Kaboooom—!!
Instantly, an azure explosion occurred with Lucas' body at its epicenter.
The sheer force of the explosion propelled Kai backwards through the air.
Despite the impact, Kai swiftly regained his balance, deftly landing on his feet just a few inches away from the terrace boundary.
Before Kai could react, however, he noticed that Lucas was already sprinting towards him with remarkable speed.
Gripping his crossguard sword tightly, Kai swung it towards Lucas, aiming to strike him down.
However, Lucas quickly crouched by bending his knees, allowing the sword to pass harmlessly over his head.
But instead of stopping his charge, Lucas continued to press forward.
Lowering his head as much as possible, Lucas extended his right arm, positioning his bicep perpendicular to his neck.
Thrack—!!
Kai couldn't even move to evade Lucas' attack as his shoulder and bicep connected with the middle of Kai's abdomen, just below the right side of his ribcage, striking his liver with precision and performing a flawless Spear.
But Lucas didn't stop there. He wrapped his arms around Kai and continued his forward momentum while lifting him off the ground.
Thrack—!!
They crashed against the terrace boundary soon, shattering it, and hurtled over the edge of the terrace, plummeting down from the multi-story building towards the unforgiving concrete street below.
"Aghhaaaaa!"
"Fuuuuuck!"
As they hurtled towards the concrete street below, Lucas' grip on Kai began to weaken.
The force of their descent, combined with the chaotic situation, caused Lucas to lose hold of Kai's body.
A scream escaped from both of them as the wind rushed past, brushing against their faces and causing discomfort as they had to squint their eyes.
Finding a way out of this situation became their priority.
For Kai, time seemed to have stood still as he tightly clenched his fists.
He had dropped his sword earlier when Lucas speared him, so now he couldn't even use The Black Orb to save himself.
The rush of wind and the distant sounds of the city faded into the background as Kai's mind raced, searching for a solution to this dangerous predicament.
Should he use his Gift and teleport away?
No, that wasn't an option.
Before calling Lucas, he had fought against Quinn. And in that fight, he had already used his Gift twice.
Even though he drank mana potions to replenish his mana pool, his Gift was still on cooldown since he could only use it to teleport twice in one day.
Besides, even if he could use them, running away from this fight was not an option for him.
It was a peculiar sensation, but deep inside, Kai knew he had to see this battle with Lucas through to the end.
There was a purpose behind it, though he wasn't eager to acknowledge it.
So with that determination in mind, he crossed his arms over his chest and began enveloping his body in mana.
Until that moment, Kai had no idea how to employ Martial Aura.
However, in a sudden surge of survival instincts, he managed to maintain a layer of mana close to his body even after releasing it into the atmosphere.
Lucas also decided to do the same, utilizing his Martial Aura to encase his entire body in a dense armor of mana.
To the people walking along the street or the residents peering out of their nearby apartment windows, it looked as if two azure shooting stars were descending towards the street until...
THWAAAM—!!!
They collided with the ground, creating two massive craters as the impact reverberated through the concrete.
"What the–?!"
"Lookout! Something just fell from on top of that building!"
"What the fuck?! Were they people?! Double suicide?!"
"Medical line! Someone call the medical helpline!"
"On it! Someone else call the Cadet Council and inform them about this!"
Naturally, upon witnessing their sudden descent from the sky, nearby cadets who were walking down the street began to panic.
Some hastily dialed the medical emergency line on their smart bracelets, while others contacted the Cadet Council.
"Arghh!"
"Fuuuck!"
However, all of them stopped in their tracks as the dust settled and the figures of the individuals who fell from the top of the building became visible.
Both lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain, clearly having broken more than just a few limbs and bones.
The first to make any kind of movement was a silver-haired boy.
Clenching his fists tightly, Lucas struggled to his knees before finally pulling himself up to his feet.
–"Hey, is that Lucas Morningstar?"
–"Yeah! Yeah, it is him!"
Indeed, Lucas had managed to envelop his body with more mana, minimizing the extent of his injuries compared to Kai.
So obviously, he was the first to regain his footing. Though, he could still feel the agonizing pain of multiple broken bones.
"Arghhaaa!" Another pained groan escaped Lucas as he rubbed the back of his head.
Meanwhile, after several failed attempts, the raven-haired boy also managed to rise to his feet.
Yet, he struggled to maintain his balance, occasionally stumbling as if he was drunk.
–"And look! That's Kai!"
–"Oh, my god! Were they fighting each other?"
–"Quick, call the Cadet Council! Quick!"
"Oh, come on!" Ignoring the murmurs of the growing crowd around them, Lucas vented his frustration upon witnessing Kai's attempts to stand.
"What would it take for me to put you down?!" Lucas added as he approached Kai, who appeared to be suffering from a severe case of concussion.
In response, Kai mustered what little strength remained in his body to his hand and swung his right fist at Lucas.
Swish—!!
Thwack—!!
Lucas swiftly ducked under the feeble punch and sidestepped to the right, countering with a forceful blow to Kai's exposed right side.
"Arghh!" Kai grunted as he threw another swing at Lucas, this time with his left fist.
Swish—!!
Thwack—!!
Once again, Lucas evaded the attack by ducking and sidestepping, this time to the opposite side, before delivering a powerful punch to Kai's vulnerable left ribs.
But Lucas didn't stop there. He stepped in front of Kai, raised his leg, chambered his knee, and launched a swift front kick.
Thwack—!!
"Arghhh!" Staggering backwards, Kai struggled to maintain his balance after receiving the force of Lucas' strike.
Seizing this opportunity, Lucas closed the distance and threw a jab straight at Kai's face.
Swish—!!
But reacting swiftly, Kai twirled his whole body as he spun on his heel while stepping inward and extending his arm slightly, before delivering a powerful spinning elbow strike to Lucas' face.
Thwack—!!
"Aaaah!" A cry of pain escaped Lucas' lips as Kai's elbow made contact with his nose, causing it to throb.
Without hesitation, Kai capitalized on his successful counterattack, straightening his palm like a sword and thrusting it toward Lucas, striking him in the throat.
Thaaak—!!
"Khaaaa!" Gasping for breath, Lucas staggered backwards as Kai planted his straight palm in his adam's apple, his face contorted in pain and shock from the sudden strike.
Spotting another opening to launch an attack, Kai swiftly closed in on Lucas once more, throwing a right cross punch at the Morningstar.
Swish—!!
However, Lucas sidestepped yet again and grabbed a hold of Kai's arm, using his own momentum to execute a basic Judo throw, flipping Kai's body over.
Thaaam—!!
"Khuaaa!" Kai's body crashed hard against the unforgiving concrete and his vision was momentarily engulfed in darkness.
Meanwhile, Lucas wasted no time and quickly mounted him.
By the time Kai came back to his senses, Lucas had already positioned himself firmly on top of him.
Thwack–!! Thwack—!! Thwack—!!!
Pinning Kai down in place, Lucas started hammering the Wiseman's face with his fists – jabbing punch after punch at him.
"Stay! The! Fuck! Down! You! Bastard!" Each punch landed with Lucas' bellowing words.
Preparing for the final blow, Lucas pulled his fist back and channeled a crushing mana into it.
With full force, he threw what he thought would be the last punch of this fight at Kai.
However, at the very last moment, Kai tilted his face, narrowly avoiding the devastating strike and letting Lucas' fist hit the ground.
Thwaaak—!!
"Arghhh!" As a result of that, when Lucas' fist struck the concrete with extreme force it resulted in him breaking a knuckle or two.
Using this chance, Kai grabbed Lucas' head with both of his hands and forcefully slammed his own skull against the Morningstar's face.
Thwack—!!
Standing up and staggering back in agony when Kai's skull thrashed his nose, Lucas regained his footing, emitting pained moans.
"Arghh!" Meanwhile, Kai gritted his teeth and got back to his feet again after a short struggle.
Directing whatever mana was left within his body into his knees, Kai quickly lunged forward, aiming to deliver a knee strike to Lucas.
However, Lucas acted quickly and stepped in to catch Kai's knee right when it was about to hit his face.
"Huh?!"
Lucas then wrapped one of his arms around Kai's thigh and hoisted him up over his shoulder while using his other hand to maintain a firm hold on Kai's neck – locking him in a sort of fireman's carry position.
"Let go! Arghh!" Kai resisted, attempting to bash his elbow against the side of the silver-haired boy's face. However, Lucas didn't let go of him.
Instead, with a display of sheer strength, Lucas pulled Kai's upper body down by yanking his neck while simultaneously propelling his lower body upward by pushing his legs — flipping Kai over his shoulders and forcefully slamming him onto the cold, hard concrete, while Lucas himself landing on his knees.
Thwaaam—!!
"Arghhhaaa! Haaaaa!" Kai let out a series of anguished cries as he writhed in pain, attempting to numb the agony in his back.
However, he still didn't lay down. Despite the suffering, Kai refused to give up. With determination, he got up on all fours, struggling to rise back to his feet.
"What the fuck?!" Lucas couldn't believe his eyes.
Despite the relentless beating Kai had endured in the past half hour, he still fought to stand.
Just what was driving him to win?! Just what was this important?!
Honestly, Lucas couldn't help but feel that if he were in Kai's position, he would have surrendered long ago.
"Tsk, fine!" Lucas exhaled deeply, preparing to deliver the final blow to Kai.
–"Hey man, maybe you guys should stop–"
"Fuck off!"
As some individuals attempted to intervene and stop this madness, Lucas forcefully pushed them away and charged at Kai, who was still on all fours, struggling to stand back up.
Upon reaching Kai, Lucas jumped and forcefully stomped his one foot on the back of Kai's neck, driving his head into the ground.
He made sure to exert as much force as humanly possible without actually killing him—inflicting as much pain as he could.
Thwaack—!!
Needless to say, Kai did not rise from that brutal curb stomp.
He was knocked unconscious the moment his face met the ground.
Lucas, who finally managed to knock his opponent out, took a few deep breaths and fell to his knees, adrenaline leaving his body and the searing pain from his broken bones and torn muscles overwhelming him.
"Arghh fuck!" He cursed out loud as he noticed that his nose was broken and blood was running down his face from it.
But as if the pain wasn't enough of a headache, Lucas then spotted several cadets from the Disciplinary Committee, clad in blue and white uniforms, rushing toward them from a distance.
The onlookers must've called them – Lucas deduced.
The mere thought of facing his sister again elicited nothing but a curse from Lucas' lips.
"Well, fuck."
