CHAPTER 300: AWAKENING KAEL.

But in the middle of this chaos—

Edwin suddenly stirred.

His fingers twitched. His grip tightened around his sword.

His vision remained blurry, but rage burned in his veins.

He pushed himself up, blood running down the side of his face.

He saw Cecelia collapsed, Jin unconscious, students crying, and Zereth... standing calmly with his hands behind his back, watching the destruction he caused.

Edwin’s heartbeat roared in his ears.

(...He attacked us.)

(...And he laid his hands on Cecelia.)

His aura exploded.

He got to his feet.

"Z E R E T H!!"

Zereth finally turned his head, like someone reacting to a mild inconvenience.

"Oh. You woke up."

Edwin wiped the blood from his mouth.

"You... bastard."

Edwin charged forward. His aura burst around him like blazing suns.

"RUIN FORM... VALOR BURST!!"

A thunderous blast erupted from him. Crimson waves of power tore through the ground as he sprinted forward, the soil cracking under the pressure.

Zereth watched the incoming attack like a man watching a leaf blow in the wind.

Edwin leapt—

His blade glowed red-gold.

"Blazing— SPIRAL!!"

His body spun midair. A tornado of burning mana wrapped around his blade, slicing down towards Zereth’s head.

Zereth simply raised his arm and caught the blade between his fingers.

The spiraling flames shattered like glass.

Edwin’s eyes widened.

"You—"

Zereth twisted the blade slightly.

Edwin coughed blood.

"You’re wasting your strength."

Edwin screamed, tore the blade free, and swung again.

"Cleave—!"

The ground split open. A shockwave rushed forward. The wind screamed.

Zereth leaned slightly to the left.

The attack missed by a hair.

Edwin was already behind him.

"Flash Fang!!!"

A silver streak flashed past Zereth’s cheek.

Zereth ducked under it.

Edwin jumped again, aura erupting off his entire body like flames off an exploding star.

His blade shone brighter than ever.

"LIONHEART... CLEAVE!!!"

The attack tore the sky open.

Students from across the valley stopped fighting to look at the blazing arc of golden destruction that Edwin unleashed.

Even the five deadly demons paused, sensing the pressure.

Edwin’s sword descended—

Zereth didn’t move.

He calmly took one step to the side.

The attack missed and slammed into the valley floor, carving a crater the size of a house.

The explosion wave blew dust everywhere.

But Edwin barely saw anything.

He felt something cold touch his stomach.

He looked down.

Zereth’s fist was buried in his gut.

And then—

BOOM.

The shock hit him from the inside.

Blood sprayed violently from his mouth.

He flew back thirty meters, smashing through a pillar, crashing into a cluster of boulders.

His sword dropped.

His body didn’t move.

His aura flickered out.

Zereth dusted off his knuckles.

"Hero of Arcadia? Hm. Disappointing."

"E-Edwin!"

Cecelia crawled toward him despite her shaking limbs. Her vision swam but her heart kept beating faster and faster in panic.

She pressed her hands over Edwin.

"Radiant Edge—!"

Golden healing circles spread across his chest, but Edwin remained unconscious.

She poured more mana.

"Healing Flash!"

Her hands glowed so bright they burned her own skin.

"Sunflare Impact! Heal—please! Please!!"

Zereth’s figure blurred.

In one moment, he stood a few steps away.

In the next—

He appeared behind Cecelia.

She froze.

Zereth crouched beside her, voice soft and almost gentle.

"That’s enough."

Cecelia shook her head, gasping through tears. "No... no, don’t touch him—!"

She summoned another spell.

"Radiant Ed—!"

Zereth tapped the back of her neck.

A soft knock.

CLOK.

Her eyes rolled up.

She fell onto Edwin’s chest, unconscious.

Zereth placed her gently on the ground, almost respectfully.

"You healed well. But healing means nothing without strength."

He stood.

He turned.

And the valley suddenly went quiet.

Elysia’s footsteps approached slowly.

Elysia joined the fight. "You... bastard."

Zereth gave her a faint smile.

"Ah. The holy knight."

He didn’t ready a stance. He didn’t move. He simply stood with hands behind his back like he was greeting a guest.

"You should not interfere."

Elysia didn’t answer.

She vanished.

Her blade swept down at Zereth’s side.

Zereth raised one finger and redirected the blade.

But unlike Edwin—

Elysia didn’t stop.

She spun, slashed again.

Zereth blocked with his elbow.

She twisted, stabbed backward.

Zereth leaned away.

Elysia slid in, jumped, kicked the side of his head.

Zereth tilted his neck. The kick missed by a hair.

Elysia didn’t stop.

She moved like she was dancing on a knife’s edge, her attacks fast and unpredictable—

Her body filled with holy mana, every strike fueled with desperation to protect the unconscious students.

Steel clashed. Sparks burst.

Her breath grew heavier and heavier—

But she didn’t stop.

"Come on... come on...!" she whispered through clenched teeth.

Zereth watched her calmly.

"You’re skilled. Far more than the others."

She lunged at him, eyes furious.

But Zereth stepped inside her guard and flicked her forehead.

Pock.

A small burst of force.

Not even painful.

But enough to send her stumbling backward.

She gasped.

Zereth moved faster than her eyes could track—

Suddenly standing right behind her.

"Don’t make this difficult."

She swung wildly.

He dodged each strike by leaning an inch to the side.

Her movements grew sloppier.

Her breathing is harsher.

Her arms are heavier.

Zereth finally stepped forward and lightly struck her wrist.

Her blade fell from her hand.

Before she could pick it up—

Zereth placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

A faint vibration passed through her entire body.

Her legs gave out and she fell to one knee, coughing, unable to stand.

"Wh...what are you...?" she was forced out.

Zereth didn’t answer.

He looked toward something in the distance.

Far across the battlefield, the giant demon raised its fist again, pounding into Kael’s ribs.

But Kael didn’t feel it.

Because Kael couldn’t feel anything.

Darkness wrapped around him.

Total silence.

Breathing became distant.

His heartbeat sounded faint, like he was underwater.

Then—

He opened his eyes.

But saw nothing.

Just shadows.

(...I can’t see.)

He blinked.

Still black.

(...I’m blind.)

His breathing turned rough. His chest tightened. The world was gone, Shapes blurred into darkness.

But he could hear.

Screams.

Demons.

Footsteps.

A punch.

Cecelia screaming earlier...

Edwin shouting...

Jin falling...

All mixed in his head like ghosts.

A soft ringing started in his ears.

His thoughts grew darker.

(...mortals...)

(...heroes...)

(...demons...)

(...all weak.)

(...all fragile.)

He clenched his fists.

His blood felt like boiling tar.

And just a tiny moment—

Just one thought came clear through the chaos.

"Cecelia helped me... again and again... and I have to help her."

He tried to stand, but his legs nearly collapsed.

Still—

He forced his body up again, trembling.

(...But first...)

He turned blindly toward the giant demon, feeling its breath vibrating the air.

(...I have to kill this thing.)

The giant demon roared and charged.

Kael lowered his stance.

Unable to see.

Barely able to breathe.

His body broken.

But a single thought echoed like a war drum—

"I’m not done yet."

The students who were still conscious stumbled backward, their faces pale.

"P-please... help us... top rankers..." one student whimpered, clutching his bleeding arm.

"We’re all going to die..." another whispered.

"Edwin’s down... Cecelia... Jin... Elysia—everyone is falling!"

"They’re too strong... someone... anyone..."

Their voices trembled in the cold air, mixing with the roars of the giant demon and the screams of the wounded.

And then—

A voice echoed.

A raw, broken, human voice.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone flinched.

Students turned their heads sharply.

Even Zereth paused.

The five deadly demons stopped mid-step.

The giant demon growled and looked down.

Their gazes all shifted toward a single spot near the shattered boulders—

Kael.

He pushed himself up from the ground, coughing blood, swaying on his feet. Dirt clung to his torn clothes.

His hair fell over his face. His fingers trembled as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

He didn’t even realize the entire battlefield was staring at him.

He didn’t hear their murmurs.

He didn’t see Elysia struggling to stand.

He didn’t see Zereth watching him with interest.

Because Kael...could not see anything.

But he could feel it.

He could feel someone crying.

Someone bleeding.

Someone is screaming for help.

Someone who had saved him again and again.

Cecelia.

And something inside him snapped.

Kael’s breathing turned ragged. Power churned in his chest, twisting like a storm of fire and shadows. His vision remained black—but something else replaced sight.

A strange sensation.

A vibration.

A rhythm in the air.

Every movement.

Every breath.

Every heartbeat.

He felt it.

Not with sight.

But with instinct.

Students backed away, terrified.

"W-what’s happening to him?"

"Why is his aura... moving like that?"

"His eyes... look at his eyes!!"

Kael lifted his head slowly.

His once-brown eyes turned completely black, like two voids swallowing the light.

A faint, trembling whisper escaped a frozen student’s throat:

"H-he looks like... a demon..."

Kael didn’t react.

He didn’t even hear them.

He stepped forward.

The ground cracked beneath his foot.

The giant demon roared at him, slamming the earth with its fists. Its massive body shook with power, and its blood-red eyes locked onto Kael.

Kael clenched his fist.

His voice was low, broken, but filled with something primal.

"...Astral..."

Another step.

The giant demon prepared to crush him.

Kael’s veins glowed faintly through his skin.

"...PUNCH!!"

He lunged.

His fist collided with the demon’s chest.