SHING!!!
Zael's katana carved across the commander's torso, nearly splitting him apart diagonally.
Black blood exploded through the air as the transformed demon staggered backward violently.
The surrounding battlefield shook from the force of the strike alone.
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Then the commander laughed.
A ragged, insane laugh.
"Hahah…!"
Blood dripped continuously from his mouth while his unstable body twitched unnaturally.
Yet despite looking half-dead—
The madness in his eyes only deepened.
Then suddenly—
Zael's instincts screamed.
The commander's gaze had shifted.
Not toward him.
Toward Lily.
Below them, Lily was in the middle of freezing a group of advancing demonized creatures when her expression changed abruptly.
Too late.
The commander slammed one claw directly into his own chest.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
A gigantic mass of condensed abyssal energy erupted outward from his body before shooting downward toward Lily like a crimson-black meteor.
Not an ordinary attack.
A suicide strike.
The commander himself exploded forward simultaneously toward Zael with the remnants of his remaining power concentrated into his claws.
A final attack.
One meant to force a choice.
Kill him—
Or save her.
The commander's cracked face twisted into a monstrous grin.
"CHOOSE!"
Everything slowed.
Zael could see it clearly.
If he finished the commander now, the attack aimed at Lily would land directly.
Even she wouldn't survive it completely.
But if he saved her—
The commander would escape the fatal strike.
For the first time since the battle began, Zael's expression changed sharply.
Then—
He moved.
Void Step.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
Zael appeared directly in front of Lily as the abyssal meteor descended.
The black cube instantly expanded into a gigantic tower shield covered in silver runic patterns.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!!
The attack slammed into the shield violently.
The ground beneath them collapsed instantly while shockwaves tore through the surrounding academy sector.
Lily's eyes widened as Zael planted himself firmly in front of her, shielding her entirely from the blast.
Corrupted energy exploded wildly around them.
Cracks spread across the shield.
Then behind them—
The commander laughed triumphantly.
"You chose wrong."
He shot backward instantly, attempting escape through one of the remaining spatial tears.
But then—
Zael slowly raised his head.
And the commander's grin froze.
Because the moment Zael's eyes opened fully—
Ancient draconic pressure exploded outward across the battlefield.
CRAAAAACK!!!
Black lightning erupted wildly around Zael's body as fragments of phantom dragon scales appeared briefly across his skin.
The air screamed.
The surrounding space trembled violently.
Even the remaining demonized creatures instinctively collapsed in fear.
Zael slowly raised one hand toward the fleeing commander.
Then spoke softly.
"Dragon Sovereign's Judgment."
For one terrifying second—
Everything became silent.
Then a colossal black lightning dragon manifested behind Zael.
Its size dwarfed the battlefield itself.
Ancient silver eyes opened beneath the darkened heavens before the dragon released a roar that shook the entire academy.
The commander's face finally filled with true terror.
"No—!"
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The dragon descended.
Black lightning consumed the sky completely.
The fleeing commander was swallowed instantly before he could even reach the spatial crack.
There was no explosion afterward.
No scream.
Only annihilation.
The abyssal energy itself was erased completely beneath the overwhelming bloodline attack.
When the lightning finally faded—
Nothing remained of the commander.
Not even ashes.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
Absolute silence.
[Ding!]
[High-level corrupted entity eliminated.]
[+1 Origin Point obtained.]
Zael ignored the notification completely.
The phantom dragon behind him slowly faded afterward while black lightning still crackled faintly across the ruined battlefield.
Then Zael lowered his hand slowly.
Without turning around, he spoke calmly.
"You should stay behind me next time."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Meanwhile, far above the academy—
Beyond the visible battlefield—
Another confrontation was taking place entirely.
Inside the void.
Dozens of terrifying figures sat opposite each other in complete silence.
The surrounding space itself was cracked and distorted simply from their presence alone.
Each individual here possessed power capable of leveling cities casually.
Tier Five.
Tier Six.
And even higher.
On one side sat the academy's higher-ups alongside government powerhouses and battlefield veterans.
On the other sat the true leaders of the demonized invasion.
Unlike the chaos below, however—
This battlefield was strangely peaceful.
Nobody moved.
Nobody attacked.
Because the moment either side acted—
The result would escalate beyond a mere academy invasion.
It would become an outright regional war.
So instead—
They watched.
Their consciousnesses remained locked onto one another while simultaneously observing the battle taking place below.
The Dean of AEGIS PRIME calmly sipped tea while seated in the void.
Beside him sat an elderly woman covered in spatial runes who looked thoroughly unimpressed by everything happening.
Opposite them, a crimson-skinned demonized elder chuckled darkly.
"You humans truly are amusing," he said mockingly. "Using children to fight your wars."
The Dean smiled faintly.
"And yet your side attacked first."
"Hm."
At first, the demon faction had been completely relaxed.
Why wouldn't they be?
A Tier Four abyssally assimilated commander alongside Abyss Knights should have been more than enough to massacre a university zone.
Meanwhile, the academy side had indeed been tense initially.
Several elders were already preparing to intervene if things spiraled too far.
Then—
They saw Zael fight.
The atmosphere changed gradually afterward.
The demon side stopped talking as much.
Meanwhile the academy elders became increasingly strange.
"…Interesting swordsmanship," one old professor commented casually while watching Zael carve through an Abyss Knight.
"That's not the important part," another muttered while narrowing his eyes. "Look at his spatial affinity."
"No," said the elderly rune woman calmly. "Look at his growth rate."
Silence briefly followed that statement.
Then came the moment Zael unveiled the evolved Blade Domain.
Even the void battlefield paused slightly.
Thousands of spectral swords descending across the academy caused several demon elders to lose their smiles instantly.
"That skill…" one muttered darkly.
"…How is a Second Tier producing that level of destructive output?"
The Dean quietly adjusted his glasses afterward.
"Yes," he said mildly. "We're curious about that as well."
Then came Void Collapse.
Then Abyss Rend.
Then Zael physically overpowering the transformed commander.
At this point, even the academy side had gone silent.
Because this was no longer merely "talented."
This was abnormal.
One of the demon elders suddenly narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"That child…"
"…he cannot be allowed to mature."
Instantly—
The atmosphere in the void became colder.
The Dean's smile disappeared slightly.
"Oh?" he replied softly. "Would you like to test that theory?"
BOOOOOOOM!!!
Terrifying pressure erupted between both factions instantly before stabilizing again moments later.
Neither side moved further.
Then—
They witnessed it.
Zael's final attack.
The manifestation of the colossal black lightning dragon.
The moment the bloodline pressure spread through the battlefield—
Every single higher-up in the void stood up simultaneously.
Shock.
Pure shock.
The demon elders' expressions changed drastically.
Meanwhile the academy side looked no better.
The crimson-skinned demon elder's eyes widened slightly.
"…Impossible."
The elderly rune woman who had remained calm the entire time finally lost composure.
"That bloodline…" she whispered.
Even the Dean himself stared downward silently for several seconds.
Then the commander was erased completely beneath Dragon Sovereign's Judgment.
Silence filled the void battlefield afterward.
An awkward silence.
Then one of the academy elders suddenly coughed lightly.
"…Well."
Another adjusted his sleeves calmly.
"…It appears the students handled things."
The demon side's expressions darkened instantly.
Because everyone present understood one thing now.
The invasion had failed.
Not because of the academy's higher-ups.
Not because of military intervention.
But because a single freshman-level student had personally crushed the commander leading the assault.
And that—
Was far more terrifying.