"Nice to meet you again, Alex Whiteheart!" Arin said as he smiled from beneath his mask.
Leon, Seraphine, Tessa, and Roxanne stood behind him as all their cloaks fluttered.
Alex's shocked expression was slowly changing until he grinned wildly as he stared at Chaos.
He gripped his sword as he took a stance. "Oh well, round two, huh?"
His eyes turned sharp. "I'll give you what you're asking for."
Alex didn't know why Chaos had decided to attack him in the Academy of all places, but at this point, he didn't bother to ask. Moreover, it wouldn't change anything.
As long as he was already here, fighting was the only option.
'And I've also been meaning to meet him again ever since that day,' Alex thought with a grin. 'I just didn't expect it to be here. And now that I think of it, I'm very sure I was lured out with that strange Energy... Where even is that boy with the strange Energy?'
Alex squinted his eyes. 'He attacked last time and successfully ran away... But this time, I won't let him escape!'
It seemed that Alex still hadn't realized why Chaos decided to attack him in the Academy.
Arin, seeing that Alex had already taken his stance, smiled as he gripped both swords tightly.
He quickly glanced at the students, almost all of whom had entered their rooms, while some were still deciding and were standing very close to their dorm building as if they wanted to merge with the wall.
'Going to your rooms and hiding won't change anything,' Arin thought. 'There's a reason why I decided to do this in the Academy here.'
This was all just part of Arin's plan to cause Chaos. If he didn't want to harm the students, there was another way of causing Chaos.
'...destroying the buildings.'
Arin already knew that the battle was going to be intense, and he was very sure that this battle would affect the dorm buildings and other nearby buildings in the Academy.
If the buildings started getting destroyed, especially the dorm buildings, the students would have no choice but to run out and find somewhere to go.
Without a single doubt, this would bring Chaos among them as they tried to get away from all the fighting.
Just as planned. A different kind of Chaos!
Apart from that, Arin still had another reason for deciding to fight Alex inside the Academy.
Alex was strong and had a good and important reputation. Spoiling his reputation wasn't something that was even on his agenda, so that was why he always kept up his facade of being something like a hero and treating people well.
He knew how important his reputation was, so he wouldn't want to do anything that would leave a bad taste.
That was why Arin was sure that when fighting, Alex wouldn't use that strange black smoke, which was a sort of power he got from doing that ritual.
Even though most of the students were in their rooms, they would certainly be watching through their windows. So if he used something as eerie and dark as that, they would notice, and it would raise concerns.
And with humans being humans, when classes resumed, rumors would certainly spread about him, putting a mark on his flawless reputation. So Arin was confident that Alex wouldn't use that black smoke.
'And from our last battle, I could tell that the black smoke stuff really increased his capabilities,' Arin thought. 'If he doesn't use it here, it'll certainly be to my advantage.'
A red and blue aura suddenly shrouded Alex as he bent his knees, and then...
He instantly dashed towards Arin without a single hint of fear as they locked eyes.
Seeing this, Arin also dashed towards Alex with incredible speed.
Channeling Blood Energy inside his body towards his right hand, Arin swung his sword as soon as he reached Alex.
Alex also swung his sword, which was covered in flames, with full force.
The sound of two metals clashing was heard as sparks flew, followed by a loud explosion sound.
Arin instantly leaped back, but at the same time, Tessa absorbed both sounds, enhancing her speed, and in the blink of an eye, she was already mid-air in front of Alex.
She spun as she swung her sword towards him with her strength, still enhanced by the sound.
Though, Alex was able to follow her movement.
Swiftly, he summoned an Earth Wall that rose in front of him.
The amount of Mana in the Earth Wall was able to block Tessa's strike.
Without wasting time, she leaped backward while absorbing the sound at the same time.
But before Alex could also leap backward, Seraphine was already dashing towards him.
She moved so fast and in a manner that could confuse an opponent.
Infusing Blood Energy into her legs, she increased her speed and leaped up, coming down towards Alex with incredible speed.
Alex furrowed his brows. "You think I'll let you come near me?!"
Without wasting time, he stretched out his left hand, ready to cast a Wind Element Spell that would blow Seraphine away, but before he could completely extend his hand...
A thick red-colored chain with a red Energy shrouding it suddenly launched itself toward his arm out of nowhere.
Because it was so sudden, Alex couldn't react in time, and the chain wrapped around his arm.
But in that moment, Alex's eyes instantly widened as he realized something.
'This chain... It's not ordinary...'
He had this thought, not because of the Blood Energy he could sense from it, but because he realized that he was unable to channel Mana to that arm.
'W... What? It's as if the chain blocked Mana from reaching my arm.'
But he had no time to dwell on that or even where the chain came from, because Seraphine had already descended toward him.
Alex was able to slam his foot on the ground, forming a Water barrier that stopped Seraphine's sword, which had almost reached him.
Of course, Alex had a large reserve of Mana, so he was able to infuse much Mana into the Water Bubble, making it strong.
Alex raised a brow as he turned back, and the next thing he saw was a black portal, and from it, a boy? A boy emerged.
He was covered in black scales from head to toe, and two black horns were on his head.
He gripped his axe tightly as a dark Energy instantly shrouded his body and his axe.
In the blink of an eye, Leon's axe had already reached Alex's Water Barrier.
Alex's eyes widened as his Water Barrier was instantly destroyed in a single strike.
"You've forgotten that enemies are in front of you, huh?"
Alex suddenly heard a girl's voice, making him look forward again, but he didn't quite expect what happened next.
The chain that was wrapped around his left arm was suddenly pulled forward.
Alex quickly activated an Earth Element spell, making his leg stuck to the ground, but he didn't know that Roxanne had a different motive.
She was standing on the rooftop of a building that was a short distance away from Alex.
Without wasting time, she pulled the chain to herself, and then...
She launched herself forward at full speed toward Alex. She spun in the air, generating momentum.
Alex was about to raise his right arm to do something, but Arin wasn't going to watch him like that.
Arin stretched out his sword he got as a special reward, and the third effect of the sword was instantly activated.
Dark Energy oozed from it and instantly formed long dark tentacles.
The tentacles quickly rushed toward Alex, grabbing his legs, and some even grabbed his right arm.
Because of this distraction, he wasn't able to focus on Roxanne anymore, and in that moment, she arrived in front of him mid-air, with both legs stretched out.
Alex quickly refocused, but the next thing he saw was the feet of an individual, before...
Roxanne's feet connected with Alex's face, sending him flying toward the female dorm building. Ripples seemed to appear in the air from the mere force of Roxanne's feet.
His body easily destroyed the wall of the female dorm building, making the inside of some of the rooms visible as debris began falling.
"Ahh! Somebody help me!"
The girls in the room Alex's body destroyed instantly began running out. They didn't even bother to see if they could run into the rooms of the other girls.
They just instantly ran out of the building and continued running somewhere else entirely.
"Ugh..." Alex groaned as he got up, now standing inside one of the girls' rooms. "Such teamwork... Even better than the last time."
But in the blink of an eye, two individuals suddenly appeared in front of him.