The sky was being torn apart.
Terror was descending.
The byproducts of fear blanketed the entire island.
A gigantic demon.
And around that demon, hordes of creatures were falling like rain.
Chaos engulfed the Academy.
“Ah, no…!”
“It’s a demon! A demon has descended!”
Some collapsed on the spot, praying to the gods. Others fainted.
“We have to run! Run!”
“Defend the Academy! Buy time for people to escape! Kill the beasts!”
Some chose to flee, others chose to fight even in fear.
“What is this…?”
Jace Vines, saint of the Dragon God Cult, was among the latter.
After seeing the fireworks turn into a magic circle and become corrupted, he understood immediately.
“A demon is descending upon the Academy…!”
That massive peacock could only be the 65th demon, Andrealphus.
With the rector absent, there was no way to stop it. So Jace opened a transport circle to the Dragon God Cult, intending to request help from the cardinals.
“…Blocked?”
The transport circle didn’t work. It wasn’t a failed spell—someone from the outside had blocked it.
Only then did he notice something he hadn’t sensed before due to the demon’s overwhelming presence—a semi-transparent barrier isolating the Academy from the outside.
Jace pressed his lips together. That meant there was no escape.
The only hope was that someone outside noticed the anomaly and acted—or that they defeated the demon themselves.
Either way, they had to fight.
“Priests.”
“Yes, Saint. We’re ready.”
“Aren’t you afraid?”
“Yes, we are. But as followers of the Dragon God, how could we retreat before a demon?”
“We will show that the Lord of Magic is great.”
Jace took a packet of holy water and advanced. The priests followed him.
‘At times like this, I should’ve collected my debt from Fernan first.’
That way we’d both win.
The image of that rich older brother, always handing out money, crossed his mind.
But now, there was no choice.
“Priests, help evacuate the people from the monsters.”
“Yes, understood.”
They knew they couldn’t face a demon, so they dispersed without protest.
───!
At that moment, the descending peacock’s leg staggered.
A slash. A cut so sharp it made the demon scream in pain.
And Jace remembered something the Pope had told him.
“There’s someone at the Academy who finds everything bothersome. His talent is extraordinary, but he lacks the will to use it.”
If that person was here, maybe there was still hope.
Jace ran toward the origin of the slash. There, he recognized familiar faces.
“Professor Grad? Senior Luina?”
“Jace Vines?”
“Jace?”
Their gazes met. No more words were needed.
“I’ll support you.”
“Handle it.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Meanwhile, the peacock had finished emerging from the plane.
— Who dares?
A deafening screech shook the Academy.
— Who dared to wound my beautiful body?
The hundreds of eyes in the magic circle suddenly turned to Grad.
The pressure was so intense that Luina and Jace groaned under its weight.
“That’s right. It was me.”
But Grad stepped forward without hesitation.
He raised his aura—a red steam boiled and clashed against the demonic energy.
Crackle—
The space around them distorted. Grad lifted his sword and swung it down.
Luina reinforced the blow—a red slash followed by a blue one extended forth.
──!
The peacock’s feathers flew. Its massive body tilted.
The feathers, though demonic, gleamed with a beautiful luster.
If Fernan had been there, he’d surely have said they should turn them into crafts and sell them.
— How dare you…!
The leaning torso snapped upright like a spring.
The peacock’s screech tore through eardrums.
— Do you know who you’re dealing with, you insignificant humans?
“With who? A stupid bird.”
Grad mocked.
“Luina. I’ll face it head-on—find an opening.”
“Yes.”
Both launched themselves from the ground, shooting forward like arrows.
“Here I go!”
But something else went first.
A white flame.
A spell from the Cult, created especially for high-ranked demons—“Holy Light.”
Waves of white fire enveloped the demon.
— Pathetic. You think with this borrowed power you can bring me down?
— Disgusting!
Andrealphus spread his wings.
The hundreds of royal eyes extinguished the flames just by looking at them.
The wings, flapping, swatted away the slashes like insects.
Through the gap that opened, Grad charged, an arrow straight for the demon’s chest.
The beak descended to intercept him.
The peacock’s massive yellow eyes mocked him.
— Ridiculous.
─!
Grad was blown back faster than he had charged.
Luina tried to capitalize on the moment and attacked the demon’s back.
‘It’s too tough…!’
She barely managed to pierce a few feathers, leaving only a shallow scratch.
— It hurts, it hurts!
The demon’s head twisted unnaturally to peck her.
Luina blocked, but the force of the impact sent her flying.
— How dare you!
The gigantic claw came crashing down on her.
— Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground shook, craters opened, nearby buildings collapsed, and dust filled the air.
— Die!
The demon’s beak opened, releasing a condensed mass of demonic energy.
Then—
Slash!
A blue aura sliced it to pieces.
The blast scattered the dust.
In the center of the crater, Luina was still standing. Her sword pointed directly at Andrealphus.
— You still stand?
Her armor was shattered, her body covered in wounds, blood trailing from her lips, her insides damaged.
And still, she stood.
Her breathing stabilized, her aura sharpened and cut through the demonic energy.
Staring at the peacock, Luina thought.
‘It’s strong.’
She was scared, but at the same time, she felt she could fight.
She had fought Andromalius.
She had seen Kimaris fight her father and the Mercenary King.
From then to now, her level had changed completely.
But the same applied to the demon.
“Your opponent is me!”
A red star plummeted onto Andrealphus’s back. It was Grad, completely wrapped in aura from head to toe.
──!
The impact was entirely different from Luina’s. Andrealphus’s body bent violently.
— T-this… damn…!
The demon fluffed its feathers. Hundreds of beams of demonic energy rained down like a storm upon Grad.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Buildings dragged into the consecutive explosions crumbled.
The ground exploded, and those caught in it screamed in horror.
But that malicious darkness failed to accomplish its goal.
Within the darkness, a red light shone, and a counterattack struck the demon once again.
─!
Clash after clash.
This was no longer a human battle.
Each exchange flipped the earth and shattered the world.
Space warped, the sky was torn apart.
“Senior, are you okay? I have potions—ah, you already have one!”
While Grad held the demon at bay, Luina drank one of the potions Fernan had given her.
‘…It’s overwhelming.’
The feather barrier was too thick, and even the slightest movement from the demon came at her like a cataclysm.
It was a completely different level from Andromalius.
She finally understood why the rector never easily believed that mere students had defeated a demon—and why demons had nearly conquered the continent.
She also understood that Andromalius had been summoned incompletely.
She had seen Kimaris face her father, the Mercenary King, but seeing it from afar and experiencing it firsthand were entirely different.
Fear.
They couldn’t win.
And yet, she had to go.
Grad was fighting the demon. Even though he looked far calmer than her, anyone could see he was at a disadvantage.
She had to press on. If she didn’t, the demon would soon be free to destroy the Academy—perhaps the entire Empire.
She wondered why Aint hadn’t arrived yet, but he must’ve had a reason.
The Aint she knew was not someone who would flee from a demon.
Surely the demons had done something to stop him.
‘Fernan.’
Perhaps this moment could be her last, and thinking of Fernan wasn’t by chance.
Sadly, he wasn’t there.
Or perhaps, that was a relief—it meant he was safe.
He wasn’t there, but the chocolate he had given her was.
The intense sweetness eased her fear a little.
She took up her sword again.
She pulled out holy water and poured it over the blade.
“Is that holy water? Did Senior give it to you?”
Luina nodded slightly.
She didn’t know if it would work, since even Holy Light had been dispelled in an instant, but she was going to try everything possible.
“I’ll support you.”
Jace Vines began chanting a spell.
The burning mana formed flames that rose to eradicate evil.
— How dare you burn my feathers! You don’t even understand the A of beauty!
The demon’s gaze shifted briefly toward Jace. Grad took the opportunity to strike the opening. And Luina launched herself into the attack again.
But her strikes were meaningless.
Andrealphus’s feathers, skin, flesh, and bones were tougher than she had expected.
To cut what could not be cut, she had to focus everything.
‘Sharper.’
She remembered her father and the Mercenary King.
The way they had pressured even Kimaris.
─!
Once again, she only managed a shallow wound. Luina was sent flying.
“Senior!”
Jace caught her with a spell, cushioning the impact. She swallowed blood with another potion and hurled herself back in.
‘Read the flow. Find the opening.’
She recalled her fight against Katrina Altrierc.
Amid the storm of swords, she had learned to read the rhythm.
Now it was different—larger, more savage.
But the essence was the same.
She felt the flow, and following that line, she struck with her sword.
Slash!
The result was different this time.
— Gyaaaaah! Y-you… how dare you…!
The peacock’s feathers were torn.
The embedded eyes screamed as if shrieking, vibrating violently as they fell and dissolved into dust.
But that single blow was enough to enrage Andrealphus.
The demon unleashed its energy.
A black storm swept over everything.
— You will never die in peace! You will writhe in eternal suffering before dying! Forever!
Hundreds of eyes opened at once.
All fixated on Luina.
──!
There was no physical impact.
But inside her head, a roar echoed.
“S…enior…!”
Jace’s voice faded.
The red slash falling upon the demon blurred.
And then, Luina’s world went dark.
____
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