Ethan stared at the figure in frozen shock.
"W… who is he?"
His voice cracked, barely audible.
"How can someone step out of thin air…? Why is everyone frozen…? Is time… actually stopped?"
His gaze refused to leave the man.
"…Why does it feel like I've seen him before?"
The man said nothing.
He lifted his head toward the sky — toward the angels suspended mid-descent.
Then his eyes drifted downward.
They settled first on Avenil, still bound in golden chains, and on Ethan standing protectively beside her.
He regarded them for a single, unreadable heartbeat.
Then he turned his attention back to the heavens.
One of the angels broke the silence.
"Human. State your name."
A pause.
"Who dares stand before the Angels of Heaven?"
The man answered without raising his voice.
"You are not worthy of my name."
The angel's face darkened, wings flaring in outrage.
"You believe you can defy Heaven's will?"
Its tone turned glacial.
"Do you truly think you can defeat us?"
The man's lips curved — the faintest of smiles.
Then he raised one hand and made a small, almost casual gesture toward Avenil.
The chains that bound her…
vanished.
No flash. No sound. No ripple in the air.
They simply ceased to be.
Avenil's golden eyes widened a fraction.
The angels stilled completely.
Shock rippled across their flawless features.
A construct forged by Heaven itself — erased with the flick of a wrist.
One particularly arrogant angel stepped forward, voice ringing with authority.
"Human… you will not violate the laws of Heaven."
The man smiled again.
This time it was different — unconscious, distant, as though the expression rose from a place deeper than conscious thought.
"You dare speak of law…"
He regarded them calmly.
"…in the presence of its author?"
Silence swallowed the sky.
Even the angels hesitated.
He lifted his hand once more — this time toward the massive heavenly gate still hanging above.
His voice was soft.
Absolute.
"Close."
A formless pressure descended.
The angels were dragged backward — one by one.
Wings beat furiously. Halos flared in defiance.
They fought.
They failed.
The gate shuddered violently.
Then it folded in on itself and collapsed into nothing.
Silence.
Time snapped back into motion.
Sound flooded the arena once more.
Movement returned.
The world resumed as though nothing had occurred.
The crowd blinked in confusion, murmuring, looking around.
They remembered nothing.
Only Ethan — and Avenil — carried the memory.
Ethan's heart slammed against his ribs.
"What… just happened…?"
A man appeared from nowhere.
Confronted Heaven.
And forced it to retreat — with a single word.
The man's gaze shifted.
It settled on the small locket hanging against Ethan's chest.
Ethan felt the weight of that look instantly.
His hand flew up, fingers closing protectively around the metal.
For one long second their eyes locked.
Then the man looked away.
"The next student, please return to your position."
The instructor's voice cut through the air, calm and oblivious.
Ethan stepped back slowly, legs unsteady, eyes never leaving the stranger.
The instructor scanned the stage.
His gaze stopped.
On the man.
The stranger stood quietly before one of the summoning pillars, studying it with detached interest.
"…You. Step forward."
The man did not reply.
He simply placed his palm against the pillar.
For a breath — nothing.
Then every pillar in the arena ignited.
Not one. Not a few.
**All of them.**
Blinding light erupted, flooding the space.
Students staggered, shielding their eyes.
Confusion swept the crowd.
Ethan's locket trembled violently.
Then it lifted — floating upward, drawn by an invisible force.
"What…?!"
The light swelled to unbearable intensity.
The man's body rose slowly from the ground.
Floating.
A pressure descended — silent, invisible, yet utterly crushing.
Across the arena, summoning circles tore open without command.
One after another.
Beasts poured forth.
Wolves. Serpents. Ethereal spirits. Mythical shadows.
Dozens. Hundreds.
Every creature — up to Epic rank — lowered its head in unison.
Even Wen Sheng's legendary Jade Python bent its massive neck in submission.
Silence fell.
Heavy. Unnatural.
In the stands, Lucy watched, eyes narrowed to slits.
Behind her, Kunpeng unfurled a single silver wing — instinctively shielding her summoner.
On the stage, Avenil stood rigid.
Her sword quivered in her grip.
Her body grew leaden.
A single word echoed in her mind.
*Kneel.*
She refused.
But the compulsion lingered.
High in a private viewing cabin, a man leaned forward.
A faint, intrigued smile touched his lips.
"Interesting…"
Beside him, a spectral dragon head materialized — dark red scales, molten golden eyes, ancient beyond measure.
It fixed its gaze on the floating figure below.
Silence stretched.
Then the dragon spoke, voice low and grave.
"That aura… I know it?."
Its eyes narrowed to burning slits.
"Alex… I suggest you never make an enemy of that man."
Alex's smile widened slightly.
"You think so?"
Below, the stranger remained suspended.
Silent. Unmoving.
Then — a deafening **crack** split the air.
The blinding light collapsed inward.
The man descended gently to the stage.
Cracks spiderwebbed across every pillar.
And then — they shattered.
Every single one.
Ancient stone that had endured since the first monster invasion — reduced to dust in an instant.
The arena fell deathly quiet.
The crowd stared in stunned disbelief.
Those pillars…
Even Alex — the strongest human alive — had never been able to leave a mark on them.
Yet this man…
had broken them without effort.
Lucy's gaze met his across the distance.
Her thoughts raced.
*Who is he…?*
*No beast answers his call… yet every beast bows as though before its creator…*
The man said nothing.
He simply stood there.
And no one — not a single soul in the arena —
could understand him.