Chapter 77: Aura Farming

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Aura Farming

A few minutes prior, outside the red gate, Headmistress Nyxara and the other academy authorities stood watching the portal with mounting anxiety.

Nyxara stood at the very front, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She kept her eyes locked onto the swirling vortex, her expression a mix of profound worry and intense guilt.

To her left stood Aeon’s parents. The moment the gate had mutated, Nyxara had contacted them, forcing out the difficult words to explain their son’s dire situation.

Without a single moment of delay, they had rushed to the academy using a localized teleportation gate.

Now, Elisabeth was collapsed into Aldrich’s embrace, weeping desperately. Aldrich desperately swallowed his own tears, staring at the portal with an expression of hollow grief.

Behind them, some of the high-ranking agents began to murmur quietly among themselves, discussing Aeon’s grim prospects.

"It’s been more than an hour and a half, and the gate still hasn’t reopened. Do you know what that means?" an agent whispered to his colleague beside him, keeping his eyes glued to the red gate.

The second agent glanced at his friend and quietly replied, "Yeah, I know exactly what it means. The student, Aeon, must still be alive in there, fighting for his life against those Voidborns."

He paused for a brief moment, looking back at the gate with an expression of profound pity. "It’s disheartening. A youngster forced to fight for his life inside an SSS-rank gate... Right now, he’s probably severely injured. It won’t be long before those fucking monsters finish him off."

Most of the agents and professors deeply admired Aeon’s unparalleled talent and the sheer resilience it took to survive this long against an SSS-rank threat.

Yet, they couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment. It was an even heavier blow to the high-ranking professors who knew the truth—that Aeon was a divine-rank talented dragon. To see such a monumental force of nature snuffed out so young was absolutely crushing.

Elisabeth continued to weep against her husband’s chest, softly calling out her son’s name through her tears.

"Aeon, my child... Sniff... sniff... I want to see my child. Please, I just want to see him."

To Elisabeth, the agonizing possibility that her child was already dead was devastating enough, but the thought that he might currently be suffering inside that hellscape completely broke her heart.

Headmistress Nyxara squeezed her fists even harder, to the point where crimson blood began to seep from her palms.

Although she and everyone present knew it wasn’t her fault that Aeon had ended up trapped inside the red gate, she still carried the full weight of the responsibility.

More agonizing minutes ticked by. Then, without warning, the red gate violently trembled, its energy flaring outward.

Vwhoooosh!

The crimson portal began to swirl rapidly, signaling that the mutated red gate was finally opening.

This phenomenon only occurred under two circumstances. Either the gate had been successfully cleared, or the occupants trapped inside had been slaughtered, leaving the portal open for anyone else to enter.

Naturally, not a single soul believed that a freshman student could have survived. Several professors shook their heads in somber pity and regret.

Elisabeth and Aldrich stared at the gate, their eyes wide as the crushing realization that their son was gone finally began to sink in.

Thud!

Elisabeth’s legs gave out entirely, and she sank to her knees. Aldrich immediately dropped down with her, wrapping his arms securely around her trembling frame.

"No, no, no... my son. Not my son," Elisabeth sobbed, shaking her head in fierce denial, while Aldrich finally broke down, his shoulders shaking as he swallowed his heavy sobs.

Nyxara felt the despair tearing at her soul. She and Elisabeth were practically sisters. They belonged to the same generation, having become inseparable friends during their own academy days.

After years of facing life-and-death adversities side by side, their bond had grown deeper than blood.

But now, looking at the broken mother before her, Nyxara felt as though she had single-handedly caused the death of Elisabeth’s only child. It felt as if her entire world was crumbling around her.

Even though it was an uncontrollable, catastrophic incident, the guilt of failing to protect Aeon weighed heavily on her. Simultaneously, an immense, burning hatred toward the Voidborns ignited within her chest.

Whoooosh!

Just as Nyxara was glaring at the red gate with unbridled killing intent—probably plotting to enter the portal and slaughter every single Voidborn inside in the most ruthless manner imaginable—the mutated gateway flared up with blinding light.

Every single eye on the scene instantly detected the violent fluctuation and snapped toward the portal.

But before they could even glimpse who or what was emerging, an overwhelming pressure suddenly erupted from the red vortex, flooding the entire courtyard with an intense, suffocating wave of killing intent.

Even the magnificent Headmistress Nyxara, an Ex-rank powerhouse, felt a sudden chill, as though she were standing directly before Death itself.

Her body involuntarily tensed as she locked her gaze onto the portal. Among the spectators, several of the weaker agents and professors immediately collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious by the sheer pressure, while others trembled in raw terror.

The stronger individuals, such as Tharos and Kael, fared only slightly worse than Nyxara, their bodies freezing up under the immense strain.

Aeon’s parents, however, reacted differently.

Although they could feel the dreadful, localized danger, the grief over their supposedly dead son and their burning desire for vengeance forged an unbreakable resolve.

They glared back at the red gate with their own killing intent, waiting to tear apart whatever monster stepped through.

A second later, a silhouette began to cross the threshold of the swirling red gate. The moment a blood-stained foot touched the academy grounds, the crushing pressure intensified tenfold.

And when his entire body finally came into view, the localized killing intent grew so sharp that even Nyxara found it difficult to breathe normally.

Gasps of utter shock echoed across the courtyard as everyone recognized the figure who had emerged.

It was Aeon.

His upper body was completely bare, exposed and covered in a horrific tapestry of gruesome injuries.

Deep, jagged slashes marred his flesh, so profound that the faint gleam of bone and vital organs could be seen beneath the wounds.

His eyes had rolled back completely, showing only his blank white sclera, indicating that he was running on nothing but pure, unadulterated instinct.

In his right hand, he tightly gripped his katana. In his left, he held a severed, monstrous head by its dark hair—the head of an SSS-rank Voidborn.

As Aeon stood completely motionless, an ominous, black-crimson aura radiated from his battered body, overflowing with that intense, suffocating killing intent.

Dark blood coated his lips, parting just enough to reveal his sharp draconic fangs. At this very moment, Aeon didn’t look like a student. H looked like a feral, monstrous beast that had dragged itself through the depths of a life-and-death war and emerged victorious.

And that was exactly what every conscious onlooker instantly agreed upon.

Elisabeth and Aldrich stared at their son, their eyes wide. The dread that had consumed them just a moment ago vanished instantly, replaced by a wave of tremendous, overwhelming happiness.

"A... Aeon?" Elisabeth choked out, taking a tentative step toward her son while raising a trembling hand.

Aeon did not answer. He stood motionless for a few agonizing seconds before the black-crimson aura around him began to dim, flickering out until it vanished completely.

A second later, his knees buckled, and his body pitched forward. But before he could crash onto the hard ground, Elisabeth blurred forward with astronomical speed, catching him securely in her embrace.

With tender, desperate care, she cradled Aeon close, her voice cracking as she called out to him. "Aeon! Can you hear me?! Aeon!"

Seeing his closed eyes and completely unresponsive body, she turned her head back toward the stunned onlookers. With a commanding, authoritative voice that rattled the courtyard, she roared, "Healer! Bring the damn healer here, NOW!"

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Shortly after emerging from the gate half-dead, Aeon was rushed directly to the academy’s advanced medical center, where he was immediately treated by a team of elite, professional healers.

Presently, Aeon was resting quietly on a bed inside a high-security private hospital room, dressed in a standard hospital gown.

His parents sat tightly beside the right side of the bed. Elisabeth gently held his hand, repeatedly kissing his knuckles and caressing his palm with a deeply worried expression.

Aldrich placed a comforting hand on Elisabeth’s shoulder, gently rubbing it to soothe her nerves.

"He will be alright, honey. The healers said his vitals are stable. He just needs a lot of rest, and he’ll wake up once his body recovers from the exhaustion."

Hearing her husband’s reassuring words, Elisabeth managed to calm her racing heart. She stood up, gently stroking Aeon’s hair before pressing a soft, lingering kiss onto his forehead.

She then turned to face Aldrich, her expression hardening. "Let’s go speak with the administration. I want to see what those people have to say."

Together, Elisabeth and Aldrich turned and walked toward the exit. But just as their fingers brushed the door handle, a tremendous, localized explosion of energy flared up right behind them.

Whooosh!

In perfect unison, they turned around toward the hospital bed—only to freeze in astonishment.

Aeon’s body was slowly levitating, suspended a few meters in the air directly above the mattress. His entire form was enveloped in a radiant, brilliant golden energy.

Shimmering golden lotuses bloomed out of thin air, drifting lazily around his body, while intricate, glowing Law patterns swirled dynamically around his levitating frame.

Both Elisabeth and Aldrich recognized the phenomenon instantly, their eyes widening in astonishment.

"That is... He’s undergoing an enlightenment phase!"

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