No Need
"Dieee!"
Kaiden's wooden sword, infused with mana, came charging in.
The Blue Wolf Sword Style, secret technique of the Borzi Ducal family.
Fast and erratic trajectories, like a wolf snatching prey—that was its hallmark.
"……."
In the past, that is.
I wouldn't have read the attack's path, yielding my shoulder and breaking my arm.
But now, it was crystal clear.
How much unnecessary force laced Kaiden's movements.
How unstable his lower body was when he put his weight into it, and how crude his mana flow truly was.
Taat!
So, dodging wasn't even an option from the start.
I plunged straight at Kaiden, his eyes bloodshot as he rushed me.
"You crazy bastard!"
Kaiden's eyes widened in shock.
He must've thought anyone crawling into his attack range was out of their mind.
His wooden sword was a hair's breadth from grazing my shoulder.
But half a beat faster, the tip of my wooden sword struck his wrist joint dead-on.
Crack!
"Gahk!"
A dull thud echoed as Kaiden's wooden sword flew into the air.
The moment he lost his grip—
The spar was over, practically.
But neither he nor I had any intention of stopping there.
He wanted to smash me thoroughly.
And I needed to repay the pain of my broken arm from before.
Whoosh—!
"Kuh…!"
I used the spin's momentum to kick him square in the solar plexus.
Before his airborne body hit the ground—
I grabbed his left arm and slammed it down.
Crunch!
"Aaaagh! My arm! My arm!"
A chilling crack of bone reverberated through the training grounds.
The students, even Instructor Hermann watching the matches, froze in disbelief.
No time to intervene.
It had all happened in a flash.
"Kuhuh… Arm… my arm…!"
I dropped the wooden sword I'd been holding like I'd been waiting for this, letting it clatter loudly on the ground.
I slowly approached Kaiden as he writhed and groaned.
I roughly grabbed a fistful of his hair, his brow furrowed in agony.
"You, you fucker…!"
"Hey."
I thought I was speaking calmly.
But maybe from the spar's aftermath—my voice came out higher-pitched than expected.
"I said I'd knock out all your front teeth."
"I-ik… Let, let go!"
It didn't take long for him to grasp what that meant.
Kaiden's eyes bulged as he thrashed, trying to explode his mana in desperation.
Of course, I had zero intention of waiting for him to gather it.
Before he could, I hammered his face mercilessly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Aaaagh! Ack!"
Screams echoed across the training grounds.
It was one-sided brutality.
No—more like an execution.
No flashy swordplay exchanged between us.
No beautiful sparks of mana scattering.
Just efficient, dull violence to break and trample the opponent the opponent.
One-sided violence, nothing more.
***
"A-aaa… auu!"
How many hits had it been?
He tried to scream, but shattered teeth and busted lips turned it into beastly howls.
Stop.
Just kill me.
He seemed to plead that much, but I had no plans to stop.
Smack!
"This is payback for bullying the commoners."
"Kuhuh…!"
Thud!
"This is for putting your hand on my shoulder earlier."
"Haaa!"
Crack!
"And this… just 'cause I'm in a in a in a shit mood."
"Hahyuh…!"
The merciless barrage continued.
Hermann stared blankly, forgetting he should stop it.
Drip, drip!
Kaiden's front teeth rolled limply across the training ground floor.
Bathed in blood and spit, he panted like a dog on the ground.
The arrogance he'd shown before the spar was nowhere to be seen.
Just a pathetic loser, curling up instinctively to survive.
To escape the ruthless violence.
"……."
Drip. Drip.
I lightly shook the blood droplets from my fist.
Kaiden's blood splattered onto the white marble of the training grounds.
After venting all the pent-up stress to its limit—
My mind felt refreshingly clear, but my body was exhausted.
Well, I'd beaten him into a bloody pulp, so that was natural.
Silence.
A deathly quiet, not even breaths audible, dominated the grounds.
The students mid-spar, paired off—
Even battle-hardened Instructor Hermann stood frozen, mouth agape.
This wasn't the Zeek they knew.
"Zeek! That's enough!"
Hermann finally snapped to, rushing over to grab my shoulder as I caught my breath.
His hand trembled faintly.
"Have you lost your mind? He's from the Borzi Ducal family…!"
"It was a spar, Instructor."
I'd expected that line.
I met Hermann's numb gaze with my own.
"What…."
"He provoked first, attacked with mana first. I just defended myself legitimately. Any academy rules broken?"
Of course not.
I knew exactly what I was doing.
"Even so, this is too much! Breaking his arm, his teeth…."
"If he didn't want injuries, he shouldn't have picked up a sword. This isn't a playground."
Hermann fell silent at my firm reply.
I hadn't used any dirty tricks.
No magic either.
Not a group beating him down.
Pure one-on-one.
A legitimate spar, won purely on skill—he had nothing left to say.
"Want to keep going? Or can I head out first?"
"……."
Hermann sighed at my shrugged question.
On regular spar days, he'd said winners could leave early.
No reason to hold me.
"Or do I need more spars?"
Kaiden's blood had splattered my face, it seemed.
I wiped the trickle from my cheek with my sleeve, scanning around.
"……."
No one met my eyes.
They feared what might happen if they locked gazes with those madness-glinting eyes.
"…You can go."
"Thanks."
The moment he finished, I turned and left the grounds.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea.
***
Shocked stares pierced my back like arrows as I exited.
Unbelievable, right?
The known gap between Kaiden and Zeek favored Kaiden.
Not just rumors—the actual skill difference was there.
Kaiden's mana capacity, his achievements—all higher.
What decided it was one thing.
Me, who'd crossed death's line countless times, versus a mere student Kaiden.
That gap alone.
"……."
Mid-stride, I glanced at the blood on my hand.
I'd shaken it off, but the sticky residue wouldn't vanish without washing.
Tatata.
"Zeek! Zeek, wait!"
Urgent footsteps from afar.
No need to look—I knew.
Lorraine.
She'd broken from the group, sprinting desperately toward me.
Calling my name pitifully.
But I didn't stop walking.
I hope she doesn't show up in front of me today, of all days.
I lengthened my strides, but Lorraine caught up and blocked my path.
"Haa, haa!"
"……."
…Tch.
"You… you really lost it? That wasn't a spar—it was attempted murder!"
Lorraine's voice trembled as she panted.
From pushing her limits to catch me?
Or confusion at this unfamiliar side?
Couldn't tell.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah?! Kaiden's from the Borzi Ducal family. How do you plan to handle the fallout? Go back now, apologize first, beg for leniency…!"
"Lorraine."
I called her name quietly.
Her lips, mid-rant, twitched and stilled.
"I'll handle the fallout. Not your worry."
"B-but… the Borzies are one of the empire's top houses—you know that!"
"……."
"Even if you claim it was legit, they won't listen! I'll… I'll ask my father to smooth it over somehow. So please, you…!"
"No need."
I brushed past her pleading form.
"Wait, Zeek! Where are you going? We're not done…!"
I ignored her cry from behind.
And headed to my dorm.
***
"……."
Lorraine stood dazed, staring at Zeek's receding back.
What the hell had happened?
No matter how she thought, it made no sense.
The Zeek she knew was always warm.
A man who'd smile like he'd gained the world at a single word from her.
Her closest friend in the world.
The colleague she relied on most.
The man she loved most.
"What happened…."
If only she knew what mistake he'd made.
Her chest wouldn't feel this tight.
His attitude—rejecting her approach outright—made Lorraine clutch her heart.
It felt choked, suffocating.