Chapter 96: Maria

Razeal blinked slowly. "You’re kidding, right?"

He hadn’t even thought about her. He was too busy mentally dissecting the godlike psychopath up front.

But of course, the moment had to be ruined.

"You disgusting piece of shit! I saw you looking at me!"

Her voice, loud and sharp, sliced through the silence of the classroom. Though it was already quiet, the sudden outburst pulled every in into weird kind of silence. Attention snapped toward her, toward them.

Dozens of narrowed eyes landed on Maria and Razeal, already half believing whatever it was she was saying.

Aqua-blue hair swayed as she rose from her seat, fury written all over her face. Though her hair was undeniably a striking blue, in that moment, it looked like it had turned fire-red like the flames of her rage had set even her aura ablaze. Her expression was twisted with contempt, and her voice dripped venom.

Razeal sighed, slowly running a hand through his hair as he took in the scene.

Here we go again, he thought, already exhausted by whatever drama she was trying to drag him into now.

She just wanted attention. That much was obvious. The way she stood, the way she made sure the entire class was watching, the way she timed her words like she was performing in a courtroom drama... She wanted to be the center of it all.

Razeal had seen her type in his past world before. Loud. Performative. Always playing the victim, always seeking a spotlight.

Still, he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of reacting.

Professor Thalia had also stopped mid-sentence in her lecture. Her expression unreadable. But she didn’t intervene. Not yet. She just watched, eyes narrowed.

Maria’s footsteps echoed as she strode up the aisle between desks, her glare never leaving Razeal. She stopped just beside his seat, folding her arms across her chest like she was standing at the gates of justice itself.

Razeal just stared back silently.

"I knew it," she said, loud enough to make sure every single student heard her. "Someone with your kind of disgusting background should’ve never been allowed into this sacred institution."

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the classroom like small waves. Some students averted their gaze. Others leaned in, eager to watch what unfolded.

"And now, here you are," she continued, voice slicing the air, "staring at girls like some pervert making female students like me feel unsafe. Students who came here thinking this was a safe place to learn, not a breeding ground for predators."

Razeal didn’t move. Just kept his eyes on her, unreadable.

Maria turned to face Professor Thalia. "Professor, I warned you yesterday. I submitted an official complaint, an application to ensure the safety of the students especially the girls from someone who has already been declared the Empire’s worst sinner. Someone who was cast out by even the Church of Light six years ago!"

Murmers echoed again. Her voice trembled, not with fear but righteous fury.

"And still," she continued, glaring now, "my concerns were ignored. Now I’ve been looked at with dirty eyes by that very same person. What’s the meaning of this? Is this what our academy stands for now? Protecting someone like him? A declared sexual predator?"

She took a breath, turning her full, sharp gaze toward Professor Thalia. Her blue eyes, which many called beautiful, now glinted with righteous wrath. "I’m not even asking why no one’s punished him," Maria went on, "I’m asking why is this academy even protecting people like him? Where is the integrity of this institution?"

Thalia said nothing immediately. She remained calm, composed, adjusting her glasses slowly as whispers filled the room like thick fog.

Truthfully, many of the students even if they could tell Maria was exaggerating still nodded slightly. Her words rang uncomfortably true. The academy had protected Razeal yesterday. Everyone had seen the Warden step between Razeal and that radiant knight during the duel defending him like some rare artifact.

The newspapers had already picked it up. Headlines were circulating. The public was murmuring. Suspicion hung over the academy’s choices like a storm cloud.

Lady Thalia finally opened her mouth. "Lady Maria, please do not misunderstand. The academy does not protect anyone arbitrarily. Everything it protects is its own rules and regulations and..."

But before she could finish, a voice cut through her calm.

"Hey."

It was Razeal’s voice. Calm. Bored.

Maria looked down at him, startled for a moment.

"What?" she snapped.

He leaned back in his chair, legs stretched under the desk, one hand casually tapping the table in front of him.

"Do whatever you can do," he said simply. "I’m sitting here. I’m not hiding or running. So why the hell are you doing all this childish drama?"

Maria’s eyes narrowed.

"Are you challenging me?" she said dangerously.

"I said..." Razeal’s voice was calm, almost amused, "...What can you do to me, yeah? I’m sitting here, right in front of you, inside your oh-so-sacred institution of knowledge. No one’s stopping you. So if you have problem with me, do something about it. Why play these little verbal games?"

"No one’s protecting me," Razeal said flatly, eyes half-lidded with boredom as he tilted his head at her. "I’m all on my own."

Maria gave a cold, almost mocking smile. "You really believe that?" she asked softly, venom under every word. "If it weren’t for the academy, do you think you’d still be breathing after looking at me like that? They wouldn’t even find your bones to bury."

Razeal chuckled. "So many people want me dead in there words," he said, crossing his arms, grin slowly spreading across his face. "They curse me. Pray for it. But guess what? Not a single one of them dares to try. Not one."

He leaned forward slightly. "Even if your father walked in right now, he wouldn’t have the guts to touch me."

Maria’s eyes burned with fury. "You... you arrogant nobody!" she snapped. "You think it’s because of you they don’t touch you? It’s because of that stupid duel with the Duke’s heir! If not for that if not for the attention you’d already be dead!"

Her aura began to shift, mana flickering around her like invisible heat waves. Her long aqua-blue hair started to float as if reacting to her anger, strands rising like sparks.

The tension in the classroom exploded.

A loud screech echoed as Razeal suddenly stood up, his chair dragging back hard against the floor.

Every student in the room went still. It was like the air itself got heavier. Eyes widened. Some students sat up straighter. Others held their breath.

She’s gonna attack, many of them thought.

Even Selena, Celestia, and Areon paused what they were doing, their expressions sharpening but handling it differently. Watching.

But Razeal?

He didn’t care about any of them.

He took a slow step forward. Maria didn’t move back. They were only centimeters apart now, standing face-to-face. The silence was suffocating.

He looked down into her furious eyes, then spoke in a quiet, ice-cold voice:

"Then isn’t that your problem? You’re too afraid to touch me."

Her jaw clenched, but she didn’t reply.

"If you really had power, you’d have done something already. But you haven’t. Because you can’t."

Maria’s aura flared, her magic flickering again but she didn’t strike.

"You’re the one living on borrowed protection," she snapped, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. "If not for that duel with the Areon, I really would’ve killed you right here. And no one would’ve cared."

"Break the duel and ill show you," she spat. "You act tough. Let’s see you do something without the academy rules holding us back."

Razeal tilted his head again, amused. "Why would I break it? It’s the leash around your neck, not mine."

"Ill show you naaa," she growled. "You act like you’re untouchable. But all of this? This fake confidence? It’s built on someone else’s shadow."

"Woman," Razeal said, voice low but loud enough for the class to hear, "I literally slapped that bastard yesterday in front of the whole capital. Think anyone was protecting me then?"

His words dropped like thunder.

Instantly, every gaze in the classroom shifted almost instinctively toward Areon.

The air thickened.

Areon sat still at his desk, face unreadable, his arms crossed as if nothing mattered. His expression was cold, distant... but his silence said more than any words could. There was no denial, no anger just calm.

A dangerous calm.

And yet, no one dared to hold their gaze on him for too long. Students quickly looked away, heads turning back to their books or the floor. A creeping tension had settled across the room, as if they all knew looking too long might invite something they didn’t want to face.

They felt it in their bones.

Razeal wasn’t lying.

He had really slapped the Duke’s heir.

And he was still breathing.

That alone made him terrifying.

But Razeal wasn’t done.

He tilted his head slightly, the grin on his face slow and sharp.

"I Fuck with everyone. And no one can do a damn thing about it."

Gasps echoed through the room. A few students looked at each other, unsure if he was serious or completely out of his mind. Maybe he just went crazy

"I’ve got half the Empire hating me. Hell, maybe more," Razeal continued, unfazed. "But none of them can touch me. That has to mean something, right?"

He stepped a little closer, voice turning colder.

"You know what the real truth is?" he said. "None of you have the balls to go against me. I can mess with whoever I want because all of you..."

He paused, the smirk deepening.

"You all can’t do shit. Just imagine me, still weak, can fuck with whole empire this much.

Now think... if I actually had bilities. what would become of all your fates then?"

But just as the next word was forming on his tongue

Maria snapped.

With a sharp motion, she raised her hand and grabbed a fistful of his long hair, yanking it back with sudden aggression.

"Then here," she hissed, her voice trembling with rage. "Let me be the first. Let’s see what you’ll do now."

The room collectively held its breath.

Even the mana in the air felt frozen.

Maria’s fingers were clenched tight in his hair, pulling his face close. Her eyes were wide, crazed from the pressure, from the building frustration, from losing control in front of everyone. She had snapped too many eyes on her, too many words she couldn’t counter. She needed to win.

[Oh no... shouldn’t have gone for the hair,] the system muttered inside Razeal’s mind.

Too late.

PAAK!

The sound of the slap cracked through the classroom like thunder.

Razeal’s hand moved fast clean and ruthless. He didn’t even hesitate. His palm connected with her cheek, the sound echoing in the dead silence that followed.

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Ahh... sorry guys, only one Chapter today. Sigh. It’s been a rough day first I got into a bike accident, and now my head is killing me. I really couldn’t write much.

Even this Chapter... I feel like I didn’t do it justice. Maybe there are mistakes I’m not sure. It felt okay when I read it, but I still don’t know if it’s satisfying enough.

I’ll probably rewrite it later once I feel better.

Anyway, thanks for reading as always.

Good night."

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