The skeletal hand continued descending through the crimson sky above the Academy while pressure rolled downward heavily enough that fractured stone across the combat district kept grinding against itself in low uneven vibrations. The shattered training grounds beneath the descending palm no longer resembled an Academy battlefield. Smoke drifted through collapsed arena structures where damaged suppression arrays still sparked intermittently between broken support pillars, and blood from wounded enforcers and the mutilated Vajra spread through deep cracks running across the ruined combat sector while students farther along the elevated walkways struggled to stand beneath the overlapping pressure from the Principal's manifestation and Noctis's lingering aura.
Valdred thrust another stabilization formation upward with one hand while his boots scraped backward half a step across broken stone from the downward force pressing against the Academy barriers overhead. The Vice Principal's armor shifted around his shoulders as he redirected mana through several flickering support formations near the outer combat district, and every few moments he glanced upward toward the skeletal palm lowering farther through the atmosphere while damaged barrier layers cracked and reformed repeatedly beneath the pressure. "We seriously do not have the funds for this," he muttered while extending another reinforcement array toward a collapsing tower formation farther across the Academy grounds, and the moment the stabilizing runes connected with the damaged structure, another pulse from the descending hand spread downward through the sky hard enough to send fresh fractures across the surrounding barrier network.
The students scattered throughout nearby sectors remained pressed low against shattered walkways and damaged arena walls while instructors moved through the drifting smoke dragging wounded enforcers toward safer positions farther from the center of the battlefield. Some of the younger students still trembled beneath the pressure spreading across the Academy atmosphere, and several beastkin had flattened their ears tightly against their heads while trying to breathe through the oppressive weight descending from the sky. Even the elders who arrived earlier now stood braced against broken structures while their robes and armor shifted violently in the wind currents spiraling downward around the skeletal hand.
Noctis stood near the center of the ruined battlefield with Sanguinastra not yet drawn while the Trinity Dao Wheels remained dormant behind him, and his gaze stayed fixed upward toward the descending palm while dust and fragments of broken stone rolled around his boots across the fractured arena floor. The pressure coming from the hand continued increasing every second. He could feel the force pressing through the Academy barriers, through the atmosphere, through the damaged battlefield itself. Ordinary attacks would not stop something carrying this much condensed authority.
Another wave of pressure spread downward.
The shattered arena beneath Noctis groaned again while several damaged field formations collapsed entirely near the outer barriers and released showers of unstable mana sparks into the drifting smoke. Students farther away cried out when the pressure forced portions of elevated walkways downward several centimeters all at once, and Valdred immediately redirected another stabilization array toward the damaged structures while glaring upward toward the skeletal hand.
Noctis inhaled slowly.
Then Sovereign Genesis Apex Transformation unfolded fully.
The first release of pressure erupted outward from his body before the visible transformation itself fully manifested, and the force blasted drifting smoke away from the center of the battlefield while shattered stone lifted from the ground briefly before crashing back down across the ruined arena. Several wounded enforcers lost balance entirely and rolled across fractured terrain while nearby students pressed themselves harder against damaged structures trying to resist the shockwave moving through the Academy district.
Valdred planted one foot deeper into broken stone while crossing his arm in front of his face against the expanding pressure. Even with his strength, the force pushed him backward several steps through the ruined battlefield, and loose fragments of shattered armor scraped across the ground around him while the surrounding mana formations flickered violently under the sudden pressure spike. "This brat…" he muttered while stabilizing his stance again, and another surge of sovereign pressure rolled outward hard enough to send fresh cracks through nearby tower foundations.
Noctis's trench coat dissolved first.
The black fabric destabilized gradually into streams of blood particles that spiraled upward around his body while holy light and abyssal darkness leaked simultaneously from beneath the dissolving layers. The blood particles rotated continuously around his torso and arms before condensing into hardened structures across his body, and sections of crimson-black armor formed piece by piece over his chest, shoulders, waist, and legs while blood energy circulated visibly through vein-like patterns beneath the armor surface.
The surrounding atmosphere distorted more heavily once the armor completed another layer.
Holy energy flowed through portions of the sovereign armor in bright golden currents while abyssal darkness circulated beneath it without rejection, and the unnatural coexistence of all three energies caused the surrounding mana currents across the battlefield to destabilize violently. Nearby students could no longer comfortably look directly toward Noctis without their vision blurring from the pressure radiating off the armor itself.
The Blood Dao Wheel manifested behind his upper back first.
Crimson inscriptions rotated slowly around the massive ring while blood pressure spread outward across the battlefield in visible waves that pushed drifting smoke away from Noctis's position. The surrounding air thickened immediately after the wheel appeared, and several wounded enforcers near the outer barriers coughed blood after the pressure intensified around them.
Then the Holy Dao Wheel emerged beside it.
Golden-white radiance expanded outward through the shattered combat district while nearby mana formations flickered erratically beneath the holy pressure spreading through the Academy atmosphere. Some of the damaged abyssal support arrays near the battlefield edges collapsed entirely under the conflicting pressure while radiant particles drifted through the smoke surrounding Noctis.
The Abyssal Dao Wheel manifested last.
Darkness rolled outward behind him in expanding currents while the temperature throughout the battlefield dropped sharply enough that several students instinctively wrapped their arms around themselves despite the oppressive heat already saturating the atmosphere from the descending skeletal hand overhead.
The Trinity Dao Wheels rotated together.
Blood.
Holy.
Abyss.
Streams of all three energies circulated continuously between the rings while the pressure spreading from Noctis's transformation shook the Academy harder with every rotation.
Then the wings unfolded.
Blood wings spread outward first behind him while displaced air blasted across the ruined battlefield in expanding waves strong enough to scatter loose rubble and push wounded enforcers several meters farther across broken stone. Holy wings emerged beside them while radiant feathers shifted through the turbulent atmosphere, and every movement of the wings disturbed the surrounding pressure currents rolling downward from the skeletal hand above.
The abyssal wings expanded last.
Dark energy poured outward across the combat district while the final pair unfolded completely behind Noctis and cast massive shadows across the shattered battlefield beneath him.
The Academy atmosphere became unstable.
Tower formations throughout distant districts flickered continuously while support barriers above the Academy groaned beneath the overlapping pressure from the Principal's manifestation and Noctis's completed transformation. Students across nearby sectors remained flattened against the ground while instructors braced themselves against shaking structures trying to prevent further collapses.
Valdred wiped sweat from the side of his face with the back of one gauntleted hand while staring upward toward Noctis. "Why does he keep getting stronger…" he muttered while another pressure wave from the Trinity Dao Wheels forced fragments of broken stone to vibrate across the battlefield around his boots.
The skeletal hand continued descending.
Its enormous fingers spread across the sky while the atmosphere compressed downward beneath it, and every fraction of movement from the hand sent fresh shockwaves through the Academy barriers overhead.
Noctis extended one hand outward.
Blood particles gathered gradually beside him before condensing into Sanguinastra.
The sword manifested slowly inside the pressure storm surrounding the battlefield while streams of blood energy wrapped continuously around the blade. Holy radiance spread along one edge while abyssal darkness condensed across the opposite side, and the moment Noctis fully closed his hand around the weapon, the surrounding atmosphere twisted visibly around the sword itself.
The Trinity Dao Wheels accelerated behind him.
Streams of blood, holy, and abyssal energy surged continuously from the rotating rings into Sanguinastra while unstable pressure waves rolled outward through the Academy sky. Nearby barrier formations overhead cracked farther beneath the accumulating force gathering around the blade, and several students instinctively lowered their heads because simply looking directly toward the sword had become uncomfortable.
Noctis continued charging the attack.
Blood energy layered itself over the blade first in thick flowing currents while holy radiance compressed beneath it without dispersing. Then abyssal darkness folded inward around the sword until the atmosphere near the blade distorted heavily from the density of all three forces compressed together.
The battlefield never stopped moving around him.
Smoke rolled through shattered arena structures while wounded enforcers groaned farther across broken ground. Students continued dragging injured classmates toward safer districts while damaged tower formations emitted warning alarms throughout the Academy. Valdred reinforced another collapsing barrier layer near the combat district while still watching the growing pressure around Sanguinastra with visible concern.
The skeletal hand lowered farther through the sky.
Wind blasted downward hard enough to crack nearby structures again.
Noctis spread his wings wider.
Then they flapped downward violently.
The ruined battlefield exploded outward beneath him. Broken stone, dust, smoke, and fragments of shattered armor blasted away from the center of the arena while several nearby barriers collapsed completely under the pressure displacement from his takeoff. The downward force bent nearby support pillars while Noctis launched upward through the atmosphere toward the descending skeletal hand.
Students throughout the Academy watched him ascend.
The Trinity Dao Wheels rotated continuously behind him while streams of energy still flowed from the rings into Sanguinastra during flight. Turbulence rolled outward through the sky around his wings while the descending skeletal hand continued lowering toward him through the fractured atmosphere.
The distance closed rapidly.
Noctis raised Sanguinastra.
The sword pressure distorted the surrounding sky before the attack itself fully released, and the moment the blade moved downward in a vertical slash, the compressed trinity energies surged outward together through the atmosphere.
Oblivion Rend split upward through the sky.
The attack did not resemble ordinary energy projection. Space distorted directly along the slash path while blood energy, holy radiance, and abyssal darkness compressed together into a vertical rend dense enough that the Academy barriers screamed from the pressure.
The attack collided with the skeletal hand above the Academy.
Shockwaves erupted outward immediately afterward.
Barrier layers overhead shattered apart while the atmosphere twisted violently around the collision point. The Academy beneath the clash shook continuously while distant towers cracked and fragments of damaged structures rained downward across surrounding districts.
At first neither side advanced.
The skeletal fingers began closing gradually around Oblivion Rend while pressure waves rolled through the atmosphere hard enough to flatten students farther across the Academy grounds.
Noctis remained airborne beneath the collision while his wings fought against the descending pressure and the Trinity Dao Wheels behind him continued pouring energy into the attack.
The fingers tightened farther.
The sky around the collision point distorted harder while the Academy barriers failed one layer after another overhead.
Then the fingers trembled.
A cracking sound spread through the atmosphere.
The skeletal hand began losing structural control.
One finger opened slightly.
Then another.
Oblivion Rend pushed upward harder while reality distortion spread violently around the collapsing grip.
The hand buckled backward.
The vertical rend split directly through the center of the skeletal palm while pressure exploded outward across the sky in expanding waves that shook the Academy again beneath the clash.
The severed portions twisted apart through the distorted heavens.
But Oblivion Rend continued upward.
The slash tore through the damaged barrier network while fractured space spread across the sky behind the attack path, and moments later reality itself cracked open above the Academy.
A spatial rupture formed.
Distorted dimensional pressure spread outward while fragments of the severed skeletal hand were dragged toward the opening through unstable space.
Then the Principal cried out.
"Ouch! That hurts like crazy!"
The complaint echoed across the battlefield while the dimensional rupture still twisted overhead and unstable pressure rolled through the Academy atmosphere.
Several students stared upward blankly.
Noctis descended afterward while turbulence still spiraled around the battlefield beneath him. His wings adjusted continuously during descent while fragments of broken barrier formations drifted downward through the air around him, and the moment his armored boots touched the shattered arena floor again, loose stone shifted outward beneath the remaining pressure radiating from Sovereign Genesis Apex Transformation.
Noctis folded his wings partially inward while looking upward toward the fractured sky where severed skeletal fragments continued disappearing into unstable space. "Are you okay, Principal?" he asked while smoke drifted between collapsed barrier structures farther across the battlefield and Valdred continued stabilizing damaged formations near the outer district.
Silence lingered briefly afterward.
Then a cough echoed across the Academy.
"I am fine," the Principal replied while the dimensional rupture overhead continued distorting the surrounding heavens. "Just a flesh wound."
Several elders nearly collapsed hearing that response while wounded enforcers lying across the battlefield stared upward in disbelief.
The Principal's voice spread outward through the Academy again.
"From this point onward, Noctis is under my protection."
Students throughout nearby sectors reacted immediately while instructors exchanged uneasy looks beneath the still-distorted sky overhead.
"He will receive special privileges," the Principal continued while unstable dimensional currents twisted above the Academy barriers. "He does not need to attend ordinary classes. He may access Academy resources freely."
Valdred visibly relaxed hearing the class exemption.
Then the Principal's tone hardened slightly.
"If anyone continues provoking him unnecessarily, I will descend personally."
The battlefield became quieter afterward because everyone present now understood exactly what that meant.
"Valdred will handle the aftermath. The rest of you are dismissed."
The voice faded gradually afterward.
But the sky remained damaged.
Valdred finally looked upward properly once the immediate pressure of combat settled. Sweat formed along the side of his face while he stared toward the fractured heavens above the Academy where dimensional cracks still spread outward from the spatial rupture left behind by Oblivion Rend.
Reality itself remained unstable overhead.
Damaged barrier layers flickered around the rupture while distorted mana currents twisted through the sky.
"Principal…" Valdred said slowly while another unstable dimensional pulse spread through the atmosphere above them. "This is not something I can handle."
A sigh echoed across the Academy.
Then a finger snap sounded.
The sky shattered again.
Reality fractured outward across the heavens like glass breaking, but instead of destruction spreading farther, the dimensional cracks folded inward while distorted light corrected itself throughout the atmosphere. The spatial rupture collapsed gradually while damaged barrier layers restored themselves one by one above the Academy.
Warped clouds reformed.
Mana turbulence faded.
The fractured sky stabilized.
Moments later the heavens above the Academy looked peaceful again as if nothing had ever happened.
Only the ruined battlefield below remained.