The ruined combat district remained unstable after the enforcement division lost control of the suppression operation. Broken stone continued shifting beneath damaged field formations while smoke drifted across the shattered training grounds from fires started earlier during the clash between the Vajra instructor and Noctis. Blood spread through the fractures running across the arena floor from wounded enforcers dragged toward safer positions near the outer barriers, and the limbless Vajra himself still convulsed weakly near the center-left section of the battlefield where all six severed limbs remained scattered separately among destroyed weapons, collapsed suppression arrays, and fragmented armor plating.
The students gathered throughout the surrounding combat sectors no longer resembled spectators watching an Academy lesson spiral out of control. Many had already retreated behind reinforced structures farther along the elevated walkways overlooking the arena while others assisted wounded enforcers and instructors away from active combat zones. Several younger students remained kneeling after the earlier pressure release from Noctis's aura, their breathing still uneven while instructors shouted for evacuation toward safer sectors of the Academy. None of the evacuation orders worked particularly well. Every student in the surrounding districts understood something abnormal was unfolding, and even fear struggled against the instinctive desire to continue watching.
The enforcers themselves adapted quickly despite the damage already spreading across the battlefield.
They had lost the advantage of organization during the first exchange against Nocturne and Ruin, but they were not weak. The remaining combat-capable members continued repositioning through the shattered arena while issuing rapid commands between overlapping suppression formations. Rear-line casters activated layered movement restriction arrays beneath fractured stone while frontline demons spread wider across the battlefield to avoid becoming clustered targets.
"Do not stack positions!"
"Pressure from both flanks!"
"Rotate wounded backward!"
Commands moved continuously through the drifting smoke while suppression chains scraped across broken stone and damaged armor shifted during rapid repositioning maneuvers. One enforcer dragged a wounded ally toward a partially collapsed barrier wall while another reinforced a destabilized suppression formation with additional mana input after the first caster lost part of his shoulder to Nocturne's opening rounds.
Noctis remained near the center of the ruined arena with Nocturne and Ruin held steadily while shell casings continued falling around his boots onto blood-covered stone.
He barely moved.
A suppression chain crossed toward his upper body from the right side while a binding circle activated beneath his feet simultaneously. Noctis shifted his torso slightly backward and allowed the chain to pass through the space in front of his coat before firing once toward the advancing barrier wall directly ahead. The reinforced shield shattered immediately beneath the impact while the enforcer hiding behind it reacted fast enough to avoid a fatal hit by twisting sideways during the collapse. Even then, the round still penetrated the side armor beneath his ribs and launched him backward across broken ground.
Another enforcer rushed through drifting smoke from the left flank carrying a broad suppression blade while rear-line casters unleashed pressure bolts toward Noctis's upper body from elevated positions near the outer combat barriers.
Noctis lowered his shoulders slightly beneath the incoming spell trajectories while pivoting one foot across fractured stone.
Ruin fired once.
The charging enforcer's knee exploded apart beneath the impact before momentum sent the armored demon skidding sideways through broken suppression arrays. The pressure bolts struck the ground behind Noctis moments later and detonated across the shattered arena floor, scattering smoke, dust, and broken stone outward through the battlefield.
The students watching from the outer sectors gradually realized something important.
Noctis was not overpowering the enforcers through explosive force or overwhelming speed.
He was simply more efficient.
Every movement from the enforcers consumed visible effort. Formation shifts. Mana expenditure. Defensive barriers. Positional adjustments. Suppression coordination.
Noctis answered everything with the smallest possible action.
A slight turn of the shoulders.
A half-step pivot.
One shot.
Then another.
Another barrier shattered.
Fragments of condensed mana burst outward through drifting smoke while the caster behind it retreated quickly enough to avoid losing his head. The bullet still tore through part of his upper arm before continuing through the damaged barrier formation behind him.
"Suppress his firing angles!"
"Push closer!"
The dragonkin leader continued issuing commands while moving rapidly through the battlefield. Unlike the others, he stopped relying on barriers entirely after watching repeated defensive formations collapse beneath single shots. Instead, he forced the enforcers toward mobility-based suppression tactics designed to pressure Noctis from overlapping angles simultaneously.
Noctis noticed immediately.
The dragonkin understood adaptation faster than the others.
A heavily armored enforcer closed distance from the right side while another attempted approaching low through the drifting smoke carrying reinforced restraint chains designed for anti-mobility suppression. Rear-line casters activated movement restriction circles beneath Noctis again while damaged field arrays flickered violently under the strain spreading throughout the combat district.
Noctis stepped backward once.
The armored enforcer's suppression blade missed his torso by less than an arm's length.
Nocturne fired immediately afterward.
The bullet punched through the front plating of the attacker's armor before exiting through the side of his chest in a spray of blood and broken fragments. The second enforcer still managed to close distance despite the gunfire. Restraint chains surged upward toward Noctis's legs while smoke rolled heavily through the shattered arena around them.
Noctis turned his body slightly sideways.
The chains missed.
Then he kicked the enforcer directly in the chest.
The impact folded part of the armor inward before launching the demon backward through fractured stone and damaged suppression formations. The wounded enforcer collided with another retreating caster near the outer barriers while shell casings continued bouncing across the battlefield around Noctis's feet.
The battlefield never stopped moving.
The limbless Vajra still groaned weakly through spreading blood near the center-left side of the arena while wounded enforcers crawled or staggered toward safer positions farther from Noctis's firing range. Students continued retreating through elevated walkways while others crouched behind damaged structures trying to continue observing the battle without entering direct danger zones. Mana residue drifted through the air from destroyed suppression fields while smoke rolled continuously across portions of the ruined training grounds.
Then the dragonkin leader entered personally.
The pressure shift spread across the battlefield before the attack itself reached Noctis.
The dragonkin accelerated through drifting smoke carrying a massive battle axe while fractured stone shattered beneath each advancing step. Dragon scales visible across his neck and portions of his arms hardened beneath circulating mana pressure while the weapon itself rotated naturally through the movement flow of his body. Unlike the earlier enforcers who approached through rigid suppression formations, the dragonkin moved aggressively and directly while maintaining constant offensive pressure.
The axe descended toward Noctis's upper body.
Noctis actually displaced farther this time instead of relying only on minimal posture adjustment.
The strike crashed into shattered stone where he previously stood and blasted broken fragments outward across the battlefield. Before the debris fully settled, the dragonkin rotated into another sweeping attack from the opposite side while continuing forward aggressively enough that Noctis abandoned stationary firing altogether and retreated backward across the damaged arena.
Interesting.
The dragonkin's speed and pressure output had finally reached the threshold where remaining still while shooting comfortably no longer worked.
The dragonkin continued advancing.
His movements remained surprisingly refined for someone carrying such a large weapon. Every shift of the shoulders transferred momentum naturally into the next attack while the broad axe blade carved through drifting smoke and unstable mana residue across the battlefield. The weapon itself controlled enormous portions of combat space at once, forcing Noctis to reposition repeatedly through the ruined arena while shell casings scattered behind him during continuous return fire.
Nocturne fired.
Then Ruin.
The dragonkin did not use barriers.
He already understood barriers were pointless.
Instead, the axe itself rotated through the projectile paths.
Sparks and blood-colored mana fragments exploded outward whenever the reinforced blade intercepted incoming rounds. One bullet ricocheted upward into drifting smoke after striking the broad edge while another split apart against the axe head before fragments scattered across broken stone behind the dragonkin.
The students watching from farther sectors reacted visibly afterward.
The dragonkin leader had become the first combatant capable of directly contesting Nocturne and Ruin's firing pressure.
Noctis continued retreating while firing.
The dragonkin twisted sideways beneath one incoming shot before rotating the axe again through another bullet trajectory. A third round clipped the outer edge of his shoulder armor hard enough to fracture plating beneath the impact, but the dragonkin ignored the damage completely and continued pressing forward through overlapping projectile paths.
Then the axe swept outward in a full rotational arc.
A giant crescent slash erupted across the battlefield.
The pressure wave carved through fractured stone while smoke and drifting dust exploded outward beneath the expanding force. Students near the outer barriers immediately lowered themselves behind damaged structures while several wounded enforcers flattened against the ground trying to avoid the approaching slash.
Noctis shifted his body sideways.
The crescent passed beside him close enough that the pressure disturbed his trench coat while continuing across the ruined arena before detonating against distant barrier walls farther beyond the combat district.
Noctis remained standing calmly afterward.
Then he raised Nocturne again.
More gunfire crossed the battlefield.
The dragonkin rotated his axe repeatedly through the incoming rounds while continuing forward aggressively enough that sparks and fragmented mana bursts scattered continuously around him. Several bullets still struck portions of his armor or scales indirectly during the exchange, though none landed cleanly enough to inflict catastrophic damage before the dragonkin redirected or avoided them.
The battlefield pressure changed abruptly.
Both Noctis and the dragonkin stopped almost immediately.
A vastly heavier aura descended across the combat district before the source itself fully arrived. Cracked stone groaned beneath the sudden pressure increase while drifting dust compressed downward against the shattered arena floor. Students throughout the surrounding sectors collapsed onto their knees while several wounded enforcers lost balance entirely beneath the descending force. Loose weapons rattled across broken ground. Damaged barriers flickered violently. Even the dragonkin leader's posture shifted under the weight pressing against the battlefield.
Then a dreadlord elder landed near the outer arena boundary.
Dark robes shifted beneath heavy armor plates while black demonic pressure spread continuously from his body through the ruined combat district. The aura itself carried enough density that nearby students struggled to breathe properly beneath it, and portions of the damaged field arrays cracked further simply from the force saturating the environment.
"Elder!"
Several enforcers called out immediately despite kneeling under the pressure.
More students followed afterward.
Noctis laughed softly.
Not because the elder himself looked ridiculous.
Because the aura pressing across the battlefield genuinely had no effect on him.
The dreadlord noticed almost immediately.
His eyes narrowed.
Then the pressure intensified further.
Students collapsed lower against broken stone while several nearby instructors struggled to remain upright beneath the increasing suppression. The dragonkin leader himself bent slightly under the aura while drifting smoke compressed downward through the battlefield.
Noctis released only a fraction of his own aura in response.
The result spread across the Academy instantly.
The dreadlord elder's pressure collapsed beneath Noctis's overwhelming suppression before the elder even fully understood what happened. His robes compressed violently against his body while cracked stone beneath his feet shattered deeper from the pressure reversal now spreading outward from Noctis instead.
The elder hit both knees hard enough to crack the ground beneath him.
Shock spread visibly across the surrounding battlefield.
Students already kneeling were forced lower while wounded enforcers collapsed flat against fractured stone. Several nearby instructors gasped as the atmosphere itself became heavier beneath Noctis's pressure release.
Noctis looked toward the elder calmly.
"Trying to pressure me into kneeling?" he asked while drifting smoke rolled between them across the shattered training grounds. "Who exactly do you think you are?"
The elder struggled unsuccessfully against the suppression.
Then more pressure signatures approached rapidly through the Academy.
Additional elders arrived after sensing the aura clash spreading across the combat district, but the moment they entered the battlefield they too staggered beneath Noctis's overwhelming pressure. One elder attempted releasing his own aura defensively before collapsing onto one knee immediately afterward while another braced himself against a damaged barrier wall trying unsuccessfully to remain standing.
The suppression spread farther.
Farther than Noctis initially realized.
Throughout the Academy, students collapsed inside distant lecture halls while mana formations destabilized across several towers. Combat arenas far beyond the training district shook beneath the pressure release spreading through nearly one-fourth of the institution.
Then something struck the back of Noctis's head hard enough to snap it forward.
Both Nocturne and Ruin slipped from his hands afterward and clattered across broken stone near his boots while the aura suppressing the battlefield wavered violently.
"Ow!"
Noctis grabbed the back of his head immediately while turning around furiously.
Valdred stood behind him with one fist still raised.
The Vice Principal's armor shifted slightly from the movement technique he used to arrive while irritation radiated visibly across his face.
"Why did you hit so hard?!"
Valdred pointed violently across the battlefield.
"Look around!"
Noctis finally paused long enough to properly observe the surrounding destruction.
The training grounds no longer resembled an Academy combat sector at all. Wounded enforcers littered portions of the shattered battlefield while the mutilated Vajra continued bleeding weakly across fractured stone nearby. Students and instructors remained kneeling throughout the surrounding sectors recovering from the pressure suppression while broken barriers, collapsed field arrays, smoke, spreading blood, and destroyed arena walls extended across nearly the entire combat district.
Then Noctis extended his senses farther.
His expression shifted slightly afterward.
The pressure had spread across almost one-fourth of the Academy.
"…Ah."
Valdred stared at him in disbelief.
Noctis quickly straightened afterward.
"Sorry."
The Vice Principal looked close to punching him again.
"But these teachers are too weak," Noctis continued while gesturing lightly across the ruined battlefield. "This is exactly the problem. None of them can teach me anything."
Several nearby elders looked deeply offended despite still kneeling under lingering pressure.
"Even the elders are weak," Noctis added while smoke drifted through the destroyed combat district around them.
One elder nearly coughed blood hearing that.
Valdred pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You are still attending classes."
"No."
"Yes."
"They cannot teach me."
"You are still a student."
Noctis frowned briefly before remembering the Demon Crucible Trials.
Valdred noticed immediately.
"If you refuse to behave as a student and attend Academy functions," the Vice Principal continued while wounded enforcers were carried farther away behind him, "you will not participate in the Demon Crucible."
Noctis stopped arguing momentarily afterward.
Then he tried again more carefully.
"There really is nobody here capable of teaching me except the Principal."
Valdred's eye twitched.
"And if the Principal manifests physically," Noctis continued while gesturing around the devastated battlefield, "the Academy probably has to be rebuilt again."
Valdred froze briefly afterward because the logic itself was unfortunately correct.
Then an ancient voice spread across the battlefield.
"I can grant you special privilege, Noctis."
Everyone present immediately recognized the source.
The Principal.
Noctis visibly brightened.
"Really?"
"Under one condition."
"What condition?"
"Take one hit from me."
Valdred's expression collapsed instantly.
"No!"
The Vice Principal turned upward toward the unseen Principal while panic spread visibly across his face.
"We cannot afford another reconstruction!"
Pressure changed throughout the Academy sky.
Then a gigantic skeletal hand began descending from above the combat district.
The manifestation spread slowly downward through the crimson sky with enough size that distant Academy towers fell beneath its shadow while defensive formations activated automatically throughout surrounding structures. Wind blasted downward through the ruined battlefield. Cracked stone fractured deeper. Students flattened against the ground beneath the pressure while nearby elders looked genuinely horrified.
Valdred nearly screamed.
"We do not have the funds for this!"
The skeletal hand continued descending anyway.
Noctis stared upward beside him while the enormous palm lowered slowly toward the Academy.
Then he chuckled quietly.
If it was only one attack…
That sounded manageable.
Noctis looked directly toward the descending skeletal hand while pressure rolled continuously through the collapsing combat district.
"Sovereign Genesis Apex Transformation."