Swish—!!
Kachang—!!
In an instant, a young man swiftly closed in on Lucas with a shining longsword in his hands.
Without a moment's hesitation, he swung the sword at Lucas' legs, aiming to inflict severe harm.
Fwoosh—!!
"...Huh?!"
However, the sword passed right through Lucas as his body vanished into thin air, like a mirage.
Confused, everyone rushing towards the silver-haired boy abruptly halted right in their tracks.
They whipped their heads around in bewilderment, trying to locate Lucas, who seemed to have disappeared before their eyes.
Even Kai was perplexed. He knew what that technique was. After all, Lucas won the Flag game and escaped him because of it.
"Find him!" Kai angrily shouted.
–"Arghhhaaaa!!"
But just at that moment, amidst the crowd of cadets, a sharp cry of pain erupted as a brown-haired girl stabbed a boy.
Everyone's attention shifted to the scene, as the confusion only grew.
Kai was about to yell at the girl when something caught his attention, causing him to widen his eyes.
The girl's body flickered, and suddenly as if an illusion was being lifted, her form began to transform.
Before everyone's eyes, the girl changed into a silver-haired boy—the very same one that they were targeting.
Lucas Morningstar.
When Lucas was coming up to the terrace, he had conjured an illusion to take his place.
Meanwhile, he himself sneakily merged with the crowd by turning invisible and eventually altering his appearance to blend in completely.
And when everyone's guard was down due to the confusion, he mercilessly stabbed a young man standing directly in front of him in the back.
Of course, he avoided any vital organs.
Acting quickly, he delivered a palm strike to the back of the boy's neck.
Thwack—!!
That was one opponent down.
Not a single word was exchanged, yet in an instant, everyone quickly charged at Lucas with their weapons ready to strike him down.
They had collectively recognized Lucas as a threat.
In response to their rush, a smirk formed on Lucas' lips as he summoned his crimson spear into his grasp.
Cling, Clang, Cling—!!
As the cadets entered his striking range one after another, the silver-haired spearman unleashed a whirlwind of spear swings.
A symphony of clashing metal resounded, accompanied by sparks that flew through the air, as Lucas single-handedly faced a barrage of enemies.
His footwork and mastery of the spear were mesmerizing. Each one of his swings seamlessly connected with the next, not breaking the flow of his attacks.
Flames danced around him, engulfing his spear in a fiery brilliance.
That sight, coupled with his frenzied yet synchronized footsteps, made him look like an angelic being of fiery destruction.
–"Rush at him from the right, and I'll take the left!" One of the cadets shouted, rallying others to flank Lucas.
Heeding that call, several cadets tried to pincer Lucas and attack him from the opposite direction.
However, before they could inflict any harm on him, Lucas let out a roar that defied the heavens, "Mana Burst!"
Booom—!!
In an instant, a fiery explosion erupted, sending the cadets who were rushing at him flying through the air like paper dolls.
–"Khuuk!"
–"Arghhaaa!"
–"My hand! Fuck! I broke my hand!"
Pained screams and cries of agony echoed across the terrace as the cadets violently crashed onto the ground.
Some suffered first-degree burns while others broke their bones either because of the intensity of the explosion or the impact of their crash.
Thwack—!!
But Lucas didn't stop there. He swiftly approached the fallen cadets, delivering a forceful kick right across one of their faces.
Knocking another one out, he continued his relentless assault, aiming to subdue the remaining opponents.
Meanwhile, Kai, who had been silently observing the scene, turned to the blonde girl standing beside him, equally shocked by the unfolding events.
He yelled at her, "Go!"
It took a few moments for Grace to register Kai's words. She was still reeling from the bewildering display of Lucas's strength.
How did he become so powerful all of a sudden? – she wondered to herself.
However, Kai's voice snapped her out of her stunned state.
"Grace!" Kai exclaimed, catching her attention. "Join the fight!"
The urgency in Kai's voice made Grace nod her head before she could even understand what she was agreeing to.
Taking a deep breath, she channeled mana into her smart bracelet and summoned a silver rapier into her hands.
Stomping her foot firmly on the ground to acquire footing, a strong gust of wind enveloped her feet.
Fwish—!!
In a split second, she lunged forward and appeared before Lucas at breakneck speed, just as he was about to deliver a knockout blow to another fallen cadet.
"What the?!" Lucas's eyes widened in surprise as Grace blurred out and arrived in front of him before swiftly swinging her rapier at him.
Swish—!!
Yet, her blade sliced through nothing but empty air as Lucas deftly evaded her attack, taking a single step back with agility.
Without delay, he raised his spear high above his head and brought it down in a forceful downward motion– a downward horizontal slash.
Snap—!!
However, Grace quickly snapped her fingers and instantly vanished from Lucas's sight.
"Huh?!" Lucas exclaimed, caught off guard, but he sensed a presence above him.
Looking up, he saw that Grace had appeared in mid-air, directly above his head.
Snap—!!
Once again, from high up in the air, Grace snapped her fingers.
This time she closed in on Lucas from above in a blink of an eye and thrust her rapier down at him.
Clang—!!
Reacting swiftly, Lucas raised his spear and used its shaft to block her blade, while murmuring, "Sound magic!"
It was Grace's signature spell in the novel—a technique where she snapped her fingers, enabling her to move at the speed of sound within short distances.
However, with her in mid-air and him preoccupied with blocking her rapier, maybe he could do something about her.
"Ahhaaaa!"
But before Lucas could act on his thoughts, Alberto charged at him like a raging bull, hurtling towards him at full speed.
"Fuck!" Lucas cursed out loud.
This was a dire situation. Lucas had both hands occupied, firmly gripping his spear to ward off Grace's descending thrust.
As a result of that, he was wide open and couldn't defend himself against Alberto!
THWACK—!!
In an instant, before Lucas could even do something, Alberto collided with him, forcefully thrashing his shoulder against Lucas's abdomen.
"Khuaaa!" The impact knocked the wind out of Lucas' lungs. It felt as if he was hit by a speeding truck.
The sheer force of the collision sent him flying back into the air. His body skidded across the ground like a flat stone on a water surface before finally coming to a stop upon crashing against the terrace boundary.
Meanwhile, Grace, who had already landed on her feet, capitalized on the opportunity by quietly chanting a spell under her breath.
She aimed her rapier at Lucas like a gun, who was struggling to rise up to his feet.
Suddenly, powerful gusts of wind swirled around Grace's slender blade, forming a vortex.
From his peripheral vision, Lucas watched as the wind vortex shot at him like an arrow upon Grace's command.
THWOOOSH—!!!
The storm arrow collided with the silver-haired boy, unleashing a tempest that shattered parts of the terrace boundary as collateral damage.
It was as if a miniature tornado had struck the intended target of Grace's attack.
"Did I get him?" Grace questioned aloud, her voice filled with uncertainty.
However, her question was soon answered as the dust settled and the winds subsided.
Standing at the edge of the terrace stood a silver-haired boy, clad in divine red and golden armor, with two flaming wings on his back.
He gripped the radiant red spear tightly in his hands, appearing as though he were an angelic being.
"What the fuck?!" Grace exclaimed in shock, unable to contain her astonishment.
That was her strongest spell. How did Lucas survive the Storm Arrow? That armor… was it a relic?
Even Kai couldn't help but widen his eyes, taken aback by the spectacle unfolding before him.
On the other hand, Alberto silently clenched his fists, readying himself for further combat.
A handful of other cadets managed to stand back up again, although most of them were knocked out by Lucas's earlier onslaught.
Thrack—!!
In the next moment, the armor around Lucas' body shattered as if it was made of glass and dissipated into flickering embers.
Instead, a scarlet aura enveloped his figure as he spoke with an ominous tone, "You are all dead."
