Because it had only been the voice, the special class students had shadows of doubt in their hearts. The world was a very vast place; it was not a strange occurrence for two or more people to have the same type of voice or appearance. The special class students had thought this was the case here as well. They thought they could be wrong. I mean, why would Brandon attack Nox? What would he gain from it? It just didn’t add up. However, now that the attacker had been revealed, the lingering doubts they all felt were erased. "But why would he?" Blake whispered under his breath. Why would he? This was the question that was on everyone’s mind. Since no one could answer, though, they all looked at the attacker. Feeling the piercing gaze of everyone present, Brandon coughed a mouthful of blood. He winced, clearly in severe pain. With sheer difficulty, he raised his head and glanced at the students. "What are you guys doing standing there? Come help me already!" But no one moved as much as a muscle. They were all staring at him as if he was a rare animal. "You bastards," Brandon growled, anger flashing through his eyes like lightning in a stormy night. "Is this how you treat your instructo—arghhh!" He was about to continue, but a terrible pain shot through his heart. "And you," he then glared at Nox, "how the heck are you still alive?" Nox’s expression had remained indifferent all this while, but upon hearing Brandon’s question, a smirk curled up on the side of his lips. "Look at your body," he stated. Brandon stared down at his body. Curious, even the bystanders followed his gaze, and they gasped at what they saw. "That... that’s exactly the same cut," someone cried out, their entire body trembling in dread. "Yes, only that it’s much more gruesome—oh gawd, how did this happen?" "How..." Brandon stuttered, his voice a jumbled mess. His body seemed riddled with slash markings, and he understood the pattern too well, as he had done similar things to Nox. It was meant to inflict agonizing pain on the victim before eventually killing them. "He didn’t make any movement! No one should’ve been able to see me!" Brandon was greatly confused. More than that, he was curious... even if it was the last thing he did, he wanted to know how this kid had outsmarted him. "I knew something was up with him back in Snowhelm," Brandon clenched his teeth so hard that he could now taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. He knew Nox was a threat—a big one that could bring his downfall. ’That’s why I tried framing him for the death of Ren, setting a target on his back even though it was I who killed that arrogant, cocky bastard to keep the elemental crystals for myself!’ ’But who would’ve thought even the Silver family would be so incompetent to deal with him?’ Little did he know that the person who had stopped all advances against Nox was none other than the second-in-command of the Silver family himself—Zarek. "You... you want to know how I did it, right?" Nox’s voice suddenly sounded, snapping him from his train of thought. Nox saw the eagerness in Brandon’s eyes. "It’s because I’m an anomaly." His voice rang out in all directions. "I shouldn’t be here, but I’m here. You already lost when you chose to fight against me—someone who is blessed by an entire Pantheon." "What is he saying?" Whispers broke out among the soldiers of the Tristan kingdom and special class students. Nox’s words sounded profound, and even if they lacked the full context of what he meant, they felt it made a lot of sense. It was only someone blessed by the gods that could survive a fatal and gruesome death like the one Nox had just experienced. Nox’s eyes glinted. Of course, he didn’t reveal that he had copied the Dreadfiend Tyrant’s Rewind skill, which allowed him to undo any attack from his opponent. After using it ten times, the skill had upgraded into this: --- [Vengeful Retribution (Ultimate Tier)] Description: The user can activate [Rewind: Vengeful Retribution] to restore their body to a previous undamaged state, reversing any fatal or critical injuries sustained within the last 60 seconds. This upgraded version enhances the effect tenfold, allowing the user to recover from catastrophic wounds and restore even destroyed limbs. While the skill is active, a vengeful aura surrounds the user. For the next 30 seconds, any damage inflicted upon them is reflected back to the attacker at ten times the original damage, bypassing physical and magical resistances. This retribution is instantaneous, turning the user’s pain into a lethal counterattack. Drawback: Activating this enhanced effect taxes the user’s core vitality, reducing stamina and mana regeneration by 50% for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes after each activation. --- The Rewind skill was already powerful and would make even experts salivate, but after using his talents on it, the skill became even more broken! Yes, just like the description said, it had simply reversed all critical injuries onto Brandon tenfold, forcing him out of his invisible state. Nox was even slightly impressed that Brandon hadn’t fallen apart yet. ’I guess being a level 77 Awakened has its perks, huh? His health pool must be massive.’ 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 "Blessed by the gods? Tch, funny!" Brandon burst out in a fit of laughter. After a while, he began coughing blood and spitting as he laughed. Brandon spat more blood, his fists trembling. "Don’t—don’t act high and mighty! You’re nothing but a damn student!" Nox’s eyes flashed—a glint of something ancient, something beyond comprehension. "A student?" He tilted his head, his smirk sharpening into something almost sinister. "No, Brandon. I’m your consequence." A crackling silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by Brandon’s ragged breaths. Yet, the tension was deafening. "Thanks to a good friend of mine," Nox said, thinking of Zarek, "I learned of what you did in Snowhelm." "You thought killing Ren and framing me would tie my hands. But you underestimated one thing…" Nox’s gaze turned sharp as he added in a cold voice, "I don’t fight battles. I end them." Brandon felt his body weaken further, the slashes burning hotter. His mind raced. ’When? How?!’ "I used your own arrogance against you," Nox continued. "The moment you stepped into Snowhelm, you were already in my radar. Trust me, you were one of the reasons I came to the academy in the first place." Brandon’s eyes flickered with panic, realization dawning like a final, cruel joke. Nox continued with a merciless glint in his dark, dangerous eyes. "You didn’t fail today, Brandon. You failed long before you ever struck me." Read new chapters at freewebnovel The other students watched, their faces growing pale, their hearts pounding. Brandon’s eyes darted frantically, then his gaze fell on Wendy. He called out hurriedly. "Sister... are you just going to..." Before he could continue, Wendy glanced away. "Y-you! I’m your brother! Are you just going to abandon me as well?" "The last time I checked, I don’t have any brother," Wendy replied calmly, not even bothering to look at Brandon. It was as if he were a peasant, not worth her gaze. Brandon clenched and unclenched his fists, seeming to be in an inner struggle with himself. Then his eyes shot open as if he had come to terms with something. He looked at Wendy and charged at her. "Tsk, if I’m dying, then I’m taking you with me!!!!" But before he could even reach his target, Brandon’s head rolled off his neck, and his body fell apart piece by piece in a bloody mess. --- [Ding! Level Up!] [Ding! Level Up! [Ding! Level Up!] [Ding! Level Up!] [System Notification] Congratulations! You have passed the evolution threshold (Level 40). [Warning: Current level exceeds the requirement for evolution.] Would you like to evolve now or postpone evolution for later? --- ’Level 54!’ A satisfied smile appeared on Nox’s face as he felt the surge of power through his veins. "You killed him! You’ll pay!" Just then, he heard an angry voice behind him, filled with malice and killing intent.