"Wait!" Selene's voice snapped out.

Her hand shot forward as if she could drag him back by force.

But the space where Gray had been twisted, his body flickering out of sight in an instant.

Selene's eyes widened for only a fraction of a second before narrowing coldly, grinding her teeth tightly.

"…Idiot."

An imp shrieked, lunging at her exposed side, claws dripping with venom.

FWSSHH!

Pivoting, she gutted the creature, her dagger finishing the kill before its body even hit the ground.

Blood splattered across her cheek, but her gaze didn't flinch.

Selene tilted her head upward and noticed that the circle of imps had already begun to glow brighter, their shrieks combining into an eerie chant.

She clenched her dagger, muttering under her breath-

"If you die doing something this stupid, I swear I'll drag you back just to kill you myself."

Above, Gray reappeared inside the swirling formation.

[What the actual fuck are you doing?!]

Jasmine's voice shrieked through his mind, trembling with fury and fear.

[DO YOU WANT US TO FUCKING DIE HERE?!]

"Don't worry about it," Gray tilted his head, his lips curling into a grin.

[WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'DON'T WORRY ABOUT'?! YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE AN AOE ATTACK OF SOME SORTS!]

"Relax~"

Pivoting on the skull of a shrieking imp, Gray bent low, his body moving with a strange theatrical grace.

Fwoop!

In the blink of an eye, his attire shifted, his long coat and gloves dissolving into the gaudy frills of a clown.

Bells jingled faintly at his sleeves, and he gave an exaggerated bow under the eyes of every horrified student.

"Welcome…" his voice rang with a mockery that echoed through the chaos, "to my show~."

The battlefield seemed to freeze for a second.

The students gawked, expressions twisting between terror and sheer confusion. Was he insane? Playing dress-up while monsters tried to devour them?

"What the hell is he doing…?"

"…Is he joking?"

"He's lost it…"

"Gray..."

And then, Gray's form suddenly blurred as he dropped down from above, boots cracking the ground.

FWIP!

Threads shot from his gloves with deadly precision, so fast they sliced the air.

Each line sank straight into an imp's skull, drilling into the soft flesh of its brain.

Exactly thirty-three fell limp, their wings twitching helplessly.

And suddenly, waving his hands, Gray shouted with a twisted laugh:

"Dance, my puppets!"

His fingers twitched lightly, and the corpses jerked upright.

The imps' wings spread wide, but their glowing eyes had gone cold and lifeless. They weren't demons anymore.

They were hollow shells, blank-eyed marionettes dangling from his threads.

The students gasped, some gagging in horror. Even the imps circling above faltered for a second, screeches turning uncertain.

Because this was no ordinary trick.

This was one of the powers of Gray's Core Skill—『Puppet Strings』, the ability to control any being once his threads pierced their brain.

It was a secret he had wanted to bury, but the situation had forced his hand.

What was worse… Gray's mastery had already surpassed the limits of his so-called rank.

Normally, only if he reached the Intermediate stage of the Clown Class could he sharpen their strings to pierce flesh so cleanly.

But Gray?

He'd skipped that step entirely.

The drawback, however, was still annoying. He couldn't duplicate his strings yet, nor could he enchant them like true Intermediates.

But right now?

Right now, it was more than enough, and he could save the ability to duplicate his strings and enchant them when he reached the intermediate level of his Class.

"Dance, dance~"

Gray hummed lightly, his hands twitching like a conductor guiding a deranged symphony.

His thirty-three puppets dove into the circle above, breaking the rhythm of the imps' formation.

The shrieks turned discordant, their once-perfect circle scattering into chaos.

RIP!

Swing!

Crack!

Imp tore into imp, claws sinking into throats, wings shredded by their own kind.

Blood rained down in sickening sprays as Gray's threads pulled harder, forcing the corpses into frenzied violence.

"KRIIIIIIGHHHHH!"

One imp shrieked, before its head was torn clean off by another, its strings glowing faintly with Gray's control.

[You're forcing them against each other…]

Jasmine whispered; she was both horrified and fascinated by his actions.

[You mad bastard…]

But the students?

Their eyes widened as they realized what was happening.

"The fusion! He's stopping it!"

"They can't form the array like this!"

"Hah! Those bastards are turning on each other!"

For the first time, desperation gave way to fire.

The weaker ones who had been hiding raised trembling blades, while the stronger ones leapt forward, voices cracking with battle cries.

"Kill them while they're distracted!"

"Don't let them regroup!"

"Push forward! PUSH FORWARD!"

BOOM!

A fireball exploded across three imps' backs, sending charred limbs scattering.

SHING!

A spear cut straight through another's chest, its screech silenced instantly.

"RAAAH!"

One student roared, swinging down with a greatsword, cleaving an imp that tried to escape Gray's threads.

Splurt!

The battlefield lit up with spells, swords, and screams, every student riding on the chaos Gray had caused.

The rhythm had shifted entirely.

Above them, Gray's puppets ripped through the circle again, scattering formation after formation, dragging shrieking imps into the dirt.

He moved them like a child pulling apart toys, strings snapping with sharp flicks of his wrists.

And through it all, his laughter rang out.

"Hehehe… good little dolls…" Gray muttered, tugging one thread, forcing an imp to bite its comrade's neck.

Another flick, and three corpses rammed straight into a cluster, dragging them down like anchors.

The students shouted louder.

"KEEP ATTACKING!"

"Don't let a single one escape!"

"Cut them down! Cut them down now!"

The once hopeless battlefield had turned into a blood-soaked frenzy. However, as soon as the students began to hope that they would actually win the battle...

The imps stopped moving...

"Huh?"

Their bodies began to tremble, their eyes rolling back as the circle above them tightened, creating a powerful suction force.

Gray felt it like a pressure against his chest.

"NOOO!"

Light rose from the ground.

It was wrong light: dark, wet red, like blood turned into fire.

The imps' bodies began to blur, their flesh being peeled away like mist. Limbs melted into a bright, writhing energy that pulsed and joined the circle.

Gray's puppets, his thirty-three, shuddered.

The threads still bit into their skulls, but their bodies tore open and turned to the same hungry light.

"FUCK!"

From below, Raven screamed, lunging, but an imp smashed him aside like he was nothing.

He rolled on the stone, coughing blood.

Around them, students screamed and cast spells at the light.

Fire hit it, ice hit it, arrows, spears, everything, sparks, but the energy flowed and healed as it moved, drawn into the growing shape above.

The circle tightened more, and the air gradually got colder.

And then, just to confirm his reality, Jasmine spoke.

[Escape from there. If not, you really are going to die.]

Her words hit him hard.

Gray looked up.

The circle was almost closed.

The energy inside it pulsed and pulsed, outlining the form of what seemed to be a superior demon or something like that.

Selene glanced at him; her fear was barely hidden from his eyes.

"Gray... what should we do?"

Grip!

Gray's hand tightened on the rapier.

For a second, he thought of cutting the circle, of throwing every thread he had into the sky and tearing that formation apart.

But the way the light drank flesh and healed as it moved told him no. The amount of power gathering there was not a thing he could stab away.

The world narrowed to two sounds: the hum of the formation above, and Jasmine's cold voice in his head.

[Get out. Now.]

He looked at Selene for a single second, no time for more, and then moved, pulling Selene with him, pushing off the stone, dragging her body as he vanished into a shadowed alley of broken pillars.

Behind them, the circle snapped shut with a sound like a bell breaking.

DING!

Energy screamed up, a high, bright cry that made blood ache in the ears. The light inside flared once, then burst outward in a shockwave that tore at flesh and magic alike.

And then....

From the center of the ruined circle, something crawled out.

It looked like an imp, but taller, more twisted.

Its horns curved like blades, its skin burned with dark light, and its wings spread wide, dripping black fire.

Its mouth opened too wide, sharp teeth glistening, and a sick laugh rattled from its throat.

"Hhhhhhahahahahahaha…"

The sound made spines stiffen, made the air itself seem heavier.

The demon's glowing eyes swept across the students, hungry, cruel. It licked its lips with a long, wet tongue.

"Meat…"

The word dripped with hunger, echoing in every ear.

Screams broke out. Some students stumbled back, others raised their weapons, trembling, but the air was filled with fear.

At the same time, Gray grabbed Selene by the wrist, yanking her back as he dragged her away from the blood-soaked ground.

"Gray!" she cried out, pulling against his grip.

"What are you doing?! We can't leave them! We have to help!"

"There's no helping them," Gray muttered coldly, his eyes fixed ahead.

"We can't deal with that thing. Not now."

Selene's steps faltered.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him, stunned. Her body shook against his hold before she finally ripped her wrist free.

She stared at him as though he wasn't human.

"Don't you care?" Her voice cracked, tears trembling in her eyes. "Don't you care about the lives of the other students? They'll all die!"

Gray's face didn't change at her words, remaining silent.

Selene's breath hitched, her chest tightening, causing her to bite her lip in agony.

The silence was sharper than any sword.

"I-I… if it was me," she stammered, her tears finally spilling down her cheeks.

"W-Would you save me…?"

"...."

Gray remained silent, his grip tightened on his rapier, but his lips never moved.

He didn't answer her....

Instantly...

"Sniff... huff!"

Selene broke, tears pouring as her voice rose into a trembling scream.

"You wouldn't even save me?! Then what am I to you?!"

She shook, wiping her face with her sleeve as she backed away, her whole body trembling from rage and grief.

"You… you're really a villain," she whispered, her voice shattering entirely. "I can't believe I actually fell in love with someone like you…"

With one last look at him, she turned and ran.

Her body blurred as she rushed toward the other students, toward death, her daggers flashing as she cut through the swarm.

Gray stood in the same spot, watching her figure vanish into the chaos with the same empty expression.

Slowly, he turned the other way and kept walking.

[You did what you had to do, for us, to survive.]

Jasmine tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry about it, Jasmine," Gray said softly, his voice flat, almost hollow.

His eyes stayed fixed forward as he walked away, step by step.

"I'm not guilty. I don't regret it. Since the beginning… it was just us."

However, just at that moment...

Another voice echoed in his head.

[𖤐 Are you running away again? 𖤐]

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