Chapter 126: Say Hi To Graham Cole Before Leaving

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Say Hi To Graham Cole Before Leaving

The man who had arrived at Arcadia Academy expecting to harvest five helpless targets had been forced to retreat by the very girl he had considered his most valuable prey.

But his parting threat cast a shadow over the spectators’ relief.

They now knew that the attacker was none other than Damon Veil, the leader of the Bloodshadow Cult.

And the Bloodshadow Cult was not an ordinary martial organization. It was notorious for assassination.

A powerful fighter could exploit an opponent’s weaknesses in a direct confrontation, but a skilled assassin did not need to fight fairly.

They could hide in the shadows, wait for the perfect opportunity, and strike when their target was least prepared.

With Damon personally targeting Mira, even sleeping peacefully could become a luxury for her.

Stanley Crook hurried over to her, hoping to ease her worries.

"Don’t be frightened, Mira," he said.

"I’ll report everything to General Victoria Quill. No matter how powerful the Bloodshadow Cult might be, they’re still nothing more than a pack of rats hiding in the dark. They won’t be able to touch anyone under General Quill’s protection."

He had barely finished speaking when a tremendous roar thundered from the direction Damon had fled. A moment later, a piercing scream followed.

Stanley’s expression changed instantly.

"W-what is happening?" he said, staring into the distance, where an enormous dark red field of energy had suddenly appeared.

The surrounding teachers and students fell silent, their earlier excitement replaced by confusion and alarm.

Something had happened to Damon. And whatever it was, it appeared to be far from over.

* * *

Damon was furious as he fled.

His carefully arranged plan had been going smoothly until the girl he had regarded as easy prey suddenly revealed a level of combat ability that defied all expectations.

At first, he had been shocked that someone whose cultivation was only at the 8th-Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm could hold him off for two minutes using nothing but swordsmanship.

He had never encountered anything like it.

Nevertheless, Damon had assumed that the situation would change once he stopped holding back and unleashed the full strength of his Star Sea Realm cultivation.

He had been wrong.

The sword technique that followed was so terrifying that it seemed capable of splitting the world apart.

The instant Mira unleashed it, his scalp went numb and his legs nearly gave way.

His instincts warned him that remaining in its path meant certain death. He had immediately turned to flee.

Yet escaping the attack had proven far more difficult than he imagined.

The sword intent had locked onto him, making every attempt to evade it feel increasingly futile. In the end, he had been struck.

"If I hadn’t awakened a second supernatural ability related to healing, that attack would have killed me!" Damon’s expression twisted with lingering fear as he continued running.

"How can someone at the 8th-Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm possess swordsmanship like that? It’s absurd!"

He had underestimated Mira badly. The injuries he had suffered were proof enough of that.

But beneath his anger and fear, another emotion was taking root.

Greed.

"Still, this only makes you more valuable to me, Mira," he said, his eyes gleaming with a disturbing intensity.

"If I devour you, the Devouring Demon Art might finally reach perfection. And if I’m fortunate enough, I might even push it beyond its current limits and reach that legendary pinnacle, the next stage that countless practitioners have failed to achieve!"

Rather than making him abandon his interest in Mira, the terrifying display had intensified his desire to possess her power.

He was already imagining the possibilities of consuming her extraordinary physique.

However, before he could think any further, a sudden sense of danger washed over him. Damon stopped abruptly.

"Who’s there?!" he snapped, his head whipping toward the right, his senses immediately going on high alert.

A figure had appeared beside him without warning. The moment Damon recognized the man’s face, his pupils contracted sharply.

"You... You’re Graham Cole!" he breathed.

He knew that face.

After Collins Lindsay’s death, the Lindsay family had commissioned an artist to produce a portrait of the suspected killer.

Before coming to Arcadia Academy, Damon had studied the image carefully and considered Graham Cole a potential threat.

There was no mistaking the man standing before him.

This was the mysterious powerhouse who had killed Selene, the Bloodshadow Cult’s deputy leader, with terrifying ease.

Damon had already been forced to retreat from Mira.

Now, with Graham Cole appearing directly in his path, he had no intention of taking unnecessary risks. He gathered his strength, preparing to respond to whatever came next.

But Graham did nothing so dramatic. The mysterious man simply raised one hand and extended three fingers.

A crisp cracking sound rang through the air.

Before Damon could even understand what had happened, an immense, dark red field of energy surged around him, swallowing his entire body in an instant.

Arcadia Academy covered an enormous area.

Even with Xavier moving at full speed and the Perception Rune Stone operating at maximum capacity, crossing from the northern grounds to the teaching buildings in the south took him more than two minutes.

What he found there made his heart sink. The building where Mira’s class was supposed to be held had been reduced to rubble. The destruction was so extensive that he immediately understood what had happened. Two powerful martial artists must have fought there, and the battle had left the entire building in ruins.

But where was Mira?

Xavier swept the surrounding area with his enhanced perception, searching desperately for his wife. He could not find her anywhere near the wreckage, and the uncertainty made him increasingly anxious.

Then a brilliant sword light illuminated the academy’s playground. Xavier immediately identified its location and rushed toward it. The moment he arrived within range of his perception, he detected another figure moving away from the battlefield.

He quickly confirmed that Mira was safe. Only then did he turn his attention to the fleeing figure and pursue it without hesitation.

With Phantom Step and his speed enhancement supernatural ability working together, Xavier’s movement speed increased dramatically. He caught up with the fleeing man in less than ten seconds. He did not bother with questions or warnings.

Xavier raised his hand and unleashed the Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger. The technique’s third stage erupted with its full might. A dark red force field spread across hundreds of meters, instantly trapping the figure within its boundaries. After advancing into the Star Sea Realm, Xavier’s control over this martial technique had grown substantially stronger. The same move that had once possessed limited power now carried an entirely different level of force.

This was only natural. A martial technique’s strength depended not just on the technique itself but also on the cultivation of the person using it. After all, handing the same kitchen knife to a three year old child and a grown adult would not make their attacks equally dangerous. The weapon might be identical, but the strength behind each strike would be completely different.

The same principle applied to martial arts.

Under Xavier’s overwhelming force field, Damon became completely immobilized. He struggled desperately, but no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not escape.

Xavier did not give him a chance to try again. The Dragon Slayer Sword flashed through the air. With one swift, decisive stroke, he severed Damon’s head.

That was the source of the terrible scream Stanley Crook and the others had heard from a distance.

However, Xavier had barely withdrawn the Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger when something unexpected happened. He approached the fallen body, intending to inspect the spoils of war, only for Damon’s severed head to lie motionless on the ground while the headless body suddenly sprang into action.

Two daggers shot toward Xavier’s waist with vicious precision!

Fortunately, the Perception Rune Stone had already alerted him to the danger. He shifted aside before the blades could reach him. Even without that warning, his chaotic energy would have automatically protected him if the daggers had struck. Nevertheless, he preferred not to give his enemy even the slightest opportunity to cause trouble.

Damon had now lost his chance to witness just how futile his desperate counterattack would have been.

"That’s some impressive vitality," Xavier remarked with a faint smile.

He extended one finger. The dark red force field appeared once more, instantly freezing the headless body in place. This time, Xavier was not going to make the mistake of assuming his opponent was dead simply because his head had been removed.

The Dragon Slayer Sword flashed repeatedly, cutting Damon’s body into several pieces. Afterward, Xavier summoned flames and burned the severed head until nothing remained of it but ashes.

Before finishing the job, he had also removed the spatial ring from Damon’s finger. There was no reason to destroy the man’s possessions along with his body.

Only after making absolutely certain that Damon could no longer threaten anyone did Xavier finally relax.

"Surviving decapitation and retaining the ability to attack afterward," he murmured. "Ordinary Star Sea Realm martial artists shouldn’t have that kind of vitality."

He examined the remains thoughtfully.