The path to the Colosseum wound through the academy's southern courtyard, wide marble steps glowing faintly under the morning light, with floating lanterns swaying lazily overhead. The air thrummed with mana, alive and heavy with the hum of the academy's barrier.

I walked ahead with my hands in my pockets, more out of habit than purpose. Behind me, I could already hear the shuffle of footsteps, and sure enough, a small crowd began forming at my sides.

"Can you believe how amazing Professor Belle is!?" Nora blurted as soon as she caught up, her eyes sparkling like she'd just witnessed a divine miracle. "The way she explained energy ranks, her tone, her confidence—ugh, she's perfect!"

I sighed mid-rant. "Yeah, I know," I said dryly. "I'm her student. And I live with her."

That stopped her dead in her tracks. For a second, she just blinked at me. Then, slowly, her expression twisted into the most lethal glare I'd seen all morning, the kind that said you lucky bastard, I will end you.

"Y–You what?!" she sputtered. "That's not fair! I've been here one day and already—ugh, life is so cruel!"

I shrugged. "Perks of fate."

Annalise, walking a few steps behind, giggled. "You two sound like an old married couple already."

Nora nearly tripped. "W–We do not!"

On my other side, Lillith leaned a little too close, close enough for her perfume to invade my personal space. "So, Sebastian," she drawled, "does that mean you get private lessons with the professor?"

I tilted my head slightly. "You're a bit too curious, aren't you?"

She smiled lazily. "Maybe. Or maybe I just like standing close to interesting men."

Her uniform, which were already criminally short and...open, shifted in a way that made everyone collectively decide the sky was very interesting right now.

"Lillith," Annalise said sweetly, "you might want to remember that this is still an academy campus."

Lillith winked. "So? I'm inspiring class spirit."

"More like corruption," I muttered.

Xavier laughed behind me, loud and effortless. "You people are ridiculous. It's been one day! Are we sure we're not already some dysfunctional friend group in a comedy?"

Kent trailed behind, looking like death in human form. The guy had bags under his eyes dark enough to qualify as pocket dimensions. "If this is a story," he grumbled, "I want out. I haven't slept since orientation."

"Still working on your runes?" Xavier asked.

Kent mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, runes can die.

I glanced back at them, the faintest smirk tugging at my lips. For a bunch of people who'd known each other for less than twenty-four hours, they were already talking and arguing like they'd been stuck together for years.

"Guess we're bonding already," I muttered.

"Bonding?" Nora shot back. "I'm plotting your murder."

"See?" I said. "Progress."

The Colosseum loomed ahead, an enormous ring of white stone etched with glowing runes, its gates yawning open like the mouth of some ancient beast. Mana shimmered faintly in the air, thick and heavy with anticipation.

I slowed my steps as we neared it, the group falling in behind me. "Well," I said, stretching lazily, "time to see what kind of mess she's got planned for us next."

"If Professor Belle even smiles at you again," Nora muttered darkly, "I'm switching seats."

Lillith chuckled. "Oh, I hope she smiles at him again."

Annalise sighed, shaking her head with a faint smile. "We're doomed."

I grinned. "Completely."

The Colosseum's air buzzed with mana thick, alive, and restless. Hundreds of first-year students from different classes filled the stands that spiraled around us, their excited chatter echoing through the stone arena. The sky above shimmered faintly under the Academy's barrier, blue light refracting through the dome like glass catching fire.

Belle stood at the center of it all, hands clasped neatly behind her back, blindfold fluttering in the wind.

"All right, children," she said, her voice calm yet cutting through the air like a blade. "You will each spar with the partner I assign to you. This isn't for entertainment, it's for me to assess your base combat ability."

She started calling names one after another, pairing students with the kind of precision that made you wonder if she could somehow see through that blindfold. Liam was paired with Alistair. Lillith with Kent, poor guy nearly groaned aloud. Xavier with Annalise. On and on it went, until eventually, everyone had a partner.

Everyone except Nora and me.

Belle turned her head slightly in our direction. Even without eyes, it felt like she was looking straight through me.

"Sebastian Nekros. Nora von Velkaris," she said. "You two will be sparring each other."

The crowd murmured. Even the top students shifted uneasily; everyone had seen what I could do, and everyone knew what kind of monster Nora was rumored to be.

Belle's tone softened, just a touch. "You two are too strong for your year. No one else here would give you a proper fight."

Nora turned toward me slowly, her white hair swaying with the movement. Her blue eyes glinted with satisfaction, a hunter's spark that sent a ripple of amusement through me.

"So," she said, smiling faintly, "this is revenge, then."

I raised an eyebrow. "Revenge?"

"For humiliating me," she said sweetly, slipping her fingers under the edge of her collar. The Academy's crest shimmered under her touch, and with a soft click, her uniform dissolved into a sleek black tracksuit lined with faint blue light.

She rolled her shoulders, the fabric stretching over lean muscle, her mana already humming in the air around her. "You shouldn't have become Belle's student, Sebastian."

I couldn't help but grin. "Oh, so that's what this is about. Jealousy looks good on you, by the way."

Her smile didn't falter, but the temperature around us dropped a few degrees. "You'll regret that."

I clicked my own crest, and my uniform shifted just like hers, the elegant black and silver fabric fading into a combat tracksuit, the faint glow of gold tracing my limbs. The material felt light, almost alive, reacting to my mana.

The crowd's murmurs grew louder, excitement rising like static before a storm.

Nora stepped onto the center platform of the Colosseum, her movements sharp and graceful, mana rippling around her like mist. I followed, stepping opposite her, the distance between us humming with tension.

We both took our stances, her movements smooth and practiced, a faint shimmer of light flickering at her hand as she reached into her space ring.

In a single graceful motion, she drew out an elegant rapier, its blade glinting pale blue beneath the arena's light. The weapon hummed softly, threads of mana weaving along its length like veins of frost.

I smiled faintly and raised my hand. A ripple of light, soft and cold, spread through the air and with a low, crystalline hum, Sacha appeared in her Glassblade form. The translucent weapon settled into my grip, the faint reflection of my own golden eyes glinting off its icy surface.

'Papa's ready,' her voice echoed faintly in my mind, smug and playful.

I could almost feel her grin through the hilt.

"Yeah," I murmured under my breath, shifting into a stance. "Let's show her what a tiger's bite feels like."

Across from me, Nora twirled her rapier once, the edge slicing a faint streak of blue mana through the air. Her smile didn't waver.

Neither did mine.

---

Nora raised her hand, her expression sharpening into something dangerously confident. The air around her rippled, mana thickening like invisible threads being pulled tight.

Then, one by one, orbs of golden and silver light began to bloom into existence small at first, but growing until they hung around her in a slow, deliberate orbit. They glowed like miniature stars, the golden ones warm and fierce, the silver ones cold and sharp.

I could feel the weight of her mana even from across the Colosseum refined, elegant, and far too heavy for someone our age. The crowd around us fell silent, breaths held as the orbs pulsed brighter, the light reflecting in her blue eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, her hair swaying with the motion, a smile ghosting across her lips. "You should've stayed out of my way," she murmured.

Then she raised a single finger and pointed it straight at me.

The orbs answered instantly.

In a blinding flash, they erupted forward, golden and silver streaks tearing through the air like a barrage of divine bullets. The sound of their release echoed like rolling thunder, shaking the ground beneath my feet.

I grinned, heart pounding as the storm of light bore down on me.

"Now we're talking," I muttered.

In an instant, my black aura surged outward, erupting from my body like a storm of death and shadow. The air around me warped, light bending as the ground beneath my feet cracked under the sheer pressure.

The cold weight of it spread fast — a suffocating, endless darkness that seemed to devour the golden glow rushing toward me.

The temperature dropped, the once-bright arena dimming under the oppressive wave of my power. It wasn't mana, it was the spiritual manifestation of my will.

I smiled faintly, eyes gleaming gold through the haze.

And then the world exploded into brilliance.

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