm at the fifth stage, I thought something like this wouldn't happen, but even now, I just can't resist his Qi!' Ricktor was angry at himself, and seeing the scene, he felt kind of silly.
Even with the mysterious Raze, did they really think they could go against the principal? Perhaps just once, Ricktor wanted to go against his father.
"So did you have any plans in case we were caught by the principal?" Gunther asked.
The only two that were still able to stand were Gunther and Dame, but even Dame was being affected.
"I do… there's something I have… a gift from somebody that's really special," Dame replied.
Murkel continued to take his steps forward. When he heard the sound of something from behind, and could feel a large immense amount of Qi.
Immediately he turned and raised his hands. An erupting volcano fist was coming his way, and using his Qi, Murkel had no choice but to stop the attack.
As the fist was caught in Murkel's hand, shockwaves went out in all directions, even uprooting some of the trees in the forest.
The bunny beasts scattered in the area, and the whole valley was rumbling from the sound of the single punch.
Murkel looked at the fist he was holding, a powerful strike but not just a powerful strike.
'That was a move from the Erupting Fist Clan, why would one of my own attack me? And the only person who has a fist this strong is the vice-head.'
Looking at the end of the fist, Murkel was in for even more of a surprise, because he wasn't holding onto flesh. Instead, he was holding onto stone embedded with Qi.
What he was looking at was a moving statue that had an immense amount of power.
Safa on the ground with the statue in her possession knew what to do.
"What is that thing?" Gunther asked.
"It's the gift I was talking about; it's now or never!" Dame shouted.
