The scene continued with Vorden and Erin looking up at Ken, who now stood tall above them with a hand stretched out to each. Without any hesitation, they grabbed on, and Ken pulled them up to their feet in one smooth motion.
Vorden gave a half-winded chuckle. "Alright," he said, brushing off his uniform, "Let's beat him up together."
Erin gave a short nod, her usual cold eyes sharper than ever. "This time, we won't hold back."
Ken stood between them now, his face now focused, and serious. The glint in his cyan eyes burned brighter than ever before.
Across from them, the upperclassman cackled with unrestrained amusement. "Three first-years," he said, electricity crackling violently around him, "Trying to stand up against a second-year huh?" His grin twisted into something manic. "Fine then—let me break that courage of yours."
With a roar, he vanished in a flash of lightning and reappeared in front of the trio, striking them without mercy.
But this time they were ready.
Ken moved first, both of his legs enhanced with energy. He intercepted the incoming fist with a glowing forearm, the impact sending a shockwave through the canteen. Sparks of electricity flew.
Then Vorden came in from the side, mimicking Erin's ice ability with perfection, launching a flurry of sharp icicles to force the upperclassman back.
Erin took the opening, and gathered her power before slamming a pillar of ice toward the upperclassmen legs. The upperclassman leapt back, but Ken was already on him leaping up high into the air, twisting mid-air, and slamming down with a glowing axe kick that the upperclassman barely blocked.
The ground beneath them cracked.
The students watching from the sidelines could hardly believe what they were seeing.
First-years actually pushing back a second-year.
The upperclassman snarled, electricity arcing wildly around him as he unleashed a pulse of electricity that sent the trio skidding back.
Now, it was a true fight.
Erin's ice spears clashed against the electric blasts the upperclassman was shooting out.
Ken's energy-enhanced movements countered every opening.
Vorden used his ability to seamlessly switch between support and offense.
The canteen was no longer a place for breakfast—it had become a full-blown battlefield.
And none of them were backing down.
As the clash continued, it seemed for a moment like the tides had turned in the trio's favor. Ken's speed, Erin's precision, and Vorden's unpredictable versatility kept the upperclassman on the defensive.
But that moment was short-lived.
The upperclassman's smirk twisted into something far more dangerous.
"You thought this was the full extent of my power?" he growled. Then his voice dropped into a whisper that echoed with menace. "Let me show you what a second-year is really capable of."
The air around him shifted.
Suddenly, a blinding surge of lightning erupted around his body. Cracks of thunder boomed in the enclosed canteen. The electricity didn't just dance around him—it shaped itself.
In seconds, it formed into an armor, jagged, glowing with raw voltage, and humming with overwhelming power.
Ken's eyes widened. "What… is that?"
"I have no idea," Vorden muttered, suddenly uneasy. "But it's not just an ability…"
"It's a Soul Weapon," the upperclassman sneered, fully encased in his electric armor. "Something first-years like you wouldn't even understand."
Then he moved and this time, there was no comparison.
Ken barely had time to enhance his arms before he was struck. The hit sent him flying through two tables, his body slamming into the wall with a harsh crack.
Erin tried to form a shield of ice, but it shattered on impact as the upperclassman drove a punch into her gut, dropping her onto the floor.
Vorden tried to charge up an ice pillar, but the upperclassman was on him in an instant, grabbing him by the face and slamming him into the floor.
"You want to challenge the hierarchy?" the upperclassman spat, standing over them. "This what happens to those who dare challenge it."
The upperclassmen continued his onslaught and did not hold back.
Punch after punch. Kick after kick. Ken tried to stand—only to be knocked back down again.
Quinn, Peter, and Layla watched from the sidelines, frozen.
"Stop…" Layla whispered, clutching her arm.
Peter looked away, fists clenched. Quinn's face was pale; he wanted to move, but his legs wouldn't obey him.
Around them, the other students watched in silence. No one dared to interfere.
The sounds of fists colliding with flesh echoed through the canteen.
Ken could barely see his vision now blurry from the pain and rage.
The words of the upperclassman rang in his ears: You don't belong here. You're weak.
His limbs trembled, and his body ached.
Not now He thought, I can't lose not right now. Not when they are helping me.
Ken, Erin, and Vorden staggered back up to their feet. Their bodies bruised and bloodied. The three of them moved without a single word, instinctively falling into formation, as they covered each other's backs. Their breathing was ragged. Their limbs trembled. But the fire in their eyes hadn't gone out.
Ken clenched his fists, his energy flickering weakly around them. Erin summoned the last shards of ice to her hands, her arms shaking as she forced her ability to respond. Vorden grit his teeth, his body glowing faintly with the copied remnants of Erin's power.
"We won't go down," Ken muttered, eyes fixed on the electric figure standing across from them. "Not like this."
Together, the three charged one last time.
Ken enhanced both legs and darted in low. Erin followed from the side, aiming to freeze his movements. Vorden went airborne, launching ice spikes from above.
It was a desperate, yet coordinated attack.
But it wasn't enough.
The upperclassman simply raised an arm, and with a thunderous crack, his lightning flared outward—dispersing the ice, shattering the floor beneath their feet, and launching all three of them back.
Ken skidded across the tiles, gasping as the last of his energy slipped away. Erin slammed against a broken table, coughing hard, while Vorden crashed into the side of the wall, his copied ability flickering out.
They had given it everything.
And in the end…it was pointless.
The upperclassman stood over them, electricity crackling around his armor like a god among mortals. His laughter echoed through the silent canteen.
"This is your place," he said coldly. "On the ground. Is where you belong."
No one moved. No one spoke. The weight of power, of the hierarchy, crushed down like a stormcloud over the entire room.
Ken groaned, trying to move but his body refused. He clenched his fist weakly. Not again… he thought. Not after everything...
The upperclassman turned around slowly, his boots crackling softly against the scorched floor of the canteen. His electric armor pulsed with power as his cold eyes landed on Quinn, Peter, and Layla, who stood frozen in place.
"You three," he said, voice low but venomous. "Let me make something perfectly clear."
He took a step forward, and the hum of electricity grew louder, and more menacing. The air felt heavier.
"If I ever catch you hanging around with higher levels again…" His eyes narrowed. "Or if I hear a whisper that you are…" He tilted his head with a sick grin. "You'll pay. Just like them."
Peter flinched. Layla's hands tightened into fists, though her legs trembled. Quinn didn't say a word but his eyes didn't look away.
Then the upperclassman turned to face the rest of the first-years, who had been watching in stunned silence. "The same goes for the rest of you!" he barked, raising his voice. "You think you can ignore how things work here? You think you can skip the ladder? This is a military school. There's a hierarchy! And if you forget that."
He pointed at the beaten trio behind him.
"This is your reminder," he said, sharply.
He turned his gaze back to Quinn, Peter, and Layla, the sparks around his armor dancing brighter now.
"And just so the lesson sticks…" he sneered. "I'll make your friends suffer a little bit more."
With a sudden burst of movement, he raised his arm, lightning crackling to life in his palm.
"No!" Quinn shouted, finally stepping forward.
The upperclassman's sneer deepened at Quinn's outburst—but he didn't even glance his way.
The electricity surged louder around him as he turned his back to the crowd and began walking toward the trio still struggling on the ground—Ken, Vorden, and Erin.
His steps were slow, deliberate, and mocking.
"You should've stayed in your place," he said coldly, standing over Ken. "But now? You'll remember this pain every time you look at your pathetic friends."
Ken tried to push himself up, his arms trembling, but his body refused to obey.
The upperclassman raised his foot and stomped hard right into Ken's gut.
Thud.
Ken coughed out sharply, curling in on himself, his breath stolen.
Next, he turned to Erin. Her lip was bleeding, her eyes glazed but still defiant. "Tch," he muttered, grabbing her by the collar and hurling her a few feet across the floor with a single motion of brute strength. She hit the tiles hard, rolling before stopping in a heap.
Then came Vorden. The upperclassman loomed over him, still sparking with raw power.
"You're all the same," he spat. "Weaklings pretending to be strong."
He reached down, grabbed Vorden by the neck, and lifted him slightly off the ground, crackling electricity starting to pulse into Vorden's body. Vorden clenched his teeth trying not to scream.
Peter took a step forward, but Layla held him back with a trembling hand.
While Quinn's fists shook at his sides.
"STOP!" Quinn shouted again, his voice cracking. "You've already made your point!"
But the upperclassman didn't stop.
He instead smiled.
"I'm the one who decides when the lesson ends."