Demigod Academy, Luminera, Earth
A crunch echoed as the punch connected to Arthur’s nose.
His body flew back and crashed into the chairs.
“Hey!” Felix shouted, her hands already moving towards the holster. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“That guy attacked one of our guys yesterday. We are just repaying the favor,” said Paul.
He had blonde hair, and golden eyes.
Someone from Zeus Clan. Felix was able to recognize that at a glance.
“What do you mean he attacked someone!? He was saving the unicorn your friend was attacking!”
Felix glared at them.
Even though she could fight back, she hesitated. Venyth, her true soul weapon, was too strong to be used on fellow students, even if they were second-year students.
She looked around.
‘Dammit, Mars isn’t here.’
“Shut up, or you will be disciplined too.”
“Do you think—”
One of Paul’s friends moved. He slapped Felix and the force of it nearly snapped her neck.
“Stop…”
Arthur tried to stand. His limbs were trembling and he was too exhausted.
All of them had been training to defeat the clone Neo had left behind. Each day, they fought until they were knocked out.
If not for it, Arthur would’ve been able to stand back after receiving Paul’s punch.
“You should’ve thought about the consequences of your actions before yesterday,” Paul said, as he slammed his leg on top of Arthur’s head.
The students in the class were shocked, but they couldn’t move.
Not only were Paul and his friends second years and thus stronger than them, they were from Zeus Clan.
Suddenly, an unfathomable pressure appeared in the surroundings.
Everyone inside the classroom felt their heart lurch, and an unnatural coldness froze their bodies.
Silence appeared.
Even the leaves on the trees outside stopped rustling as if they were afraid.
And then…
The sound of steps echoed.
Someone was coming towards their closed classroom.
‘This aura… It’s the aura of an Empyrean rank! Who is it?!’ Paul was too afraid to move.
Judging by how the aura was released, the person was angered.
Paul’s gaze shifted towards Arthur.
‘Did he have a friend so strong? No, I’m sure none of the strong people he knows should be here.’
The door to the classroom slid open.
Jack stood there.
His hollow green eyes stared at Paul making him flinch, then he looked at Arthur and Felix.
“It’s lunchtime. Are you guys coming or not?”
Each word of his brought unnatural cold into the classroom.
Paul felt like his heart was about to burst.
He forcefully calmed his fear.
‘This guy – Jack – is weak. He is probably using some kind of Spell to increase his aura.’
Paul flinched again when he met Jack’s gaze.
Still, he spoke, “Who do you think you are disturbing u-us?! Can’t you see what is happening here?”
“What?”
Jack’s aura exploded outwards.
He walked towards Paul, and stopped in front of him.
“Did you just shout at me?”
Paul could not reply. His legs were trembling.
Jack, on the other hand…
‘Where the hell are Morrigan and Mars!’
‘I sent them a message before I came here!’
‘Why haven’t they come here yet!?’
Paul was afraid of Jack?
Jack was more afraid of Paul!
Having lost his rank in Shadow Trail, Jack was weaker than a twig right now.
Jack looked at Felix with a side glance.
‘Hiss! That looks painful. Wait, don’t tell me they are hitting with actual force?’
‘I am going to be killed, dammit!’
Jack suddenly felt like maybe he should have stayed hidden and waited for others to rescue Felix and Arthur.
He really wanted to cry.
Even though he had lost rank, he was once an Empyrean. His ‘Existence level’ was still at that rank, which allowed him to release the aura of an Empyrean rank demigod.
He thought that would be enough to stall for time.
“You…” Paul looked down on Jack, and tried to look more intimidating. “We are your seniors—”
“Pfft!”
A chuckle cut off Paul mid-sentence.
He turned his gaze towards Felix.
Felix froze, realizing everyone had heard her chuckle. In the silent room, it had been too loud.
She had realized that both Paul and Jack were afraid of each other, and couldn’t hold her laughter.
Thanks to it, it was her turn to be the target of Paul’s anger.
“No, I mean—Sniff!” Felix quickly changed her expression, and looked as if she was about to cry. “It hurts. Sniff!”
She held her bruised face.
Pain?
Neo’s clone gave them a worse beating than this. It happened every day. Thanks to it, Felix could now cry at a moment’s notice.
“Whoa,” Jack chuckled. “You guys hit Felix? Do you have a death wish?”
Jack finally found a way to save himself.
He continued, “Don’t you know Neo Hargraves fancies her?”
“Huh?” “What?” Paul and Felix snapped their gaze towards him in confusion.
“Neo Hargraves… does what?” Paul repeated.
“He fancies Felix, in a romantic way of course.”
Paul looked at Jack, then at Felix, then back at Jack.
“Isn’t she… you know… Aphrodite Clan… so…”
“What about it?” Jack questioned. “Can’t you see how close Neo and Felix are? He even took her in his team during the entrance tournament.”
“He already has a fiancée though?” one of Paul’s friends spoke up.
“You guys are from Zeus Clan, so you should know how much love there is between Neo and Morrigan.” Jack shrugged.
Paul and his friends looked at each other.
Then, they looked at Felix.
She was, in both genders, a beauty that could shake anyone’s heart.
Aphrodite Bloodline already had the best appearances, and Felix was unmatched among them.
Even now Felix looked like a defenseless maiden as she cried.
It made one want to protect her at all costs.
‘Dammit, did we step on a landmine? Lucas never told us about this!’ Paul thought.
Neo Hargraves was a name they could not ignore. According to the rumors going around, he had already reached Paragon rank.
Even if he hadn’t, he cleared a Shadow Trial.
No one doubted that one day Neo Hargraves would reach Exalted rank.
Offending him was no different from trying to get themselves killed.
“Tch, dammit, he likes someone from Aphrodite Clan? That spoiled my mood. Let’s go.” Paul said, and hurried out of the class with his friends.