BOOM
An explosion tore through the arena without warning.
Stone ruptured as if struck by a giant’s fist. Entire sections of reinforced platforms cracked apart, and the massive projection screens that hovered above the arena shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.
Mana conduits burst, releasing violent surges of unstable energy that crackled through the air like lightning snapping free of chains.
For a fraction of a second, there was silence.
Then panic exploded.
Thousands of spectators screamed as the ground shook beneath them. Seats collapsed. Railings snapped.
Parents grabbed children. Nobles abandoned composure and ran like commoners. The carefully enforced order of the World Academy dissolved instantly into chaos.
Before the dust even settled, space itself began to tear open.
One by one, black portals ripped apart the air above the arena. Their edges writhed like living wounds,
these leaked demonic energy so dense that everyone felt nausea claw at their throats.
From within those portals, figures in black robes stepped out calmly, as if entering a marketplace rather than a massacre.
Their auras flared.
The moment their boots touched the arena floor, they attacked.
Spells detonated inside fleeing crowds. Blades flashed.
Demonic constructs tore through defensive barriers. Blood sprayed across white stone. Bodies fell before screams could finish forming.
"Hahaha, die, you bitches!!"
A massive titan cultist hovered above the arena, his laughter booming as his followers butchered civilians below.
His expression was euphoric, eyes glowing with madness as he watched people die helplessly beneath him.
That laughter cut off abruptly.
A sword intent , sharp enough to slice several mountain ranges apart, slammed into his body.
The titan cultist was hurled backward like debris, smashing through stone pillars and collapsing an entire upper gallery before crashing into the arena wall.
His bones shattered audibly, his roar turned into a strangled wheeze.
Above the chaos, a familiar figure appeared.
Sword Saint Klaus hovered in midair, turquoise-blue sword intent coiling around him like a living storm. His expression was calm, but his eyes burned with murderous focus.
"You" Klaus said coldly, his voice carrying across the ruined arena, "shouldn’t have come here"
As if that were a signal, other auras erupted across the elite lobby.
Emperors, hidden masters, and other warriors from all the races who had remained seated moments earlier now stood, their killing intent locking onto specific cult leaders with terrifying precision.
The battle was not escalating linearly
It exploded.
-----
Far above the academy, beyond the reach of mortal eyes, the sky itself twisted.
A humanoid figure hovered amidst thick coils of demonic energy. His form was vaguely human, but corrupted beyond recognition, horns curled backward from his skull, veins of abyssal power crawled across his skin, and tendrils of darkness lashed outward like predatory limbs.
Demon Lord Amon smiled.
"Haha... so the ruler of eternal darkness has finally returned."
Tamasya’s eyes burned crimson as shadows surged around her body. Even restrained, her presence crushed the air itself.
"Shut up, Amon," Andrea snapped, her pupils glowing gold. "You will regret coming to the academy domain alone."
It was a declaration of war.
Andrea had been principal of the World Academy for countless years. No demon lord had ever dared to directly violate the academy’s core domain under her watch.
Amon laughed softly, spreading his arms.
"Heh. I am not here to fight you, Andrea. I am here to strike balance. To ensure fairness between demons and the natives of Aris."
Tamasya’s shadows flared violently.
"Oh? And how will you do that, you disgusting bastard?"
Amon’s smile widened.
"Obviously," he said calmly, "by crushing the nest before the eggs hatch."
The atmosphere froze.
Andrea’s pupils constricted. Tamasya’s shadows went berserk.
meanwhile Yue Qinglan stiffened as fragments of her earlier divination slammed into place.
Moments earlier, Yue had tried to divine the competition’s outcome, intending nothing more than a harmless wager with her sisters.
But instead of the expected celebration, she had seen chaos and death spiraling outward from the academy.
Now she understood why.
"Hahaha," Amon continued, his form beginning to blur. "All the best trying to save them."
He vanished.
"I will go after him," Tamasya growled, shadows exploding outward. "Save the children."
"No, you will not," Yue snapped, grabbing Tamasya’s wrist as pink divine light flared. "Your powers have not fully returned yet. You cannot face him alone." she said before restraining her in place with her powers.
she herself could not go since her powers weren’t related too much combat.
Tamasya struggled violently but Yue’s restraints were stronger.
"Let go of me!"
meanwhile Andrea did not wait.
She descended the clouds to the arena
Andrea’s arrival was catastrophic for the cultists below.
The moment her feet touched the arena floor, pressure crushed downward.
Cultists mid-attack were slammed flat, bones pulverized before they even understood what happened. Entire spell formations collapsed under her presence alone.
Senior professors locked in combat felt her aura pass over them like a divine decree.
She raised one clawed hand.
The sky responded.
Formations ignited across the academy.
Hundreds of glowing sigils activated simultaneously, layered arrays interlocked with each other.
Mana roared as binding chains erupted from the formations, each one targeting a specific cultist.
Some cultists screamed and detonated themselves instantly, preferring annihilation to capture.
Others were too slow.
Chains wrapped around their limbs, necks, and cores, suppressing demonic energy completely before dragging them upward. One by one, they vanished into glowing formation gates transported directly into the academy’s underground prison.
Andrea moved forward, stepping over corpses of the cultists, her expression was grim.
Senior professors regrouped behind her, bloodied but alive.
Without slowing, Andrea marched toward the control sector.
as she reached the control room two bodies lay sprawled across the floor outside the room.
They were formation masters, they had their throats crushed, their eyes were still wide in terror. At the center of the room, hovering above the domain orb, floated a sinister artifact, its surface crawling with abyssal runes.
Andrea’s jaw tightened, she turned around and gestured to the professors.
"call the headmaster"
***
Inside the trial domain...
With a blinding flash of light, an army of several black and red robed individuals appeared and leading them was a black demon halfling.
Black scales shined on his body with black rings adorning him.
he was Vorin one of the elders of Amon’s cult.