Chapter 48 — Chaos

Edrin’s fists clenched at his sides, but he forced himself to stay calm.

"We’re not doing anything wrong. We have every right to gather–"

"Rights?" Leonard cut him off, his gray eyes gleaming with amusement. "You think you have rights here? How adorable."

He took another step forward, and his Aura began to flare – thick, oppressive, suffocating.

The pressure hit the commoner group like a physical wave.

Several students in the back stumbled backward, their faces going pale.

"Leonard, stop this!" Edrin’s voice rose as he tried to push back against the overwhelming Aura. "You’re breaking Academy rules–"

"Am I?" Leonard tilted his head mockingly. "I’m just talking. If you’re feeling pressured, maybe that’s just because you’re weak."

Behind him, the other Nobles began to laugh.

One of them, a tall boy with slicked-back hair, stepped forward with a cruel grin. "Why don’t you commoners just disband this little gathering and go back to licking boots where you belong?"

"Fuck you!" Ronan Hale’s loud voice boomed across the gymnasium as he stepped forward, his broad shoulders squared. "We’re not going anywhere!"

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Leonard’s smirk vanished, replaced by cold fury.

"What did you just say to him?"

Before Ronan could respond, Leonard moved.

He was fast... blindingly fast for a first-year student.

His fist slammed into Ronan’s gut with the force of a sledgehammer.

"GAH!"

Ronan doubled over, the air forced from his lungs.

"Ronan!!"

Edrin and Lysa rushed forward, but the Nobles were already moving.

Chaos erupted everywhere.

****

"Get them!"

The Nobles surged forward like a pack of wolves descending on prey.

Edrin barely managed to dodge a punch aimed at his face, his glasses nearly flying off. He countered with a quick jab to the attacker’s ribs, but another Noble immediately grabbed him from behind.

"Let go!" Edrin twisted, trying to break free, but the grip was too strong.

A fist slammed into his side.

Then another.

"Edrin!!" Lysa screamed.

She moved to help him, but a female Noble with twin braids blocked her path, sneering. "Where do you think you’re going, commoner trash?"

The girl’s leg swept out in a vicious kick aimed at Lysa’s knees.

Lysa jumped back, narrowly avoiding it, and retaliated with a palm strike to the girl’s shoulder.

But she wasn’t fast enough.

Another Noble, this one a stocky boy with a sneer, slammed his elbow into Lysa’s back.

"AGH!"

Lysa crumpled to her knees, gasping.

All around them, commoners were being overwhelmed.

The Nobles fought with precision, confidence, and cruelty. Every strike was meant to humiliate, to injure, to break.

One commoner boy, barely fifteen – was thrown to the ground. A Noble kicked him in the ribs repeatedly, laughing.

"Stay down, you piece of shit!"

Another commoner girl tried to fight back, but two Nobles grabbed her arms and slammed her against the wall.

"Stop! STOP!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

They didn’t stop.

Blood splattered on the polished gymnasium floor.

Screams and shouts filled the air.

It was chaos. Absolute, brutal chaos.

****

Ronan staggered back to his feet, clutching his stomach, his face twisted in pain and fury.

"You... fucking bastard..."

Leonard stood in front of him, completely unbothered, his hands in his pockets.

"What’s wrong? Can’t even take a single punch? And you call yourself an S-rank talent?"

Leonard’s voice was calm, almost bored.

Ronan roared and charged forward, swinging a wild haymaker.

Leonard sidestepped effortlessly and slammed his knee into Ronan’s ribs.

CRACK.

"Argh!!" Ronan collapsed again, coughing blood.

"Pathetic." Leonard looked down at him with disgust.

Edrin finally broke free from the Noble holding him and rushed toward Leonard, his fists clenched.

"Get away from him!"

Leonard turned just in time to catch Edrin’s punch with one hand.

His grip tightened like a vice.

"You really think you can touch me?" Leonard’s golden eyes gleamed with malice. "You’re S-rank, sure. But I’m SS-rank. After training for a few days, I’m already at F+ rank while you are stuck with a minor rank below mentioned.. There’s a difference you’ll never understand."

He twisted Edrin’s arm violently.

"GAH!" Edrin gritted his teeth, trying not to scream.

Lysa, despite her injuries, forced herself to stand and launched herself at Leonard from the side.

But Leonard saw her coming.

Without even letting go of Edrin, he kicked out sideways – his boot slamming into Lysa’s stomach with brutal force.

She flew backward and crashed into a group of commoners, all of them tumbling to the ground.

"Lysa!!"

Edrin’s voice cracked with desperation.

Leonard released him with a shove, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"This is the difference between us," Leonard said coldly, looking around at the bloodied, beaten commoners. "You were never meant to stand on the same stage as us. Accept your place."

Tears of frustration and rage streamed down Edrin’s face as he tried to push himself up.

His glasses were cracked. His lip was bleeding. His entire body ached.

But more than the pain – it was the helplessness that crushed him.

’We can’t win... all of them have higher ranks than us. Even those who have talent as us are more used to controlling Aura than us.

Is this the gap in the foundation between us? We can’t just cover it up in a few days. We need time...’

Around him, commoners were being beaten down one by one.

No matter how hard they fought, no matter how much they struggled – the Nobles were just stronger.

It wasn’t fair.

It had never been fair.

****

Suddenly, the gymnasium doors burst open.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?"

A commanding voice echoed through the hall, cutting through the chaos like a blade.

Everyone froze.

A girl stepped into the gymnasium – tall, broad-shouldered, with shaved sides and long hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

Her Disciplinary Committee badge glinted under the lights.

Mara Kestrel. Third-year. C rank.

Her sharp eyes swept over the scene as she caught sight of the bloodied commoners, the smirking Nobles, the destroyed gymnasium.

"Everyone, STAND DOWN!" she barked.

She raised her wrist, and with a single press of a button, the Aura Jamming device activated.

A wave of energy rippled outward from her bracelet.

Instantly, the Aura flaring from both sides was suppressed. Several students stumbled as their energy was forcibly cut off.

Leonard clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn’t resist.

The Nobles slowly backed away from the commoners, smirking as if they’d already won.

Mara strode forward, her boots echoing loudly against the floor.

She looked around at the carnage, her expression hard.

Then her eyes landed on Edrin, Ronan, and Lysa... all three of them were bloodied and beaten.

"What happened here?" Mara demanded.

Leonard stepped forward smoothly, his hands still in his pockets, his expression calm and composed.

"These commoners gathered here and started provoking us. We were just defending ourselves when they attacked first."

"That’s a LIE!" Ronan shouted, his voice hoarse and filled with fury.

Mara’s eyes snapped to him.

"Watch your tone, first-year."

"They attacked US!" Ronan continued, ignoring her warning. "We were just having a meeting, and they came here to start a fight! Look around... LOOK at who’s injured! It’s all commoners!"

Mara’s gaze swept over the room again.

It was true. Almost every commoner was bruised, bleeding, or on the ground. Meanwhile, the Nobles barely had a scratch on them.

But her expression didn’t change.

"That doesn’t prove anything," Mara said coldly. "You could have provoked them verbally. Nobles don’t just attack without reason."

"WITHOUT REASON!?" Ronan’s voice rose even higher, disbelief and rage mixing together. "Are you SERIOUS right now!?"

Edrin grabbed Ronan’s arm, trying to pull him back. "Ronan, stop–"

But Ronan shook him off.

"No! I’m done staying quiet!" He glared at Mara, his eyes burning with fury. "This is exactly how it always is, isn’t it!? Our seniors already warned us about this but we didn’t understand.

Nobles do whatever the fuck they want, and people like YOU – people from the Student Council – always side with them! You suppress us, you ignore the truth, and you let them get away with EVERYTHING!"

His voice echoed through the silent gymnasium.

Lysa, still on the ground, looked up at Mara with tears in her eyes.

"He’s right... You’re not even trying to listen to us..."

Mara’s jaw tightened.

"I’m trying to maintain order–"

"Bullshit!" Ronan spat. "You’ve already decided we’re guilty just because we’re commoners!"

Mara’s expression darkened.

She stepped forward, her presence intimidating.

"I said, watch your tone."

"Or what?" Ronan stood his ground, his fists clenched despite his injuries. "You gonna beat me up too? Go ahead. Prove me right."

The tension in the air was suffocating.

Mara’s fist clenched at her side.

Then, without warning, she moved.

Her fist shot forward, aimed directly at Ronan’s face.

Ronan’s eyes widened. He was too injured, too slow to dodge.

SMACK.

But the punch never landed.

A hand... firm, steady – caught Mara’s fist mid-air.

Everyone froze.

Slowly, Mara’s eyes widened in shock as she looked up.

Standing there, his crimson hair slightly disheveled, his crimson eyes cold and sharp, was Damian Valcor.

He held her fist effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing.

The entire gymnasium fell into stunned silence.

Damian’s voice was low, dangerous.

"...That’s enough."