-One Hour Before the Current Events-
—Frey Starlight's POV—
I was running fast—closing in on my destination bit by bit.
Tension and anticipation were building inside me, my heart nearly bursting from how violently it beat. I wasn't used to this kind of eerie calm.
Step by step, I moved closer to where I needed to be.
Pushing my body further and further, I finally broke through the forest…
And found myself walking along golden sands.
I slowed down, carefully scanning the area around me.
There were no students.
The place was completely empty. I was alone.
But that wasn't quite true.
As I moved deeper in, approaching what I thought was the end…
The heat inside my chest rose, and every hopeful thought in my head instantly evaporated.
Because I saw them.
A man in a sharp black suit and glasses, standing beside a bald, muscular old man with a thick white beard.
Both radiated pressure on the level of an S-rank—or possibly even higher.
Somehow, I recognized them.
"Kaiser…"
The professor Ghost once warned me about.
"You finally arrived, Frey Starlight. I was wondering how long you planned on making us wait."
I stared at them with a blank expression.
Then glanced at my wristwatch.
It said I was in the correct zone.
Or at least, it should have.
"No need to look so shocked. Did you really think you'd get away?"
"Fake coordinates?"
"Indeed," Kaiser confirmed my suspicions as the numbers on my watch suddenly shifted—
Final Area: D9.
It wasn't I6.
That meant the actual final area was on the complete opposite side of the island.
I clenched my fists tightly, realizing how perfectly this trap had been set.
Even now…
They refuse to stop toying with me.
"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment… to finally avenge the tragedies you brought upon my family," Kaiser growled.
Unlike the calm old man beside him, Kaiser was all rage—he didn't even try to hide his emotions.
I looked at him with thinly veiled frustration.
"You really believe I'm the one behind that?"
A chilling frost aura swelled around him, pushing against my shoulders.
"The Ultras are just rabid dogs, biting anyone in their path. But I'm not after them—I want the one who unleashed them into my house."
"And that's supposed to be me?"
Kaiser was one of those people—utterly convinced I was the root of all misfortune since the incident with Seris.
That shallow way of thinking… just looking for the nearest person to blame.
Pathetic.
"Let's see what you're hiding, Frey Starlight. A demonic contract? Something worse, perhaps? Go ahead and reveal it—it won't matter. The only thing waiting for you now is death."
Two S class enemies.
Even if I had a demonic contract, I wouldn't win.
And Kaiser knew that full well.
With a crooked smile, I raised my sword with my right hand—the one I'd been training to wield the blade with lately.
"Seems like all the Moonlights really do have filth packed in their skulls if this is how they think."
It's always the same…
Obstacles stacking up in front of me—over and over again, like someone's deliberately placing them.
And now?
Two S class instructors?
This world just can't stop messing with me.
I've got barely three hours. If I don't break through these bastards and reach the real final zone in time… I'll lose the Victoriad and be disqualified.
Just when I was about to reach the end… a wall like this appeared.
I tossed my sword into the air, my eyes flaring with a terrifying glint as I glared at the two.
They'd already cut off my escape route.
Running wasn't an option. Even trying would be suicide—it'd mean turning my back on them.
Seeing me toss the sword, Kaiser raised a brow.
"Accepted your fate?"
In response, I fired a question of my own.
"To kill me… you must've lured me here in secret, right? Without anyone else knowing?"
Kaiser said nothing.
There was no point in answering the obvious.
If they couldn't show the world my death by their hands...
"The broadcast must not cover this area."
No one would witness what was about to happen here.
If that was the case...
"Come… Balerion."
I extended my left hand.
Dark aura surged violently as the instructors stared at me with growing interest.
And when that cursed black sword appeared, my aura spiked drastically.
"A sword?"
But not just any sword—
"Take my blood… Balerion."
There was no point in trying to fight them normally. The difference in level was simply overwhelming.
To even have a chance, I had to go all in from the very beginning.
"Blood Form…"
Balerion trembled violently, draining a massive amount of my blood alongside the SSS-grade aura dormant inside my body.
Pain exploded through every nerve.
This state would tear my body apart, forcefully drawing out every ounce of strength I had left.
Without hesitation, I activated my passive skill—Ascension—to withstand the excruciating pain and remain sane.
My eyes lit up with a violet glow as my body became engulfed in dark aura pressure.
Both Kaiser and the other instructor looked visibly shaken as they felt the intensity of power pouring out of a mere class C student.
'So this… this is the power that let him survive that day…'
They were both thinking the same thing.
"What are you two standing there for, gawking like idiots?"
I stabilized the pressure of Blood Form, bracing myself for battle.
I could only maintain this state for 15 minutes at most.
"Don't you want me dead? I'm the one who caused all your tragedies, right? Then come and get me."
I barely managed to survive against Frost Moonlight when he was only class S-. And now… I was facing two full class S instructors.
My chances were painfully low.
But I couldn't stop. Not now. Not after coming this far.
No matter what it costs...
I will defeat them. I will survive. And I will keep going—until the very end.
BOOOOM!
The catastrophe began.
Kaiser appeared in front of me with insane speed.
Frost aura gathered around his fist as he launched a devastating punch toward me.
His blow clashed against Balerion's surface, unleashing a shockwave that kicked up a storm of sand around us.
Meanwhile, the older instructor was already behind me.
He unleashed a barrage of strikes with terrifying physical power—hundreds of punches in mere seconds.
I dodged like a madman, but some of them still clipped my back.
It felt less like fists and more like being rammed by a truck.
And Kaiser… he didn't relent.
Pinned between them, I barely blocked or dodged their blows.
Warning signals flared through my body.
I took a deep breath.
Ascension sharpened my focus completely. I cut away every unnecessary movement and pushed my limits.
Even so, I was still getting pounded mercilessly.
"There's no point resisting! You're dead either way!"
They weren't instructors at the Temple for nothing…
Grinding my teeth, I unleashed a wave of dark aura in an arc to push them back.
I couldn't afford to just take hits anymore—
I needed to fight!
I ignited the power of Ten Thousand Steps of Shadow.
I launched a surge of dark aura at Kaiser, who responded by forming a massive block of ice.
My aura slammed into his, the elements clashing and trying to devour one another.
Kaiser had successfully blocked my attack.
But from the side, the old instructor struck with a flying kick. I was a second too late to react—and it sent me crashing through the sand.
And it didn't end there.
Ice spears rained down on me from above, giving me no time to breathe.
My hand moved with inhuman speed, shattering every single spear with Balerion.
But the assault didn't stop.
I didn't even notice when my legs had frozen in place, too focused on defending.
Kaiser's ice had restricted my movement perfectly, and just as I staggered, the old man struck—his timing impeccable.
It was a flawlessly coordinated attack.
Crack!
I spat out a disgusting amount of blood as his frenzied punch smashed into my face.
The pain was unbearable—my frostbitten wounds kept getting worse with every second.
I retaliated by unleashing a flurry of dark slashes toward the old man in front of me.
We clashed violently. From a distance, it looked like a blur of blazing fists crashing into arcs of dark aura.
We pushed each other back. I managed to land a few hits, but his body was built like a tank.
His wounds were shallow—easily endurable for someone with an S-rank physique.
As for me...
Only a single minute had passed—
And I was already in a horrifying state.
But the worst part?
This wasn't a one-on-one fight.
Kaiser came at me from the side with a massive ice greatsword.
I twisted my body just in time—but not fast enough.
The freezing blade sliced deep into my side, leaving a bloody gash.
Kaiser didn't stop there. He conjured a giant hammer and tossed it straight into his partner's hands.
With surgical precision, the old man brought the hammer down on my wounded side.
BOOM!
I was sent flying into the forest, crashing through tree after tree like a ragdoll.
And still, they didn't let up.
They flew after me immediately.
It was in that moment, amidst the brutality of their combined assault, that I finally understood…
What it meant to face two S-rank monsters head-on.
I crawled slowly, using the glowing Balerion to support myself as I got back on my feet.
"Hah… hah…"
Each breath was a struggle.
Blood streamed from my nose and mouth without pause.
My vision was a blur of red, my face so drenched and broken that even my Hawk Eyes struggled to focus.
This wasn't a battle anymore.
It was a massacre—even while using Blood Form.
Kaiser and his partner were closing in.
"I won't… lose…"
I clenched my teeth.
Victory was just ahead of me.
The Victoriad was still within reach.
"I won't lose!!!"
I roared, unleashing a violent surge of dark aura in their direction.
Sharpening my aura along the edge of my blade, I fired a massive arc of pure destruction—one that carved through the forest and launched trees skyward.
And again.
And again.
Hundreds of black slashes tore through everything, turning the surroundings into scattered debris.
But even after all that chaos—
They were still standing.
"Pointless!"
My defenses shattered in a single moment.
The old giant grabbed my face and slammed it into the ground.
With his other fist, he drove blow after blow into my body, trying to bury me in the dirt.
I barely managed to wedge Balerion between us to absorb some of the impact.
But his arm moved like a machine gun, locking me into an endless barrage of strikes.
Bit by bit... my consciousness began to fade.
Boom!
Boom!
BOOOOM!!.
I lay in a massive crater, vision flooded with red—
Unable to see anything but that enormous fist, slamming into me again and again.
The sound of bones shattering…
Flesh being pulverized… blood splattering through the air…
Everything went crimson.
And the awareness I'd preserved through Ascension…
…was slowly… slipping into the dark.