The battlefield had fallen strangely quiet.
Maris stood in the center of the ruined arena.
His breathing was slow.
His fists were clenched.
Then— WHOOM!
Heat exploded from his body.
The air around him began to ripple violently, bending the sunlight into distorted waves.
Flames crawled across his arms and shoulders like living creatures.
Pinezoku stumbled backward.
His steel armor gleamed beneath the burning light.
For the first time since the battle began, his confidence cracked.
“What…” He wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Why is it suddenly this hot?” Maris raised his head.
His reddish-yellow gradient hair fluttered in the rising heat, the darker red near the roots gradually fading into yellow at the ends.
A cruel smirk appeared across his face.
Teacher Foshi stared at him.
His eyes widened.
“So…” He slowly clenched his fist.
“His Fire power awakened.” The students looked at one another.
“Another power?!” “That’s his third one!” “First Wind, then Lightning, and now Fire?!” Foshi sighed.
“This boy…” He rubbed his forehead.
“First comedy, then drama…” The flames around Maris intensified.
“…now pure devastation.” He paused.
“Typical Fruing chaos.” Maris suddenly opened his mouth.
A concentrated stream of fire erupted toward Pinezoku.
FWOOSH!
Pinezoku jumped sideways.
The flames passed inches from his body and slammed into the ground.
The soil blackened instantly.
Pinezoku landed heavily.
His steel armor had begun glowing from the heat.
He looked at Maris with disbelief.
“What are you?” Maris tilted his head.
Pinezoku’s voice became sharper.
“Wind…” He raised his armored arm.
“Electricity…” His eyes narrowed.
“Fire…” He clenched his fist.
“Or some cursed combination of all three?” Maris stared at him.
His flames flickered calmly around his body.
“I…” He paused.
“…don’t know.” Pinezoku’s expression twisted.
“You don’t know?” Maris shrugged.
“I’ve never exactly had a user manual.” A few students stared at him.
One whispered, “Did he just joke in the middle of this?” Another whispered back, “I think that’s how he copes.” Pinezoku suddenly charged.
His steel-covered fist came toward Maris’s face.
Maris didn’t move.
At the last second— BOOM!
A burst of fire exploded between them.
Pinezoku was forced backward.
Maris stomped his foot.
CRACK!
The ground split.
Flames erupted from the cracks.
One after another, fiery spikes rose around Pinezoku, forming a burning cage.
The temperature skyrocketed.
Pinezoku looked around.
“This…” The steel on his arms began glowing faintly.
“…is getting ridiculous.” Maris raised one hand.
The flames twisted around his fingers.
“Stay there.” Pinezoku struck one of the flaming barriers.
The steel of his fist pushed through the fire.
But the heat forced him back.
“Tch!” Maris watched him carefully.
He thought, “So Fire is different from Wind.” His eyes narrowed.
He thought, “Wind was precise.” The flames around his arm suddenly surged.
He thought, “Lightning was fast.” His smirk returned.
He thought, “But this…” A wave of heat rolled across the arena.
He thought, “This wants to destroy everything.” Melio’s expression had completely changed.
His usual calm face was gone.
He stared at Maris.
He thought, “Fire…” His fists tightened.
He thought, “This guy is insane.” His eyes briefly lowered.
He thought, “The Fruing legends speak of Mangorak, Manglet, Noctis…” He looked back at Maris.
He thought, “And now he’s standing right there.” Melio’s expression hardened.
He thought, “Calm.
Smiling.
Completely unaware of what he’s becoming.” Sophria stood frozen.
Her eyes followed every movement Maris made.
She thought, “Silent…” The flames reflected in her eyes.
She thought, “Deadly.” Maris’s aura intensified.
She swallowed.
She thought, “Unstoppable.” A small shiver passed through her.
She thought, “I can’t even measure him anymore.” Lyberia stared at Maris in disbelief.
She had mocked him before.
Called him weak.
Called him a loser.
Now she couldn’t even find the words.
She whispered, “What is this?” Her eyes narrowed.
“Wind was supposed to be the weakest…” Maris looked toward her for half a second.
Lyberia’s expression tightened.
“He’s…” She swallowed.
“…a monster.” Inside the burning cage, Pinezoku suddenly roared.
“ENOUGH!” His steel armor expanded across his body.
He slammed both fists into the ground.
BOOM!
The shockwave shattered several flames.
Pinezoku charged through the opening.
Maris’s eyes sharpened.
Pinezoku swung.
Maris ducked.
The punch passed above his head.
Maris stepped forward.
Fire gathered around his fist.
BAM!
His punch struck Pinezoku’s chest.
The steel armor rang from the impact.
Pinezoku staggered.
Maris didn’t stop.
Another strike.
Then another.
Pinezoku tried to counter, but Maris moved around him with sudden bursts of speed.
Fire followed every movement.
The battlefield became a storm of orange light and black smoke.
Pinezoku finally caught Maris’s arm.
“Got you!” Maris looked at him.
His smile returned.
“Really?” The flames around his arm exploded.
Pinezoku released him immediately.
Maris spun.
His flaming fist slammed into Pinezoku’s chest.
BOOM!
Pinezoku was launched upward.
“AAAGH!” Maris jumped after him.
For one moment, both disappeared into the smoke.
Then— CRASH!
Maris’s kick drove Pinezoku back toward the ground.
The steel-armored fighter hit the battlefield hard enough to create a crater.
Dust erupted everywhere.
Maris descended through the cloud.
He landed in front of Pinezoku.
His eyes were cold.
Pinezoku tried to rise.
Maris stepped forward.
A flame wrapped around his fist.
“Time to finish this.” He struck.
Pinezoku blocked with both arms.
The impact pushed him backward.
His feet carved deep lines through the dirt.
“You’re…” Pinezoku struggled to hold his position.
“…not normal.” Maris tilted his head.
“That’s becoming a popular opinion.” The flames suddenly vanished from his fist.
Pinezoku blinked.
“What?” Wind began swirling around Maris’s arm.
Foshi’s eyes widened.
“He’s switching again.” Maris lowered his body.
His fist became surrounded by compressed wind.
He whispered, “Now…” The wind began rotating faster.
“…you’ll get deflected.” Pinezoku’s eyes widened.
Maris’s fist moved.
“By my Wind.” BOOOOOOM!
The wind-infused punch struck Pinezoku’s face.
A massive shockwave erupted across the arena.
Dust and smoke swallowed both fighters.
Students raised their arms to shield their faces.
Melio narrowed his eyes.
“Maris!” Sophria’s hair whipped violently in the shockwave.
“He’s combining his powers…” Lyberia stared into the smoke.
“He’s not just switching between them.” Her expression became serious.
“He’s chaining them.” The dust slowly began settling.
A crater stretched across the battlefield.
Pinezoku lay at its center, his steel armor battered and covered in soot.
He tried to move.
Nothing happened.
His arm twitched once.
Then went still.
Teacher Foshi raised his hand.
“Enough.” Silence.
The flames around Maris slowly faded.
The wind disappeared.
Maris stood alone in the center of the arena.
His breathing was heavy.
But he was smiling.
Foshi stared at him.
“This…” He looked around at the ruined battlefield.
“…is next-level.” The students remained silent.
Foshi’s voice became heavier.
“None of you…” His eyes moved across the class.
“…none of you are ready for what comes next.” Maris looked at his own hands.
Three different powers.
Three different sensations.
Wind.
Lightning.
Fire.
He thought, “Three…” His expression slowly changed.
He thought, “And I still don’t know how many are left.” Behind him, Melio stared silently.
Sophria watched him with a mixture of awe and concern.
And somewhere beyond the academy— something else had already begun moving.
Because Maris Fruing had just revealed another piece of himself.
And the world was beginning to notice.