BOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!
The Multi-Core Lightning Sphere detonated with a terrifying roar.
Dust and debris blasted in every direction, forming a shockwave that rocked the entire banquet hall.
The unstable energy around the portal reacted violently, amplifying the explosion far beyond Ash's expectations. Even the black barrier—erected by demons to isolate the space—trembled like glass under pressure.
Oh, shit...
Ash thought, stunned, watching the aftermath unfold. The impact was massive. He had never tested the spell before—every attempt during practice had either collapsed or been absorbed back into his body before it could activate properly.
The backlash from those failures never came because of his Trait, so he kept experimenting—no matter how many times he failed.
Ughh… the power was really too much for 1st circle magic.
The idea behind the spell was simple in theory—he created dozens of small 1st circle lightning ball magic circle and interconnected them like a web, forcing them into synchronization.
Each one was tuned to a different frequency, and he'd spent days trying to calculate the right pattern and output so they wouldn't detonate prematurely.
Combining low-circle spells was easier than constructing a high-circle one, but the difficulty spiked exponentially when trying to stabilize them in real-time. If even one core fell out of sync, the entire structure would collapse—or explode prematurely.
The mental strain of weaving so many spell circuits at once was enormous. Without Omni Thought, it would've been suicide. Only under its influence—where time slowed, thoughts sharpened, and clarity reigned—could he pull it off.
The spell had taken barely seconds to form and cast.
But those few seconds had drained him like a full hour of combat.
Now that Omni Thought was deactivated, a dull throb pulsed behind his temples.
But now that his intelligence stat was around 150 he could still keep his consciousness active after few seconds of skill activation.
Another reason the impact was strong… must be the Primordial Core. That mana it contains is something else.
Dust still hung in the air like smoke, but slowly, it began to settle. Jagged shards of stone and broken furniture were scattered everywhere, and chunks of the ceiling had collapsed inwards.
The explosion had ripped through the hall's structure, and shrapnel had torn into Ash's body during the blast.
His dress was shredded. Blood dripped from open wounds across his chest and arms. His fingers were twisted at unnatural angles, bone exposed. His right shoulder hung limp. The pain throbbed sharply with every breath.
Then—
As if time reversed—
The wounds closed.
The bleeding stopped.
Greenish-gold light bloomed beneath his skin. Veins pulsed with unnatural energy as tendons realigned, muscles reknit, and bones snapped back into place.
Still... I can't afford to take get injured like this again. I don't want anyone to know about my regeneration..
Cracks spidered across the ground, leading to a vast crater where the portal had been. Ash squinted through the smoke, wary of any signs of movement. He had aimed to destroy the rift—if it still lingered, they were all dead.
As the haze cleared, he finally saw the result.
The portal was gone. The anchoring runes had been erased. No signs of swirling mana or spatial instability remained. Just shattered floor tiles and a massive hole carved into the banquet hall.
It's destroyed... thank the stars.
A breath of relief left his lungs. He relaxed his stance slightly, shoulders slumping as tension eased for a moment.
But then—
His eyes widened as he saw a silhouette standing near the heart of the crater.
Miraak…?
The demon was standing still.
Barely.
His once-imposing figure was hunched forward, arms dangling like they weighed a hundred pounds each.
Blood gushed from gashes across his body. His black robes were torn, muscles exposed and scorched. His hands trembled. His skin was burnt in places, cracked in others.
His horn—the twisted black symbols of his demonic status—was shattered. Completely broken at the base. Demonic blood seeped from the wound, trailing down his face.
The blast had nearly torn him apart.
His skin was blistered, burned, corrupted by foreign mana. The very essence of the Primordial Core had lashed against him like acid.
And he was trembling.
Holy shit...
The sight was both terrifying and exhilarating.
I never thought he would get this injured, let's not miss the opportunity..
***
[Amelia Veynar]
After the fight began, Amelia's hands had trembled. She wasn't used to this. Her heart raced louder than any war cry. Real life combat wasn't a sparring match with Grandpa in the backyard.
She was scared.
The fear curled in her gut like a snake coiled tight, ready to strike. But even amidst the chaos, she moved.
Her spear, steady and swift, danced with grace—not because of battle experience, but because of every lesson her grandfather had ever drilled into her soul. Muscle memory became her savior.
Still, when the demon unleashed the Curse of Sleep, her instincts froze.
Her mind blanked.
She didn't know what to do.
Panic surged—until the necklace around her neck pulsed with light.
A soft golden glow spread across her body like a protective lullaby. The curse vanished like smoke in the wind.
Grandpa is still protecting me…
The thought filled her chest with a warmth so fierce it pushed the fear away. And from that moment onward, she fought without hesitation, her spear slicing through the air with purpose.
True to her belief, the necklace blocked every curse hurled her way. Once, it even absorbed a strike aimed to cleave her in two.
She smiled mid-battle, blood splattered on her cheek, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths.
Thank you, Grandpa… You're still watching over me.
But hope is a fragile thing.
It shattered the moment the demon opened the portal.
The space behind him cracked like broken glass, darkness swirling and expanding into a void of pure malice.
Before she could even process it, Senior Aurora unleashed her spell—a radiant beam strong enough to obliterate a city block.
A spell powerful enough to kill everyone here… if misused.
But the demon did not flinch. He dismissed the attack effortlessly, as though it were nothing more than a child's play. The way he blocked the spell, almost lazily, made her blood run cold. It was as if the demon was toying with them, enjoying the chaos.
The emotion that was surrounding the demon terrified her,
Amusement.
Joy.
Happiness.
Greed.
He was enjoying this, he was playing with them.
It is just like the dream.
The portals will open… The monsters will come… Everyone will die.
Fear gripped her heart as her mind screamed in panic, and she instinctively took a step back.
Her gaze flicked toward Aurora, the once fearless face now had despair swimming in her eyes.
Even she had lost hope.
Even Senior Aurora… is afraid.
So, I'm going to die…? The thought echoed like a tolling bell in Amelia's chest.
Her lips trembled.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she clenched her jaw and swallowed the sobs.
I won't accept death so easily. I'll fight till my last breath. Just like in Grandpa's stories… The hero always fights to the bitter end… And at last, when everything seems lost—a new hope always emerges…
Before she could finish her thoughts, a streak of lightning passed by her, faster than she could follow.
What was that...?
Then, the world around her erupted in an ear-splitting explosion.
BOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!
The explosion rocked the earth like a thunderclap straight from the heavens. Amelia stumbled, shielding her face. Dust and debris rained like judgment from the skies.
But she was safe.
A barrier, summoned by the necklace, had surrounded her. The shockwave rolled over it like a crashing tide.
Was that a person…?
Did a hope really arrive..?
Her grip on the spear tightened, instinctively, as a tiny spark of hope flickered in her chest. It was so small, almost imperceptible, but it was there, growing in the hearts of those around her, too.
The dust engulfed everything, blurring her vision, swallowing the world whole. But then, as the haze began to lift, the first figure to emerge from the fog caught the gaze of everyone present—eyes locked on him, even Zerak's.
It was Miraak.
His body was a mess—battered and bloodied, his clothes torn and singed. He had been so close to the explosion that he bore the full force of it. Tremors racked his frame, though it was hard to tell whether they were from anger or exhaustion.
His face twisted with pain, but there was a fire in his eyes that refused to die.
The sight of him, broken yet unyielding, made every heart skip a beat.
"W-who c-can do that..." a second-year student muttered, his voice thin with disbelief.
"M-maybe the instructors have arrived..." another stammered, struggling to make sense of it.
"Yes, yes, confirm," a third whispered, hope seeping into their words.
But Amelia knew better.
She remembered the dream. The barrier was nearly unbreakable. No instructor could've entered so easily. Which meant—
It wasn't them…
She looked toward the direction of the explosion. The dust was still clearing—but something deep in her soul knew someone was coming.
I don't know why… but for the first time—I feel like I might survive this…
Aurora's thoughts echoed through the chaos. I feel it... a chance of survival... Her connection to the stars let her sense the imminent threat of death, but now, there was a strange, fragile spark of life.
If not for the person that had intervened, Aurora knew she would be dead.
A sense of gratitude mixed with dread washed over her. She wasn't sure who had come to their aid, but they had saved her—for now.
Elysia's gaze hardened as she watched Miraak's shattered form.
"That bastard…" Elysia grit her teeth as she moved through the dust. "He was that strong… and he wasn't even fighting? I'm gonna drag him by the collar once this ends."
She glanced quickly to where Ash had vanished. The sudden disappearance, the explosion that followed—it was all too quick to process. The only thing she could make out in his place were the small arcs of lightning, dancing and crackling in the air.
Can a mage even move that fast…?
She smirked.
Whatever. First I need to make a cool entrance too. I'm not letting him hog all the glory.
Taking advantage of the dust cloud, Elysia moved toward Zerak
You take care of that one, Ash. I'll handle the this one.
The dust was beginning to settle, but Amelia could feel it—the shift in the demons' emotions.
Gone was the joy.
Gone was the fun.
What remained was Fury. Hatred and....Fear.
His eyes narrowed—glaring in one direction.
Something was approaching.
The shadows shifted ahead, growing darker, the figure within coming into focus. As the dust thinned, she saw a boy running towards the demon with a deadly calm.
Lightning crackled around his body in arcs, twin spheres of lightning orbs gathered in each hand—each orb filled with dozens of smaller chaotic orbs.
His expression was cold, almost detached, his eyes looking at the world with an eerie indifference.
He was moving with a grace that made her heart skip a beat, he had an unusual charisma that attracted people.
Ash…?
She knew him the moment she laid eyes on him. From the very first time they had met, she had sensed that there was something different about him. He was unique. He had no emotions, just an empty, hollow space in his aura that she couldn't quite place.
But wasn't he last-ranked...?
The thought lingered in her mind, her heart pounding as she tried to reconcile the image of Ash she had always known with the person running toward the demon now—strong, composed, and entirely unrecognizable from the boy she had first met.
Her mind raced, and for the first time, Amelia felt the pull of uncertainty and awe.
***
A/N: Yeah, I know… things stretched a bit more than planned 😅 But no more buildup—next chapters are gonna be all-out battles. Brace yourself. It's go time. ⚔️