Just as Damian was about to move toward the Nobles responsible for hurting Edrin and the others–
"STOP!"
The crowd parted like a wave splitting before a ship.
Gareth strode through, his presence commanding imdiate attention. Behind him ca the rest of the Student Council – Elizabeth, Liam, Arielle, and the others.
Elizabeth’s face went deathly pale as she took in the scene before her.
Bloodied commoners scattered across the floor. Nobles standing smugly to the side. And in the center...
Her eyes landed on Mara.
The third-year Disciplinary Committee mber lay motionless on the ground, her face completely unrecognizable beneath layers of blood and grotesque swelling. A dark pool of crimson spread steadily beneath her head, staining the polished gymnasium floor.
Elizabeth’s hands trembled at her sides.
"Oh my god..." she whispered.
Liam didn’t waste a second. He rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside Mara, his hands imdiately glowing with healing Aura. The green light enveloped her broken form as he worked frantically to stabilize her.
His face was cold... colder than anyone had ever seen.
His eyes flicked briefly toward Damian before returning to his patient, and in that glance was unmistakable judgnt.
The tension in the gymnasium was suffocating.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Gareth’s gaze locked onto Damian like a predator spotting wounded prey.
His expression was dark. Dangerous. Furious.
"Ti and ti again, Damian Valcor..." Gareth’s voice cut through the silence like a blade. "You create ss after ss – ever since you joined this Academy."
His words echoed through the massive space.
Every student present held their breath.
"It hasn’t even been a month, and yet I keep hearing your na more than I hear my own."
Gareth took a step forward.
His B rank Aura began to radiate outward – thick, heavy, oppressive.
The pressure slamd into the crowd like a physical force.
Several students stumbled backward, gasping for air. So fell to their knees, unable to withstand it.
"And now..." Gareth’s voice dropped to a dangerously low rumble. "You even attack your own fellow council mber... to the point of leaving her half dead."
His golden eyes blazed with barely controlled rage.
"Do you think you’re so kind of big shot, Damian? That no one can touch you? That no one can stop you?"
He gestured toward Mara’s broken body.
"You used the Aura Jamming Bracelet on your senior, soone who outranks you in every way, and you beat her like a dog in front of the entire Academy."
Gareth’s fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"You really love violence, don’t you? You get off on beating people down."
His smile was cruel, mocking.
"Why don’t I show you what it feels like? Why don’t I show you how much of an ant you really are?"
The crowd collectively held their breath.
Before anyone could react–
Gareth vanished.
BOOM!!
The impact was so loud it sounded like a cannon firing.
Damian didn’t even have ti to blink before Gareth’s fist buried itself deep into his ribcage with monstrous force.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
The sound of multiple ribs snapping echoed through the gymnasium like firecrackers going off.
"GAHHH!"
Damian’s body folded in half violently, all the air forced from his lungs in a single, agonizing rush.
But Gareth wasn’t finished.
Not even close.
Before Damian’s body could crumple to the ground, Gareth grabbed him by the hair with his other hand and slamd him face-first into the hard gymnasium floor.
CRACK!!
The sickening crunch of Damian’s nose breaking reverberated through the space.
Blood exploded across the polished surface, spreading in a dark crimson pool.
"Oh my god–"
"What is even happening today!?"
"Did you see that speed!?"
Gasps and screams erupted from the crowd.
So students covered their mouths in horror. Others looked away, unable to watch.
But no one intervened.
Not Elizabeth.
Not Arielle.
Not anyone.
Gareth straightened up, looking down at Damian’s crumpled, bleeding form with cold satisfaction.
Then he raised his fist again.
BAM!
He slamd it down into Damian’s back.
BAM!
Again into his ribs.
BAM!
Again into his shoulder.
Each strike was precise, brutal, calculated for maximum pain. It was even more crueller than what Damian had done with Mara.
Blood splattered with every impact, painting the floor darker and darker.
The crowd watched in stunned, horrified silence.
Elizabeth stood frozen, her violet eyes wide and glistening.
She wanted to look away – but she couldn’t.
Mara was her friend. A fellow third-year. One of her strongest supporters in the Student Council.
And Elizabeth knew, logically, that Damian had crossed a line.
’He went too far this ti. He needs to understand... no matter how strong you think you are, there’s always soone stronger.’
Even though she knew the truth, that the Nobles had started this fight, that they’d brutalized the commoners first... she couldn’t bring herself to stop Gareth.
She turned her head to the side, unable to watch any longer.
Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
’I’m sorry, Damian. But you need to learn this lesson.’
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The sickening thuds continued.
Arielle stood nearby, her grey eyes filled with internal conflict.
By all rights, both parties involved in this incident were her subordinates. She was the Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee. She should have been the one handling this situation from the start.
But there was a reason she hadn’t stepped forward.
A reason she stood silent now.
Damian had insulted an entire Noble House.
Not just Mara as an individual, but the Kestrel family itself.
That wasn’t sothing that could be overlooked. Not in their world.
Even if Arielle wanted to intervene, even if she sympathized with Damian’s reasons–
She was a Noble too.
’We don’t actively participate in the social construct... but that doesn’t an we’re not part of it.’
Every Noble was connected to the system. From the day they were born, they’d benefited from it in countless ways.
So when the system was threatened, they had to protect it.
Even if it wasn’t fair.
Even if it was wrong.
That was just how their world worked.
Gareth grabbed Damian by the face and hauled him upright, forcing him to et his eyes.
Damian’s face was a bloody ss – his nose completely shattered, both eyes already swelling shut, blood pouring from his mouth.
"What happened now, junior Damian?" Gareth’s voice was full of mocking venom. "Where’s that precious Aura Jamming Device of yours? Why isn’t it working against ?"
He shook Damian like a ragdoll.
"You think Mara was weak? You think you’re clever for using a gadget to beat her?"
Gareth’s laugh was harsh and cruel.
"Let educate you, little ant. Anyone can use a device to gain a temporary advantage. But in front of real power – in front of soone who actually deserves their rank – all your little tricks an nothing."
He released Damian’s face, letting him sway unsteadily on his feet.
"I don’t even need to use my skills against you. I don’t need weapon arts. I don’t need anything. You – an E-rank insect – couldn’t hurt even if I stood here doing absolutely nothing."
Gareth raised his fist high, preparing for another devastating blow.
The muscles in his arm rippled with contained power.
"Let show you what real strength looks like-"
"STOP!"
A desperate, anguished shout tore through the gymnasium.
Gareth paused, his fist frozen in midair.
Everyone turned.
Ronan staggered forward from the crowd of injured commoners, clutching his broken ribs with one hand. His face was twisted in pain, but his eyes burned with determination.
Blood dripped from his mouth as he spoke.
"It was our fault! We started the whole thing! If you want to beat soone up – beat us!"
His voice cracked with raw emotion.
"Don’t hurt him anymore! He was just trying to help us! He didn’t do anything wrong!"
"That’s right!" Another commoner shouted from the ground, struggling to sit up despite his injuries. "Damian wasn’t the one at fault!"
"It was those damn Nobles!" a girl scread, tears streaming down her swollen face. "They’re always unfair toward us! They started this fight!"
"Hit instead, senior!" A boy with a broken arm pushed himself to his feet. "Damian was just defending us! He doesn’t deserve this!"
"This is so unfair! Can’t you see what really happened here!?"
One by one, voices rose from the bloodied, broken commoners scattered across the gymnasium floor.
They couldn’t just sit there and watch.
Damian had co when they needed him most. He’d stood up for them when no one else would. He’d put his body on the line to protect them.
They couldn’t abandon him now.
Edrin wiped blood from his cracked glasses and forced himself to stand, every movent agony.
Lysa pushed herself up despite her injuries, tears flowing freely down her face.
All the commoners who could still move began staggering to their feet.
Their friends who’d arrived earlier rushed forward to support them, helping them stand, forming a human wall between Gareth and Damian.
The crowd around them grew thicker.
More and more students stepped forward.
Not just the injured, but others too. Commoners from different sections who’d heard the commotion. First-years, second-years, even a few brave third-years.
Dozens of them now stood together, their bodies battered and broken, but their eyes burning with sothing that hadn’t been there before.
Defiance.
Gareth’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he surveyed the scene before him.
The gymnasium had gone completely silent again.
Everyone was watching. Waiting.
For the first ti in the entire history of Stormhold Academy...
Commoners were standing united against the Nobles.
Not scattered.
Not divided.
Not alone.
Together.
The significance of the mont wasn’t lost on anyone present.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened in shock.
Arielle’s mouth fell open slightly.
Even Liam paused his healing for a brief mont, glancing up at the unprecedented scene.
The Nobles who’d beaten the commoners earlier were now pressed back against the far wall, their earlier confidence completely evaporated.
Leonard’s face had gone ashen.
And in the center of it all stood Damian – bloodied, broken, barely able to stand.
But still standing.
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