Without thinking much, Julien kicked the ground and dashed back, narrowly avoiding the thin black film that threatened to swallow him whole in just a few seconds.

At that moment, Johan, with his curly brown hair had a peculiar look on his face as he tilted his head.

'No, you don't.'

He brought his hand forward, stopping Julien mid-motion.

His movements were smooth. By the time Johan's hand raised, Julien came to an abrupt halt and his body propelled into the void that surrounded Johan.

Swoosh!

"....."

In the otherwise quiet surroundings, a sudden gust of wind carried an unsettling scent, thick with a hint of bloodlust. Julien felt himself being pulled into a void of blackness as if crossing the threshold into another world.

It slowly enveloped Julien from all sides, shrouding his world in black.

This...

Julien looked around in horror.

The power to completely fill the surroundings...

This was no 'Materialization'. This was a full-blown domain!

The darkness wrapped itself around Julien like a suffocating shroud, sending chills through his mind and veins. His body stiffened as a result, overwhelmed by the density of mana around him.

Something tried to dig at his mind, but Julien was able to remain relatively calm, locking his emotions down at just the right moment.

With this, he was able to avoid the first danger.

Johan appeared on the opposite end. His face looked calm, as though he had expected Julien to come out unscathed.

Facing the paralyzed Julien, Johan sliced the void and Julien felt a cold and invisible chill head for his waist.

"!"

Julien's blinked, his eyes turning red.

The muscles in his body popped and squirmed as he freed himself from the cold sensation and he tensed his back, thrusting his fist forward.

Boom!

The void around Julien trembled violently, distorting reality. His pupils reflected the alternating flashes of the Academy road and the void as it tried to repair itself.

"Ukh."

A trickle of something warm slid down the side of Julien's mouth as he locked eyes with the man standing before him. The man's curly brown hair and simple smile gave off an air of carefree nonchalance as if he had expected him to react like that.

Julien lowered his head, his gaze settling on his fist. A deep, gaping wound marred his knuckles, so severe that he could see the stark white of his bones beneath the torn flesh. This much damage?

Shit.

Julien's mind went on overdrive, his heart beating intensely.

Every hair on his body rose at that moment as he came to a horrifying realization.

'He's Tier 5, not Tier 4!"

This piece of information was different from what Atlas had told him.

'Damn it!'

Julien didn't have much time to dwell on why his opponent was stronger than he had anticipated.

Without holding back, he furiously worked the mana inside of his body, working every muscle and organ to its utmost limit.

In the span of a single breath, Julien's eyes shifted from scarlet to green, merging into a brilliant yellow.

His frame expanded, muscles surged with power, and his momentum spiked.

Without hesitation, his body blurred, closing the distance in an instant as he appeared before Johan, driving his fist forward with overwhelming force, the surrounding voice vacuuming around his fist, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

Swoosh!

In that instant, Johan's deep blue eyes darkened to pitch black, and the surrounding void seemed to ripple like fabric, coiling around Julien's fist.

Julien half expected the attack to be some sort of way for his opponent to absorb the brunt force of his attack, but he was wrong.

'No...!'

The moment the void wrapped around his body, Julien felt the familiar chill digging into his body, and the power of his fist slowed down.

Julien's eyes flickered and he clenched his teeth tightly.

He exerted every little power within his body.

Boom!

A muffled explosion echoed through the surroundings, the void rippling violently in response to the sheer force of the impact.

The noise was well-contained within the dark voice, preventing it from spilling to the outside

world.

Still, a few more sensitive people noticed the strange peculiarities.

"Go, tell the security to check out the situation."

"On it."

The voice slowly started to rebuild itself back up. Julien stood in the center, but he could hardly move a single step. His chest was heaving up and down repeatedly while the skin of his

fist was torn off, exposing more of his body.

His clothes were in tatters, while his hair was a mess.

To make matters worse, his thigh had a deep gash over it that started to bleed out onto the

ground beneath.

'Reflection...'

Julien's expression tightened as he stared at the black fabric covering Johan.

Drip! Drip...!

Blood trickled onto the ground as he took several deep breaths.

Julien's expression remained composed in spite of the situation. The locks in his emotions, in particular, 'fear', rattled wildly as he forcefully stopped the emotion from clouding his mind.

The situation was severe.

His opponent...

He was stronger than him.

Johan's expression showed a subtle change, his squinted eyes opening slightly. Without any delay, he brought his hands together, twisting the space around Julien.

In an instant, everything returned to normal, the void repairing itself as though it had been

there from the start.

Julien, however, felt the weight of exhaustion crash over him like a wave. It was as if all his power and mental strength had been drained at once. His vision blurred, and a heavy drowsiness began to cloud his mind, pulling him deeper into a haze of fatigue.

11

ײן

Julien felt his heart squeeze, and he forcefully bit his tongue, awakening him from the

drowsiness.

Unfortunately, he had lost precious time doing so.

Johan had already started his next attack, his lower leg pulsing faintly, exposing what appeared to be a small bone. Immediately after, he thrust his hand forward.

A strong and powerful wing gale shot forth, sending Julien scattering back as cuts appeared

all over his clothes and skin.

Since the start of the ambush, Johan didn't give Julien a single moment to breathe. His goal

was simple.

To end the fight as soon as possible.

Since the start of it all, only a few seconds had elapsed.

Tensing his right arm, a faint glow appeared over the palm of Johan's hand, reflecting a red bone. Fire erupted from out of his hand, and he immediately shot it in Julien's direction.

Swoosh!

It covered the entire void, engulfing it in bright raging flames.

The flames danced within Julien's pupils as they grew bigger by the second, but Julien's expression remained calm. Unknowingly, the chains that were sealing his emotions had shattered, and he was simply remaining calm without the help of the spell he had created.

He then brought his hand forward as it slowly changed color and lifted it up.

Swoosh! Over a dozen hands protruded from the ground, completely engulfing and sealing Johan. The flames that were headed Julien's way extinguished rather quickly after that.

The world became dark once more.

Cr Crack!

That was until the hands shattered, revealing Johan who looked slightly pale. In spite of that,

his clothes were undamaged and his hair was still well-kept.

"Huff... Huff..."

Julien felt his heart sink at the scene.

However, he still remained composed as he closed his eyes.

His mind clouded with the image of a battlefield-a nightmarish scene filled with blood- soaked earth and countless corpses strewn about like broken dolls.

The gruesome vision fueled his rage, igniting something deep within him as his breathing

became heavier, his gaze growing more intense.

"Rage."

Julien mumbled, pressing his hand over his forearm.

His chest boiled and his head felt light. Immediately, the muscles in his body expanded further, and further power accumulated in his body. A faint tingling sensation accompanied

the increase in power, but Julien ignored it.

'Increasing size and power?'

Johan merely shook his head and swiped at the air. He was already aware of Julien's power and

thus he understood how it worked. The more he felt an emotion the more powerful his power

was.

Still, in Johan's eyes what Julien was doing was counterproductive.

What was the point of turning into this raging hunk of meat if he couldn't even hit him? Pity

flashed across his eyes as he watched his attack move towards Julien.

His attack blended nicely with the dark surroundings, preventing Julien from properly seeing

it.

Soon enough, the attack came, cleaving his entire body in two.

Swoosh!

"Hm?"

Johan's brows immediately furrowed tightly upon seeing Julien's body severed in two. It was

then that he understood, but it was too late.

Materializing a few meters away from him, a pair of hazel eyes met his sight.

"Fear."

A powerful voice drummed in his mind, forcing his face to go pale and his legs to grow numb.

For a brief moment, he lost complete control of his body.

!....!'

Opportunity!

Without any consideration for his body, Julien pressed his arm over his forearm and muttered

two words at the same time, 'Joy', 'Rage'.

Unlike last time, he did this for real.

Julien's body swelled unnaturally, the strain causing the muscles in his legs to tear with

audible snaps. Blood seeped from the deep cuts that marked his skin, each movement

exacerbating the pain.

Blinking, a pink orb appeared in his mind.

Julien's muscles tightened considerably and the bleeding came to a sudden stop.

His fist, already mangled and barely holding together, stiffened at just the right time. Yet,

despite the excruciating agony, he remained focused.

Swoosh!

He shot towards Johan who was just snapping out of it.

"Uh?!"

In the instant that he recovered, Johan stepped back, the void wrapping around him like a

black blanket.

That was when Julien's fist came forward and directly smashed against it.

Thump!

A muffled sound echoed.

"Arkgh!"

Julien let out a guttural scream, his voice echoing through the surroundings as his fist twisted

at an unnatural angle. Blood poured from the mangled hand, seeping from every crack and

wound, staining the dark void beneath.

His attack...

It had been directly reflected on him.

"Kh!"

Julien gritted his teeth in spite of the pain. Staring at Johan who could only see his eyes, he

pressed his foot against the ground.

Swoosh!

The gravity around the two intensified, and the dark blanket surrounding Johan fell onto the

ground, exposing his body.

But that no longer mattered to Johan as he managed to regain his bearing.

Staring at Julien who was now very close to him, Johan flicked his hand up, causing Julien's

already broken arm to twist once more.

He half-expected Julien to scream or show an opening but in response to his actions, he got nothing.

Julien's face was like a block of ice.

"Fear."

Once more, a voice fell down on his mind, drumming loudly within it. It left him paralyzed for

a split second, and that was all Julien needed as he flicked his other hand.

A faint purple magic circle shot directly towards Johan who didn't have enough time to dodge

it.

His vision grew blurry, and he started to feel sleepy.

"This...!'

Realization quickly dawned on Johan who bit his tongue and forced his eyelids open. By the

time he snapped out of it, Julien was already upon him. Mustering every bit of his strength, and completely ignoring the pain that invaded every part

of his body, he pushed forward and pounced on Johan.

At that moment, there was nothing in his mind.

He relied solely on his experiences and judgment.

This was not the same as the tournament.

Any mistake could prove fatal.

There was no one that was supervising him this time.

If he didn't act quickly, he was going to die.

He couldn't die.

No, I won't die.

Julien's mind shook as his momentum grew, completely overwhelming Johan who for the first

time showed signs of panic. Staring at his bloodthirsty opponent, fear seeped into the deepest

parts of his mind.

....An artificial fear.

One that came from the very depths of his soul and was not forced upon him.