The battle between Ethan and Jester seemed fairly balanced, but that impression concealed the true intentions of the blond-haired boy. Ethan was trying to buy time to prepare his next attack while carefully observing his opponent's movements.
"So that's what you want, isn't it? To evolve? Ha! If that's what you want, come on! I'll give you a good fight and show you just how far you can go!"
Jester's smile widened even further upon hearing those words.
"That interests me a little... Then I'll reveal something interesting."
Jester raised his left hand. For the first time, a black magic circle appeared beneath his feet, slowly rotating as runes resembling bones glowed across its surface. The air grew colder, and the forest seemed to fall silent. In the distance, crows began to caw, while Ethan felt a shiver run down his spine.
'This isn't ordinary magic...'
Jester noticed Ethan's reaction and let out a small laugh.
"Your surprise doesn't surprise me. After all, it was quite obvious."
Skeletal hands began emerging from the ground. Dozens of them grabbed tree remnants and pieces of stone, taking on grotesque shapes. The smell of death invaded the surroundings, making Ethan take a step backward. At the same time, lightning crackled around his body as the magic he had been preparing finally became ready.
"You're... not human, are you? As far as I know, only demons or Nartheis possess this magical affinity."
Jester tilted his head slightly, as though reflecting on the question. His strange smile remained as he answered:
"Humanity? It's a limitation I've learned to understand and which, from what I've seen, can be quite interesting. I still need to research it further."
The black aura rose in a spiral, consuming the space between them as the ground began to crack. That magic was Necromancy, an affinity so rare among humans that, as far as Ethan knew, no mage had been born with it until that moment.
The storm intensified, and the boy clenched his fists, making the lightning converge around his body like hungry serpents.
"If you're not human, then I'd better kill you right away!"
"Interesting words. Let's see if you're capable of backing them up."
The two stared at each other amid the sparks and mist spreading through the air. The tension increased with every passing second, and everything indicated that the next move could decide the outcome of the battle.
'He's an interesting boy. Lightning Magic, and I can still sense a trace of another magic that he combines with it.'
Before either of them could move, a portal opened inside the dungeon, interrupting the confrontation. A Nartheis emerged from within and immediately knelt before Jester.
The creature had large antlers resembling those of a deer, and its eyes drew attention because of the black leaf-shaped mark at their center, replacing its pupils. Its skin had a peculiar tone, marked by natural patterns resembling the rings and spirals of a tree trunk, especially around its chest, giving it a rather unusual appearance.
"Master, the preparations are complete."
The Nartheis's voice naturally echoed throughout the forest, carrying a respectful tone as it remained kneeling before Jester.
Jester slowly rested his finger against his chin. His peculiar smile did not disappear.
"What a shame... It seems it's time."
Ethan immediately realized that his opponent intended to leave.
"Where do you think you're going? This fight isn't over yet!"
Jester turned his face slightly toward him.
"Don't fool yourself, Ethan."
The next moment, Jester's eyes lost every trace of humanity, becoming completely black. An invisible pressure spread throughout the area, enveloping Ethan before he could even react.
The magical energy circulating through his body began to weaken, as though it were being forcibly drained. His lightning lost its intensity, and a feeling of exhaustion took hold of his muscles. Ethan tried to resist, but his legs gave way under that pressure. His body nearly fell backward, and he only managed to prevent the fall by leaning against the only tree still standing in that part of the forest.
"You would never have defeated me."
Jester gave Ethan one final look. His completely black eyes sent a chill down the boy's spine, who, for the first time, clearly felt the difference between them.
Without showing any concern for his opponent, Jester simply turned around and entered the portal.
'I wanted to observe Enrico a little longer, but I need to continue with my plan.'
Jester disappeared on the other side of the portal, managing to escape by a narrow margin before the guards responsible for monitoring the area arrived. With serious expressions, they immediately advanced toward the place where the portal had appeared.
"Even though we were keeping an eye on him, we lost track of him."
"Damn it! The Queen is going to be furious!"
The guards had already been monitoring Jester under orders from the Queen, Virelle, and Director Hao, who had received a warning from Enrico the previous day. At first, none of them understood why they had to keep that boy under surveillance.
Now, however, they had more than enough reason to understand the concern. The discovery that Jester might be a Nartheis or even a demon alarmed them, especially because they had allowed him to escape right before their eyes.
"Does that bastard really possess Necromancy as his magic?"
"Apparently so. I suspect he's a Nartheis, not a demon. Let's search the city."
Mages could possess affinities such as Bone Magic and other darker manifestations.
The reason the guards were so concerned was that the birth of a mage with Necromancy was practically impossible. Naturally, there was still a small possibility that Jester was human.
Therefore, if he remained in the city, they wouldn't kill him immediately. At most, they would conduct an analysis to confirm his nature. If he really was human, it would be an extraordinary occurrence, and they might even help him develop his potential.
'But since he escaped, this is practically a declaration that he's our enemy. We need to search the city and the academy he came from as well.'
Virelle watched the screen once again, maintaining a serious expression. The four teams were still fighting in that location, apparently unaware of what had happened to Jester.
'It seems the guards are asking that team for information about their conversation... I hope we can discover something about this Jester.'
After taking a few steps forward, Virelle felt a tremor run through the entire city. She immediately raised her head and looked at the sky, where a gigantic portal was beginning to appear.
"What is that? Angela, for now, let's put this aside and head toward the portal!"
"Yes, Lady Virelle!"
Although Virelle and Angela were already heading toward the location, flying at high speed, other people had arrived first. The three Circle Nine mages who were in the city — Hao, Renzou, and Xuelan — were already standing before that colossal structure. The three were preparing for whatever might emerge from it, as they could feel the enormous amount of energy emanating from the portal.
"What do you think will come out of there? How curious!"
"Please, Hao, don't be like your brother."
"A little curiosity never hurt anyone, Lord Renzou."
They had just left the Solcren VIP room, where they had held a private conversation. Now, however, they were standing before something unprecedented. If they had to make a guess, perhaps it was a true dungeon, considering the amount of energy overflowing from the portal.
Hao looked at the enormous portal above them, displaying a certain degree of curiosity.
"Could it be a true dungeon?"
Xuelan kept her eyes fixed on the structure, analyzing the energy emanating from it before answering:
"No. This energy belongs entirely to several Nartheis. True dungeons are different: when they appear, they transmit the energy of another dimension into our world."
Hao nodded, acknowledging the woman's explanation.
"You're right, Lady Xuelan. For now, let's try to close this portal before the students come out because of the emergency signal."
Sofia had sent an emergency signal into the dungeon, ordering all the students to be evacuated in response to the enormous amount of magic that was beginning to appear.
Renzou looked toward the dungeon, where his daughters and Enrico still were, and let out a sigh of relief when he realized the procedure was working.
"Director Hao, it seems the emergency order worked. I can feel the dungeon disappearing."
Hao nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on the enormous portal hovering above the city.
"That's good. Then let's focus on this portal for now."
The dungeon's emergency procedure consisted of eliminating all the Bosses at once. Each guard responsible for surveillance had to quickly defeat the Bosses in the region under their responsibility. After all, this was a special dungeon, whose Bosses could reappear as long as the core remained in the hands of those in charge.
Inside the dungeon
"Damn it! What's happening?"
"Who interrupted our rematch?"
Beside Valença, Elaris remained calm and tried to reassure the others.
"Stay calm. It must have been some kind of emergency."
Enrico simply sighed and nodded, while Kai, visibly displeased, put his sword back into its sheath.
[Enrico, it seems this arc was forced to end. Therefore, it's now possible to carry out the two pacts.]
Enrico was a little surprised. After all, since he hadn't eliminated all the dungeon's members in the warehouse, he hadn't been able to receive the two pacts that day.
'That's good, because I have a feeling I'll need them. But one of the pacts should already be complete, right?'
[Yes. It's the one you asked me to save until the beginning of the Infernal Academy arc.]
This meant that, for now, he would only have access to the pact the constellations had prepared to offer him. It was a rather unpleasant situation, but that was the only alternative he had at that moment.
"Then I'll only be able to use the second one."
As the dungeon began to disappear, the participants noticed that an enormous portal had appeared in the sky, covering practically the entire city of Vesparello. Enrico raised his eyes toward that colossal structure. For some reason, an unsettling feeling took hold of his chest, as though something terrible was about to happen.
'System, you can start preparing your pact now, because I'm going to need it.'