Chapter 75: Devil Skills...?

The two figures stared menacingly at one another, their bodies slightly leaning forward as further cracks spread beneath their feet.

"GO!"

BOOOOOOOM!

The wooden ground beneath them suddenly splintered apart as both shot forward at tremendous speed toward one another.

Then...

BAAAAAAAANG!

Two clenched fists, one covered in bulging veins and the other backed by dense muscles, slammed into each other.

A destructive ripple of shockwaves erupted from their point of collision, rapidly spreading toward the students.

The faces of the class changed drastically, with some immediately shooting backward, but before the shockwave could reach them, the barrier halted it in place.

Yet that was only the beginning.

BAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

BAAAANG!

...

The exchange of fists seemed almost unending.

Every impact sounded like two pieces of metal violently colliding, nearly deafening the students throughout the room as their hearts threatened to burst from their chests.

Chris’s prediction soon came to pass.

The barrier surrounding them began rippling violently, a clear sign that it could no longer withstand the destructive shockwaves.

Mrs. Lillith immediately stretched out her hands, strengthening the barrier fivefold.

’As expected of the child geniuses from the two anomaly families.’

’Even though both are at the Peak Noir Realm, their power is enough to reduce even someone at the Lower Anouk Realm to dust!’

Mrs. Lillith thought, her eyebrows creasing in quiet disbelief.

She had heard rumors of the two enigmatic anomaly families, whose identities and true strength were almost completely hidden from the Vorath public.

Only tales of their terrifying power remained, passed from one person to another through whispers and gossip.

But now, she was seeing it with her own eyes.

She could only imagine what level of devastation they would be capable of once they fully matured.

’They are stronger than me,’ Arlo thought as he watched the two fighters.

They were like flickering lights, flashing back and forth across the battle stage, their punches carrying enough power to make the barrier ripple violently.

[They are at the same stage as that Vorath monster that killed you during the virtual world test. Slightly stronger than it, even] the System said.

Arlo nodded.

"That’s why I said they are stronger than me..."

[No, they’re not stronger than you.] the System replied.

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

"What do you mean?"

[I mean you’re an idiot, and you’ve already forgotten that you just finished evolving.]

[Have you even checked the new skills you awakened through your Infinity Joker Bloodline? So how can you say for certain that they are stronger than you when you haven’t even looked at your new skills yet?]

[It’s good to be modest, but don’t underestimate yourself.]

_________________

’You’re strong, Emrys. Really strong. I’ll give you that,’

Chris thought as he felt the violent reverberation from Emrys’s punch ripple through his body, almost causing the blood within his veins to surge backward.

His opponent was strong and incredibly fast, fast enough to keep up with him even while he was in his Devil Gevaudan Form.

Unfortunately...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The brief distraction caused a punch to slip through Chris’s defense, and the fist landed squarely against his face.

Crimson blood splashed through the air as Chris’s body arched backward, his head nearly reaching the ground.

Yet a purple wave of energy suddenly flashed through his legs.

His body violently kicked backward as his hands shot through the air faster than a bullet, clamping firmly around Emrys’s face.

Then...

BAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

The ground gave way as Chris roughly smashed Emrys’s head into the floor with so much power that several students were lifted a few centimeters into the air before slamming back down onto the ground.

But Chris had only just begun.

"Heheheheh..."

BAAAAAM!

BAAAAAM!

BAAAAAM!

BAAAAAM!

The sounds of Emrys’s head repeatedly being smashed against the ground echoed throughout the hall as Chris swung him around like a rag doll, his devilish eyes glowing with an even brighter crimson.

After smashing him into the ground ten times, Chris finally raised Emrys into the air, holding his entire body up with a single hand.

"You’re strong, Emrys. But there are simply some people whose levels are far beyond yours.

"Some, like me..." he whispered.

Chris took a single step backward before violently flinging Emrys away.

BAAAAANG!

The barrier finally gave way.

Emrys was sent smashing straight through it, his body bouncing several times across the ground before violently slamming into the wall.

He slid down, completely unmoving.

"I told you your puny barrier wouldn’t hold," Chris said as he turned his hollow, devilish gaze toward Mrs. Lillith.

Her eyes flashed with shock as she looked at Emrys’s unconscious body and the massive crater beside him.

’He flung a body nearly equal to his own height through my barrier and created a crater half a meter deep in the ground.’

’Just what kind of bloodline do those Devil Gevaudan possess!?’

STEP.

STEP.

STEP.

The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed through the room, and Chris who had been preparing to leave the battle stage, halted in his tracks.

He slowly turned around and found a face standing only a few centimeters away from his.

"Are you underestimating me, Chris!?" Emrys’s voice asked.

Emrys slowly stretched out his hand and grabbed Chris’s shoulder.

Chris’s eyes flashed with surprise before gradually calming as he looked at the blood dripping down Emrys’s face.

"Stay down, Emrys. Using it here is not worth it."

The class looked on with bated breath as they watched Emrys rise back to his feet and grab Chris’s shoulder, a ruinous aura slowly slithering out of his body.

Chris’s words, that such a move would not be worth it, lingered in their minds, piquing their curiosity about what other card Emrys might still possess.

Could it be that he had not even revealed his true power yet?

"That’s enough. The winner is Chris," Mrs. Lillith declared.

The entire class turned their surprised gazes toward her, wondering why she had suddenly ordered the match to end. The same could be said for the two fighters, who also turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"My words are final. The time you spent lying on the ground was more than enough for your life to have ended if Chris had used his Devil Skill on you.

"You are too slow to react to attacks, and that will cause your true death in an actual fight," Mrs. Lillith said, causing Arlo’s eyes to narrow.

’Devil Skill, huh? So, all they have isn’t just brute power. There is still an even more powerful skill that they possess,’ Arlo thought curiously.

He had noticed throughout the fight that, although it had been amazing, all they had used was simple brute force.

There were no fancy skills or displays of mana, only a brutal exchange of fists, with both fighters trying to overpower the other.

If that was everything about their so-called anomaly forms, then they seemed a little lacking to him.

But it appeared that their strange bodies also possessed their own special skills.

Even though the fight had been called off at the least expected moment, the entire class still heaved a sigh of relief after it ended.

"And the last fight for today, Vael and... Arlo?" Mrs. Lillith asked as she turned her gaze toward the crowd, searching for the unfamiliar student.

She had never expected a new student to join a week after the term had already begun. Even students assigned to laboratory professors usually joined when a new term started.

"It’s our turn," Vael said as he rose to his feet.

Arlo did the same, following after him under the curious gazes of the class.

The mind-blowing fight between the two anomalies that had taken place only moments ago had completely blown everyone away, and they were not expecting much from the final fight.

Still, everyone was curious about the strange newcomer’s strength.

After all, his combat ability would reveal just what kind of special treatment he would be receiving later.

"Ready!?"

"I won’t be going easy on you, Arlo," Vael said as he readied his fists, causing Arlo to grin.

’My first official fight with a Vorath. I won’t take it for granted,’ he thought.

Yet, he assumed no stance at all and simply remained standing where he was.

[A New Opponent Has Been Identified.]

[Mission: Pummel Him Up!]

[Reward:

+1 Level Up Card.

+2 Ability Upgrade Cards.

+1000 EXP.]

’What the? Hey, System, what are you doing?’ Arlo asked as he looked at the strange notification floating before his face.

[Don’t blame me. I have nothing to do with this. The quests are auto-generated. I might be responsible for the wording, though. Hehe,]

The System replied, causing Arlo to roll his eyes internally.

’Overbearing System.’

"Go!" Mrs. Lillith ordered.

RUSTLE!

The air rustled as Vael burst forward with speed before Mrs. Lillith had even fully completed the command, rapidly closing the distance between himself and Arlo.

"Hmm," Arlo merely hummed as Vael arrived before him.

Vael’s fingers clenched into a fist before he violently punched forward, a small shockwave rippling through the path of his fist.

’Slow,’ Arlo thought as he took a single step backward.

The simple motion was enough to have the punch halting just a few inches away from making contact with his face.

Unrelenting, Vael took another step forward before raising his leg and launching a kick, sweeping horizontally toward Arlo’s face with incredible speed.

RUUUUUUM!

The air slapped Arlo’s hair across his face as he bent his knees and jerked his head downward, watching as the foot grazed past him once again, only a few inches from his face.

’Slow,’ Arlo thought as he instantly rose back up.

Yet Vael had already lowered his leg and rushed toward him once more, his fists flying toward Arlo’s face again.

BOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!