The Weight of Pride
"Pfft..."
Unsurprisingly, Lavish was severely injured by a single strike and was sent flying hundreds of ters away. Blood sprayed through the air in an arc before his body crashed violently against the ground.
Boom!
The impact shook the earth.
Dust exploded outward.
Broken stone scattered in every direction.
For a few monts—
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the wind seed to stop moving.
Lavish lay within the crater, his body trembling slightly. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as a burning pain spread through his chest and lungs.
His vision blurred.
The sky above looked distant.
He had lost.
He had lost completely.
Lavish’s expression was ugly beyond words.
He couldn’t believe it.
He simply couldn’t.
He had entered this battle carrying confidence and pride.
As the successor of Prison Holy Sect, he had always stood above countless geniuses.
People praised him.
Feared him.
Respected him.
Yet now...
He had lost to soone he had initially considered insignificant.
A person he looked down on.
His fingers dug weakly into the dirt beneath him.
How...?
How did I lose...?
Every breath felt heavier than the last. His body scread in pain, but strangely, that wasn’t what hurt the most.
It was the humiliation.
The feeling of being crushed beneath soone else’s rise.
As if his existence had beco nothing more than a stepping stone for another person’s glory.
That thought burned deeper than any wound Selena’s sword had left behind.
His vision trembled slightly. Dust floated through the ruined battlefield while the scorched earth around him still carried traces of violent sword aura. Cracks spread across the ground like scars that refused to heal, remnants from battles far greater than this one.
Then—
"Lavish! Are you alright?"
A figure appeared instantly beside him.
Ronan.
The old man’s robes fluttered violently from the speed of his movent as he dropped to one knee beside Lavish without hesitation.
The cold indifference he usually carried was gone.
For the first ti in a long while, genuine panic could be seen in his eyes.
He imdiately checked Lavish’s injuries, his spiritual sense sweeping through the young man’s body.
And the mont he understood the extent of the damage—
His expression darkened.
Boom—!
An invisible pressure exploded outward from Ronan’s body.
The air itself beca suffocating.
Several nearby disciples instantly turned pale as an overwhelming killing intent descended over the area like a storm cloud. Even breathing suddenly felt difficult.
Harry’s expression changed imdiately.
"...Not good."
Beside him, Rias unconsciously tightened her grip on her weapon. Her instincts scread at her to stay alert.
Even the atmosphere itself had changed.
The sky felt colder.
Heavier.
Selena slowly descended from the air, landing calmly not too far away. Her face remained composed as always, but her fingers around the Athyst Mist Sword tightened ever so slightly.
She could feel it clearly.
Ronan was furious.
Earlier, he had clearly wanted to interfere when Selena’s sword descended.
But he didn’t move.
Because he understood Lavish better than anyone present.
He understood that pride.
That stubbornness.
That refusal to bend.
Lavish had practically grown up before his eyes.
Ronan had watched him cultivate through sleepless nights. Watched him train until his hands bled. Watched him challenge seniors far above his level simply because his arrogance refused to let him retreat.
He watched the young boy slowly grow into the genius feared throughout the younger generation.
And because of that—
Ronan knew exactly what interfering would’ve ant.
If he stepped into a battle between juniors...
If he protected Lavish in front of everyone...
Then the pride Lavish carried in his bones would shatter completely.
So Ronan endured it.
Even when he saw danger approaching.
Even when Selena’s sword intent beca deadly.
He forced himself to watch.
And now...
Regret quietly spread through his chest.
Because Lavish was never rely the future Saint of Prison Holy Sect to him.
To outsiders, Lavish was a genius.
A successor.
A symbol.
But to Ronan...
He was sothing much closer to family.
Years ago, Ronan personally discovered the abandoned child and brought him back to Prison Holy Sect with his own hands.
Back then, Lavish had been nothing more than an angry, arrogant little boy glaring at the world with hatred in his eyes.
Ronan still rembered it clearly.
The way the child refused help.
Refused kindness.
Refused weakness.
And sohow...
That sa stubborn child eventually beca the young man lying injured before him now.
Though Lavish often acted prideful and impossible to deal with...
Ronan knew his true nature better than anyone.
He knew the pressure Lavish placed on himself.
Knew the expectations crushing his shoulders.
Knew how desperately he chased strength.
So Ronan trained him harshly.
Scolded him relentlessly.
Pushed him harder than the others.
But beneath all of it—
He cared deeply for him.
How could he not?
Slowly, suppressing the killing intent boiling inside him, Ronan took out a dicinal pill from his sleeve.
His movents beca far gentler than anyone expected from a man like him.
He carefully supported Lavish’s head before feeding him the pill.
Monts later—
The violent aura within Lavish’s body gradually stabilized.
His breathing beca smoother.
Ronan finally released a small breath.
However—
His expression grew darker.
Very dark.
He slowly stood up.
Then turned around.
His cold eyes locked onto Selena.
"Little girl..."
His voice was low and heavy, carrying a pressure that made the surrounding air feel heavier.
He looked at Selena with cold eyes before speaking again.
"You were quite ruthless with that strike."
His gaze briefly shifted toward the unconscious Lavish beside him.
"A spar is ant to determine victory and defeat, not to push soone to the edge."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Didn’t your elders teach you where to stop and where to show restraint?"
The mont those words fell—
The mont those words fell—
The expressions of the Celestis Academy students imdiately changed.
Everyone understood.
This wasn’t concern.
This was trouble.
Harry clenched his fists.
"Damn it..."
Amaya gritted her teeth.
"Are they bullying the weak?"
She understood the situation clearly.
The other side had a senior expert.
And they were rely juniors.
Leon was nowhere to be seen.
Maya had already entered the Martial Emperor Tomb searching for him.
Right now—
No one could stand in front of Ronan.
The pressure slowly spread.
Selena looked quietly at Ronan.
The thing she worried about most had happened.
Still—
She didn’t lower her head.
"Senior... what do you an?"
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
"Hmph."
"You attacked so ruthlessly during a spar."
"Such ruthlessness disgraces the path of cultivation."
"Since your Celestis Academy elders failed to teach you proper etiquette..."
"I’ll teach you on their behalf today."
The instant those words fell—
Mana exploded around him.
The surrounding atmosphere shook violently.
Harry’s face turned pale.
Rias bit her lip anxiously.
But Selena remained standing.
Straight.
Silent.
Without retreating even a single step.
Just as Ronan was about to make his move—
A voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
"How shaless!"
"The junior lost, then the senior ca out to support him."
"Is this the bearing of Prison Holy Sect?"
"Can’t they afford to lose...?"
Everyone was stunned when they heard this.
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