Chapter 85: Desperation
Found it
Elva thought as she swiftly canceled her spell. Without wasting even a heartbeat, her figure blurred and appeared directly next to the tiny tree that had withstood her gravity attack.
At the same time, the other instructors, who had been busy attacking the barrier from a distance, noticed the sudden change in Elva’s actions.
Curious and cautious, they paused their attacks and rushed toward her, wondering what she had discovered after unleashing such overwhelming power.
Sensing the urgency, Elva did not hesitate. She launched a spell at the small tree with all her strength, intending to shatter it completely.
A deafening boom echoed through the empty surroundings. Dust scattered into the air like a mist.
However, to everyone’s shock, the tree remained standing. Only a single leaf fluttered down from its branch, gently landing on the untouched ground.
No cracks appeared, no bark peeled off, and the earth around it showed not even the tiniest sign of damage.
Elva’s expression immediately darkened. Her eyes narrowed sharply, and an intense seriousness filled her voice as she turned toward the gathered instructors.
"Destroy the tree! It is the source of the barrier!" Elva shouted, her voice firm with absolute confidence.
There was no longer any doubt in her heart. After all, no ordinary tree could survive an attack of that level without suffering even a scratch.
What Melissia had warned her about was clearly true—the source could be anything, even something as small and innocent-looking as a tree.
The instructors, fueled by her certainty, launched their spells and attacks toward the tree without hesitation.
Another massive explosion shook the ground as magical energy rained down on the spot.
"Attack!" Elva shouted again, her voice ringing out across the battlefield like a war horn.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
One after another, the instructors hurled their most powerful magic at the tree. The ground trembled violently under the force of their combined might, and the air itself seemed to scream from the pressure.
Elva herself joined in the assault, adding her own fierce power to speed up the destruction.
Slowly but surely, changes began to appear.
Leaves were torn away from the branches, falling like green rain. Tiny cracks started to creep up the trunk, thin at first but growing wider with each relentless hit.
The once-untouched tree, stubborn and resilient, was finally beginning to break apart under their united force.
***
Meanwhile, inside the barrier...
Ash looked at the cracks that had started to form on the barrier. His mind raced with urgency.
Instructors are going to break through any second now. I need to kill them before that happens.
His body was not in good shape either. His breathing was rough, his muscles were failing, and a deep pain throbbed in his chest, blood was coming out non stop, his healing slow.
He had been careless earlier — he never expected Miraak to burn his bloodline.
In the novel he remembered, demons usually only burned their bloodlines when they had no other choice, when death was the only thing left. It was something they used as a last resort, never lightly.
Is he really that desperate to kill me?
What Ash didn’t know was that Miraak wasn’t aiming to survive. Miraak believed Ash was a greater threat to the Demon King’s future than even Ray — and so he had sworn to destroy Ash at any cost, even if it meant burning away his own life.
Ash noticed that Miraak’s focus shifted slightly towards the barrier. It was only for a split second, but that was enough.
Ash decided to go all in.
He gathered all the mana from both his cores.
Cracks already covered them, and the damage was getting worse with every second. Still, he forced more mana out.
He left behind just enough mana to move his body and power his sword, while pouring the rest into the air around him.
Dozens of magic circles spun into existence around him, each small and sharp like Golden stars burning in the sky.
It was the Lightning Ball spell — the very first spell he had learned.
Ash aligned each golden lightning ball with the black-reddish orbs that Miraak had sent towards him.
Through [Omni-Thought], he quickly calculated the paths they were coming from, lining up his attacks perfectly.
Then, in a flash, Ash vanished from his spot.
The orbs of lightning screamed through the air alongside him, homing in on Miraak’s incoming spells.
Explosions erupted one after another.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Ash reappeared right in front of Miraak. His speed was a little slower compared to before, but it was still fast enough to be deadly.
However, Miraak, who was now burning his bloodline, had his physical strength, speed, and reflexes boosted far beyond normal.
He sensed the incoming strike and dodged the sword swing that was aimed straight at his neck, stepping back quickly.
I need to retreat. If those humans outside break the barrier, I won’t even have a chance to escape, Miraak thought, gritting his teeth.
He knew that he would probably die here. But his brother Zerak was still alive, though badly injured.
If he could just save Zerak and escape with the knowledge about Ash— a monster hiding beneath the human skin — then even in death, their mission would not be in vain.
With that resolve burning inside him, Miraak blinked across the battlefield, appearing beside Zerak’s unconscious body and, without wasting time,
He launched a series of powerful attacks towards Elysia, trying to pull Ash’s attention away.
And just as Miraak had hoped, Ash reacted without hesitation, rushing to protect the girl from the incoming attacks.
Meanwhile, the barrier groaned louder and louder, its cracks spiderwebbing across the surface, ready to shatter apart completely.
The storm was about to break.
***
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
"Just a little bit more! The barrier is about to break!" one of the instructors shouted, casting another spell with full force.
"The cracks are getting bigger! Keep going, just a little more!" another instructor called out, his voice filled with excitement.
Elva was also attacking nonstop, casting her spells again and again without rest.
However, there was something unusual about her attacks now — every spell she released shone with a deep violet color.
Meanwhile, the small tree looked like it was at its limit.
All of its leaves had already fallen to the ground, covering it in a thick layer of green.
Its branches were bare and brittle, shaking as if they could snap apart at any second.
At the same time, Melissia, who was still standing above the cracking barrier, stared down with growing panic.
Why did Instructor Elva leave me here?! she thought frantically.
A terrible realization hit her.
"NO WAY... DID SHE FORGET ABOUT ME?!"
It sounded unbelievable, but it was the truth — In her rush to attack the tree and destroy the barrier, Elva had completely forgotten about Melissia.
"Ahh, shit!" Melissia muttered under her breath, feeling helpless.
She wanted to call out for help, to remind them she was still stuck inside the barrier.
But when she saw all the instructors putting everything they had into attacking the tree, she stayed silent.
She bit her lip hard, trying to hold back her frustration and fear.
Her eyes dropped back to the ground.
The cracks were spreading wider beneath her feet, making it easier to see what was happening inside the barrier.
From her position, she could now catch small glimpses of the fierce battle that was taking place below.
And what she saw completely shook her.
The whole hall was devastated beyond recognition, the broken ceiling allowing her a much clearer view inside now.
The floor was full of massive craters and deep scars, with broken tiles, shattered debris, and chunks of stone scattered everywhere.
It truly looked like some massive disaster had struck the place, like a powerful storm or an explosion that had ripped the hall apart from the inside.
All the students who had been trapped inside were now lying unconscious at the sides of the hall, carefully placed away from the fighting zone.
Her friends, Grace, Lyra, Amelia, and others she could recognize even from this height, were among those lying injured.
Their clothes were torn and bloodied in places, and although they were badly hurt, Melissia could still see their faint breathing from the distance, which brought her a small amount of relief.
Ray and the others boys who were supposed to be among strongest students were also out cold, their bodies sprawled out motionless.
One of the demons was lying face down on the ground, but from where she was watching, Melissia could not tell whether he was alive or dead, because he was not moving at all.
And the other demon, the one who was still standing and fighting fiercely, was facing someone who made Melissia’s mind blank for a second.
Is that... Ash...?
She thought in shock, her eyes growing wide with disbelief as she leaned even closer toward the crack to make sure she was not imagining things.
Even Ash, who was fighting below, did not know that she was up there witnessing him.
What happened to his face and body...?
She thought with a tremble, feeling an unfamiliar fear crawl up her back as she stared at him.
Ash’s expression looked completely distorted, that made him seem like a monster with bloody tears.
His body was covered in countless injuries, blood was running down his arms and legs, and there were burn marks and scratches that had barely closed.
Golden lightning was crackling around his body in thick, violent waves, there was also a powerful Aura around him that made her heart shudder.
For a second, Melissia almost looked away because the Ash she knew had never looked so terrifying. But she quickly clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to keep her eyes open and look at him seriously without turning away in fear.
It was lucky for Ash that his healing had slowed down because if it had been working at full speed, the changes in his body would have been even more shocking to look at, and she was not sure if she could have handled seeing that.
H-How is he even able to fight like that... after being hurt so badly...?
Her mind could not understand how he was still standing.
But the shock was not over yet.
Ash was not fighting like a mage, which was what he was supposed to be.
He was wielding a sword, swinging it with power and precision while also using magic at the same time, something that should not have been possible.
Using a sword... but wasn’t he supposed to be a mage...?
Her heart was pounding loudly against her chest, her ears almost buzzing with the sound of it.
Ash’s face looked fierce and unrecognizable, his irises glowing a terrifying golden color, his body surrounded completely by golden lightning that looked very different from his usual calm blue lightning.
The only thing that still confirmed to her that he was Ash was his distinctive silvery white hair that had not changed.
But how...? How did this happen...?
She kept asking herself, but there were no answers that came to her mind.
Just when she was struggling with her confusion, she saw the standing demon move.
The demon appeared next to the body of his fallen companion and then, without warning, fired a barrage of dark, spinning orbs straight toward Elysia, who was lying on the ground injured and unable to defend herself.
Seeing that, Ash immediately moved without any hesitation. He shot dozens of small balls of golden lightning from his hands, intercepting the dark orbs mid-air and stopping them from reaching Elysia.
Each collision between the two spells created loud explosions, shaking the broken hall even more and filling the air with flashes of light.
I... I want to help...!!
The feeling burst out of her heart, burning fiercely inside her chest.
She did not know if the boy fighting down there was still truly the Ash she had known. He seemed like a completely different person now, almost like a stranger shaped by storms and pain.
But one thing she could see clearly with her own eyes was that, even though Ash was injured and exhausted, he had not allowed a single student to die.
He was still protecting them all, he was still fulfilling the promise he had made to her earlier, the promise of saving everyone.
So how could she just stay here, biting her lip, doing nothing, when Ash was fighting alone to protect everyone?
***