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Chapters 87–90 One-Shot
Title: Blood Baptism of the Academy
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Chapter 87 – Whispering Blades
The Academy didn't sleep.
Not tonight.
After the first rankings were announced, something shifted in the air.
Jealousy.
Ambition.
Murderous intent.
Lucius felt it as he walked the midnight corridors — a pressure behind his back, like a blade aimed at his spine.
Seventeen's voice hummed like a lullaby in his mind:
> "Seventeen: They're planning something, Little Master~ Should we play with them?"
Lucius didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
He slipped out into the moonlit courtyards.
There — hiding behind statues and trees — he saw them.
Seven students.
Faces painted black.
Weapons drawn.
Silent as snakes.
Waiting.
For him.
Lucius stepped calmly into the open.
The trap snapped shut.
The students surged forward without warning, blades flashing.
But they were the ones who were trapped.
Lucius's shadow rippled.
Three Shadow Hounds erupted out, their red eyes blazing.
Grimfang followed — a black meteor crashing into the nearest attacker, shattering ribs.
Screams ripped through the quiet night.
Lucius moved among them like a wraith — spear flashing, feet silent.
He struck knees.
Hands.
Throats.
Never killing — but leaving them broken, sobbing on the cold stones.
Five seconds.
That's all it took.
The seventh attacker — a trembling boy barely older than Lucius — dropped his sword and fell to his knees.
> "P-please... don't..."
Lucius stared down at him, expression unreadable.
> "Get stronger," he said softly. "Or next time, I won't be so kind."
He turned and walked away, beasts falling into step behind him.
The broken students lay scattered like discarded dolls.
Above, Seventeen laughed and clapped:
> "Seventeen: Beautiful! Bloody and merciful~ How fitting for a future King!"
Lucius didn't smile.
His heart was calm.
Almost cold.
This was just the beginning.
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Chapter 88 – Invitation to Blood and Glory
The next morning, a formal summons arrived.
An official Academy Duel Invitation — the highest form of challenge.
Opponent: Vera Nyx, Rank 11.
Purpose: Claim to Ranking.
Date: Tonight.
Lucius studied the parchment, tracing the blood-red wax seal.
He wasn't surprised.
He was climbing too fast.
The old guard didn't like that.
Vera was a noble's daughter — powerful, cruel, and surrounded by loyal servants.
A proper lioness.
Lucius?
Still a "nobody" in their eyes.
Good.
Better to kill their arrogance now.
Kael and Mira were worried.
> "Vera is dangerous, Lucius," Mira warned, her fire-sprite flickering anxiously. "She uses Blood Magic. It's vicious."
Kael nodded grimly.
> "And she'll be allowed to bring beasts. No rules about numbers."
Lucius smiled thinly.
> "Neither will I."
He touched the hilt of his bone-spear.
Grimfang growled low beside him.
The Domain pulsed behind his heartbeat — Ghoulshade vines curling protectively.
Seventeen whispered:
> "Seventeen: Let's show them what a real blood baptism looks like, Little Master~"
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Night fell.
The Duel Grounds were packed.
Students stood in rings around the black-sand arena.
Floating platforms buzzed with instructors and noble observers.
At the center stood Vera — red-haired, cruelly beautiful, in crimson dueling robes.
Around her, two Blood Panthers prowled — sleek beasts dripping poison from their fangs.
She smirked at Lucius's approach.
> "A little rat from the gutter dares challenge me? I'll make you wish you never stepped into Whitehorn, trash."
Lucius only shrugged.
> "Words are cheap. Let's see your blood."
The starting bell rang.
The duel began.
Vera moved first — Blood Magic swirling into crimson tendrils, lashing out.
Lucius raised a hand.
His Shadow Hounds darted forward, weaving between the blood lashes.
Grimfang charged head-on.
The Blood Panthers met him — fangs flashing.
Steel clashed.
Bone cracked.
The arena was a blur of black and red.
Lucius darted inside Vera's guard, spear spinning, jabbing at pressure points.
She shrieked — magic exploding around her.
But Lucius was no longer there.
He fought like a phantom — no wasted movement, no wasted breath.
One by one, Vera's Panthers fell, howling.
Her blood spells cracked and shattered under the relentless advance of shadow beasts.
Finally, Lucius stood before her, untouched.
Vera knelt, gasping, robe torn, blood dripping from her fingers.
Lucius placed the spear tip lightly against her throat.
The crowd held its breath.
Vera's eyes burned with hatred and humiliation.
Lucius smiled coldly.
> "You're weak."
He lowered the spear and turned his back on her.
The Academy rules were clear: defeat was humiliation enough.
As he walked away, Seventeen giggled:
> "Seventeen: Mercy again? Hmmm~ So noble, Little Master. But one day... they'll bite your hand."
Lucius knew.
And he didn't care.
This was not mercy.
This was domination.
He wanted them all to know:
He could kill them.
He simply chose not to.
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Chapter 89 – Hidden Eyes
Three days passed.
Lucius's new rank — 11th — stirred the Academy like a hornet's nest.
Some respected him.
Some hated him.
Some feared him.
Some plotted.
But higher eyes had noticed too.
From the upper floors of Whitehorn's Ivory Tower, powerful figures watched.
Instructors whispered.
Clans sent secret letters.
The Royal Family's agents took notes.
Even the gods who oversaw the Academy stirred slightly, amused.
A new player had entered the great game.
One instructor — a stern woman in black armor — placed a file labeled "Lucius Drestfall" onto the Headmaster's desk.
> "Promising. Dangerous. Potential Candidate for Elite Missions."
The Headmaster, a silver-haired giant, chuckled without humor.
> "Another dark star rising. Good. We'll need monsters for what's coming."
Meanwhile, Lucius trained harder than ever.
He spent nights in the shadow of his Domain, growing his forces.
New Night Beasts were summoned.
Weapons were planted under the Bone Trees.
Grimfang evolved again — larger, his bones denser, eyes burning with will.
The Ghoulshade Tree produced strange fruits — seeds of corruption.
Lucius saved them.
For later.
He knew.
The Academy was just the starting ground.
Beyond it lay real wars.
Real enemies.
And he intended to be ready.
No matter the cost.
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Chapter 90 – Crimson Road Ahead
Spring rains washed the bloodstains off the Practice Grounds.
The new season was here.
And so was the Academy's most brutal tradition:
The Crimson Road Trials.
A month-long survival challenge.
Outside the Academy's walls.
Into the "Outer Wilds" — a territory infested with wild beasts, rogue cultivators, and fallen magic zones.
The rules were simple:
Survive.
Hunt.
Grow stronger.
Bring back proof: cores, trophies, captured beasts.
Those who failed would be expelled.
Those who succeeded... would rise.
Lucius stood among hundreds of students at the southern gates, armored in dark leather, spear across his back.
Kael stood to his left.
Mira to his right.
Both wore determined faces.
Lucius's beasts prowled in the shadows — hidden, ready.
Talen Greaves raised his hand.
> "You may die out there," he barked. "We don't care.
You may kill. We don't care.
Only the strong belong here!"
The gates groaned open.
A howling wind greeted them.
Beyond — endless forests, broken mountains, rivers of mist.
Lucius stepped forward without hesitation.
Seventeen whispered like a prayer:
> "Seventeen: Go, Little Master~ Carve your path in blood and bone... Make them all kneel!"
Lucius smiled faintly.
The journey was just beginning.
He would not just survive.
He would conquer.
As the students poured into the wilds, the dark trees swallowed them whole.
And somewhere far, far above...
A god watching the Academy smiled.
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