Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

"Everything is too easy..." Kael thought as he walked across the Azalith Academy campus after finishing his tests and passing. Well, of course, it would be like this; there was no doubt about it. The result was obvious, no matter how it went.

"You were trained by the Witch Queen," Umbra appeared floating beside him, her voice indifferent. "That's how things work around here."

"What do you mean by that?" Kael asked, frowning.

"This world is governed by the strongest," Umbra replied calmly. "If you don't have a solid foundation from the start, life will be tough. People who want to become strong send their children to Azalith because here, the inequality between the Realms is what determines who will truly achieve something."

"I see... Even so..." Kael murmured, lost in thought.

"Limit yourself to 25% if you want a real challenge," Umbra said with a mischievous grin. "Or, maybe, double the weight on those things." She pointed to the weighted socks Kael wore on his feet.

"I can barely walk normally with these; if I double them, I'll end up even slower," Kael replied, showing little enthusiasm for the suggestion.

"Then don't complain about your opponents," Umbra chuckled softly. "Here, everyone is a child."

Kael continued walking, too absorbed in his thoughts about this world. He barely noticed when, unintentionally, he bumped his head against the back of a tall, muscular, and clearly arrogant man.

Bonk!

Kael didn't have time to dodge. The sound of the impact was almost drowned out by the weight of the man in front of him, who quickly turned around, an irritated expression on his face. Before Kael could apologize or explain, the man shouted, his voice full of rage:

"Hey, kid!"

The man pointed at Kael, gesturing as if he were the center of the universe. "You've got eyes, don't you? Use them to see what's in front of you!"

Kael, who had been wandering in his thoughts, couldn't understand why the man was being so aggressive. 'Why am I always the target, even when I'm just walking around, doing nothing?' The thought crossed his mind, but he said nothing, only observing the man, who was growing more and more enraged.

"What are you staring at, huh?" The man's voice grew louder, dripping with mockery, his words coming out like a threat.

Kael took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, but he was already tired of the situation. 'Good thing I didn't inherit my mother's temper...' he thought to himself, his eyes studying the giant in front of him, who clearly wasn't willing to let this slide.

"Would it be wrong for a teacher like me to let a little shit like you get away with this?" the man exclaimed, arrogance pouring out of his voice. "Since your mother didn't do a good job raising you, I'll teach you a few life lessons, kid."

Kael kept his gaze fixed on the man. He could feel the tension in the air. Every word from the man seemed to increase the distance between them, but also the proximity to confrontation. When the man, with a sneer, looked down on him, Kael felt like he was being evaluated as prey by a hunter.

"First, that ridiculous hair. How about you cut that crap and show up looking like a real man?" the man said, as though he were the ultimate authority on appearance, as if Kael were an idiot for not following his standards.

The humiliation was in every syllable, as if Kael were incapable of defending his own style. The man's smug smile widened. He was savoring the moment, relishing the feeling of power he had over the young man in front of him.

"Second, when you apologize to someone like me, you kneel, brat, and..." The man raised his hand in a threatening manner, placing his palm toward Kael's head, attempting to force his head down.

But then... the surprise.

"Huh?" The man froze, his confident look turning into confusion. Kael remained unmoving. The hand he had extended to force the boy to bow now seemed pointless. "Why aren't you bending down?" The man's tone changed, but not for the right reasons. He was surprised by Kael's lack of reaction.

The air was thick. The previously calm environment seemed to shake with the rising tension between Kael and the man before him. The arrogant teacher, thinking he had control of the situation, didn't realize he was playing with fire. The man's words still echoed in Kael's mind, but the breaking point came when he dared to talk about Kael's mother.

Kael could feel the hatred rising, his vision narrowing, blood boiling in his veins. He had stayed quiet until now. He had tolerated the humiliation, the arrogance, the provocations. Out of respect for his own principles, he had held back his anger, keeping control.

But when the man started speaking about his mother's upbringing, it was as if a barrier broke inside Kael. An uncontrollable fury that had been waiting for a moment like this.

The man, unknowingly, was digging his own grave.

"You're an idiot..." Kael muttered between gritted teeth, his voice cold and cutting. He took a step forward, with a startling speed for someone who seemed so calm. The man, still with his arrogant stance, didn't notice that the situation was about to change.

The world around them seemed to silence, as if everything had slowed down. Kael stared directly into the man's eyes, the eyes of a predator. His expression held no fear, but pure, raw fury. The hand the man had extended to push his head down now seemed useless, powerless in front of Kael.

"You..." Kael began, his voice lower but with a ferocity that made the air around them vibrate, "...I suggest you remove your filthy hands from me."

It was a threat. And he wasn't speaking empty words.

The man, who thought he still had control, felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The arrogant expression on his face crumbled, a slight tremor starting to take over his body. He could feel Kael's power radiating, like invisible pressure, something overwhelming. He was no longer facing a mere student, but someone capable of destroying anything in their way. Kael was no longer playing. The energy around him felt heavy, as if the very atmosphere was reacting to his rage.

The teacher, in his arrogance, hesitated for a second. And that second was all Kael needed.

Kael's eyes shone with an almost supernatural intensity. He took a step forward, faster than the man could react. His aura grew, as if a storm had appeared out of nowhere. An overwhelming power that seemed to want to consume everything around them. The atmosphere became heavy, the air dense with the imminent threat.

"I won't repeat myself," Kael said, his voice low but clearly full of hatred. "Remove your hands from me. Now."

The man tried to maintain his stance, but fear was already creeping into his chest. He had never felt anything like this before. He never imagined that a mere student could destabilize him with so little. Kael's rage, his repressed power, was palpable.

Kael took another step forward, and the teacher, instinctively, began to step back, unsure whether Kael was really going to attack or if he was being intimidated by his presence alone. The terror of facing someone so relentless started to take over him.

"Make your last choice, professor." Kael spoke, his voice now filled with venom and disdain.

The man, finally feeling the pressure, pulled his hand away from Kael, wavering and sweating cold. He took a step back, still trying to maintain some control, but Kael wouldn't let him. The sense that Kael's power had completely dominated him was undeniable, and the man, now in a state of panic, knew he had made an irreversible mistake.

Kael stood still, his eyes locked on the professor. The tension still vibrated around them, as if at any moment he could unleash a storm of violence, but he did nothing. He stepped back just enough for the man to understand that his choice was clear. He still held control of the situation, but for how long?

The anger still burned inside Kael, but he kept it under control. For now.

Kael turned to continue on his way, but something in the air changed. A dense, heavy energy suddenly formed, an oncoming strike heading in his direction. Without even fully turning his body, Kael simply tilted his head to the side and made a slight movement to the right. The energy passed by him like a gust of wind, missing by mere millimeters. His perception of everything around him was razor-sharp, and he no longer needed grand movements to dodge.

"You've got some guts, huh?" Kael said with a chilling calm, but his eyes, now golden like flames, seemed ready to consume everything around them. He slowly turned around, his feet gliding smoothly across the floor as he approached. Each step seemed heavy, every movement calculated and lethal. He was about to make the professor pay for his mistake.

The professor, now clearly uncomfortable, tried to back away, but Kael was in front of him, so fast that the man barely had time to register the movement. Before the professor could react, Kael had already lifted his foot, landing a solid, precise kick to the man's left knee.

CRACK!

The sound of the bone breaking was as clear as thunder. The man collapsed to the side, screaming in pain, but Kael didn't give him a moment to process what was happening. Without hesitation, he advanced further, twisting his body with deadly fluidity, and struck the other knee with the same intensity.

CRACK!

The professor dropped to his knees, completely unable to support himself, his body trembling. He tried to scream, but fear had already stolen his voice. Sweat dripped down his face as he looked at Kael with eyes full of panic, but Kael only watched him, completely impassive. There was no sign of remorse or hesitation. He was there only to make sure the lesson was learned.

"This is just the beginning, you idiot," Kael murmured, and before the professor could react, Kael landed a punch directly in the center of his face. The impact was brutal. The sound of bones being crushed and the nose breaking was deafening. The man was thrown back, his head falling to the side, a trickle of blood flowing from his mouth and nose.

He was completely out of the fight.

But Kael didn't care. He watched the professor on the ground, completely unable to get up. The man was dragging himself, trying to prop himself up with his arms, but the fear in his eyes was clear. Kael didn't need to do anything more. He had already given his lesson, and there was no room for regret or mercy.

"Now, who else wants to try testing my patience?" Kael murmured, but his voice was low, almost like a growl.

He paused, observing the chaos he had left behind. The air around him was still thick with tension, and he finally moved away, but then he realized... there were hundreds of people watching the scene...

"Shit." Kael said, "Why didn't you warn me?" He asked Umbra.

"You need a reputation. Almost killing a professor makes you not a target here," she commented.