Chapter 245: Disagreement
One noble student lay unconscious on the mud-slicked ground, his armor scuffed and dented. The other scrambled ineffectively with a wounded leg, barely managing to keep the beasts’ attention.
Sun’s face was twisted with fury, but behind it, fear glimmered. He slashed at the nearest beast with desperate swings, but his sword barely nicked its hide. The second creature crouched low, ready to strike, its eyes gleaming with predatory focus.
Jae didn’t pause to think. Mana flared beneath his skin, fire roared to life in his hand, and the Dragonfire Blade erupted in a blaze of red-orange heat. The blade cut through the fog like a comet, its light bright against the gray mist. Jae moved faster than thought, one motion and the first beast split cleanly in two, collapsing to the wet earth. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled his nostrils, sharp and immediate.
The second beast lunged with teeth bared, but Jae was already moving. A downward sweep of the blade cleaved through sinew and bone, leaving the hulking creature crumpled at his feet. The clearing fell silent except for Jae’s ragged breathing and the distant drip of water from leaves above.
It was over in mere heartbeats, but every second had felt stretched to its limits.
Jae straightened, the fading embers of the Dragonfire Blade dying down in his hand. "You’re welcome," he said, his tone sharper than he intended, irritation threading through the words without him realizing.
Sun’s face was not one of relief. It was red, taut with fury, and his eyes blazed like twin fires of humiliation and pride.
"You dare," he hissed, trembling slightly as he pointed his sword at Jae. "You dare humiliate me like this?"
Jae blinked slowly, unshaken. "Humiliate you? You were about to die."
"I had it under control!" Sun snapped, voice cracking as raw frustration overcame him. "You think saving me makes you some kind of hero? No—you’ve made me look weak. In front of everyone!"
"There was no one here," Jae replied flatly, the words calm but cutting.
"Everyone will hear of it," Sun snarled, chest heaving with rapid breaths. His pride was a fire that no argument could quench. "And they’ll know exactly what you are. A traitor. A usurper. Undermining me at every turn!"
Before Jae could answer, more students came rushing into the clearing, drawn by the sounds of combat. Elise, Byun, Tirel, and several nobles who had followed the echoing clamor arrived, skidding to a stop at the edge of the clearing. They took in the scene: the dead beasts at Jae’s feet, Sun standing unscathed but shaking, and the injured nobles sprawled behind him.
Whispers spread instantly through the group like wildfire, carried by the damp forest air:
"Jae cut them down himself..."
"Did Sun even land a blow?"
"He was cornered."
"No—Sun says Jae interfered. Made him look weak."
The voices were quiet at first, hesitant, but the words were sharp and biting, ricocheting off the trees. Every student who arrived had a different reaction: some stared in awe at the power Jae had just displayed, others mirrored Sun’s indignation, their expressions tight and skeptical. Some looked at the unconscious noble with concern, others at the fallen beasts, shaken by the suddenness of the attack.
Jae didn’t bother explaining. He simply sheathed the fading embers of his weapon, the firelight flickering over the blade as it slid smoothly back into its scabbard, and stepped back. He had already said enough. Words could never capture the immediacy of what had just happened, the instinctual decisions made in seconds, or the way his mana had surged through him in response to the threat. No amount of arguing would convince those who wanted to see him as a threat, nor would it change Sun’s bruised pride. He gave a slow, measured breath, letting the tension leave his shoulders as much as it could in the still, damp forest.
Around him, the clearing hummed with unspoken reactions. Elise’s eyes flicked toward him, worry and admiration warring in their depths. Tirel’s arms were crossed, her jaw tight as if holding back words, and Byun’s gaze swept over the bodies of the fallen beasts, thoughtful and unreadable. Jae didn’t look at them; he didn’t need to. His focus remained on the quiet after the storm, the way mist curled lazily over the ground, and the faint traces of burned grass and singed undergrowth left by the Dragonfire Blade.
By the time they returned to camp, the story had taken on a life of its own. The forest’s fog and mist clung to their cloaks and boots as they trudged back, carrying the weight of what had occurred. Students whispered in small clusters, their voices low but spreading like wildfire, rippling through the camp. Some nobles swore that Sun had been sabotaged—that Jae had purposely let him fall into danger so he could swoop in and claim glory. There was a pointedness in the way they spoke, their words clipped and sharp, their eyes following Jae with suspicion and barely concealed envy. Others, especially among the common-born students, whispered admiration instead. They had seen the truth, had watched Jae move with lethal precision, and to them, he had saved lives. Their tone was respectful, cautious, almost reverent, and their eyes lingered on him with a quiet acknowledgment.
Around the firepits that evening, arguments flared like sparks from the flames themselves. The smell of smoke, the crackle of burning wood, and the scent of wet earth from the morning’s rain mingled in the air, creating a charged backdrop for the whispers and debates.
"Sun is the prince. Jae should never have interfered," one noble spat, voice sharp and laced with disdain, drawing the attention of those seated nearby.
"Better interference than a corpse," a commoner shot back, leaning over the fire with hands braced against his knees, eyes glinting in the lamplight. "He saved him. You’d be praising him if it were anyone else."
The divide cut sharply through the camp. Noble students turned their backs on Jae as he passed, sneering or muttering under their breaths.