Chapter 36: Bloodbinding Unleashed
The dueling grounds trembled beneath a blood-soaked sky.
Auron Veylor stood tall in the arena's center, a trail of crimson threads spiraling around his arm. The legacy of House Veylor had fully awakened within him — and its name was Bloodbinding.
Across from him, Ren Kamizuki's breathing was shallow. His jacket was scorched, his left shoulder slick with blood. The Codex Nullum pulsed faintly at his side, its pages refusing to open — as if sensing that whatever was coming next was forbidden even by its standards.
"You should've stayed hidden, Nullborn," Auron said, his tone disturbingly calm. "But since you decided to challenge Veylor honor... you'll die with it."
With a flick of his wrist, Auron drove a crimson spike through the ground. Instantly, glowing chains of blood shot from it, weaving a sigil beneath Ren's feet.
"Bloodbinding Rite: Marionette Grip."
Ren's legs buckled.
His limbs seized as if yanked by invisible threads. The ground beneath him turned into liquid iron. He could feel his muscles moving—but not by his own will.
Auron smirked. "This technique was outlawed for a reason. But you're not human enough for it to matter."
Ren's fingers twitched. His lips parted. And then—
The Codex Nullum burned black.
A page flipped on its own. Symbols rearranged into something jagged, ancient, and wrong. Ren's body jerked… and the blood-chains cracked with a metallic snap.
Auron's eyes widened. "That's not possible—!"
"Codex Entry: Null Rewrite—Thread Severance."
The sigil beneath Ren shattered. The blood binding him evaporated into smoke, consumed by the Codex's counter-command.
But it wasn't over.
Ren looked up, eyes glowing with deep indigo light. "You want forbidden? Fine."
He raised his right hand. Aether and Void twisted into his palm, forming a spear—not of steel, but of unraveling glyphs.
Voidlance: Fracture Form.
The crowd began screaming.
Auron's arrogance faltered. His aura surged—but too late. Ren's Voidlance slammed into his barrier, not piercing it, but erasing it—bit by bit, like a file being deleted from existence.
And then a figure stepped between them.
A flash of white hair. A ward of golden light.
Lira.
She blocked Ren's second attack with a barrier spell. "Stop!" she shouted. "If you keep going—you won't come back."
Ren's expression didn't change… but his hand lowered.
The Voidlance unraveled into stardust.
All around them, silence. Then a voice rang out—
"Enough!" boomed the Headmaster, descending from above. "This trial is over!"
In the crowd, faculty members whispered. Among them, Selvara Solmere stared at the unfolding chaos with something darker than fear—calculated interest.
And deep beneath the Academy…
The Sealed Grounds began to stir.