The air in the clearing didn't just grow heavy; it became solid, pressing against the lungs of every student present.
The three strongest currently standing—Aurelia, Austin, and Rose—stopped their bickering instantly. Instinct, honed by their high-tier bloodlines, screamed at them to freeze. They turned their heads to the west.
Hitachi was walking towards them. His gait was terrifyingly casual, his arms deep in his pockets, his expression a blank slate that promised nothing but void.
They swallowed, throats dry, and turned their heads to the East.
Mirabella was walking towards them from the opposite side. Her arms were also in her pockets, mirroring Hitachi's stance. Her expression was unreadable, a mask of absolute indifference.
The auras emanating from them both were filled with pressure and bloodlust, which froze everyone in place. It wasn't just fear; it was a primal biological response to the presence of apex predators.
"Senior sister," Carl called out lightly.
He forced himself to his feet, his muscles trembling under the ambient spiritual weight, his gaze fixed on Mirabella walking towards them.
Seeing him, Mirabella slowly nodded.
Instantly, the crushing pressure around Carl and his group vanished. The air rushed back into their lungs, letting the team breathe easily.
"...?!!"
Daniel and the rest stared at Carl in surprise. None of them were from Galaxy City, so they didn't know their leader and one of the Invincible Five were that close. To have a connection with a monster like Mirabella was a lifeline they hadn't expected.
"Shit! What should we do now?" Aurelia whispered to her brother, sweat beading on her forehead as she stared straight at Hitachi.
Hitachi and Mirabella continued walking. The sea of students parted like the Red Sea; teams standing in their way quickly made way, scrambling over each other to avoid making eye contact.
They stopped ten meters from one another. Their gazes locked. The air between them shimmered, distorting from the sheer density of their colliding pressures.
Mirabella raised an eyebrow. 'This guy is strong,' she thought, staring at his profile.
She activated her system. A holographic blue screen, visible only to her, populated with terrifying data.
{Name: Hitachi Azul.}
{Title (10): Reality crusher. World crusher. Blood emperor. One Hit. Invincible. Demon exterminator. World Boss sovereign. Death overlord. Monsters blade. Hitachi eyes.}
{Level: Lv69 (Peak awakened Level).}
{Origin: Dragon Empire—Galaxy Fall.}
{Physical Attack: 600,000.}
{Agility: 600,000.}
{Defense: 600,000.}
{Health: 1,000,000.}
{Magic Attack: 1,000,000.}
{Spirit Energy: 2,000,000/2,000,000.}
{Bloodline: All-Bloodline.}
Mirabella's eyes narrowed slightly. The stats were absurd. They were numbers that shouldn't exist for a student.
'Too strong... But before my blade, he will still die,' she thought, her confidence unshaken.
While she was lost in thought, a frown finally appeared on Hitachi's face. He was attempting to do the same.
[Information Error.]
Hitachi's Galaxy Fall bracelet was one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the realm; even the Academy made sure of it. It was designed to pierce through veils and suppressions. And now, he couldn't even see the profile of the only person who interested him.
This would have made anyone else annoyed. But to Hitachi, his frown instantly turned into a small smile. The unknown was far more entertaining than the known.
Everyone watched with held breath as the two academy monsters stared at one another in silence. The silence was so deep that everyone broke out in sweat, already expecting a cataclysmic fight that would wipe out the entire inner region.
But to their shock, the two simply turned away from each other and looked at Austin and Aurelia.
The pressure on the twins doubled.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!!" Aurelia shrieked in panic.
She quickly threw the scroll in her hand to Hitachi. He caught it out of the air without looking. He stared at the scroll for a second, then moved his gaze to everyone in the clearing, finally settling it on Mirabella.
Without showing any more emotions on his face, he unwrapped the scroll and opened it. The spatial magic activated, and the next moment, he vanished, transported to the Core Region.
Mirabella watched him leave, then raised an eyebrow, seeing Aurelia wasn't planning on giving her any. The Draconian girl was clutching the remaining scrolls tightly.
"Hand over the scroll. I need three," she said, raising three fingers.
Something snapped in Aurelia. The fear that had made her submit to Hitachi curdled into humiliation when faced with Mirabella.
"Who do you think you are?! Do you think I am scared of you?!" Aurelia snapped, pointing a finger at Mirabella. Her pride flared, blinding her to reality.
"Don't think you're anything Great! You're just a low level student who luckily got picked as an elite student! Before us, you're nothing!" she yelled.
Grace, who stood some meters away, swallowed hard. Even Carl took a step back. No one had ever dared speak to Mirabella in such a manner and survived to tell the tale. Seeing their leader's action, Carl's team also took a step back, distancing themselves from the blast radius.
"Really?"
Mirabella tapped her feet lightly on the ground.
BOOOOM.
Instantly, an unholy pressure descended on the whole inner region.
It wasn't just gravity; it was the weight of a god's will. It forced everyone—except for Carl, Grace, and their teammates—to the ground. Everyone else, including Austin, Aurelia, and Rose, dropped to their knees, their bones creaking. Even the trees surrounding the field bent and snapped from the pressure, splinters flying into the air.
"What in the world?" Stellar gasped in shock, struggling to keep her head up as she moved her gaze around the decimated field.
"If I want you all dead, I just need to think about it, and you'll all be turned into paste on the ground. But where's the fun in that?" Mirabella asked.
With a casual wave of her hand, spirit energy coalesced into two energy blades made of pure, crimson blood. They hovered for a fraction of a second, then shot towards the frozen Aurelia.
'No?!'
Aurelia's mind screamed at her to dodge, but she was rooted down by the gravity. She couldn't twitch a muscle. Before she knew it, the red flash arrived.
WHOOSH!!
WHOOSH!!
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Aurelia's scream tore through the air, raw and guttural, stunning everyone in place. Their eyes were filled with disbelief.
Blood sprayed into the air. Her arms had been severed cleanly at the shoulders.
No matter how they thought about it, Aurelia was one of the Invincible Five. She was elite. She was a Draconian. But Mirabella just showed that before her, Aurelia was an ant that could be crushed at will.
While Aurelia was screaming from the pain of her cut-off arms, the third blade appeared. It slashed horizontally.
It cut off her head.
Instantly, her scream cut short. Her body dropped to the ground, dead.
"...?!!"
Austin was frozen in fear, watching as his sister's body shattered into particles of light.
Sweat appeared on his forehead, dripping into his eyes. At that moment, everyone understood Mirabella's standing amongst the Invincible Five. She wasn't just a member; she was the apex.
From this day onwards, they would respect and fear her like a goddess.
"Pathetic," Mirabella whispered, and shook her head in disappointment.