NOVEL NEXT Chapter 86: Screaming
Lu Han—the Metal Pillar, clad in shimmering plate armor forged from bound runes, each step he took turning the ground beneath into polished steel. He didn't cast spells. He conjured weapons from raw metal and threw them like missiles. Precise. Unyielding.
Zhou Mei—the Wood Pillar, serene and graceful, her body surrounded by a halo of floating leaves etched with ancient glyphs. Her roots extended underground and allowed her to fight without moving, binding enemies with tendrils of bark that pulsed with tranquil fury.
Shi Yan—the Water Pillar, skin a sheen of mist, her robes flowing like rivers. She wielded control, not brute force. Veins of glacial energy radiated from her hands, flash-freezing air, spells, and people with a whisper of movement.
Bao Feng—the Fire Pillar, barefoot, bare-chested, eyes glowing like molten coals. Every breath he exhaled sparked heatwaves. His fists were covered in charred wrappings, steaming with restraint, crackling with destruction. A walking inferno.
Mu Ren—the Earth Pillar, broad, silent, skin laced with stone patterns. He didn't dodge. He endured. His presence warped the battlefield itself, shifting terrain with each motion, burying opponents in walls and jagged eruptions of earth.
The moment the trio neared the rear of the attacking wave, the five turned to face them.
The ground cracked. The air thickened. And the killing intent that radiated from the third-year elites struck like a wall of iron.
Lu Han stepped forward first, flexing a gauntleted hand that shimmered into the shape of a blade. His voice was low and venomous. "So this is the famous Damien Bloodbane. You should have drowned in your mother's womb—might have spared your family the shame."
Shi Yan didn't blink as her eyes settled on Jiang Xiao Yu. "You're the princess that the professors warned us not to hurt too badly, huh? The little bitch who thinks that her daddy's strength makes her a wolf. I wonder if I should break two limbs or three."
Zhou Mei smiled gently, but her voice was laced with acid. "And the American reject… I'm honestly amazed you weren't drowned at birth for the disgrace your bloodline brings. It must be exhausting pretending you belong."
Bao Feng cracked his neck and grinned, flames licking up his arms. "You three think you're strong? I've left stains on my training boots stronger than your entire bloodline. I'll beat you so hard your grandchildren will be born concussed."
Mu Ren said nothing.
He just raised one massive hand and curled it into a fist the size of a bucket. The earth groaned beneath his feet, as if preparing to bury someone alive.
Athena raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You all rehearse those, or does insecurity come that naturally?"
Jiang Xiao Yu's eyes narrowed. "I was going to fight with mercy. That offer has expired."
But Damien didn't react.
He just took a single step forward.
Then he looked at the two girls beside him and said calmly, "Make sure I don't get disturbed."
Athena's eyes sparkled. "Ooooh. The dominant type. I like."
She licked her lips and raised her blades, already moving into position.
Jiang Xiao Yu frowned slightly—but nodded. "Understood."
Without another word, Damien Bloodbane walked toward the five.
Not a flicker of elemental mana on him.
No aura. No glow. Just steps.
Each one heavier than the last.
Lu Han sneered. "Coming at us barehanded? What are you gonna do, talk us to death?"
He conjured a javelin of solid platinum and hurled it with a thunderous crack.
Damien tilted his head.
Snap.
His hand flashed out and caught it mid-air.
The impact shook the trees and then the javelin shattered in his palm like sugar glass.
Lu Han's eyes widened. "What the hell?"
Too slow.
Damien was already in front of him.
One hand struck Lu Han's throat with surgical precision, crushing the airflow. A knee drove into his chest, cracking ribs beneath the enchanted plate. A simple hook to the temple followed.
BOOM!
The Metal Pillar was sent skidding across the ground, unconscious before he landed.
It had taken one second.
The other four froze.
Damien adjusted his stance, body relaxed, breathing steady.
No mana.No elements.
Just him.
"Next big mouth." He looked at the other four coldly.
The air stilled.
Damien stood over Lu Han's unconscious form, fingers flexing slightly from the strike. A gust of wind stirred the forest debris around him, and for a single breath, even the leaves forgot to rustle.
Then the screaming started.
"HE TOOK DOWN THE METAL PILLAR—WITHOUT MANA?!"
"That was Lu Han! He's ranked third in the year!"
"WHAT IS THIS MONSTER?!"
The other elites surrounding them hesitated.
Athena didn't.
She darted forward, light trailing from her fingertips like golden ribbons as she attacked a squad of second-years positioned dangerously at Damien's blindspot around his left flank.
Her daggers flashed, clean, efficient strikes that sent two spiraling into the trees with perfectly placed nerve hits.
"Attack!" Screamed a third year in a shrill voice, finally shocked into action by Athena's strike. "Don't just stand there, attack! Or we'll face the Gravehowler!"
The upperclassmen finally surged forward—twenty strong, a mixed force of second and third years, all seasoned, all angry, and all suddenly desperate.
Athena moved like a storm of glass and fire. Her daggers flashed in wide arcs, light magic lacing the edges to blind and burn. She ducked under a fire bolt and rolled forward, cutting a third-year's staff clean in half before slamming her palm into his chest with a pulse of searing mana. He dropped, twitching.
One of the second-years lunged from behind with a polearm.
Athena didn't even look.
She flicked her wrist in an impossible backward strike… And the scream was instant.
"Try harder," Athena muttered, pivoting midair to land a kick against another student's jaw. "You're embarrassing your entire year."
"Yeah? How's this for "try harder?" A hammer of condensed wind blasted toward her in response.
She slid beneath it, low to the ground, then flipped up into the caster's face, both daggers plunging into the shoulder joints with sickening precision. He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
To her right, Jiang Xiao Yu moved like something half-human, half-natural disaster.
Mist rolled from her fingertips and spiraled outward in graceful tendrils, wrapping around the legs and arms of the advancing students. For a heartbeat, it looked harmless.
Then they started screaming.