The Extra's Transcension-Chapter 38: Physical Assessment (18)

*****

Lyrium’s breath came in ragged gasps, his chest rising and falling unevenly as exhaustion seeped into every fiber of his body.

His fingers trembled against the hilt of his greatsword, yet he held it upright, refusing to let it drop.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, mixing with the dust and remnants of mana still crackling faintly around him.

Across from him, Eugene Darcyroix stood completely unscathed.

Not a single tear in his coat, not a drop of sweat on his brow.

His deep blue eyes regarded Lyrium with an unreadable expression—part amusement, part curiosity, and perhaps, buried beneath it all, the slightest hint of approval.

Lyrium gritted his teeth.

’Damn it...’

He had thrown everything at him.

Every ounce of his strength, every technique he could muster—his speed, his swordplay, his lightning affinity—none of it had made a difference.

No matter how hard he fought, Eugene had always been a step ahead, effortlessly countering every attack as if he were simply playing along.

His grip tightened around his sword.

His body screamed at him to stop, to fall to his knees and admit defeat, but something deep inside wouldn’t let him.

He had come too far. He had changed too much.

If he backed down now, what was the point of everything?

"Haaa... "

Eugene let out a slow exhale and rolled his shoulders, stretching as if he had just finished warming up.

"Hahh… kid, you’re barely standing."

His voice was calm, almost bored.

"Is this all you’ve got?"

Lyrium’s fingers twitched.

His body may have been screaming, but his mind refused to submit.

He forced himself to stand straighter, adjusting his grip on his sword.

"Not… yet,"

He muttered under his breath.

His voice was hoarse, yet unwavering.

Eugene raised an eyebrow.

Then, slowly, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Heh,"

He chuckled, shaking his head.

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"You’re stubborn. I’ll give you that much."

He took a step forward, his aura pressing down on Lyrium like an unmovable force, thick and suffocating.

It was as if the air itself bent to his will, recognizing him as something far beyond mortal limitations.

"But let me give you some advice, Lyrium Blackwood."

His voice was low, almost like a whisper carried by the wind.

"Strength isn’t just about how hard you can swing your sword, or how fast you can move. Power isn’t about refusing to fall."

His eyes sharpened, the weight of his presence increasing tenfold.

"True strength is knowing when to fight… and when to stop."

The moment those words left his lips, he disappeared.

No, not disappeared—moved.

Faster than Lyrium’s eyes could track.

Before he could react, a heavy force slammed into his stomach.

"—!!"

The world blurred.

His body lifted off the ground, his breath completely knocked out of him as pain erupted through his entire core.

And then—

Boom—!

His back hit the ground with a thunderous impact, dust and debris exploding around him as the entire field trembled from the force.

*****

Silence.

The audience watching from the holographic screen collectively held their breath.

Rihana’s eyes widened slightly, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Margaret narrowed her gaze, her fingers tapping lightly against her arm.

*****

Ren, who had just arrived at the audience sit, froze mid-step, his expression darkening.

"Haaa..."

Alicia let out a small sigh, shaking her head.

And Lyrium…

He lay there, staring up at the sky, his vision swimming.

His entire body felt like it had been shattered from the inside.

He tried to move—tried to lift his sword, his arms, anything.

But his body refused to listen.

Above him, Eugene stood, looking down at him with that same smirk.

"That’s enough, kid,"

He said.

"You’re done."

Lyrium stood up again. Barely.

The gap between them was painfully obvious. Eugene hadn’t even broken a sweat, while Lyrium could barely keep himself upright.

But still—he refused to fall.

He couldn’t fall.

There was still something inside him. Something untouched. Something forbidden.

And now—he would use it.

A faint whisper clawed at the back of his mind, a voice that wasn’t his but one he had always felt lurking in his soul.

You still have me…

The void affinity.

For a long time, he had feared it.

Avoided it.

It was power, yes, but it was something beyond his understanding, beyond his control.

It was dark, ominous, and… wrong. Like a parasite waiting for an opening.

But right now, none of that mattered.

Right now, he needed it.

Lyrium closed his eyes, his breathing slowing.

The exhaustion, the pain, the weight crushing his body—it all faded.

Then—

A pulse.

A slow, steady wave of energy radiated from him, spreading through the battlefield.

The air around him thickened, twisted, darkened. It was unlike the crackling energy of his lightning affinity.

This was colder.

Heavier.

It was as if the world itself rejected the power he was about to call upon.

And Eugene—

His body moved before he could think.

BOOM—!

In an instant, he vanished.

The ground beneath where he once stood cracked as he reappeared directly in front of Lyrium, his fist clenched with terrifying force.

BANG—!

The punch struck Lyrium’s stomach like a cannon blast.

Lyrium’s eyes went wide.

His breath hitched.

His ribs shattered.

His body lifted off the ground as he was sent hurtling backward.

CRASH—!

The impact of his body against the ground sent shockwaves rippling through the field.

Dust and debris scattered, covering the battlefield in a thick cloud.

For a moment, nothing moved.

Eugene stood there, staring at the crater Lyrium lay in, his fist still tight.

But something wasn’t right.

His instincts—his fighter’s intuition—told him that the battle wasn’t over.

Then—

A sound.

A deep, slow inhale.

"Haaaaaa..."

The dust began to settle.

Eugene’s sharp eyes focused as he saw movement.

Lyrium’s fingers twitched.

His chest rose and fell in slow, deliberate breaths.

Then—his eyes opened.

And Eugene saw it.

His breath hitched.

Dark.

Deep.

A shade of crimson so dark it was nearly black.

Not the golden-amber hue of before.

Not Lyrium’s eyes.

Something else.

Something wrong.

The very moment Eugene saw those eyes, his instincts screamed.

His body moved on its own.

Without hesitation—

STOMP—!

Eugene’s boot slammed down onto Lyrium’s face, knocking him out instantly before those eyes could fully open.

Silence.

The battlefield, the audience, the entire hall of Deviants Academy—all stood frozen.

The only sound left was the wind rustling through the wreckage of the field.

Eugene stared down at the unconscious Lyrium, his heart pounding faster than normal.

And he hated that.

He pulled his foot back, stepping away, hands shoved into his coat pockets as his mind raced.

"...My body reacted on its own. Again,"

He muttered under his breath, voice low, unreadable.

*****

Margaret Windsor.

The cold, high-status noble girl sat in the stands, her fingers unconsciously gripping her sleeve.

Her face was blank, as always, but her usually composed eyes held something else.

Confusion?

Disbelief?

No.

Curiosity.

"That Person… what the hell are you, Lyrium Blackwood?" she whispered, watching the battlefield intently."

On the far side of the hall, standing against the marble walls—Rihana Blackwood.

Her red eyes, so much like Lyrium’s ones, locked onto the screen.

She hadn’t spoken a word.

Her face was unreadable.

But deep inside, her thoughts stormed.

She had never acknowledged Lyrium as anything more than a weak, useless younger brother.

A failure who always hid behind their family.

And yet…

"Since when…"

Her fingers clenched at her sides,

"Since when did you become someone I

couldn’t ignore?"

*****

In the audience sit

Ren,

Still barefoot, his white hospital robes loose around his body, he stood at the edge of the seats, his fists trembling.

"Lyrium…"

His voice was low. Frustration laced in his tone.

Anger—

Not at Lyrium.

Not at Eugene.

But at himself.

For being too weak to stand there with him.

For watching instead of fighting.

But it was a test not a brawl, but he doesn’t want to see his first Friend get hurt.

And beside him—Alicia.

Arms crossed, she exhaled slowly.

"…Troublesome kid,"

She muttered.

Eugene turned his gaze back toward Lyrium.

This wasn’t just talent.

This wasn’t just potential.

This was something else.

Something dark.

Something terrifying.

Something that should not have existed.

And tonight—

It had almost awakened.

*****

Alicia’s POV- —>

The battlefield was silent.

The air hung heavy, filled with dust and the lingering hum of dissipating mana.

Lyrium lay sprawled across the ground, his body barely moving, his greatsword discarded a few feet away.

His breathing was uneven, shallow, yet persistent.

Despite the overwhelming difference in strength, despite the fact that he had been outclassed from the very beginning, he was still conscious.

I exhaled through my nose, shifting in my seat as my arms remained crossed.

Beside me, Ren sat forward, his red hair falling over his face, his fingers gripping the fabric of his hospital robe so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

His breathing was slow but heavy, his blue eyes locked onto the battlefield, watching as Lyrium’s chest rose and fell.

"…Lyrium,"

Ren muttered under his breath, his voice tight with concern.

Eugene stood a few feet away from him, completely untouched.

His expression was unreadable, though there was something sharp in his gaze—not victory. Not even amusement.

Wariness.

A hesitation I had never seen from him before.

His fingers twitched slightly, his stance still tense, like an animal that had sensed something unnatural.

Then—

A breath.

It came from Lyrium.

Long.

Slow.

Deep.

The kind of breath that shouldn’t belong to someone who had been completely beaten down just moments ago.

A cold sensation ran down my spine.

The air around us seemed to shift, the weight of something invisible pressing down on my shoulders.

The mana in the atmosphere grew heavier, denser, as if something unseen had begun to seep out from Lyrium’s unconscious body.

I clenched my jaw.

"No… that’s not normal."

Lyrium’s fingers twitched. His body, which had been limp just moments ago, shifted.

Ren’s breath hitched beside me.

A small, almost imperceptible gust of wind brushed across the field, kicking up dust around him.

The temperature seemed to drop, the ambient mana twisting unnaturally.

Then—

His eyes opened.

Slowly.

Just a sliver of red at first.

A glow.

Dark.

Deep.

Like embers buried beneath the ashes of a dying fire.

My pulse quickened.

That… wasn’t normal.

Ren must have noticed it too, because I saw his entire body tense beside me, his breathing turning more erratic.

Then—

Eugene moved.

Before Lyrium could even push himself up, before that ominous glow could fully consume his irises—

BANG—!

Eugene’s foot slammed into Lyrium’s face.

The impact shook the field, cracking the stone beneath them.

A burst of dust and debris shot into the air, obscuring them for a split second before settling once more.

A collective gasp erupted from the audience. Some students flinched.

Others stared, wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Ren shot up from his seat.

His hands were trembling.

Not in fear—but in sheer disbelief.

My own eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.

Eugene’s foot pressed firmly against Lyrium’s unconscious body, ensuring there would be no chance for him to get up again.

And for the first time since the fight started—

Eugene looked unsettled.

His breathing was steady, but his brows were furrowed, his usually smug expression replaced by something sharper.

More cautious.

Slowly, he lifted his foot.

Staring down at Lyrium’s unmoving form, he muttered under his breath.

"Again… my body reacted on its own."

His voice wasn’t as casual as before.

There was something strange in his tone—something calculating, as if he was piecing something together.

Then, quieter, almost to himself—

"This kid… is dangerous."

A shiver ran down my spine.

Ren swallowed beside me, his fists still clenched.

The entire academy remained frozen, the weight of those words hanging over them like an unshakable omen..

*****

End of The Arc