Chapter 200 — Gareth I

[Stormhold Academy - Challenge Arena]

The news spread through the Academy’s forum like wildfire, posts multiplying faster than students could read them.

[BREAKING: Damian Valcor Challenges Entire Student Council!]

[He’s Actually Removing Members! This Is Insane!]

[Public Challenge in Arena - Everyone Get There NOW!]

Students who’d been heading to afternoon classes after lunch suddenly changed direction, drawn by the promise of spectacle.

First-years abandoned their meal trays. Third-years left study groups mid-discussion. And fourth-years postponed their training plans.

Within twenty minutes, the challenge arena was packed beyond capacity, students filling the stone bleachers and spilling onto the grass surrounding the combat platform.

The second-years were absent – all deployed on battlefield missions as part of their curriculum – but their absence only made the crowd more concentrated.

Nearly eight hundred students gathered, their collective energy creating an atmosphere of anticipation that made the air feel electric.

Then... Damian arrived.

Thud Thud Thud Thud

He walked casually toward the arena platform, hands in his pockets, his shoulder-length crimson hair catching sunlight.

Behind him came Ariana, Edrin, Lysa, Ronan, Zavier, and two dozen other Mafia members, their formation unconscious but impressive.

"Yawn!"

Damian yawned as he stepped onto the platform, stretching his arms above his head like someone preparing for light exercise rather than combat that would determine Council membership.

The casual confidence was almost insulting to his opponents.

Whispers rippled through the crowd immediately.

"He is here."

"Look at him. Completely relaxed liike this is routine."

"Did you see his Mafia members? They all look so composed. No nervousness at all."

"This is going to be incredible."

Then the removed Council members arrived.

Gareth Blackwood led the group, his massive bear-like frame making him instantly recognizable even at a distance.

Behind him came Liam Evergreen, Rex Dalmir, Jonas Harrington, Arielle Voss and Elena Dray – though Elena’s expression showed she was here under protest rather than actual commitment to fighting.

Pop Pop

Gareth removed his Academy coat and shoes, jumping lightly, cracking his joints with deliberate movements designed to show confidence.

He’d become B+ rank over the past months. His physical conditioning was exceptional and his combat experience extensive.

At 19 years old and about to graduate, he was at the absolute peak of what a fourth-year student could achieve.

Damian also removed his coat and shirt, revealing the muscular torso that had shocked everyone in the gravity room earlier.

He was still noticeably smaller than Gareth’s bear-like build despite his growth in height and definition.

The visual contrast was stark – Gareth looked like he could crush someone with raw strength, while Damian looked more like a blade made flesh.

More whispers from the crowd.

"Gareth’s huge compared to him."

"Size isn’t everything. Remember how Damian fought those Demons?"

"This is Gareth Blackwood though. Heir to the Blackwood Imperial family and B+ rank. He’s not some random Noble."

"Yeah, but Damian killed Giants... Actual Giants in a portal dimension where he was stuck for two months!"

Elizabeth Murdock walked onto the platform, her purple hair and eyes marking her as Student Council President.

"I’ll serve as judge for this challenge. We’re keeping this matter within the Council – no professor’s interference is needed unless someone’s life is in danger."

Her voice carried across the arena despite not using Aura amplification.

"The rules are simple: combat continues until one fighter surrenders or becomes unable to continue. Intentional killing is forbidden and will result in immediate Academy expulsion."

She looked at both fighters.

"Do you understand and accept these terms?"

"Yes."

Both voices overlapped, Damian and Gareth acknowledging simultaneously.

But the gathered professors in the audience drew everyone’s attention as well.

Professor Seraphina Vale sat in the front row, her S+ rank presence making even veteran professors uncomfortable. Her violet eyes tracked every movement in the arena.

Professor Salazar Blackwood – Damian’s former master – sat with his characteristic eccentric energy barely contained.

His black eyes showed complex emotions: pride in his former student mixed with concern for his family’s heir who was about to fight said student.

Professor Nathan Brock, the bald body trainer, was already analyzing both fighters’ physiques.

Professor Vivian Verratoux with her distinctive pink hair watched from the third-year section, her expression thoughtful.

’Good thing I didn’t do anything against that kid.’

Professor Emmanuel Langsten sat rigid, his blue eyes showing lingering fear from when Seraphina had threatened him for attempting action against Damian.

Learning that Damian was the Headmaster’s disciple had only intensified that fear.

’I should have been more polite.’

Professor Admond Ashford wore a complicated expression, his grey eyes showing regret mixed with stubborn pride.

He’d demanded Damian become subordinate to the Ashford family in exchange for theoretical instruction.

Damian had walked out. And now, watching the student he’d refused to teach displaying capabilities that exceeded most fourth-years, the regret was palpable.

Professor Richard Evergreen, head of the medical wing, stared at the Mafia students gathered behind Damian.

’What a freak.’

He’d advised Damian months ago that his Mafia students couldn’t keep pace with Nobles due to resource and talent disparities.

But every single one of them now radiated D-rank Aura, their physical conditioning obvious, their unity unshakeable. He’d been proven catastrophically wrong.

Nathan Greaves, the Section C first-year homeroom teacher, sat beside Admond with resigned disappointment.

"You should have just taught him when I brought him to you."

His voice was quiet but carrying an accusation.

Admond’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.

What could he say? That his pride had prevented him from recognizing genuine talent? That political posturing had cost him the opportunity to shape one of the most exceptional students in Academy history?

Professor Elara Chen and several other instructors filled out the audience, all of them recognizing this wasn’t just a student challenge.

This was a generational shift being fought in real-time.

Elizabeth raised her hand.

"Begin!"

For a moment, neither fighter moved.

Damian spoke first, his voice calm but carrying across the arena.

"Do you remember what you said to me during the club recruitment incident? When you showed me ’how much of an ant’ I was compared to you? When you beat me so badly I couldn’t breathe properly?"

Crack

He cracked his neck, the sound audible despite the distance.

His expression shifted to something cold and absolute.

"Why don’t I show you today how much of an ant YOU really are."

Gareth didn’t respond with words.

He just disappeared.

BOOM

He reappeared directly behind Damian, his fist already in motion, B+ rank strength condensed into a strike that could pulverize anything.

Bam

Damian’s hand came up without him even turning around, catching the punch with his palm, his enhanced perception having tracked the movement before it completed.

His body didn’t move and didn’t even sway from the impact.

"!!!"

Gareth’s eyes widened.

’Impossible! That punch had my full strength behind it. He blocked it one-handed without even looking?!’

Gareth disappeared again, reappearing on Damian’s left, another devastating punch already launched.

Bam

But it was blocked effortlessly.

Again. Right side. Blocked...

Above. Blocked...

Below. Blocked...

Bam Bam Bam Bam

Gareth began moving faster, his speed technique activating fully, his form blurring as he attacked from multiple angles simultaneously.

To the watching crowd, it looked like five or six Gareths were surrounding Damian, all of them striking from different directions in coordinated assault.

But Damian just stood there, his hands moving with casual precision, blocking every single strike without effort.

His Macro Vision was active, reading muscle movements before attacks fully committed.

His enhanced perception tracked every displacement.

His physical attributes, boosted far beyond normal C+ rank by the Devourer Body Art, made the speed differential manageable.

"..."

The crowd went absolutely silent, unable to process what they were witnessing.

"He’s... he’s playing with him."

"That’s Gareth Blackwood! A fucking Imperial heir that’s 3 years older than him! B+ rank! How is Damian blocking everything so easily?!"

"Look at his face. He’s not even concentrating. This is effortless for him!"

Then Damian spoke, his voice almost bored.

"My turn."

Five afterimages of Damian appeared simultaneously, all of them striking Gareth from different angles with perfectly synchronized timing.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.

Gareth’s body was hit from five directions at once, his defensive Aura shattering under the coordinated assault, his massive frame being launched backward.

Before he could recover, Damian appeared in the air above his flight path and delivered a devastating axe kick that changed his trajectory from horizontal to straight down.

BOOM.

Gareth crashed into the platform, cracks spreading from the impact point.

But before he hit, Damian was already below him, his fist coming up in an uppercut that caught Gareth’s descending form and sent him flying upward again.

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

The sounds of impacts echoed across the entire Academy as Damian juggled Gareth’s body between earth and sky, each strike precise enough to maximize damage while preventing Gareth from recovering enough to defend.

Finally, Damian let him fall.

CRASH.

A crater formed where Gareth hit the platform, dust and debris exploding outward.

"..."

A deathly silence spread across the entire Arena.