Chapter 374: Interference and pride

Ray’s ability was both versatile and powerful, which was precisely why his repeated misconduct and numerous violations of rules had never been punished as harshly as they would have been for any other cadet.

He possessed what could potentially be a special-ranked skill, one that allowed him to materialize virtually anything as long as he understood its structure and could properly visualize it in his mind. Whatever he created was not some hollow imitation either. It possessed tangible form and function, making his ability remarkably difficult to predict once he had enough information about something.

On top of that, Ray’s Genesis count was downright overwhelming. Thirty-two circuits ran through his body, constantly regulating and circulating Genesis throughout his frame, granting him the physical foundation expected of a powerful Nightwalker.

And then there was his age.

At twenty-four, Ray still had decades ahead of him to grow, fight, learn, and accumulate experience. In a way, he was an asset to the base, and now, inside the pit, he was showing exactly why so many people had placed such high expectations on him.

CLANG!

A chain materialized from Genesis and wrapped around Elena’s ankle, violently dragging her downward. She resisted with the force of her wings, beating them hard enough to halt her descent before immediately surging toward Ray.

"Eheh!"

Ray grinned and summoned a wall directly in her path.

It appeared in an instant, straight and solid, cutting off her charge so abruptly that Elena nearly slammed into it. She immediately began ascending again, but the chain remained wrapped around her ankle, keeping her tethered to the ground.

"Tch."

Clicking her tongue, Elena twisted her body, trying to find an angle that would allow her to slip free.

For a moment, it worked.

Only for that momentary distraction to cost her dearly.

"Agh!"

Elena’s eyes widened as a thin violet stick suddenly pierced into her stomach. The blow was not deep, but the sudden impact knocked the air from her lungs and sent her staggering backward through the air.

Jimmy hummed in surprise.

This was a pleasant change in tactics.

Ray now held a violet staff in his hand, another construct conjured from Genesis.

He couldn’t even form three constructs simultaneously before, much less use one as a weapon.

Ray had always been a chain user, relying on them to restrict his opponents and control their movements. The wall was nothing particularly surprising either. It was a relatively simple construct.

But the staff was different.

Creating a functional weapon while simultaneously maintaining other constructs required considerably greater precision and concentration. It demanded a level of control that few would have expected from someone with Ray’s notoriously careless personality.

Elena ignored the pain in her stomach and focused on the weapon in his hand.

The staff swept toward her face.

She ducked beneath it with a rapid descent, then immediately thrust her arm forward.

CLANG!

Her eyes widened.

Ray had tilted his body just enough to avoid the attack, allowing him to catch her wrist with another chain.

Elena glared at him.

"Is this how you fight? You just restrain your opponents until they can’t fight back, then call yourself victorious?"

Ray smirked.

"Bitch, did I complain when I got thrashed just now? Save your moans for when I actually break you."

His expression remained relaxed. He had no intention of allowing her words to provoke him.

Elena, however, had never relied solely on provocation.

She suddenly shot upward.

Her speed increased dramatically as her wings spread wider, the immense span of them making her silhouette appear both intimidating and strangely beautiful against the arena’s light.

Ray’s grin widened.

He broke the violet staff apart, splitting it into two fragments as he prepared to bring the battle to an end.

Then the atmosphere changed.

Golden energy suddenly wrapped around Elena’s entire body.

She hovered above him, her eyes cold as she stared down at Ray.

"Rules be damned."

Her wings bent backward.

Every muscle in her body tightened.

"You are dying today."

STOOOH!

The sound of the attack tore through the pit.

Several feathers shot toward Ray when she flapped her wings forward, with frightening speed and precision. They were not warning shots or intimidation aimed at scaring him.

The killing intent was unmistakable.

She intended to kill him.

Dust erupted across the arena as the feathers tore through the ground and air.

By this point, the instructor had already relinquished responsibility for the battle to the silver-haired head.

Jimmy remained silent, watching closely.

Perhaps Ray had finally underestimated his opponent.

Or perhaps...

He hadn’t.

As the dust slowly began to settle, Kyle was the first to notice it.

Then Jimmy saw it too.

His eyes widened.

Even Elena, who had been utterly unflinching moments ago, could only stare.

"Nice trick you’ve got there."

Ray stood completely unharmed.

He casually used one of the feathers to pick at his ear while the others remained suspended in midair around him.

Violet hands had appeared from nowhere, each one positioned with almost surgical precision before the incoming feathers. They had intercepted every projectile without allowing a single one to slip through.

The sheer control required to accomplish that was absurd.

Spatial awareness.

Precision.

Focus.

Jimmy’s expression hardened.

Yes.

Ray was far too special for him to ignore.

And apparently, he was far too special for the man watching this battle from somewhere beyond everyone’s sight to ignore as well.

Inside the pit, Elena finally understood.

Her trump card had accomplished nothing.

She wanted to change her tactics, but before she could even move, chains made entirely from Genesis erupted around her.

One.

Then another.

Then several more.

They surrounded her from every direction, suspended in the air like serpents waiting for the right moment to strike.

Elena’s gaze darted around nervously.

For a brief moment, she searched for an opening.

There wasn’t one.

Then the inevitable happened.

CLANG!

The chains tightened.

THUMP!

Her body was dragged violently to the ground.

She groaned as she landed, only to find herself completely bound. Chains wrapped around her arms, legs, and torso, locking every limb into place and leaving her with barely enough freedom to breathe.

Her feathers were already retracting. The last attack had left them painfully sensitive, and she could not afford to keep them exposed while restrained like this.

There was no way she could fight back.

All those vows I took... were they all for nothing?

Disgust filled her as she lay helplessly against the ground.

She had already disappointed her family for years.

And now, when she had finally been given an opportunity to prove herself, to do something right for once...

She had failed again.

"Aw, don’t make that face, babe. It’s not the end of the battle, you know. You’re already recording your defeat in your head."

Elena’s teeth clenched.

Ray stood above her, looking down with that same infuriating expression.

There was one thing in his eyes that she hated more than his mockery.

Sympathy.

She knew he was deliberately provoking her, but even the suggestion that he pitied her made her blood boil.

"Go on and do something right for once. End this battle," Elena muttered before turning her head away.

There was no point continuing.

She had been completely overwhelmed.

More importantly, she had been outsmarted.

She had entered the battle believing Ray’s hasty personality would make him reckless. She thought his careless behavior would create openings she could exploit.

Instead, she had discovered that beneath all that apparent recklessness, Ray had been watching her carefully from the very beginning.

He had measured her movements, understood her strengths, and judged the gap between them far more accurately than she had judged him.

In the end, she had not lost because she lacked power.

She had lost because Ray had understood her better than she had understood him.

"Hmm? You are a very optimistic woman, I must admit," Ray said, suddenly crouching over her hips as he looked down at her. "You really think I went out of my way just to get you to surrender?"

His hand suddenly shot forward.

RIP!

The sound of tearing fabric cut through the pit.

Elena’s eyes widened as she looked down and realized her shirt had been ripped open from the middle, exposing the garment beneath it.

"Y-You bastard! I surrender, so just stop this! Fucking asshole..."

Ray’s hand clamped over her mouth before she could finish, his grip hard enough to make her wince.

He raised a finger with his other hand and spoke in a low, taunting voice.

"You lost, woman. So now, just lie there and let me peel that pride off you first."

Elena’s eyes widened in horror as his hand moved toward her chest.

Moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes as she desperately looked around the arena for someone to intervene.

Then,

THWAP!

The weight above her suddenly vanished.

The chains rattled violently as a reinforced, open-handed slap struck Ray across the face with enough force to send him flipping through the air.

He hit the ground several meters away and rolled before finally coming to a stop.

Jimmy, who was standing at the edge of pit and about to conclude the match, stopped as he saw it.

Someone has interfered. An interesting anomaly has made his appearance.