Martial Demons Ascension

Rhyka straightened slowly, brushing a bit of dust from his sleeve where the stone had shattered nearby His eyes swept the crowd, meeting the stares of the students who had just witnessed him glide out of the way of two attacks without so much as a stumble.

Most of them were frozen in place, mouths slightly open, their disbelief obvious.

Inside, Rhyka felt something bubbling up. The corners of his mouth twitched despite himself, a smile threatening to break across his face. He forced it down, tightening his jaw, trying to hold onto the image he wanted them to see: calm, unbothered, untouchable.

Still, the amusement burned under the surface.

He didn't need long to identify at least one of his attackers.

The heat in the air, the trajectory of the fireball it all pointed toward Rin When he looked, his suspicion was confirmed by her face.

Rin stood a few paces ahead, her cheeks flushed not from running but from indignation Her hand still hung loosely by her side, faint wisps of smoke curling from her fingertips The self-righteous look she wore was unmistakable: wide eyes at his impossible dodge, quickly narrowing into something that looked like anger, or worse, condescension.

Rin was the type who couldn't stand disorder To her, striking at him wasn't bullying it was discipline A necessary punishment for someone who had dared speak so harshly to Eto, who in Rin's mind was beyond reproach.

And Rin wasn't alone.

Three more students stepped closer, flanking her almost instinctively They were Eto's admirers the ones who always hovered near her in class, the ones who visibly bristled when she so much as frowned Two of them were boys whose feelings for her were painfully obvious; the third was a girl who clung to Eto's orbit with the same devotion.

Their words hit like thrown stones.

"Pathetic."

"Still running your mouth, mutt?"

"You think dodging once makes you worth something?"

"Try that again when you're not magicless trash."

Their voices overlapped, dripping with venom, each insult harsher than the last. A few of the bystanders even laughed nervously, emboldened by the momentum of the crowd The four of them shifted their stances, subtle signs of gearing up for another attack feet planting harder against the ground.

But Rhyka didn't give them the satisfaction of a defensive flinch.

Because while their voices filled the air, his new senses told him something else entirely.

There was someone else here.

Not Rin. Not her little pack of admirers. Another presence quiet, deliberate, lurking just at the edge of the group of students His body told him before his eyes did: the faintest ripple in the air, the slightest irregularity in the soundscape, like a breath being held too long His skin prickled as if brushed by a shadow that didn't belong.

Whoever it was, they thought they were hidden.

Rhyka contemplated for a moment. How to reveal them? How to drag them out into the open without breaking the image he was crafting for himself?

Cool Precise Untouchable.

The answer came as easily as the smirk that finally broke across his lips.

He raised his voice just enough to cut through the crowd's insults, calm but carrying a sharp edge.

"My apologies," he said, almost mockingly, "to those of you so eager to fight me" His tone dripped with false sincerity Then he tilted his head slightly, gaze still forward. "But before you embarrass yourselves… how long are you planning to hide?"

The words dropped like a stone into water, silencing the immediate insults as everyone turned their heads, confused A few glanced around, not sure who he was talking to Rin's face twisted in anger at being ignored, but her eyes flicked nervously to the sides all the same.

And that was when the movement came.

Professor Emmet stepped out from between two trees at the edge of the clearing.

The normally composed instructor's face carried a rare expression: shock His eyes flicked from Rhyka, still standing cool and unshaken, to the students whose mana still flared in their hands, and back again.

The silence that followed was heavier than the insults had been The presence of a teacher, especially this teacher, shifted the entire atmosphere instantly The crowd of students who had been so ready to attack hesitated, their anger suddenly less certain

Rhyka's smirk remainedEmmet stood a few steps out from the trees, his arms loose at his sides, eyes fixed on Rhyka.

Shock wasn't something he allowed himself often, but it was written plainly on his face now. He had sensed Rhyka's presence since the class first set out on the path That in itself wasn't unusual he made a habit of keeping track of every student's location with his awareness.

But for Rhyka to have sensed him? That was something else entirely It was absurd.

The boy had never shown that kind of perception before.

And then there were the other changes.

The way he stood balanced, deliberate, not shifting weight nervously like most students his age would under so many eyes The way he had looked at Eto, unflinching and openly hostile, as if consequences meant nothing to him That was not the behavior of someone afraid of social standing It was either recklessness or confidence. Maybe both.

Emmet frowned. The incident two days ago should have broken his spirit, or at least pushed him into keeping his head down Instead, Rhyka had returned sharper, carrying himself differently, as if something had shifted deep inside him.

And those reflexes

He replayed what he had just seen The sudden shift of Rhyka's stance, the precise two steps, the clean evasion of both a stone and a fireball It had been smooth, efficient, the kind of movement that reminded Emmet of a cat swatting aside danger without effort. He hadn't scrambled or flinched He had known where to move, as though his body had been guided by some internal blueprint.

Before Emmet could speak, Rhyka finally broke the silence.

He straightened his back a little more and gave an exaggerated bow of the head, his voice smooth but hollow in tone.

"My apologies for not being in class these past days," he said. "I was… occupied. Family business Some personal matters. You know how it is."

Emmet repressed the urge to call out Rhyka had no family

The words were empty, excuses that explained nothing And he knew it His tone didn't waver, his face didn't twitch, his calm didn't slip It was obvious to everyone listening that he didn't believe his own explanation, that he wasn't even trying to make it convincing.

But the way he said it with a steady voice and that same unbothered demeanor left little room for argument He wasn't asking to be believed He was making it clear he didn't care if anyone believed him.

Emmet's jaw tightened slightlyRhyka's new attitude raised questions he didn't yet have the answers to And judging from the look in the boy's eyes, those answers wouldn't come easily.