Fwoosh!

Selene dashed across the broken floor, her twin daggers glowing red as she sliced through the demon's black flames.

"Keep attacking!" Leon shouted, his hand glowing with void energy.

He raised it high and fired a beam that cut through the smoke, slamming into the demon's chest.

BOOM!

The blast sent chunks of black flesh flying, but the demon only laughed. Its deep, echoing voice rolled through the field like thunder.

"Hhhhaaa... humans… still fighting?"

Cassandra swung her scythe with all her strength, the blade spinning in wide arcs. Sparks flew as it clashed with the demon's claws.

Clang!

Clang!

"Tsk... even with Divika's Blessing, I cannot pierce through his skin!" Cassandra gritted her teeth.

"I'll need to gather mana for a bit to be able to pierce it...," she muttered.

At the same time, Maelis lifted both her hands, her hair floating as a faint purple light spread from her body.

The ground slowly began to shake.

"Gravity Field!" she shouted.

The demon's body suddenly sank, its wings struggling against the heavy pull, but even then, it pushed back, step by step, the ground cracking beneath its feet.

Selene jumped above it, her eyes glowing red for a moment as she used her charm ability.

"Fall!" she shouted, and the demon's head turned slightly, just enough for Cassandra's scythe to dig deep into its shoulder.

Slash!

Black blood spilled out like smoke.

The demon hissed, swinging its arm and sending Cassandra flying backward. She rolled across the dirt, coughing blood but still forcing herself up.

"Tsk… that's one tough bastard."

Leon clenched his fists, spatial energy building around him again.

"Everyone, attack together! Don't give it a chance to recover!"

"Already on it!" Selene replied, dashing forward again.

Dozens of students followed, shouting and using all their magic at once.

"Fireball!"

"Lightning spear!"

"Ice burst!"

A storm of spells hit the demon from all sides. The explosion shook the air and swallowed everything in white light.

For a second, everyone stopped to breathe.

And then, a deep growl came from the smoke.

When the light faded, the demon stood still, half of its body burned, but its grin was wider than before.

"...Interesting," it said, licking its teeth.

"This meat… fights back."

The students froze.

"It's getting stronger…" Selene's heart pounded as she whispered to herself.

The demon's laughter shook the air like a storm.

And then...

He vanished from their sight.

"WHERE?"

SPLURT!

A claw sliced through a boy's chest, lifting him like a doll before tossing him aside. Blood splattered across the ground.

CRACK!

Another student screamed as the demon's tail shot out, wrapping around her waist and snapping her spine in a single jerk.

"AAHHHH!"

"HELP ME!"

Magic bursts filled the arena, but the creature tore through them all, smoke and blood mixing in the air.

Its claws glowed with hellish light, cutting through shields, barriers, and flesh like paper.

Selene jumped back, panting hard.

"We can't hold this thing for long!" she shouted, dodging another slash that destroyed half the stone wall behind her.

And just when it looked like the students were about to fall apart...

BOOOOM!

A huge spike of earth shot up from the ground, piercing through one of the demon's legs.

"Got you, you bastard!" a voice yelled.

Mira landed beside the broken wall, her short chestnut hair dusty, her green eyes glowing fiercely.

Her palms slammed into the ground again, and thick stone walls rose to protect the injured students.

"Finally!" Selene gasped in relief.

Water surged like a wave behind her, freezing midair into sharp spears.

Selina appeared, her long black hair tied in a tight ponytail, blue eyes cold as ice.

"You idiots almost died without me," she said flatly, launching the frozen spears straight into the demon's face.

SHHHRRRAAACK!

The impact forced it back, giving the others room to breathe.

And then, fire joined the mix.

"Move, Mira!" someone shouted.

A red-haired girl dashed in, freckles glinting under the glow of her flames. Claire spun once, her whole arm bursting into bright orange fire before she threw it forward like a spear.

FWOOSH!

The fire exploded across the demon's chest, coating it in flames. It roared, clawing at itself as black smoke filled the air.

Claire landed beside Selene, brushing soot off her face.

"Took us long enough to clean up the imps."

Selene nodded quickly.

"Good timing. That thing's—"

But Claire cut her off, glancing around.

"Where's Gray?" she asked, her tone sharp and worried even through the chaos.

Selene froze for a second.

The image of him walking away, cold eyes, quiet steps, flashed in her mind. She looked down.

"He's… gone," she muttered softly.

"Gone? In the middle of this?" Claire frowned.

Selene clenched her dagger tighter, her voice trembling just a little.

"Yeah. He… left us."

Hearing that, Selina scoffed from the side, water swirling coldly around her arms.

"That bastard… he only thinks about himself."

Before Selene could respond, the demon lunged again.

BOOM!

Its claw came down like a meteor.

The ground shattered, stone and bodies flying in all directions.

A dozen students vanished in an instant, crushed under its massive hand, blood splashing across the broken floor.

Leon threw his hand forward.

"Spatial Barrier!"

Blue rings of light formed in the air, catching the next strike, but the shield broke like glass with a single hit.

Leon was sent tumoring, coughing blood.

"Spread out!" Maelis yelled, her voice breaking with panic.

The demon's deep laughter rolled through the smoke, heavy and sharp, like metal scraping against bone. Its glowing eyes shifted slowly, scanning them one by one.

"...Meat."

The word crawled out of its mouth like a curse.

It opened its jaws and screamed, pure red mana bursting out in every direction.

BBOOOOOOM!!!

Everyone was thrown off their feet. A wave of pressure crushed their chests, and even breathing felt impossible.

"Damn it!" Claire shouted, forcing herself up, fire burning around her hands.

"Flame Burst!"

She threw a massive fireball, but the demon didn't even flinch. The flame hit its chest and disappeared like smoke in the wind.

"W-What…?"

Selina followed, raising her arms.

"Water Spears!"

Dozens of sharp water spears flew forward, each one strong enough to pierce stone. They shattered before touching the demon's skin.

Leon appeared behind it, panting hard.

"Spatial Slash!"

A silver cut of light tore through the air and hit its back, leaving nothing but a faint scratch.

"Impossible…" Leon whispered, his voice filled with disbelief.

Mira slammed her palms to the ground, forming thick stone walls around the demon.

"Maybe we can hold it down!"

The demon simply exhaled.

CRAAASH!

A single breath blew the entire wall apart, fragments of stone tearing through the air like blades. Mira screamed as one of them grazed her shoulder, blood spilling down her arm.

"Cassandra! Support!" Selene yelled.

Cassandra raised her scythe, a red bloody mana swirling around it as she swung down at the demon's body.

Clang!

Her scythe echoed back without dealing a single ounce of damage.

"Ugh, no fucking way!" Cassandra gasped.

Selene ran forward despite the shaking of her knees; her dagger glowed faintly blue.

She leapt high, slashing at its arm.

SHING!

The blade hit and stopped, not being able to pierce its skin, just like what happened with Cassandra.

Then, with a slow, cruel grin, it moved its hand.

GRAB!

It caught her in the air.

Selene screamed as its massive fingers closed around her body, crushing her ribs.

"AHHHH—!"

"Selene!!" Maelis shouted, her mana bursting violently.

"Gravity Sword!"

Fwip!

A sword shot forward like a razor, cutting through the demon's arm. It hissed in pain and dropped Selene, who hit the ground hard, coughing blood.

Maelis stepped forward, her eyes glowing faintly.

"Stay back. All of you."

The air around her grew heavy, so heavy it made the others struggle to stand. Her mana erupted like a storm, forcing the demon to pause.

But even so… it smiled.

"Another piece of meat… strong meat."

Its claw swept sideways.

BOOM!

The entire ground collapsed.

Everyone was thrown back, rolling through the dirt. Maelis blocked most of the hit with her gravity barrier, but it still cracked like thin glass.

Leon teleported behind her just in time, catching her before she fell.

"We can't win this."

She didn't reply. Her eyes were still on the demon, its body barely damaged, its wounds already closing.

Claire clenched her fists, shaking with fear.

"Then what the hell do we do?! Everything we throw at it—it's like hitting a mountain!"

Selina gritted her teeth.

"We fight! Even if we die!"

Mira screamed as she pushed herself up again, earth magic gathering around her arms.

"Then let's die together!"

"No, we just need to wait for our professor!"

They all stood again, bloody and trembling, but still facing the monster.

The demon tilted its head, amused.

"Then die together… fine."

Its hand rose again, dark mana gathering like a small sun in its palm. The air burned just from its heat.

Mira crawled up from the ground, tears in her eyes, her whole body shaking in fear, as if remembering what happened back in the Practical Dungeon...

"No… no, not again… Gray... G-Gray, p-please save me..."

THRIIM!

Leon's portal opened, trying to pull them all out, but the space around them twisted violently. The demon's mana was warping everything.

They were trapped.

And as that black orb started to fall, the only thing any of them could do was scream.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

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