Chapter 176. Anomaly Versus Authority II

Succubi Chapter 176. Anomaly Versus Authority II 

I pushed back.

“Again,” she murmured.

And then she vanished.

No warning.

Just gone.

I cursed.

Too late.

A kick slammed into my back.

I rolled with it instinctively.

Hit the ground.

Came up fast.

[Infernal Barrier Activated ]

A layered wall of shadowlight erupted around me just as a barrage of mana bolts rained down.

Impact!

Impact!

Impact!

Each one hit the barrier like artillery.

The dome trembled.

Outside, Adrian shouted, “That’s insane!”

“Cancel!”

The barrier shattered.

I stepped through the fading shadow.

Enough defense.

Time to escalate.

I spread my hands wide.

[Dark Orbs Summoned ]

Black spheres exploded into existence around me, forming a triangular formation that pulsed ominously.

Students gasped.

Instructor Elise’s gaze sharpened. “Control,” she warned.

I snapped my fingers.

The orbs launched.

Each one streaked toward her in a coordinated storm.

She moved like a dancer in a hurricane.

Dodging.

Deflecting.

But when the first orb hit the ground…

[Gravity Pulse Triggered]

-Boom!

The explosion pulled inward before detonating outward.

The shockwave tugged her off balance.

The next three detonated in sequence.

Dust swallowed half the circle.

The barrier dome vibrated violently.

Then…

I felt something wrong.

One of the stray explosions had ricocheted higher than expected.

Toward the outside.

Toward Adrian.

My eyes widened.

He moved.

Fast.

He ducked and rolled instinctively as a shard of fractured mana grazed past where his head had been.

My heart lurched.

I skidded to a halt mid charge.

“This is dangerous,” I said sharply.

Instructor Elise turned her head slightly.

She glanced toward Adrian.

He gave a shaky thumbs up.

“Nice dodge,” I muttered under my breath.

She nodded once.

“Right.”

She snapped her fingers.

The dome shimmered brighter.

Expanded.

Thickened.

[Reinforced Combat Dome Deployed - External Interference Sealed]

The barrier solidified, cutting off stray debris entirely.

“This will be enough,” she said calmly.

Her gaze returned to me. “Continue.”

I exhaled slowly.

Okay.

Now it was contained.

Now it was just us.

The dust settled enough to reveal her silhouette through the haze.

She raised both hands this time.

That was new.

The air pressure changed.

The sky above the dome darkened slightly as mana condensed.

I felt it in my bones.

This wasn’t a tap.

This was a strike.

“Don’t flinch,” she said.

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.

A sphere of condensed energy formed above her palm and then…

She hurled it.

I didn’t dodge.

I planted my feet.

“Devil Armor,” I whispered.

[Devil Armor Activated]

Hellforged plating materialized over my body in a ripple of dark crimson energy.

Crazy? Yeah, maybe.

But I want to know how far this armor could protect me.

I had levelled up it should be stronger.

The sphere hit.

Explosion.

Sound vanished.

Light consumed everything.

The impact drove me backward violently.

My boots carved trenches into the stone.

The armor cracked but held.

Cursed energy retaliated outward in a backlash pulse.

Smoke rolled across the entire dome.

I stood in the center of the cratered circle, armor smoking faintly.

Breathing heavy.

Alive.

She lowered her hand slowly.

A faint smile touched her lips.

“Better,” she said.

Better.

That word did something to me.

Not the way praise from Evelyn did.

But similar.

Recognition.

Acknowledgment.

My pride straightened. “Your turn,” I said.

I dismissed the armor.

Concentrated.

Pulled deeper.

Darkness gathered around my feet.

She felt it immediately.

The ground beneath us trembled.

I slammed my palm downward.

[Death Wave]

A wave of necrotic energy exploded outward in a black crescent, tearing across the field.

The barrier dome flickered under the force.

She leapt upward…

But the wave clipped her boots.

[Devour Triggered - Moderate Mana Absorption Successful]

Energy surged into me again.

My stamina spiked.

My breath steadied.

She landed lightly, coat fluttering.

Eyes sharper now.

No more teacher vibe.

No more casual interest.

This was combat focus.

Good.

Because I was done playing subtle.

I shadow stepped behind her…

[Shadow Step Activated]

She pivoted mid spin and blocked my strike with her forearm.

Our arms collided.

I felt her power.

Strong.

Disciplined.

Refined.

And then I ripped a portion of it into myself.

Her eyes widened a fraction.

For the first time…

She reacted.

I drove forward with that borrowed force and slammed her back several meters across the circle.

She slid to a stop, boots grinding against fractured stone.

Silence filled the dome for half a breath.

Then she straightened.

Slowly.

Dust drifting from her shoulders.

She looked at me differently now.

Not as an experiment.

Not as a student.

As an opponent.

And my chest swelled with something fierce and bright.

Not hunger.

Not desperation.

Something steadier.

I wasn’t chasing validation anymore.

I was earning it.

And this time…

I didn’t feel starved.

I felt dangerous.

The difference was subtle, but it changed everything.

Before, I fought to prove something. To be seen. To be acknowledged. To silence the part of me that whispered not enough.

Now?

Now I felt the weight of the arena. The eyes outside the dome. The hum of mana in the air. The teacher in front of me who was no longer looking at me like a student.

And instead of shrinking under that attention…

I grew into it.

My breathing slowed.

My stance sharpened.

I could feel it.

[Pride Escalated - Emotional State Amplified]

The system didn’t even need to elaborate. I knew.

Instructor Elise brushed dust from her sleeve. A thin tear ran along her shoulder seam where my Death Wave had grazed her earlier. Fabric fluttered slightly in the wind of our mana pressure.

She noticed my eyes flick there.

“Focus,” she said calmly.

“I am,” I replied.

She moved first again.

The air around her distorted as a circular glyph expanded outward from her feet. Runes flared bright gold. The ground cracked in a spreading radius.

AOE.

Big one.

I didn’t retreat.

I smiled.

“Alright,” I muttered.

[Dark Orbs Summoned ]

Black spheres erupted around me in a wide ring formation. This time, I didn’t send them forward.

I lifted both hands.

“Expand.”

The orbs spread outward, forming a layered perimeter around me.

Her golden field slammed into the first ring.

Explosion.

Gravity pulses triggered in chain reaction.

Each orb detonated in sequence, pulling inward before bursting outward again. The air screamed as the two area fields collided.

Gold and black.

Light and shadow.

Pressure on pressure.

The dome trembled violently.

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