Psychic Overlord

The quarterfinals were coming up, and everyone was hyped. The platinum screen shifted and began showing the proposed lineup for the quarterfinal fight, but suddenly, the display paused, which left spectators baffled.

Lysandra was also stunned until she received some information through her headset, and she frowned but still acquiesced.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems there will be some changes to the lineup. Coming forward is our esper world’s current strongest himself, Dean Rochester, with a proposal for you all," she said slowly, then gestured to the space beside her.

Gasps filled the arena.

Then, without a sound, a perfect vertical void opened at the side of the platform. Unlike Sophia’s quick-bending rifts, this one was wide, seamless, elegant, like space being gently peeled open.

From it stepped a man that needed no introduction.

Dean William Rochester.

S+ or beyond. The former master of Reaper. The trainer of Overlord Kaizer Lunin.

He wore a three-piece black suit with an Oxford tailcoat, silver cufflinks, a muted plum vest, and a dark top hat that cast a slight shadow over his silver-rimmed monocle. Black gloves covered his hands, which rested calmly on a polished cane.

He gave Lysandra a slight nod and took the mic himself.

"Good afternoon," he said, his voice full of grandfatherly amicability.

"I have observed this tournament closely. Each match, each movement, each moment of evolution was simply grand."

He paused, letting the silence grow.

"And I am proud. Very proud," he said gently.

"Tyrron Buld, Ragnar. You are a force of nature still learning to control your magnitude. Your raw potential mirrors the violent gods of old lore."

Tyrron stiffened in his seat, fists clenching from the unexpected acknowledgment.

"Eleanor Seltzer, Elementia. Your magical scripts are beautiful. Both a scholar and a warrior, I commend your intellect."

Eleanor blinked in surprise, cheeks becoming pink as Madam Sylvia in the teacher’s stands beamed with pride.

"Lucian Vale, Judgment. Your technique is clean and lethal. You walk the sword’s path without hesitation, and your heart is pure."

Lucian only nodded, silent as always, but his grip on his scabbard tightened.

"Tessa Asano, Titaness. No one trains harder than you, save my own student. Your passion is admirable, your growth inevitable, and your future is as bright as your heart."

Tessa grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Damn right it is."

"Roland Hayes, The Wave. As a genius of flow and temperance, you do not resist the world, you glide along with it. You are a remarkable young man whom many foolishly underestimate."

Roland tipped his glasses. "Much appreciated, sir."

Dean Rochester turned to the only A-class among S-classes.

"Sophia Rochester... my daughter." His voice was full of fatherly love.

Sophia looked up, her face calm and respectful.

"Your handling of voidspace has matured, my dear. As always, you have my approval." Dean Rochester said to her, and she nodded with a sigh of relief.

Dean Rochester turned to Rina with an amused smile. "And Rina Lunin, my troublesome little Death Goddess. You are a prodigy of power and would be perfect to become the strongest if not for the presence of your brother. Your power over death is near absolute, and even I struggle to think of ways to deal with you."

Rina merely smirked, legs crossed. "Heh! Took you long enough, Grandpa William!"

And then... Dean Rochester’s smile faded and became casual.

"Kaizer Lunin. The Overlord."

Silence. Kaizer glanced at the Dean while the Dean looked straight at him.

"You are not yet the strongest... but you have reached the threshold to begin your rise. I will be the first to reveal to the world that you are a convergence of all Six Paths of the Mind, a theory proposed by you and promoted by the Divine Cognitive Order. The world must see what I see. And so—"

Dean Rochester raised one gloved hand.

A new display appeared in the sky that was not a bracket, but rather a map, and at the end of the map was a golden prize.

It was a crown artifact, a crystalline construct that enhanced the esper energy of the wearer while also symbolizing their status as the ruler of all espers going forward. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Whoever earned it would become the true symbol of supremacy in Esper Academy, the standard-bearer for the next generation.

Dean Rochester tapped his cane against the ground. "This prize is something I have personally crafted using the greatest materials from my collection that spans ages."

He glanced at everyone in the crowd. "A crown forged not of gold, but of acknowledgment. That whoever wears this crown will have the destiny of becoming the Future God-King of espers."

The crowd exploded with shock and awe, their hearts exploding in their chests.

But then his voice turned sharp.

"However, Kaizer Lunin shall not walk the same road as the rest of you," Dean Rochester finally said.

The cheers faltered as faces began to show strange expressions, wondering if the dean dared to show favoritism before the entire world.

However, his next words directly caused brains to short-circuit as he spoke loudly: "To be deserving of such a destiny, he must prove himself. Not in isolated quarterfinals... but in a gauntlet."

The map glowed with icons representing each S-class esper as well as Sophia, lined up from one end to the other, blocking the crown from Kaizer’s own icon at the farthest left. "He shall face every remaining elite, one after another. From the lowest in rank... to the highest."

"From my darling Sophia..."

Sophia raised an eyebrow.

"...to the other candidate for strongest, Rina."

Rina’s smile widened into a fang-baring grin.

The crowd detonated with noise. They only felt confusion, excitement, and outrage at the sudden change, but what they did know was that history was about to be made today.

..................

President Ethan Voss stood fully upright now, arms behind his back, his steely gaze piercing the arena below, though his expression remained unreadable.

One could sense, however, the tectonic shift in his judgment.

Commander Blaze remained stone-still beside him, but a vein ticked on his neck, no longer caring about the presence of the President with them.

He spoke low, voice laced with controlled disbelief. "That bastard William, how dare he toss George’s boy into the fire like this?!"

Commander Rae scoffed. "This isn’t a test, it’s an execution order."

Durand stepped forward, fists glowing faintly. "If the boy dies, it sets a precedent. The public might lose faith in the academy, even in Supreme Force itself."

Blaze’s eyes narrowed. "That’s assuming he dies."

Voss finally spoke, quiet but absolute, fingers tapping the table below him in thought.

"This is no longer a competition. It’s a succession."

...............

The silence hung like a noose.

Ryu Kurosawa’s fingers hovered over his datapad, scanning the proposed matchups by the dean.

"First he faces Void, then Ragnar, Elementia, Judgment, Titaness, and The Wave. Then finally... Death Goddess.

He exhaled and put the datapad down. "It’s mathematically suicidal. I can’t see how anyone would win this."

Alexei Vólkov leaned forward, brow furrowed. "Is this the Dean’s faith in Kaizer... or a gambit to see who breaks him?"

Rafael Azmadi whistled. "Either way, I’m entertained."

But Davion wasn’t smiling.

He stood near the pane, cane trembling slightly in his grasp. His gaze was focused onto the name still glowing across the sky at the premier position of the gauntlet.

Kaizer Lunin – The Overlord.

"How dare he..." Davion whispered softly.

Ryu tilted his head. "The Dean?"

Davion’s voice was raw with hatred. "No... that cretin, that wretched beast. How dare he take my place? My crown?"

The other heirs shared uncertain looks while Eleanor - the puppet - stood in a prim position, her doll-like face emotionless in a server’s fake smile.

But in the shadow of everyone’s vision, one could see a hint of disdain and coldness in her dull eyes.

............

Maria Rosenthia was already roaring with laughter. "Oh my god! You’re the main course, Kaizer! They’re serving you to the crowd like a roasted pig!"

She clapped with joy. "I love this! I’m totally aroused! Julia, tell me you’re aroused!"

Julia Bergkoff frowned, arms crossed. "This is a trap. The Dean’s framing it as glory, but the pressure of the world now rests on one fighter. Even you, Kaizer... can crack."

At the back of the room, five voices rose in eerie unison.

"A gauntlet of transcendence!"

"A divine trial by ordeal!"

"The apex path to Oneness!"

"Let his mind bloom beyond entropy!"

"All minds are one!"

The Divine Cognitive Order was now in full formation, spinning in a slow circle like monks in psychic prayer. Julius had already started carving Kaizer’s name into a silver circlet.

Morgan whispered solemnly. "His great mind must be harmonizing with fate..."

Kaizer, however, didn’t respond to any of them.

He stood from his throne among the special echelon, hands folded behind his back, eyes locked on the arena below where the ring reset once more while waiting for him.

His expression was calm, almost serene instead of angry and betrayed like most expected to see.

This was because Kaizer fully understood the truth of the entire situation, just like Rina and Lysandra.

"The Dean has no need to test my strength, he knows more than anyone what I can do now. Rather, he’s testing the world’s reaction to me winning against seemingly impossible odds, because my power is also an impossibility among the esper world." He finally murmured to himself.

Kaizer floated downward onto the arena.

"I accept the challenge."