The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps.
Dozens of armed men were advancing from the forest.
Raizen stood at the front of the group, his eyes fixed on the man who had just ordered the attack.
By his side, Kael had lightning crackling around his arms.
Selene had already coated the ground in a thin layer of ice.
Darian said nothing.
Small stones were floating around his body.
— They’re coming, Selene said.
Kael smiled.
— Finally, some action.
Raizen didn’t smile.
He observed their opponents.
There were many of them.
Too many to be a simple patrol.
— Don’t lower your guard, Raizen said.
Kael turned his head slightly toward him.
— Giving orders already?
— I’m just stating what’s right in front of us.
Kael chuckled.
— Then state this.
He vanished.
BOOM!
A flash of lightning streaked across the battlefield.
Kael appeared right in front of several enemies and slammed his fist into the ground.
An electrical explosion blasted multiple men backward.
— Your turn!
Selene raised a hand.
— Ice Prison.
A massive wave of ice spread out in front of her.
Several enemies were frozen up to their knees.
Darian stepped forward slowly.
He simply raised two fingers.
The ground shook.
The enemies suddenly stopped moving.
Their bodies were crushed to the dirt by an invisible force.
Raizen opened his eyes slightly.
— Gravity…
Darian didn’t answer.
He increased the pressure even further.
BOOM!
Several enemies fell to their knees.
Some tried to force themselves back up.
Impossible.
Kael looked at Darian with a grin.
— You could really do that from the start?
Darian replied calmly: — You never asked me.
Kael burst out laughing.
— Seriously?
Raizen watched the scene.
He now understood why these three students were considered the strongest in the Academy.
They didn’t just possess impressive powers.
They knew how to use them.
But suddenly— A blade whizzed past Raizen’s face.
He leaped back.
A man had just attacked him.
Raizen raised his hand.
His shadow stretched across the ground.
The man struck.
Raizen dodged.
The shadow surged beneath his opponent’s feet and slammed him violently against a tree.
But three more enemies arrived immediately.
Raizen fell back.
— They just keep coming…
The first one lunged.
Raizen blocked with his shadow.
The second came from behind.
Raizen turned around just in time.
The third charged straight at him.
Raizen focused his energy.
His shadow erupted.
BOOM!
The enemy was hurled to the ground.
But Raizen felt something off.
They were different from the creatures he had fought in the forest.
They used weapons.
They communicated with one another.
They moved in groups.
They had a strategy.
These aren’t ordinary bandits.
Raizen looked at the man commanding the squad.
He still hadn’t moved.
He was simply watching the fight.
As if he were waiting for something.
— Who are you?
Raizen asked.
The man smiled.
— You ask too many questions.
He raised his hand.
All the fighters abruptly pulled back.
Kael frowned.
— What are they doing?
The man replied: — We’re simply moving on to the next stage.
A massive surge of energy rose behind him.
The ground quaked.
Selene looked around.
— Something’s coming.
Darian closed his eyes.
— A presence.
Raizen felt the energy too.
It was far stronger than that of the men they had just fought.
Kael clenched his fists.
— So this is their real strength.
A man appeared at the top of a cliff.
He looked down at the battlefield.
Then his gaze locked onto the four students.
— Academy kids…
He smirked.
— Interesting.
Kael stepped forward.
— Are you their boss?
The man descended slowly from the cliff.
— Let’s just say I’m the one who’s going to end your mission.
Kael made his lightning crackle higher.
— Just try it.
He charged.
The man simply raised his arm.
BOOM!
A shockwave repelled Kael.
He skidded back several meters.
— Kael!
Selene shouted.
Kael pushed himself up.
He wiped the dust from his face.
— I’m fine.
Raizen watched the man closely.
He’s strong.
The enemy stepped forward.
— You’re the top students of this Academy?
He glanced at Kael.
— Lightning.
Then at Selene.
— Ice.
Then at Darian.
— Gravity.
Finally, his eyes stopped on Raizen.
— And you…
He looked down at the shadow beneath Raizen’s feet.
— I don’t know what you are.
Raizen didn’t reply.
The man smiled.
— That’s precisely what interests me.
He attacked.
Raizen blocked.
The force of the impact drove him back.
Kael intervened instantly.
A rain of lightning crashed down on the enemy.
Selene forged multiple ice lances.
Darian intensified gravity around their opponent.
For the first time, the man was forced to a halt.
BOOM!
The earth cracked under his boots.
Darian gritted his teeth.
— I can hold him!
Kael grinned.
— Then let’s lock him down!
Selene raised both hands.
— Now!
An immense ice prison formed around the man.
Kael gathered every drop of his power.
— Celestial Lightning!
A bolt of lightning struck the frozen cage.
BOOOOOOM!
A colossal explosion shook the borderlands.
Raizen shielded his face.
Thick smoke covered the battlefield.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Then a silhouette stepped out of the smoke.
The man was still standing.
Kael went silent.
Selene’s eyes widened.
Even Darian looked surprised.
The man smiled.
— You’re better than I thought.
He extended his palm.
A wave of destructive energy condensed in his hand.
Raizen sensed the lethal danger.
— Get back!
The attack fired.
Raizen raised his shadow.
It formed a wall in front of them.
BOOM!
The blast detonated against his shield.
Raizen was thrown backward.
He rolled across the dirt before stopping.
— Raizen!
Selene yelled.
He stood up slowly.
His hands were trembling.
His breath was heavy.
He looked at his shadow.
It had grown unstable.
I can’t go on like this.
His mind flashed back to the Academy.
To his training sessions.
To the first time he controlled his shadow.
To Kaira and Zayden.
To his parents.
He had promised to become stronger.
But right now…
He wasn’t strong enough.
Raizen grit his teeth.
— Again…
He reached out his hand.
His shadow spread around him.
It climbed slowly up his arm.
Then its shape shifted.
Kael stared at Raizen.
— What is he doing?
Selene remained silent.
Darian observed intently.
The shadow kept gathering.
It lengthened.
It grew denser.
Darker.
Then a form materialized.
A hilt.
A blade.
A sword forged entirely out of darkness appeared in Raizen’s hand.
Silence fell.
Raizen stared at the weapon.
He didn’t fully understand how he had pulled it off himself.
— A sword…
The black blade vibrated faintly.
Raizen tightened his grip around the hilt.
Kael smiled.
— Since when can you do that?
Raizen looked at his blade.
— I just learned.
Kael burst out laughing.
— Of course you did.
The enemy stared at the sword.
His smile disappeared.
— That magic…
Raizen slowly raised his weapon.
— This time…
His gaze shifted.
— I’m taking the lead.
He vanished.
BOOM!
The man blocked Raizen’s sword with his weapon.
The clash unleashed a massive shockwave.
Raizen pressed the attack.
One strike.
Then two.
Then three.
The man was forced back.
Kael watched in awe.
— He’s way faster now!
Selene nodded.
— His shadow is driving his movements.
Darian kept his eyes on Raizen.
— He’s adapting in the middle of battle.
Raizen swung again.
The man blocked.
But this time, the shadow blade sliced just past his guard.
A small tear appeared on his clothing.
The man backed away.
His expression turned dead serious.
— You…
Raizen raised his sword.
— I didn’t come here to lose.
The man lunged once more.
Raizen slipped past it.
His blade struck.
CLANG!
The two weapons collided hard.
Then Darian acted.
— Now!
The gravity surrounding the enemy spiked violently.
The ground fractured beneath him.
The man dropped to his knees.
Kael materialized above him.
— Lightning!
A heavy discharge blasted down.
Selene followed up immediately.
— Absolute Frost!
Ice encased the enemy solid.
Raizen channeled his shadow.
— And now…
The black sword dissolved into a massive wave of darkness.
BOOM!
The strike hit the frozen prison head-on.
The impact sent the enemy flying through the air.
He tumbled across the ground for several meters before crashing hard.
The battlefield went quiet.
The remaining fighters began to turn and run.
Kael surveyed the area.
— They’re retreating.
Selene let out a sigh.
— Let them go.
Darian released his spell.
The heavy pressure vanished.
Raizen stood motionless.
His shadow sword slowly faded away.
He looked down at his bare hand.
— It’s gone…
Kael walked up to him.
— You really just crafted a weapon out of your shadow.
Raizen nodded.
— Looks like it.
Kael grinned.
— I’m starting to get why the Headmaster sent you with us.
Raizen glanced at him.
— Why?
Kael shrugged.
— Because you’re interesting.
Selene joined them.
— And because you grow fast.
Darian looked toward the woods.
— It’s not over.
The three turned to him.
— What do you mean?
Darian pointed at the tree line.
— That attack wasn’t their main goal.
Raizen looked in the same direction.
He felt it.
A presence.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
His face turned grave.
— You’re right.
Kael clenched his fists.
— So what are they planning?
Raizen scanned the horizon.
Far in the distance, a strange black plume of smoke was rising above the tree canopy.
No one spoke.
The mission had just taken a completely different turn.
The Headmaster had tasked them with investigating the border.
But what they had just stumbled into went far beyond a routine skirmish.
Raizen clenched his fists tightly.
His shadow sword was gone.
But he knew he could summon it again.
He looked at Kael, Selene, and Darian.
For the first time since leaving the Academy, they weren’t looking at each other as mere teammates anymore.
They had fought together.
And something had changed.
Kael smiled.
— So, Raizen…
Raizen looked back at him.
— What?
Kael kept his eyes on the distant smoke.
— We moving forward?
Raizen looked toward the border.
Then he answered quietly: — Yeah.
He took a step ahead.
— Let’s go figure out what’s really happening here.
The four students stepped into the forest together.
They had no idea what was waiting for them.
But one thing was certain.
The real mission was only just beginning.
To be continued…
— Kurotsuki