Chapter 375: Unexpected arrival

"Hmm, he is a bit interesting."

Arthur gave a slow nod as he watched the exchange between Elena and Ray. He knew both of their names, though for entirely different reasons. Ray had earned his recognition through his own actions, while Elena’s father had contacted Arthur some time ago and asked him to look after his only daughter.

Arthur had little inclination to protect Elena himself. What interested him was the young man standing before her. He wanted to see just how far Ray’s potential could carry him.

Yet, watching Ray thrash his opponent with such ease, Arthur began to reconsider.

Perhaps changing Ray’s competition would be a better choice.

At this rate, Arthur could not see a single person here who could offer him a meaningful challenge.

Thwamp.

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

That sound had reached him all the way up here.

"When did he move?"

Until now, Arthur had barely spared a glance at the green-haired young man standing to the side. But an attack reinforced with Genesis should not have escaped his notice so easily. The fact that it had meant only one thing.

There was more to that boy than he had initially assumed.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and delayed his departure. Perhaps there was still something worth staying for.

...

Kyle waited patiently for Ray to get back on his feet, watching in silence as the stunned man slowly processed what had just happened.

His body is subconsciously protecting itself with Genesis.

Kyle reached the conclusion from the fact that Ray had survived the slap with little more than a bruised eye and was already halfway back to his feet.

His earlier use of spells had already impressed Kyle. Ray possessed excellent focus, sharp judgment, and a natural understanding of how to wield his abilities. Now, the way Genesis circulated through his body only reinforced that impression.

’Be a good subject for me.’

Kyle shifted his footing as he noticed the wall being hurled toward him.

He initially attempted to sidestep it, but Ray suddenly extended the wall from both sides, forcing it to sweep across the pit until it nearly scraped against the surrounding walls.

Kyle turned, planted a foot against the ledge of the pit, and used it as a platform. His body rose cleanly over the wall, leaving the magic structure to crash against the opposite edge.

But Ray was no longer paying attention to the wall.

His gaze remained fixed on Kyle.

His right eye was already red from the earlier impact, and the humiliation twisting across his expression had erased whatever composure he had left.

"I tried offering you peace, but you chose this."

He spat onto the ground, his jaw tightening as he fought to contain his anger.

Kyle, meanwhile, simply relaxed his body.

He could feel Genesis flowing through Ray, circulating from one part of his body to another with surprising efficiency. For someone who had only recently awakened, his control was almost unnatural.

Suddenly, several short swords materialized behind Ray.

They hovered in the air, each separated from the others and carefully positioned into a loose formation. More continued to appear until their number easily surpassed two dozen.

Every blade pointed in the same direction.

Toward Kyle.

"Sir... shouldn’t we stop this now that Miss Elena isn’t involved?" the instructor asked, glancing toward Jimmy. He was beginning to wonder whether Jimmy intended to intervene only after someone suffered a serious injury.

Jimmy, however, had different thoughts.

A grin spread across his face.

"Do you see that boy tense at all?"

The instructor looked back toward the pit.

Kyle was standing there without the slightest sign of nervousness. His posture was relaxed, his expression almost indifferent, as though he were standing in an exhibition rather than facing more than two dozen blades.

"He looks like he’s watching a painting," Jimmy continued. "Bored, but forced to be there."

Jimmy had an eye for the things people tended to overlook amid the chaos of a fight.

He had allowed Elena and Ray to use Genesis because both were exceptionally talented despite being newly awakened. They were still inexperienced, but their potential justified giving them room to demonstrate what they could do.

This, however, was different.

Ray was still visibly agitated, barely keeping his killing intent under control.

Kyle was the complete opposite.

The new recruit looked as though he were taking a leisurely walk.

Whether that confidence was genuine or merely shallow arrogance, and whether he would soon meet the same fate as Elena, was something they were about to discover.

"You... shouldn’t have disturbed my meal."

Ray’s voice rose with every word.

The swords behind him began to tremble, responding to the instability of the Genesis coursing through his body. His own hands shook as humiliation and rage continued to build inside him.

He raised one hand toward Kyle.

"Pay for it!"

"No!" Elena cried as more than fifteen swords formed from Genesis were hurled toward Kyle.

Many expected the fight to end in a pool of blood and broken flesh.

Kyle had other plans.

God’s Eye slowed everything around him to the point where he did not even need to make any deliberate movements. A slight tilt of his head, a subtle turn of his shoulders, a shift of his footing at precisely the right moment. That was all it took.

He simply dodged.

CLANG!

THUD!

One sword after another stabbed into the muddy wall behind him, burying themselves into the soil and spraying droplets of wet earth into the air. Every blade missed its target by the smallest margin, making Kyle appear almost intangible as he continued walking forward.

Ray gritted his teeth.

Disbelief crept into the back of his mind as he watched the slippery bastard steadily advancing toward him.

He wasn’t even hurrying.

That was what infuriated Ray the most.

Kyle walked through the storm of incoming projectiles as though an invisible force field surrounded him. Yet there was no barrier. No defensive spell. He simply changed his position at the exact instant an attack was about to reach him, leaving each sword to pass harmlessly through the space he had occupied a moment earlier.

"I AM NOT HAVING THIS SHIT!"

Ray’s temper finally snapped.

A gigantic hammer suddenly materialized above his head and came crashing down without the slightest delay.

THUMP!

The hammerhead was far too massive to simply step away from.

Kyle raised one arm and caught the descending weapon above his head.

The impact drove both of his feet deep into the wet soil. Mud splashed around his boots, and the ground beneath him sank under the tremendous force.

Yet Kyle’s expression did not change.

He looked completely unfazed.

Reality was finally beginning to settle in for Ray, but his pride refused to accept it.

He suddenly hurled his chains toward Kyle, sending his most trusted weapons flying through the air.

CLANG!

For a brief moment, a smirk returned to Ray’s face.

Then horror replaced it.

Kyle had caught the chains.

No.

He had taken control of them.

With a sharp pull, Kyle yanked the chains toward himself, and Ray felt the connection between them shift. His own sorcery was no longer responding to his command.

"What...?"

Ray staggered backward.

The chains changed beneath Kyle’s control, their original shade giving way to a radiant golden glow as Genesis answered a will that was not their master’s.

The audience fell completely silent.

They had watched Kyle dominate his second battle, but this was on an entirely different level from the first. He was not merely overpowering Ray. He was dismantling everything the young man relied upon.

Elena could only stare.

Her eyes widened as her mind struggled to make sense of what she was witnessing.

This...

This was insanity.

Thud.

Ray finally collapsed onto the ground.

His entire body trembled as he looked up at Kyle, exhaustion and fear battling across his face.

Those golden eyes that had remained vacant throughout the fight finally held something.

Amusement.

But Ray could no longer muster the strength to retaliate.

Not after his own sorcery had betrayed him.

Not after watching the man before him casually overpower every attack he had thrown at him.

Kyle released the chain and stepped closer.

He crouched beside Ray and looked down at him.

"You would be a great warrior if you stopped chatting so much. Maybe I can help you remember this day, when you learned a valuable lesson."

Kyle suddenly seized Ray’s right hand.

Ray’s eyes widened.

His lips parted as he tried to surrender.

"I... mmph!"

Kyle clamped a hand over his mouth.

In the same motion,

CRACK!

He jerked Ray’s arm forward.

The wrist bent at an angle no human wrist was meant to endure, his fingers forced back until they nearly touched his forearm.

Ray’s surrender was never given the chance to be heard.

His scream was.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Kyle released him and calmly rose to his feet.

He turned toward Jimmy.

The instructor gave him a small nod.

Kyle returned the gesture before jumping out of the pit.

Hopefully, this will be enough to get Arthur’s attention.

He glanced toward the upper section.

Arthur was still there.

Well, considering he never left... I think I did a good job.

Kyle’s thought had barely formed when Arthur suddenly vanished from his perception.

For one brief instant, the man’s presence disappeared completely.

Then he was there.

Right in front of him.

Everyone startled.

A handsome man dressed in a simple black shirt and trousers stood at the entrance of the gym

Almost no one recognized him.

Kyle did.

The strongest Nightwalker in the country.

The head of the Alpha Team.

Arthur had finally made his appearance.

°°°

A/N:- Carried the battle longer than I expected but it holds a meaning.