"That technique... it seems familiar," Ragnar, the vice principal, said as he rested his arm on the bar.
He was in the VIP lounge together with Principal Agor and other trainers.
The VIP lounge was unusually crowded today.
Even the trainers couldn't resist the allure of a match between a first-year student and a second-year student.
This was an unprecedented event, for obvious reasons: no first-year had ever been able to match a second-year in terms of battle prowess to even initiate a challenge.
Moreover, Sam had been doing extraordinary things—achieving a record-breaking score in the entrance exam, excelling in every single class, dueling and defeating more than half of the students in his year, breaking through multiple times in rapid succession, and now, challenging a second-year student.
"It's one of the many famous techniques belonging to the Tachibana clan," Agor replied, looking at Ragnar.
"He must have inherited it from his grandmother."
"I keep forgetting that he is related to the founder and his clan," Ragnar mused.
"If the Tachibanas had techniques like these, no wonder they were hailed as one of the strongest clans, on equal footing with the Tatsuya and Asuna clans."
"Most of the techniques they possessed were created by the Academy's founder himself. But even that wasn't the main reason for their greatness; it was the power passed down through their bloodline," Agor said, turning his attention back to Sam.
"I've heard of that power. It was said to be the hardest ability to control, yet the Tachibana clan achieved such mastery of it. And Ryuga Tachibana, our founder, was said to be the greatest Tachibana ever. He turned that power into his greatest weapon," Ragnar added.
"I wonder," Agor smiled, then returned to watching the fight.
Sam was in a state of extreme calmness.
Everywhere he moved, he left a trail of flame wisps.
After dealing with the boulders, his speed increased as he approached John, who was growing increasingly frustrated at his inability to land a blow.
"Damn it, I won't let you win!" John roared, veins bulging on his forehead.
His fear of losing to a first-year began to creep into his heart.
Fueled by rage, the earth energy covering his body condensed further, transforming into actual rock armor.
The ground trembled as if assaulted by a mini earthquake, and John began to punch the ground with ferocity.
Each punch sent tremors through the arena, and with every blow, sharp stone spires erupted from the ground, aiming to pierce Sam's flesh.
But Sam, entranced by the Infernal Bird Reincarnation Art, moved with unparalleled grace and speed, leaving behind a trail of crimson flames.
The stone spikes could only touch the fiery remnants of his presence, failing to land a hit.
Sam's figure danced across the arena, a blur of fire and motion.
No matter how swiftly the sharp stone spikes attempted to strike, they could only pierce the trail of flames he left behind.
Seeing that his method of offense was not working, John became increasingly irritated as the energy he gathered from the ground went rampant.
The rock armor on his body began to expand, and the stones on his armor grew until his figure reached fifteen feet tall.
Only his face remained visible, making him resemble a colossal titan—a Terra Titan.
"Um... looks like John's losing control," Kaze said with a nervous smile.
"No kidding, Sherlock," Nolan retorted, frustration evident on his face.
Even he wasn't confident that John could win.
Things weren't looking too good for the Reapers.
John seemed to have lost control of his consciousness, succumbing to his instincts.
He was no longer fighting with strategy but letting his emotions take over.
The fifteen-foot-tall titanous John swung his massive fist, capable of squashing an opponent like a bug, but he was so slow that he couldn't catch Sam.
"Should we step in?" Austin asked, noticing John's loss of control and the earth energy continuing to grow, making his already massive figure even larger.
"Don't," Agor warned. "I don't think the fight is over yet."
Sam was still moving around the battleground, and the crimson flames that had been covering his sword started to envelop his entire being.
His blue eyes released a crimson hue.
[Infernal Bird Reincarnation Art has leveled up]
Crimson flames erupted, and Sam's figure transformed into the silhouette of a fiery bird made of intense flames.
The fiery bird circled around the titanous John, leaving behind long trails of burning crimson flames that enclosed John in a prison-like tornado of fire.
Inside the crimson tornado, a fiery figure bounced off random places on the titanous John, and each time it landed, a chunk of his rocky body broke off.
The fiery figure moved so fast that it seemed to leave mirages behind, creating the illusion of multiple crimson figures slicing away at John's rock armor, causing a rain of debris.
In an instant, the crimson tornado exploded into a million whips of flame as a figure landed on the ground, his sword and eyes burning with a crimson hue, smoke emanating from his entire being.
Behind him lay a man, unconscious, amidst huge pebbles of rock chunks with burns all over his body.
"He... won."
"He beat a second-year student."
"And he didn't even have a scratch on him."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, the arena erupted into an uproar.
"He beat John," Nolan muttered with a complicated expression.
"I can't believe John lost to a first-year," Kaze said before he and Nolan left the arena, along with the others from the Reaper faction.
"He actually did it," Isabelle muttered with a smile on her face, but then concern washed over her expression.
"Something's wrong," Yuki whispered, noticing Sam's motionless form and the way he kept his head down, clutching the Eclipse Sword tightly.
Within moments, a few individuals rushed forward and carried the unconscious John away to the infirmary.
Sam, however, stood unaffected, not a scratch on him.
"Why is he frozen in place?" Lucy questioned with a furrowed brow as she stood up and approached the battleground.
Before she could reach him, Sam, who had been standing like a statue, emitted a low growl.
Suddenly, intense dark purplish flames erupted from his body, spreading out like wings and scorching the ground beneath him.
"What the hell has he done?" Yami, who possessed a similar dark power, recognized the phenomenon immediately.
Sam's dark power was spiraling out of control.
But the situation didn't stop there.
Alongside the dark energy, another force of nature erupted, forming an opposing wing of pure white silvery flames—holy power.
The two energies clashed violently, refusing to blend, each repelling the other with powerful force.
"This is becoming too dangerous," Ragnar remarked grimly as he materialized beside Sam.
He refrained from approaching further; the chaotic mix of holy and dark power was scorching hot, capable of burning anything in its path.
"Everyone, get back!" Agor shouted, conjuring a shield to protect the onlookers from the surging energies.
"What's happening to him?"
"Will he be okay?"
Yuki and Isabelle voiced their concerns, their faces etched with worry.
Agor scrutinized Sam closely, recognizing the unprecedented situation unfolding before them. "Holy power and dark power—the two opposing forces from opposite realms. They cannot coexist in the same vessel."
"How did this happen? How can he wield holy power when he already has dark power?"
"He's disrupting the natural order," Agor explained gravely, his eyes fixed on the intensifying struggle between the two energies.
"Breaking the order means breaking the rules, and breaking the rules disrupts the balance."
"And what happens if the balance is disrupted?" Austin asked, his concern for Sam evident in his voice.
"It cannot be allowed. The universe will always find a way to restore equilibrium, often resulting in catastrophic consequences, even death," Agor replied, his expression darkening.
"We can't let him die! We have to do something; he's too important," Ragnar pleaded, his hand clutching his forehead as if battling a severe headache.
"There might be a way to save him," Agor said thoughtfully.
"We would need to separate one of the powers from his body, but it's incredibly risky and we lack the means to do so."
Just when despair threatened to overwhelm them and the clashing holy and dark powers appeared on the brink of catastrophic implosion, they suddenly vanished.
Sam collapsed to the ground, unconscious and spent.
.
.
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[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]