The ultimate one of Gaia

Martin tilted his head slightly as he observed the twelve scions standing before him, each marked by distinctive crest sigils glowing faintly against their breastplates and robes, surrounded by their disciplined army of 120. Their formation stretched from one side of the charred clearing to the other, overlapping shields of mana woven seamlessly with combat formations drilled over generations.

'They look so serious,' Martin thought, 'Did they forget there are safety glyphs?'

"Martin Kaiser," the cobalt-haired scion repeated, his voice amplified through mana channels in crisp arcs of azure resonance, "by refusing surrender, you forfeit all rights of arbitration. Prepare yourself."

Martin blinked, his pale eyes devoid of fear or excitement, "Tell me, your name."

The boy paused, surprised at the question, before replying with clear pride, "Leon Fargus."

'Luminous house. Fire-aligned bloodline, military minor-branch.' Martin lifted the scepter up slowly, flames coiling around its engraved silver haft like serpents of molten iron.

"Luminous," he murmured softly.

The scepter's runes ignited in a sequence, before a concentrated beam of fire erupted forward, its core pitch black bordered by blood-red coronae. The air rippled violently as it scorched across the field, warping vision in its path.

"Formation: Heavenly Bastion," Leon commanded.

Twenty students responded instantly. Twelve mana barriers layered atop each other in geometric harmony, forming a translucent dome that pulsed with stabilizing incantations and anchor glyphs. The ray struck the dome, smashing into the topmost barrier with a thunderous boom before dispersing into harmless sparks of silver as it reached the final layer.

"Attack!" shouted Iven from the rear line, his silver-plated armor humming with low resonance.

Earth mages knelt, slamming their palms into the charred soil. Jagged stone lances erupted under Martin's feet with lethal precision, aiming for critical arteries. Wind mages surrounded him, slicing vortexes wrapping around his torso with razor-fine edges, while two holy incantors chanted in synchrony, conjuring brilliant spears of condensed light above his head.

Martin tapped the staff lightly on the ground. From his feet, complex circular barrier arrays unfolded like blooming lotus petals, intercepting the stone lances and dispersing their kinetic force harmlessly. The wind vortexes dissipated as they collided with the swirling flame mantle surrounding him, and the holy spears shattered against his rising wards, raining crystalline dust into the scorched undergrowth.

"Blades move in!" Leon ordered.

Close combatants surged forward. Their weapons glowed with mana-forged edges, their steps coordinated to cover each other's blind spots in a near-perfect encirclement.

Martin sighed faintly, raising his left hand, "Summons."

A floating metallic sphere appeared above his palm, spinning with high-pitched whirring as embedded glyphs flickered to life. It began to rain lightning in erratic, deadly arcs. The smell of ozone thickened instantly, mingling with burnt moss and charred wood as several advancing students screamed, collapsing to the ground with twitching limbs before teleport glyphs whisked them away.

From the rear line, Iven raised his armored hand sharply. "Formation shift: Phoenix Annihilation!"

Seven students around him slammed their staffs down in unison, chanting in flawless tempo. Their combined mana pooled into an expanding glyph array that spread across twenty meters. The rune structure twisted upward in a spiral lattice, gathering ambient fire mana, compressing it into a colossal burning projectile the size of a carriage. The air around it shimmered with sheer destructive heat, fracturing the ground into spiderwebs of glass.

Martin stood within his protective lotus barriers, quietly scanning the field.

'Analyze,' he thought, as his vision flickered with translucent data glyphs, '100 out of 120 soldiers still alive. The 12 scions remain unharmed. Their outer formation integrity is 73%. Their incantation efficiency is impressive, though it prioritizes output over adaptivity.'

He narrowed his eyes slightly, 'Do I really have to pull all the stops?'

The Phoenix Annihilation projectile launched forward. Its roar was deafening, a screaming spiral of condensed fire mana that swallowed the world in searing brilliance. The dome of protective barriers around Martin shivered as the attack impacted, pushing him back half a step before the outermost lotus barrier shattered like glass. Heat licked his coat, scorching its hem to smoking tatters.

In the observation chamber, nobles erupted into joyous celebration.

"Finally! The savage is being disciplined!" roared one baron, slamming his goblet onto the table hard enough to spill crimson wine across his embroidered sleeves.

"Now he learns the price of arrogance," muttered a marquis, eyes glinting with vindictive pleasure.

Even the royalty, seated in a row behind the nobles, watched with subtle relief. Emperor Burgest Marlo rested his chin on his fist, his golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Headmaster Woldamort's aged features remained inscrutable, though the corners of his lips twitched faintly as if suppressing a smile.

Belisarius exhaled slowly, tension slipping from his shoulders, "He's not invincible after all."

Bellarine, silent, simply recorded her observations, eyes scanning the readouts calmly.

Only Roen frowned, his eyes narrowing at the screens displaying Martin's vitals and mana signature. The ripple was faint, almost hidden within the barrier disruptions, but it pulsed in a rhythm he recognized too well.

"You seemed to have a different opinion," Woldamort remarked openly, his ancient voice carrying across the observation chamber as he turned his gaze towards Roen.

Roen exhaled shakily, scratching the back of his neck as he muttered under his breath, "He's not fighting back yet…"

Woldamort's eyes twinkled with cold mirth, "Indeed."

On the field, as the flame dissipated, the dust parted to reveal Martin standing tall, his coat tattered, his scepter scorched black along the shaft. Yet his eyes were calm, almost bored.

He tilted his head, inspecting Leon's formation with analytical precision, "Is this the best you can do?"

Iven stepped forward, his armored boots crunching burnt foliage underfoot. "Your arrogance blinds you, Kaiser. This is your end."

Martin smiled faintly, rolling his shoulders as mana rippled outward in slow, silent waves, 'Then let me show you… what it means to invoke the Abyss.'