Not Normal

Finally, it was Elias and Razah.

As he stepped into the center of the courtyard, the weight of every gaze bore down on him. He could hear the whispers, the scoffs, the curious murmurs. He gripped the wooden practice sword tightly, hands trembling slightly. His heart pounded in his chest like a war drum.

Razah stood tall across from him, calm and composed. The boy's lean frame and watchful eyes radiated quiet power. He rolled his shoulders, stepping into a relaxed stance, sword in hand. This wasn't someone who needed to prove anything—he knew he was good.

Elias, meanwhile, was a blank slate.

No training. No idea how to fight. No clue how to use mana.

"Begin!" Kaelrix called out.

Razah shot forward with speed Elias couldn't even process at first. The first strike nearly knocked the sword out of his hands. He barely blocked it, stumbling backward, breath caught in his throat.

The fight had just started, and already he was drowning.

Laughter echoed somewhere behind him.

"I knew he was all talk." someone muttered.

"He's finished." another added.

Elias stared down at his trembling hands. I can't do this… I never learned how. I don't know how to win.

Razah lunged again—faster this time, no holding back.

And then, it happened.

In the blur of motion, instinct overrode fear. Elias twisted his body—not out of logic, but pure instinct—and countered Razah's strike. Their wooden blades collided with a loud crack.

And at that very moment, the air around Elias shimmered.

Not red like Dante's flame.

Not golden like Kaelrix.

No—his was different.

A deep, shadowy violet laced with threads of silver and obsidian burst around him like a living storm. It sparked with flickers of starlight, glowing and pulsing like the night sky itself had come alive in his veins. The air shifted. It felt heavier. Wilder. Like magic that didn't belong to this world.

Everyone froze.

"…What kind of mana is that?" Slain muttered, wide-eyed.

Even Razah hesitated, his eyes narrowing. "That… that's not normal."

Elias didn't hear them. The moment the mana erupted, his body moved again—fluid and fierce.

He slashed back with speed he didn't know he had, his sword glowing faintly from the residue of his awakened mana. Each strike became sharper, more precise, more dangerous. He wasn't just matching Razah anymore.

He was pushing him back.

The violet-silver aura twisted and curled around his body like smoke with purpose. It moved with him. Reacted to him. Protected him.

When Razah tried to unleash a sharp mana burst to push Elias back, Elias's aura absorbed it—ate it—and roared back even stronger.

Gasps echoed.

"What the hell…" Daina whispered. "It's like his mana… devours others."

Razah's attacks became more urgent. Sharper. More desperate.

But Elias dodged with fluid grace, as if he had spent years training. His eyes, once filled with fear, now burned with cold, unwavering focus.

In one final move, he let Razah's strike graze past his side—then stepped in, twisting his body low and fast, and swept Razah's feet from beneath him. The wooden sword pointed at Razah's throat before he could rise.

Silence fell.

Elias stood tall, the strange storm of violet and silver still dancing faintly around him. His breath was steady. His hand didn't shake.

Kaelrix took a step forward. "What… kind of mana was that?"

"I don't know." Elias replied, his voice low.

But deep down, something inside him stirred.

He didn't know how he had fought like that.

Didn't know how he had used that mana.

But for the first time… he didn't feel weak.

He felt powerful.

And everyone else knew it too.

A heavy silence settled over the courtyard, and for a long moment, no one moved.

Elias stood tall, his breath steady despite the battle that had just unfolded. His heart, once a frantic drum, now beat in time with a calm and unshakable rhythm. He was not trembling anymore. He was not weak.

Before he could process it, he heard Kael's voice cut through the stillness again.

"Elias!" It wasn't a call of congratulations, but a sharp command.

Elias turned to see Kael glaring at him, his eyes like steel.

"Come with me. Right now."

Without waiting for a response, Kael turned on his heel, his footsteps echoing in the silence that had fallen over the courtyard. Elias's chest tightened, and the weight of Kael's gaze made him uneasy. His legs moved on their own accord, following the older man's command, though his mind raced with a thousand questions.

Why was Kael looking at him like that? What did he want?

And most importantly, what was happening to him?