Medical staff quickly rushed into the arena and carried the unconscious Tyron away for treatment. One of them handed Nevil a healing potion before leaving.
Nevil uncorked it and poured the liquid over the wounds on his shoulder and side as he slowly walked out of the arena.
Before he could go far, Elara rushed toward him.
"Nevil!"
She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"Are you alright? Those wounds.. let's go! We need to treat them properly!"
Nevil smiled softly and returned the hug.
"Relax. I'm fine," he said calmly. "I'll get proper treatment later. I want to watch the rest of the fights first. I can't miss them."
Ashan and Zevi soon joined them, with Narasha following quietly behind.
Zevi looked Nevil up and down, then let out a low whistle.
"You're one scary guy, you know that?" he said with a grin. "You actually cracked his nuts open. From the sound I heard, I doubt those things are recovering anytime soon."
Ashan chuckled warmly before placing his palm gently over Nevil's wounded shoulder.
Soft light gathered around his hand as he activated his healing skill.
"That duel was incredible," Ashan said. "After all the sparring sessions we had, I'm honestly glad to see you finally surpass him. Your growth rate is terrifying."
Narasha tilted her head slightly.
"Nevil… did you take all those attacks on purpose just to create that final opening?"
Nevil felt slightly awkward at being questioned so directly, but he still nodded.
"Yeah."
"Of course he did," Zevi said with a smirk, raising his eyebrows toward Narasha. "I told him to do it."
He shrugged casually.
"Perfect revenge for a scumbag like that. Though honestly, I didn't expect him to actually pull it off."
Zevi then stretched his arms and cracked his neck.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Go take your seats and watch closely."
He pointed his thumb at himself with a confident grin.
"You're about to witness something spectacular."
Then he turned and walked toward the arena without looking back.
"Trust me," he added. "It'll be worth it."
…
Elsewhere in the stands, Rowan was laughing loudly.
"That was hilarious," he said between breaths. "That last kick looked accidental, but I bet it was personal. His balls probably turned into pulp."
Luphar wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Is… is that even allowed?" he asked nervously. "In my world, doing something like that would be considered shameless."
Rowan snorted.
"Bullshit. That idiot deserved it. If you can't protect your own balls, that's your fault."
Then he noticed the next fighter stepping into the arena.
"Oh, here comes the next one."
Rowan grinned.
"But what's with his face? Why does he look so pissed?"
He wasn't wrong.
Zevi's face was red with anger, veins bulging across his forehead.
Rax stepped into the arena from the opposite side. His expression was equally dark after witnessing Tyron's humiliating defeat.
But when he saw Zevi's furious expression, he blinked in confusion.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Rax asked. "Did you get diarrhea or something? Why are you so worked up before the duel even starts?"
Zevi grabbed his sword and rope.
"Shut the hell up," he growled. "I'm in a terrible mood today. Let's finish this quickly."
Rax smirked mockingly and raised his weapons.
"You just stand there. I'll make sure to kick that ugly face of yours."
At that moment, the referee's voice echoed through the arena.
"Begin!"
Rax bent slightly, preparing to launch forward.
'I've been waiting for..'
He never finished the thought.
"KAAAHHHH!!"
Zevi suddenly roared and charged forward like a raging beast.
His speed was so explosive that Rax froze in shock.
'What the..?! This isn't his fighting style!'
Before he could react properly,
BOOM!
Zevi's sword slammed down toward his head with terrifying force.
Rax instantly activated his shield device and barely managed to block the attack, but the sheer impact sent him sliding backward across the arena floor.
'Something's wrong,' Rax thought nervously.
'That strength…! This bastard is much stronger than before. His physical power wasn't anywhere near this level the last time we fought.'
Zevi's rope shot forward next, whipping through the air as he tried to bind Rax's body.
But Rax dodged partially, causing the rope to wrap around his arm instead.
"What the hell are you doing?" Rax shouted angrily. "Fight properly!"
Then it happened.
Using that tiny moment of distraction, Zevi suddenly twisted his body and launched a vicious kick.
But it wasn't aimed at Rax's chest.
Zevi angled his leg downward, pouring mana into it until the entire limb trembled with terrifying power, muscles tightening as if the bones themselves were about to snap from the pressure.
Then he released it.
The kick exploded forward like a cannon shot, tearing through the air with unbelievable speed and driving straight toward the most defenseless place on Rax's body.
"THIS IS FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
WHAM!!!
A sickening cracking sound burst across the arena like a stone shattering glass, loud enough that the echo rolled through the stands as every spectator instinctively flinched.
For the second time that day, the entire stadium fell silent.
The force of the impact actually lifted Rax several feet into the air before he crashed back down onto the ground.
He curled into himself, clutching the destroyed remains of his pride as his eyes filled with tears of agony.
"Uhh…!"
Students across the arena immediately looked away, many covering their eyes.
Even Nevil, Elara, Ashan, and Narasha stared in stunned silence.
Ashan pinched the bridge of his nose while laughing quietly.
Lunara shook her head with visible embarrassment.
'Unbelievable…'
'To think he would start the duel with that. I really have a complete lunatic under my command.'
Zevi's furious expression suddenly vanished.
"BAHAHAHAHA!"
He burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his stomach.
The sound echoed across the arena.
Up in the VIP seats, Maren sighed deeply.
Then she turned toward Sisiliya and Aren.
"Aren… I think we need to ban that move."
She rubbed her temples.
"If every student starts doing that, we won't be able to call these duels anymore. It'll turn into a 'ball-cracking competition.'"
Sisiliya smiled awkwardly.
Aren nodded thoughtfully.
"You're not wrong," he admitted. "But banning it could cause problems too. Other academies might hear about it and mock us for having students who can't even protect their private parts."
Maren groaned.
"Then at the very least we need disciplinary action. Anyone who does that will be banned from dueling for a certain period."
Nearby, the S-rankers reacted in their own ways.
Luphar and Magnar looked deeply uncomfortable.
Several others simply looked away.
But Rowan burst into loud laughter.
"This is insane!" he shouted. "The last guy cracked a B-ranker's nuts by accident… but this guy came here specifically for it!"
He wiped tears from his eyes.
"These lunatics are professional nut-crackers!"
Back in the arena, Zevi finally stopped laughing and looked down at the furious Rax.
"I seriously can't believe you dropped your guard and let me do that," he said casually.
Then he glanced toward Rianne in the distance and waved at her.
"I just made him impotent."
His grin widened.
"Let's see what you're going to do about it."