Chapter 22: Unveiling the Suit's True Might

Amidst the smoldering ruins and rubble he was once buried under, Aria stood silent and alone, lost in his thoughts, his fingers digging into his wrist as a surge of raw power coursed through his vein. His mind raced back to the moment he had completed the suit, exhausting nearly all his inner energy to bring it to fruition.

He didn't think of how it would affect the flow of the match and just rushed to the arena after incorporating his armor to the body suit.

"I never imagined it would leave me so depleted," he mused inwardly, his voice a mere whisper. 'No wonder my crimson energy felt weakened, I was already depleted from over using my inner energy when building the suit.'

Suddenly Aria drew back his crimson energy. 'I guess I will be fighting without my crimson energy this time, I can feel the raw strength flowing through my veins, I can feel it, I already know I can beat her even without the crimson energy' Aria pondered as he punched the air, his fist a blur, glowing a golden color as it shattered the sound barrier creating a loud bang.

He then squeezed his fist once more before looking ahead to were Sheila stood tall. Her eyes sparkled with unbridled excitement. "Aria! I didn't know you had gotten your suit done? Oh well, time for the real fight to begin."

Aria had already opted to use his physical abilities alone, to test out the suit's limit without relying on his specialty. He desired to discover its raw capabilities and explore the boundaries of his own abilities.

This time Aria rushed forward first, he sped towards her like a bullet, Sheila reacted fast by stomping the ground causing a sharp disk formed from the ground to pop out, she then sent it hurling towards Aria.

Aria reacted fast by jumping and spinning horizontally to avoid the sharp disk. 'The speed of the disk is…so slow' Aria thought as he by passed the disk. Landing on the floor once more he dashed towards her again, this time his speed increased once more.

He immediately appeared in front of her, and without giving her a chance to react, he released three lightning fast kicks, one to her shin which caused her to lose balance, another towards her torso, and the last towards her head which sent her flying. She could feel the impact of the kicks, even through her armor.

The last kick had especially stunned her, she was dizzy and was confused at which part of the arena she was, as she rolled on the ground countless times. She stood up, and before she could retaliate once more or even regain her sense of direction, Aria struck her in the gut with his fist, which caused her body to arch as she was sent flying once more.

Blood spew from her mouth as she was midair. 'I couldn't even sense he was coming' Through the course of this fight, from the very beginning, she could sense and make a guess of which move Aria made based on the tremors she felt from the ground, coming from Aria's feet.

But as soon as he put the suit on, she couldn't even sense the tremors anymore. It was as if he was floating in the air while given her a beat down.

She couldn't allow this continue much longer, she regained her composure and flipped midair with fluidity and grace. Landing on the ground, she dashed towards Aria and he did same as well.

The two students collided in a whirl wind of fists and kicks, their movements swift as lightning. Aria's suit-Enhanced speed granted him an uncanny agility, allowing him to evade Sheila's attacks with ease. His blows, charged by the suits amplified by the suits amplified strength, shattered the earth wall she had just created, going through it like butter before striking her body, each impacts causing loud booms. She was lucky her armor was made of such strong material, or else her bones would've already turned to dust due to each impact.

Shock painted Sheila's face as Aria's relentless assault overwhelmed her defenses. "H-how…how can you become so powerful so suddenly?" She gasped, her voice barely audible above the deafening roar of the crowd. She couldn't understand how one can have such a sudden boost in strength just because of a suit. She could even see he was not even using his specialty and only relied on his physical abilities.

There were only two reasons that could grant him such a sudden boost in strength, it's either his strength was already beyond comprehension before even wearing the armor, or the quality of the armor used was really high.

'It can't be the latter right? Even if it was the latter, the remnants of the fragments of the beast soul should've already taken control of his mind, because we are all in the novice tier right now, so it just has to be the former' She knew how strong Aria was without the suit, now that he had a suit, she should have known that he would have a strength boost, but she didn't expect to be rendered so useless in front of him immediately he wore the suit.

Aria's gaze remained cold and distant, his voice devoid of emotion, and further deepened due to the mask covering his mouth. "Who knows?" He stated flatly, as he replied her question.

The spectators watched in disbelief as Arias hand to hand combat skills, enhanced by the suits capabilities, left Sheila reeling.

"Unbelievable!" exclaimed a wide eyed student. "Aria's suit is like a mass weapon of destruction!"

"He's like a different person!" Another student chimed in, her voice filled with awe.

They didn't expect him to have such a boost, in fact he might even be able to beat Kai, with this strength since it was both of them who casually took down students of lower ranking.

Kael's eyes gleamed with anticipation as he witnessed the suit's prowess. 'I can't wait to face him in combat again! He will be a formidable adversary," he thought to himself, his tight body suit under his uniform glowing an orange intense color as it responded to his thoughts, the heat around him constantly rising.

*Pah*

He suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head as he came back to his senses. Lirien had his hands over him, "Stop the bullshit! You're scaring the rest" He said. Kael then looked around and could see the students around him carrying scared expressions as they looked at him.

"Ohh! Am so sorry!" Kael said, an awkward chuckle escaping his lips.

Aria's female admirers meanwhile erupted in cheers, their voices reverberating through the arena. "Aria! Aria! Aria!" they chanted, their adoration evident in their every word.

The battle raged on, Aria's suit continuing to astound. His enhanced strength and speed transformed his attacks into devastating blows that sent Sheila crashing to the ground repeatedly.

Sheila struggled to rise, her earth control specialty dwindling under Aria's relentless onslaught. "No…no…this can't be happening…" she muttered to herself, her voice barely a whisper.

Aria's expression remained, his cold voice echoing through the silence. 'It's over."

With a final earth shattering punch, Aria sent Sheila hurtling towards the ground, dust rose up to the air, the crowd erupting into thunderous applause as he was declared victor, since Sheila did not even have the strength to stand up.

But as the dust settled, a sense of unease permeated the air. Aria's eyes held a distant, almost predatory gleam, and his movements carried an unnatural fluidity. The suit, once a marvel of engineering, seemed to have taken on a life of its own.

…