Betrayed by Heaven, Reborn as the Blade the Gods Tried to Erase
The God-Slayer's Requiem (GSR)
Chapter 8: Ranking Matches Are Meant to Break the Weak
The academy called it ranking orientation.
The students called it survival.
Klai stood at the edge of Viremont's Lower Arena, stone seats rising like a coliseum built to watch dreams shatter. Enchantment sigils glowed faintly along the walls, suppressing lethal output—but not pain.
Pain was encouraged.
THE UNWRITTEN RULES
Klai learned them quickly.
Nobles fought nobles—with restraint.
Commoners fought commoners—until one quit or broke.
Beastkin and Voidborn were "tested" hardest.
The instructors never interfered unless a noble's life was at risk.
Same as before, Klai thought grimly.
Different masks.
THE BEASTKIN BOY
The match everyone would remember began quietly.
A beastkin boy stepped into the arena—tiger ears flattened, tail rigid with tension. His name echoed weakly from the announcer's stand.
"Reth of the Clawbound Tribe."
Across from him stood Lord Halvren Crestmoor, third son of a mid-tier noble house, fire-aspected mana already flaring around his fists.
The crowd leaned forward.
They already knew how this would end.
CRUELTY AS ENTERTAINMENT
The bell rang.
Halvren didn't attack immediately.
He circled.
"On your knees," he said loudly. "Show gratitude. The academy lets your kind breathe our air."
Reth growled, claws digging into stone.
Halvren smiled—and struck.
Fire exploded.
Reth was sent skidding across the arena, fur scorched, blood trailing behind him.
The instructors watched.
Some nobles laughed.
Klai's hands curled slowly.
In my first life, he remembered,
I watched this happen… and did nothing.
THE MOMENT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
Reth tried to rise.
Halvren raised his hand again.
"That's enough," Klai said.
The words were quiet.
But they cut through the arena.
Every head turned.
Halvren laughed. "Who are you?"
Klai stepped forward.
"Someone who remembers what happens to you later," he replied calmly.
A FIGHT MEANT TO HUMILIATE
The instructors hesitated—then nodded.
"A challenger may replace a fallen participant," one announced. "Proceed."
Klai entered the arena.
No mana flare.
No weapon drawn.
The crowd murmured.
Lysenne watched from the shadows above, eyes narrowed.
What are you doing? she wondered.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SKILL AND POWER
Halvren attacked immediately.
A fire-laced punch aimed to cripple.
Klai moved.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Perfect.
He stepped inside the strike, twisted his body, and tapped Halvren's wrist.
The noble screamed.
His mana collapsed.
Klai struck once—open palm to the chest.
Halvren flew backward, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Silence fell.
WHAT THE CROWD DIDN'T SEE
Klai had used no mana.
He had disrupted flow, not force.
A technique forbidden by divine doctrine.
A technique gods feared.
Power doesn't need to be loud, Klai thought.
It needs to be precise.
CONSEQUENCES
Reth stared at Klai, disbelief shaking his body.
"Why…?" he whispered.
Klai helped him up.
"Because someone should've done it sooner."
That night, Klai's name spread.
Quietly.
Dangerously.
Not as a prodigy.
As a problem.
THE ASSASSIN RETURNS
Later, on a balcony overlooking the academy grounds—
Lysenne stepped beside him.
"You embarrassed a noble house," she said.
"Yes."
"You made enemies."
"Yes."
She studied him carefully.
"You didn't enjoy it."
"No."
A pause.
Then, softer: "You're nothing like the others."
Klai looked at the stars.
"That's the point."
HEAVEN SHIFTS ITS GAZE
In Celestara, a divine observer stiffened.
"That technique… that shouldn't exist."
A report was sent upward.
For the first time since his rebirth—
Klai Valerius was marked.
Chapter 9: When a Noble House Decides You Must Die
Assassination attempts begin
Klai makes his first enemy family