"Aaaaand the winner is… R'ai!"

Once again, the crowd's booming noise reverberated across the hall as Rey finished off his opponent with a single strike.

His blade still warbled with bright blue as energy and smooth smoke rose from it. He held the weapon like an expert, and instantly sheathed it once he was done with his opponent. The instant the blade entered the sheath, both items vanished.

"Huu…" Steam proceeded out of his lips as he sighed. A nonchalant gaze fell on the loser of the match—a senior in the Third Stage—who was now unconscious and foaming in the mouth.

'That was a little difficult…' Rey wasn't referring to the match itself, but rather him holding back. A little more power and he would have caused more damage than intended.

'Adjusting how much output I have is such a bother. Reminds me of my time as Jet, but back then I wasn't this strong.' Rey shrugged all his thoughts aside and left the stage.

Normally, he would have just left the arena and gone with Lucielle to her room for their usual Magic Practice. She was already done with her match, so they could easily leave if he wanted to.

However, there was one match he wanted to see.

"Next match is between Ka'riela and Adrien Chase!" The moment this was announced, the audience within the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Rey already knew why.

Even as he sat in his corner, part of his gaze on Lucielle, and another on the stage, he could feel the unease that everyone in the room was experiencing.

'For a while now, Adrien has been rather ruthless in his matches. In every match, he gets increasingly more aggressive… almost as if he's testing the waters.'

All of his victims were severely injured after every fight, but not to the point of death. Adrien always made sure he didn't kill them.

They would just suffer in the most grotesque way possible—at least, for students.

'And something tells me this round won't be any different…' Rey sighed as he kept his eyes peeled, watching the two contestants climb the stage.

Ka'riela was a girl, and she was also in the second Stage—Class 2-A to be precise.

In essence, she was Adrien's classmate.

As she stepped on stage, it was clear that she looked incredibly nervous. The anxiety that clouded her face ruined the beauty that everyone knew her for. Not only was Ka'riela popular for her looks, but she was one of the rising stars of the Academy.

Yet… even she couldn't shake away the fear that came with facing Adrien.

In contrast to her expression, Adrien had a perfectly calm demeanor. A warm smile was on his face, and his strides were gentle as he approached the stage.

Once the two stood opposite each other, the tension in the hall intensified.

'Everyone is quiet…' Rey noticed, sighing even further. 'Can't say I blame them.'

At first, they constantly jeered Adrien, and then gave him constant boos. However, the insults and negative words that were hurled at him were not only ineffective, but they seemed to be meted out as punishment on the contestants.

As a result, the crowd began to fear speaking up against Adrien when he entered the stage for the fear that he would take it out on the Dragon he would be fighting.

… Not that it stopped the human boy from demolishing his targets.

"Ready… BEGIN!"

In the split second following the sound of the referee, the two contestants—both of whom seemed to already be resolved in their respective decisions—had to make their moves. "I surre—!"

~WHOOOSH!~

Ka'riela was about to surrender, swiftly raising both hands up as her pale face showed nothing but fear. However, before she could finish her words, Adrien's blurry body had already closed the distance between them.

~WHUP!~

With a swift jab, Adrien landed his fist on the girl's throat, instantly shattering her thorax.

"G-guh!" Her bloodshot eyes nearly popped out of her sockets as she felt the rush of pain assail her, followed by the choking noises.

She instantly fell to her knees, mucus and saliva dripping from her face. Tears poured from her bulging eyes, and despite her mouth being open, trying to leak words out, she couldn't say anything. When she tried, not only did her throat hurt, but only coughs and wheezes came forth.

"I… guhhh…!"

Before she could utter any further words, Adrien kicked her by the side.

Her body was instantly flung away, flying in the air and landing at the side of the stage. It almost seemed like she was a pile of garbage that was tossed to the side. "P-pleashee… I-I… g-guh!" Once again, he kicked her stomach and forced air and blood to flow from her lips. Her body rolled on the ground, leaving a trail of blood.

At this point, the crowd gasped.

Murmurs echoed in the hall, both among the students and the audience, and the tension reached an explosive height.

Even then… no one could stop the match.

Per the rules of the contest, the only way the competition could end was if one contestant fell unconscious or surrendered. Dragon Society was immensely meritocratic and power-oriented, so not even referees were allowed to stop a match that was going too far—unless death was inevitable for any of the students.

What was unfolding before the eyes of everyone wasn't the dance death, but a display of downright cruelty.

Adrien Chase's cruelty surpassed what even Dragons could stomach.

And… it didn't end.

~SQUELCH!~

Not after ten minutes.

~SPLOOSH!~

Or even an hour.

~CRACK!~

Then, finally… after nearly two hours… the match finally ended.

The bloodied body of the poor Dragon girl was lying on the ground, barely moving in her puddle of blood. Everyone who witnessed this held their breaths. "Referee?" Adrien's voice finally pierced the silence, causing everyone who listened to him shiver. "I'm done now."

The referee's eyes shone with disbelief, his body shaking as he approached the contestants. After a few seconds of silence, he finally opened his lips and gave the announcement.

"T-the winner of this match… is Adrien Ch-Chase!"