Ravyn, Luna and the newly recruited Ria left the school grounds together. Ria walked several steps behind, clutching her notepad, her head ducked so low only the crown of her hair was visible.
Luna took the lead, as they navigated the crowded streets. "So, let's talk about your Technique, Ravyn. We need to define it beyond red flared hands."
"Yeah, I don't know..." Ravyn said, falling into step beside her. "But, remember the first time I used it to lift the sign and then during the fight with the light girl. I felt like I could bend every spear she sent at me. It's not just a physical push, it's like a crushing pressure."
"Pressure, huh?" Luna mused. "That still isn't clear but for now, as long as you know how to punch and be a good decoy, it's fine."
Ravyn frowned, instantly annoyed. "Wait, decoy? No, what happened that night is never happening again."
"Well, I can't be a decoy cause I out rank you. And my attacks are more effective than yours. Luna said.
"Ranks? What ranks?"
"Ranks are loosely based on power potential and control from C, B, A then S-Rank. Most common Candidates start at C. I am B-Rank, due to the raw destructive potential of my Fire Technique and my family's training. The Light-girl is A-Rank and Damien is also A-Rank but possibly moving to S."
"And me?" Ravyn asked.
Luna didn't hesitate. "C-Rank. Maybe a low B, if you can control that strange power of yours."
"C-Rank?" Ravyn scoffed. "But I was able to land a blow on that guy when we first met and you weren't even going to react to his initial charge! And I shattered the Light-girl's attack!"
Luna sighed, patience wearing thin. "Ravyn, you didn't read the room. That brute was clearly holding back, he wanted to study us first. He could have ended the fight in the first three seconds. You survived two encounters because your power is erratic and they weren't trying to kill you yet."
Ravyn shook his head, looking back at Ria. "I don't trust you." He called to the girl. "Hey, Ria! What's your rank?"
Ria jumped, peering up fearfully. "My... my rank? I don't know anything about ranks. I'm sorry."
Luna rolled her eyes and was about to retort when a figure appeared directly in their path.
He was a tall, lean man in dark clothing, his face covered by a tactical black half-mask. He held a formidable weapon: a black staff with two large, menacing curves at the top, each point ending in sharp spikes.
The man's voice was deep. "The Anomaly, will be coming with me now."
Luna went rigid.
"Who are you?" Ravyn demanded, the deep red aura already beginning to flare on his fists.
The man's eyes flicked to the energy. "An Executioner. And I'd advise the two official Candidates to step away from the Glitch immediately. Your cooperation will be noted."
He pointed the staff at Ravyn. "Surrender yourself peacefully or die."
Ravyn didn't hesitate, he lunged forward.
Luna tried reaching for him. "Ravyn!" she screamed.
The Executioner easily blocked the initial strike. The shockwave tearing the ground beside them. Ravyn didn't stop, he unleashed a furious barrage of empowered punches. But the Executioner met them all, his swirling staff spinning in a blur of dark motion, each clash sending ripples through the earth.
Then he swung the staff low, catching Ravyn's waist and sweeping him several yards back with crushing force.
While he was focused on Ravyn's retreat, Luna launched a volley of fire spheres. The Executioner spun the staff, creating a sudden, violent vortex of wind that dispersed the heat and flames into harmless ripples.
Ravyn used the momentum, he flesh-stepped around the perimeter of the vortex. And aimed for a shattering kick to the Executioner's side.
The Executioner reacted instantly, twisting his body and slamming the spiked staff head-first into Ravyn's shin. The impact sent a jolt of pain up Ravyn's leg and forcing him to bounce back and skid across the concrete.
Luna immediately followed up with a large, concentrated pillar of white-hot fire that erupted directly above where the Executioner had been standing. The Executioner was too fast, using a short dash to evade the flames.
He had noted their pattern. He vanished in a silent blur, reappearing right in front of Ravyn. Before Ravyn could raise his guard, the Executioner delivered a lightning-fast strike to his chest with the blunt end of the staff.
The force was monumental. Ravyn was sent flying backwards, tumbling over fifty feet before slamming into the brick wall of a warehouse and dropping in a battered heap.
"GRANTHAM!"
Luna screamed and unleashed a torrent of blazing fire but the Executioner completely ignored it. He dashed past the flames, closed the distance to the defenseless Luna, and violently struck her down with a fist, landing a concussive blow to her guts.
He loomed over her, the staff's spikes hovering inches from her face. "I told the Official Candidate to cooperate." he hissed. "You chose to protect the Glitch."
He raised the staff for the kill.
Ravyn saw the motion from where he was collapsed. A primal, protective rage surged through him, ignoring the pain and exhaustion. His entire body became encased in the deep, burning red aura. His speed shattered the sound barrier of the street.
He Fleshed straight toward the Executioner a reckless bolt of energy.
The Executioner turned, his eyes widening in alarm at the speed of the approaching. He braced the staff, preparing to absorb the full force. But just before Ravyn could connect, the red aura flickered and violently tapped out. Ravyn's mana was spent.
The Executioner didn't hesitate. He swung the staff low, catching Ravyn and Luna simultaneously in a horizontal sweep. The two were violently thrown, crashing hard against the street, landing in a tangled heap right next to the trembling Ria.
The Executioner stalked toward them, the victory secured.
Ria, seeing the two people who had just promised her safety broken and bleeding beside her, suddenly let out a high-pitched, piercing scream.
"STOP HURTING THEM!"
The street erupted as massive, jagged spires of ice burst from the ground. They tore through block, rising like frozen titans.
The Executioner barely had time to react. He roared in shock as several colossal spears of ice tore through deep into his body. The impact hurled him backward, through a car into a brick wall that caved beneath the force.
Blood splattered across the frost before he dropped to one knee, breath ragged and vision lost behind a crystalline barricade that sealed off the street entirely.
Ria stood trembling. Her hands shook violently, eyes wide with terror as her own power howled around her.
"W–whoa…" Ravyn breathed, pushing himself up.
Luna was already on her feet despite the bruises. She grabbed Ravyn's wrist, eyes locked on Ria in utter shock.
"Don't just stand there... move!"
The three of them bolted down the fractured street.