The commotion caused by the incident between Damian and Cain finally died down due to the appearance of Freya and Sagara on the stage. The whole training ground instantly quieted down, becoming like a ghost town, as no one wanted to miss the greatest show of the day, although some argued that Damian's show was much better.
“I hope you manage to entertain me!” The ever arrogant tone of Sagara remained as not even a single shred of respect for his opponent could be present. “Don't get too cocky and do not underestimate me!” Freya said as her body instantly turned blurry because of her movement speed.
She wielded a katana like a samurai, and her Regalia power was also related to her style of fighting. She appeared behind Sagara with a vertical strike as she didn't intend to hold back—at least, not against someone like Sagara. Just as she expected, her attack didn't connect, as Sagara had only just avoided it so much that it looked like she missed on purpose. Of course she could tell that he was taunting her.
“Oh, you'd have to do more than that to actually entertain me. If that's all you've got, then please, this match is as good as over!” Sagara said, this time not with arrogance but with a sign of dissatisfaction. It was at that moment that the scarlet aura of a Heaven‑grade Regalia became visible on Freya's body.
She had given up the idea of warrior's honor a few seconds ago, as she didn't want to use her Regalia's power without Sagara using his. Although no one even knew the rank of Regalia that Sagara possessed, nor had they ever seen him using it, they could tell that it was something higher than Heaven grade.
This time, Freya's speed and combat abilities instantly skyrocketed as she was moving a little bit over 250 meters per second—a little more impressive than what Damian had displayed. Everyone found it hard to follow her movement as she was already close to the speed of a bullet. She launched multiple attacks toward Sagara, but none of them actually connected. It got to a point that people began to say she was fooling herself.
In the eyes of most people she seemed to be missing purposely while they couldn't see Sagara moving. Only Damian, the teacher, Mr. John, and a few people could actually see what was going on. Maybe because of how high the stats were in Damian's intelligence, as well as his perception, that he was able to decipher what was happening.
But even after, he felt that such a feat was almost impossible, as even though it sounded simple, its mechanism was simply not achievable. Sagara had placed a layer of silver‑blue Zeta energy around his body, five centimeters above his actual skin. That layer of energy was connected to his main body—be it his bones, muscles, or veins.
The Zeta energy acted as a detection as well as an activation. If the blade of Freya were to come in contact with the Zeta energy during that moment, it would instantaneously send the information to the body at the same time, causing his body to move instinctively, avoiding the attack only so much that it never touched his skin. During the entire fight, Sagara had both hands in his pocket, which was even more frustrating to Freya.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never touch him. No one hated Sagara more than her; his arrogance portrayed a negative image in the mind of Freya. She could only curse herself for being weak.
“I think this is already getting boring. I'll end this fight, but not without giving you a piece of advice. Forget about training your swordsmanship, as it will never advance further unless you train the fundamentals. You lack control over Zeta energy. If you can successfully control Zeta energy and even apply it to your fighting style, then you might just bypass my most basic defensive skills.
Only at that moment would I finally recognize you as a person worth my time. You may think of me as an arrogant bastard, but am I really? It's just like your saying a human being is arrogant by ignoring all the effort put in by an ant to kill him. No matter how hard the ant tries, it would never be recognized by the human. But if it eventually managed to land a bite on specific places, then the human would no longer be stupid to ignore the ant, as he would definitely react.
Don't feel stupid being compared to an ant, as I literally don't view you as anything more. You literally can't lay a finger on me, nor even bypass my most basic defensive skill. What else would I call you? I hope you realize what I'm trying to say. Now, with that in mind, prepare yourself, as I plan on attacking!” Sagara said as he finally, for the first time since the battle, brought one hand out from his pocket, only pointing his pinkie at Freya.
At this moment, Freya no longer saw what he did as arrogance, but she prepared to use her strongest skill to defend against his attack. A silver‑blue light began to condense on his fingertip—the natural color of raw Zeta energy—the size of a firefly, barely visible, but the pressure was immense. The people outside the stage felt as if a weight of ten tons had been dropped on their backs, instantly falling face flat.
Everyone instinctively ran fifteen meters backward. Only then did they feel the pressure reduce to the equivalent of carrying about one ton, which was still bearable. They couldn't help but pity Freya, who was on the same stage as Sagara. They knew that the pressure she would be feeling would make Cain's Regalia seem like mere child's play.
“This pressure… my whole body wants to give in. I won't survive this attack. Who the hell is this monster…!” Freya, who felt as if she was carrying a weight of fifty tons on her back, couldn't help but fall on her knees. Even with her strongest defensive skill, which halved any external force on her, she still felt the crushing equivalent of twenty‑five tons pressing down on her.
She wanted to give up, but her mouth would not even move. At the moment that Sagara was about to release his attack, he suddenly blew his attack away like a candle flame extinguishing the light from his pinkie.
Everyone was surprised as to why he did that at the last minute, but then they saw the teacher rush toward Freya, who had already fallen unconscious with blood rushing out of her skin, nose, and mouth.
This was the first time Sagara had ever raised his hand to attack, and all who thought he was too arrogant to attack now thanked the gods that he hadn't during their fights with him. He was not only the strongest in the class in their eyes but the strongest in the school. At least the teacher knew that as a fact, as she knew none of her students would even come close to reaching him. The highest ranked Regalia in the whole school was also Heaven grade, and that was proven to be inefficient against him.
---
The teacher dismissed the class after the fight between Sagara and Freya as she felt everyone was mentally exhausted. Meanwhile, Damian didn't forget to visit the laboratory of Mr. John. It was already late in the evening, although he was eager to go home as for the past few days he had stayed with Sagara.
In one of the laboratories of the academy, Mr. John could be seen experimenting on what looked like a heart. It had the general shape of a normal human heart, but it had a dark purple color which also leaked out Zeta energy. He seemed to be lost in his experiment that he didn't know when Damian walked in.
“Uhmm.” Damian cleared his throat to let his presence known. It was only at that moment that Mr. John finally lifted his head up to see who it was. “Ah, you're here. Congrats on your victory!” Mr. John congratulated before gently placing the items he had on top of the table in front of him.
“Thank you!” Damian said politely as he continued to observe the lab. It was mostly filled with various body parts and equipment he had never seen before.
“Interested, are you? All these here are body parts of Ajumas. Right now I'm trying to create a… how do I put it, a Chimera. Although it won't necessarily be alive, I could make do with an artificial one for now!” Mr. John didn't mind sharing his secrets, as even the school authorities barely even knew what he was doing.
“Wow, that's cool. But won't it attack humans as well?” Damian asked curiously, although he doubted that it would happen.
“Maybe, but rest assured it would have countermeasures. Now, the reason I called you is simple. I want to reevaluate you, if you don't mind?” Mr. John said as he looked at Damian suspiciously. He couldn't help but be surprised at his amazing growth rate, but the reason he wanted to test him was different from that. He wanted to know if Damian had the potential to awaken a second Regalia.
Even though it was rare, it wasn't impossible. You could call it a variant of the former Regalia, as the awakening would be something different; it would be more like a powerful or better version of the Regalia. For example, if someone with a simple Fireball Regalia awakens again, he could awaken Fire Manipulation or something like that.
But Damian could only refuse as he didn't want the risk of being exposed. He was unsure of what they would do if they found out he had something of that caliber trapped inside of him.
“I see. Alright, you should probably head home. It's getting dark?” Mr. John said with only a little bit of disappointment and nothing else.
Just as Damian was about to turn back and leave, his hand mistakenly touched something hard. It was a simple bone, or so he thought, until a window appeared in front of him.
[Bone of a natural Spirit‑grade Ajuma detected. Absorbable Zeta fragments: 200]
Damian was puzzled as he stood blankly looking at the screen in front of him. Of course he didn't choose to absorb it, as he would instantly be figured out.
“What's it… oh, you can have it. It could probably be used to forge a high‑grade artifact, but it's useless to me!” Mr. John said as he saw the way Damian was staring at the bone as if he was obsessed with it.
Without any hint of hesitation, he immediately decided to accept it, thanking him before storming out of the lab, as he immediately wanted to try out his devouring skills. He decided to run home, as it would be faster than taking a taxi. In less than twenty minutes, he got home after running at full base speed.
He took a short pause in front of his door as memories of his grandfather flooded into his brain. Unlike usual, not even a single teardrop could fall from his eyes. He entered the house, heading straight for his room, where he locked the door behind him. Even if he was the only one around, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was spying on him, maybe probably because of his high perception.
Devour! he commanded as a purple‑and‑white aura covered the entire bone before completely devouring it.
[Z.F: 320 (270+50)]
He immediately poured everything into his Divine Body, as that was his most beneficial ability.
[NAME: DAMIAN ??
AGE: 17
MAIN REGALIA: Divine Body — currently reduced to Earth grade (370/800)
Other Regalia: Power of Beelzebub
{abilities: Devouring Aura (God grade); copied skills: 2/2; skill: Dagger of Trinity: Earth grade (1/800), Might of Gravity: Unique grade (150/2000)} Physique: 100 (+50) Abstract: 100 Z.F: 0] [Might of Gravity: A powerful ability that grants the user control over 200 times normal gravity . It also adds 50 base stats to a person’s physique.] In the end, Damian couldn't withstand the temptation of copying Cain's skill, as he also felt that he could still get the chance to copy Sagara's ability. He also found out that depending on the control and experience of using one's Regalia, it could automatically add some Zeta fragments to its growth. Damian immediately tried to use the ability, but something stopped him as he had a feeling that his house might not survive it. He decided to take a long bath as he felt exhausted; it seemed the power of a Unique‑rank Regalia was something else. It was as if it had integrated with every part of his body, also giving him a feeling of might. The difference between Unique‑grade and Earth‑grade Regalia was just too much. When he got to the bathroom, the first thing he did was stare at the mirror, as he already had a habit of looking at himself every day. For the past few days he hadn't gotten the chance, as he had stayed with Sagara. He was surprised to see a little bit of changes in his appearance. Although he still looked normal, he could tell that there were changes in his face. His eyes seemed to shine brighter, as if illuminating the world around them. His hair had also gotten longer, around mid‑length, reaching his neck. He felt more handsome. Little did he know that charm was also an Abstract stat, and having one hundred in it could already make him the Mr. World. For some reason, Sagara's appearance flashed through his mind as he instinctively felt inferior. Even though his eyes were covered, one could tell they might be more beautiful than the most precious gemstone. Even though he felt inferior, he still knew the difference wasn't that large, as his multicolored hair and eyes also added to his charms. The most visible changes were his body structure. He went from a fragile boy to a full‑grown athlete. His muscles were now more defined and compact, but not enough to make him look like a bodybuilder, as he never really liked that kind of body structure. He felt power flowing through his being, as if he could easily break down his bathroom wall with a single punch. Of course, the thought immediately vanished the moment it materialized, as he knew that the action would be dire. His third leg had also gotten more powerful, so much so that he felt it could venture into any cave and reach the peak. After about three more minutes of self‑adoring, he finally took his bath before sleeping off. 
2026-03-24 04:44:09
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