There was a deathly silence in the square, as if everyone had lost the ability to speak. Hundreds of gazes were fixated on the statue, which seemed to have bathed in blood, and even more so on the young girl standing in front of it.
A name suddenly appeared in Gray's head, emerging from deep within his subconscious.
Athena Stormwind! A goddess that seemed to have directly descended on earth from the heavens.
Gray took a deep breath and turned his gaze to focus on her figure.
The girl has long, straight blonde hair that cascades smoothly down her back, contrasting strikingly against her pale skin. Her eyes are a vivid purple, sparkling with a mysterious intensity, as though they hold secrets or hidden emotions. Her expression is stone cold and introspective, adding an air of quiet mystery to her appearance.
She was wearing a delicate black dress, adorned with intricate frills and ribbons that give it a vintage, almost gothic charm. The dress gently flows around her, catching the subtle light in the holy, dreamlike setting. Sunlight glistens as it falls around her, casting a soft, ethereal glow, adding to the surreal, otherworldly feel of her presence in this important stage. She stands calmly, appearing as if she's in a serene daydream, untouched by the world around her.
A collective gasp rippled through the square. Even Rexton, stoic and unchanging until now, showed a rare hint of emotion—a complicated look in his eyes, barely restrained.
The words he spoke next seemed to tremble, betraying his own disbelief. "Athena Stormwind, corruption level 100%, extremely high potential to become a Magus."
Followed by his words, the square, which had fallen silent, went mad.
"Oh, heavens! Am I seeing things? 100% corruption level? Such a situation is unprecedented in the history of Knight Heaven City."
"The Stormwind family had given birth to a true mighty figure."
"Where is that guy who called the Stormwind family a 'mediocre family'?"
The crowd's fervor bordered on fanaticism. In contrast, the Stormwind family remained calm, the Earthly Knight and elders smiling gently as if they had expected this all along
Athena, unbothered by the chaos or the admiration around her, turned and strode back to her family without a word or a glance.
Although the shock they received was huge, the ceremony still had to continue.
One by one, the teenagers of the Stormwind family walked to the statue and performed the steps.
However, with one exception, the Stormwind family stayed true to their reputation. Out of the thirty teenagers, six failed to reach the forty percent corruption level, while the rest had only so-so talent.
But at this point, it didn't matter; we can ignore everyone just because of a single existence that shone brighter than the sun.
The camp of the Blue Swan family had turned gloomy, especially the face of their Earthly Knight. He was a person with great foresight and could detect a calamity brewing for the family.
Leo, the person who was enjoying the limelight a moment ago, was discarded by the crowds, with no one paying attention to him.
A strange tension seemed to have filled the atmosphere.
Before the gloomy mood could completely set in, Rexton's voice reverberated again, sounding calm.
"Peace-loving family, send your geniuses."
Even before his words, Gray had already started to walk toward the statue calmly.
His little sister cheered for him from behind.
"Go, big brother! You can do it." Raven's cute voice reverberated throughout the square, filling Gray's heart with a little bit of warmth.
However, soon her cheers were drowned by the crowd's discussion.
"So this young man is the legendary Knight Theodore's only grandson. He doesn't look like much."
"What grandson? He is a true failure, a waste of resources, who couldn't even reach a 40% corruption level."
"Let's not pay attention to him. With a successor like him, the Peace-loving family is doomed."
"Ay! You guys are blaming him too much, when did it become easy to reach 40% level, not everyone is born a genius."
Numerous disdainful comments reached Gray's ears, but his steps remained unfettered, and in the next moment, he stood before the statue.
Slowly, he made a fine cut on his palm and let the crimson blood slowly slide down toward the statue's legs.
Although he knew it was impossible, his heart was filled with hope.
'Maybe this time, I will be able to prove my talent.'
The blood touched the statue. Gray held his breath, waiting. But nothing happened. No glow, no reaction beyond a faint light flickering around the Asura's feet.
Gray's mind went blank. What…? How…?
Instead of increasing, his corruption level seemed to have fallen by a large margin.
It was not like this last year; at that time, his corruption level was around 39 percent, just a percent shy of the 40% needed to qualify, and that's why he was hopeful.
But now, his hopes were brutally crushed.
Laughter broke the silence, spreading through the crowd like wildfire.
"Heavens, today definitely something special! First, we got to witness the absolute genius, and now an absolute trash."
"The Peace-loving family is finished; this was the final nail in the coffin."
Rexton was also moved and looked at Gray with pity, before announcing.
"Gray Peace-loving, corruption level 4%, can never become a knight, not to say anything about becoming a Magus."
Raven rushed forward, her small hands clinging to Gray's arm. She barely reached his chest, looking up at him with worry etched on her face.
Gray smiled to ease her worries. If it was someone else, they might have become depressed, but not him.
While walking back, he also realized why his corruption level decreased - it was because of his rebirth; his entire body was fucking new.
The faces of people from the Blue Swan family improved; they weren't as depressed as before.
Time passed, and slowly everyone from the Peace-loving family performed the ceremony, only Raven remained.
Gray gave her looks of encouragement as Raven repeatedly turned her head back to look at his figure in nervousness, her resolve wavering under the eyes of the crowd.