54 [Weapon Selection] [4]

Clang!!

As Azariah swung his hammer, Tristan reacted swiftly, blocking it with his sword.

The impact of the clash bounced his sword back, and he quickly created distance between them.

"You are the first to use a weapon, Azariah!" Grinning, he said as he drew his sword out of its sheath.

Azariah didn't reply as he looked around him. Only a few students were present, but it was clear from their gazes that they would not interfere.

Oliver wasn't close to them, nor were the others who had the authority or guts to intervene.

"So, I can go all out, huh?" Azariah mumbled, shifting his gaze towards Tristan.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to break that fac—."

Ignoring his ranting, Azariah dashed towards him without hesitation.

All he needed was to narrow the distance between them, unleashing the full potential of his new weapon.

And knowing this full well, Tristan was ready.

CLANG!!

As Azariah's hammer swung once more, he parried it with his sword.

"You are weak," Tristan mumbled, feeling that the force behind Azariah's attack was weaker.

Though they had only clashed twice, he felt he could easily defeat him.

Without replying, Azariah swung his hammer, and Tristan dodged backwards to gain distance.

Bracing his foot against the ground, he swung his sword diagonally, trying to catch Azariah off guard as his hammer was in his right hand, Tristan targeted his left flank.

He grinned widely, thinking he had already won.

Clang!!!

But his smile vanished as Azariah threw his hammer on the ground at a weird angle.

It bounced back, and the sound of metal clashing resonated, slowing his sword and giving Azariah enough time to dodge his attack by a hair's breadth.

"What?"

Tristan couldn't comprehend how the hammer bounced back and blocked his attack.

For a fleeting moment, he thought Azariah had planned it, but he quickly dismissed it as a coincidence.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword again as Azariah picked up the hammer and swung it at him with full force, spinning his body around.

Clang!!

Once again, the sound of metal clashing resonated as Tristan took a step back and tried to raise his sword again, slashing downwards.

But his pupils dilated as Azariah once again threw his weapon on the ground and spun his body around, his sword breezing past Azariah.

The handle of the hammer hit the ground before it bounced back at a precise angle, returning it to Azariah's hand with the axe side facing Tristan.

CUT!!!

"Huff...Huff..."

Tristan's breathing turned ragged as he touched his neck, which had a small cut, blood gushing out from it.

His eyes trembled as he looked at Azariah.

Had he not thought fast enough and moved his head slightly, Azariah would have split his head from his body.

"Are you mad?" he asked, his voice trembling with anger and fear.

".... Learn to love yourself," Azariah mumbled to himself as he dashed towards him once again, "because I won't let you break my heart again."

Tristan's eyes glowed furiously, and without hesitation, he swung his sword horizontally, aiming at Azariah's ribs.

But...

That was a mistake...

"Amun-Ra's blessing," Azariah mumbled as the sword came closer towards him.

"First form: naqsal."

Whoosh!!

All the kinetic energy and the force behind the sword vanished into thin air as the sword halted in its place.

Azariah used most of his mana he had just to stop this attack.

And without any delay, Azariah grabbed Tristan's hand between his ribs and forearm.

And...

Crack!!

"ARGHH!!!"

He smashed his hammer on Tristan's elbow joint, shattering it completely.

Then, he threw his hammer on the ground again, and as it bounced back, he aimed it at Tristan's jaw from below.

With difficulty, Tristan leaned his head backward, avoiding the hammer, but Azariah grabbed his other hand as well and pulled him towards him.

Baam!!!

"ARGHH."

Tristan screamed as Azariah headbutted him, breaking his nose.

Baam!!!

Baam!!!

But Azariah didn't stop at once; he headbutted him twice more, making sure his nose would forever be disfigured.

Tristan collapsed on the ground, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.

Azariah glanced around; many of the students were frozen in shock, looking at him. He nodded his head before he picked up the axe-hammer

and....

"ARGHHHH!!!!"

Blood gushed out of Tristan's wound, soaking his shirt as Azariah lodged the axe side of his hammer deep into his shoulder.

His blood sprayed around, even brushing Azariah's cheeks.

"PROFESSOR!!!"

one of the students shouted, but Azariah completely ignored it.

"The emperor has decided, huh?" he mumbled as he cleaned Tristan's warm blood from his own face, "his decision means shit to me."

Like a gods word, didn't mean anything to a non-believer.

The words of someone who wasn't equal to his mother meant nothing to him.

Huff...Huff...

Coarse breath escaped from his clenched mouth as his body writhed and trembled.

His mind was already on the verge of collapsing from the pain.

"You know, in the name of mental endurance, I had gone through an experiment in which they used to first starve me and then make small cuts on my tongue before giving me spicy food to eat."

With a maniacal smile, Azariah mumbled as he walked closer towards the kneeling Tristan,

"I always wondered how it felt for someone who could actually taste."

He then grabbed him by his face, making him look at him.

"Show me your tongue, Tristan," he whispered with an innocent smile.

Tristan's eyes trembled violently as Azariah grabbed his mouth with his left hand.

"Arghhmmm!!"

A muffled scream resonated in the air as Azariah took out the hammer from his shoulder.

"Huff...hufff..."

He huffed violently as Azariah brought his hammer close to his cheek.

"If you aren't going to show your tongue," grabbing his lower jaw, he mumbled as he aimed the axe side of his hammer at his cheek, "then I will have to force you."

Swish!!!

But before he could swing his hammer, two streaks of pure white and black light glistened, slicing through the air.

A pitch-black scythe on the front and a pure white sword at the back of his neck were already aimed.

"Drop the weapon, Azariah," Arianell said firmly, her sword aimed right at the back of his neck.

"How strong you have become, Az," Shyamal mumbled as she glanced at the broken Tristan, her expression unreadable.

Blood dripped down his neck as both the weapons were sharp enough to cut even with a small touch.

A few more people ran towards them as they glared at Azariah.

"Woah, woah, junior sister-in-laws, calm down," Oliver raised his hand as he tried to come closer to Azariah, who still had his axe aimed at Tristan.

"I will take your tongue as compensation if I ever hear you say that again, Oliver Polarral," Arianell sternly replied as she glared at him.

"Okay, but first, calm down all of you, Azariah, throw the weapon," Oliver pleaded, looking at him.

"Az, what happened?" Aimar asked as he looked at him.

Ashlyn also looked at him worriedly; the wound on his neck continued to bleed without stopping.

But ignoring all of it, Azariah swung his hammer.

"Arghh."

And almost instantly, a groan left his mouth as both Shyamal and Arianell's weapons dug deeper into his neck.

"Hahaha."

Azariah chuckled lightly, feeling his life source depleting and sucked out as their weapons touched his wound.

Throwing his weapon, he looked back at the two girls as they still had their weapons aimed at him.

"All of you." Removing their weapons from his neck he mumbled as walked away, "stay the fuck away from me."