If that kind of power descended, it would wipe out this entire city.
That much they knew.
It's exactly what Arnold wanted them to think.
To lose hope at the sheer magnitude of his power.
However.
Luxtivin—now in Arnold's form, appeared in front of the blank nobles and pushed everyone except Feldina away with a powerful force of energy. It seems that even though they've tasted this force more than once, they still can't withstand its power.
"!?" His iron grip trapped her delicate neck. But before she could call the spirits, a blow landed on her stomach, instantly knocking her unconscious.
The barrier collapsed like glass being broken.
Luxtivin caught all the troublesome fairy pixie-thingies flying around and crushed them then appeared by Arnold's side again. He threw Feldina aside and stood guard in front of her.
Good, that takes care of the troublesome Fairykin.
Even if Arnold threw that skill at the academy, Freya would be immediately alerted by the magnitude of the energy in his attack (through sensors she installed in the academy) and instantly teleport here to stop it. In the end, he would be forced to fight her as well.
Why does it seem like the world doesn't want Arnold to have a slow life before his big fight with Arthur?
The disturbance in the clouds ceased after the lightning dragon disappeared. He used a lot of Aether just to catch the Great Nobles by surprise so that he could take out Feldina.
It's not that he was desperate, just that he doesn't know all their abilities. As such, he took the easy way out—using the lives of the very people they are meant to protect.
It's cold but what does he care?
"I have a feeling none of you are attacking me with the intention to kill me." Arnold spoke to the dazed trio.
"T-The barrier!?" Ariane noticed the barrier was gone then looked over to Arnold, seeing Feldina lying next to Luxtivin, "Feldina!"
"Calm yourself, Ariane." Vance composed himself and held his sword in a relaxed posture, "We've lost a great deal of firepower so in order to make sure we take him down, we need to work together with calm minds. Otherwise, we will lose this nation's hero."
"Did that blabbermouth vice principal not mention Luke, Father?"
"…Two heroes mean we have a greater advantage over the Demon King. We cannot let either die while they are still young and inexperienced. As such, I vow to sacrifice my life… even if it means taking down my own son."
"Hahahaha!" Arnold burst out in laughter as he wiped the blood from his eyes. Truth be told, his vision was a bit hazy so he shouldn't use the eye's abilities too much. Even if he knew all its abilities, using it all at once on the first usage risks temporary blindness which will put him at a disadvantage.
He can't have Luxtivin fight in that situation since it's obvious it has no concept of holding back so it will end up killing all three of them.
"…Do you realize that the barrier Feldina used is meant to protect the school itself as well?" Vance said.
"I know that. I guess none of you can use big techniques then, huh? But how else can you win against me?" Arnold smirked as he pulled up the sleeve on his right arm and held out that arm to Luxtivin. Upon noticing his intent, his copy cut his forearm in a spiral, letting blood flow down his arm.
"Guard up," Marcus said, "He's never fought this way before so we should be cautious." His lightning cloak returned, this time even brighter and radiating more pressure.
Vance's green aura surrounded his body and sword.
Ariane's bow was surrounded in a golden light before three arms appeared above her shoulder, holding the top of the enlarged golden bow while she holds onto the bottom half.
The ground behind Arnold crumbled a moment before he charged at the three of them with a smirk on his face.
He swung his right arm, letting his blood fly through the air. But to an outsider's perspective, that action did nothing so no one thought about it for too long. Before he could even blink, Marcus' spear was right in front of his eye. But he dodged to the side and drove a kick to Marcus' stomach.
Before that attack could even connect, Marcus jumped back and raised the arm holding his spear. Thunder cracked before he threw it at Arnold.
'Fast.'
He summoned an Aether Shield but the force behind that blow knocked him back. Or more like he stood like an iron wall but his feet crushed the ground as he was pushed back.
He glanced to the side, noticing Ariane preparing a gigantic golden arrow. Vance appeared behind him at that moment, aiming to cut his back but—
Pikes erupted from the ground again and almost hit him but unlike before, he dodged them with ferocious speed before closing the distance again.
Green fire appeared in the palm of his hand before he shot it out, making it transform into a mountain of flame that headed for Arnold, erasing all the pikes in the way.
'Dammit, do you want my uniform to get ruined?' Arnold dodged back, avoiding the ensuing explosion that sent debris flying.
"Your movements are becoming predictable, Father." He said before delivering a powerful right swing of his arm. That troublesome mark on his palm is making this fight annoying since Ariane can control when Marcus and Vance can use its ability.
Even if Arnold knew what it can do, he was cautious of how the two seasoned warriors could use it.
Marcus' blow went right through him but at the same time, he couldn't hit Marcus back so he just gained distance from his father.
Vance and Marcus pursued him as he ran towards the calm Ariane. Coincidentally, she was pulling back the golden arrow until its limit, ready to fire at him but mindful of that weird intangibility ability of his.
The next moment, Arnold jumped back, towards Marcus and Vance, making the two stop in confusion. But he was so fast that the two couldn't act in time. He went through both of them and placed his hands on their shoulders—or not since Marcus got away at the last second. Vance's legs suddenly sank into the ground without resistance.
"W-What's going on!? I can't move!" even with sheer force, he couldn't pull out his legs.
"You will need to destroy your legs to get out," Arnold looked down at him coldly, "Since your legs and the ground became one."
"!" The color drained from Vance's face.
'Two down.'
At that moment, the sky lit up.
Ariane released the arrow—not one, but three golden projectiles streaking down in a forked pattern, howling like thunderbolts.
'She probably thinks I can't use intangibility when being attacked by more than one thing.'
It's not that she's right. It's just that Arnold doesn't want to risk using the ability when being pursued by more than one person or spells. There's a chance his ability might deactivate.
What Mian Xi didn't tell him was that his stress levels and heartrate increases when using this martial art. So, there is a higher chance of him panicking and letting the ability deactivate since it's difficult to keep one's mind clear.
Also, unlike Tyran's pathetic attempt at trying to kill Arnold, the power behind the Great Noble Ariane's arrows is on an entirely different level so he can't just tank them in base form.
Since it's not magic but a skill, Arnold can't use his anti-magic radius on the arrows. As such, the sensible thing to do was dodge while heading towards her.
One arrow buried itself where he stood a split second ago, breaking a large chunk of the ground.
Another missed his shoulder by inches as he spun mid-air, the heat of it slicing across his cheek. The third—
He kicked off the air with a burst of speed and shot forward—straight toward her.
So troublesome.
At least he didn't have to worry about his father who could have taken the chance to attack him then. But glancing to the side, he noticed that his father was standing still, eyes closed and a blue aura surrounding his body.
The clouds above were beginning to spiral—converging over him. Thunder cracked louder. The sky darkened.
'He's getting ready to use his martial art.'
It will be difficult to deal with him at full power without trying to kill him. Arnold might need to use his own martial art. But since he's not as fast as his father even at full power, it would be useless to fight like that.
'I should be able to take care of Ariane by the time he's done.'
He thought that but was immediately bombarded with three more arrows, making the total pursuing arrows six.
He kicked his leg up and the next moment multiple pikes shot up, catching two of the arrows.
Another went through him and then he spun around in the air to dodge two more. The last one two shot right at his chest but before they could, fire surrounded his forearms and shot forward, engulfing the arrows.
An explosion covered the area.
He noticed that the arrows didn't pursue him when he jumped into the cloud of smoke from the aftermath of that explosion.
"Do these arrows work with sight?"
Something shot through the smoke when he finished that sentence.
It went through him again.
'Looks like she uses hearing as well. No, she might be using all five of her senses so I shouldn't stay on the ground for too long.' She could definitely feel the vibrations, which is why she had stayed in that crouching position for so long.
It seems fooling her will be hard.
'I'm way slower in the air than I am on ground so levitation won't work.'
He suddenly sniffed a horrid odor fill the big cloud of smoke. Narrowing his eyes, he noticed a green gas enter. It almost made him choke but he stopped himself from coughing.
'This confirms it. She's using all five senses and wants me to cough so that she can know where I am.'
He doesn't want to deal with her troublesome abilities any longer since it can put him at a disadvantage if his father were to join in at full power.
As such, it's time he plays it smart.
**
Meanwhile, Ariane Maldor was keeping a close eye on that cloud of smoke. She could still see that exact copy of Arnold standing near Feldina.
'Will Marcus aim for Arnold or his copy?'
He should know that they need Feldina for this fight. She's the only one capable of using that sealing technique, after all.
Ariane wants to make sure she knows which of the two Marcus will aim for before she uses her other skills. Brute force isn't ideal for this fight since the other party believes they can defeat a hero and with what the emperor said, it's best to believe him.
He is a demon lord, after all.
Ariane knows he's not fighting at full power which is why she's not showing all her cards yet.
She glanced towards Marcus.
His hand dropped to his side, fingers curling into a stance—his own martial art beginning to activate, faint pulses of distortion forming in the air around his body, making his body as light as air and making him levitate through a bolt of lightning.
'How much longer…'
She turned her attention back to the dissipating smoke… noticing that Arnold was missing!?
'How!? I didn't see any movement in the smoke or hear his footsteps!' she frantically glanced around, her eyes landing on the clone that was still standing expressionless over Feldina's collapsed body.
Her ears suddenly wiggled when she caught a faint sound.
It was for a moment but she heard a worm underground being spooked and wiggling for a second.
Before she could figure out what was going on, the ground beneath her burst open and a fist emerged from below, striking her right on the chin. That punch sent a sharp pain up her head, making her go dizzy for a moment. But before she could groan in pain, she turned her bow into a sharp golden blade and made the three arms on her back grab Arnold from below, pulling him towards her and putting power into her thrust.
'He's not becoming intangible…?'
She couldn't think of the reason why because she had to use this chance to get a hit in.
However—
The sound of glass shattering resounded when the golden blade broke apart the moment it connected with Arnold's chest. A shadow loomed over his face as the sun was at his back, his golden eyes the only thing she could make out.
He grabbed her extra limb and pulled her close towards his smirking face.
"You should've used your full power against me, stupid bitch."
He pulled back his fist and was about to swing but a flash of light appeared behind him. The moment Ariane blinked, she was back on the ground.
Looking up, she noticed Arnold being sent flying to the school building and crashing into it.
All in the span of a second…?
There was no doubt about it, this was the power of—
Heaven's Roar.
The closest thing humanity has come to reaching the speed of light. A martial art that—when used by an expert—can make you achieve Mach 20.