Chapter 994: Beacon of Hope
Of course, Northern did not plan to be a coward—not today, not in a long time, perhaps not ever!
He had steeled himself beyond doubt. He would not resort to Chaos and Void, even though he faced a Leviathan that would prove nearly impossible to destroy.
Still, his gaze burned with determination that seemed foreign to him. Fresh resolve blazed in his eyes, and for some reason, his presence felt magnified against the sky above.
The instructors and students scattered throughout the Academy’s different buildings all stared at the flying boy, and their hearts swelled with flickering hope.
Even Eleina, working in the smithy, didn’t know what was happening beyond the fact that the academy was under attack. The terrible shockwaves hadn’t reached them yet, but now she and the other blacksmiths peered into the sky. Though the distance was great, they could still make out the battle unfolding in the air.
Its impact echoed across the entire academy, reaching even the non-Combative school far from the main entrance.
The Leviathan’s eyes were dull and dismissive. For a brief moment, the subtle glow within them seemed to die, then slowly began to brighten again.
The creature finally stirred.
The impact might not have scratched the Evil Dragon, but it had destroyed the rest of its tentacles. Now that its extended limbs were gone, the monster seemed forced into action.
It moved forward on all fours, marching with majestic slowness. Northern hung in the air, floating with hands ready. He had summoned a chain that wrapped around one hand, crackling softly with lightning.
The creature moved slowly at first, letting tension settle over the air like a heavy blanket. The whole place felt suffocating, and the molten ground burned deeper with each step.
Northern’s gaze locked onto the monster with complete focus—no side attractions, no distractions. He studied every subtle movement with intense care, waiting for the monster’s first real attack.
Despite that...
Despite waiting... he didn’t see it coming.
From the Crimson Clouds above, something struck him down. While "struck down" was the best way to describe it, the thing didn’t exactly fall—it simply appeared... or perhaps Northern couldn’t perceive it because it happened too fast, faster than he could follow. This terrified him for the first time in his life.
Because there had been nothing at all that Northern’s eyes had missed!
And second... he was not protected by Void Force.
The pillar of crimson cloud struck his left side. Though Northern twisted away in time, a chunk of Night Terror armor along his shoulder and arm was scraped off along with his skin. His muscles lay bare for seconds before blood began pooling from the wound.
Even though wicked, devilish pain like he’d never felt before assaulted him, Northern didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it.
A more pressing pain burrowed into his mind—fear.
’How? How did it break through Void Force so easily?’
Void Force wouldn’t stay invincible forever. In fact, when Northern reached the Dungeon on this island and started meeting those strange monsters, he began to suspect he needed to prepare for Void Force’s failure against certain foes.
He had not just expected to meet that foe this early and certainly not the creature dwelling in the depth of the Crimson Cloud.
But then again, it made sense. Whatever that Crimson Cloud was had made the dungeon monsters more terrifying and powerful. Even they had nearly torn through Void Force.
It only made sense that the vile thing itself could do so easily.
The pillar of crimson cloud that had fallen stirred for a moment, then twisted with blistering speed. But Northern wouldn’t let the same thing happen twice.
He tore away from the spot, vanishing and reappearing behind the Evil Dragon’s head. However, the creature moved just as fast. Lifting its entire body with speed that mocked its mountainous size, it turned and crushed its head into Northern—right as he appeared, as if it had seen him coming.
A circular shockwave exploded outward, followed by a thin streak of light as Northern was hurled through the air like a helpless fired bullet. He burrowed through what remained of the academy’s reinforced alloy wall, crashed through hundreds of trees, and even smashed into the mountain behind that led to the hollow, carving a cave through solid rock before emerging on the other side and falling into the hollow that had once been the monster’s prison.
Northern rolled as he fell. By then, the impact’s force had weakened enough for him to control his body again. He rolled midair, changed his path, landed on the depth’s side, lowered his knees, and blasted into the air, leaving webbed cracks shattering through stone.
Northern flew toward the academy almost as fast as he’d been thrown away.
Blue flame wrapped around him, streaming off like smoke as he flew with terrible speed. Reaching the melted wall, Northern rolled in the air, folding his knees as he aimed his feet at the creature. The flames exploded with tremendous force, responding to his will, then compressed into his legs as he crashed into the monster with an earth-shattering kick.
The academy’s ground shook violently. All the buildings seemed to groan with fear before the ground beneath the Leviathan exploded in a spray—a torrent of blue flames that ran wild.
Instructors and students fled from both the shattering earth and the stray flames rampaging around them.
They ran with desperate speed, sweating from the intense heat, their hearts pounding from the fear of dying as collateral damage. Grown instructors like them, reduced to this.
The students felt no less terrified, but they had no time for shame. They were either trying to stay alive or still desperately wanting to watch Northern fight the Leviathan.
Most importantly, they wanted to know—did the attack hit or not? It had sounded so powerful, the impact traveling deep into the ground before exploding.
Northern looked at the blue flames dancing off one of his arms. A frown creased his face.
"Even Pyreheart was useless."
Pyreheart was an ability of Sun Legacy that allowed him to freely control the special heat of his flames. He could reduce it so much that it wouldn’t burn at all, yet he could also make it burn the very air itself.
He had pushed the heat to maximum, with all the power of his Void essence, but it had been completely useless against the Leviathan.
The creature had withstood the attack, forcing it to travel into the earth’s crust and explode outward. It stood amidst the remnants of the devastating fire like a demon rising from hell.
And Northern stared at it with a blank, thoughtful expression. While still lost in thought, the strangest thing happened.
The blue fire—Northern’s own fire—bent to the Evil Dragon’s will.