Martial Demons Ascension

Eto's body was alive with golden arcs Sparks cracked off her shoulders static snapping across the dirt floor her every movement sharp with electricity She backed away fast putting space between them and with a sweep of her hand she hurled a crackling bolt straight at Rhyka's chest

He didn't flinch

His eyes slid closed

Eto's teeth ground together He's mocking me

Her lightning roared toward him a straight vicious strike fueled by the circulation loops of her Golden Axis The kind of blow that would drop most Peak Stage students in an instant

Rhyka stepped aside Calm Effortless The bolt scorched past exploding against the wall in a shower of sparks

Eto's breath hitched "You—"

But before she could finish he was already moving

His Martial Vision didn't need sight With his eyes shut the golden world lit itself behind his eyelids Every spark Eto summoned every twitch of her muscles every thread of intent it was all lines of light in his mind The bolt she had just fired wasn't a surprise he had already seen the trajectory before she released it

She tried again Another bolt Then another

Rhyka weaved through them like they weren't there his footwork minimal smooth each step placed exactly where the golden lines told him it needed to be He was closing the distance with each dodge the space between them collapsing second by second

Eto's pride twisted into anger He closed his eyes He's not even looking at me

Her strikes grew sharper faster pouring more mana into her Golden Axis trying to overwhelm him with sheer volume Sparks filled the room streaks of gold slicing through the air The noise was deafening the air itself trembling with static

But none of it landed

Rhyka's body slipped through every gap His shoulders turned just enough His head tilted inches aside His feet slid forward in perfect rhythm

Then he was on her

His fist hammered into her stomach

The sound cracked louder than the lightning Eto doubled over spit flying from her mouth the arcs around her body stuttering as her concentration shattered

Rhyka didn't let up He pivoted elbow smashing into her back as she stumbled then a knee rose into her ribs before she could recover She flew sideways rolling across the dirt lightning sputtering violently

"Too slow" Rhyka said eyes still closed His voice was calm but every word hit her like a slap

Eto's fingers dug into the ground sparks bursting as she forced herself up Pain burned through her ribs her shoulder her lungs but Golden Axis kept her going feeding strength back into her body She snarled thrusting both palms forward and a concentrated blast of lightning shot at him like a cannon

The glow of Martial Essence flared in Rhyka's mind He stepped forward into the blast twisting his body just enough that the bolt tore past his side The skin on his arm burned his sleeve singed black but his stride never slowed

And then his fist collided with her jaw

Eto spun from the force her body skidding along the ground until she lay on her back lightning flickering weakly across her skin Her chest heaved the Golden Axis sputtering unstable and fading

She stared up at him through the haze her pride shredded How How is he this strong This fast He doesn't even have a core…

Every instinct told her his body wasn't normal The power behind his strikes the speed of his movements the stamina to chain attacks without faltering it wasn't mana She knew what a Peak Stage combatant felt like and this was beyond that This was something else

Something terrifying

Rhyka finally opened his eyes The gold in his irises burned faintly steady and unshaken

He looked down at her smirk tugging at his lips but there was something else behind it something closer to amazement

So this is what my body's become…

He flexed his hand slowly still tingling from the impact of his strikes His muscles felt denser his bones unshakable And yet he knew it wasn't complete The Martial Essence in his body was still only trickling toward his heart When it was fully drawn fully tempered he would be far stronger than this

The thought sent a thrill through him

"…Not bad" he muttered glancing at Eto sprawled on the ground "But you've got a long way to go"

Eto's chest rose and fell her fists clenched but the lightning finally guttered out Her Golden Axis unraveled leaving her drained and beaten

The spar was over

Rhyka had won without drawing his blade without mana with his eyes closed

The next morning when Eto walked into class the room froze

Her uniform was clean her hair tied as neatly as always but nothing could hide the truth A faint swelling along her jaw bruises yellowing on her ribs just visible under the collar the stiffness in her movements when she sat down Even her usual composed posture was off her shoulders were tense her breathing shallow her face tight

Whispers started immediately

"Eto… What happened"

"Did someone hit her"

"Wait who could even do that"

Nobody dared to ask her directly but the questions swelled like a wave each guess louder than the last

It wasn't until a boy near the back blurted out "Was it Rhyka" that the room truly erupted

In the eyes of the class it was only a matter of time till Rhyka starts beating on the top students despite leaving the class

Dozens of heads turned eyes wide voices colliding

"Rhyka No way"

"But she is bruised"

"Hold on hold on Eto would destroy him she's Peak Rank 1"

"Unless… unless he got lucky"

All the noise stopped when Eto's hands slammed onto her desk

"Yes" she said her voice hard "It was Rhyka"

The room fell into stunned silence

Even Rin usually aloof half bored sat straighter Millis's face twisted part disbelief part unease Hella frowned whispering something sharp to him

Eto's eyes swept across the class She didn't shout but her voice carried each word crisp and cutting

"And it wasn't luck He beat me"

Gasps followed then frantic murmuring Some scoffed refusing to believe Others glanced around uneasily trying to make sense of it

"How… He doesn't even have a core"

"He's strong sure but this strong"

"Was she holding back"

Eto clenched her teeth then turned sharply toward Loretta and Rinnte

"You knew"

The accusation cut the air like a blade Both Loretta and Rinnte froze under the weight of every eye in the room

"You trained with him for months You knew he wasn't normal And you said nothing" Eto's words were sharp laced with humiliation she couldn't mask

Loretta's mouth opened then closed Her fingers curled around the edge of her desk knuckles white She wanted to argue to throw the accusation back but the words wouldn't come

Rinnte as always was calm But there was tension in his jaw a flicker of frustration in his otherwise steady gaze

"No" he said evenly "We didn't know"

Eto's glare sharpened "Don't lie"

Rinnte met her eyes without flinching "We knew he was skilled More skilled than any of us His timing His instincts The way he fights it's not something a normal kid should be able to do That much was clear"

He paused voice steady but heavier now

"But his strength His speed That's new When we trained he was still limited by his body He couldn't enhance himself with mana so while his technique was perfect his strikes still landed with the weight of a normal boy Dangerous yes but not this"

Loretta found her voice then sharp but defensive "If we'd known he had that kind of power do you think I wouldn't have said something Do you think I would've let myself fall behind him"

Her cheeks flushed anger mingling with shame "Don't accuse us just because you underestimated him"

The class sucked in a collective breath Eto's face darkened but she said nothing her lips pressing into a thin line

The rest of the students were left in restless confusion

Some clung to disbelief

"There's no way She's Peak Rank 1 he can't be stronger"

Others whispered in awe

"What if he really is that strong What if it's something else"

But beneath all the noise was unease

Everyone had seen Rhyka as skilled yes maybe even too skilled but still bound by his lack of mana That weakness had always been a comfort A reminder that no matter how sharp his instincts he could never surpass them for real

But now

Now the comfort was gone

Eto the strongest among them had stood at the Peak and he'd beaten her With nothing but his fists

And the two people closest to him Loretta and Rinnte were just as shaken as everyone else

Eto leaned back in her seat face turned away lightning flickering faintly along her fingers The humiliation burned hot in her chest but so did something else

Fear

And under the fear respect she didn't want to admit

Internally she was pissed Rhyka had made her promise to embarrass herself publicly stating Rhyka beat and to promote his dojo