Weak Class of Anti-Hero
Chapter 33: The Judgment of the Guardian

Chapter 33: The Judgment of the Guardian

I pushed open the door and entered the next room.

It was a vast circular arena, bathed in a harsh, white light. The walls were smooth, without a single imperfection.

The other candidates were already there. All ten of them. They looked a little shaken, pale. They must have faced their own demons in the labyrinth. Some looked at me with a newfound glimmer of respect. Others, like Yoo-Na, with even more hatred.

The director’s voice echoed through the arena, coming from nowhere.

"Congratulations on surviving the first trial. Eleven entered. Eleven succeeded. That is a record."

His voice grew harder.

"Second trial: The Judgment of the Guardian."

The floor in the center of the arena began to open. A huge platform rose up, and on that platform stood a creature.

It was a knight. An immense knight, clad head to toe in black and gold armor that seemed to absorb the light. He held a gigantic sword, as tall as a man. His face was hidden, save for two points of red light that glowed from within his helmet’s visor.

"This is the Guardian," the director explained. "Your objective is simple. You must defeat it."

One of the S-ranks, an arrogant boy with lightning powers, laughed. "Eleven against one? Is this your great trial? We’ll demolish it in thirty seconds."

"Don’t be so sure," the director replied. "The Guardian possesses a unique ability. It adapts. Every power you use against it, it will analyze, understand, and become immune to. You can only use the same attack once."

A silence fell over our group. Confidence vanished, replaced by uncertainty.

We couldn’t just overwhelm it with power. We needed a strategy. Perfect coordination.

"You have one hour," the director concluded. "The combat begins. Now."

The Guardian raised its immense sword. It did not scream. It said nothing. It simply began to walk toward us. Each step made the sound of heavy metal on stone.

And the battle for our future began.

"Wait!"

The student council president’s voice rang out. He was the group’s natural leader. "We can’t attack it recklessly. We must coordinate our attacks."

He quickly started giving orders. "Lightning, you’re up first! A ranged attack to test its defenses. Yoo-Na, get ready to immobilize it with your ice. The rest of you, prepare your most powerful attacks. We’ll hit it in waves."

He ignored me. To him, I was still an unpredictable wildcard, not a member of the team.

That suited me fine. I stayed back, observing.

The lightning boy shouted and launched a massive bolt, a serpent of pure energy that struck the Guardian square in the chest.

The impact was enormous. But the Guardian didn’t move an inch. It simply absorbed the attack. We saw circuits of blue light run across its armor, then fade.

It had become immune to lightning.

It raised its sword and brought it down. It wasn’t a fast attack. It was a heavy, powerful, inevitable motion.

The lightning boy barely had time to create a shield. The sword shattered it like glass and sent him flying to the other side of the arena, where he landed, unconscious. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

One down. In a single attack.

"Ice! Now!" the president roared.

Yoo-Na reacted. She slammed her hand on the ground. A wave of ice crept toward the Guardian, freezing its legs, immobilizing it on the spot.

"Attack! All at once!"

The other S-ranks unleashed their power. Beams of energy, blades of wind, blasts of force... a barrage of attacks struck the Guardian, trapped in the ice.

Smoke and dust filled the arena.

When it cleared, the Guardian was still standing. Its armor was slightly scratched, but it was intact.

And the ice around its legs began to melt, not from heat, but because it had become immune to the cold.

It raised its head. Its red eyes swept over our group.

And it charged.

I stayed back, my dagger in hand. I hadn’t attacked it yet. I was waiting.

It wasn’t its strength that interested me. It was its power. To adapt. To become immune.

If my dagger could absorb powers... could it absorb that one? Could it absorb the very concept of adaptation?

It was an insane risk. But if it worked...

The fight descended into desperate chaos.

Each time an S-rank used their most powerful attack, the Guardian would take it, adapt, and become immune. Then it would counter-attack with brutal force.

One by one, the candidates fell.

A girl who controlled plants tried to ensnare it with vines. He tore them away, then knocked her out of the fight. He was now immune to plant-based attacks.

Another tried to destabilize it with sonic waves. The Guardian staggered, then righted itself, impervious to the sound. The boy was the next to fall.

It was a massacre. The Guardian wasn’t just an opponent. It was a puzzle. A wall that grew higher each time we tried to climb it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Only four people were left standing: the student council president, Yoo-Na, another boy who specialized in teleportation, and me.

"It’s useless," the teleporter said, sweating. "We can’t beat it. Every attack makes it stronger."

"It must have a limit!" the president shouted. He created an immense spear of light, his ultimate attack.

"We attack together! This is our last chance!"

Yoo-Na did the same, creating a blizzard of ice blades.

The teleporter vanished, preparing a surprise attack.

They looked at me. "And you?! Are you just going to do nothing?!" the president screamed.

"I’m waiting for the right moment," I replied calmly.

They didn’t wait. They launched their final assault. The spear of light, the blizzard of ice, and the teleporter who appeared right behind the Guardian for an attack from the rear.

The Guardian simply raised its sword.

It didn’t parry the attacks. It created a shockwave. A simple pulse of pure energy that swept across the arena.

The three attacks disintegrated. The three students were thrown back, all of them out of the fight.

Now, only I remained.

The Guardian turned slowly toward me. Its red eyes stared at me.

It was my turn. My one shot.

I began to walk toward it, dagger in hand. Not to attack. Not yet.

I turned to the scattered bodies of the S-ranks. Yoo-Na. The student council president. The lightning boy. All defeated.

"Ten of the academy’s best students..." I said, my voice echoing in the silent arena. "And all of you together are truly worthless."

I sneered at them, a look of pure contempt on my face.

"Watch closely," I continued, even though they were barely conscious. "If I can defeat this guardian alone, I will no longer be number 11. I will become number 1 of Apex Academy."

The Guardian watched me, motionless, waiting.

This was my moment. My father’s training. My body’s regeneration. The hatred that served as my fuel. It all came down to this.

Suddenly, I let my energy explode.

I didn’t just use Reinforcement. I did what I had learned to do while dying. I donned my second body.

My physical body remained the same, but a second silhouette, a version of myself made of black, unstable Aura, appeared around me, like a ghostly afterimage. My movements now seemed to be a fraction of a second ahead of themselves.

The Guardian tilted its head, as if intrigued by this new form.

I smiled.

And I charged.

The reinforcement of my spiritual body increased my speed tenfold. It was beyond anything I had ever known. The world seemed frozen around me.

I reached the Guardian in an instant, my dagger aimed at the joint of its armor at the neck.

But just before my blade touched him, he moved.

He didn’t parry. He simply shifted his body by an inch, and my dagger struck his armor, sliding off without doing any damage.

He was adapting. Not to my powers, but to my speed. By sight alone.

The fight began.

It was no longer a duel. It was a storm. We moved so fast we were nothing but streaks of black and gold light, clashing throughout the arena.

Our blows created shockwaves that made the ground tremble. Every parry, every dodge was a millisecond calculation.

The student council president, who had regained some consciousness, watched the scene in horror.

"They... they’re going to destroy everything," he whispered, his voice full of dread. "Their attacks aren’t just operating on the physical plane... I can feel it... They’re affecting all layers..."

He was right. Our fight was taking place on every level.

When his sword struck, it wasn’t just my physical body it threatened, but my spiritual body as well.

When my dagger aimed for his armor, it wasn’t just the metal I wanted to slice through, but the very concept of his defense.

We were moving at hyper-luminous speeds, two forces of nature in collision.

But I knew I couldn’t keep this up. He was stronger. More enduring. He was only adapting.

I had to take the risk. Now.