The moment Suki hit the ground, the entire hall fell into a heavy, charged silence. Dozens of Class 1 students stared wide-eyed, unable to process what they had just witnessed. Even the Class 2 students exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier confidence shaken by the fact that a restrained first-year had just outmaneuvered two of their own.
Xeno's face twitched.
Then it twisted entirely.
Rage contorted his features, the calm smirk he usually wore replaced by a look of pure, boiling fury. His jaw clenched hard enough that a vein bulged along the side of his temple. He stepped forward, each footfall loud and deliberate, echoing across the stage as if the ground itself feared him.
He stopped in front of Jelo, so close that Jelo could see the trembling in his hands, the tremor of barely restrained anger.
