Chapter 485: The Entrance is Blocked?

Nothing happened after that initial battle with Monika.

The streets were still full of players and natives who had no idea what was happening around them, going about their business like nothing was wrong.

In fact, the entirety of Divine Academy City remained the same as usual.

And eventually the group reached the square that sat before the Divine Academy itself, the massive building looming over them.

Right as they were about to enter it, a warning panel appeared before them out of nowhere.

[Divine Academy is currently closed because of urgent matters, any attempt to enter the square will result in death.]

Of course, Leon completely ignored that warning and stepped forward anyway, because he knew that his targets were close and that they knew he was here too.

The square was empty, completely devoid of the usual crowds that filled it during normal days.

The academy building loomed ahead of them, its massive doors closed and sealed with magical barriers that crackled with energy, clearly meant to keep people out.

"They’re waiting for us," Leon spoke, his voice calm and steady, "Stay alert."

The girls nodded, their weapons drawn and their senses heightened as they entered the square, ready for whatever was about to come their way.

Fwoosh!

As soon as they entered the square, Leon felt something stirring beneath his feet, and dozens of spikes erupted from the ground in an attempt to impale him where he stood.

BAM!

They only hit his [Ultimate Darkness Barrier] though, not even cracking it, so Leon didn’t care in the slightest about what had just happened.

"Be careful," he spoke, his voice calm but firm, "I think this entire square is trapped."

It wasn’t that someone had thrown a spell at them from a distance, because that would have been easy to notice and even easier to counter.

Instead, it felt more like the moment they walked onto that specific spot of the square, the spell activated directly underneath them, as if the ground itself had been waiting for someone to step there.

To test that theory, Leon walked forward once more, and indeed, the spot beneath him glowed for a split second before several lightning strikes erupted exactly where he was standing.

The spell’s activation was almost instant, which meant it took an extremely proficient mage to set them up in the first place.

And they were likely enough to kill even some level 100 players easily if they weren’t prepared for it.

Though of course, Leon tanked the attack again, completely unbothered as the power of his barrier held strong against everything the traps threw at him.

Having a maxed out skill, one that was linked to an SSS-Level Sub-Talent, made it unbelievably hard to tear through his barrier.

Of course, it wasn’t unbreakable. And eventually, after a few hits from a powerful enough foe, it could shatter.

But one needed to remember that Leon’s barrier had the passive ability to reflect a portion of the damage back to the attacker, which meant hurting him was always a risky proposition.

The one thing that could for sure kill Leon was a soul attack, as it could bypass the skill entirely and strike him directly where it hurt the most.

But now that his soul was maxed out, and even protected by an S-Level sub-talent, he feared nothing in that department either.

And so Leon walked forward and even moved around the square with no worry in his expression, treating the whole thing like it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Bam! Fwoosh!

Every time he stepped toward somewhere in the square, a trap activated, hitting his darkness barrier with everything it had.

But after a few minutes, and every trap being activated, only a few cracks had appeared on his barrier, which was a testament to just how ridiculous his defensive capabilities had become.

"Let’s go," Leon smiled at the girls, "Just move straight forward in case there’s something else, but it should be fine."

"Also, be careful, because if they prepared the outside in such a way, expect the inside of the academy to be much worse."

"I wonder how they knew you were coming..." Violet mumbled as she stepped forward, "I mean, the fact you wanted to attack them was crazy enough, but the fact that they were preparing for it does mean you were right about them."

"That teacher that Emilia killed spoke about a premonition by the God of Magic and God of War," Celeste replied, "That must be it!"

"I figured that," Violet nodded, "But... how is that possible? Did that chairman speak directly to the gods?"

That was something Leon wondered about too, but he didn’t really care to find out as long as the job was done in the end.

The group reached the entrance of Divine Academy, and it was seemingly sealed by several layers of magic that pulsed with an energy far beyond anything normal.

Leon slashed at the door repeatedly, and some of the girls even launched attacks of their own, but nothing they did seemed to work in the slightest.

"Damn..." Leon mumbled, "Powerful magic."

He was almost certain Dominik was the one to do it, perhaps powered by the God of Magic much more than normal, which meant this wasn’t just some ordinary barrier that could be broken with enough brute force.

But did that mean he wouldn’t be able to do anything?

Whenever he tried to kill his enemies, they could just hide behind something like this and get away with it?

Would Leon really leave now, allowing them to do whatever they wanted while he went off to handle other business?

Since they knew he was after them, the God of Magic and God of War would likely grant the teachers and chairman even more power, allowing them to destroy much more than they ever could have before.

"Gotta try more."

Fwoosh!

Abyssal Execution! Void Detonation! Venom Nova! Eclipse Annihilation!

Leon launched his most powerful abilities , but no matter what he threw at the door, it didn’t even budge.

It meant that this magic wasn’t just a barrier in the normal sense of the word.

In fact... a panel appeared before Leon as he tried to attack again.

[There is no point, Celestial, the God of Magic has granted me immense power to create this spell, and even if you entered, we would kill you and your group immediately.]

"Then come outside and fight me if you can kill me," Leon replied, his voice cold and challenging.

[That would be foolish, our plan is way underway, in fact, thanks to you, it has been accelerated, so I must thank you.]

[You can keep trying, but we will not come out.]

Just like that, the panels disappeared, leaving Leon, Celeste, Emilia and Violet standing before the academy’s gate with nothing to show for their efforts.

In fact, Dominik seemed to be mocking them, acknowledging the fact they couldn’t do anything to stop him and the teachers even if they wanted.

’There must be something I can do to get through this thing...’ Leon thought, ’There has to... because if there isn’t... it means that all this power means nothing.’