Sulien exhaled slowly, steadying his mind as the battlefield roared around him. Screams and the clash of steel filled the air, the acrid scent of burning flesh mingling with blood and sweat. The thought of the traitor lingered at the back of his mind like a whisper in the dark, but now was not the time. The students came first. Their survival was his priority.
His gaze flickered over the battlefield, noting the way the students struggled to hold their ground. Their movements were still unrefined, fear evident in their hesitant stances. If they faltered now, they would break entirely. Sulien could not allow that. He had trained them, instructed them, and now he would protect them.
He exhaled slowly, forcing back the irritation that prickled at the edges of his mind. Expecting perfection from them now was foolish. They were still raw, unpolished. But refinement could only come through fire. He had to shape them himself.
His voice cut through the clash of steel, measured and sharp. "Your fear does not serve you. It clouds your judgment, slows your blade. Control it, or it will control you!"
Scanning the rest. Others still faltered, caught in their own fear.
"You think too much," he said, voice quieter but no less commanding. "Fear is heavier than any sword. Trust yourself."
With a sharp breath, he activated Chaos Fracture. Space itself split apart, gaping voids swallowing enemies whole before vanishing without a trace. He reappeared behind a cluster of foes, stepping through rifts like a phantom, striking with lethal precision.
Shifting his stance as another wave of enemies rushed toward him. His body ached from prolonged combat, his muscles strained from the countless strikes he had delivered. Yet, he remained standing, unwavering. Chaos Fracture had done its job, slicing through space itself to carve an advantage, but it wasn't enough. Not yet.
He still had more to give.
His fingers twitched as he felt the energy pulsing within him, the untapped power waiting to be unleashed. He had held back Void Gluttony and Phantom Sovereign, knowing that once he used them, there would be no turning back. Now, as the enemy pressed forward with renewed ferocity, he decided it was time.
Void Gluttony. The name itself carried weight, an abyssal hunger that devoured all in its path. With a slow breath, Sulien activated the skill. The air around him warped, a spiraling void manifesting in his palm, an endless darkness that pulled everything toward it. The enemy's spells vanished upon contact, magic dissolving into nothingness as the void consumed it. The more he absorbed, the stronger he felt, the power rushing through him like a torrent. The battlefield shifted. Fear flickered in the enemies' eyes as their most powerful attacks became meaningless.
Sulien's lips curled into a smirk. Now they understood.
Then, he activated Phantom Sovereign.
His form flickered, his body dissolving into a wraith-like shadow. The world around him slowed as he stepped forward, moving effortlessly through attacks, untouched by steel or magic. He was intangible, a ghost dancing through the chaos. An enemy swung at him with a desperate attempt but the blade passed through his form harmlessly. Sulien went behind them, solidifying just long enough to strike, his movements precise and merciless.
Weapons passed through him harmlessly as he invoked Phantom Sovereign, his form fading into shadow before solidifying just long enough to cut his enemies down.
A powerful blast of magic surged toward him, but he raised a hand, activating Void Gluttony. The energy twisted and spiraled into the abyss, vanishing into nothingness as his own power surged in return. Every attack they threw at him only fueled him further. He moved like an unstoppable force, phasing through strikes, erasing enemies with a mere flick of his fingers.
But even he had limits. The strain of his abilities weighed on him, each use of Chaos Fracture and Void Gluttony draining him more than the last. His vision blurred, his breath ragged, but he pushed on. The students needed him. With one final effort, he tore through space itself, creating a massive void that consumed the battlefield's center, scattering the remaining enemies.
And then, like a beacon of salvation, the headmaster arrived.
A single step sent a tremor through the ground. The weight of the headmaster's presence pressed down like an unrelenting force, thickening the air with raw power. The battlefield stilled, the enemy hesitating, sensing the shift.
Sulien exhaled sharply, his body aching with every breath. "Finally." His voice was low, almost drowned by the lingering chaos, but his relief was undeniable.
The headmaster strode forward, his gaze sweeping over the battlefield with detached calculation. "A mess." His tone was even, almost disappointed. His eyes flicked to Sulien. "You overexerted yourself again, just like before."
I let out a short, breathless laugh. "I handled it."
The headmaster hummed in response, unimpressed. "Thank you." Then, with a single motion, he raised his hand. Power surged.
The battlefield shattered.
Waves of destruction tore through the enemy ranks as if they were nothing. Mere insects caught in a storm. The weight of the headmaster's might bore down on all who opposed him, leaving no room for resistance, no chance for survival.
Sulien forced himself to remain upright, even as exhaustion clawed at his limbs. He had done his part. Now, the battle belonged to another.
One of his students stumbled toward him, wide-eyed. "Instructor—how… how can one man do that?" Their voice trembled, raw with awe and disbelief.
Sulien exhaled, his body aching from battle, but his gaze remained sharp. He recognized the student. Varian, one of the protagonist's closest friends. The boy had a lean build, sharp green eyes brimming with intelligence, and short, dark blue hair now matted with sweat and grime. Sulien's lips curled slightly in barely concealed disgust at the sight of the sweat clinging to the boy's skin, mixing with dirt and blood. He loathed filth, yet here, surrounded by chaos, he could do nothing about it. Still, he forced himself to focus. Despite his exhaustion, there was a fire in Varian's gaze, the same fire that had driven him to push through rigorous training.
"Because he's the headmaster." Sulien's voice carried neither admiration nor fear, only certainty. "And because he acts without hesitation."
Varian swallowed hard, watching as the enemy forces crumbled. "Will we ever be that strong?"
Sulien turned his gaze to him, the weight of the battlefield still pressing upon his shoulders. He saw more than just curiosity in Varian's expression. There was desperation, a need for reassurance that the impossible could one day be within reach.
"Strength isn't just power. It's resolve. The will to stand when everything tells you to fall."
Varian hesitated, then, as if steeling himself against an unseen force, straightened. "Then I'll keep standing."
A faint smirk touched Sulien's lips, barely noticeable beneath his exhaustion. "Good. That's where it begins."
The battle was ending. They had won. But Sulien remained standing, not for himself, but for his students. They needed to see him battered yet unbroken, proof that true strength was not invincibility, but endurance.
And so, though the weight of exhaustion threatened to drag him down, Sulien stood tall, determined to see this through to the very end.
***