CHAPTER 299: THE MASS FIGHT. 2.

High above, Serath loosed crimson arrows.

One arrow pierced the ground beside a student, exploding into a burst of red smoke.

Another arrow came flying—

"DUCK!" someone screamed.

They barely avoided it.

Serath smirked. "You won’t dodge forever."

Meanwhile, Kael struggled to stay standing.

The giant demon swung its massive arm, Kael barely rolled aside, but the shockwave slammed him into a tree.

His classmates shouted, "KAEL!"

He staggered up, wheezing.

His vision blurred.

He triggered his skill —

Astral Punch!

A faint outline of a glowing fist struck the demon’s ankle.

Tap.

It barely made the demon flinch.

Kael gritted his teeth. "Damn it... too weak..."

He activated his other technique —

Astral Severance!

His sword glowed faint white, and he sliced across the demon’s knee.

A tiny cut appeared—

Then healed instantly.

The demon roared and kicked him again.

Kael flew across the battlefield, coughing blood.

"KAEL!" one of his classmates screamed and fired a spell.

"OVER HERE!"

But the spell fizzled uselessly against the demon’s hide.

Kael’s classmates didn’t give up.

Two rushed forward with spears.

One cast a lightning chain.

"Please work... PLEASE!"

But the demon only became angrier.

It slapped one boy away like a fly.

Then swatted the other two into the dirt.

"No... stop...!" Kael shouted weakly, dragging himself up, but his legs trembled violently.

The demon raised its enormous arm to crush him.

Kael lifted his sword with shaking hands.

(If I die... they all die...)

Zereth watched the entire scene, the more he looked, the more he got annoyed.

He raised an eyebrow at the Five Sins.

"What are you doing?" he asked, irritated.

"This hunt is mine."

Varrun glanced at him. "Our orders outrank your ego, Zereth."

Kaelthor smirked. "Unless you want to fight us too?"

Zereth clicked his tongue. "Idiots..."

Elysia, Jin, Edwin, and Cecelia were barely hanging on.

The students were overwhelmed.

Kael was about to be crushed.

And the Five Deadly Sins were only getting warmed up.

Kael’s vision blurred as the giant demon roared again, shaking the entire Crystal Hollow Valley.

The ground cracked beneath its feet, its deformed claws sinking into the stones like molten iron.

He raised his fists again, though his arms kept trembling uncontrollably.

(Just hold on... I can still fight...)

But even he knew he was lying to himself.

The giant demon towered like a mountain of decayed flesh, its body stitched with blackened chains.

One of its eyes glowed bright crimson, the other completely hollow, leaking smoke.

"YOU... THE ONE WHO HOLDS THE SHARD..."

Kael gritted his teeth. "I’m not giving you anything!"

The demon swung its massive hand.

Kael barely rolled aside—but the shockwave alone blasted him back several meters.

He hit a boulder, hard.

His ribs cracked. He felt it—he heard it.

"Kael!" one of the students shouted from behind. Two of his classmates ran forward—Han and Miren—both trembling but desperate.

"We’ll help!" Han yelled, raising his spear.

"No—!" Kael’s voice came out bloody.

"Stay back! You can’t fight this thing!"

"We don’t care!" Miren shouted.

"We’re not abandoning you!"

The giant demon stomped forward again, each step sinking deep into the ground.

Its hand rose—ready to crush them.

Kael inhaled sharply.

His fists tightened until blood dripped from his knuckles.

"ASTRAL... SEVERANCE—!!"

He launched forward with everything he had. His fist collided with the demon’s leg...

...like punching a mountain.

A tiny spark of astral light flickered—

—and vanished.

The demon didn’t even flinch.

Instead, it swatted Kael across the valley.

His body flew like a broken puppet, skidding through the dirt, crashing against tree roots, ripping through bushes, until he finally rolled to a stop.

Blood spilled down his lips.

His vision blurred.

He tried to push himself up—

His arms collapsed.

(...Am I really this weak?)

(...Is this all I can do?)

But the fight had only begun.

THE STUDENTS’ DESPERATE STRUGGLE

Screams erupted everywhere in the valley.

The Five Deadly Sins of Demons—Varrun, Kaelthor, Grathun, Rylik, and Serath—charged into the crowd like wolves among sheep.

Students teamed up two or three against one demon, but even then—

"AHH—!"

A marksman student was shot out of the air by Serath’s shadow arrows.

Grathun, the tank demon, slammed his shield into four students, sending them flying.

Kaelthor clashed blades with three sword students, sparks exploding with every movement.

Rylik spun like a whirlwind, kicking two students into a tree.

Varrun, the Mage of Envy, launched green corrupted fire everywhere.

Students screamed as the flames chased them like living serpents.

"Hold the line!" Edwin shouted, stepping forward.

Jin jumped beside him.

"We’ll cover the front!" Jin shouted.

Edwin pounded his fists together, aura exploding. "Stay behind us!"

Cecelia was beside them, trembling but determined. She summoned barriers around the other students.

But behind them...

A man in black stood quietly.

Zereth.

His red eyes were calm.

Too calm.

Jin turned. "Zereth, what are you doing? Help us!"

Zereth didn’t move.

Instead, he placed one hand on his chest, whispering under his breath.

"Under the command of the Second Demon Lord... eliminate the heroes of Arcadia."

Cecelia froze. "...What?"

Before anyone could react—

Zereth vanished.

CECILIA — FIRST TARGET

A hand appeared behind Cecelia.

Zereth whispered, "Sleep."

He tapped the back of her neck with two fingers.

BOOM—

A burst of mana erupted.

Cecelia’s barrier shattered instantly. Her eyes widened in shock as the force hit her spine.

"W–Wait— Zereth—!!"

Her voice died.

She collapsed like a falling flower, eyes dimming, unconscious before she hit the ground.

Jin roared, "CECILIA!"

He lunged at Zereth—

Zereth gently sidestepped his blade, grabbed Jin’s wrist—

—and twisted.

CRACK.

Jin dropped one sword, teeth clenched in agony.

"You too," Zereth murmured. "Sleep."

Jin tried to slash with his remaining sword—

But Zereth pressed a finger against Jin’s chest.

A soft sound.

BOOM.

The shockwave blasted Jin across the valley, slamming him into a broken tree. His twin swords dropped.

His body crumbled, unconscious.

Edwin’s eyes widened. "Zereth—what are you—!?"

Zereth looked at him blankly.

"Following orders."

Edwin roared and charged, aura bursting like a storm.

But Zereth raised a hand.

Dark energy swirled.

"Futile."

He flicked his fingers.

A wave of force exploded.

Edwin flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing into a boulder and slumping to the ground, unconscious.

One after another...

The strongest first-year heroes fell.

Not to demons.

But to Zereth.

BACK TO KAEL VS GIANT DEMON

Kael’s breathing grew shallow. Every inhale stabbed like knives. His limbs felt heavy, bones screaming from the impact.

The giant demon approached again, shaking the trees.

"You cannot escape, shard-bearer."

Kael tried to stand.

His knees buckled.

Blood poured from a wound on his forehead, dripping into his eyes.

Students who had followed him—Han, Miren, and three others—stood in front of him despite their fear.

"You’ll have to get through us!" Han shouted.

"Yeah!" Miren added, though her hands trembled violently.

The demon didn’t care.

It roared and swung its arm.

The shockwave blasted all five of them back like leaves in a storm.

Han hit the ground hard, unmoving.

Miren coughed blood, her eyes fading.

Two others rolled into a tree, unconscious.

Kael was the only one still conscious.

Barely.

His fingers dug into the dirt.

(...Get up...)

(...Get up, damn it...)

The giant demon lifted its claw above him.

"DIE."

Kael pulled strength from somewhere inside his broken body.

He clenched his fist.

"Astral... Punch—!!"

He swung upward—

His punch hit the demon’s hand.

A tiny burst of astral light flickered again.

The demon’s hand paused for half a second—

Then smashed down.

CRACK.

Kael’s body folded into the soil, the impact striking his chest brutally.

Blood sprayed from his mouth.

His vision flashed white.

(...Too strong...)

(...I can’t... move...)

The giant demon raised its foot next.

"THE SHARD... GIVE IT TO ME."

Kael couldn’t breathe anymore.

His limbs refused to move.

His heartbeat slowed.

(...Everyone is in danger...)

(...Edwin... Cecelia... Jin... Elysia...)

He thought of Elysia’s glare.

He thought of Professor Sylvia.

He thought of his promise—to survive the future war.

(...Not like this...)

(...Please... just a little more...)

The demon’s foot descended toward his chest—

Kael’s eyes rolled back.

Darkness swallowed him.

Kael Ashford finally lost consciousness.

MEANWHILE — ZERETH ENTERS THE BATTLEFIELD

Zereth landed silently beside the unconscious heroes, expression empty.

Grathun, the tank demon, turned and nodded.

"You obey well, half-breed."

Rylik laughed, "He took down the three strongest students faster than we did!"

Serath lowered his bow. "Efficient."

Kaelthor smirked. "The Second Demon Lord chose well."

Varrun floated slightly above the ground, green fire dancing around him.

"Now, all that remains is the shard-bearer."

Zereth’s eyes drifted toward Kael’s unconscious body far away, lying beneath the giant demon’s shadow.

Elysia, still fighting off two lesser demons with other students, saw all of this.

Her face paled.

"Zereth..." she whispered.

"You traitor."

Zereth didn’t even glance at her.

He raised his hand toward the giant demon and the unconscious Kael.

"Target found."

The other demons grinned behind him.

And the demons marched.

Toward Kael.

Toward the unconscious students.

Toward slaughter.