Psychic Overlord

In truth, Kaizer was not as angry as he thought he would be. Rather, there was a feeling of relief, at having everything out in the open, allowing him to take certain actions he couldn’t before.

However, the same couldn’t be said for Rina, who was glaring at Lucian with pure killing intent. Kaizer was willing to bet his entire psychic power that if they weren’t in the academy, Lucian would be dead on the ground regardless of his affiliation or who stood in her way, even if it was the dean.

Lucian could feel this too, sweat forming on his brow as he gritted his jaw in concentration. Before coming down, he had already know what the possible fallout would be, but he couldn’t afford to let Kaizer have any form of advantage over him.

As his name said, he was Judgment given form, an impartial entity that simply vanquished evil. He took that role seriously and telepaths were one of the most hated groups in the esper world due to their ability which was more made for evil than even necromancy.

Hypnosis, mental enslavement, memory alteration, illusions, cognitive shifting... which of these powers had a good connotation attached to them?

Kaizer having such an ability was fine, but when Lucian saw him use it on Eleanor, he knew he had to play this move in order to prevent Kaizer from using it on him as well, because he was not entirely confident he could resist.

Kaizer naturally saw through this, which was why he said what he did, but even if he wasn’t angry, he definitely was not happy. That secret was for him to reveal and he and the Dean had planned when to unveil it for the least impact.

Having it revealed like this severely damaged his legitimacy, but it was just as well. Now, he could fight with scruples.

Lucian entered a battle stance as a sword in the style of a jian formed within that was made of silver light, which Lucian placed his hand upon the hilt.

Lucian gripped the silver blade as it fully manifested in his hand, the jian glimmering with pure light that hummed with sacred resonance. His form was perfect, with his feet angled precisely, his shoulders square, and his grip light but unbreakable.

Kaizer noted the elegance, the control, and the raw focus in Lucian’s eyes.

He wasn’t emotional. He wasn’t reckless. He was Judgment.

And then he moved.

Lucian exploded forward, his sword cutting the wind like it wasn’t there. His movements weren’t flashy, but rather exceedingly efficient, each slash precise and meant to disable—not kill—but still lethal in the hands of someone like him.

Kaizer didn’t block but rather shifted his weight just enough, sliding one foot back as the jian arced through the space his neck had been a second before. The blade passed so close it tugged at his collar with the vacuum of displaced air.

Lucian followed up with three more slashes at the neck, the ribs, and the thigh, but Kaizer avoided them all with ghost-like movement.

His feet barely left the ground since he was already ahead of each strike.

The crowd leaned forward, murmuring while some gasped.

From above, Lysandra narrowed her eyes.

"Telesthesia, huh? He’s seeing the world from outside his body. Every motion, every vector, already mapped in his mind." She remarked with interest. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Carlisle blinked. "It’s like he’s watching a video on 2x speed. Hell, he’s not even dodging, he’s... weaving."

Madam Sylvia nodded grimly. "This is that Ultra Instinct concept without the aura."

Lucian didn’t waver despite missing. He pressed on, increasing speed, his body glowing slightly now as his sword force began to resonate. His jian turned into arcs of silver light, each slash leaving trails like calligraphy across the stage.

Kaizer danced through it like he was born inside the gaps between cuts.

He leaned left, letting one strike pass by his ear then slid under the next, brushing Lucian’s ribs with a telekinetic nudge that sent him off-balance for a half-step.

Lucian twisted mid-spin, recovering with barely a stutter, but that half-step told him everything.

Kaizer wasn’t just dodging, he was controlling the entire flow of their battle.

Lucian leapt back and created distance, but Kaizer didn’t follow, simply glancing at his foe with a slight smirk.

The swordsman exhaled and raised his free hand.

"Then let’s raise the stakes."

From the circle behind him, energy flared.

Dozens of swords manifested mid-air, all of them silver jian replicas like what he held in hand, forged of condensed light. Interestingly, they didn’t shimmer like illusions, but rather pulsed like stars, each one anchored by his sword force.

And then they fired.

From every angle, swords of light shot toward Kaizer like divine arrows, their speed something surpassing event a bullet. The ground literally cracked with every bolt that missed, causing the dome to flicker as the audience screamed in worry.

Kaizer raised his hand as his eyes narrowed.

A psychic barrier formed instantly around him that was like a shell, thin and shimmering like a soap bubble stretched over a steel core.

The first light sword hit, detonated in a flare of power that was no less that a small AGM rocket, but it was easily negated by the barrier.

The second struck, then the third and then ten more.

Each one exploded, some with divine resonance and others with razor-light detonation, but Kaizer’s telekinetic barrier didn’t waver even slightly.

Lucian narrowed his eyes as he understood deeply that this wasn’t a standard barrier.

It was the type that moved, each impact slightly redirected, slightly absorbed, and slightly dispersed. Kaizer was actively adjusting the angles at a microscopic level with each incoming projectile.

Lucian’s expression tightened as he slashed outward again and more swords launched.

Kaizer’s fingers curled slowly and the entire volley shattered mid-air like glass.

Silence.

Lucian took a breath, his stance still clean, but the doubt crept in.

Kaizer tilted his head, eyes cold now.

"You’re not fighting me, you’re testing your assumptions." He said quietly.

Lucian said nothing, but his grip on the sword tightened because he realized Kaizer wasn’t just powerful.

He was already completely in charge of this battle’s rhythm and he hadn’t even struck back yet!

"You revealed my power just to produce this kind of poor showing? I have a hundred ways to beat you using my various powers, but to show you just how weak and useless you are, I will beat you in what you are best at."

Kaizer showed a rare moment of disdain and cruelty as he dispersed his psychic barrier and utilized something he had learned with the Dean during his secluded training.

Telekinetic Extension.

Immediately, the space around Kaizer seemed to condense as a blue light formed into the shape of an energy weapon, being a blue jian that was of the exact same style and make as Lucian’s own weapon.

Along with that, in Kaizer’s left hand was a typical heater-type shield.

Swinging the blade and flexing the shield, Kaizer cricked his neck and glanced at the livid Lucian who eyes were wide. "I hope you don’t mind, I was trained to sue a sword and shield as a stable style."

Lucian was silent as he glanced at Kaizer deeply. "I did not know you had this side to you. Good, I will make you pay for underestimating me."

Lucian did not waste anymore time as he body flared with a silverly light, leaking from the are around his feet and coiling around his body like an aura. He bent his knees and leaned forward slightly, his hands placed inches away from the hilt of his jian which had been returned to its scabbard.

Seeing this, the crowd was dazed and awed by the sheer power the young man was giving off,l but the easygoing Carlisle suddenly became serious as he sat up.

"Old William, you’d better tell your boy to be serious. I get that he is strong, but he has no idea what is coming next."

Madam Sylvia glanced at Carlisle with curiosity. "Is this something significant? You did not even react like this when Tyrron entered stage 3."

"That’s because whether it is stage 3 or stage 4, Tyrron’s power is still within the boundaries of S-. Even though his output is great, its mostly dependent on his ability to stay connected to the ground."

"Lucian doesn’t have that limitation. Don’t forget, there is a reason that only Lucian and Roland are ranked S class and the rest are S-, minus that Rina girl."

Carlisle pointed downward. "The reason for that is what is about to come next."

The instructors looked down with apprehension and worry, wondering how this would end up while Kaizer still adopted a basic sword and shield stance, waiting for his foe to finish charging up his special attack.

Lucian’s eyes suddenly flashed as he looked up, a hint of ferocity in his usually cold expression.

"Swords of Light: Judgment!"