"Haaa.."

Damien exhaled a long breath as he stepped out of the Blackness Chamber. Unfortunately for him, he needed to end his training early.

The 6th day since his battle arena start dawned long ago, and now had reached its end. The time for the King Bracket to commence was upon him.

Just like the previous day, Damien returned to the arena and waited for his name to be called.

But just like the day before, there was nothing.

The 7th day passed..

Nothing.

The 8th day passed..

Nothing.

On the 9th day, Damien sat alone in the Darkness Chamber once more. While his face was calm on the outside, he was internally seething.

Even if the King Bracket's fighting schedule was less populated than the previous brackets, it was unheard of for a challenger to go uncalled for three days straight.

Damien was well aware of what was happening.

Reavus Bloodlock was taking petty revenge.

What else could be the cause? When everyone around him got their chance to fight multiple times over while he was stuck waiting alone, how could it be boiled down to mere coincidence?

'Haha..I didn't think provoking him would have this effect. Really, for a top genius, he should know how to fight like a man.'

Damien's eyes blazed. It was the 9th day now. Of those 9 days, three were already spent unproductively.

He who had been completely immersed in the rigorous training atmosphere he created didn't take well to its interruption.

'Those normal geniuses might bend to you if you harass them enough, but do you think I'm the same? Reavus, oh Reavus..let me show you what it means to be domineering.'

A pathetic brat who could only show his power through status, Damien had no need to entertain him.

In fact, all he wanted to do was piss the Bloodbitch prince off even more.

And to do that..

What else did he have to do besides be himself?

***

The atmosphere of the battle arena was the same as always, but the challengers' area was filled with a mocking air directed at one person.

None of the geniuses here were dumb. In fact, some of them were even in on the drama. The fact that Damien was being forcefully rejected from the battle arena made these geniuses especially gleeful.

After all, hadn't he been taunting them from the moment he stepped into the challengers' area? His downfall made them smug.

Arrogance without backing would only lead one to offending the wrong person and getting suppressed. Most of these geniuses had felt it themselves, so while they did pity the man, they also took pleasure in his misfortune.

Laughing at someone else's trouble made them feel better about their own.

Nevertheless, the night continued on as usual. Battles occurred one after the other, and fighters accumulated win streaks only to be struck down by stronger opponents.

The crowd in the stand continued their betting, some becoming rich while others lost their savings to gambling.

And at some point, yet another battle was underway.

The two opponents were a large brown-skinned man with rippling muscles and devilish horns on his head and a smaller more lithe man with beauty far out of the ordinary. Conversely to their dichotomy, both were using pure brute force and body enhancement to fight.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Their every punch caused the arena floor to shatter. As their fists connected, waves of power emanated from the collisions and impacted the arena barrier, causing it to tremble ever so slightly.

Raaaaaah!

The crowd went wild. This level of riveting battle was exactly what they came to see! Both of these fighters, despite their differences, were physical strength masters who surpassed all others in this aspect!

What a fight!

The lithe man ducked below his opponent's fist and spun his body to send a low kick at his stomach. The exact second he made impact, the larger man pounded his elbow down to meet the kick, using his inertia to dispel most of the force headed towards him into the ground!

The two opponents pushed away from each other, panting heavily. With blazing fighting spirit in their eyes, they charged once more and..!

"Hold it."

BOOM!

Their outstretched fists collided with something, but it wasn't each other. The momentum of their attacks disappeared instantly like they'd been swallowed by a black hole.

A dust cloud kicked up from the force regardless, obscuring the audience's vision.historical

But with their awarenesses spread, the two combatants clearly knew what happened.

Their fists had been..stopped?

When the dust cleared, those standing in the arena weren't two but three. A man stood between the two fighters, clenching their outstretched fists in his hands.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I'm a little tired of waiting. It's my turn now." The mysterious man uttered coldly.

"You..what do you—-"

Before the lithe man could finish his words, he found the ground rushing at his face.

BOOM!

Both fighters were slammed into the ground furiously, unable to resist the newcomer's power.

"You know, I don't really care if someone tries to suppress me with strength. If I end up succumbing, it's only because I'm weak. I'll find a way to escape and get my revenge when I'm strong enough."

The mysterious man spoke as he raised his leg.

Bang!

Crack!

He slammed it down on the larger man's body, eliciting a clear cracking sound as the downed fighter's bones broke.

Of course, the man never let go of his opponents' arms. The large man's arm popped out of its socket naturally as the counterforce struck. Luckily for him, he didn't have enmity with the newcomer or his arm would've been completely ripped from his body.

"What I hate, though, is idiots who suppress others with no power to show for themselves. Using others' reputation and power to bully people, how cowardly is that? Now, I won't say I don't understand the concept and I won't spout any bullshit about how it's unfair, but if you're going to do it, just don't do it to me."

The man's leg swept out rapidly. A strong current of mana accompanied its trip as it impacted the lithe man's skull.

BOOM!

The lithe man went flying. His body crashed into the arena barrier, contorting seriously as multiple bones shattered. He coughed out a mouthful of blood as he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

The mysterious man turned to face the crowd, his eyes focusing somewhere beyond the arena.

"I'm not mindful enough to tolerate your bullshit."

Clenching his fist, the man caused space to distort around the two fallen competitors. Their already destroyed bodies were crumpled into meatballs, and in the next instant, they disappeared from the arena.

Even after they revived on the outside, they didn't regain consciousness.

The man looked at the announcer standing far above the arena. The announcer's face was especially pale as he watched the ongoing scene.

He wasn't a strong person at all. He was just a smaller genius working this job to get a few contribution points for himself.

If the man came for him..

"Hey."

"Y-yes!" The announcer stuttered.

"Announce my name," the man said. "It's my turn to fight."

"U-um, I d-don't have the authori—"

"Do you want to die?"

The announcer fell backwards as the man appeared in front of him like a ghost.

"Do you think I don't know what you've been doing? Do you think the little bribes you've received are that important? Or maybe..is the Bloodbitch Clan's reputation worth more to you than your own life?"

His foot landed on the announcer's sternum. His cold purple eyes stared down at the helpless man without a single ounce of emotion.

"Announce. My. Name."

The announcer felt tears welling up in his eyes. The man wasn't wrong. The Bloodlock Clan was too terrifying for him to ever think about disobeying them.

But from the look in this man's eyes, he really wouldn't care about the academy's rules! If the announcer kept being stubborn, he was sure to die!

"O-okay! Okay, I'll announce your name! Just don't kill me!"

"Good. Now, repeat after me into that mic of yours. If you miss a word, you die."

The audience watched with bated breaths as the unheard conversation continued on the announcer's podium. A few seconds later, the mysterious man arrived back in the center of the arena.

The announcer stood up slowly. His legs trembled violently, his skin was so pale one would think he no longer had any blood left in his body.

And after what he was about to say..maybe there wouldn't be.

"A new challenger has entered the arena..!" The announcer yelled weakly, trying to sound as confident as he usually did.

"Now introducing the Rising Emperor of Death Emperor Star, the Bane of the Bloodbitch Clan: Damien Void!"

He couldn't stand it anymore. The announcer collapsed to the ground and fainted.

And in the arena, Damien stood with a calm smile.

Oppression? That was something only he was allowed. Not a single soul would be allowed to do the same to him.