Rise of the Crusader

142 The Academy Tournament IV

Hugo and Clement glanced at one another when Raphael arrived at the stage.

The both of them had watched several video clips and researched fully about him. All that was left was actually seeing him in action.

They paid complete attention to the battle that was going to commence as if they wanted to take him down, they needed to know him even more than he knew himself.

“I doubt you would get your shot at him, Hugo.”

The male student beside Hugo spoke.

Hugo stared at the person who had just spoken and said.

“Why?”

“It’s simple, Denis will kill him before you even get your shot at him.” He replied, and then burst into laughter.

“Those claws... The slightest touch will crush his body like a twig, and you can see why I say it’s quite pointless.”

.....

“Raphael would be dead, and you wouldn’t even have to lay a finger on him, while of course still getting the reward that was promised.”

A smile was quick to form on Hugo’s face when he heard his classmate.

He had also heard a bit about the abnormality in Denis’s claws in the academy, he just didn’t think it was to that extreme.

And now it was certainly going to be interesting, witnessing how Raphael was going to be crushed.

“Fighters ready? Start!”

With that said, and the battle between Raphael and Denis started.

Denis’s hands were already itching since the moment he arrived on the stage.

He hated the smug look that was on Raphael’s face and the moment, the referee’s voice rang, he launched toward him.

“Have this!”

Denis exclaimed as he struck his right claw at Raphael, aiming toward his right chest.

Devon’s attempt of going for the right chest demonstrated that he didn’t want the match to be over so soon. He wanted to have Raphael experience what true pain felt like.

Before he then ended his life.

With Raphael’s hands, however, placed behind his back, he didn’t move from where he was. He remained in his position, with Gus on his shoulder and that unbothered look on his face.

The claws were fast approaching and just as it was to land on Raphael’s chest, they suddenly encountered an obstruction.

Denis was forced to take a step backward from the obstruction he met.

It was almost like an invisible wall was built around Raphael, which then rendered Denis incapable of making a move against him.

However, refusing to give up, Denis applied more force and struck Raphael again.

This time around, he aimed at his face.

Thud!

A second after Denis sent his claws out, he staggered backward, and then abruptly fell to the ground.

“Y-You...”

There was rage written all over his face, as he was greeted by a burst of laughter from the people in the stadium.

Denis quickly stood from the ground and dashed towards Raphael.

He struck his claws once again but this time around, Denis didn’t stop at just one strike, he attacked multiple times.

As he attacked with his right claw, he began to swing his left claw at Raphael.

However, the circumstances didn’t change, not even in the slightest.

None of the attack that Denis threw forward had any effect on Raphael. He still stood in position with his hand placed behind his back, but a mocking expression was now on his face.

“Ahhhhh!!!!” Denis yelled, completely furious.

He took a step backward, breathing in and out.

Denis bit his lower lips hard and a bone-chilling frown on his face.

Raphael’s action of not moving from where he was or attacking was not only infuriating, but it was also insulting.

“Fight me like a man, and stop hiding behind some wall or shield.” Denis was left frustrated by Raphael’s action.

He couldn’t help it, he had thrown all that he got on Raphael, but still, it didn’t make any difference.

Suddenly, Raphael took a step forward, “It’s not a shield, it’s a force field.”

Raphael muttered.

A sneer, however, appeared on Denis’s face.

“Whatever! Are you going to fight like a man, or will you continue to hide behind that shield?” Denis said.

The discussion between Denis and Raphael wasn’t heard by the people in the stadium, but when they saw Raphael give Denis the come-over hand, their faces lit up.

Denis had no idea what he was in and for, and he launched at Raphael right after he saw him moving his hand.

Still not moving, and with only a few meters away for Denis to come close to him, Raphael still remembered calm.

And with full force, Denis attacked Raphael with his right claw. This time around, he went in for the kill by aiming the attack at Raphael’s left chest.

Time seemed to lose down in the stadium, and as the claws seem to want to make contact with Raphael, he suddenly moved.

Raphael stretched his hand out, grabbing one of the bone claws.

Denis stood in place, unable to move from where he was after his claw was held by Raphael.

He stared at Raphael with shock evident in his eyes and after a few seconds, he spoke in a trembling tone.

“H-How...”

There was terror and fear contained in Denis’s face as he spoke.

He was startled by how Raphael had held one of the bone claws. There wasn’t even a slight bit of injury on Raphael, and it was almost like holding the claw meant nothing to him.

“What is he doing,”

The people around the stadium were confused, seeing how Raphael was staring at the bone claw.

He appeared to be fascinated and at the same time, he seemed to be disappointed with something about the bone claw.

After a few seconds, Raphael shook his head and said.

“Adamantine, so bad. Why not tungsten? It would have been so much better.”

Raphael felt the bone claw one more time and shook his head, seemingly dissatisfied.

A confused look appeared on Denis’s face.

He had heard of adamantine, as that was the metal of which his bone claws were made of. But the other metal, Raphael said, Denis didn’t have a clue about what it was.

“Well, this will surely be a good addition to our collection, or what do you think?” Raphael asked.

And in response, the owl, on his shoulder, nodded its head several times.

“W-What... What do you mean?” Denis stuttered.

He had however only just spoken when Raphael let go of the bone claw and grabbed him on the neck with his left hand.

“Y-”

Before Denis could complete his words, his head turned into ashes.

In less than a second after the ashes touched the ground, his body also began to transform.

Whether it was his chest, hand, thigh, or legs, every part of his body transformed. The only part of his body that wasn’t turned into ashes was the six-bone claws.

Raphael was then quick to grab the six-bones claws before they would drop to the ground.

With a smile then on his face, he clenched his right hand around the bone claws and went back to his seat.

To Raphael, his feat was a trivial move, but for the people around the stadium, it wasn’t.

Be it the murderer division students, instructors, the other students, and even the seven directors, a dumbfounded, as well as stupefied expression, was on their faces.

“Oh... My God!!!”

After a few seconds, one of the students yelled.

It was none other than Bane, and for some reason, there was excitement in his voice as he watched Raphael turn a whole human into ashes.

The decaying ability that Raphael displayed was insane as within a second, he demolished Denis.

.....

Even though the lazarus pit could bring the dead back to life, there was nothing the pit was capable of doing for Denis.

He was gone.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Followed by Bane’s loud voice was a loud clap that reverberated the whole stadium from him.

And as he began clapping his hand, the student beside him joined him.

Soon enough, it wasn’t only the elite division student who were clapping for him, the tech division joined in as well.

Their clap was led by Aurora and when the tech division clapped, the rest of the division joined in as well.

Including the bandit division where Denis was from.

If there was one thing that excited the people in the academy, it was how brutal and savage, someone was killed.

It was a thrilling feeling that ignites the blood of everyone in the academy. And being so, seeing how Raphael had demolished Denis, he was worthy of being applauded.

....

An- Support book for mass release

Magic Castle will go for 6 bonus chapters

Spacecraft – 10 bonus chapters

Gachapon – 15 bonus chapters... Thanks in advance