Chapter 295: Lock of Ascension [1]

Chapter 294

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Episode 78 - Lock of Ascension [1]

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Forty minutes earlier.

Suddenly, the entire Holy Academy began to tremble as countless monsters fell from the sky.

The cadets from both Academies, along with the professors, immediately reacted.

Faced with the imminent danger, the cadets formed groups. The cadets from the Holy Academy and Elvenheims Academy joined forces and began fighting against the monsters.

Meanwhile, the professors spread throughout the Academy and began slaughtering the waves of hundreds upon hundreds of monsters that continued pouring out of the rift in the sky.

At the same time, black rain began to fall as the sky turned completely dark.

The black rain exerted a subtle effect on the minds of everyone present, regardless of their strength.

Their minds became slower, while their thoughts and senses were slightly impaired, and their control over Mana diminished.

Furthermore, the energy of the Power of Chaos erased the presence of Mana from the air, preventing anyone from recovering their Mana, even through Mana Recovery Potions.

Whoosh!

Lumina’s figure appeared atop a building, from where she could observe a large portion of the Academy.

Enormous creatures, more than five hundred meters tall, walked across the campus grounds, while smaller monsters swarmed through the Academy’s corridors and paths.

The professors dealt with the stronger creatures, while the cadets handled the weaker and more numerous monsters.

However, the situation suddenly changed.

Several individuals appeared out of nowhere and immediately attacked the cadets. The next second, the strongest professors moved to protect them.

But before they could fully react, another group of individuals emerged from nowhere and attacked the strongest professors.

They were dozens of villains, and among them were at least seven Class 9 villains, exactly the same number of Nine-Star professors present at the Academy.

Lumina observed the entire scene with an impassive expression, showing not the slightest hint of emotion.

"..."

Just then, she felt someone entering her mind.

However, she did not use any Trait and simply allowed the intruder to penetrate her mind.

Then, Principal Bernice’s voice echoed inside her head.

’Cadets Lumina and Adel, I will give you a personal Mission. Go to the Academy’s Underground and protect the Astral Memory Library. If possible, kill the intruders.’

After receiving Principal Bernice’s message, Lumina turned her gaze toward the entrance of the Main Building.

A group of villains had appeared there.

Every one of them was a Class 7 villain, while their leader was Class 8.

At a glance, they walked calmly through the area, and the professors emerging from the Main Building did not even seem to notice their presence.

This was due to the use of a Relic.

However, in Lumina’s eyes, there was nothing capable of hiding.

After receiving Principal Bernice’s Mission, Lumina immediately acted.

"Mirror Separation."

Her figure suddenly split into a total of ten clones identical to her.

However, each clone possessed only power equivalent to Five Stars.

Even so, it was more than enough.

With a mere thought, Lumina transmitted an order to her ten clones.

They simply nodded.

Whoosh!

Lumina’s figure disappeared and immediately headed toward the group of villains standing in front of the Main Building.

Meanwhile, the ten clones watched as their main body moved away. Then, they looked at one another and nodded.

Then...

Whoosh!

The figures of the ten clones teleported to ten different areas of the Academy and began attacking both the monsters and the villains.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One of the clones threw a punch, turning the head of a Class 6 monster into a mass of blood.

The next second, the clone moved and appeared behind a cadet who was on the verge of death.

Whoosh!

With a Mana Crystallized Sword, it sliced a dozen monsters into countless pieces.

Then, it placed its palm on the cadet’s shoulder.

A light coursed through the cadet’s body, and his wounds began to disappear.

Then, its figure vanished.

The clone had sent him to a safe area of the Academy.

Without wasting any more time, the clone moved toward other cadets. Along the way, it eliminated any monster that stood in its path.

The same thing was happening in the other regions of the Academy where the clones had appeared.

Some villains, upon noticing their presence, immediately charged at them.

However, just like the monsters, they were killed before they could even understand what was happening.

In less than ten minutes, the clones had eliminated all the Class 6, 5, and 4 villains.

Meanwhile, the professors dealt with the Class 7 and 8 villains, leaving only the seven Class 9 villains still engaged in combat.

However, the clones did not stop either.

After eliminating the villains and rescuing the few cadets who had been scattered throughout the Academy, they immediately regrouped and joined the professors fighting against the Class 9 villains.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Meanwhile, in the Academy’s Underground, Lumina’s main body had already eliminated all the Class 7 villains.

Only the Class 8 villain remained.

She was a young-looking woman holding a katana as she stared at Lumina with a serious expression.

Whoosh!

The next second, the woman lunged forward and swung her katana.

Immediately afterward, thousands of slashes imbued with the Power of Chaos appeared from every angle around Lumina.

"...."

Lumina, however, remained calm and immediately swung her sword.

A silver light enveloped the blade before spreading across her arms and legs.

Then, in the blink of an eye, her figure disappeared.

"....!?"

The woman lost sight of Lumina for an instant.

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

In the next moment, the thousands of slashes she had created with her katana were cleaved in half by Lumina’s silver blade.

In less than a second, Lumina appeared in front of the woman and swung her sword.

".....!"

Boom!

The woman’s katana moved in a blur and blocked Lumina’s sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lumina and the woman tore through the entire underground facility of the Academy, leaving afterimages in their wake.

Every clash between their swords produced sparks and unleashed shockwaves. Yet even then, not a single crack or even the slightest scratch appeared on the walls of the underground facility.

It was as if they were completely indestructible.

And, in a way, they were.

Principal Bernice had obtained the finest materials available to construct the underground facility of the Holy Academy.

Even a Nine-Star Awakened would have difficulty leaving so much as a scratch on its walls.

Whoosh! Boom!

Lumina’s feet slammed against a wall.

In the next instant, Lunar Mana surged from her legs, propelling her toward the woman with tremendous force.

Her figure appeared in front of the woman in an instant as she muttered under her breath:

"Fallen Moon Lunar Art, First Form, Shattered Moon."

"....!?"

The woman’s eyes widened as microscopic moon-shaped fragments appeared around Lumina’s sword.

She immediately attempted to block the attack with her Katana Art.

However...

Whoosh!

Lumina’s figure appeared and disappeared in an instant.

Then, the woman stood motionless behind her.

The next second, blood exploded from her entire body as countless cuts—small, large, and medium—opened across her skin.

However, Lumina did not stop.

The woman gritted her teeth and gripped her katana with all her strength.

Boom!

Lumina moved again.

"Fallen Moon Lunar Art, Second Form, Eclipse Void."

The silver light covering Lumina’s sword turned slightly black, like a shadow covering the moon and forming an eclipse.

The next second, she swung her sword.

A storm of shadows and silver rivers spread toward the woman.

Meanwhile, the woman assumed a drawing stance before finally unsheathing her katana.

A straight blade of the Power of Chaos burst forth from it and shot toward Lumina’s attack.

Whoosh!

Lumina’s attack was split in half.

However, it was not a linear attack, but an area-of-effect attack.

Therefore, even after being split apart, it continued forward and swept across the woman’s entire body, leaving behind not a single piece of flesh or drop of blood.

Her figure simply shattered.

"....!"

On the other hand, upon seeing the blade of the Power of Chaos that had split her attack, Lumina immediately gathered Mana.

A silver light enveloped her body.

She did not have time to use her sword to block the woman’s attack, so she crossed her arms in an X.

Then, the thin blade of the Power of Chaos struck her arms directly.

Boom! Clank!

Lumina’s body was sent flying and crashed into a wall.

However, the wall did not suffer any damage.

Instead, blood gushed from Lumina’s mouth as her forearms were slightly torn open.

"Cough...!!!"

After getting up from the floor, Lumina lowered her gaze toward her arms.

The bones in her forearms were visible as blood poured from the wounds.

Using Mana, she quickly regenerated the injuries on her forearms and, shortly afterward, healed the internal damage to her body.

Finally, she wiped the blood from the corner of her lips and thought:

’What the hell did she use to launch an attack like that?’

She understood immediately.

The woman’s attack was far from normal. A technique with such power could only be performed by a Class 9 villain.

’A supporting Relic or Magic Item that increases her power at the cost of her life.’

It was most likely something like that.

In any case, a Class 8 villain normally wouldn’t even be able to leave a scratch on Lumina.

Lumina let out a sigh before raising her head and looking toward the ceiling.

At that moment, her senses detected a change on the surface.

’So they already dealt with the most troublesome part.’

A smile threatened to appear on her lips, but Lumina restrained herself.

Finally, she turned around and began walking back toward the surface.