Rise of the Crusader

Hours passed since the tournament began.

The academy tournament was usually held for three days, in which three hundred rounds took place, and the outcome of the battle gave the top one hundred and fifty.

And among the over six hundred students in the first year, only one hundred and fifty who qualified would be eligible to advance to the next stage.

They would also be the ones acknowledged by the academy as their core students, while the four hundred and fifty that failed to qualify were deemed as nominal students.

A battle was occurring on the stage between Melinda and a man whose body was completely gold.

Melinda's hand had transformed into a weapon made of bone, and likewise her body. Every inch of her body was layered with bone armor, and as she threw punches and kicks at the man, he did the same.

Bang!

The battle between the both of them had been going on for quite some time and there was still no winner.

Melinda was unable to penetrate the man's defense, likewise the man.

To say that both of them were equally matched wasn't a lie, however, after a few minutes of another heated exchange between them, the tables turned.

Elisa, who was watching from afar, frowned when she saw Melina being pushed backward.

Seeing, the bone armor around Melinda breaking from the man's constant attack, Elisa bit her lower lips. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Raphael's voice rang out.

"He is going to kill her."

Raphael had been in a calm and neutral tone.

There wasn't a tinge of doubt in his voice, instead, he was completely certain that if the fight were to go on this way, Melinda will perish in the hand of the man.

Elisa was seating in front of Raphael, and when she heard his voice from behind, she turned her head around.

Elisa didn't doubt the words that were spoken by Raphael, as she could see that Melinda was losing control.

And to be honest, it was only a matter of time, Melinda's loss was inevitable.

"Raphael, is there a way you can help her, maybe with a gadget or something?" Elisa inquired.

"I've tried to nullify his powers, but it isn't working. There is some weird force that keeps blocking my move, and now the directors are staring at me."

Elisa took a glance at the seven people seating on the obsidian throne.

The academy had created a force around the stadium that prevented anyone to interfere in the fight on the stadium. Apart from the seven directors, no one else could intervene.

Elisa was pinning her hope that Raphael would possess some mind-blowing gadget that would allow him to intrude on the academy defense, and then save Melinda.

And she wasn't wrong, Raphael did have a gadget that could overstep the force that was around the stadium.

"Raphael?"

As she spoke, there was no change in Raphael's expression, and he also didn't seem like he was going to intervene in the matter.

Elisa then said, "Please, you have to, she's up against a student from the murderer division. He won't spare her, even if her uncle is the director."

And Elisa wasn't wrong. Even if her father was the dean of the academy, Savard was still going to kill her.

The murderer division was known for its atrocious ways, and in the academy tournament, it didn't shy away from its infamous reputation.

Every student who fought against a student from the murderer division was killed.

It was so brutal that a few of the students refused to proceed with the battle whenever they were grouped with someone from the murderer division.

"Raphael, please, you have to do something, if you can."

Each punch that the man threw with his gold hands broke the armor bone around Melinda.

After receiving a couple of Savard's continuous assaults on her body, Melinda began to stagger.

Blood oozed out of her mouth, and even though her hands attempted to shield her from Savard's strikes, it was completely useless.

"Argh!!"

Suddenly, a scream of pain escaped Melinda's mouth as Savard took hold of her hand and twisted it.

She heard multiple bone cracks from her hand, and as if Savard wasn't contented with the damage he had impacted on her body, he pulled her close and delivered a knee blow to her abdomen.

"Raphael, do you have a way to help her?" Elisa asked in a soft voice.

A second after Elisa spoke, Raphael nodded his head.

"Then, why haven't you done something about this yet? She will die if you don't intervene, don't let my friend die when you can do something to assist her." Elisa blurted.

Becky also had her eyes glued to Raphael, hoping he was going to intervene.

However, Raphael shook his head.

"If she wants to die, then so be it." He said.

There was an expression full of shock on Becky and Elisa's faces when they heard Raphael.

Raphael didn't even glance at the both of them, and he said, "You want to help her today? What about tomorrow, and the day after that?"

"The weeks after that, the months, the years. Will you continue to help her for the rest of your life?" Raphael asked.

"If you want to, then you can go ahead, but not me."

"The difference in the strength between the both of them is minor, the reason he can outpower her is that he has studied her movement." Raphael paused, "If Melinda had taken her time to understand her opponent's pattern, she wouldn't be in this shape."

"If she dies then it is because of her own mistake, but if she manages to survive and overcome this, it would be akin to a phoenix rising from the ashes."

Elisa was displeased with the way Raphael had chosen to handle the situation, even though she knew he was right.

She moved her gaze away from him and with her hands folded across her chest, she watched the battle in front.

Bang!

A full-force uppercut to the jaw and Melinda was sent flying.

Blood splattered out of her mouth in an arc form, and before she could even move muscle, she felt a leg placed on her abdomen.

Melinda opened an eye, seeing Savard in front of her, and her mouth opened slightly.

She wanted to speak, and as she moved her mouth to do so, she coughed out blood repeatedly.

"Hahaha! Save yourself the strength." Savard said.

He then raised his leg and then stomped Melinda heavily.

There was no remorse or pity in his eyes, after delivering the attack, he seized her up with an expression full of mockery on his face.

"I was trained right, and so, I will save your uncle's face," Savard said, his eyes staring at the gold-haired man on the obsidian throne.

He soon moved his gaze to the other students from the elite division, "If this is really what the elite division is capable of, then it best you change your name."

"Why not shitty division."

A chuckle escaped Savard's mouth afterward. And with Melinda now in a horrible state, he went back to his seat.

There was complete silence in the gladiator stadium, as not only did Savard severely beat someone from the elite division, but he also ridiculed the division itself.

And as for those who knew Melinda well enough, their eyes were on the gold-haired man on the obsidian.

The man was the youngest director among the seven who were on the seat, and he was also the director of the elite division.

He was none other than Kai London.

As soon as Melinda was carried away from the stadium, Becky and Elisa rushed towards the place that she was taken to.

Another paper was soon brought out from the selection boxes, and the referee said.

"Denis Campbell from the bandit's division, Raphael Queen from the elite division, please step forward."

A nod came from several students in the stadium when they heard the next contestants.

"Finally, let's see what he is capable of."

It wasn't just students who were interested to see what Raphael was really capable of, but instructors from other divisions, seniors, and the directors who were longingly expecting his battle.

Whether it was the during day or night, Raphael was a subject of attention in the academy.

In less than a few months after he arrived at the academy, he receive attention from the cabal, who were willing to do anything necessary to get him into their force.

The student council showed great interest in him, and it was also said that the bratvas were monitoring his progress.

Everyone was curious about whom the young man was that could attract the three main forces in the academy, as such a scenario had never occurred before.

And today, they believed, they would get to see what was so special about him.

Raphael stood in front of a solidly built, red-skinned man with deep, dark blue eyes, and a rounded jaw.

Denis's upper body was bare, he was wearing black pants and the usual arm band with a skull on them.

"I have heard a lot of things about you, Raphael," Denis said.

"But, I believe it's all hype, and I will prove to everyone here that you're nothing but a piece of garbage."

With that said, and Denis clenched his hand.

A razor-sharp claw protrude from in between his knuckle, a second after he clenched both of his hands.

....

An- Third chapter has promised.

Thanks for the golden tickets, power stones, and support. I really appreciate it.