Chapter 54: Super hearing

The tremendous wave of raw Grade S mana radiating from Rei’s physical vessel completely flatlined the loose air currents inside the central reservoir vault. Darian Calagher’s face twisted into an ugly, frustrated scowl as he felt the sheer weight of her presence pressing down on his chest. His eyes lost their lazy confidence, his jaw tightening into a hard line as he violently unleashed his own Grade A mana core. A heavy, dense pressure exploded outward from his body, and although it was not comparable to Rei’s absolute magnitude, it was still formidable enough to cause the rusted iron drainage pipes around them to creak and rattle under the strain.

Darian took a sharp, aggressive step forward into the wet grit, a cold, venomous grin returning to his sharp features as he glared at her. "I have been itching to fight with you for a long time, Rei," Darian said, his tone carrying a desperate, heavy weight.

Rei didn’t blink, her sky-blue eyes remaining cold and steady behind her green face mask as her fluffy white bathrobe fluttered slightly in the residual wind. "You are not worthy," she said cleanly.

Darian’s scowl deepened, his fists clenching so tightly that cracks began to spread along the stone tiles beneath his boots. "You people with your Grade S talents feel that you are more special than the others, don’t you?" Darian hissed, his beautiful voice dropping into a malicious whisper. "The Calagher family is also a pure High-blood lineage. We might not possess the exact same destructive power and massive wealth compared to House Carter, but we are also highly respectable among the elites of the Holy City. Because of that, I believe I am more than qualified to face off against an unknown High-blood like you."

"There is a very specific reason why my family name remains completely unknown to your circles," Rei murmured softly, her manicured fingers snapping into a tight, recursive geometric pattern.

"I would highly love to see that reason then!" Darian screamed.

"I won’t even go all out against you dude," Rei replied carelessly, her indifferent tone completely infuriating Darian.

Losing his patience entirely, Darian violently lunged forward to launch an attack, his physical velocity multiplying in a single millisecond. But right when he was about to connect with her guard, the physical space directly in front of Rei’s chest violently shattered like brittle glass, a massive purple gateway rift tearing through the air currents with a sharp, echoing crack.

Darian driven fist shot straight inside the glowing fracture line, only for the kinetic momentum to instantly exit from a secondary gateway that Rei had opened right behind his own head. Darian’s eyes widened into circles of raw shock as his own punch came whistling back toward his skull. Utilizing his rapid reflexes, he narrowly evaded his own fist by the absolute split of a hair, violently backflipping into the air to escape the closing perimeter of the gateways before skidding ten meters across the wet pavement.

He stabilized his stance, a cruel, mocking sneer breaking across his face as he brushed the dust from his jacket.

"My talent is called Super Hearing," Darian announced loudly, his voice echoing arrogantly off the vaulted stone ceiling. "It is an absolute Grade A capability that allows me to hear every single microscopic sound around this entire reservoir block. I can hear the exact vibration in the air currents the exact microsecond your gateways form. If you have no other trick up your sleeve tonight, you will die inside this vault."

Rei paused, a slow, exceptionally dark smile appearing on her pale lips beneath her green face mask as she looked at him.

"I will pass on dying," Rei said smoothly.

Across the central vault, Thomas didn’t waste a single microsecond watching the senior duel. His face remained perfectly hard and smooth as glass as he utilized his newly integrated skills to handle the remaining lackeys. Shifting his weight onto his heels, he seamlessly transitioned back into Gerald’s heavy combat form, his right arm still completely hardened into the hyper-dense, reflective armor of the Diamond Skin talent.

The two remaining classmates tried to throw up a desperate kinetic barrier to block his path, but Thomas lunged forward like an absolute bullet. He swung his diamond-encrusted right fist in a brutal, sweeping arc, the immense physical density effortlessly smashing through their unrefined shields and launching them both into the stone pillars, knocking them unconscious in a single, definitive trade.

With the perimeter completely cleared, Thomas stepped through the fading grey smoke and reached Mina’s side. He knelt down smoothly on the wet grit, his dark eyes wide open as he looked down at her battered form. Without a single word, he activated his newly acquired Gaseous Shift capability inside his right fingers, allowing his tissue to temporarily dissolve into a fluid, smoky mist that slipped effortlessly beneath the tight restriction cords.

He gripped the heavy binding fibers and violently wrenched his hands outward, using his reinforced physical density to tear the thick cords apart like paper.

Mina let out a soft, ragged sigh of pure relief as the restriction cords fell away from her hands and feet. Her hazel eyes were wide with a deep, breathless respect as she looked up at his smooth, unreadable mask, her body still trembling slightly from the long ordeal but her presence finally stabilizing under the green healing mana Lina was continuously channeling from the rear grates.

"Tom..." Mina whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she reached up to grip the fabric of his silver-trimmed uniform jacket. "You... you actually came down here."

" I did," Thomas said flatly, his voice level and steady as he carefully helped her up from the wet stone.

Lina rushed forward, her hands glowing with dense, green mana to heal Mina’s battered tissue.

Ryan turned to Thomas, his face dark with grit. "Tom, what do we do with these high bloods?"

Julian intervened immediately, his bare eyes cold. "You will do nothing. No matter their wrongs, these people are still High-bloods. If they die, then Rei and I will make sure you do not leave this place alive. Also let us say you manage to survive our ire, their families will know that lessers killed their heirs. If word goes out, no one can save you."

Julian adjusted his silver rimmed glasses. "Let’s just wait for Rei to quickly defeat Darian before we proceed."

"I have something to ask Darian," Thomas said flatly. He walked past Julian, watching the spatial gateways crack the air.

"Darian!!" Thomas yelled.

Darian abruptly evaded an attack, jumping back into the grit. He glared at Thomas. "What?!"

"Why are you doing all of this?!" Thomas asked, his voice steady.

Darian broke into a cruel, unyielding grin. "Because we can!!"