A few houses away from the place where Enrico was fighting, Deymon was beginning to have difficulty dealing with Elian.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to Caelan!"
"If you can even do anything to me, of course."
Elian once again used his Wind Magic to increase his own speed, consuming even more mana to keep up with the pace of the battle.
Deymon dodged a dagger thrown in his direction and immediately afterward concentrated a black sphere in the palm of his hand.
"I don't like using the knights' ideas, but they're useful."
A few students showed no interest in using weapons similar to those of the knights to create their Ego Weapons. Deymon was one of the most prideful in that regard, but it seemed his pride didn't last long when an opportunity arose to use something that could help him win.
Elian let out a sarcastic laugh when he noticed this.
"What happened? Throwing your pride away? I thought you were better than that."
"Shut up! You're only scared because you know how strong I am with this weapon!"
Activating his weapon, the black sphere began moving around his hand, gradually taking shape until it transformed into a staff with a figure resembling a knight at its tip.
Raising the staff, Deymon caused several objects around him, such as pieces of wood and other ordinary items, to begin deforming. Within moments, they all transformed into soldiers with macabre appearances, each with three horns on its head, forming a triangle.
"Corruption Spheres!"
As the soldiers advanced toward Elian, several black spheres appeared around him, forming a circle.
With a simple snap of his fingers, they were all launched simultaneously at their target.
"Zephyr Shield!"
Generating a powerful current of air in front of him, Elian deflected the magical attacks, redirecting them in another direction. The spheres struck the corrupted soldiers themselves, causing Deymon's arrogant smile to disappear for a moment.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Elian grabbed his daggers and concentrated his last reserve of magic in his left foot. In an extremely swift movement, he charged at Deymon and cut off his hand.
"Aaaahhh!"
"I told you that..."
Elian couldn't finish his sentence. A Nartheis suddenly appeared behind him and struck him in the back with the blades on its arms. Taking advantage of the opening, another creature, with a grotesque appearance and a mouth disproportionately large in relation to its body, lunged toward his head, attempting to devour him in a single bite.
"Feather Blade!"
Elian felt several blades tear through his back, but before the creatures could continue their attack, he heard Liam's voice. The boy appeared to help him, launching his attack at the Nartheis. Taking advantage of the brief opening created by his companion's intervention, Elian quickly retreated, putting about seven meters between himself and the creatures.
"Gah!"
Suddenly, Velka fell beside Deymon. She had been thrown by a slender-looking Nartheis that appeared unexpectedly, catching Sylvia and Camila by surprise. In fact, Velka herself was also confused about what had happened.
"Why are you doing this? Aren't you part of our alliance?"
"Shut up, Velka! You were never part of my alliance."
Upon hearing Deymon's furious reply, spoken in a low, almost whispered tone, Velka began to feel an intense pain in her head. Her own memories seemed to be clashing with one another, forcing her to clutch her head in an attempt to ease the suffering.
The memory of Deymon saving her began to disappear from her mind. It was then that Velka finally understood what had happened: her feelings and memories had been manipulated by some kind of magic, making her betray the only person she had ever truly admired.
'What have I done...? Princess, I need to ask for your forgiveness.'
Before she could get up, the slender Nartheis stepped on her back, pressing her body against the ground. Meanwhile, Deymon stood up and faced the creature.
"Jago, didn't you say I'd become stronger if I ate that?"
"And you did."
The four couldn't hear what the slender Nartheis was saying, but judging by Deymon's reaction, that conversation certainly didn't seem friendly. The creature pressed Velka's back even harder against the ground, making her let out another cry of pain.
A few meters away, the four simply watched the scene. None of them showed any concern for Velka's suffering. After all, to them, she was still a traitor.
Camila watched the two groups for a few moments.
"Are they fighting?"
Liam analyzed the situation before answering.
"They must have been betrayed by their own Nartheis."
Elian broke into a satisfied smile.
"That's great! Who told them to trust those abominations?"
Liam approached Elian and began treating his wounds using his Feather Magic. At the same time, Sylvia and Camila positioned themselves in front of the two, keeping their attention fixed on Deymon and the slender Nartheis. Both prepared their magic, ready to react if they were attacked.
The slender Nartheis tilted its head slightly before explaining:
"To complete your transformation, you only need to absorb all the mana from a body without leaving any traces."
Deymon frowned, showing his impatience.
"Without leaving any traces? Whose mana do I need to absorb? Just tell me already!"
"Obviously, your only ally's."
"You should have told me that earlier, you imbecile! How do I do it?"
Hearing those words, Velka felt a chill run through her body. Her eyes widened as she understood what was about to happen. If Deymon absorbed all her mana, she would lose any ability to fight and, depending on what happened, might even die right there. Worst of all, he hadn't shown the slightest hesitation in accepting that condition. To Deymon, sacrificing her didn't seem to be a problem.
'Is this punishment for being weak?'
Tears of pain streamed down Velka's face. Deymon approached carrying a stone he had received from the slender Nartheis and, without showing any hesitation, placed it in her hand. The moment her fingers touched the object, terrible pain coursed through her entire body, spreading through her nerves and veins.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
"How annoying..."
The four widened their eyes at the sight. Velka's agonizing screams echoed throughout the area, but what truly caught their attention was Deymon's transformation. His body began undergoing grotesque changes, taking on an increasingly monstrous appearance, although it still retained some human characteristics.
Deymon's veins took on an intense purple glow, while his human skin assumed a dull, ashen tone. A dark aura began spreading around his body.
His short hair began to sway, even though there was no wind. Behind him, two black wings unfolded and, as they expanded, released several dark spheres that began constantly revolving around him.
His hands grew larger, his fingers elongated and transformed into thin black claws. His entire body took on a color resembling obsidian, while a core at its center continued absorbing Velka's mana, leaving no possibility of recovery.
A cold mist escaped Deymon's mouth as he breathed, as if the temperature around him had plummeted.
"Finally! Now I feel strong. If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had to go through all this!"
"If I had told you earlier, you wouldn't have been able to keep yourself disguised among them."
"As if I cared about that!"
Liam narrowed his eyes, feeling a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. His expression changed when he noticed something strange about Velka.
"I can't sense any magic from her anymore, even after the release she performed... What happened?"
Camila swallowed hard as she watched Velka lying on the ground.
"Isn't this going too far?"
Elian clenched his fists, unable to hide the anger in his eyes.
"That bastard... He's really become a monster."
With irritated expressions but no intention of retreating, the four assumed a defensive stance. Perhaps they could still defeat Deymon before something else happened. After all, if they fought together, they would have a chance.
Noticing their reaction, Deymon broke into a terrifying smile.
"Do you think you can defeat me? Hahahaha!"
Raising one hand, he made a simple movement. A gigantic slash tore through the ground, cutting across the neighboring house and destroying everything in its path for at least a hundred meters.
The guards within that distance were already fighting other Nartheis and, even though they had witnessed that destruction, they couldn't approach. They had to deal with the Rank One and Rank Two Ranvil that kept appearing.
"Hahaha! Just look at that! Now I'm at the level of Circle Four!"
The three began sweating nervously at that display of power. Without a doubt, that strength was equivalent to Circle Four. If they were fully recovered and could come up with a good strategy, they might still have a chance of defeating him. After all, they were three Circle Three users against just one opponent at that level.
However, their chances of victory wouldn't exceed approximately thirty percent.
'Even so, I will...'
Elian tried to stand up, but Deymon simply lowered one of his fingers. At that very moment, a deep cut appeared across his chest, causing him to lose his balance and stagger backward. Sylvia and Liam reacted quickly, catching him before he fell.
Deymon's smile grew even more arrogant as he watched the situation.
"I already told you that you can't do anything! I'll show the entire world what Corruption Magic is capable of! And I'll start..."
"Is that why you're doing all this?"
A familiar voice interrupted Deymon, making everyone in the area shiver. It was a voice they knew well, but something about it was different. It was much deeper and heavier, carrying a coldness that was almost frightening.
Everyone turned toward the direction it came from. Enrico was walking slowly toward them, his hair covering his eyes and Caelan in his arms.
Enrico's arrival brought a brief glimmer of hope to Elian. However, that feeling disappeared as soon as he noticed that Caelan was motionless in his friend's arms. His chest showed no movement. He wasn't breathing.
Enrico lowered his head slightly before speaking:
"I'm sorry... I couldn't save him."
For a brief moment, his voice returned to its usual tone, revealing the sadness he was trying to hide. Hearing those words, Elian felt his eyes burning. Tears began streaming down his face, and he clenched his fists tightly before lowering his head, unable to hide the pain of losing his friend.
Consumed by anger, Elian tried to stand up and charge at Deymon, but Enrico extended one arm toward him, stopping him from going any further. His deep voice echoed through the area once again.
"Get out of here. I don't want you getting hurt."
"But..."
"Take his body somewhere safe. I don't want to lose anyone else."
The four hesitated for a few moments, exchanging glances without knowing exactly what to do. However, upon noticing Enrico's determination, they decided to trust him. Before leaving, each of them cast one last hateful glance at Deymon. Then they moved away from the area, taking Caelan's body with them.
Deymon watched Enrico with evident satisfaction. When he realized that he had arrived in exactly the state he had wanted, his arrogant smile, incredibly enough, widened even further.
"So, Enrico? What did you think? I imagine you're dying to kill me now, aren't you?"
"Kill you?"
Enrico brought one hand to his own shoulder and squeezed it tightly, as if trying to hold something back inside himself. He remained that way for a few moments before finally releasing his shoulder and moving his hand away.
Then he opened and closed his fingers, slowly cracking his knuckles. His eyes took on an opaque, empty appearance, devoid of any emotion.
"No... Not just that."
His gaze remained fixed on Deymon.
"I'm going to make you beg to die."