The moment Raven stepped forward, the atmosphere in the Cradle changed.
The murmurs quieted and the anticipation thickened.
The strongest from each undefeated team followed suit, stepping toward Instructor Gale. These were the leaders—the strongest fighters of their respective teams.
Instructor Gale let his sharp eyes roam over them, his expression unreadable before he finally spoke.
"You all know the rules, but I'll repeat them." His voice was calm, yet it carried across the field, demanding attention.
"In the Rite of Challenge, you will receive a badge."
With a nod, one of the assistants walked forward, carrying a tray filled with identical metal badges. Each one was circular, small enough to fit in a child's palm, and had the Vaise family's sigil etched on its surface.
"These badges are proof of your victories." Instructor Gale continued. "You will step onto the stage individually and issue a challenge. If you win, you take the loser's badge. You can only fight ten times."
Whispers broke out among the spectators the moment he said that.
Eleven fighters. Ten fights each.
By the end of the competition, the one with the most badges would be the winner.
"Since you're all standing here, I assume none of you are stupid," Gale added dryly, his tone making some kids stiffen. "But I'll still remind you: don't try anything funny."
Everyone knew what Instructor Gale meant as there had been instances in the future generations where children had used poison and traps to defeat their opponents, despite knowing it was prohibited.
Such attempts were caught and the ones responsible were punished.
Instructor Gale was reminding the children not to repeat that mistake.
With that done, the badges were handed out, one by one, until every participant had one.
And then, silence.
No one moved.
No one wanted to be the first to step onto the stage.
Even though they were just children—six to eight years old—they weren't clueless.
The first person to go up would be targeted.
That was always how it worked.
Everyone would focus on them, forcing them into fight after fight until they were too exhausted to continue.
That was why every child standing there was waiting, watching, and calculating.
Then, to the absolute disbelief of everyone present—
—Raven stepped forward.
Without hesitation. Without a single care.
His teammates didn't even blink as they had expected him to do something like this.
Honestly, they were surprised at how Raven had let them fight all the battles until now since they knew how much of a show-off he was.
Looking at his actions now, they finally understood why.
'He was making his image hit rock bottom to make his rise look just as shocking.'
The other competitors, however, weren't as calm as Raven's teammates. Their eyes widened slightly, some surprised, some skeptical.
The instructors, standing in the distance, exchanged glances.
And the crowd?
Dead silent.
Raven reached the center of the stage, letting out a lazy yawn before stretching his arms.
His movements were slow and casual as if he had just woken up from a nap instead of stepping into one of the most important battles of the competition.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
The silence stretched, heavy and tense.
And then—
Raven broke it.
"Well?" He tilted his head, his sharp gaze sweeping over the others. "Are you all coming together, or do I keep waiting?"
For a second, the entire Cradle seemed frozen.
Then—
The crowd exploded.
"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!"
"Did he tell everyone to fight him at once?!"
"Is he insane?!"
"He's joking, right? He has to be joking—"
"Wait—! What if he's not?"
Even the instructors raised their brows, some muttering among themselves.
Instructor Hale, brother of Gale, let out a low whistle. "That's either the confidence of a genius... or the arrogance of a fool."
Instructor Mora smirked. "Either way, this will be interesting."
Sir Hamilton, the old veteran with the white beard, chuckled. "He's bold."
Meanwhile, Raven's teammates had completely different reactions.
Clara clapped her hands together, looking pleased. "See? That's the kind of man I support."
Jake stared at Raven, his expression calm. "Gaining attention."
Alex, on the other hand, was looking back and forth between Raven and the crowd, frowning. "Wait, is what he said weird?"
Jake turned to stare at him. "…Alex."
"Hm?"
"Would you ever say something like that?"
"…No."
"See."
"Wait, does that mean it's weird?—"
Before Alex could finish his thought, Raven, still standing in the middle of the stage, exhaled loudly.
"Come on," he said, tapping his foot against the ground. "I don't have all day."
The Rite of Challenge had begun.
And Raven was already inviting chaos.
His eyes were focused on some faces in particular, and others noticed it soon enough.
"Wait—who's he looking at?"
"Huh? Isn't that Rufus Ros Vaise, the youngest son of the Ros family's matriarch?"
"Not only him, I feel like he's also glancing at Jessy Wal Vaise, the youngest of the Wal branch family!"
Everyone could sense what Raven was trying to do.
He was intentionally looking at them as if trying to flare their egos because this made it seem like they were too scared to step up.
The comments from the other children were like oil to the fire, making many participants frown.
Jessy's brows furrowed slightly as she noticed Raven's gaze lingering on her.
But frowning was all she did as she knew what Raven was trying to do. He was trying to bait them into something only he seemed to understand.
Even as a child, she was still from the Wal Vaise branch family, a family known for perseverance and patience. She wouldn't act up on provocations.
Rufus Ros Vaise, on the other hand, wasn't the same. He was from the Ros Vaise family, who had always tried to undermine the main branch because they desired power.
They weren't called Ros Vaise for no reason. The Ros in their name stood for red, which denoted blood.
The Ros Vaise family—also the strongest Marquise family—were like bloodthirsty wolves of their kingdom.
True to his family's opportunistic behavior, Rufus stepped forward, not wanting to miss this chance, his smirk as sharp as ever.
His red eyes gleamed with calculation as he regarded Raven like a puzzle he had already solved.
With a measured tone, he scoffed, "It seems your nonessential fame has given you the illusion that you are actually—"
Before he could finish his words...
Woosh!
The sound of air whistling was heard, cutting his words short as he saw a fist right before his eyes.
And before he knew it—
SMASH!
Before Rufus could process what was happening, the fist had already connected.
He wanted to move. His instincts warned him about it, but he was too slow.
THUD!
He hit the ground face-first, his hip raised, arms sprawled, and cheek pressed into the dirt.
A position so humiliating that the entire Cradle collectively sucked in a breath.
Vance, the one who was responsible for Rufus's comfortable stay in the Cradle, rose to his feet in shock.
"That bastard—!"
His yell, however, was cut short as Damien's voice came from the side. "What are you doing, Vance?"
The guy wasn't looking at him, but Vance could feel the pressure—the authority.
Gritting his teeth, he growled. "He attacked without warning—"
Damien cut him off. Again. "He was in the ring."
"What?"
"I said," Damien repeated, finally turning to look at Vance. "He was in the ring, which means the match had already started. It was his fault for running his mouth instead of using his fists."
The other judge, Instructor Selina, nodded in agreement, her expression unreadable.
'Fuck!' Vance, gritting his teeth, could only swallow his anger since the majority judged this as a fair attack. His eyes, however, kept glaring at Raven, who didn't even care to glance at him.
The field, on the other hand, remained silent for a while.
Complete and utter silence.
Then—
"HUH?!"
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"
"Did Rufus just—?!"
"RAVEN MOVED?! WHEN?!"
Jessy, who had decided to watch everything, took an involuntary step back, her breath catching in her throat.
She had barely seen Raven move, and Rufus, who had confidently stepped up... Well, he was now on the ground, completely wrecked before he could even blink.
The instructors exchanged looks.
Instructor Mora let out a low whistle. "Damn. That's just embarrassing."
Instructor Hale chuckled. "That's not a fight—that's public execution."
Sir Hamilton stroked his white beard, amused. "He didn't even give the boy a chance to finish his monologue."
Meanwhile, Raven casually shook his wrist as if he had merely swatted away a fly. His voice was calm, almost bored. "Sorry. I got tired of waiting."
"Woohoo!! That was badass, Raven!" Alex cheered, taking note of his actions, wondering if he could use it in future fights.
Clara just whistled, amazed by the performance. She didn't want to admit it, but Raven honestly looked cool right now. 'Wait—! Why do I not want to admit it? He does look fucking cool.'
Jake had the simplest reaction as the guy nodded, knowing this was just the start.
Rufus, who had his face still firmly planted against the ground, twitched as heat surged through his body—not from pain, but from sheer, unforgivable humiliation.