"Begin," the moment those words left the Instructor's lips, Asher vanished from where he stood as though reality itself had swallowed him whole. The spectators were left utterly stunned as they hadn't seen where he had disappeared to, not even a blur or afterimage left behind to trace his path, and even Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor, the Prince himself and one of the most gifted students in the Star Academy, couldn't find Asher despite his sharpened perception.

"Huh? Where did he go?" someone asked as they looked around the stage in confusion, their voice trembling slightly as though they had just witnessed something impossible.

"Did the Tenth Sun run away?" another one added as they couldn't understand the Tenth Sun's movement and reason for vanishing, their tone filled with poorly concealed disbelief.

"Shut up your mouth, did you forget the difference in exam scores or are you just dumb," a student snapped sharply at the former student who had just spoken, irritation evident in his voice as he refused to tolerate such ignorance.

Vaelric didn't panic, he simply remained calm and composed, his senses heightened to their absolute peak as he stood exactly where he was, patiently waiting for Asher to make a move while observing the surroundings with the cold precision of a seasoned warrior, and suddenly a voice echoed from the crowd of spectators like a warning bell ringing across a battlefield.

"Above," the word tore through the colosseum like a war cry, sharp and urgent, and everyone reacted immediately, heads and eyes of various colors snapping upwards in perfect unison.

And there, Asher Wargrave floated with a calm demeanor high above the arena with his purple hair and clothes dancing to the rhythm of the wind, the fabric fluttering elegantly like banners proclaiming dominance, as though silently telling everyone below him that the Laws of Physics were merely shackles meant for the weak, and they, were the weak.

"H... he can... fly?" a student murmured in shock as they stared at Asher staring down on all of them, their voice breaking apart from pure disbelief.

Everyone could only watch in awe, because who didn't want to fly, who didn't dream of soaring freely through the heavens like a mythical being unbound by gravity, and even if this was a fantasy world where the laws of reality could be bent and twisted, flight was still the dream of many and a symbol of absolute freedom that countless warriors desired but could never attain.

"How is he doing it?" another person murmured rhetorically as he definitely wasn't expecting any answers, his gaze locked upward as though afraid to blink.

The Prince's eyes narrowed for a moment, but he remained unbothered and steady, for he could unleash shockwaves and blast attacks that could easily reach Asher at that height without difficulty, and just as he was about to make a move, Asher's voice tore through the air like calm yet rolling thunder that vibrated across the entire arena.

"I'm sorry, Prince Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor, I do not have time to battle and fight you, so I will be ending this," his words echoed with the calmest tone anyone could ever muster, so tranquil and emotionless that it was almost frightening, and there was no arrogance or hubris lingering within, only an indifferent certainty that made it far more terrifying.

But before anyone could speak or react, Astra energy pulsed through the air as Asher manipulated the surrounding Astra with an expressionless face, and at that instant the sky above them immediately rumbled and screamed as though the herald of destruction itself was descending.

The white clouds that had been drifting beautifully moments ago darkened ominously as they clustered together like gathering armies, the seemingly peaceful blue sky began to recede and turn dark as purple lightning began to sizzle and flash violently through the heavens.

Bolts slammed into one another with frightening speed and force, each collision unleashing thunder that crashed brutally into the ears of those who watched, and the temperature seemed to begin to rise the next moment as everyone felt a chill tear down their spines even as sweat formed on their skin, the strange contradiction making their instincts scream danger.

The thunderbolts that were slamming into one another finally took shape, merging and twisting as though alive, and a huge beast in the form of a wingless dragon took shape, madness of pure unadulterated lightning energy rippling through its massive body as it formed, and then the very next moment it seemed to come alive as its eyes snapped open, purple irises staring down from above and gazing below at the mortals that were no different from ants beneath its overwhelming presence.

Everyone could only watch as the sensation of death gripped them wholly and mercilessly, some of the weaker students unable to survive the sheer spike in temperature and pressure simply fainted on the spot, their bodies collapsing like puppets with cut strings.

At this moment, Asher seemed less like a student and more like a god of Lightning and Destruction who had descended upon the world to deliver divine judgment, his purple eyes shimmering even more brilliantly as he simply remained floating in the air without a word, silent yet overwhelmingly dominant.

"Prince Vaelric Lux Vanthelmor, as you are royalty, I would like to offer you the chance to give up," Asher's voice came from above, calm and steady, but even as he spoke the sky rumbled and tumbled in madness as though the heavens themselves backed and supported this suggestion he was offering.

No one dared to speak, but in their minds it was only natural that Prince Vaelric accepted this offer, because the scene before their eyes was nothing but pure madness and certain annihilation.

Asher's thoughts and plan were simple, the Lux Vanthelmor family could absorb energy, but there was obviously a limit to it no matter how talented they were, and Asher planned to flood the Prince with so much energy that his body would rupture and explode like an overfilled balloon. And if he died... well, the Emperor could consider it the price for trying to manipulate his memory a year ago, a quiet debt finally being collected.

Vaelric didn't speak, he immediately entered a martial stance with flawless discipline, and without a word his entire Astra energy erupted from his body like a raging inferno, the various energies he had absorbed and stored all surging violently through his body and flowing toward his fist as he moved to punch toward Asher.

His own plan was also simple, he would pour out every ounce of energy he had absorbed, use it to mitigate the Tenth Sun's attack, then absorb whatever remained of the Tenth Sun's power and continue the battle from there, turning defense into sustenance.

"Your funeral," Asher's voice echoed with the calm judgment of death itself, and with those words his hand rose toward the sky with slow, deliberate authority, a single finger pointing upward as though commanding the heavens before he dropped it and pointed below.

With that motion, the wingless dragon roared with madness and tore forward as though it moved to destroy the entire Separate Dimension itself, lightning ripping through space and scorching the air.

Vaelric immediately punched upwards at the same time, unleashing a torrent of rampaging shockwaves that screamed skyward to meet the incoming attack, the violent motion of energies threatening to shatter everything caught between them.

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