"Source Code: Reversal Node."

As soon as Albedo casted that spell, the symbols covering the ground immediately rearranged. The glowing vines that had been crawling toward them suddenly froze, trembling as if confused.

Then, violently, they turned on each other, consuming their own corrupted energy in confusion and massively easing the pressure on the other students.

Miranda, who was paying attention to Albedo's actions, immediately gasped as she understood what he was doing, "You inverted their mana hierarchy,"

"Just buying time," Albedo said through gritted teeth, "This will only hold until the corruption warps again."

The pressure in the air increased, a suffocating wave of Abyssal malice pressing down. One of the larger abominations, a beast shaped like a wolf made of vines and molten petals, smashed into the barrier, cracking the outer ring of runes.

The shockwave nearly tore the students off their feet. Crystals of shattered magic rained through the air like sparks.

Elara's shield collapsed completely, "They're adapting!" she shouted.

"I know." Albedo's voice was ice now. His gaze flicked toward the Monarch, whose roots trembled violently beneath them, "Then I'll adapt faster."

He stepped forward, his aura flaring violently, deep violet and gold bursting from his body in a cyclone.

"Fractal Casting: Arcane Barricade, Recursive Form!"

The air solidified around him, layer upon layer of geometric mandalas spiraling outward. The entire dome restructured itself, not a smooth barrier anymore, but a recursive wall that moved.

Each segment rotated independently, shifting between frequencies. When a corrupted beast lunged, the barrier adjusted its resonance, pushing the mana signature into dissonance. The creature's body tore itself apart midair.

Screams, then silence, followed by another wave.

Lightning flashed, golden arcs from Zeus's weapon weaving through the gaps between the shields as he struck any that slipped through. Celeste's tail lashed, deflecting incoming roots while her mana flared like wildfire.

Miranda stabilized their output, maintaining the circuit of defense while Elara directed wounded students to the rear.

Other students like Lucian and Lilian were also taking down a variety of the attacking monsters, maintaining the defensive barrier. Their skills were limited in this scenario as they couldn't directly attack lest they boost the power of the monstrous plants.

They were holding, barely.

Stronger beasts were appearing the more they held on. While most beasts were still Amethyst Rank, now they could sense the aura of Diamond Rank beasts appearing, which would really put them on the back foot, as none of them were even close to reaching that rank themselves.

The ground beneath Albedo's feet was cracking from the force of his casting. Every second he maintained Source Code was burning through his mana reserves faster than he could replenish.

Albedo was probably the person with the highest mana reserves in Gold Rank, but it was bleeding away quickly, causing him to focus sharply.

He triggered another formation, "Fractal Conversion: Kinetic Null Field."

When the next strike hit, it simply dissolved, momentum erased as if space itself forgot to remember it. The air folded, light bending through the web of runes.

"That should buy us some time," Albedo said.

***

Meanwhile, in a different dimension, the darkness was not silent, it was actively breathing.

Saphira had followed Arannis' aura, cutting through space and finding herself in a shadowed dimension, the air shifting around her like the slow inhale of a dying god.

A constant low thrum rippled through the void, a heartbeat that didn't belong to the living, but to the abyss itself. She was using her own power to ward off the influence of this world.

Her golden eyes cut through the gloom, illuminating the blackened expanse with faint light. The world here was not made of earth and stone, but of memory and corruption.

The sky dripped like oil, rivers of darkness floating upside down, and islands of distorted matter hung suspended in gravity's forgotten reach.

Saphira had seen the Abyss many times before, in her many battles against Abyssal creatures. Compared to those prior experiences, this realm felt very unstable and artificial, as if it was temporarily forced into existence by someone.

Her wings spread wide, enormous and draconic, though formed now from radiant flame rather than flesh. Each beat of those wings sent arcs of blue-gold fire scattering across the void, tearing through the encroaching tendrils of shadow that slithered toward her.

Saphira narrowed her eyes as she flew, "First I meet this kid and then this happens, fate is all out of order," she muttered.

"Arannis," she murmured, voice low and resonant. "Where did they drag you old man…"

Then she felt it, faint at first, like a whisper across dimensions. The scent of Elven mana, clean, ancient, resonant with life, struggling against the suffocating pressure of the Abyss.

Her head snapped toward the sensation. "Found you."

In the next instant, she folded her wings inward, and vanished. A sonic tear of light split the air as she reappeared above a colossal abyssal chasm.

Below, the ground churned with impossible geometry, ruins of a once-living forest twisted into skeletal towers, rivers of molten corruption flowing upward instead of down.

And at the center of that horror, a battle raged that would have shattered the minds of anyone beneath the Star Rank.

Four figures stood on a fragment of floating stone surrounded by an ocean of darkness.

Arannis, his silver hair streaked with soot, his Elven robes torn but his stance unyielding, was weaving spell formations at a speed even Saphira found impressive.

Rings of emerald sigils orbited him like planets in perfect motion, each one deterring the shadow beasts that lunged from the black.

Beside him hovered Raphaeline, her obsidian wings spread wide, her eyes burning crimson as infernal magic surged through her palms. Each flick of her wrist detonated waves of burning violet light that vaporized the approaching monstrosities.

Kayle stood opposite her, her radiance a burning sun in the dark, literal beams of holy light cascading from her as she raised her Radiant Sigil, the Imperial Relic.

Her voice was a hymn and a command, her aura forcing the shadows to recoil as she shouted, "Purity through annihilation!"

And then there was the other group of Professors who had initially left with Raphaeline, all fighting together and supporting the front trio, who were the strongest amongst them.

They were surrounded by dozens, no, hundreds, of monstrosities. Each one shimmered with Star-level pressure, their forms erratic and ever-shifting: dragons made of tar and bone, serpents of liquid shadow, angels with screaming faces and broken halos.

But even their overwhelming power was nothing compared to the figure that rose from behind them.

Saphira froze midair, her breath catching in her throat.

It was impossible not to recognize that presence. The suffocating grace. The whisper of void threads crawling through the air like silk spun from nightmares.

From the horizon of darkness, she emerged, tall, slender, her body draped in living shadow that rippled like black lace. Her face, once radiant, now hidden beneath a mask of fractured starlight. Her eyes, deep wells of silver sorrow, flickered as if caught between two souls.

Saphira's hands trembled — not from fear, but from memory.

"Nyxaria…?" she whispered, voice breaking slightly.

Once, Nyxaria had been one of them, one of her closest friends alongside Raphaeline, fighting alongside each-other countless times against the Abyss, as she was a master of darkness and destructive magic.

She was warmth, wit, and calm. She had laughed easily, a sound like wind chimes over moonlit seas.

Now, the sound that came from her was wrong.

"Raphaeline…" the warped voice of Nyxaria cooed, echoing in a dozen tones, each more distorted than the last, "And Saphira… oh, how I've missed your arrogance."

Raphaeline stiffened, wings spreading in fury, "You—"

"Don't." Saphira's voice cut through, low and sharp. She descended slowly, her presence burning brighter with every beat of her wings until her form solidified, a woman of impossible grace and terrible majesty, eyes glowing with fire older than stars.

Nyxaria tilted her head, her blackened fingers flexing, each tipped with shadow so dense it fractured light, "I knew I could bring you two here after taking that Elf,"

The tendrils behind her moved like a curtain of silk, each motion birthing another creature of the Abyss that descended upon the Professors.

Arannis barely managed to deflect one strike, his barrier cracking. "Saphira! Whatever you're planning, make it fast!"

Saphira's expression hardened. "She's feeding on this realm. Killing her outright will collapse the fold. We need to sever her core."

Raphaeline hissed, wings beating once to fling a wave of demonic flame that incinerated a cluster of lesser beasts, "Then we take her head and worry about the realm later!"

Kayle interjected sharply, her light dimming slightly as sweat ran down her temple. "The barrier's falling — this space won't hold much longer!"

Nyxaria smiled faintly, her voice dripping with venomous sweetness. "Oh, it will hold, Sunborn. It will hold long enough for you to break."

"Saphira, Raphaeline, I'll finally have a chance to see you after all this time...don't disappoint me,"

And then the Abyss moved.Reality itself convulsed, ground, sky, and space twisting as though wrung by unseen hands. The darkness became alive.

Dozens of Star and Holy-rank beasts rose from the umbral depths, forming a massive ring around the Professors. Their roars shook the air, and every motion of their bodies tore rifts in space.

Saphira stepped forward, flames igniting along her limbs. Her aura unfurled — radiant, divine, terrible. "Then we burn together, old friend."

Nyxaria's laughter echoed through the void, soft and broken, like the sound of glass cracking under silk. "You always did love dramatic farewells."

She raised a single hand. The shadows behind her surged like a tidal wave of death.

"Let's make this one eternal."

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