Chapter 88: Gajia Academy 17 - Silence

On the other side of the battlefield, the fight between Rexevos and the demonic leader had become far more intense. Attack after attack collided between them, while powerful magical abilities tore through the surrounding area.

The demonic leader suddenly planted his feet into the ground and raised his massive axe. A dark, ominous aura began gathering around the weapon, growing denser with every passing second until the air itself seemed to tremble.

Rexevos tightened his grip on his blade and gathered the rest of his strength into a single attack. The Crimson Blade glowed with overwhelming power as he prepared to meet the demon’s attack head-on.

Neither of them moved for a moment.

Then, almost simultaneously, they unleashed their attacks.

The two attacks collided in midair with an explosive impact, sending a shockwave across the battlefield. A massive cloud of smoke erupted from the collision, completely swallowing both fighters and covering the sky.

For several seconds, there was nothing but silence.

Then a figure emerged from the smoke.

His body fell from the sky, blood trailing behind him as his sword slipped from his hand. He crashed into the ground with enough force to create a crater, leaving the surrounding soldiers frozen in disbelief.

"The Crimson Blade... lost?"

The demonic leader remained standing within the smoke, his massive axe resting against his shoulder. He had won.

On another part of the battlefield, Pandi continued her assault against Willow, her small frame moving at incredible speed as dark, ominous energy coated her attacks. Every strike forced Willow backward, leaving her struggling to keep up with the girl’s movements.

"What are you?" Willow asked, gritting her teeth as another attack slammed against her defenses. She could barely find an opening to counterattack.

"We’re the ones Gramps said you humans oppressed, nya!"

Pandi’s voice remained strangely cute despite the murderous intent behind her words. She swung her massive dark sword again, forcing Willow to leap backward as the blade tore through the ground.

Willow clenched her teeth and raised both hands, gathering a large amount of magical energy between her palms. The flames rapidly condensed into a spear of fire before she thrust her hand forward.

"Fire Lance!"

The blazing spear shot toward Pandi at incredible speed. Yet Pandi simply dragged her enormous dark sword along the ground as she walked forward, the blade cutting through everything in its path, including the corpses scattered across the battlefield.

When the Fire Lance finally reached her, Pandi casually raised her sword.

With a single swing, she parried the attack as though it were nothing.

The blazing spear was knocked away and exploded harmlessly in the distance.

"Too weak!"

Pandi tilted her head slightly, her black bangs covering her eyes as she smiled.

"Far too weak!"

--

High above the battlefield, Sebastian continued flying through the sky with his arms spread wide. Red particles constantly poured from his body and descended toward the battlefield, reviving the fallen warriors on their respective sides.

His eyes were completely bloodshot as he watched the chaos below. Despite the countless bodies scattered across the battlefield, his expression remained strangely calm.

"Humans truly are precious..."

He paused for a moment, looking down at the struggling forces beneath him.

"This is merely a scouting force, and yet they struggled this much..."

Sebastian’s gaze unknowingly landed on a faint white glow beneath him. At first, he paid it no attention, but the light gradually grew brighter until it slowly began ascending toward the sky.

He blinked his eyes in confusion. Before he could react, the white glow suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

"Sebastian Flyde... The werewolf who gathered everyone centuries ago, the being who killed two of my friends. We have met again."

Sebastian smirked as he looked at the boy standing before him. His expression remained casual, as though the strange encounter did not concern him.

"Hoo? Young boy, have we met before?"

"We’ve fought before," the boy casually replied.

Sebastian tilted his head slightly, searching through his memories for the boy’s face. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember encountering him.

"I don’t remember."

The boy raised both hands and placed them together as if he were about to clap. A small white ball of light appeared between his palms, slowly growing larger until it reached roughly the size of a potato.

He held the glowing object out toward Sebastian, his expression remaining completely calm.

"Do you recognize this?"

Sebastian’s eyes widened the moment he saw the white orb. His casual expression disappeared as memories of his centuries-long search suddenly resurfaced.

"The Orb of Unknown..."

A moment of silence followed before Sebastian’s lips curled into a grin. He stared at the artifact with disbelief, almost amused by the absurdity of the situation.

"Hahahaha! After centuries of trying to find it, to think it was inside this little boy all along. What a funny scenario."

The white orb slowly began moving toward the young boy, eventually sinking into his chest and disappearing toward his heart. Sebastian watched in silence, his eyes following the artifact until there was nothing left to see.

"Then we shall meet again," the boy casually said.

Before Sebastian could respond, the boy’s entire body was engulfed by an intense white light. The brightness became so overwhelming that Sebastian was forced to shield his eyes as the boy’s figure disappeared within it.

Below them, the four other prodigies stared toward the sky. They were already exhausted from fighting the overwhelming werewolves and demonic forces, and seeing the Crimson Blade fall had shaken what little hope they had left.

Even Willow Daye, the strongest mage in Gajia Academy, had been forced into a stagnant position against the strange girl. The sight made the remaining students realize just how hopeless the battlefield had become.

Then their eyes widened as they recognized the figure within the fading light.

"Is that Akuma?"

A second later, an even brighter light erupted from the sky, forcing everyone on the battlefield to cover their eyes. The overwhelming radiance spread across the entire area, leaving no one able to see what was happening.

For several seconds, everything went completely silent. There were no cries, no clashes of weapons, and no sounds of magic, as if the entire battlefield had suddenly been frozen in time.