Reincarnated in the Villainous Lust System!

With the boy's arrogance and overconfidence now exposed for the fallacy it was, I knew it was time to teach him a lesson in the art of combat, to show him that there was more to fighting than elemental magic.

As I closed in on the boy, the distance between us disappearing in a blur of motion.

With the grace and speed of a panther, I lunged forward, my feet eating up the ground As I accelerated towards the boy.

He reacted with a start, his mouth opening in a shocked cry as he scrambled to react, his hands flailing in a desperate attempt to defend himself.

But it was too late.

With his defenses still down, the boy's attempts to defend himself were half-hearted at best, his arms flailing in a disorganized flurry as he tried to ward off my advance.

But my movements were swift and precise, my body twisting and turning with a cat-like agility as I danced around his clumsy strikes, my speed and reflexes outmatching his own by leagues.

With a low growl, I shoved the boy back with a push that sent him tumbling to the ground, the earth beneath him quivering with the force of his impact.

Before he could react, I was on top of him, my fist blurring through the air as I brought it down in a swift, precise blow to his face.

Crackk~

The crack of knuckles against skin reverberating through the air.

The boy cried out, his eyes widening in shock and pain as the force of my strike sent him reeling, his body struggling to recover from the sudden onslaught.

With my fist still raised, ready to deliver another devastating blow, I felt a sudden shift in the air around me, the atmosphere seeming to thicken and constrict as if it had come alive.

Before I could react, the air wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket, its invisible threads tightening like a vice as they bound my arms to my sides, my legs unable to move, my body immobilized in place.

In the blink of an eye, my world went from chaos to stillness, the speed at which I had been immobilized leaving me stunned and disoriented.

My mind struggled to process the sudden change in circumstances, my muscles still instinctively pushing against the unseen bonds that held me in place as I tried to piece together what had happened.

In a flash of recognition, the memory of the last time I had been caught in this suffocating web came back to me, my mind suddenly clear as I understood the identity of my captor.

Turning my head to the side, I locked eyes with the source of my entrapment, confirming my suspicions.

There, standing with an air of regal authority, his long, hair packed in a ponytail, stood Master Jared.

As I looked past Master Jared, my eyes fell upon the other members of the Academy's Council of Masters, each of them standing with the same air of grimness that marked the Headmaster's face.

The adrenaline of combat had dulled my senses, my focus entirely on the fight at hand as I had pushed my body and magic to their limits, unaware of the council's arrival until it was too late.

The thought of how much of my battle the council had witnessed sent a chill down my spine, the possibilities running through my mind like a dark, nagging whisper.

Never again," I vowed, I took the situation as a lesson to be learned, a reminder to never let my guard down and to keep a watchful eye on my surroundings, even in the heat of battle.

Seeing that I had calmed down, Master Jared's expression softened ever so slightly, his firm jawline relaxing as he gave a curt nod, his hands moving in a fluid, practiced motion.

The invisible bonds that had held me captive loosened, unraveling and dissipating into the air around me, the sensation of freedom washing over my body like a cool breeze.

In the wake of my release, the silence that hung in the air was thick and heavy, the lingering tension still palpable as we waited for one of the masters to speak, their words looming like the inevitable hammer of judgment.

But instead of the reprimand I had anticipated, Master Jared simply cleared his throat, his voice a whisper of authority that cut through the tension like a knife.

"Let us all commence our classes," he said, his words a surprising dismissal that left me reeling, my mind struggling to comprehend the implications of his order.

Rising from where I had been pinning down the boy, I straightened my posture, the sound of my movements breaking the stillness of the moment as I dusted off my clothes.

I glanced at the other boy, whose eyes were still wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief, the sting of my victory lingering in the air between us.

Ignoring him, I turned my attention back to the Masters, my gaze lingering on each of them for a brief moment before I nodded in acknowledgment of their presence.

As I prepared to join the other mages on their way back to their training grounds, a flash of movement caught my eye, the familiar sight of Damon's mischievous smirk greeting me with a sly wink.

I turned away, my steps falling into a steady rhythm as I followed Master Jared towards the training grounds.

Our footsteps crunched through the sand, the tension of the moment dissipating with each step, leaving only the echo of my thoughts in its wake.

The sharp, percussive sound of my knuckles connecting with the boy's cheek echoed through my mind, the memory of the blow playing on repeat in my mind's eye.

I could almost feel the force of my strike again, the rush of adrenaline and the taste of victory on my tongue as I relived the moment in vivid detail.

Only now, I felt a deep sense of disappointment.