I Was Born With A Bloodline That Ended The World-Chapter 91: Silent Rivalry

Rhian and Nia kept staring at each other, both breathing heavily, sweat glistening on their skin. Neither moved or spoke for a moment, each waiting to see if the other would say something first.

"Class dismissed," Mr. Callor said. His voice cut through the thick air.

The other students shuffled, a few grumbling quietly that they hadn’t gotten enough practice today, but no one dared linger. They filed out quickly, leaving only the two in the center of the mat.

Mr. Callor let out a slow sigh as he watched them. He knew what he was seeing. It wasn’t just a fight, it was a clash of wills.

A test of who could break the other, or who could force the other to push past their limits first.

Competition like that was good, but it could be dangerous if it wasn’t managed. Still, he didn’t say anything more. He simply nodded once, his eyes moving between them.

"Keep that fire, both of you," he said. "But don’t lose yourselves to it. Dismissed."

He turned and left, leaving the two of them standing in the quiet training room.

Rhian finally broke the stare, rolling his shoulders and stepping back. He exhaled sharply, trying to calm his pulse.

Nia stayed still for a moment longer, then took a deep breath and did the same. She looked at him again, eyes narrowing, but she didn’t say anything.

Rhian cracked a faint grin. "You’re still not gonna use it, huh?"

Nia took a step forward, closing the gap between them as she looked directly into his eyes. "What’s with you lately?" she asked, her voice low but steady.

Rhian met her look without backing down. "What do you mean? You’re the one holding back."

She didn’t flinch, her tone calm but intense. "You know that ability isn’t easy for me to use."

Rhian let out a slow breath. "Look. I just want an intense fight, that’s all. I’m sorry if I’ve been pushing—"

Before he could finish, she smirked, flicking her hair back as she brushed past him and bumped his shoulder. "Tsk, you want to play rough, huh?"

But as she tried to walk by, Rhian reached out and caught her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

For a moment, they both stood still, the room empty around them, the quiet making the small moment feel heavy.

Rhian didn’t say anything, just kept his hand around hers, his thumb brushing over her skin.

Nia stared at him, her expression hard to read, somewhere between defiance and curiosity.

Finally, she sighed. "Fine. Next time, I won’t hold back." She pulled her hand away gently, turning to walk out of the room, leaving Rhian standing there with a small, satisfied smile.

Rhian looked down, his shoulders tense as guilt washed over him.

It wasn’t just that Nia was holding back, it was more that he’d been pushing her, hoping to force her to go all out.

In truth, he wanted to see how far his Ragnarok Physique would carry him when he faced someone using everything they had.

He knew he was stuck at the edge of something, that he couldn’t grow much further without real challenges.

But he realized that, in a way, he was using Nia to test himself, pushing her to draw out her lightning body, the one ability that could make her close to a D-rank fighter.

The thought of that made him clench his jaw. He didn’t like it. It wasn’t fair to her, or to the bond they had.

But he didn’t know how to stop, how to step back from the hunger to grow stronger.

He let out a shaky breath and ran a hand through his hair. Maybe he needed to stop pushing so hard.

Or maybe he just needed to find another way to challenge himself without making Nia carry the weight of his own goals.

For now, he left the training room, his mind still restless.

As he left, Rhian barely had time to process the air around him before someone’s arm clamped onto his shoulder, pulling him back slightly. It wasn’t a threatening grip, but it had enough weight to stop him in his tracks.

"Trouble in paradise?" a familiar voice teased.

Rhian didn’t even bother turning his head. His elbow shot back hard, catching the speaker in the ribs.

"Ow!" Ash yelped, hopping back a step, but still grinning. "You’re getting jumpy, my friend."

Rhian gave him a sideways glance. "You were waiting there?"

Ash shrugged, playing it off with that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Not exactly waiting, no. Let’s say I was in the neighborhood, and well, I couldn’t help but hear..." He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "You want rougher opponents."

Rhian rolled his eyes and tried to brush past, but Ash kept pace easily, his steps light and relaxed.

"Seriously," Ash continued, voice still dripping with that infuriating calm, "I wasn’t eavesdropping, but your little... exchange was hard to miss."

Ash cracked a smirk as they walked, his voice filled with that easy, confident amusement. "I gotta say, you always seemed like the type who’d be all polite with a girl, hold doors open, offer to carry her bag. The perfect gentleman, you know?"

He gave Rhian a playful shove with his elbow, grinning wider. "But here you are, practically begging her to beat the crap out of you in front of half the class. Who knew that was your idea of a date?"

Rhian snorted, shaking his head. "It’s not like that."

"Sure it’s not," Ash said, voice dripping with mock seriousness. "You two get so intense it’s like a private show. One of these days, you’re going to break a floor tile, and then what? You gonna make her pay for it?"

Rhian just sighed. "You’re an idiot."

Ash winked. "Maybe. But at least I’m a fun idiot. Now come on, I’m buying lunch. You need to eat if you’re going to keep up with the lady who can fry you with a touch."