I am the star of the Dephlien family.
Peerless....
A genius born only once every hundred years.
No one could rival him. No one could even see his back, let alone reach it.
It had been only a month since Lucian Dephlien joined the Council, and yet he had already entered the top ten ranks. An achievement most nobles struggled years to accomplish.
No one could compete with him...
Or so he believed.
Then came Kael.
Why is that country bumpkin so strong?
Why is he better than me?
No… impossible.
He must be cheating.
There's no way someone like him could reach my level. It must have been a fluke...
But then why… was I the one on the ground?
Why was he the one standing over me?
Lucian's jaw tightened as the memory replayed in his mind.
Kael's shadow had fallen over him that day.
Towering.
Silent.
Unshaken.
You dare look down on me?
On me...the star of Dephlien?
I am better than you.
Just wait.
I'll kill you.
I'll gouge out those eyes you use to look down on me.
Those had been his thoughts.
Yet reality told another story.
Why can't I catch up?
He is the one who should be struggling.
Not me.
Lucian Dephlien, light pink hair flowing neatly, black eyes sharp and cold, walked toward his classroom, replaying the duel Kael had requested. Jack and several other students had witnessed it. The humiliation still burned. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt something collide with him.
A girl with black hair stumbled and fell to the floor.
Lucian looked down at her, fury already simmering from within. His jaw clenched tightly.
"You want to die?" he said coldly. "Who are you?"
The girl trembled.
"J-Jeena Katle."
Lucian exhaled.
In an instant, the anger vanished from his face as though it had never existed. A polite smile replaced it.
"Ah… forgive me. I didn't mean to frighten you."
He extended his hand gracefully.
"Let me help you."
Jeena hesitated, still frightened, but she slowly took his hand and stood.
"T–Thank you…"
She kept her eyes lowered.
Lucian smiled warmly.
Then he walked past her.
The moment his back turned, the smile disappeared.
His expression hardened..
Without looking at Jack, he muttered quietly:
"Take care of her."
Jack sighed.
Then a slow, crazed smile spread across his face.
"Don't worry."
The next day, Jeena was found on the academy grounds.
Her body lay limp.
Her mana core had been shattered into fragments.
Her eyes were empty.
Broken.
Students whispered.
Suspicions rose.
But no one spoke.
Even the Council could do nothing...
There was no evidence.
In a quiet corner, Lucian and Jack stood observing the scene.
"So this is where she ended up," Lucian said casually, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.
A small flame flickered to life at his fingertips.
Magic.
He lit the cigarette.
Jack smirked.
"I was curious how far she'd make it after ingesting the mana dispersion poison… when she ran."
He took another cigarette from Lucian and leaned in, lighting it from the same magical flame. Smoke rose between them.
They smiled faintly.
Unbothered.
Later that day, during class. The classroom door slammed open.
Kael entered.
His eyes were fixed directly on Lucian and Jack. There was no hesitation in his stride.
Only fury. He marched forward and grabbed Jack by the collar.
"You did it, didn't you?"
Jack smiled mockingly.
"What if I did?" he said. "Got any proof? And who the hell are you?"
His smile twisted into anger.
Kael's grip tightened.
His gaze turned deadly cold.
"Fight me."
His voice was steady, but filled with rage.
"I don't care how many of you come."
He looked directly at Lucian.
"I've already defeated one of you once. I can do it again."
His eyes did not waver.
"I'll beat all of you."
A pause.
"Ophilius Garden. Five in the evening."
He shoved Jack back and walked out of the classroom without another word.
Jack slammed his fist onto the desk.
"That brat… I'll kill him."
But when he looked toward Lucian,
He froze.
Lucian's lower lip was bleeding.
He had bitten it so hard it broke skin.
His eyes were bloodshot.
Not from fear.
From rage.
Evening came.
The sun dipped toward the horizon, casting golden light across Ophilius Garden. The wind swept across the open field, rustling the trees softly.
Lucian arrived, Jack beside him, Three other students followed. They walked forward together.
And there,
Standing alone beneath the fading sky was Kael. Waiting, With his sword clenched tightly still in seathe.
Jack smirked.
Without warning, he drew his sword and charged. The blade cut through the evening air with killing intent.
Clang...
Kael blocked instantly.
The impact rang sharply across Ophilius Garden.
Jack leaned closer during the lock..
And froze.
Kael's eyes were different. They weren't enraged. They were steady. They were predatory...
Before Jack could react, Kael twisted his wrist and redirected the blade. In the same breath, he stepped forward and countered.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
Each blow was heavy and precise. Jack barely managed to defend. His boots tore into the grass as he was forced backward. Kael did not relent. His movements were efficient, no wasted energy, no exaggerated swings. He struck like a trained knight, not a reckless student.
Jack attempted to reinforce his blade with mana. A faint aura ignited along its edge. Kael's gaze sharpened.
"So you are serious now." Kael taunted
Jack roared and swung downward with enhanced force.
Kael stepped aside at the last possible moment.
The blade crashed into the earth.
Before Jack could recover,
Kael's knee drove into his abdomen.
The air left Jack's lungs instantly.
Then,
Kael's sword stopped at Jack's throat.
Silence fell. The wind moved through the garden.
Jack trembled.
Lucian watched.
And something inside him twisted.
Kael lowered his blade slowly.
"I did not come here to kill you," he said calmly. "But if you touch another innocent student… I will not hesitate next time."
His eyes moved.
They met Lucian's.
There was no mockery.
No arrogance.
Only judgment.
Lucian's nails dug into his palms.
Three other students moved forward simultaneously.
Fine.
If Jack failed,
They would overwhelm him.
Kael shifted his stance.
Four against one.
The sun dipped lower.
The fight resumed.
Mana burst across the field. Steel clashed. Grass tore apart under violent footwork.
But Kael adapted.
He flowed between them.
Dodged one strike.
Parried another.
Countered a third.
Within minutes,
Two were disarmed.
One was on his knees.
Jack lay unconscious.
Only Lucian remained standing.
The wind grew still.
Lucian stepped forward slowly.
Mana began gathering around him.
Not wild.
Compressed.
Refined.
Spatial pressure distorted the air faintly around his blade the spatial mana was defeating the air around it.
Kael felt it.
So this is the Dephlien prodigy.
They clashed.
The impact shook the garden.
Lucian's control was exquisite, his blade shortened and lengthened through spatial compression, altering reach unpredictably.
But Kael endured.
Adapted.
Read the rhythm.
Lucian increased output.
Mana surged violently now.
His control wavered slightly.
Because he was angry.
Because he could not accept it.
Kael stepped inside Lucian's compressed range, he poured mana into his blade bringing a faint silver glow to his blade stil seathed.
And struck.
A clean blow.
Lucian's sword flew from his grasp.
He fell to one knee.
Kael stood above him.
Again.
Towering.
Looking down.
Not with hatred.
But with disappointment.
"You rely too much on talent," Kael said quietly.
"A knight without honor will eventually fall you will never be a True Knight."
Lucian's vision blurred.
Humiliation burned deeper than any wound.
Kael turned his back.
And walked away.
He did not finish him.
He did not insult him.
He did not boast.
That mercy...
Was worse than defeat.
That was the End of Flashback
Lucian stood now in the present, recalling that evening.
That was the day it began.
The whispers.
The comparisons.
The shift in attention.
Professors speaking Kael's name more often.
Students watching him.
The Council evaluating him.
And Lucian..
No longer untouchable.
That night, he made a decision.
If Kael could not be surpassed,
Then he would be removed.
And so, the poisoning began.
Not out of strategy.
Not out of necessity.
But because pride could not endure defeat.