The tar-like decay clung to Vonjo's shoulder for less than a heartbeat—then, without warning, it was simply… gone. No fade, no burn, no dissipating mist.

One moment, Crizz's black curse was pulsing with corrosive hunger, the next it was erased from existence, stripped away so completely it was as if it had never touched him at all.

Crizz froze mid-breath. His eyes widened in genuine disbelief, the smugness faltering into a flicker of uncertainty. Around them, the courtyard fell utterly still.

The gathered teachers shifted in shock, glancing between one another in disbelief, their murmurs dying before they could even form.

Even the principal's composed face broke for a fraction of a second, the corner of his mouth twitching in surprise.

Eugene, standing off to the side, didn't so much as blink. His gaze was locked on Vonjo, his jaw tight, and in his chest a silent prayer churned—Please, sir… please don't kill them all. He knew this wasn't luck. He knew exactly what Vonjo's ability was capable of. And he knew that if Vonjo decided to unleash it without restraint, no one in this courtyard would leave alive.

Meanwhile, the bullet comments in the livestream detonated into a hurricane of mockery and awe.

[HexWeaver88]: BAHAHAHA IT JUST VANISHED!

[VoidSeeker_X]: Crizz, bro… you okay? Need a moment?

[CursedLatte]: "Decay" more like "Delay" — delaying your funeral.

[RotJaw_77]: Endless Doom, baby. NOTHING sticks.

[BloodViolet]: I swear, Vonjo's like a walking "nope" button for other people's attacks.

[ShadowWrithe]: Dude's basically telling physics, 'not today.'

[LamentedCrown]: You could throw a planet at him and he'd just yawn and eat it.

[HellTongue]: The ability name still sends shivers. Endless Doom… even the way it sounds makes me want to run.

[StarfallBard]: Praise be the bottomless void.

[BoneMask]: This is why you don't pick fights with things you can't understand.

Crizz's expression hardened. He bared his teeth like a cornered animal, and with a growl, slammed his hand against Vonjo's shoulder again.

The tar erupted once more, a darker shade this time, twisting violently as it spread. And again, it vanished instantly, eaten away before it could even begin its decay.

The teacher's nostrils flared. His curse energy spiked wildly as he pressed harder, faster, calling forth layer after layer of the tar.

Again. And again. And again.

Each attempt was met with the same instantaneous erasure, swallowed into nothing before the black tendrils could even twitch.

The courtyard's silence became oppressive.

Those who moments ago whispered predictions of Vonjo's death were now mute, watching as the same scene repeated itself—attack, vanish, attack, vanish—with mechanical inevitability.

The futility of it began to sink in, each failure weighing heavier than the last.

"Impossible…" Crizz snarled through clenched teeth, his voice rising in pitch with each repetition. "It's impossible! No one—NO ONE—can resist my Decay! You hear me? No one!" His words came louder now, desperation seeping into the cracks of his bravado. "Do you think you can just—stand there—and—ignore me?!"

Vonjo's face remained utterly unchanged, his grip still firm on Crizz's throat. His eyes were half-lidded, bored even, as if this was little more than a tedious chore he was forced to endure.

The bullet comments, however, had no such composure.

[BloodViolet]: I think we've officially hit the 'denial' stage of grief.

[HexWeaver88]: Someone get this man a coping mechanism.

[VoidSeeker_X]: Bro's out here screaming "IM-POSSIBLE" like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

[RotJaw_77]: This is a public execution in slow motion.

[DarkHuntress_99]: He's pouring his soul into those attacks and Vonjo's like "meh."

[LamentedCrown]: Imagine being this loud while being this wrong.

[BoneMask]: This is the moment you either run or cry. He's doing neither. Foolish.

Finally, Vonjo let out a quiet sigh. "Are you done?"

The words cut sharper than any blade.

Crizz froze mid-swipe, his tar-cloaked hand hanging useless in the air. His jaw worked soundlessly for a second before the volume returned to his voice. "Done? DONE?! You—you dare—"

Vonjo's eyes glinted. The curse energy around him shifted. It wasn't a surge, nor a burst, but an opening—an unseen gate parting to reveal something far, far deeper. His Endless Doom ability stirred to life.

It began as a subtle pull in the air, almost imperceptible. Then it grew, drawing in not just the black tar, but the very essence of Crizz's curse energy.

It flowed toward Vonjo like threads of smoke into a void, vanishing past the point of return.

There was no sound, no flash—just the sensation of loss, as if every scrap of power was being dragged away into an endless pit.

Crizz's eyes went wide. "W–Wait—what—what are you—" He jerked, trying to wrench himself free, but Vonjo's grip tightened around his throat, holding him in place as the pull deepened.

"Still don't have any idea what's going on?" Vonjo's voice was calm, almost conversational, though the cold amusement behind it made the words cut deeper than any insult.

The reality began to dawn on Crizz. His movements became frantic, his voice breaking. "Stop—STOP! You can't—no—!"

But the Endless Doom only drank deeper, swallowing every drop of energy it could reach.

The pain followed soon after, sharp and invasive, like countless invisible claws tearing away at the core of his existence. His knees buckled. "It—It hurts! It hurts! What—what is this?! Stop it—!"

The bullet comments were a storm of cheers and vicious glee.

[VoidSeeker_X]: YES. YES. LET HIM SCREAM.

[BloodViolet]: Ohhh that fear in his voice. Delicious.

[RotJaw_77]: Devour him whole, Vonjo. Leave NOTHING.

[HexWeaver88]: That's the sound of a man realizing his god is fake.

[DarkHuntress_99]: Watching the arrogance melt off his face is therapy.

Crizz's earlier rage dissolved completely. His voice, once booming, now cracked with panic. "Please—! No—no, wait—STOP! I'll—I'll—" He writhed in Vonjo's grasp, clawing at his arm, his composure shredded.

The pain was not just physical—it was the horror of feeling himself becoming less, of knowing that with every second, the thing that made him a sorcerer was vanishing into nothing.

Vonjo tilted his head, watching him like one might observe a specimen in a jar. "Tell me…" His voice was low, deliberate. "…are you ready to turn into a normal human?"

Before Crizz could even raise a defensive talisman or utter a spell, the sensation hit him like an invisible tidal wave—sharp, suffocating, pulling with a hunger so primal it made the marrow in his bones feel as though it were being drained.

His skin prickled as black, smoke-like tendrils began to coil around his limbs and chest, wrapping tighter, sinking in, pulling.

It wasn't just pain—it was violation, as if something inside him, something sacred, was being scooped out in greedy handfuls.

His curse energy—his life's work, the carefully cultivated reservoir that had taken decades of study and sacrifice—was being torn away from him strand by strand.

The air around him warped, the oppressive pull becoming visible to everyone present. Teachers froze mid-step. Students' chatter died into silence.

The devouring wasn't subtle—it was an ugly, horrifying display of power laid bare for all to see. Crizz could feel his control slipping, his mind buckling under the onslaught.

The force pulling at him was not just strong—it was deliberate, targeted, like Vonjo was savoring each ounce of energy being ripped away.

"No—no, no! Stop this!" Crizz's voice cracked, not with authority, but with desperation.

His hands clawed at the air in front of him, as though he could grab hold of the invisible force and push it back, but his fingers met only the cold, empty pull of inevitability.

He felt naked, exposed, as every flicker of curse energy in his veins was lit up, dragged out, and displayed like meat on a butcher's table.

The principal's eyes widened, the wrinkles in his brow deepening as the reality set in. "Vonjo—stop this at once!" His voice was firm but lacked the iron bite of true command, trembling under the weight of shock.

Around him, the other teachers stirred, shifting uneasily as they took in the sight—Crizz, one of their own, being stripped of power like a rag doll in a wolf's jaws.

The principal tried again, louder this time, but the sound still seemed to falter before it reached Vonjo.

And then—Vonjo laughed.

It wasn't the laugh of someone amused. No, it was a jagged, unhinged sound, high and manic, like the bark of a hyena drunk on its own bloodlust.

His voice cut through the air, drowning out the principal's hesitant commands. "Ohhh, look at this! Look at you, stupid teacher! You're shaking! Do you even know how pathetic you look right now?" His tone was playful in a way that made the skin crawl, every syllable drawn out, dripping with mockery. He danced slightly on his feet, like a child spinning a toy in his hands.

"C'mon, don't cry! You're a teacher, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to be the wise one? The strong one? And yet here you are—flailing like a caught fish! Oh, I love this!"

"Vonjo!" one of the older instructors barked, his voice breaking halfway through the name, the weight of disbelief still pressing down on him. But Vonjo didn't so much as glance his way. He leaned closer to Crizz, his eyes wide and bright, feverish.

"Is this all you've got, sir? This? Years of lecturing, training, barking orders—and this is your big, proud strength? Ha! I've seen stray dogs with more bite! Ohhh, you're so light! I could eat you whole and still be hungry!"

The principal's composure cracked. His voice, once restrained by protocol, rose into a harsh, panicked shout. "Vonjo, release him! NOW!"

Other teachers joined in, their tones escalating—shouting, pleading, some screaming his name like it might tether him back to reality. But the louder they got, the louder Vonjo became, his laughter rising into a wild crescendo, his mockery sharp and relentless.

"Listen to them, stupid teacher! Hear how they all love you? 'Stop hurting him, Vonjo!'" He mimicked their voices in an exaggerated falsetto, then let out a cackling howl. "Oh, this is too much! This is fun! You should be thanking me for giving you such a memorable moment before you shrivel up completely!"

By now, Crizz's knees had buckled. He was half-kneeling, half-suspended by the invisible grip of Vonjo's devouring force, his face pale, beads of sweat rolling down his temples.

The air around him shimmered with the density of extracted curse energy, dark motes drifting away from his skin like ash.

The principal's eyes hardened. "Enough. You leave us no choice."

The moment the words left his lips, the atmosphere shifted.

The teachers, who had moments ago been paralyzed by disbelief, moved as one.

Curse energy flared across the courtyard, each signature distinct—sharp and cutting, heavy and oppressive, blazing and fierce. The ground trembled beneath their feet as they unleashed their powers.

A black-feathered whip cracked through the air, its tip sparking with tiny bursts of lightning.

A volley of spectral arrows, each glowing with icy light, fanned outward in a deadly arc.

A teacher clad in layered charms slammed his palm into the ground, sending jagged spikes of stone erupting upward.

Another extended her arms, summoning a swirling sphere of water that hissed with steam as it rotated faster and faster. Each attack carried decades of training and mastery—techniques refined not for show, but for killing.

The courtyard became a storm. Shadows and light clashed violently, whips and arrows and spears of stone converging in a dizzying, chaotic rhythm. The air sang with the hum of unleashed power, the heat of burning curse energy mixing with the cold sting of freezing winds.

Vonjo, still laughing, turned his head lazily toward them, as though their fury was nothing more than a passing breeze. "Ooooh, now you're serious?" His grin widened, his teeth flashing white. "Good. Come on, then. Let's see if your precious teamwork is worth anything!"

They came at him all at once. Arrows streaked overhead, the whip snapped down, stone spears lunged from the earth, and the sphere of water shot forward like a cannonball.

The force of their combined assault was overwhelming, the sound of it shaking the very walls of the academy.

Vonjo's laughter was still ringing in the air when the first blow connected.

Then another. And another.

In seconds, he was swallowed by the maelstrom—whips wrapping around him, arrows pinning his limbs, crushing force slamming into his body from all directions.

The attacks didn't stop; they only built upon each other, layering strike after strike, until the very center of the courtyard was nothing but a churning mass of energy and destruction.

The final blow landed with a sound like the sky itself cracking open.

BOOM.

The force of it rippled outward, scattering loose debris, snuffing out the echoes of laughter in an instant.

Dust and smoke billowed high into the air, obscuring everything within.

The courtyard fell silent save for the low hiss of dissipating energy.

Vonjo's status—unknown.