Chronicles of Forgotten Extra-Chapter 305: The Challenge.

Meanwhile, far from the platform where the battle was actually taking place, Azriel, Alden and Cecilia looked at it from the audience seating.

"Bro... am I hallucinating?" Azriel muttered, his eyes glued to the scene as if he couldn’t trust what he was seeing.

Even Cecilia was at a loss for words.

"Why is he punching the air while his opponent is yawning behind him?" Azriel spoke again, disbelief dripping from his voice.

...but Alden didn’t react. He didn’t even register what Azriel was saying as he was lost in his own thoughts.

Unlike the others, who only saw Zephyr wildly punching and kicking empty space while his opponent lounged lazily behind him, Alden was seeing something entirely different. And he was certain he wasn’t the only one and most of the truly strong were seeing it too.

Alden calmly analyzed Zephyr’s opponent, who barely looked a year older than him and was somehow still a first-year but that wasn’t what surprised him, instead it was the strength he was emitting.

That guy... Ryou, he is at least at the Expert rank.

The boy was hiding it perfectly and it was difficult for Alden to analyse his true rank from at least a few kilometres distance between them but the way his mana resonated with the environment, how naturally it blended into everything around him and how effortlessly he had trapped Zephyr inside an illusion... It was clear.

He wasn’t someone Zephyr, at Intermediate Adept rank, could ever hope to handle. Even Alden himself, who was currently at the Advanced Adept rank but held more power beyond his level, couldn’t fully grasp the depth of the illusion being shown to Zephyr and that alone was terrifying.

The only reason Alden could see through it all was because of his [Voidheart]. An ability that made him immune to illusions. Without it... he would’ve been just as lost as everyone else.

He could see how the boy was deliberately playing with Zephyr, mentally and socially. He hadn’t just trapped Zephyr inside an illusion where he was forced to fight countless versions of Ryou appearing one after another... he had layered it.

On top of that nightmare, he had placed another image. An image of himself yawning lazily while Zephyr punched the air like a complete idiot. It was cruel, calculated and brilliant in a terrifying way.

He was probably trying to fool the lower-ranking students and even the officials, making them believe the Ducal family heir was nothing more than a joke... while simultaneously breaking Zephyr mentally with layers of different illusions within.

A double-edged scheme of public humiliation on the surface, psychological destruction underneath. Whoever Ryou was, he wasn’t just strong. He was dangerous in the most calculated way.

But what angered Alden more than anything else was how even as Zephyr bled from his arms, forcing out every ounce of strength he had to fight an illusion that kept appearing endlessly... even as he was clearly pushing himself past his limits... Ryou just stood there calmly, disrespecting the spirit of battle of giving respect to the opponent.

His eyes weren’t even on Zephyr, they were focused on the audience... and more specifically, on Alden himself as if he were sending a message about his cruelty.

This bastard...

Alden clenched his teeth as his mind raced.

He had clearly never met this guy or even saw him. There wasn’t anyone mentioned like him in the novel either but... then why was he sending such clear challenges to him as if they have some score to settle.

Is he one of the subordinates of Seles?

He thought of all possibilities.

Is that why she was so smug when I met her just outside the arena?

He shifted his gaze towards Seles whom he had spotted seating on higher stands with Draven family officials when he entered the arena.

But her expressions were just as shocked as his were as she called a few of her subordinates, gesturing them to investigate the boy.

She doesn’t know anything about him either.

He concluded almost instantly.

Who the hell is he then?

After thinking about it for a few moments without any answers, he gave up.

It doesn’t matter who he is or what his motives are, I am going to crush him.

If he wants a challenge, I will give him one.

Right on cue, the battle almost seemed to end.

Alden could see Zephyr’s draconic descent slowly starting to fade. Blood was pouring from almost every pore of his body, his form trembling as he finally hit the limit. He had pushed himself far too hard, maintaining his supreme ability for far longer than his body could endure.

And yet... he still didn’t stop.

Even as his strength drained away, even as his vision likely blurred, Zephyr stood his ground. With everything he had left as he threw another punch, shattering yet another one of Ryou’s illusions.

But immediately... another one appeared as if to tell him this nightmare was far from over.

Alden clenched his teeth. He wanted to interfere. To tear through that mana barrier, cross the arena in an instant and drive his fist straight into Ryou’s emotionless face to save his friend and end this humiliation.

But he knew better than anyone... Zephyr wouldn’t want that. This was his fight, his pride and as much as it annoyed Alden from the inside, he could only watch.

—

As if he had finally grown bored of the battle, Ryou moved toward Zephyr, who was now kneeling at the center of the stage, completely drained of strength.

All the illusions around the arena vanished almost instantly. So smoothly and naturally that the low-ranking and weaker students didn’t even realize anything had changed at all. To them, it was as if nothing strange had ever happened.

When Ryou stood before Zephyr, he spoke only once.

"You were far too weak for being an heir of the Ducal Family." His voice was flat as he crouched down, meeting Zephyr’s still-shining eyes with his own lifeless ones. "You are a stain on the nobles of our empire."

And yet... Zephyr smirked brightly and smashed his forehead straight into Ryou’s face.

Ryou was caught off guard as the impact connected cleanly, breaking his nose and drawing blood.

"So... you do bleed, huh?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Zephyr muttered quietly.

Ryou looked at him without the slightest change in expression, as if the injury was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

"You might’ve won with illusions this time but next time, they won’t help y—" Zephyr continued weakly.

Before he could even finish, Ryou’s fist moved with a devastating punch from point-blank range instantly triggering the recalling artifacts.

As Zephyr’s body began to fade, the last thing he heard was Ryou’s cold and emotionless voice.

It "I only used illusions because I didn’t want to waste my true strength... against some worthless bug."

—

Zephyr’s body was teleported away, leaving the stage silent as Ryou remained standing there calmly.

He had never wanted to drag out his battle with the Drageon heir as he preferred things to end quickly. But his master, the patriarch of his family, had given him a very specific order to make sure the heirs of the Ducal Family and all influential students in the competition were thoroughly humiliated.

He didn’t understand the reason behind it but he didn’t question it either. He was nothing more than an extension of his master’s will, the one who had given him everything after he was abandoned.

Slowly, Ryou tilted his head toward the audience seats. Especially towards the crimson-eyed boy staring at him with barely restrained fury.

Ryou already knew that the Drageon heir was friends with Alden and that was exactly why he chose this moment.

So, he decided to use this chance to issue a challenge to Alden as well by humiliating his friend and making him think it was all because of him.

Because the true strength of any individual only surfaced when they were pushed into anger.

All of this was because he wanted to see for himself... Whether that boy was truly worth all the praise his mistress kept giving him.