The Villian Who Broke The Story

The entire stadium fell silent after Kael’s final strike against Felix Blazeford.

It wasn’t the ordinary silence that followed the conclusion of a duel.

It was the kind of silence born from disbelief.

For a brief moment, thousands of spectators forgot to breathe as they stared at the young swordsman standing calmly on the elevated platform. Kael slowly slid his blade back into its scabbard before dusting off his academy blazer as though he had merely finished a routine training session instead of defeating the current Rank Ten in a single decisive strike.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Felix Blazeford remained sprawled across the arena floor, unconscious, while the faint traces of his extinguished flames drifted into the air before disappearing completely.

The silence was finally broken by one of the honored guests seated high above the stadium.

”Did he just use the Celestial Star Style?” the guest muttered, unable to hide the astonishment in his voice.

Another noble immediately turned toward the VIP section where a certain legendary figure stood.

”Did the Sword Saint take in another disciple?”

Their questions spread like wildfire among the guests.

Even the instructors exchanged uncertain glances.

The students were equally stunned.

Unlike the guests, however, many of them had witnessed Kael imitate Zion’s technique during the Ogre Examination months ago. Back then, although Kael had successfully copied the stance, the flaws had been obvious. His mana control had been rough, and simply executing the first form had drained a significant portion of his reserves.

But today...

There wasn’t the slightest trace of imperfection.

The sword art had flowed naturally, as though Kael had practiced it for years.

”...He’s improved again.”

”And this happened in only two months?”

”I don’t even know how to measure his growth anymore.”

Whispers gradually spread throughout the spectator stands.

High above the stadium, inside the private viewing platform reserved for the academy’s distinguished guests, a beautiful silver-haired woman maintained her cold, expressionless gaze on the arena below.

Her silver eyes followed Kael’s retreating figure until he disappeared beneath the stadium entrance.

She finally turned toward the man standing beside her.

”I didn’t know that you had another disciple.”

The man she addressed wore simple robes despite the countless honors surrounding his name.

His posture was relaxed, yet everyone in the room instinctively gave him space.

He was the Sword Saint.

The strongest human swordsman of his generation.

He merely shook his head.

”I never took in another disciple.”

A faint grin appeared on his face.

”But Xavier came earlier to gloat to me about someone copying my technique at a glance.”

His eyes briefly shifted toward the tunnel Kael had entered.

”I suppose he’s the one.”

He chuckled quietly.

”Interesting... Zion seems to have met some rather interesting people inside the academy.”

He looked back at the silver-haired woman.

”You should be more familiar with him.”

The woman remained silent.

Her brows furrowed ever so slightly.

She turned her attention toward the arena once more, carefully recalling the appearance of the young man.

Onyx-black hair.

Crimson eyes.

An academy uniform.

A calm demeanor that didn’t match his age.

After several moments, she answered in her usual monotone voice.

”I’m not sure I’m meant to know him.”

The Sword Saint smiled.

”Are you sure about that?”

”He is Madam Draven’s son.”

For the first time since arriving at the academy...

The silver-haired woman’s expression changed.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly.

”...Madam Draven’s son?”

She immediately stood from her seat and walked closer to the edge of the viewing platform, looking toward the arena where Kael had stood only moments earlier.

”Are you sure?”

”The last time I saw that boy, he was like a black butterfly trapped within the confines of the Draven Manor.”

”He was harmless.”

Her voice carried genuine confusion.

”Why is he in the academy in the first place?”

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.

Instead, it was spoken almost to herself.

One of the guests nearby chuckled softly.

”Why don’t you ask your friend yourself?”

”Although, knowing Madam Draven... if the boy is here, then it was most likely his own decision.”

”So this is the heir to the Draven Household.”

The Sword Saint folded his arms.

His interest had clearly deepened.

”A child capable of reproducing sword techniques after seeing them once...”

”That’s certainly unusual.”

Before anyone else could respond, another loud voice echoed across the viewing platform.

”So that brat down there is Madam Draven’s kid?”

The speaker was an enormous man with wild, untamed black hair that reached his shoulders.

Numerous scars covered his muscular body, while intricate tattoos stretched across both of his powerful arms.

A massive greatsword rested casually against his shoulder despite weighing enough to crush an ordinary man.

Unlike the composed nobles surrounding him, he wore a broad grin that made him look more like a battle maniac than a guild master.

He laughed loudly.

”He really managed to keep a low profile all this time.”

This man was none other than Garrick Ironfang, Guild Master of Titanforge, one of the world’s strongest S-Rank adventurer guilds.

His reputation for seeking out talented warriors was known across the continent.

Garrick’s grin only widened.

”Heh... I’d love to recruit that kid.”

The Sword Saint shot him a warning glance.

”As a dear friend I’ll give you this warning once, don’t go trying to poach him.”

”You might meet your creator much sooner than expected.”

A few guests couldn’t help smiling.

Everyone present understood exactly who he was referring to.

Madam Draven.

One of the most feared women on the continent.

The Sword Saint continued calmly.

”Madam Draven is extremely protective of her little black butterfly.”

Garrick laughed heartily before raising both hands in surrender.

”Relax.”

”I’m crazy...”

”But I’m not suicidal.”

Soft laughter spread throughout the viewing platform.

Only Madam Voss remained silent.

Her gaze never left the tunnel Kael had disappeared into.

For reasons she couldn’t explain...

The harmless child she remembered no longer matched the young swordsman she had just witnessed.

It felt as though...

She had been looking at two entirely different people.

The atmosphere inside the VIP viewing platform gradually settled, but the discussion surrounding Kael Draven had only just begun.

Below the platform, Kael had already disappeared into the waiting area to prepare for his next match.

Meanwhile, Aurella Voss remained standing near the corridor leading toward the contestants’ rooms. Her pale silver eyes lingered on the tunnel Kael had vanished into, her expression as unreadable as ever.

Beside her stood Zion, his arms folded across his chest.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

Finally, Zion broke the silence.

”Tell me something, Voss.”

He turned slightly toward her.

”Do you see the number of weak points he has currently?”

Aurella remained silent for a moment before shifting her gaze toward Zion.

”My eyes grant me the ability to see every conceivable method of killing any individual, be it beast or human, and everyone has an exact number.”

She spoke in her usual calm tone.

”The number only changes after they’ve trained for a long period... or gain a sudden burst of power.”

Zion frowned slightly.

”And why is that relevant?”

Aurella looked back toward the waiting room where Kael had disappeared.

”It has reduced drastically from the last time I saw him...”

She paused briefly.

”...but yours is still lower than his.”

Her answer made Zion’s brows knit together.

He wasn’t expecting that response.

”Why didn’t you ask me to give you an exact number?” Aurella asked.

”What do you mean by exact number?” Zion replied, genuinely curious now.

”My eyes don’t simply show weaknesses.”

”They quantify them.”

She continued calmly.

”Every individual possesses a precise number of possible killing methods.”

”The stronger someone becomes, the fewer those possibilities are.”

She looked directly into Zion’s eyes.

”Although the number of ways to kill you has reduced since the beginning of the semester, it has remained stagnant for some time now.”

Then she turned her attention toward the waiting room once more.

”But Kael’s number...”

”...is flickering.”

”It is either increasing or reducing.”

”It never remains constant.”

For the first time since arriving at the academy...

Zion’s stoic expression cracked ever so slightly.

”What do you mean by that?”

Aurella answered without hesitation.

”He’s still growing actively.”

The words echoed inside Zion’s mind.

He instinctively looked toward the corridor Kael had disappeared into.

Someone...

Could continue growing at such a ridiculous speed?

It defied everything he had ever believed.

His mind involuntarily drifted back two months.

Back to the academy gym.

Back to the first conversation they had ever shared.

”It doesn’t matter.”

”When I began to train.”

”At the end of the day...”

”I’ll surpass them all.”

Kael’s confident words echoed repeatedly inside Zion’s mind.

At the time...

He had dismissed them as nothing more than empty confidence.

Now...

They sounded frighteningly real.

Zion slowly clenched the sword hanging at his waist.

His grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.

”How does someone grow this much within two months?”

He quietly asked himself.

The question had no answer.

He slowly exhaled.

His expression gradually returned to normal.

”It doesn’t matter.”

He adjusted the sword at his waist before turning toward the waiting rooms.

”I’ll definitely win this tournament.”

Without another word, Zion walked down the quiet corridor alone.

Each step echoed softly against the polished stone floor.

His determination had only grown stronger.

Back where Aurella remained standing, she quietly watched Zion disappear before lifting her gaze toward the arena once more.

”I will definitely win this competition.”

”No matter how much people grow...”

”They always have a weakness.”

Her silver eyes briefly narrowed.

Even if Kael continued evolving...

She believed there would always be a flaw.

A weakness.