Chapter 561: A Shocking Win!
Chapter 561
"Seriously though, is it just me, or does it seem like this newer generation is weak?" Selene commented with a slight frown on her face, her eyes narrowing as another student was dragged off the field.
"I haven’t even seen anyone capable of pushing the red bands to their limits yet. It just feels like watching an adult toy around with kids," Rowen added with a light frown, resting his chin on his hand. His tone carried a hint of irritation, like he was wasting his time watching something he already knew the outcome of.
"Leo, were you serious about disbanding any band that failed this tournament?" Orion asked as he tilted his head slightly toward the vice principal. His calm voice carried through the tense atmosphere.
"Of course not," Leo replied with a short chuckle, leaning back on his chair. "It was just bait to make the students try harder, but looks like it isn’t even working anymore." He heaved a disappointed sigh as his gaze drifted down to Jared’s unconscious body being dragged off to the side for treatment. "Disheartening, honestly."
"Tch! What a waste of time," Rowen clicked his tongue in frustration, shaking his head. "If this keeps up, the whole thing might as well be cancelled."
Meanwhile, down below, Kent stood with a clipboard in hand, his brows knitted together in pure frustration.
’Damn it! How weak are these students really?!’ he thought bitterly as he watched the arena. ’Only the red bands are showing anything remotely impressive, which is understandable, but for fuck’s sake, how useless are the yellow bands? Why not just pick an easier opponent instead of embarrassing themselves? Must they always try to show off by picking a red band?’ His grip on the clipboard tightened until his knuckles turned white.
’Hold on... someone important is missing from here.’ His eyes scanned the clipboard thoroughly before flicking toward Albed, who stood calmly beside him.
"Hey! Where the hell is Grey? His name isn’t on this clipboard," Kent asked with a deep frown on his face.
"He failed the assessment, so he isn’t participating," Albed replied flatly, not even looking up.
"Huh? Failed the assessment? How could he? He was part of the group I personally assigned to close that portal, and they succeeded. So how could he possibly fail such a small assessment?" Kent pressed, his tone rising slightly in disbelief.
He got nothing but a casual shrug from Albed.
’Bullshit! Grey didn’t fail any damn assessment. He was framed,’ Ray thought with his teeth grinding back and forth, his jaw clenching so tight that a vein popped along his temple.
"Next up is Ray. Please come out and select your opponent," Kent called out after letting out a long, irritated sigh.
Ray, fists clenched and eyes blazing with determination, strolled forward with slow but firm steps that echoed on the platform.
"I pick the red bands, and that’s my opponent," Ray declared as he pointed to a red band student standing casually off to the side.
Kent just shook his head in disbelief. The foolishness of these kids seemed to be spreading faster than a plague.
"Do you accept this match?" Kent asked the student.
"As long as it lets me put these arrogant fools in their place, I’m down," the student replied with a smug grin as he stepped out.
Surprisingly, his weapon of choice mirrored Rivock’s — a pair of heavy gauntlets that gleamed under the sunlight. Both students stood on opposite sides of the arena, tension thick between them, ready to clash the moment the call was made.
Seeing that they were ready, Kent swung his hand down, giving the signal.
Back at the leaders’ stand, every single one of them wore a deep frown as their eyes fixated on the stage, silently waiting for something interesting to finally happen.
"Tell me something, Leo. What are you all feeding these kids? The guts they have to challenge the red bands are quite surprising. Because I know for sure that this student will be beaten down again like the previous ones," Rowen muttered with a slight frown on his face.
"I’m also confused. I don’t even know what’s going on anymore, but honestly, I don’t really care," Leo shrugged as he watched the fight that was about to start.
"Let the fight begin!" Kent shouted, and without hesitation, the red band student dashed forward, not even waiting for Ray to make the first move.
Ray was calm—eerily calm as he saw his opponent appear before him within seconds, a powerful punch streaking straight toward his face.
Without hesitation, Ray’s forearm shot up, blocking the punch and sending a reverberating ring across the entire arena as he stood his ground without moving an inch.
"Huh? Thought it would be stronger?" Ray grinned at the student, and before he knew it, another punch from the red band came swinging from the side.
With his eyes widening, Ray tilted his head slightly, avoiding the punch that smashed into the air with a dull bang.
Without wasting time, his knee shot upward toward the student’s face, but in a flash, the red band leaped back, narrowly avoiding the knee strike.
Before Ray’s feet could even touch the ground, the student swirled his Ki around his legs and bolted forward with a loud boom echoing across the arena, appearing before Ray in an instant.
A jab came flying toward his face, but Ray quickly ducked, letting the fist slice through the air just above him.
Not wasting a single second, Ray swirled all his Ki into his hands and, with all the strength he could muster, slammed a heavy punch straight into the student’s abdomen.
BANG!
A loud impact rang out as saliva burst from the red band’s mouth, his eyes widening in disbelief.
’Crap! Too strong! How strong is this guy?’
"Kuh!" The student coughed up blood as his body went tumbling several meters away.
’No matter what, I’m going to win this tournament and show you all that even peasants can lead you arrogant nobles.’ Ray thought, his hands clenching as Ki flared around his feet before he exploded forward, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.
The red band was just getting up when he saw Ray appear right before him, aiming for a knockout punch. But the student quickly swirled Ki around his feet and kicked off the ground with terrifying force, the ground cracking beneath him.
He swung his leg in a roundhouse kick, but thanks to sharp reflexes, Ray instantly ducked, avoiding the kick that sliced through the air and released a sharp sonic crack.
The student landed a few inches away, but before he could regain his stance, Ki flared once more around Ray’s feet. He spun like a wheel and hammered a powerful kick straight into the red band’s face.
The impact lifted the student clean off his feet, hurling him off the platform with blistering force while Ray landed softly, letting out a steady huff.
The entire coliseum went dead silent as they watched the red band crash outside the platform. Mouths hung open in disbelief as murmurs slowly rippled through the audience.
Even the leaders were stunned that a yellow band had managed to defeat a red band.
"Shockingly... Ray wins," Leo announced, still a bit stunned himself.
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{A/N}
Hey Magus Legion! Just wanted to apologize to you all. I don’t know if you noticed or not, but I personally feel like this tournament has been a bit lackluster.
I’m so sorry about that. My mind’s been foggy lately because I’m juggling multiple works and school at the same time. I didn’t want to leave you all hanging without a Chapter, so I pushed myself to write anyway.
I hope you all understand and forgive me as I try to clear my mind and get back to giving you all powerful content. Thanks for always staying with me. 😊🫶