Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu

All the other first years started leaving, and the other four teachers did too. Only Likombe remained, watching the four students, even though she had called for five.

"I-I'll see you later," Mei-ling said, her voice trembling. Ryuji didn't reply, his attention fixed on Likombe.

Mr. Bake walked past Ryuji, straightening his claws as he moved. Ryuji's hand drifted to the hilt of his blade, beginning to unsheathe it. There was a moment of silence before Bake muttered, "You'll fight Marquis."

Ryuji smiled at that and waved Mr. Bake off, clearly uninterested. His thoughts turned darker: Father wiped out his entire clan.

He was simply weak, Ryuji thought. The only thought lingering in his mind.

"Where is Sin-iddin-apli?" Likombe asked abruptly, her voice sharp as she descended invisible stairs that shimmered faintly. "Follow me to the river."

Silence hung thick in the air. Anna, stood still—her presence understated but watchful. Alain, despite walking steadily, managed to keep his eyes closed the entire time.

"Could anyone tell me where Sin—" Likombe began, then stopped, raising her palm toward the students. The embedded eye in her hand stared at them, unblinking.

"She-she's in the med-lab," Marquis stammered. The other selected students turned to stare at him, their expressions unreadable.

"What happened to her?" Likombe's tone was sharp, demanding.

Marquis began to sweat. Lie! Lie! his mind screamed. I can't say I almost killed her...He faltered as Ryuji leaned close, gripping his ear with unsettling intent.

"How was it?" Ryuji whispered coldly, then continued. "You'll soon fall with me."

Marquis turned toward Ryuji, shocked.

The tension between them was palpable. Before Ryuji had left, they'd fought—a minor conflict, but enough to shift the dynamics. Now, in this moment, they seemed to share a grim camaraderie.

Marquis looked into Ryuji's eyes, searching for something—anything—but found only hollowness. It mirrored the emptiness he felt within himself.

"What… what are you doing?" Marquis asked, his voice unsteady, his face darkened by exhaustion.

He looked like he hadn't eaten in days. Sid's face flickered through his mind, haunting him, her terror etched into his thoughts.

For the first time, Marquis's aura spiked. Its sudden surge was unnerving, a force unfamiliar even to him.

Ryuji and the other students seemed oblivious to the change, but Likombe wasn't. Her sharp gaze fixed on Marquis, and her presence silently commanded the others to keep moving.

"Sin-iddin-apli will complete her trial later. For now, we proceed to the river," Likombe announced, her tone firm.

"There will be a battle where you must try to take an orb at the center of the river. No boats—swim there if you like," she added with a faint edge of challenge. "Note a ralsin is in the waters,"

Alain sighed, his demeanor casual. It seemed easy enough, but he had no intention of standing out. He'd pretend to struggle, ensuring he landed in the last rank. That way, he'd be the last choice for any future events.

The plan suited him perfectly. Turning, he noticed Anna standing still, gazing intently at the river.

"Try-hard much?" Alain muttered, sighing again.

Likombe continued explaining, "This will be in a 2v2. In short, only two of you might join the prodigies' team—or perhaps all four. Who knows?"

Her words hung in the air as she added, with a sly glance at Ryuji, "Run toward the orb. The first to retrieve it will gain extended access to the highest floors of the library. Themes like corruption are very prominent there."

Likombe's tone shifted, her words aimed directly at Ryuji. She was testing him. Mr. Stitched's analysis of the boy had been spot on: both Ryuji and Alain were the type to act only when there was something tangible to gain.

Marquis stood up abruptly, his thoughts tangled. He couldn't help overhearing Ryuji's constant talk about his father.

"Do you know," Ryuji began, his voice low yet piercing, as he turned to face Marquis, locking eyes with him, "I fought an entire group of 21 people." He paused for effect before adding, "And I them all with me team, then i killed the other three again."

The words struck Marquis like a thunderclap. His eyes widened, shock written all over his face.

"That's why you've been acting differently…" Marquis murmured, his voice trembling. His mind began to fracture under the weight of Ryuji's confession.

He thought back to his own actions—he had killed too. Or at least, he'd tried. Why? For power? The memory of Sid's terrified face swam to the forefront of his thoughts.

Tears began to bubble in Marquis's eyes, unbidden and uncontrollable. He clenched his fists, overwhelmed.

"My father sent me on this journey," Ryuji said, his tone calm but detached. "I didn't know why at first—it was to improve myself, to strengthen my family's rule over the city."

Shut up, Marquis thought, his mind a storm of conflicting emotions. Is he actually excited that he killed someone? Marquis felt his chest tighten. 

And here I am, losing control of myself. The fear in her eyes when I was choking her unconscious—did he see those same eyes too? Their squirms, their desperation—did he see all of that? Marquis's jaw clenched. And here he is, laughing about it.

His fists curled tightly at his sides, but he kept his rage in check.

He thought back to when they fought before Ryuji left. The fight had been over something minor, but Ryuji's endless rants about his father had finally pushed him too far. 

It wasn't just annoying—it was infuriating. When someone glorifies another person constantly, it begins to wear on you.

A person cannot be a god, right? They can't!

Marquis remembered punching Ryuji back then, cursing him out in a fit of anger. And now, here he was, doing the same thing—ranting with his mouth wide open about the same man.

It hit Marquis suddenly, a bitter realization. Isn't this the same thing the church does? Worshiping some figure with blind devotion?

He had always wondered what drove a person to kill. The day he learned that Ryuji didn't even consider it a sin, it shook him to his core.

But sin wasn't why Marquis held back. No, that wasn't it. He was trying to be more human. Until Ryuji came along.

Likombe stood at the edge of the river, her sharp gaze fixed on Marquis. She said nothing, but the tension was palpable. His aura was beginning to spike, an uncontrollable energy surging around him.

Ryuji and Marquis stood there, a barely contained storm between them. Ryuji's cold words about his past lingered in the air like a challenge.

"My father wiped out Bake's entire clan," Ryuji said, his voice flat. "But He's still here, still fighting. Weakness is the only thing that gets you killed."

Marquis flinched, his stomach twisting. The words felt like an accusation, a reminder of his own failures. 

The way Ryuji said it, so matter-of-fact, made Marquis feel small. It wasn't just the violence—it was the way Ryuji made it sound like it didn't even matter.

"Is that what you think?" Marquis's voice cracked slightly, but he fought it. His hands trembled as he gripped the side of his blazer. "You just kill people for… power? And you're proud of it?"

Ryuji's face hardened, his eyes narrowing slightly, but he shrugged. 

"Pride has nothing to do with it. My father wanted me to improve myself. To be stronger. That's all that matters."

The words echoed in Marquis's mind, like an accusation he couldn't escape.

"Alright then, Marquis and Ryuji first," Likombe announced.

Anna walked to a nearby tree, leaning against it as she watched Marquis. Elara's words echoed in her mind.

"I might've gotten everything wrong, but I think it's too late," she had said.

And it was.

Marquis's aura began to rise, a tangible force in the air. It started as a faint vibration, like a storm about to break. 

"I need to become a perfect king which stops atrocities like this from occurring."

Then, it escalated. The energy swirled around him, pulling at the grass and leaves in violent eddies. His blue hair shimmered, deepening to an even more vivid hue, as if absorbing the energy itself. His brown eyes ignited into an intense golden-brown glow, the light spilling out like liquid fire.

"Marquis!" Anna shouted, suddenly on her feet, alarmed by the sheer pressure emanating from him.

"A Jack of all trades," He thinks, water grazing his feet.

A burst of light exploded outward, engulfing the area in a pulsating void. The air rippled with the force of it, crackling with an electric hum.

Ryuji was already in motion, calmly unsheathing his blade, his stance firm as he leaned into the flow of energy around him.

The currents whipped around him, the hem of his uniform fluttering as if caught in a violent windstorm.

Likombe, standing a safe distance away, allowed a small smile to form.

"None of this," she commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos. "Go get the orb."

Still, her gaze lingered on Marquis, the faintest trace of surprise flickering in her eyes.

"A new story skill... A strong one at that," she murmured, awestruck as the Rasvian Energy Marquis had once wielded now twisted into an entirely new manifestation.

The dark aura finally dispersed, leaving Marquis standing at its center. He exhaled heavily, his shoulders rising and falling as the energy settled around him.

His glowing eyes faded slightly, though the intensity of his presence remained. He turned to face Ryuji, the tension between them palpable.

"Ryuji, fuck your father," Marquis spat, his voice steady but laced with venom.

The words cut through the still air like a blade.

"I'll kill you," Ryuji replied, his tone cold as ice. His dull eyes locked onto Marquis, a void of emotion as he shifted into a low combat stance. His blade gleamed in the light, steady and poised.

"Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu," he also says.