Chapter 356: Against the Written future

"Why is the timeline changing?" His voice broke as he spoke. "It was never meant to happen this fast… Is it because of me?"(More than two years… We were supposed to have more than two years.)

Even if I know this demon's weakness, it doesn't mean I will win. From the novel I read, this Eimo demon was killed by Edwin, Elysia, Jin, and Cecilia, along with a couple of other heroes. But right now, these heroes are not as strong as they were in the future. And even back then, they lost several heroes, including Cecilia. This demon can regenerate every cut until his core is completely shattered — and that core is covered by a strong shell.

His muscles trembled from his brutal training, from pushing himself beyond his limits. "I should not have trained myself that hard." Now… my mana is completely drained.

How can I step back when Cecilia was the only one who cared about me? How can I go back if Cecilia ends up meeting the same fate as in the novel? "If the timeline is changing, that means there is hope…"

Even the heroes didn't win because they were stronger… They won because they refused to stay down. They believed the impossible could become possible if we try.

"I don't need to be at full strength," Kael muttered. "I just need to stand and help the other heroes to defeat the demon."

Kael moved forward, believing that Cecilia deserved another future.

The ground was completely covered with ice from Sylvia's earlier spells. The demon Eimo's dark aura wrapped around the air, and everyone present could feel the overwhelming pressure of his massive presence.

Some students were pressed to the ground by the aura, unable to look up.

Sylvia held her staff tighter, it glowing with frost magic.

"Glacial Spear!" she shouted, thrusting the ice-infused attack toward the demon. The spear shot forward, cutting through the air, but the demon blocked it with his dark spear.

Booooommmm!!!

The ground cracked, dust rising so thickly it was impossible to see clearly. In that moment, she knew it was not the end. She summoned another attack.

"Frozen World!"

A wave of crystalline ice erupted across the battlefield, halting everything in its path for a moment. Even small rocks were locked in sheets of unbreakable ice.

For a few seconds, Sylvia felt a surge of control — the demon seemed frozen. But in the next instant, he shattered the ice with a single strike of his hand.

Sylvia jumped back, almost flying backward. "This demon… he is too powerful," she muttered.

(Why is this demon attacking today, when Dean and the other professors aren't here?)

She gathered all her remaining mana into a blinding explosion of frost.

"Heart of Winter!"

Snow and ice erupted outward, freezing everything and creating small shards sharp as knives.

The demon blocked with both hands.

Boom!!!

When the dust cleared, the demon was still standing, though his hands had been shattered by the heavy impact. Dark blood flowed from his hands, but his flesh remained intact.

"What?!"

"How is that possible?" shouted students from afar.

"Even the top healers couldn't do that," another added.

Sylvia could feel exhaustion clawing at her limbs.

The demon's hands began to regenerate.

"No one has done this to me for hundreds of years. You are the first… It will be interesting," the demon said.

Eimo moved toward Sylvia with terrifying speed.

"He's too fast," Sylvia whispered.

She dashed to evade, but a claw slashed toward her shoulder. Sylvia braced herself, frost magic flaring around her like a shield.

Another claw came.

"No! Silver Moon Strike!" she cried, creating a crescent-shaped shield of ice to stop the blow, but the demon's hand sliced straight through it.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as her shield cracked. In that moment, she could feel all her students' hope slipping away. Even she thought: (This is it…)

Then, a flash of light tore through the demon's hand.

"A Frost Bind!"

A voice rang out. Elysia appeared from above, slamming into the demon and forcing him to stagger back.

Sylvia's eyes widened. The moment the demon's focus shifted, she moved backward.

The demon roared, shaking the ground beneath them all.

The demon Eimo was about to finish his prey, but someone interfered, and that was disrespectful.

"Annoying," the demon said, pointing at Elysia. "Fine. I'll kill you all at once." The demon burst out laughing while saying that... "Ha... ha... ha... haha!!!"

Sylvia looked at Elysia, and Elysia noticed the expression on her face, it was like she was thanking her for saving her life. Elysia just nodded back without saying anything.

"Let's see if this demon can take this..."

"Glacial Spear! Frost Nova! Silver Moon Strike!"

The ground exploded with frost magic. Ice spears shot like arrows, from the ground, ice as sharp as knives erupted toward the demon Eimo. Eimo created a black and red spear this time with dark lightning on it. Eimo waved them all away using his spear.

Edwin appeared at her side, swinging his blade toward the demon. "I'll hold his right flank!" he shouted.

Elysia struck, launching a radiant arc of light from Sepherena. "Divine Star of War!"

Other students joined in, each using their abilities shields, elemental blasts, and binding spells combined, forming a more powerful attack toward the demon.

"They are coordinating now..."

Eimo held his spear in his right hand, then shifted it to his left. Then he pointed his right hand toward them. From his right hand, a black sphere began forming. At first it was small, then it grew bigger and bigger, countering back toward them...

Boom!!!! The ground shook, dust and smoke erupted...

The combined assault of Sylvia, Edwin, Elysia, and the other students was so strong that the blow made half of the demon's right hand shatter, tearing his flesh...

(How are they this strong???? It is impossible. Individually, they are nothing, but together... they are troublesome.)

"I underestimated them. I must kill the one who is coordinating. She is the real threat."

Without stopping, Sylvia attacked again. Sylvia glanced at Elysia mid-attack. "Keep him distracted! Don't let him regenerate."

Elysia gritted her teeth. "Understood!"

(Together...) Sylvia thought. (We can end this.)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The attacks were so frequent that they made the demon unable to think at that moment and unable to regenerate his flesh...

"If this continues...." When Eimo was thinking that…

"Thkk—shlrrk!"

From the back, out of nowhere — "Uhhhhh!" The demon roared in pain. The demon looked at his body, he saw a blade pierced through his heart from the back...

"How is this possible? I didn't sense anything from the back..." the demon screamed...

"Astral Severance!" Kael shouted, holding his sword with both hands, screaming with all his strength....

Before half an hour…

Kael ran toward it. It was hard to catch his breath, but still he ran like hell.

Boommm!!!

"What's going on there…? Is she…" Cecilia's face came across his mind. "I should run faster!" he screamed, forcing more strength from his body.

The sound of destruction, the ground shaking beneath his feet, made Kael even more worried and forced him to increase his speed.

While running, he thought,

(If I bleed, I will bleed. If I'm thrown down, I will stand up, but I won't let anything happen to Cecilia.)

Another explosion echoed across the sky.

Boommmm! Boommm!!

"Hold on… Please hold on…"

Finally, he reached the battlefield. The ground was split apart, dust and smoke erupted into the air. Professor Sylvia, Elysia, Edwin, and all the other students were fighting together.

Kael looked for her everywhere.

"Cecilia, where are you…? Where are you?"

There she was, holding Jin in her arms.

Kael's heart raced at that moment. Doubt arose.

"Am I doing the right thing? What happens if I die out here? What would happen to me — the real me on Earth? What would happen to that?"

He quickly hid behind one of the broken pillars. "Whatever happens, happens. I never go back on my words. That's who I am," he repeated again and again until his mind finally said yes.

The overwhelming power of the attacks made it hard for him to even move toward the demon.

Ice, light, explosions, everything clashed in chaos.

Then he saw it…

Part of the demon's body was shattering. Kael's eyes widened.

"This is it!"

"Yeah… guys, keep attacking. Don't stop…" he murmured to himself, watching the coordinated assault with satisfaction.

Then Kael closed his eyes. "Wait, Kael… wait… Attack at the right moment," he told himself.

He saw Eimo's skin shattering more and more under the combined power.

The demon was focused forward, not behind.

"Now… or never," Kael whispered.

Even though he was exhausted, he gathered every bit of strength he had left and poured it into his sword.

"Just one chance…" he waited.

He waited…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then, for a second, demon Eimo lowered his guard.

"Now!"

He dashed forward from behind.

"Astral Severance!"

"Shlrkkk!"

The blade pierced through.

"Yes…" Kael gasped, barely able to breathe. "I did it… It worked."