Sovereign of Forbidden Spirits

CHAPTER 4 — BLOOD INSIDE THE ACADEMY

The academy duel arena smelled of blood, sweat, and humiliation, and the noble students loved every second of it.

The massive circular battleground stood at the center of Ashveil Beast Academy like a monument built to celebrate cruelty. Crimson banners draped from towering stone walls while rows of elevated seats rose in steep layers around the arena, packed tightly with students hungry for entertainment.

The battle floor itself carried the scars of countless fights fought by desperate tamers trying to survive the academy’s brutal hierarchy.

Burn marks blackened entire sections of stone. Deep claw trenches carved through the arena floor like permanent wounds. Between the cracks, dried blood remained trapped within the rock, no matter how often servants cleaned it away. This was where weak students learned exactly how little mercy the world possessed, and this morning, the entire academy had gathered to watch Jesse Fletcher be destroyed.

The whispers began before he even stepped into the arena.

“That’s him.”

“The defect tamer.”

“I heard the priests demanded his execution again.”

“Kael’s going to cripple him.” Several students laughed openly while others leaned forward with impatient excitement, almost annoyed that the fight had not started already.

Jesse walked silently through the narrow tunnel beneath the arena while Noxaris limped weakly beside him. The small black creature’s breathing remained uneven, and the shattered golden chains wrapped around its body rattled softly with every painful movement.

The beast still looked half-dead. That only made the mockery worse. “You nervous?”

The voice came from behind him. Jesse turned slightly and saw Instructor Marek leaning against the tunnel wall with his arms crossed. Unlike most academy officials, Marek looked more exhausted than cruel, as though he had grown tired of pretending this place was honorable.

“This examination is mandatory,” the instructor muttered. “I argued against pairing you with Kael.”

Jesse frowned. “Then why did they do it?”

Marek let out a humorless laugh before shaking his head slowly. “Because half this academy wants to see what happens when a defect finally bleeds.”

The answer settled heavily inside Jesse’s chest. He already knew the academy hated him. Every hallway conversation, every insult, and every sneer had made that painfully clear from the moment he arrived. Yet hearing the truth spoken aloud still hurt more than he expected.

Marek’s gaze shifted toward Noxaris. The creature stared back without making a sound. For a brief moment, unease flickered across the instructor’s face.

“Control your beast,” Marek warned quietly. “Whatever happened at the summoning plaza terrified people.” Jesse looked down at Noxaris before answering in a low voice.

“It terrified me, too.” That response clearly surprised the instructor. Before Marek could say anything else, a loud horn echoed throughout the arena walls.

The crowd erupted immediately. “It’s starting!”

“Kael’s going to bury him!”

Jesse inhaled slowly before stepping forward into the light.

The noise struck him like a physical force. Thousands of students filled the surrounding seats while powerful noble families occupied the upper balconies beneath elaborate silver canopies. The moment Jesse emerged from the tunnel, waves of boos rolled across the arena. Others laughed openly at the sight of him. Someone threw a rotten piece of fruit that exploded near his feet.

“Go back to Blackwater!”

“Take your cursed mutt with you!” Jesse ignored them and kept walking.

Beside him, Noxaris trembled from exhaustion but continued forward anyway. At the opposite end of the arena stood Kael Draven, confident, smiling, completely certain of victory.

The noble heir wore polished black combat armor embroidered with the silver crest of House Draven. Beside him rested his summoned beast, a massive Ironfang Wolf nearly three times larger than Noxaris. Metallic armor plating covered parts of the creature’s body while glowing spirit marks pulsed beneath its silver fur.

The difference between the two beasts looked almost insulting.

Kael spread his arms dramatically toward the audience as though performing on a stage. “Finally,” he announced loudly, “the academy gives the people what they want.” Laughter spread through the arena.

Kael’s eyes locked onto Jesse with open contempt. “You should’ve stayed in the slums.”

Jesse stopped several feet away from him. “And you should’ve learned not to underestimate hungry people.”

A few nearby students reacted with visible surprise at the response, but Kael merely smirked.

“Careful,” he replied coldly. “Confidence didn’t save you last time either.”

Moments later, glowing blue barriers rose around the battlefield, sealing the combat arena beneath walls of spirit energy.

Instructor Marek stepped between both tamers.

“This duel serves as an official combat examination,” he declared loudly enough for the entire arena to hear. “Victory may be achieved through surrender, incapacitation, or forced contract disruption.” His eyes shifted sharply toward Kael.

“Permanent injury is prohibited.” Kael nodded politely.

However, the smile on his face promised something very different. Marek stepped backward and raised his hand. “Begin!” The crowd exploded with excitement.

Kael attacked instantly.

“Ironfang!” The massive wolf lunged forward with terrifying speed, its claws tearing through stone as it charged directly toward Noxaris.

Jesse’s eyes widened.“Move!” Noxaris barely avoided the attack in time.

The wolf crashed into the arena floor with enough force to crack the stone beneath it. The audience roared with laughter.

“That defect can’t even stand properly!”

“This is pathetic!” Kael laughed while casually walking behind his beast.

“Is this really the monster that terrified the plaza?” Noxaris struggled to regain its balance while its breathing became ragged almost immediately.

Jesse clenched his fists tightly. He already knew Noxaris was weak, but hearing thousands of people laugh at the creature awakened something ugly inside his chest.

Kael noticed the change in his expression immediately. “Oh?” he mocked. “Does that bother you?” The noble heir pointed lazily toward Noxaris.

“That thing belongs in a grave.” Ironfang attacked again. This time, the wolf’s claws tore directly across Noxaris’s side. Black blood splattered violently across the arena floor. The crowd erupted with savage excitement.

Jesse froze.

Noxaris slammed against the stone barrier with a painful cry before collapsing heavily onto the ground. Several students laughed even harder. “Gods, it really is dying.”

“The priests should’ve burned it yesterday.” Kael approached slowly while Ironfang circled the injured creature like a predator preparing to finish its prey.

“You know what your problem is, Jesse?” Kael asked casually. “You still think this world cares whether you suffer.”

Jesse stared at Noxaris as the creature struggled desperately to rise. Its body trembled violently from pain. Yet despite the agony… It still tried standing. It still tried fighting for him. Something twisted painfully inside Jesse’s chest. Memories surged through his mind without warning. The hunger, the freezing nights, the nobles walking past him in the streets while pretending he did not exist.

His mother was coughing up blood while he stood there helpless and powerless beside her. That same helplessness returned now, crushing his chest so hard he could barely breathe, and he hated it.

Kael’s smile widened as he watched the pain spread across Jesse’s face. “This is where people like you belong.” Ironfang lunged again. This time, the wolf’s jaws clamped down around Noxaris’s shoulder. A horrible cracking sound echoed across the arena. Noxaris screamed.

Something inside Jesse finally snapped.

“GET OFF HIM!”

The roar exploded from his throat with enough fury to silence the crowd for a single heartbeat. Dark energy burst violently from Jesse’s contract mark. The arena temperature dropped instantly.

Kael’s smile disappeared. Noxaris slowly lifted its head. Its golden eye locked onto Jesse. Then something changed. For the first time since the contract formed, Jesse felt the beast’s emotions clearly. Not weakness, not fear, Rage Ancient, overwhelming rage.

The shattered chains wrapped around Noxaris’s body suddenly ignited with black-and-gold light.

Kael instinctively stepped backward. “What the hell?”

Noxaris moved. The small creature vanished from Ironfang’s jaws so quickly that several students failed to follow the motion at all. Then, black energy exploded across the arena. Ironfang howled in agony. The massive wolf crashed sideways through the battlefield, skidding violently across the stone while blood sprayed through the air. The entire arena fell deathly silent. Everyone stared in disbelief.

Ironfang’s armored chest had been torn open. Not scratched, not dented, bitten through completely. Even spirit-forged armor hung shattered around the wound.

Kael’s face turned pale. “That’s impossible…” Noxaris stood between Jesse and the wounded wolf while dark energy twisted around its body like living smoke. The creature no longer looked weak. It looked dangerous. Ancient Hungry. Several academy officials rose abruptly from their seats.

Even Instructor Marek looked stunned. “How did it pierce spirit armor?” one examiner whispered.

“No low-rank beast should possess that level of bite force…” Kael stumbled backward while Ironfang whimpered behind him.

“You filthy monster,” he hissed. Noxaris slowly turned its gaze toward him, and for one horrifying second, Kael froze completely. Fear flooded his face. Not ordinary fear, not panic. This was instinctive terror buried deep within the soul itself. It was the same terror the beasts had shown back at the summoning plaza.

Then the symbol appeared. A strange golden mark ignited briefly inside Noxaris’s eye. Ancient Complex. Beautiful and horrifying at the same time.

Jesse only saw it for a moment before it vanished again, but someone else saw it clearly. High above the arena, inside the hidden observation chamber reserved for senior academy authorities, an old man suddenly stood so violently that his chair crashed backward onto the floor.

The hood covering part of his face slipped aside, revealing sharp gray eyes filled with absolute shock. “Impossible…” the elder whispered. The officials beside him turned quickly.

“What is it, Elder Seraphel?”

The old man continued staring at Noxaris with visible disbelief. “That symbol…” he said hoarsely.

His hands trembled slightly. “That symbol vanished thousands of years ago.”