The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy - Chapter 386

Chapter 386: The Beginning Of The End [XLVIII]
Indrath laughed at his words.

“Hah! Trying to scare me now?” he sneered, though a single bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“So what if your aura changed? You’re still trapped inside my domain!”

He snapped his fingers again.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

More portals tore open around Aestrea.

Space twisted violently as compressed spears, blades, and fists made of warped space shot out at him from every direction.

Left. Right. Above. Below.

There was no blind spot.

“Kneel! Break! Die for daring to touch what belongs to me!” Indrath’s voice echoed from all sides.

WHOOSH!

Aestrea moved.

For the first time since the domain appeared, he dodged.

His body shifted just enough.

A spear grazed his shoulder instead of piercing through it. A blade missed his neck by a hair, and a punch of space slammed into the ground where his head had been a moment ago.

Indrath’s smile twitched.

“Tch… lucky.”

He waved his hand again, but increased his speed.

Fwoom!

The portals multiplied, causing the pressure inside the domain to surge once more.

The air howled in pain.

The ground split apart as deep cracks spread in all directions. Violent purple light drowned the arena, turning everything within the domain into a distorted, shining nightmare.

“Dodge more!” Indrath roared madly.

“Let me see how long you can keep this up!”

Aestrea didn’t reply to his useless insults.

The black and white aura around his body thickened further, growing dense and oppressive.

It moved like heavy smoke, yet struck like lightning, coiling tightly around his arms, his legs, his torso.

The scarlet mist leaking from his eyes burned hotter, pouring out and spreading through the space like blood-stained fog, tainting the domain itself.

Fwoop!

Aestrea stepped forward, and a punch formed from warped space shot straight toward his face; however, he shifted his head to the side.

The fist brushed past his cheek.

Missed.

A crescent-shaped spatial blade sliced horizontally toward his waist, and he twisted his torso, the edge passing inches from his abdomen.

Missed.

Another massive fist of compressed space dropped from above, aiming to crush his skull, he slid his foot back and leaned aside.

The fist slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

Missed.

Indrath’s eyes widened.

“…Impossible.”

His breathing turned ragged.

“Haha… You’re adapting inside my space?!”

He clenched his fist, fury burning in his eyes.

“Arrogant brat!”

The portals spun out of control, rotating wildly as space itself twisted.

Indrath’s body blurred, jumping from portal to portal in less than a millisecond, launching relentless attacks from every direction at once.

“Above!”

BOOM!

A downward strike descended.

Aestrea bent backward.

“Behind!”

CRASH!

A blade burst from his shadow.

Aestrea stepped aside.

“Left! Right! Die!”

BOOM!

CRACK!

THUD!

Attacks came from every angle, tearing apart the arena, but each one missed by the narrowest margin, leaving Indrath staring in growing disbelief.

“Grr…!!!”

Indrath’s jaw tightened hard as he gritted his teeth.

Sweat streamed down his face now, soaking his hairline and dripping from his chin.

The composed stance he had worn moments ago was completely gone, replaced by jerky, furious movements that betrayed his panic.

“Damn it… damn it!” he cursed.

“What kind of monster are you?!”

Aestrea kept walking forward.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Each footfall sent a dull shudder through the domain, as if the space itself were recoiling from his presence.

The black-and-white aura surrounding him grew denser, heavier, rolling outward like a crushing tide.

It pressed against the violet void with merciless force, and thin fractures began to appear in the air, spiderweb cracks tearing through Indrath’s once-flawless control.

Indrath saw this, and his pupils contracted sharply.

“No… no, this is my domain!” he screamed.

“You’re nothing but a brute! A mindless dog swinging his fists!”

He roared and raised both hands.

“This ends now!” Indrath yelled.

“Disappear!”

He then thrust both hands forward.

The countless portals around him collapsed inward at the same time. Space screamed as everything compressed, folded, and crushed together.

Purple light gathered into a single point in front of Indrath’s chest, spinning violently.

A spear formed.

It was long and narrow, made of pure compressed space, its surface twisting and breaking reality around it.

The tip pointed straight at Aestrea’s head.

Indrath pushed his arms forward.

The spear shot out.

BOOOOOOM!

It ripped through the air, tearing a straight line through the domain, aimed directly at Aestrea’s face.

The ground beneath it split open as it passed, cracks chasing after it like living things.

Aestrea stopped on his tracks, planting his feet firmly on the broken yet hard ground. Then, he raised a single hand in the direction of the incoming spear.

Fwip!

The massive spear reached out to him, as the tip exactly touched the palm of his hand, and suddenly… it stopped.

There was no explosion or impact sound.

Just a sudden, crushing silence caused by the spear suddenly stopping.

The entire arena froze.

The spear trembled violently in front of Aestrea’s hand.

Space bent and twisted around the point of contact, warping in waves. Purple light flickered wildly, and sharp screeching sounds echoed as reality itself struggled.

But the spear did not move forward, not even a single centimeter.

Aestrea’s arm remained steady, but slowly, his fingers began to close around the spear’s tip.

The space spear shook harder, cracks spreading across its surface.

CRRRRACK!

The spear shattered.

Purple fragments of broken space exploded outward in all directions. They glowed for a brief moment, then faded away, dissolving into nothing like dust scattered by an unseen wind.

The pressure vanished, and the domain went entirely quiet.

Indrath stared at this, his face darkened instantly.

This mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out at first.

“H-how…?” he whispered.

For the first time since the fight began, fear was clearly visible in his eyes.

Aestrea slowly lifted his gaze and looked straight at him.

His face was terrifyingly calm.

“You talk too much.”

Indrath’s expression twisted in rage.

He forced his body to move, his authority flaring again.

“Shut up!” he screamed.

“Even if you block one attack, you can never touch me!”

His body vanished.

A portal opened behind Aestrea’s right shoulder.

Indrath stepped out of it, arm pulled back, space gathering around his fist. His face was twisted into a wild grin.

“I’m here!”

His punch flew toward the back of Aestrea’s head, however… he was already gone.

Indrath’s fist passed through empty air.

“What?!”

Another portal opened to Indrath’s left.

He twisted his body and jumped into it instantly, moving to retreat and strike again.

But the moment he emerged, Aestrea was already standing there, directly in front of him, interrupting his escape.

“A-ah…” Indrath’s grin froze instantly.

Aestrea had not used a portal or anything… he had just taken a single wide step in the perfect timing and angle…

And that… made him arrive at the exact spot Indrath planned to escape to.

Indrath’s eyes widened in pure horror.

“N-no… no, no, NOOO!!!”

He tried to jump back.

Another portal opened behind him.

CRACK!

But it collapsed.

Cracks spread across the domain, black and white lines tearing through the purple space. The domain shook violently, losing stability.

Aestrea stepped forward, slowly approaching him.

His right arm drew back slightly.

His palm glowed.

Black and white energy twisted together tightly, spinning in opposite directions, pressing against each other until the space around his hand warped.

Indrath tried to raise his arms, but he was still slow as Aestrea thrust his right palm and slammed it towards his chest before he could defend himself.

“Impacto.”

For a brief instant, Indrath felt… nothing.

There was no force or pain at all, and because of that, his eyes narrowed, a mocking grin starting to form on his lips.

“Heh… you really think that y… u-uh…”

His body shivered.

“KUGHHH!”

A mouthful of blood exploded from Indrath’s lips, splattering onto the fractured ground. His body convulsed violently.

CRRRRACK!

The spatial domain around him was ripped apart in an instant.

Purple light, once perfect and oppressive, shattered like glass, twisting and exploding outward.

Countless portals collapsed into nothingness as the very air screamed as the pressure surged violently, wind ripping through the arena.

FWOOOOM!

Indrath’s body was thrown back with brutal force, slicing through the fractured air like a comet.

He slammed against the arena wall, which was considered nearly unbreakable, but the impact shook it violently, causing cracks to spider-web across the stone surface in jagged lines.

Blood poured from every orifice. His eyes, nose, mouth, and even ears bled freely.

The crimson liquid mixed with dust and debris, painting the arena floor and walls in a horrific display of divine power undone.

Indrath’s legs gave out midair. He collapsed to the floor, unconscious before he even hit the ground completely.

The arena was silent.

For a moment, only the echo of the wind howling through the broken space could be heard.

Until just then, a single, thunderous voice boomed across the shattered arena.

“THE WINNER… IS… AESTREAAAAA!”