Extra's Descent

Raven felt it from a mile away.

That same ominous feeling from back then.

Tracing Brandon's movements, he felt his throat start to constrict. And his pupils started to dilate.

It didn't make any sense.

Why was he feeling this way?

'Why am I…. afraid?'

Afraid of Brandon.

It wasn't just him. Looking to the side, Reinhard had about the same expressions as him.

It must've been one of Brandon's abilities.

It was terrifying.

Brandon's development was terrifying.

And to top it off, he hadn't used his affinities even once in this battle.

Yet despite that, he was able to keep up. No, keeping up was an understatement.

He was towering all over them.

'Can I even do that….?'

Even Raven would have a hard time taking all five of them at once.

Not exactly five people, but precisely, fighting 'them' at once.

As Raven's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the entire vicinity, it was then when he noticed the sudden fog gradually filling the entire space.

"....?"

Yet seated far away, and with all the lights illuminating the training facility, their silhouettes were quite visible.

It was then.

"Wha—"

Brandon's silhouette, who was just standing a few seconds ago, suddenly disappeared.

"Akh!"

"Kh…!"

"Ukeh—!"

Raven could hear the sounds of several groans from where he sat.

Groans of pain.

What in the world is going on.

Brandon's silhouette continued to reappear and disappear. A silhouette of what seems to be Claire was caught off guard by Brandon's sudden appearance.

"Ukh…!"

Only for Raven to hear her groan as well.

Brandon appeared all around her. His fist swung down at her from all sides.

He was here.

Then he was there.

He was all over the place.

Bang!

A loud banging sound, and Brandon's figure disappeared once again. And as Raven scanned closely, all he could see left was Claire's silhouette lying on the ground.

Despite the fear gripping him, Raven leaned close and gripped on the metal railing.

"You want to join too?"

Reinhard's voice reached his ear.

"No, I…."

"Me too."

Reinhard shared the same sentiments as him. In fact, Raven could see Reinhard's lips pulling up.

"Should we….?"

"It's still their turn. Wait for a while. Just until Brandon beats all of them to a pulp."

There was no shred of hesitation in Raven words. It seemed like Reinhard was of the same thoughts as he nodded solemnly nodded.

There was no hope for them.

There was no doubt about it.

They were all going to lose to Brandon.

***

While Claire and Cyrus showed steady development, the others remained unchanged.

Brandon couldn't say the same for Sarah. While it's true that she had developed her affinity somewhat, her combat instincts seemed to stay the same.

She was completely defenseless with several openings, as if she was used to fighting in the backline, hoping for the close combatants to defend her.

Even if her affinity pertained to fighting from a distance, still, it was much better to find a way to defend herself.

It was for that reason, why Brandon targeted the close combatants first.

To show the long ranged fighters what happens once the close combatants lose.

Appearing before Cyrus, he was just about to blink away, when Brandon reached out for his neck.

Bang!

His fist landed on Cyrus' abdomen, and Cyrus let out a pained groan, his grip on Cyrus' neck tightening.

"Akh—!"

Just before Cyrus was about to counterattack, Brandon grabbed the curse pathways, and his figure blurred once again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Appearing from all sides, Brandon swiftly swung his fist down without any shred of mercy. The chest, the abdomen, the jaw….

Nothing was safe.

Brandon was ruthless against him.

"....I give."

Seeing that Cyrus had surrendered, Brandon locked onto his next target.

Rachel.

Bang!

There was no need to hesitate.

Fun and games were fine from time to time. But this was training.

A war was coming, and if they couldn't handle at least this much, then there was no point in training them.

Sure, they had no idea a war was coming. But in the first place, they chose to admit themselves in Imperial Academy.

Bang!

Brandon swiftly landed his fist on Rachel's torso, sending her back several meters.

However, Rachel had a determined look on her face. Gritting her teeth, she looked around, trying to find any signs of Brandon's figure amidst the fog.

But it was to no avail.

Brandon was way too fast for any of them to keep up with.

Bang!

Another attack. Straight to her side.

Bang! Bang!

And another.

A flurry of attacks struck Rachel who was unable to do a thing about it. Seriously, has none of them mastered barrier magic?

It seemed like the only ones who were able to use barrier magic to a certain degree were Claire, Raven and Reinhard.

But during his previous fight with Raven, it seemed like Raven abandoned all defenses, most probably, taken aback by Brandon's sudden change. Additionally, the effects of Dominion must've affected him as well.

However, during Raven's fight with Reinhard, the two had several exchanges, and Brandon could see barrier magic put to play.

Bang!

But it was then.

As if his thoughts were seemingly read, a magic circle appeared before Rachel, blocking Brandon's fist.

"Good."

Despite her disheveled appearance, Rachel smiled at his words.

Brandon looked down, noticing ice crawl beneath his feet. Tempering his body with mana, the ice instantly shattered, and Brandon's figure blurred once again.

Bang!

And that was it for Rachel.

Tzz—

The sound of sizzling reached his ear, and Brandon instinctively turned his body to the side. As soon as he did, a rapier flashed in his peripheral vision, cladded in what seemed to be purple sparks.

It seems like Claire had managed to recover as she tried to catch him off guard.

But Brandon's thoughts were clear.

He wasn't taking this sparring session lightly at all.

He wanted to teach them a lesson.

Yet regardless, Claire met the same fate as Rachel and Cyrus.

"Fuck…"

Claire cursed under her breath, massaging her shoulder as she took a knee.

It was then.

A myriad of water bullets seemed to head his way. But it was no use.

Swoosh—!

Brandon appeared before her in an instant, and Amy's eyes widened in horror. She seemed to panic as she screamed upon noticing him, flailing her arms as magic circles appeared right behind her.

Clank—!

However, as he was about to land his attack, a fist deftly blocked his own.

Brandon raised his head. His cold indifferent eyes traced the newcomer.

"Mind if I join?"

It was Raven.

"Sure."

Brandon nodded his head slightly. Just as he was about to strike Raven, flames erupted from the side, and he was forced to back away.

"Mind if 'we' join?"

It was Reinhard.

Things were starting to get interesting.

But truth be told, he had expected this already. That Raven and Reinhard would jump in the middle of the frenzy.

It was one of his objectives from the beginning.

He wanted to test himself against the two at the same time.

No, against everyone at the same time.

With a solemn nod, Brandon opened his mouth.

"Come."