CLANG!!!
A deafening metallic explosion erupted across the ruined battlefield.
Sparks exploded through the air as an invisible blade stopped mere centimeters from the Vice Commander's neck.
The old man hadn't moved.
Not even slightly.
Yet somehow, space itself had hardened around him like an invisible barrier.
The smiling expression on the Vice Commander's face disappeared instantly afterward.
A cold stillness replaced it.
Then—
A voice rolled across the battlefield.
"I wanted to wait for the little guy to relax…"
The voice sounded amused.
Lazy even.
"…then take his head off."
The temperature around the academy seemed to drop unnaturally.
"But I should've known you bastards would have backup."
The surviving lecturers immediately stiffened.
Several students paled instantly.
Because unlike before—
This pressure was different.
Sharper.
Cleaner.
Pure killing intent refined to an extreme.
Even Zael's eyes narrowed seriously.
Danger.
Real danger.
Far greater than the commander from earlier.
The Vice Commander slowly turned his head slightly.
"Assassin-type," he muttered calmly.
"Annoying as always."
Then suddenly—
Space rippled.
A figure appeared standing atop a collapsed building nearby.
Tall.
Lean.
Dressed entirely in black.
A white mask covered the upper half of the figure's face while two dark blades floated silently behind him.
The moment he appeared fully—
Several surviving lecturers instinctively stepped backward.
One of them muttered hoarsely,
"…Night Sovereign."
The masked man gave a mocking bow afterward.
"Still remembered. I'm touched."
His gaze shifted immediately toward Zael afterward.
Even through the mask, the killing intent behind those eyes was suffocating.
"There's something very wrong about that kid," he said casually.
"And honestly?"
One of the floating blades slowly tilted toward Zael.
"I really hate things I can't understand."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The Vice Commander's aura erupted instantly afterward.
"Enough."
The entire battlefield trembled violently.
The masked assassin merely laughed softly.
"Relax."
"I'm not here for a full fight."
His eyes remained fixed on Zael the entire time.
"I just wanted to see what kind of monster could make the abyss lose this badly."
Zael stared back calmly.
Despite the overwhelming danger radiating from the masked man, his expression remained indifferent.
Then the assassin suddenly chuckled.
"…Interesting."
The floating blades behind him vibrated faintly.
"I can already tell."
"If we leave you alone for another few years…"
"…you'll become something truly troublesome."
The Vice Commander took a step forward afterward.
The void around him cracked instantly.
"Leave."
This time, the command carried unmistakable killing intent.
The masked assassin sighed dramatically.
"Fine, fine."
He raised both hands lazily.
"Can't exactly kill the kid in front of you anyway."
Then before disappearing, he looked toward Zael one final time.
"And little monster…"
The air around him distorted unnaturally.
"…next time we meet, try not to rely on adults showing up to save you."
SHHHHHT.
The figure vanished instantly.
Complete disappearance.
Even Zael momentarily lost track of him entirely.
Silence filled the battlefield afterward.
Then the Vice Commander slowly exhaled.
"…That bastard is still alive," he muttered irritably.
Meanwhile Zael remained standing quietly.
Because despite the calm expression on his face—
His instincts had gone completely wild during that brief encounter.
That masked man—
Was the most dangerous person he had met since transmigrating into this world.
High above the battlefield, inside the fractured void—
The atmosphere had changed completely.
Gone was the earlier casualness.
Gone were the amused conversations and mocking exchanges.
Now—
The pressure between both factions had become genuinely dangerous.
Because the moment the masked assassin appeared below, every higher-up present recognized him instantly.
One of the academy elders narrowed his eyes coldly.
"…Night Sovereign."
The crimson-skinned demon elder laughed softly afterward.
"Well now…"
"…looks like even your side has things beyond control."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A wave of killing intent erupted from the academy faction instantly.
Several void fractures spread across the surrounding space.
The Dean's expression remained calm externally, but his eyes had become noticeably colder now.
"That dog of yours is becoming increasingly reckless," he said mildly.
The demon elder smirked.
"Dog?"
"He doesn't belong to anyone."
"And that," his smile widened slightly,
"…is precisely why he's useful."
Meanwhile several human higher-ups were no longer paying attention to the demons at all.
Instead—
Their gazes remained locked onto Zael below.
Especially after Night Sovereign's appearance.
Because everyone understood what it meant.
A being like that did not casually show interest in ordinary geniuses.
One of the military commanders suddenly spoke.
"We need to isolate him immediately."
Another elder frowned.
"That would only create hostility."
"And if he becomes uncontrollable later?" the commander countered coldly.
Silence followed briefly.
Then the elderly rune woman finally spoke again.
"You're all focusing on the wrong thing."
Her gaze remained fixed downward.
"That child…"
"…is growing too fast."
The Dean adjusted his glasses slightly.
"Yes."
Nobody present missed the meaning behind those words.
Zael's growth rate itself was becoming abnormal.
Dangerously abnormal.
Not merely talent.
Not merely opportunity.
Something else.
Something hidden.
The crimson-skinned demon elder suddenly chuckled darkly.
"You humans are funny creatures."
"When weak, you fear being invaded."
"When strong, you fear your own monsters."
No one refuted him.
Because he wasn't entirely wrong.
Meanwhile below them, the Vice Commander and Zael were still speaking faintly.
The military commander observing suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"…He's still calm."
Indeed.
Despite battling a Tier Four commander, surviving a large-scale invasion, and directly encountering Night Sovereign—
Zael's mental state remained unnaturally stable.
Almost cold.
One of the older battlefield veterans muttered quietly afterward,
"That's not academy temperament anymore."
"…That's battlefield temperament."
The Dean remained silent for several moments.
Then finally—
"He'll be deployed."
Several elders looked toward him instantly.
"To the Gods and Demons Battlefield?" someone asked.
The Dean nodded calmly.
"He was already scheduled for future deployment."
"But after today…"
His eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses.
"…keeping him in the academy would be meaningless."
The military commander frowned.
"That battlefield may sharpen him further."
"Or kill him," another elder added coldly.
The Dean's expression remained unreadable.
"Perhaps."
Then slowly—
He looked downward toward Zael once more.
"…but monsters like him do not grow inside cages."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The void remained tense for several more moments after the Dean's words.
Then suddenly—
The crimson-skinned demon elder began laughing.
Slowly at first.
Then louder.
"Hahahahaha…!"
The sound echoed unnaturally across the fractured void.
"You humans truly never change."
He leaned back slightly afterward, crimson eyes filled with mockery.
"You fear him already."
None of the human higher-ups answered.
Because denying it would be meaningless.
The demon elder's grin widened further at their silence.
"Good."
"That means you understand."
The surrounding demon figures slowly began rising afterward.
Terrifying auras flickered faintly around them as the invasion officially came to an end.
But before leaving—
The crimson-skinned elder looked downward one final time toward Zael.
Then smiled coldly.
"That child…"
"…we'll kill him eventually."
BOOOOOOOM!!!
Killing intent erupted instantly from several academy higher-ups.
The void cracked violently.
Yet the demon elder merely laughed harder.
"Relax."
"It isn't a threat."
His smile sharpened afterward.
"It's inevitability."
Another demon powerhouse beside him spoke next.
A tall figure covered entirely in abyssal armor.
"You should pray he dies young."
The distorted voice rolled through the void like thunder.
"Because if someone like that fully matures…"
"…even your own side will eventually fear him more than us."
The academy elders' expressions darkened slightly.
Again—
Nobody refuted it.
The armored demon laughed softly afterward.
"Look at yourselves."
"The boy just saved your academy…"
"…yet half of you are already thinking about how to control him."
That statement made the atmosphere even uglier.
Because it hit too close to the truth.
The military commander's expression hardened.
"You demons speak too much."
"And you humans lie too much," the crimson elder replied instantly.
The two sides glared at one another across the void.
Then finally, the demon elder waved his hand dismissively.
"This invasion was a failure."
"But the war itself?"
His smile became colder.
"…that has barely begun."
The surrounding void distorted violently afterward as spatial pathways began opening behind the demon faction.
Before stepping through, the crimson elder glanced toward the Dean one final time.
"Oh, and Dean…"
The Dean looked at him calmly.
"…tell the little monster something for us."
The elder's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously.
"The Gods and Demons Battlefield is not an academy."
"No one will care how talented he is there."
"No one will wait for him to grow."
"And once the higher worlds notice him…"
His grin widened slightly.
"…today's invasion will look like children playing."
SHHHHHHT.
One by one, the demon powerhouses disappeared into the spatial distortions.
The crushing pressure within the void gradually faded afterward until only the academy side remained.
Silence followed.
An uncomfortable silence.
Then one of the human elders muttered quietly,
"…They weren't entirely wrong."
No one answered him.
Because everyone present understood it already.
After today—
Zael Nightshade was no longer merely a talented student.
He had become something much more dangerous.
A variable.
And in this world—
Variables rarely survived long.