Soulless Soul

Chapter 25: The Crazy Hope

The circular sparring arena quickly became the absolute center of everyone’s attention. The metallic floor plates hummed softly, activating a low-level kinetic dampening field designed to prevent any fatal injuries during the evaluations.

Instructor Rex stepped directly into the ring, his heavy military boots echoing loudly against the metal. "The rules for this phase are straightforward," he said, his sharp eyes sweeping across the gathered students. "Victory is achieved by either forcing your opponent onto their back or pushing them completely outside the white boundary lines of the ring. Control yourselves, but do not hold back your personal techniques. Show us what you brought back from the thresholds."

A heavy silence followed his declaration. The Commons looked at each other, hesitation holding them back. No one wanted to be the first to expose their style to the entire class.

Then... Vesper stepped forward. Without a single moment of hesitation. Without a single trace of emotion on her porcelain face.

She simply walked into the dead middle of the arena, turned to face the crowd, and waited. Her posture was relaxed, her hands hanging loosely at her sides, but her ash-gray eyes carried a chilling weight that made several students instinctively take a step backward.

A towering Common, nearly twice her physical size and possessing thick, corded muscles, grunted and accepted the challenge. He stepped over the boundary, confident that his raw bulk would carry him to an easy victory against a slender girl.

Sky leaned heavily against the perimeter railing, his eyes narrowing with a growing, analytical interest. Let’s see exactly why everyone talks about her, he thought. Let’s see what a Title really looks like in motion.

The larger fighter didn’t waste any time. He immediately charged across the ring, driving forward with overwhelming kinetic force, intending to tackle her straight out of the bounds. When Vesper didn’t move, he planted his heavy foot and unleashed a devastating, sweeping roundhouse kick aimed straight at her head.

A single heartbeat later... He was flat on his back, staring blankly up at the blinding floodlights, the breath completely knocked out of his lungs. The entire hall froze in absolute shock. Sky’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t even seen her strike. Vesper hadn’t even changed her basic posture; she was still standing in the exact same spot, her hands at her sides, looking down at the fallen giant with total indifference. She had simply tilted her head, let his momentum carry him past her, and used a micro-interaction to completely upend his balance.

Instructor Rex didn’t look surprised at all. He merely nodded once, checking his digital tablet. "Next." Another challenger entered the ring, swallowed hard, and drew a practice wooden sword. This one attacked cautiously, circling her slowly, keeping his guard incredibly tight. Three brief exchanges later... He was flying backward, stumbling wildly until he crashed completely outside the ring. He hadn’t even managed to graze the fabric of her uniform.

"Next."

Another entered. Another. And then another.

The victories piled up so incredibly quickly that Sky eventually stopped trying to keep count altogether. It was a complete, systematic slaughter of the freshman class’s pride.

Every single opponent fought with a completely different style. Some relied purely on their brute strength and heavy rushes. Others preferred blinding speed and rapid footwork. Several of the upper-district students even displayed highly refined, ancient martial arts lineages that had been passed down through generations.

None of it mattered in the slightest.

Vesper dismantled every single attack with an astonishing, terrifying level of precision. The most confusing part to Sky, however, was her baseline metrics. She wasn’t obviously stronger than her opponents. She wasn’t moving with overwhelmingly faster speed than the agility-focused fighters. Yet, every single strike aimed at her body somehow became an immediate, fatal opening for a counter. Every mistake made by a challenger was punished instantly and ruthlessly. Every single one of her movements flowed seamlessly into the next with effortless, predatory grace.

Watching her move felt less like observing a living, breathing person... and significantly more like watching a perfectly crafted, autonomous weapon designed solely for termination.

Even Sky, who prided himself on his icy nerves and street-hardened composure, found himself becoming intensely uneasy.

How is she doing this? he thought, his mind racing to analyze her patterns. It’s impossible. She isn’t predicting them... she already knows. She always seemed to know exactly where each attack would come from long before the opponent even committed to the strike. A single, minute sidestep. A small, effortless twist of her waist. A perfectly timed, counter-push. Then her opponent was invariably crashing onto the floor.

Not once did her calm, distant expression change. Not once did she appear even remotely pressured or winded. Rich, poor, talented, untalented—it made absolutely no difference to her. Everyone fell within a matter of seconds.

Sky slowly folded his arms tightly across his chest, a cold drop of sweat rolling down his spine. If someone like her ever becomes my enemy... He didn’t even bother to finish the dark thought. Running away as fast as his legs could carry him sounded like the smartest, most logical option available. Better yet... he would make absolutely sure to never give her a single reason to chase him in the first place.

At long last, after dozens of students had been systematically cleared from the floor, only one challenger remained in the entire freshman block who hadn’t stepped into the ring.

Arthur.

The entire training hall seemed to completely hold its breath, the ambient noise dropping to absolute zero as the proud heir of the Vance Clan stepped over the white line and into the arena. Unlike all the others who had preceded him, there wasn’t a single trace of nervousness or hesitation on his face.

He stopped a few meters away from Vesper, his posture straight, before giving her a deeply respectful, formal bow. "Sister Vesper... please forgive me in advance for what comes next." Vesper met his burning gaze. Her expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever, her ash-gray eyes locking onto his form.

Sky narrowed his eyes, leaning forward over the wooden railing, his focus completely absolute. So... these two monsters finally get to fight each other. Let’s see what the top tier of this academy is truly capable of. The automated signal to begin echoed sharply through the silent hall. An instant later— Sky’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.

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