Brenin believed that, at least this time, his plan was foolproof. After the miscalculation that led Erwin to confront Gygas, he was confident that this time his strategy would not fail once Triton awakened.
But there was one factor he hadn't considered: the emotional state of the former King of Swords. Triton had endured, for several minutes, a slow, painful, and humiliating mutilation of his limbs in front of the shocked eyes of everyone present.
He, who was regarded as one of the strongest at the academy, a sword genius with a promising future, had seen his convictions and beliefs disintegrate at the hands of a mere novice, whom he had never even considered, dismissing him as nothing more than an annoying idiot.
The humiliation, the stress, the terrible pain, combined with Gygas's unsettling expression, had imprinted a terrible association with that name and figure in Triton's mind. To the point that, whenever he heard that name spoken, Triton's mind categorically refused to be near someone so dangerous.
They were superhumans, true, but their minds, though enhanced, were made of the same material as those of ordinary people and reacted in the same way.
At that moment, for Triton, it was as if he were facing not a mere student, but the worst of demons, ready to devour his heart.
“Ah!...Ah!...No!...Please… Get me out of here!...PLEASE!” were the only words that escaped Triton's trembling voice as he crouched down on the ground.
“Don't tell me this bastard has… PTSD?!” Brenin growled through gritted teeth, realizing in that moment that his plan was failing once again, much to his irritation.
As if that wasn't enough, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye that made him even more nervous: In fact he saw Erwin being struck vertically across his torso by that crude and barbaric sword. Erwin, his roommate, collapsed to the ground in agony.
[Damn it! I’m such an idiot!] Brenin cursed himself, feeling foolish for ever thinking his plan would go as hoped.
In normal situations, he would never act without remaining calm. But at that moment, he had caused too much damage, and this not only made his blood boil but also filled him with immense guilt. morevover, what made it worse was that he didn't want to see Erwin end up like Gygas.
So, Brenin grabbed his sword and, without wasting any more time, charged at Gygas, enhancing his body with the element of wind to reach the barbarian before he could do any more harm to Erwin.
“Get away from him, bastard!”
From a distance, Brenin sent two slashes through the air, and in the next instant, two dense, crescent-shaped blades of wind appeared and sped towards Gygas.
The freshman, however, with a simple swing of his huge sword, effortlessly shattered the wind blades, which dissipated on contact, releasing a light breeze into the air.
“Don’t bother me, I’m making friends here…” Gygas said coldly, looking at Brenin with contempt.
“Friends? And you don’t want to make friends with me?!”
Brenin, this time, maximized his body's enhancement and charged at Gygas again, trying to forcefully push him away from Erwin.
The swordsman from section B decided to press Gygas with a series of extremely precise strikes, hoping at least one would hit him.
Thanks to his eyes, Brenin could “predict” his opponent's movements, allowing him to aim with absolute certainty at Gygas's vulnerable spots. But Gygas seemed like a “countermeasure” to his ocular ability, as every time Brenin thought he had him, Gygas, with his absurd agility, would change his movements mid-execution.
This was terrifying for Brenin, to the point where he slowly began to lose hope; but then, he saw Erwin on the ground and knew he couldn't give up. In a desperate surge, Brenin infused his sword with his mana, causing the blade to shine brighter than a white lamp.
Then, with force, he drove his katana into the ground; Gygas didn’t understand the reason for this gesture, but in the next instant, a violent wind blast suddenly expanded, sweeping Gygas off his feet. Gygas, surprised, was blown away and only stopped himself by plunging his enormous sword into the ground, ending up just centimeters from the edge of the ring.
The same thing happened to Erwin, who, helpless, was thrown out of the “Anti-Damage” dome, rolling painfully to a stop near the stands, with the onlookers shocked by what they had witnessed.
“Ah… Ah…”
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Brenin had used more than three-quarters of his mana for that attack, and after such an incredible effort, he felt every part of his body ache, forcing him to use his sword as a support to avoid collapsing to his knees.
“At least... I fixed one of my mistakes…” he wheezed, looking at Erwin with a tired expression.
“Ouch… What the hell happened?”
Meanwhile, Erwin had fully recovered, noticing his wound had magically disappeared as if it had never happened; - “This is definitely strange, haha… huh?”
As he admired once again how special magic was, he saw out of the corner of his eye Brenin, completely exhausted, standing in front of Gygas, who at that moment, looked anything but happy. In fact, his expression was so furious he seemed more beast than human.
“I’m coming, Brenin—”
“Stay where you are, Erwin” - Brenin cut him off, his body on the brink of collapse, but his eyes still burning – “This bastard is mine…”
“But…”
Erwin wanted to argue, but he knew that no matter what he said, he wouldn't convince Brenin, not with that kind of expression. He wanted to intervene, but he realized that doing so would wound his friend’s pride, and despite knowing what was about to happen, he refrained out of respect.
Besides, Erwin realized that although his wound was healed, his stamina hadn’t recovered from the previous fight.
“...Alright…” Erwin reluctantly accepted the situation, aware that things would not go as hoped.
“Well… You’re not bad” - Gygas began with an annoyed expression, getting up without much trouble after the wind storm – “But you’re boring. So, I’m going to massacre you…”
Gygas started to slowly approach Brenin, who at that moment, felt utterly powerless against an opponent who, despite being the same age, was incomparably stronger.
He could have chosen to fight alongside Erwin, but his swordsman’s pride took over, knowing that with no one left to save, he was free to act as he pleased, even if it meant ending up in pieces.
He was ready to accept his fate when, suddenly, Gygas fell to one knee, stunning all the perplexed students, especially Brenin, who at first couldn’t understand what was happening to Gygas.
“W-What… why are my eyes…”
Gygas, who had been fine moments before, was now in terrible shape. He felt violent heat waves enveloping his body; his head felt like it was about to explode, and his body was weak and trembling.
In that moment, he was so ill that he vomited copiously, to Brenin’s great surprise, who felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, collapsing to the ground, exhausted.
“So… you’ve reached your limit?” Brenin wheezed, relieved that Gygas was now out of the game.
“Why… Why… Bwhruah!!”
Gygas vomited again, marking the end of their match in an unlikely draw.
Suddenly, the gym door burst open, and all the students, attracted by the noise, turned their gazes toward the entrance.
“A professor? Who is that?” Erwin muttered, seeing an adult enter the gym, glaring furiously at the scene before him.
“P-Professor Dwiel?” - Brenin wheezed in surprise, recognizing his swordsmanship instructor – “What are you doing here?”
The professor looked around, and the first thing he noticed was Triton’s alarming state, who at that moment, was a shadow of himself, huddled and trembling.
This shocked him greatly, as he had believed there was no one in the academy capable of defeating Triton in a sword fight; seeing the “King of Swords,” one of the academy’s top talents, in such a condition, was as surprising as it was shocking. It meant there was someone stronger in the training hall than a fourth-year student from section A.
Dwiel looked around nervously, seeking the culprit: he immediately ruled out Brenin, having already tested his abilities. Despite Brenin's immense talent, he wasn’t yet capable of facing someone as powerful and experienced as Triton.
He also ruled out Erwin, as his mana wasn’t enough to defeat Gygas, despite having a surprising amount of it.
Finally, the only one left was Gygas: his mana, compared to Brenin’s and Erwin’s, was much more refined and abundant. However, at first, Dwiel believed he had no chance, as his values didn’t reach those of Triton.
But then, while perceiving Gygas’s mana, Dwiel noticed it was continuously decreasing every second, leaving him completely stunned;
[His mana is dropping, but it’s still greater than Brenin’s and that kid on the ground! Maybe then…]
With a movement imperceptible to anyone, in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Gygas, who almost had a shock.
Professor Dwiel observed him for a few seconds, and only then did he see with surprise and anger the badge representing the “Kings of Students” on the ground near him.
“You… You’re the one who reduced Triton to that state, aren’t you?” the professor growled, glaring furiously at Gygas, who didn’t understand the reason for all this hostility.
“Well, he wasn’t strong enough. It’s normal that—Gah!”
A swift, precise blow to the throat was enough to knock him out, shocking all the students, especially Erwin and Brenin, who hadn’t managed to land a single hit on him.
What was worse, they couldn’t even understand what the professor did to knock Gygas out, showing that the two boys still had a long way to go.
Triton, who witnessed the scene out of the corner of his eye, fled like a madman, running and screaming through the academy corridors, disheartening Dwiel, who wondered what had happened to reduce him to such a pitiful state.
The professor then, without wasting time, hoisted Gygas onto his shoulder like a backpack, then turned to the students with a severe and angry look, who breathed a deep sigh of relief upon seeing him there.
“TO ALL PRESENT!” Dwiel exclaimed, putting everyone on alert – “YOU KNOW IT’S FORBIDDEN TO FIGHT FOR RANKINGS WITHOUT A PROFESSOR’S SUPERVISION! AND NOT ONLY DID YOU NOT INFORM US IMMEDIATELY, BUT NONE OF YOU DID ANYTHING TO PREVENT THE SITUATION FROM GETTING OUT OF HAND. I REMEMBER EACH OF YOUR FACES! I ASSURE YOU, YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR TODAY. NOW, TO YOUR DORMITORIES!”
Those harsh but fair words frightened the students, who almost as if hypnotized, quickly fled the gym, trying to avoid further trouble.
Brenin and Erwin also wanted to leave, but at that moment, they were so sore that they moved almost in slow motion.
“Stop! You two!” the professor called out to Erwin and Brenin, who froze in fear – “If you don’t want any more problems, you’d better report to my office. And it’s not a suggestion, it’s an order.”
END OF THE CHAPTER 36 - EMOTIONAL DEFEAT