Chapter 355: Not this Time

Clang! Clang! Boom!"Huhh… huhh…"

Elysia found herself gasping for air, her breaths coming in short, uneven pulls as steel clashed against steel at the training ground. Dust rose around her. Sweat poured from her head.

"Where has Kael been for the past three days?" she muttered under her breath. "What is he planning now?"

(No… I don't have time to think about that right now. All that matters is getting stronger and stopping the future that will happen.)

She shook her head and continued training with her sword.

Still, no matter how hard she trained, the thought of Kael kept coming back into her mind, refusing to leave.

(Why today of all days? Why does it bother me so much now?)

She hadn't even gone near him much because of his evil deeds in the future. Yet she had grown used to seeing him, swinging his blade, training alone.

Both her hands tightened around her sword.

"Why isn't he here today?" she whispered, breathing hard.

Boom!

The ground started to tremble.

"What's happening now?"

She could hear the sounds of people screaming.

"Help!!"

"Anybody!!"

"There's… there's a demon here!!" someone screamed.

Elysia ran toward the eastern wing of the academy.

While running, she thought, A demon?! That never happened before… The academy was never attacked by demons until we graduated.

"But now… lots of things are changing too fast…"

Nearly a quarter of Arcadian Academy was destroyed upon impact. Fires burned through the corridors. Students scrambled to evacuate while support mages formed defensive circles.

At the center of it stood the demon.

Its body was formed of blackened armor fused with flesh. Its large eyes were almost hollow. Its aura alone crushed the air around it.

Edwin Leonhart stepped forward first, his blade glowing soft white-blue as mana flowed into it.

"Everyone, stay behind us!" Edwin shouted.

Jin came anyway and stood beside him, swords drawn—Ashfang in one hand and Lumensteel in the other.

From behind, they heard a voice.

"Not without me."

It was Erainlia, standing on the other side, his thunder sword crackling with electricity.

The demon didn't say anything. It just laughed.

In a second, it vanished—like it had disappeared.

"Above!" Erainlia shouted.

The demon descended like a meteor.

BOOOOM!

They escaped just in time, thanks to Erainlia.

"Ruin Form: Valor Burst!" Edwin roared.

A burst of radiant mana exploded from his blade. The ground split beneath them and crashed toward the demon but the demon stood there as if it was nothing.

The demon simply wiped the dust from its chest.

Jin attacked from the side.

"Twin Slash — Break!"

His two blades crossed in a flash, striking the demon. But the demon didn't even flinch.

"Edwin!" Jin shouted. "Let's attack together!"

Erainlia raised his sword.

"Thunder Severance!"

Lightning ripped downward, engulfing the demon in blinding light.

Students behind them shouted:

"Barrier up!"

"Healers, be ready!"

"Mana support, now!"

Shell magic layered over the three heroes. Healing streams glowed faintly around them.

The dust cleared.

The demon was still standing.

Not a scratch.

"My turn now."

It moved one leg—

And boom.

It appeared in front of Edwin and swung its massive arm.

"Blazing Spiral!"

His blade spun in a fiery arc, deflecting the blow—but the impact sent him across the courtyard.

"Edwin!" Jin and Erainlia called out.

Jin rushed forward alone.

"Ashfang! Lumensteel!"

CRAAAAACK!

The shock rattled through his bones.

Edwin rose again, wiping blood from his lips.

"Lionheart Cleave!"

He dashed forward in a streak of white-blue light and cleaved downward.

For a moment, the demon staggered.

"Yes! They did it!"

"Edwin did it!"

The students cheered.

But then…

From nowhere, a hand shot forward and caught Jin by the throat.

"Ants… Is this the power of humanity?"

"Jin!" Edwin shouted.

Jin struggled, slashing wildly. His blades scraped uselessly against the demon's arm.

The demon lifted him higher.

Its other hand formed a spear of dark energy.

"Don't let it hit! If that hits—!" Edwin shouted.

Jin's eyes widened.

"Guess… this is it… This is how I die…" he gasped.

A spear of pure ice tore through the darkness and slammed into the demon's arm.

CRAAAAACK!

The dark spear shattered.

The demon stepped back for the first time.

A voice echoed across the field.

"That is quite enough."

From the shattered corridor emerged Professor Sylvia, her long coat flowing behind her. In her hand, an ice spear shimmered with ancient runes.

"Ice Dominion: Glacial Judgment."

Dozens of spears materialized in the sky, pointing toward the demon.

The demon released Jin, throwing him into a wall, and leapt back as the spears rained down, forcing it to retreat several meters.

Jin collapsed, coughing violently, gasping for air.

Edwin caught him.

"You idiot… Don't you dare rush alone," Edwin muttered.

Professor Sylvia remained focused on the demon, her expression serious.

(This is no ordinary demon.)

The demon roared, shattering the ice around it.

Even with the professor's arrival… its presence still dominated the battlefield.

Elysia arrived at the edge of the scene, her heart racing…

"That's… that's the demon… Eimo…"

"How come this demon is here now…? That demon only appeared after we graduated… Why now?"

The moment Elysia saw it, anger growled from deep inside her.

That demon—

It was the one that had taken her best friend from her.

Memories of the future came rushing back into her mind—the destruction, the screams, the blood—

And then Cecillia.

Her eyes widened.

"Cecillia…!"

She looked around, scanning the entire battlefield. But she could not see her.

"Where are you…? Where are you?!" Elysia whispered desperately.

When Elysia was looking around for Cecillia, she instead saw, far from the gate, Kael.

"How come Kael is out there when the danger is here? How did he escape when no one else did? Maybe it was his doing… Maybe he called the demon so he could destroy everything. This bastard, Kael… I will not let anything happen to Cecillia. You are not taking her from me this time."

Then she looked more furiously,

And that was when she saw her.

Cecillia was kneeling beside Jin, her hands glowing with soft green light as healing magic flowed into him.

"Hold still, Jin!" Cecillia said in a low voice. "Your… your ribs are fractured!"

Edwin stood protectively in front of them, sword raised, breathing heavily.

As soon as Elysia saw Cecillia, without hesitation, she jumped from the third-story building.

(What!? What is she doing down there? She has to hide! She has to move far away from that demon!)