The moment I caught sight of the instructors rising in incredulity, the whole caste of elites turning irrefutably locked in, I knew new shit was going down, I had felt the prickling rising heat, the sheen of sweat slowly building up, I’d credited it to just the young man’s current form, but it wasn’t, no, it was way worse.

The instructors were looking up for some reason, so I did the same.

I was just in time to see the sun above us flicker...and then deepen, its golden hue collapsing into a raging, white-gold inferno that swallowed the sky whole.

The sun....was descending...

The air warped.

Breathing became difficult.

Sound... faded.

What remained was heat.

And this one didn’t merely seek to burn.

No.

It was the kind that sort out the extermination of its offender.

The arena groaned.

The reinforced runes lining the already reinforced barrier flared violently, then dimmed, struggling to keep form as molten streaks began to run along their edges.

The ground that had already been protesting its existence, finally called it quits..

Stone didn’t merely crack.

It completely gave in...

The descending "sun" finally positioned itself right above the arena, its raging white-gold flames causing solar flares that threatened to burn down the spectating students, it was total devastation..

Cara was no longer smiling or playing, her face had turned solemn, how could it not? When her black ice that had withstood the overwhelming temperatures from earlier were currently melting like sludge.

I could see it in her eyes, she knew the time for messing around was over...

"SOLAR INCARCERATION!!" Apollo used the same skill he’d used earlier, but oh boy, the effects were drastically different this time round, the flames didn’t rise from the stage, no, the raging sun spat out what I could only describe as heavenly pillars of flames, that instantly encircled Cara, their form collapsing inwards without giving her so much as a chance to speak..

I could feel my heart thumping wildly, the heat was enough to have even me feeling hot and I had a bloodline that fed off of heat.

"ERUPT!" He gave the final command and like the verdict of a god, the flames answered immediately..

Booooooooommmmmmmm!!!!!!

An explosion of stellar white-gold flames sent the entire arena convulsing under the impact, the shockwaves spreading beyond even the protective barrier, shaking the entire platform violently..

Only one word could’ve described that attack.

APOCALYPTIC!

And that might’ve been underselling it.

....

"Hahahahaha... there you have it, that’s what true genius looks like" Malcom laughed in satisfaction as he saw just what raw carnage Apollo had caused.

The rest of the instructors couldn’t argue, not this time.

"How can one be so perfectly attuned to the sun that it’s very essence allows him to command its authority so?" The priestly old man stroked his beard, intrigue coloring his entire expression...

The female instructor had gone quiet, she hadn’t expected this, not for the young man that had come from such a backwater domain to be this gifted...

....

The smoke and debris finally cleared to reveal the aftermath of the attacks..

Luckily for me, Cara was still standing, but that was pretty much it..

She was standing, yet barely.

Her icy blue hair had been completely burnt black, their length burnt short..

She seemed to have used some new skill, as her robe had disappeared, her body now covered by an obsidian armor crafted from the same black as night ice she’d been using earlier, only this time, their durability didn’t save them..

The entire thing was melted in various places, steam still hissing off of her body, her skin was showing, the exposed flesh being burnt black, her face, oh god, I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop myself, her face had been charred to unrecognizable levels..

My heart shattered..

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

The heart wrenching cry tore out of me before I could stop it, I’d never seen her in such dire straits, she looked one huff away from utter collapse, I’d already moved before I knew what was happening.

I found myself right beside her, just in time too, for she collapsed immediately, her bravado finally giving out, my hands lashed out, holding unto her firmly, yet gently.

Slowly, I brought her down, the chatter around me fading into silence, my entire focus was on making sure my world didn’t crumble right before me.

I used the skill I’d gotten from aunt v, the healing one I thought I’d never use unless it was to inflict maximum suffering on my enemies.

But right here, right now, I needed to save my world..

"Please... please be alright.." I begged like a child, Valen’s earlier "no killing" rule had been absolutely ousted from my mind, all I knew right at this moment, was that I wanted Cara safe and I wanted her whole..

A luminous green light suffused from my palms, covering her form..

It wasn’t enough, she was healing, but not fast enough and not wholly enough, the bastard had done more than just hurt her physically....

"Shit! Shit!! Shit!!!... WORK YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF TRASH!!!" I yelled out furiously, the incompetency of the skill pulling at my last nerves..

Fortunately, almost as if my ability understood my frustrations.

[LIMIT BREAKER is in effect]

A new wave of information flooded my mind, ways of manipulating energy to get the results I wanted and needed, I immediately began the process, whatever notifications that came later could wait..

The moment I activated the improved skill, the light that shone wasn’t soft or gentle, it was a blinding flash of green that inevitably drew attention towards us, but I couldn’t care less at the moment, my eyes were firmly focused on the figure within that light..

Cara’s figure was finally recovering, her burnt hair fell out, new glossier ones replacing them, the burnt patches of skin flakes off as new unblemished skin appeared, her face, that charcoal black, flaked off as well as her radiant beauty recovered its glorious visage, but he recovery wasn’t just physical, whatever essence that bastard had damaged within her, it was being restored as well and FAS..

Within a couple of tense and silent minutes, she was finally whole..

I was all over her in moments, the tears in my eyes falling regardless of my attempt at saving face..

"You’re fine...you’re fine... thank God you’re fine" I muttered consistently as a wave of relief so pure, flooded my entire system, I’d never been so scared in my entire life..

Seeing Cara in that state unraveled me, but she was fine now, she was okay..

"D..." her soft voice pulled my attention..

"What is it?" I asked gently..

"Seems like I failed your trust..heh, so much for showing you how powerful I got" she laughed in self deprecation..

"You didn’t fail anything, you were absolutely amazing" I wasn’t lying, she was crushing it out there, it was just that the bastard was more powerful than anyone would’ve thought..

"Heh.. do you really mean that?"

"Of course, I do.. when have I ever lied to you?"

"You lie everytime your street boxing schedule clashes with our dates"

"That’s...that’s different and you know it!"

"Hehehe..." seeing her laugh, despite her current situation, I knew she was going to be okay.

A secret wave of relief settling in, thank God it wasn’t one of those novel situations where she gets depressed after being overpowered.

That being said though.

"I guess I still have to let you handle it huh?" She muttered softly, slowly getting up..

"It’s what I should’ve done from the very start" my eyes hardened, the worrying was over, it was now time for the raging and boy, was I boiling.

"Make it painful, make it fast, make him realize his insignificance so much that he never dares raise his head before you again" instead of any form of motivation or encouragement or warnings, Cara, true to her strong willed and extremely vengeful personality, simply requested that of me.

And who was I to deny my currently murder eyed beauty?

"Just watch and see"

It was time to make someone pay.

***********

A/N: Nooooo!!!! She lost! My baby lost! I know some people are going to be happy, yea, fuck you all too..

I’m going to screw Dante over for this..

************

Thanks for reading.....